Bratt Elementary Names Students Of The Month For February

March 4, 2020

Bratt Elementary School has named Students of the Month for February. They are:

Pre-K
Leighton Freeman
Lizzie Stewart

Kindergarten
Kaylee Jace Marshall
Patrick Quinnlelly
Ja’Keelan Perry
Will Norton

1st Grade
Shaleigh Wesley
Cameron Parmer
Tiffin Hubbard
Bentley Kirkland

2nd Grade
Tripp Gilly
Cooper Rice
Riverly Heathcock
Carrie Emmons

3rd Grade
Azyiah Jackson
Lane Campbell
James Kerns
Payton Coon
Elynne Johnson

4th Grade
Jacob Dove
Madalynn Pittman
Tyler McAnally
Michael Greenwell

5th Grade
Dakota Richardson
Annberly Dunn
Hayden Gipson

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ALERT: Severe Storms, Several Inches Of Rain Possible Through Wednesday Night

March 4, 2020

Severe weather is possible for Wednesday night. Large hail, damaging winds and perhaps a few tornadoes are possible. A flash flood watch has also been issued for the potential of excessive rains of 3-5 inches, with higher totals in isolated areas.

Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 57. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Thursday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before noon, then a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. North wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 66. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38. North wind around 5 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 62. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. East wind around 5 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 66. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.

Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72.

Monday Night: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Tuesday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Flomaton Beats Northview Baseball (With Gallery); Jay Defeats Northview Softball

March 4, 2020

BASEBALL

Flomaton 13, Northview 0

The Flomaton Hurricanes shut out the Northview Chiefs 13-0 Tuesday night in Bratt.

For a photo gallery, click here.

Caleb Sibernagel earned the win for Flomaton, giving up zero runs on zero hits over one inning, striking out one and walking one.

Bradley Freeman took the loss for Northview in one-third of an inning, allowing four runs and one hit while striking out one.

Will Smith and Hunter Wilson had two hits each for Flomaton. Alex Cash, Nick Turner, Dalton Kent and Hunter Wilson had one hit each.

For Northview, Logan English had a fourth inning single, and Kaden Odom added a hit.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR ADDITIONAL SCORES)

Flomaton 6, Northview 5 (JV)

In junior varsity action, Flomaton came back in the fifth to get past Northview 6-5.

River Ramer took the win for Flomaton allowing one hit and one run in two innings while sitting down two.

Cameron Patrick took the loss for the Chiefs in one inning, allowing four runs on one hit and striking out one.

Joshua Zisa led the Chiefs at the plate, going 1-3. JT Spizzirro went 2-3 for Flomaton.

SOFTBALL

Jay 17, Northview 7

The Jay Lady Royals beat the Northview Lady Chiefs 17-7 Tuesday night in Jay.

Ella Nelson and Bailey Lopez led the Lady Royals at the plate with two hits each. Audrey Watson, Rylie Cochran, Kassidy Nevels, Caitlyn Gavin and Carsyn Seib added a hit apiece.

For Northview, Ashley Ragsdale, Heather Knowles and Kaylin Watson had two hits apiece. Nevaeh Brown, Aubrey Stuckey, Emma Gilmore and Rylee Huskey had a hit each.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Three Down: Tate Baseball Sweeps Escambia

March 4, 2020

Tuesday was a good night for Tate High Aggie baseball with three wins over the Gators of Escambia High School.

Tate 10, Escambia 4

The Tate Aggies handily beat the Escambia Gators 10-4 on Tuesday.

Josiah Glodfelter went five innings for the aggies, giving up four runs on six hits while striking out six.

Jackson Penton and Darrien McDowell had a couple of hits each for the Aggies. Chase Tolbert, Adam Nisewonger, Jordan Jarman, Zak Licastro, Cole Fryman and Trevor Norton each had a hit.

Tate 4, Escambia 2 (JV)

Tate 16, West Florida 0 (Freshmen)

The Freshmen Tate High School Aggies beat West Florida 16-0 in just three innings Tuesday.

James Davis led the Aggies at the plate with three hits. Ethan McAnally and Byrd added two each.

Tate Aggies Tennis Boys And Girls Defeat Escambia

March 4, 2020

Tate High Aggie Tennis beat the Escambia Gators Tuesday night. Boys won 6-1, and girls won 7-0.

The Tate Boys are now 2-3 one the season, and the girls moved to 4-1.

Tate Tennis will be at home Thursday against Milton.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Navy Helicopter Pilot Reports Church Fire. Here’s What The Fire Department Found.

March 4, 2020

Multiple fire departments were dispatched to a possible church fire reported by a Navy helicopter pilot Tuesday night.

Whiting Field reported the fire to Escambia Fire Rescue about 8:30 p.m. using GPS coordinates that led dispatchers to believe the fire was at the Dry Springs Community Church on Pineville Road, a dirt road west of Walnut Hill in a remote area of extreme western Escambia County near the Perdido River.

Firefighters searching the area found a burning debris pile some distance away from the only church in the area.

The Walnut Hill, McDavid, Molino, McDavid, Century and Cantonment stations of Escambia Rescue, Atmore Fire Department and Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department were all initially dispatched to the reported church fire. All units except Walnut Hill were canceled before arrival.

