Ascend Plant Named Finalist For State Manufacturing Award
June 12, 2017
Ascend Performance Materials’ Pensacola plant was selected by the Florida Sterling Council and FloridaMakes as a finalist for the 2017 Florida Sterling Manufacturing Business Excellence Award.
Established by Florida Governor Rick Scott, the award recognizes manufacturing excellence for companies in the State of Florida that are leaders in how they perform their operations, management, performance and productivity. Companies were chosen based on leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus and operations focus.
Ascend’s Pensacola plant is the largest integrated nylon facility in the world. The site produces basic chemicals and nylon polymer in a single facility that consists of multiple chemical manufacturing and polymer manufacturing units. The site supplies a diverse customer base in the Americas, Europe and Asia in the growing markets of automotive, electronics and consumer goods.
“Ascend’s Pensacola plant manufactures more than one billion pounds of total products annually that include Nylon 6,6 polymer and chemical products,” said H. Allen Faulkner, Ascend’s program manager for chemicals growth at Pensacola. “With these large volumes of products, it requires us to have the highest level of manufacturing operations at the site to successfully meet the needs and expectations of our customers.”
“Since 1953, Ascend has been a part of the Pensacola community,” said John Johannenmann, Ascend’s chemicals site director at Pensacola. “We are honored to have been named as a finalist for an award that is recognized across our state for manufacturing excellence.
As a finalist, Ascend was featured at the 2017 Florida Sterling Conference and was honored earlier in the month at the Manufacturing Finalist Recognition and Networking Reception.
Pictured: Ascend Performance Materials. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Inmate Dies In The Escambia County Main Jail
June 12, 2017
An Escambia County Main Jail inmate died at the facility Sunday.
Johnny Ben Tillman, a 51-year-old male from Mobile, was pronounced dead at 12:58 p.m. by EMS staff. Jail Medical Director and Certifying Physician Dr. Paul Henning stated the manner of death was natural causes.
Tillman was arrested November 17, 2014, and charged with probation violation. He had been housed in the Escambia County Jail infirmary since May 15 when he was brought back to the Escambia County Jail from Florida State Hospital. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office was notified and is investigating as is standard procedure.
This Week’s Escambia County Meetings
June 12, 2017
Here are this week’s meeting scheduled by or under the Escambia County Commissioner:
Monday, June 12
Marine Advisory Committee, Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 13
Florida West Economic Development Alliance – Co: Lab Policy Board, Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, 3rd Floor Conference Room, 418 W. Garden Street, 11 a.m.
Environmental Enforcement Special Magistrate, Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, 1:30 p.m. (Agenda)
Escambia County Housing Finance Authority, 700 S. Palafox St., 5 p.m.
Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, 420 W. Chase St., 5:30 p.m.
Merit System Protection Board, Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, 5:30 p.m.
District 1 Town Hall, Jim C. Bailey Middle School, 4110 Bauer Road, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, June 14
Development Review Committee, Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, 1 p.m. (Agenda)
Santa Rosa Island Authority Board Meeting, 1 Via de Luna Drive, 5 p.m. (Agenda)
Santa Rosa Island Authority Budget Workshop, 1 Via de Luna Drive, 5:05 p.m. (Agenda)
Thursday, June 15
Attorney/Client Session, Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, 8:30 a.m.
Committee of the Whole, Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, 9 a.m.
Memorial For Naomi Jones Continues To Grow Over Eight Mile Creek
June 12, 2017
A memorial for 12-year old Naomi Jones continues to grow on the Ashland Avenue bridge over Eight Mile Creek.
Jones’s body was discovered in the creek one week ago today, allegedly dumped there by convicted sex offender Robert Letroy Howard, 38. Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said Jones likely died within 24 to 36 hours after her May 31 disappearance. Her body was then later dumped into Eight Mile Creek, about 4-5 miles away from her apartment.
Howard remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Howard was convicted in 1999 on two counts of first degree rape to two adult females in Escambia County, AL. One of the victims was 19-years old at the time. He served 15 years.
