Tate Graduate Hamrick Completes Basic Military Training
June 10, 2017
U.S. Air Force Airman Jacob D. Hamrick graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Hamrick is a 2015 graduate of J.M. Tate High School.
Blue Wahoos Down Misssissippi Braves In Series Opener
June 10, 2017
Homer Bailey got the start Friday for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and got the win as part of his MLB rehabilitation from elbow surgery to remove bone spurs.
Behind Bailey’s strong outing, Pensacola downed the Mississippi Braves, which entered the game in second place, with a, 6-2, victory in front of a sellout of 5,038 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Bailey, the seventh pick in the first round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2004, retired the side in the first inning throwing 11 pitches, eight for strikes. He struck out Ronald Acuna, who MLB Pipeline.com ranks as the No. 7 prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization, on an 87-mph slider.
He finished the fifth inning by getting the Mississippi lineup out 1-2-3, striking out Mississippi right fielder Connor Lien for the last out.
For the game, Bailey threw 64 pitches, 42 for strikes in five scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out five.
Bailey was scheduled to pitch just four innings, he said. He joked that it was his first Double-A win since he was with Chattanooga in 2006.
“They asked how I felt and I said, ‘Man, I feel great,’” Bailey said. “Can you go another one? I said, ‘Yes’ I didn’t know how many pitches I had and I didn’t want to know.”
Bailey had been throwing at the Reds training camp in Goodyear, Ariz. He said he enjoyed playing in his first real game this season.
“The biggest thing was getting used to the lights and sounds against more advanced hitters,” said Bailey, who was happy he was “staying in the zone” with all four of his pitches.
He walked one batter, second baseman Luis Valenzuela, in the third inning on four straight pitches.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly liked what he saw on the mound from Bailey and what he heard after the game. Bailey made a rehab start last year with the Blue Wahoos on April 26.
“He looked good,” Kelly said. “I know he was excited to see some competition and get under the lights. Last year, when he finished up he complained of forearm soreness.”
Bailey has been on the disabled list each of the last three seasons. He had a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm in 2014. Then in 2015, he tore an ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. It limited him to six starts in the 2016 season.
“All the signs tonight pointed in real good directions,” said the 11-year Major League veteran. “I can’t change things in the past. It’s about going forward.”
Meanwhile, Pensacola supported Bailey in his outing giving him a 4-0 lead. In the second inning first baseman Eric Jagielo leadoff with a single and scored when shortstop Blake Trahan hit a grounder into right field to put the Blue Wahoos up, 1-0.
Pensacola scored two more runs in the third inning when second baseman Alex Blandino doubled, his 18th of the season, to drive in both Gabriel Guerrero and Aristides Aquino to give the Blue Wahoos a, 3-0, lead.
In the fourth, Pensacola left fielder Tyler Goeddel leadoff the inning with a double on a grounder down the third base line and scored on a Guerrero groundout to second base making the score, 4-0.
Pensacola starter Keury Mella came in relief of Bailey and gave up two runs in the sixth inning to Mississippi. Braves catcher Kade Scivicque smacked a single to center field that scored both pinch hitter Jared James and Valenzuela to pull Mississippi within, 4-2.
But Mella settled down and got the last 10 batters he faced out, striking out three to earn the first save of his professional career.
“I really liked the way he threw in the eighth and ninth inning,” Kelly said.
Mella also helped himself at the plate hitting a double in the seventh inning that scored shortstop Blake Trahan and capped the scoring, 6-2.
Braves Andres Santiago made his first start this season with Double-A Mississippi Braves and gave up four earned runs in 3.2 innings. The righty has appeared in 11 games, all in relief, with Triple-A Gwinnett, Low-A Rome Braves and High-A Florida Fire Frogs since the Atlanta Braves picked him up March 20.
Pensacola is 35-26 and remains in first place in the Southern League South Division where they’ve been in all but six days this season.
Plans Approved To Rebuild Historic Homes, Church Ravaged By Tornado
June 9, 2017
The Century Architectural Review Board gave approval Thursday to repair or replacement plans for seven tornado ravaged residential properties and a church in the Alger-Sullivan Historical District, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989.
The historic district includes 45 buildings on about 230 acres, and is roughly bounded by Pinewood Avenue, Front Street, Jefferson Avenue, Church Street and Mayo Street. Numerous structures in the historic district were damaged or destroyed by the EF-3 tornado that struck Century in February 2016.
