Jay Native Earns Navy Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist Qualification Aboard USS Russell
April 7, 2024
Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Shook, a native of Jay and 2016 Central High School graduate, recently earned the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification while serving aboard USS Russell.
Shook joined the Navy four years ago. Today Shook serves as an information systems technician.
According to Navy officials, the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification signifies that a sailor has achieved the highest level of expertise in surface ships and in surface warfare.
“Being recognized for my knowledge of my craft is an honor and a great professional achievement for me,” said Shook.
Russell is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer named for Rear Admiral John Henry Russell Sr. and his son, John Henry Russell Jr. John Henry Russell Sr. served during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War and John Henry Russell Jr. was the 16th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers provide a wide range of warfighting capabilities in multi-threat air, surface and subsurface environments.
A Navy destroyer is a multi-mission ship that can operate independently or as part of a larger group of ships at sea. The ship is equipped with tomahawk missiles, torpedoes, guns and a phalanx close-in weapons system.
More than 300 sailors serve aboard USS Russell. Their jobs are highly specialized, requiring both dedication and skill. The jobs range from maintaining engines to handling weaponry along with a multitude of other assignments that keep the ship mission-ready at all times, according to Navy officials.
Photo: U.S. Navy for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cancer Sucks: Tate’s Strike Out Cancer Games Surpass $200,000 For The Fight Against Cancer
April 6, 2024
The first year, they raised $2,550 and didn’t know if they would ever beat that mark.
Friday night, the Tate Aggies surpassed the $200,000 mark over the years at the 14th annual Tate Aggie Softball Strike Out Cancer game. It all benefits the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
“You guys are amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Tate head coach Melinda Wyatt told a large crowd before the game.
Last year, the game raised $27,755 for the fight against cancer. Friday night’s total had passed $24,000 as donations continued.
“I thought of three things that could probably sum it all up. We hate cancer. Cancer sucks. We need your money.”
For a Strike Out Cancer photo gallery, click here.
For a game action photo gallery, click here.
“That you to the Tate community,” Escambia Schools Superintendent Keith Leonard said before throwing the ceremonial first pitch. “I want you to know that we hate cancer, cancer sucks, but we love you.”
Survivors and current cancer patients and their families lined up on the field to tell their stories.
“My husband is struggling right now with cholangiocarcinoma bile duct cancer; please say a prayer for my husband,” the first speaker said tearfully.
“I’m Shannon Thompson And I just went through breast cancer and in remission and blessed to be here today.”
“I’m Evan Morgan and I’ve had breast cancer, two, lung, cancers and you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine,” the 1968 Escambia High School graduate reassured the others.
“My name is Natalee Hoffman,” the nine-year-old said as she stood tall in the pitcher’s circle holding a single carnation. “I have kidney cancer. Thank you all very much.”
During the game, the Lady Jaguars defeated the Lady Aggies 7-0.
For a game action photo gallery, click here.
Sydney Scapin earned the win for the Jags, giving up no hits and no runs in seven innings, striking out 17 and walking three. For Tate, Peyton Womack took the loss, surrendering five runs and six hits, striking out four and walking two over four innings. J. Smith closed in the circle for Tate, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out four and walking one.
Brea Holley and Abagayle Cogdill had three hits each for West Florida. Scapin, Holey, Cogdill and Macey Vegas each drove in runs.
Northview Chiefs Wallop Escambia Gators 16-1 In Four Friday Innings
April 6, 2024
The Northview Lady Chiefs walloped the Escambia Lady Gators 16-1 in a run-ruled shortened four innings Friday evening in Bratt.
The Chiefs scored 13 runs in in the third inning to secure the big win. Riley Brooks tripped to score three of those runs, two were on an Avery Stucky double, and three were scored on walks.
The Gator led at the end of one, and the Chiefs tied it up in the second when Mikayla McAnally scored.
Stucky started in the circle, giving up just one hit and one run in two innings, walking two and striking out three. Daviona Randolph threw two innings of scoreless ball in relief for the Chiefs, surrendering two hits while striking out three and walking two.
Stuckey and Chloe Ragsdale had two hits each for Northview. Stuckey and Brooks drove in three runs each for NHS.
The sure-handed Chiefs had no errors.