For more photos from the memorial to Naomi Jones, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Pastor Celebrates 25 Years Of Ministry At Local Church
June 12, 2017
Atmore Baptist Temple celebrated the 25th anniversary of Pastor and Mrs. William D. “Doug” Odom’s call to the pastorate of the church by honoring them with a special Pastor’s Appreciation Service for their faithful commitment to their congregation and the community.
Pastor Odom grew up in nearby Century. In 1966, he entered the military and proudly served his country during the Vietnam War. In 1969, he married Miss Pam Winder of North Carolina and they moved back to Century.
Pastor and Mrs. Odom came to trust Christ as their personal savior at Tabernacle Baptist Church in March of 1971. In 1980, Pastor Odom surrendered to the call to preach. Three years later, he left Century to attend Arlington Baptist College in Arlington, TX. In 1986, he returned to Century, where he served as the associate pastor of Faith Bible Baptist Church for one year. Then in 1987, he and Mrs. Odom moved to Troy, MO, where he would serve as the pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church for the next five years. Pastor and Mrs. Odom came to Atmore Baptist Temple on June 14, 1992, where he has served as pastor ever since.
About a year after arriving in Atmore, the Odoms started a Christian kindergarten called Kiddie Kollege. At the end of the first year of operation, parents were so pleased with the educational program offered by the kindergarten that they asked Pastor Odom to consider adding a first grade class. With the addition of a second grade class in 1995, it was decided that the school should be renamed Temple Christian Academy, with the kindergarten division retaining the name Kiddie Kollege. Today the Academy offers academic instruction from preschool through twelfth grade.
Pastor and Mrs. Odom are the proud parents of three children: Tammy White of Loveland, Colorado; Rev. Kevin Odom, who currently serves as Minister of Music at Atmore Baptist Temple; and Angel Lister of Wetumpka, AL. They have nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Atmore Baptist Temple is located at 1707 South Main Street in Atmore, just north of the Alabama/Florida state line.
1,400 EREC Customers Lose Power On Sunday
June 12, 2017
About 1,400 Escambia River Electric Cooperative customers lost power about midday Sunday. Power was restored about 1 :50 p.m.
EREC said the failure was due to a”substation feeder breaker”. The outage area was bounded by the Alabama state line to Century, McDavid and Bratt.
Highland Baptist Celebrates Pastor’s 10 Years Of Service
June 12, 2017
Highland Baptist Church celebrated 10 years with Pastor Brian and Sara Calhoun Sunday night with a “Gilligan’s Island” themed event. Church members performed a Gilligan’s Island skit and changed the words to highlight the Calhouns’ decade of service to Highland. An ice cream fellowship followed. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos 3-1 Over Braves
June 12, 2017
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brandon Finnegan set the tone for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitching staff, throwing three scoreless innings in his first Major League rehabilitation assignment with the Double-A club.
For the game, three Pensacola pitchers combined to allow one run on three hits in a, 3-1, victory over the Mississippi Braves in front of 4,343 at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Pensacola leads the series, 2-1.
But the 24-year-old Finnegan’s best performance came before his first pitch when he autographed the jerseys of two youth baseball players, who stood by his side on the mound during the national anthem.
“The kids are what’s it for,” said the left-hander. “I was a kid once and I always wanted autographs.”
He made his autographs even more special by fighting the humidity to complete three scoreless innings, allowing a double to 19-year-old center fielder Ronald Acuna, giving up one walk and earning one K. He threw 35 pitches, 23 for strikes.
Finnegan is doing his rehab for a strained left trapezius, which he sustained April 15. Before his injury, Finnegan, a first round pick in 2014, was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA and had 14 strikeouts in 10 innings.
“I definitely feel close (to returning to Cincinnati),” he said. “I was hoping they would let me go out for another one. I’ll go four innings next time, hopefully.”