The Architectural Review Board approved the replacement of six homes — located at 300, 307, 402, 403, 407 and 416 Front Street — and the repair of one home at 410 Front Street.
The board also signed off plans to reconstruct the 114-year old Century United Methodist Church, which was damaged beyond repair by the tornado. It is expected that the $550,000 project might be completed within nine months.
All of the replacement homes on Front Street will meet the neighborhood’s historical qualifications and will cost about $100,000 each. The homes are being paid for by with SHIP — State Housing Initiative Program — funds administered by Escambia County.
Pensacola architect Carter Quina designed the replacement homes to historically accurate with modern amenities and compliance for the disabled. He also designed the Century United Methodist Church project.
Now that the Century Architectural Review Board has signed off on the properties, plans next go to the Century Town Council for final approval before construction can progress.
Click here for a previous article to learn more about the church project, photographs and architectural drawings.
Pictured top: Century United Methodist Lay Leader J.R. Jones, Rev. Janet Lee and architect Carter Quina discuss church reconstruction plans Thursday morning before the Century Architectural Review Board. Pictured below: Plans for six homes to be replaced on Front Street. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Driver Who Hit And Killed 10-Year Old Bicyclist Won’t Face Criminal Charges
June 9, 2017
No criminal charges will be filed against the Escambia County man that struck and killed a 10-year old bicyclist near Helen Caro Elementary School last month, the Florida Highway Patrol said Thursday,
Frederick Kelly Wilder, 47, was issued a traffic citation for failure to stop at a stop sign. The FHP investigation found no criminal elements to the crash.
Delilgha Rosa-Clark of Pensacola died at Sacred Heart Hospital from injuries she received after being hit by a SUV on Merlin Road at Oak View Drive May 18. She was riding her bicycle to school without a helmet, according to troopers.
Wilder of Pensacola was in his 2015 Ford Edge approaching the intersection when he failed to observe and yield the right of way to Rosa-Clark on her bicycle. The girl was within a marked bicycle lane on the way to school, troopers said.
Senate Pushes For New Budget Concessions
June 9, 2017
The House and Senate edged closer to an agreement on education funding Thursday, one of the main goals of a special session scheduled to end Friday, even as the Senate president seemed to set out new demands for a final deal.
In an unusual, lengthy discussion with reporters following debates on education, economic development and medical marijuana, Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said his chamber would not agree to a budget deal struck by Gov. Rick Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, without concessions.
Negron repeatedly pointed out that, during the regular session that ended in May, the House had opposed economic development and education funding that Scott requested. Those issues prompted the special session that began Wednesday.
The Senate president also pushed back against the “fake narrative” that he was involved in negotiations leading up to Scott’s decision to call the session, saying the House and the governor hammered out the agreement.
“We’re glad that they’re coming together and that they’re reaching common ground, but we’re not just going to rubber-stamp an agreement that two parties made without our priorities being taken into account,” Negron said.
Corcoran has been just as insistent that Negron was a part of the discussions. Negron told reporters Thursday that his requests to have his name taken out of a proclamation on the special session and to not provide a quote in a press release about the announcement were evidence that he didn’t agree to the deal.
But a spokeswoman said later that records that could prove Negron was mentioned in earlier drafts of those documents might not exist, or that Negron’s office might not have a copy if they did.
In exchange for agreeing to the deal reached by Scott and Corcoran, Negron said the Senate would like the House to override a slate of vetoes Scott issued on higher education projects. The Senate voted Wednesday to overturn those vetoes.
Negron said the Senate also wants to ease Medicaid cuts to hospitals by providing $100 million in funding.
At the same time, he declined to make a successful conclusion of the special session contingent on the Senate getting its way.
“I don’t do legislating by making bold pronouncements or by making ultimatums,” Negron said. “What I’m saying is that the Senate priorities, particularly on higher education, have to be considered and affirmed and respected. The hospital funding is something that we can discuss with the governor, discuss with the House, on moving forward.”
Earlier in the day, Corcoran had dismissed the hospital funding issue as something that fell outside of the guidelines for the special session. And he suggested that overriding the higher-education vetoes would go against the House’s small-government philosophy.
“If you believe in less government and less spending, then you don’t override on more spending and more pork,” he said.
The posturing took place even as the chambers seemed to move closer on education funding, one of the key issues in the special session. Scott vetoed the state’s main formula for public school spending last week, saying it was inadequate; lawmakers are trying to pass legislation to shovel at least $215 million of additional money into education.