Up next, Northview will be at Choctaw at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
13th Suspect Arrested For Trying To Lure Minors For Sex In Escambia County
April 6, 2024
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden, the Escambia and Santa Rosa county sheriff’s offices, Pensacola and Fort Walton Beach police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and U.S. Marshals Service participated in the operation that was announced in March.
Friday, FDLE announced the arrest of David Gibbs, 36.
During the multiday operation, FDLE said Gibbs communicated with an undercover investigator who posed as a parent of an 11-year-old female child. During the communication, Gibbs transmitted child sexual abuse material to the undercover investigator, and asked sexually explicit questions about the child, agents said. Through further investigative methods, Gibb’s location was identified, and a search warrant was executed on April 3
Those previously arrested were:
- Darryl Lamont Hart, 57, Pensacola, arrested Feb. 23
- Clayton Patrick Costello, 37, Hoover, Alabama, arrested Feb. 24
- Randy Edgar Powell, 52, Pensacola, arrested Feb. 24
- Telvan Latrell Williams, 28, Mobile, Alabama, arrested Feb. 24
- Kriss Lashawn Gilmore, 31, Foley, Alabama, arrested Feb. 24
- Alex Michael Durlock, 24, Fort Walton Beach, arrested Feb. 25
- Jordan Christopher Belton, 28, Pensacola, arrested Feb. 25
- Raphael Rochelle Brooks, 39, Robertsdale, Alabama, arrested Feb. 25
- William John Nordstrom, 64, Pensacola, arrested Feb. 25
- Eric Wintin Long, 33, Montgomery, Alabama, arrested Feb. 26
- Patrick Jay Dehnel, 33, Slidell, Louisiana, arrested Feb. 28
- Jamaine Antonia Johnson, 32, Pensacola, arrested March 4
All were booked into the Escambia County Jail.
“These suspects asked for lewd photos and communicated in graphic sexual terms. Luckily our FDLE agents and analysts, along with our partners, found them before they found our children. And while this operation is finished, we are not. The work of these investigators continues because we know there are more predators out there just waiting for the opportunity to hurt a child,” FDLE Pensacola Special Agent in Charge Chris Williams said.
“The “Kessel Run” joint operation is an example of law enforcement partnerships, enabling the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) to leverage combined expertise and effort, to target online sexual predators who attempt to prey on our communities. NCIS thanks the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, federal and state agencies, and local partners for the continued collaboration on impactful joint internet operations to protect the communities where our warfighters and their families reside,” said NCIS Supervisory Special Agent Myles Roy.
“Working together, the FBI and our local law enforcement partners have prevented these predators from victimizing the most innocent and vulnerable members of our community,” said FBI Jacksonville’s Acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Dargis. “Let these arrests be a warning to others – law enforcement will not tolerate the exploitation of children, and we will be relentless in our efforts to identify and locate predators who seek to abuse them.”
“These predators preyed on the innocence of children by knowingly engaging in lewd and lascivious online conduct, only to take it a step further and agreeing to meet in person and turn those conversations into action,” said Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “Operation Kessel Run was a successful joint investigation, but there is still more work that must be done. HSI, alongside our law enforcement partners, will never rest in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting predators who seek to use children for their perverse behaviors and make them lifelong victims.”
Blue Wahoos Open Season With 8-6 Win Over M-Braves
April 6, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
In a perfect match to the setting, Tanner Allen dazzled on opening night for the Blue Wahoos.
Allen, a former Mobile prep star who became an All-American in 2021 while helping Mississippi State win the College World Series, went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs as the Blue Wahoos outslugged the Mississippi Braves 8-6 Friday before an overflow, sellout crowd of 5,000-plus at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“It is a true blessing. It was an unbelievable night,” said Allen, who joined the Blue Wahoos in mid-August last year. “I mean, Pensacola showed out tonight. We had a packed house. Fans brought the energy and we kinda fed off it the whole game.
It was a great game and really made me look forward to (Saturday),” said Allen, a fourth-round pick by the Miami Marlins in 2021. “Every time you come to the ballpark on opening day you have those opening day jitters and for me I almost can’t even sit still. So, I was doing stuff all day to try and keep my mind occupied.
“I don’t care if you’re playing in front of a hundred thousand or five people, your knees are going to be shaking and for me, when you see that first pitch go by, it’s like, hey it’s the same game I’ve played my entire life. It’s time to go.”