His next start will come in the third game in the Blue Wahoo’s last five game series before the All-Star break. Pensacola is on the road against the Miami Marlins Double-A affiliate the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
After coming from the Reds training camp in Goodyear in the Arizona desert, Finnegan said he did have to fight the humidity in the Florida coastal town.
“I haven’t pitched in this kind of humidity for a long time,” Finnegan said. “It affected my off-speed a lot. I couldn’t get a grip and throw it.”
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly, who was ejected for the second time this season, said Finnegan got stronger as the game progressed. Finnegan admitted he was anxious about the start.
“He got better every inning,” Kelly said. “That first inning he felt his way through. He was more confident in the second and third. In the third inning, the ball came out really nice.”
Finnegan’s battery mate, Adrian Nieto, who played 48 games with the Chicago White Sox in 2014, not only caught the game but figured in two of the Blue Wahoos’ three runs.
Nieto, a switch hitter who got some rare at bats from the right side, singled to right field to drive in second baseman Alex Blandino in the fourth inning to put Pensacola back on top, 2-1. Blandino had doubled and now leads the Southern League with 19.
Nieto tripled to lead off the seventh inning when he smashed a grounder into the right field corner. It was the sixth triple of his career. The 27-year-old catcher crossed the plate when left fielder Tyler Goeddel hit a two out single to right field to give the Blue Wahoos a, 3-1, cushion over Mississippi.
Both Finnegan and series-opener starter Homer Bailey, who is also doing MLB rehab for elbow surgery to remove bone spurs, got the message that the Blue Wahoos are in a tight playoff race. They improved to 36-27 and are now up four games with seven to go in the Southern League South Division.
“We are all aware of what’s at stake,” Nieto said. “(Pitching coach) Danny (Darwin) said, ‘Hey, don’t mess us up. We’re in a playoff race.”
Mississippi scored in the fourth when Braves third baseman Travis Demeritte scored on a ground ball by left fielder Jared James to tie the game, 1-1.
Demeritte was caught sleeping at second base by Nieto, the catcher. Demeritte took off for third and it looked like the throw from shortstop Blake Trahan to third baseman Josh VanMeter got him out but he was called safe. Pensacola manager Pat Kelly jogged out onto the field to argue the call vigorously and ended up getting ejected.
Pensacola had taken the lead, 1-0, when VanMeter walked with two outs and then the next batter, center fielder Gabriel Guerrero, crushed a double into the left-center gap, allowing VanMeter to score from first base.
Mississippi Braves starter Kolby Allard, who Baseball America rates as the No. 3 prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization, won his first four starts but has two losses and two no decisions in his last four starts.
The 19-year-old Allard, the 14th pick overall in the 2015 draft by the Braves, pitched six innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks and struck out one. He got the loss and is now 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA.
Woman Injured In Single Vehicle Rollover In Enon
June 11, 2017
One person was injured in a single vehicle rollover accident Saturday morning about 16 miles south of Walnut Hill in the Enon community.
The driver of a pickup truck lost control, left the roadway and overturned in the 9900 block of Highway 97A , about two miles off South Highway 99. The female driver was transported to West Florida Hospital by Atmore Ambulance with injuries that were not considered life threatening.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details have not been released.
The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FDOT: Weekly Traffic Alerts
June 11, 2017
Drivers will encounter traffic variations on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.
Escambia County:
· Interstate 10 (I-10)/U.S. 29 Interchange Improvements Phase I- Drivers will encounter the following traffic impacts on I-10 near the U.S. 29 interchange (Exits 10A and 10B) from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, June 11 through Thursday, June 15 as crews perform paving, guardrail, and shoulder work.
o Alternating lane closures on I-10 eastbound.
o The U.S. 29 north to I-10 westbound ramp will be closed. Traffic will be detoured north to make a U-turn at Broad Street to access I-10 westbound.
o The U.S. 29 south to I-10 eastbound ramp will be closed. Traffic will be detoured south to make a U-turn at Diamond Dairy Road to access I-10 eastbound.
· Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement- Test pile driving for the new bridge has begun. While there are no direct traffic impacts, persons nearby may detect noise and the possibility of vibration. Pile driving work is scheduled during daytime hours, seven-days-a-week.
· I-10 Widening from Davis Highway (State Road (S.R.) 291) to the Escambia Bay Bridge- Drivers will encounter the following traffic impacts from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Monday, June 12 through Friday, June 16 as crews paint barrier wall and perform paving work.
o Intermittent lane closures eastbound and westbound I-10 between Davis Highway (Exit 13) and the approach to Escambia Bay Bridge.
o Alternating lane closures on Scenic Highway (U.S. 90) between Whisper Way and Northpointe Parkway.
· Nine Mile Road Widening from Beulah Road to Pine Forest Road– Salt Grass Drive will be closed from 5 a.m. Monday, June 12 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 13 as crews relocate utilities. Drivers will need to use Foxtail Loop to access Nine Mile Road during this time.
· Creighton Road (S.R. 742) Construction Improvement Project from east of Davis Highway to Scenic Highway – Intermittent and alternating lane closures between 9th Avenue and Scenic Highway from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. continues as crews perform sidewalk repairs and Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades.
· W. Fairfield Drive (S.R. 295) near W. Texar Drive Underground Utility Work- Eastbound, right lane closed from 8 p.m. Monday, June 12 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, June 13 as crews perform underground utility work.
· Road Ranger Service Patrol on the Pensacola Bay Bridge – Service patrol vehicles will be stationed on each of the bridges between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, and between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekends and major holidays. At other times, at least one unit will be on-call and available to respond within 30 minutes. Road Ranger assistance on the Pensacola Bay Bridge will be available by dialing the Florida Highway Patrol at *FHP (*347).
· U.S. 29 (S.R. 95) Widening from I-10 to Nine Mile Road- Alternating lane closures continue from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on U.S. 29 between I-10 and 9 1/2 Mile Road and on Nine Mile Road near the U.S. 29/ Nine Mile Road overpass as crews perform drainage and bridge operations.
· Nine Mile Road (S.R. 10/U.S. 90A) Widening from Pine Forest Road to U.S. 29- Alternating lane closures continue on Untreiner Avenue as crews perform jack and bore operations.
Santa Rosa County
· I-10 Widening from Escambia Bay Bridge to Avalon Boulevard (S.R. 281) – Alternating lane closures on I-10 from the Escambia Bay Bridge to just east of S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard/Exit 22) from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, June 11 through Thursday, June 15 as crews continue widening work. In addition, alternating lane closures on Avalon Boulevard near the I-10 interchange during this time as crews reconstruct the Avalon Boulevard overpass.
· I-10 Resurfacing from east of S.R. 87 to the Okaloosa County Line- Intermittent and alternating closures between the S.R. 87 interchange (Exit 31) and the Okaloosa County line from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, June 11 through Thursday, June 15 as crews perform paving operations, striping, and sodding. Motorists are reminded the speed limit is reduced to 60 MPH within the lane closure.
· Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement- Intermittent east and westbound, right lane closure on the Gulf Breeze approaches to the bridge from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, June 12 through Saturday, June 17. On Tuesday, June 13 the lane restriction will take place from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Crews will be demolishing existing curb, clearing and grubbing in the state owned right-of-way, and placing temporary pavement. Test pile driving for the new bridge has begun. While there are no direct traffic impacts, persons nearby may detect noise and the possibility of vibration. Pile driving work is scheduled during daytime hours, seven-days-a-week.
· S.R. 87 Multilane from Eglin AFT Boundary to Hickory Hammock Road-(County Road 184) -Traffic between County Road 184 (Hickory Hammock Road) and the Eglin AFB boundary is restricted to loads under 11-feet wide. The restriction will be in place through the completion of the project.
Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling through the construction zone, and to pay attention for workers and equipment entering and exiting the work area. All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.