The Senate on Thursday batted away efforts to gut a controversial, wide-ranging education bill approved by lawmakers during the regular session. Democrats and some Republicans wanted to take funding away from that measure, HB 7069, and redirect it to the education formula.
Several senators disagreed with the bill at the time it was passed, but relented to reach a final budget deal with the House. The bill was a top priority of Corcoran.
Again on Thursday, supporters of keeping the legislation intact said that to undo it might cause the special session to fall apart.
“If we try to get too cute, then we may blow the whole thing up, and then we have come up here for naught,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, “And I think that would be very unfortunate.”
Scott hasn’t signed HB 7069 yet. Those pushing to keep the legislation as is said lawmakers could come back in the future and fix it.
But Sen. Gary Farmer, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat who urged changes to HB 7069, said there were no guarantees.
“Let’s not wait for that fix next year that will never come,” Farmer said. “That’s a unicorn, folks. It doesn’t exist. It’s not happening next year, and it may never happen.”
The Senate voted twice, by a 22-15 margin each time, to reject Farmer’s amendments. Other attempts to tweak the funding deal were defeated or pulled from the floor before votes.
The current version of the budget bill (SB 2500-A) moves the Senate closer to the House’s position. It would not draw on increased property tax revenues, a non-starter for the House.
But the Senate would still take a two-step approach to funding schools, by overriding Scott’s veto of the funding formula and approving additional spending in a separate bill.
House leaders all but ruled out that approach. Corcoran said the Senate’s approach “doesn’t make any sense,” and the House education budget chairman also rejected it.
“Our bill is pretty straightforward. … I don’t think we need to complicate it any further,” said Rep. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah.
Talking to reporters earlier Thursday, though, Latvala seemed just as unwilling to yield.
“It’s the same amount of money. … All they have to do is override the veto and vote on our bill and you have half of what we came here to do, done,” he said.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Burglars Hit Jay Elementary, Several Alabama Schools
June 9, 2017
Authorities are searching for two suspects that broke into Jay Elementary School Thursday morning and may be responsible for additional school burglaries in Alabama.
About 6:55 a.m. Thursday, two individuals broke into the Jay Elementary School on Alabama Avenue. During the burglary, money and computers were stolen.
The suspects area white male and white female. They were last seen driving a late 1990’s white Cadillac with a trailer hitch and a sunroof.
The pair is also believed to be responsible for school burglaries in Brewton, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores.
About 5 a.m. on June 6, a white male and white female forcefully entered T.R. Miller High School in Brewton and Brewton Elementary School. Similar burglaries were reported at Orange Beach Elementary School and Gulf Shores High School.
If anyone has information related to this crime or the identity of these individuals, Contact the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 983- 1100 or the Santa Rosa County Crime Stoppers at (850) 437- STOP. Santa Rosa County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $3000 for information leading to the arrest of these individuals. Callers can emain anonymous.
Images for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Below are additional photos from Alabama schools:
Inmate Executed At Atmore’s Holman Prison
June 9, 2017
Thursday night at 9:54, the State of Alabama carried out the execution of Robert Bryant Melson, 46, by lethal injection at the William C. Correctional Facility in Atmore. Melson did not give a last statement and was pronounced dead at 10:27 p.m.
Melson was sentenced to death for the 1994 capital murder of 17-year-old Nathaniel Baker, 18-year old Tamika Collins, and 23-year-old Darrell Collier during an armed robbery of a restaurant in Etowah County.
At a press conference following the execution, Commissioner Jeff Dunn read a prepared statement from the Collins family.
“We are grateful to God for sustaining us to endure these years of suffering, heartaches, and missing our loved one, but we survived by hard work, prayer and togetherness,” the Collins family wrote in the statement.
Dunn said the execution was carried out according to protocol without complication.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
June 9, 2017
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending June 1 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
While on water patrol, Officer Cushing conducted a fisheries inspection on a recreational fishing vessel entering Bayou Chico. A large red drum was protruding from a cooler, and he confirmed who caught the fish and that they had knowledge of the regulations. The red drum measured 35 inches and a citation was issued for the violation. Another individual was issued a warning for an undersized red snapper.
While on vessel patrol aboard the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Vigilance, Officers Cushing, Land, Nelson and Rockwell conduced an inspection of a commercial shrimping vessel in the Pensacola Bay area. During an inspection of the vessel’s Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), it was revealed that one of the nets being fished had a TED that had the netting around it sewed in a manner that would not allow a turtle to pass through the TED and out of the net as intended. The appropriate action was taken in regards to the violation and the TED was fixed by the shrimping vessel’s crew prior to departure of the officers.