The game began Friday, backlit by a postcard-perfect, blue sky, the shimmering beauty of Pensacola Bay and a buzz throughout the stadium with fans even covering the outfield berm in right center.
After the M-Braves scored in the first inning, Blue Wahoos starter Evan Fitterer then pitched out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs. He struck out the next two batters and got an infield grounder to end the inning.
That proved pivotal.
The Blue Wahoos’ Jacob Berry, the Marlins top draft pick in 2022, blasted a shot over that right-center berm and out of the ballpark to tie the game.
The M-Braves then took a 3-1 lead in the second. But Allen changed that with his two-run double that followed Cody Morrisette’s RBI single.
It was also big game for Morissette, who had three hits, including a solo homer in fourth inning to put the Blue Wahoos ahead 4-3. The second baseman also helped turned a pair of double plays that thwarted M-Braves’ scoring chances.
There were 12 runs scored and 20 hits after the first five innings with the Blue Wahoos taking a 7-5 lead. Allen’s two-run single was part of that. The teams finishes with 24 hits combined (13 for the Blue Wahoos). Each team also used five pitchers apiece.
The Blue Wahoos bullpen that followed Fitterer was outstanding. Angel Macuare, Chandler Jozwiak, Zach McCambley and closer Austin Roberts combined to throw 4.2 innings, give up just three hits, one run and struck out eight batters.
With a sizeable portion of the crowd on its feet, Roberts threw a perfect changeup to strike out Justin Dean with the tying run on base to end the game and bring a roar from the stadium.
“It may have been the best crowd I have ever played in front of as a professional,” said Allen, who played high school baseball in Mobile at UMS-Wright School.
GAME NOTABLES.
This was the first game, too, with a new start time (6:05 p.m.) for all night games this season. Seven new food items at the storefronts.
It was also the first game in team history with fans going through security metal detectors at all three entrances to Blue Wahoos Stadium. This is something that Major League Baseball has in all 30 stadiums nationwide and has urged its minor league affiliates to follow suit.
On a Giveaway Friday, the first 1,000 fans receiving a blue denim, adjustable baseball hat, sponsored by LandrumHR. The company also filled the Winn-Dixie party deck with a group of 300 in right field.
Fans were treated to a Navy jet flyover that occurred seconds after the National Anthem.
Three fighter jets, VT-86 Saberhawks from Naval Air Station-Pensacola roared over the stadium. The jets began their journey with a turn 12 miles off the coast of Pensacola and reached the stadium in 90 seconds.
ON DECK
WHAT: Blue Wahoos Season-Opening Weekend
WHO: Mississippi Braves vs. Blue Wahoos.
WHEN: Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Tate Boys Tennis Defeats Navarre
April 6, 2024
The Tate Aggies tennis boys defeated Navarre 7-0 this week. With the win, the Aggies improved to 10-1 on the season. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Sentenced To Prison For DUI Pedestrian Hit And Run
April 5, 2024
A Cantonment man has been sentenced to state prison for a hit and run crash involving a pedestrian in Pensacola on March 23, 2023.
Sean James Young was adjudicated under a plea deal of failure to remain at a crash with severe bodily injury and DUI with serious bodily injury.
Judge John Simon sentenced him to 36 months in state prison followed by five years probation, and he was immediately remanded into custody following Monday’s hearing.
Young was involved in a hit and run pedestrian crash at East Garden Street and North Jefferson Street that left the victim with serious pelvic injuries, according to Pensacola Police. Young refused to submit to a breath alcohol test, but officers noted a strong smell on alcohol of his breath and obvious impairment.
Forecasters Predict Extremely Active Hurricane Season
April 5, 2024
Colorado State University hurricane researchers are predicting an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season in their initial 2024 forecast. The team cites record warm tropical and eastern subtropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures as a primary factor for their prediction of 11 hurricanes this year.
The report also includes the probability of major hurricanes making landfall: 42% for the Gulf Coast from the Florida panhandle westward to Brownsville (average from 1880–2020 is 27%).
When waters in the eastern and central tropical and subtropical Atlantic are much warmer than normal in the spring, it tends to force a weaker subtropical high and associated weaker winds blowing across the tropical Atlantic. These conditions will likely lead to a continuation of well above-average water temperatures in the tropical Atlantic for the peak of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. A very warm Atlantic favors an above-average season, since a hurricane’s fuel source is warm ocean water. In addition, a warm Atlantic leads to lower atmospheric pressure and a more unstable atmosphere. Both conditions favor hurricanes.
