Escambia Elections Boss Warns Of Misleading Information
August 11, 2024
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert D. Bender is warning voters that text messages and social media posts are spreading false information about ballots.
His office said the messages have raised concerns from voters and election workers.
According to the supervisor of elections office:
- We do not have a position called Poll Manager.
- We do not have “pass/fail” training.
- Election workers are instructed not to write on ballots.
- Ballots are not “disqualified.”
- If there are any stray or “unreadable” marks on the ballot that will affect tabulation, the DS300 (vote tabulator machine) is programmed to alert the voter, and the voter can get a new ballot.
“There is a small ‘official use’ box on the top right of the ballot that is only used for voters who are voting a provisional or vote-by-mail ballot,” Bender said. “This is to ensure proper handling of the ballot”
For more information or concerns, call the SOE office at (850) 595-3900.
NorthEscambia.com graphic, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Win 7-1 Over Braves
August 11, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos secured a series win in their six-game set with the Mississippi Braves on Saturday night, cruising to a 7-1 victory.
Robby Snelling (W, 1-0), acquired two weeks ago by the Marlins in a deadline trade with the San Diego Padres organization, led a combined two-hitter to earn his first win with the Blue Wahoos. The 20-year-old lefty struck out seven batters over 5.0 scoreless, one-hit innings while needing only 62 pitches.
Jared Serna, another recent trade acquisition from the New York Yankees organization, continued his torrid pace at the plate. The Blue Wahoos shortstop went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI, giving him a 10-game hitting streak to start his career in Pensacola. Through his first 10 games with the Blue Wahoos, Serna is batting .452 with nine doubles and 11 RBI.
The Blue Wahoos jumped ahead right away in the first inning against Braves starter Ian Mejia (L, 7-5), turning a Serna walk into the game’s first run with an RBI double from Nathan Martorella.
The game opened up in a five-run fourth inning, as the Blue Wahoos got an RBI single from Shane Sasaki and a bad-bounce fielding error off the bat of Jakob Marsee before Serna capped the frame with a two-run double.
Handed a 6-0 lead, Snelling cruised through 5.0 innings to qualify for his first Blue Wahoos win. Adam Laskey, Justin King and Nigel Belgrave contributed effective relief to lock down the win.
The Blue Wahoos gained ground on the first-place Biloxi Shuckers, who fell 1-0 to the Biscuits in Montgomery and are now just 1.0 game ahead of Pensacola in the South Division with 31 games remaining in the regular season.
The series in Mississippi wraps up on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Trustmark Park is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CT.
Early Voting Begins Underway At 10 Escambia County Locations
August 10, 2024
Early voting begins today and continues for the next week in Escambia County at 10 locatons
Early voting will continue daily through Saturday, August 17 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at:
- Molino Community Center, 6450 Highway 95A North, Molino
- Billy G. Ward Courthouse, 7500 N. Century Blvd, Century
- Escambia County Extension Services, 3740 Stefani Road, Cantonment
- UWF Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Building 82, 11000 University Parkway, Room 235, Pensacola
- Bellview Library, 6425 Mobile Highway, Pensacola
- Asbury Place at Cokesbury, 750 College Blvd, Pensacola
- Main Library, 239 N. Spring Street, Pensacola
- Supervisor of Elections Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor, Pensacola
- Southwest Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway, Pensacola
- Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. DeSoto Street, Pensacola
Voters may choose any one of the ten locations, each of which is also equipped with a ballot marking device.
If voters have requested a Vote-by-Mail ballot, they must be received in the Elections Office no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day and may not be returned to a polling location on Election Day. Voters may drop-off a vote-by-mail ballot during early voting hours at any of the ten area locations. The USPS recommends voters mail ballots at least one week before the due date. Vote-by-mail participants may track the status of their ballot at EscambiaVotes.gov.
The third option for voters is to cast a ballot at their precinct on Election Day, Tuesday, August 20. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
In Florida’s closed partisan primary elections, you are only eligible to vote in primary contests for the party in which you are registered.
A Universal Primary contest occurs when all candidates for an office have the same party affiliation. These contests appear on every voter’s ballot. Voters in ECUA District 1 (Republican) and ECUA District 3 (Democratic) will have these contests on their ballot regardless of party affiliation.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Dad Of Parkland School Shooting Victim Shares Safety Message With Escambia Schools
August 10, 2024
School safety advocate Max Schachter visited Escambia County Friday and shared the story of losing his son in the Parkland school shooting.
Schachter’s 14-year old son Alex was one o the first victims of the February 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami metropolitan area city of Parkland. The shooting killed 17 people and injured 17 others.
He told of his grief and anger, and his subsequent mission to seek accountability and reform for school safety in Florida and nationwide.
“When I sent Alex off to school, I had no idea that he was going to school with a violent, violent individual,”Schachter said. “Parents want to know, they have a right to know what’s happening when they drop their child off at school.”
“You have to prioritize school safety over education, because you can’t teach dead kids,” he said. “This is the most important issue facing schools around the country is school safety.”
District staff, administrators, and campus security officers sat mesmerized as Max told his story and took questions along the way.