While on vessel patrol in Big Lagoon State Park, Officers Clark and Long approached a vessel after noticing the operator throw a cigarette into the water. They initiated a vessel stop and while talking with the operator, he showed signs of impairment. Officer Clark conducted field sobriety tasks and determined the operator was impaired. The operator was taken into custody and transported to the Escambia County Jail where he refused to provide a breath sample. The operator was booked into Escambia County Jail and cited for BUI and refusal to submit a breath test. He was also issued a warning for littering.
Lieutenant Hahr was working in the Perdido River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) at Fillingim Landing and saw several subjects drinking beer. Two of the men smoked a cannabis cigarette and placed it in a backpack. As they were leaving, Lieutenant Lambert stopped them in the parking lot. The officers located three cannabis cigarettes and issued the two men a notice to appear for possession of not more than 20 grams of cannabis.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officers Clark, Hutchinson and Long were in Blackwater State Forest checking fisheries and alcohol violations when they approached two individuals on a sand bar. One male was fishing and could not produce a valid freshwater fishing license. They also saw open containers of alcohol. Officer Long found the subjects in possession of 8 grams of Methamphetamine, numerous pills, cash and paraphernalia. Both subjects were placed in custody and transported to the Santa Rosa County Jail. They were charged with a total of seven felonies, three misdemeanors and two infractions.
Officer Lewis was on patrol in Blackwater River State Forest at a primitive campsite when he saw an adult male, adult female and two children camping. The officer saw alcoholic beverages and glass containers within their campsite, and explained to them that those items were prohibited in the area. The children were sleeping in the tent, and the officer could smell a strong odor of cannabis emanating from the tent. The officer explained the odor to the adults. The adult female retrieved cannabis and paraphernalia items from the tent and stated that the items belonged to her. Officer Lewis seized the cannabis and paraphernalia from the female, and issued her a notice to appear for possession of cannabis not more than 20 grams, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The officer issued them both warnings for the alcoholic beverages and glass bottles.
Officers McHenry and Ramos were patrolling the Perdido River WMA and saw two Jeeps enter the WMA. Almost immediately after leaving the paved road, they began to fish-tail and drive in a careless manner. When they came across a large clearing used for horse trailers, each of the vehicles began cutting donuts in the sand, leaving large ruts and destroying the recreation area. The officers stopped both vehicles and citations were issued for the violations. One of the suspects did not have a valid driver’s license and received the corresponding criminal citation.
While on vessel patrol in Escambia Bay, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) notified Officer Ramos that they had received a distress call from a woman on board a sailboat. She stated that her husband, who was operating the vessel, was extremely intoxicated and she was fearful for her safety. The USCG reported that they heard the man make multiple threats to his wife while she was speaking. The USCG relayed identifying information of the vessel to Officer Ramos, enabling him to locate the vessel underway in open water approximately 20 minutes later. The USCG launched a cutter to assist Officer Ramos at the sailboat. Officer Ramos conducted a BUI investigation of the operator of the vessel. The vessel operator was highly uncooperative and subsequently taken into custody due to extreme signs of impairment. He was transported to a nearby boat ramp and taken to the Santa Rosa County Jail where he was booked for BUI.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Library Brings Taiko Drums To Reading Program (With Gallery, Video)
June 9, 2017
Kids taking part in the Summer Reading program Thursday afternoon at the Molino Branch Library had the chance to be a little bit loud while learning a Japanese culture.
They were able to get hands on and learn about the exciting Exercise the power of annexation traditional Japanese performing art of Taiko drumming and see big Taiko drums. (See video below.)
Ron Collins will bring his Tampa Taiko program to three more libraries:
- Friday, June 9, 7 p.m. – Pensacola Library
- Saturday, June 10, 10:30 a.m. – Century Branch Library
- Saturday, June 10, 2 p.m. – Tryon Branch Library
For a photo gallery, click here.
Mystery Photos Found At Century Town Hall: LuAnn Has Been Found
June 9, 2017
UPDATE: The young lady in the photographs has been located, and the photos have been returned.
Do you recognize this young lady?
These photos fell out of a recycle file folder at Century Town Hall, and town officials would like to return them to family. According to the photo backs, the two pictures on the left were taken September 4, 1980, at a birthday party for “LuAnn”. The photo on the right was take in October 1981 and is “LuAnn & her birthday present”.
If you know who LuAnn is and how to contact her or her family, call the Century Town Hall at (850) 256-3208.
Photos provided by Town of Century for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