While the tropical Pacific is currently characterized by El Niño conditions, these are likely to transition to La Niña conditions by the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season from August to October. La Niña tends to decrease upper-level westerly winds across the Caribbean into the tropical Atlantic. These decreased upper-level winds result in reduced vertical wind shear, favoring Atlantic hurricane formation and intensification.
Given the combined hurricane-favorable signals of an extremely warm Atlantic and a likely developing La Niña, the forecast team has higher-than-normal confidence for an April outlook that the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season will be very active. This is the highest prediction for hurricanes that CSU has ever issued with their April outlook.
The CSU Tropical Weather and Climate team is predicting 23 named storms during the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Of those, researchers forecast 11 become hurricanes and five to reach major hurricane strength (Saffir/Simpson Category 3-4-5) with sustained winds of 111 miles per hour or greater.
The CSU Tropical Weather and Climate Team is part of the Department of Atmospheric Science in the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering at CSU and is one of the top ranked Atmospheric Science programs in the world.
Northview Lady Chiefs Come From Behind To Beat The Jay Royals
April 5, 2024
The Northview Lady Chiefs battled back from a four-run deficit defeat the Jay Royals 6-4 Thursday night in Royal territory.
The Royals were first on the board with a 2 RBI Morgan Barrow homerun to right field. Jay increased their lead in the bottom of the third when Kaylee Gilbreath singled and Brooklyn Sorrells scored.
A Jamison Gilman double and a single rom Riley Brookes for Northview tied it up at 4-4 in the top of the seventh. With doubles in the top of the eighth from Avery Stukey and Mikayla McAnally, the Chies pulled head with a 6-4 lead.
Gilman led things off in the circle for the Lady Chiefs, giving up five hits and four runs in four and one-third innings while striking out one and walking three. McAnally went three and two-third innings in relief, surrendering one hit, walking one and striking out three.
Layna Lowery opened for Jay, giving up four hits and one run in six innings, walking one and striking out three. C Carroll finished, surrendering six hits and four runs while striking out one and walking none in two innings.
The Northview Chiefs will host the Escambia Gators Friday at 5:30 p.m. while Jay will host T.R. Miller on April 9.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Updated Dates: Free Community Emergency Response Team Training To Be Held In Century
April 5, 2024
UPDATE: BRACE has updated training dates to April 8, 11, 15 and 18 — moving a previously scheduled April 9 training to April 8 and an April 16 training to April 15. The change was due to a scheduling conflict.
BRACE –the Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies in Escambia County — will hold Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training beginning next week in Century for North Escambia residents.
CERT is a training program that prepares Floridians to help their families and neighbors in the event of a disaster in their community. Through CERT, citizens can learn about disaster preparedness and receive training in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, and disaster medical operations.
With this training, Florida volunteers can provide critical support in their local communities by giving immediate assistance to victims before emergency first responders arrive on scene. CERT volunteers also support the community year-round by participating in community preparedness outreach activities and distributing materials on disaster preparedness and education.
“It teaches you how to be prepared for yourself, your family and for your neighbors until help arrives in emergency situations,” BRACE CEO Dr. Nick Jackson said. “CERT volunteers meet the need before first responders arrive and are committed to ensuring that their community needs are met. They are also a voice for their community with the county to ensure the needs of their areas are met and the resources are sent into the communities where the need is the greatest.”
For instance, Jackson said CERT volunteers could respond to a natural disaster such as the EF-3 tornado that struck Century with winds up to 152 mph on February 15, 2016.
CERT classes are free and open to the public at the Century Community Center (also known as the “Ag Building” at West Highway 4 and Industrial Boulevard from 6-9 p.m. on April 8, 11, 15 and 18. Hands-on instruction will be at the same location on April 20 from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. All classes must be attended to receive certification.
To register, visit Eventbrite by clicking here. For more information, contact Elizabeth Voytko at (850) 739-3978 or email trainingcoord@bereadyalliance.org.
Pictured top: Century Town Council member Sandra Jackson underwent CERT training in 2011. NorthEscambia.com file photo.