While there is still work to do, we are proud of what we’ve accomplished in Escambia County, and could not do it without valuable partnerships with the Escambia County Sherriff’s Office and the Pensacola Police Department,” the district said in a statement. “We’d also like to thank our students and their families for their patience and understanding as we’ve tightened security measures over the past few years. We like convenience and absolutely must have secure campuses, and sometimes the two are at odds. We’ll take safety over convenience every time”
ECAT Awarded $21 Million Grant For Electric Bus, Charging Station Project
August 10, 2024
Escambia County Area Transit was recently awarded a $21 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration for 21 electric bus, charging stations, and workforce training focused on boosting transportation reliability and improving air quality.
The grant will bring nine 35-foot electric buses and four electric cutaways to ECAT to replace existing diesel-fueled 2006 and 2007-model buses.
ECAT said expanding the fleet to include all-electric transit vehicles will help provide safer and more reliable operations, lower energy and maintenance costs, and reduced dependence on fossil fuels. Through the grant, ECAT employees will also receive workforce training to accurately and efficiently operate, charge, and repair electric buses. The new buses are expected to join ECAT’s fleet by 2026.
“I’m thrilled to introduce electric buses to ECAT’s fleet and enter a new phase of public transportation for Escambia County,” Mass Transit Director Rodriques Kimbrough said. “Receiving this grant reflects ECAT’s commitment to transportation excellence in our community. I’m very proud of our staff for their diligent efforts to secure the grant and keep ECAT moving forward.”
Going Shopping? Here Are The 2024 Escambia County School Supply Lists
August 10, 2024
The Escambia County Public School on Friday released this year’s school supply list for elementary schools in the county.
Middle and high school students are typically informed of needed supplies during the first week of school or at orientations. However, we have middle school lists for Ernest Ward and Ransom below.
A master supply list for all Escambia County Public School elementary schools is below. Also below, there is separate list for Byrneville Elementary School, which is a charter school and has different items listed.
For any specific questions about your school’s supply lists, contact the school. It’s also a good idea to check the school’s website and/or their social media pages for any deviations from the master list.
- For printable supply list pdf for Escambia County Elementary Schools, click here.
- For a printable supply list pdf for Byrneville Elementary School, click here.
- For a printable supply list pdf for Ernest Ward Middle School, click here.
- For a printable supply list pdf for Ransom Middle School, click here.
Photos: Tate Aggies Crimson And Gray
August 10, 2024
The Tate Aggies held their annual Crimson and Gray Game and Fish Fry Friday night in Pete Gindl Stadium.
It’s good food, good friends and good football with inter-squad scrimmages
The football portion of the evening ended quickly due to a thunderstorm with nearby lightning.
Next Friday night, Tate will host a Jamboree game against Pine Forest at 7 p.m.
For a photo gallery, click or tap here.
NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photo Gallery: Northview’s Meet The Chiefs (And The Blackcats, And Eagles)
August 10, 2024
Northview High School held “Meet the Chiefs” before a large crowd on a steamy Friday evening.
Fans were introduced to the Northview Chiefs football team, cheerleaders and Tribal Beat band. The football teams and cheerleaders from the Northwest Escambia Chiefs and Century Blackcats were also introduced, as were the cheerleaders and football players for the Ernest Ward Middle School Eagles.
The event came to a quick end thanks for a heavy downpour.
For a photo gallery, click or tap here.
Next Friday night, the Northview Chiefs and Ernest Ward will travel to Backer for a Jamboree that begins at 5:30 p.m. Ernest Ward is scheduled to play Baker Middle School at 6 p.m. Northview JV will face Baker JV at 6:30 p.m. The Northview varsity will play Pleasant Home varsity at 7:30 p.m., and Northview varsity to play the Baker varsity at 8 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Miller Masterful in 2-1 Wahoos Win Over M-Braves
August 10, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos continued a successful road trip on Friday night, putting together a dominant pitching performance in a 2-1 win over the Mississippi Braves.
Jacob Miller (W, 1-0) earned his first Double-A win a day before his 21st birthday, scattering two singles over 5.0 scoreless innings to lead the Pensacola pitching effort. The Blue Wahoos improved to 7-2 on their longest road trip of the year and, at 59-45 overall, are a season-high 14 games above the .500 mark.
Drue Hackenberg (L, 1-2), who delivered a 16-strikeout masterpiece at Blue Wahoos Stadium in July, was nearly as good in his encore performance but fell victim to poor run support. The Blue Wahoos jumped ahead 1-0 in the first, turning a Jakob Marsee walk and stolen base into a run on an RBI single from Graham Pauley, and held the lead the rest of the night.
The Blue Wahoos added another run in the seventh on a Jacob Berry sacrifice fly, and that insurance proved vital as Mississippi’s David McCabe hit a solo homer off Anderson Pilar in the bottom of the inning to cut the Pensacola lead to 2-1.
Matt Pushard contributed a scoreless eighth before Dale Stanavich (S, 2) locked down the win with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Blue Wahoos kept pace with the first-place Biloxi Shuckers, who beat the Biscuits 11-1 in Montgomery and remain 2.0 games ahead of Pensacola in the South Division with 32 games remaining in the regular season.
The series in Mississippi continues on Saturday. First pitch from Trustmark Park is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT,
Book Bag Giveaway Saturday Morning In Cantonment
August 9, 2024
The Cantonment Improvement Committee will host a book bag giveaway this Saturday.
The event will begin at 10 a.m. and continue while supplies last.
Book bags will be given to children only, not adults.
Carver Park is located at 208 Webb Street in Cantonment.