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Century Considers Company To Replace 400 Gas Meters, Postpones Over Bid Law Concerns

March 3, 2020

The Town of Century considered a proposal Monday night to hire company for about $64,000 to replace natural gas meters, but the council stepped back and did not vote over concerns if state bid laws were met.

Interim City Administrator Vernon Prather recommended that the town hire Precision Meter Repair (PMR) of Plant City to replace 400 residential meters at $160 each.

Florida Gas Utility, which provides natural gas consulting service to the town, obtained three quotes to change out the meters ranging from PMR’s $160 to a high of $1,000 each,  Prather said.

The town council was not completely satisfied that would meet state bid laws, and tabled action until compliance could be determined.

The town purchased hundreds of new meters in early 2019 to replacing aging meters believed to be causing the underbilling of many natural gas customers. Since that time, 15 commercial and about 200 residential meters have been replaced. With their other daily tasks, town employees have not been able to progress any faster, leading to Prather’s recommendation to hire an outside firm that could complete the task by installing 400 meters in matter of weeks.

The town does not have a sufficient balance in its gas fund to pay an outside company to replace the meters, but Prather recommended using Local Option Sales Tax funds.

Strong Or Severe Storms Becoming Possible By Late Tonight; Flash Flood Watch Issued

March 3, 2020

There is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms late Tuesday night through Wednesday night. Potential threats include damaging winds, large hail and a brief tornado. There is also an elevated threat of flash flooding with 3-5 inches of rain expected across the area with localized heavier amounts.

A Flash Flood Watch is in effect from midnight Tuesday through late Wednesday night.

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

Tonight: A chance of showers, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after midnight. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Patchy fog after 9pm. Low around 64. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Wednesday: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Areas of fog before 8am. High near 70. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 2 and 3 inches possible.

Wednesday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Low around 57. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon, then a slight chance of showers. Areas of fog before noon. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 47. North wind around 10 mph.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 63. North wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 38. North wind around 5 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 63. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the afternoon.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71.

Monday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 60.

Tuesday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74.

Super Tuesday: Alabamians Head To The Polls

March 3, 2020

Alabamians are headed to the polls on this Super Tuesday.

There are 14 Democratic candidates for president on the Alabama ballot, even though about half of them have already dropped out of the race. On the Republican ballot, there are just two candidates for president — Donald Trump and Bill Weld.

Other high profile races are the Republican contest for U.S. Senate and House.

There are seven candidates on the Republican ballot for U.S. Senate:

  • Northwest Alabama businessman Stanley Adair
  • Southwest Alabama U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne
  • Shelby County state Rep. Arnold Mooney
  • Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore
  • Activist Ruth Page Nelson
  • Former U.S. Sen. and ex-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions
  • Former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville

There are five candidates in the race for Byrne’s U.S. House seat representing southwest Alabama:

  • Businessman Jerry Carl
  • Veteran John Castoriani
  • Former state Sen. Bill Hightower
  • Business owner Wes Lambert
  • State Rep. Chris Pringle

Both ballots include numerous races for party delegates.

Click below for sample ballots from Escambia County, Alabama:

Polls are open 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Florida’s Presidential Preference Primary Election is March 17.

NorthEscambia.com file photo.

Gulf Power: We Delivered Best-Ever Service Reliability In 2019

March 3, 2020

Gulf Power Company says they delivered their best-ever service reliability in 2019, thanks to the company’s efforts to make the energy grid stronger and more storm-resilient, according to information filed today with the Florida Public Service Commission.

“Our ongoing investments in strengthening the grid are delivering real results and improving service for our customers,” said Marlene Santos, president of Gulf Power. “We’re continuing to step up our investments over the next several years in storm hardening projects and smart grid technology that will help us deliver even more reliable service to our customers, in good weather and bad.”

The average amount of time that a Gulf Power customer experienced an outage was approximately 25% less than in 2018, the company said in thanks to investments to strengthen the energy grid. The company also achieved best-ever performance for the average number of momentaries or flickers experienced by customers, which are most commonly caused by animals or tree limbs touching power lines.

Between 2019-21, Gulf Power is investing nearly $100 million in storm hardening and reliability improvement efforts. The long-term storm hardening efforts include replacing wooden transmission structures with concrete or steel; hardening the distribution power lines to extreme wind loading criteria; and upgrading flood monitoring at several substations, which will go beyond 2021.

Reliability improvements underway include the installation of 5,500 automated lateral switches by 2021, with the first 2,000 completed last year. Automated lateral switches on power poles help detect and respond to a power outage on a line without having to send a lineworker out. The device can decrease the number of customers affected by outages and prevent temporary issues on the grid, such as a tree branch that falls across a line without breaking it, from becoming extended outages.

Other smart grid investments, such as self-healing network devices, are helping reduce outage times and, in some cases, avoid outages altogether for customers.

Other measures Gulf Power uses to increase reliability include:

Assessing the condition of power lines and other infrastructure using drones, which are more efficient, safer and can spot potential outage issues before they occur.
Clearing vegetation – a major cause of power outages – from more than 9,000 miles of power lines each year.
Inspecting all of the company’s distribution power poles within an eight-year cycle.

While weather plays a part in electric service reliability, the investments Gulf Power is making to improve reliability can help offset those impacts. For example, this January Northwest Florida had three times the number of lightning strikes compared to January 2019, but Gulf Power’s reliability was twice as good this January compared to a year earlier.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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