Community Archive

Nearly 90 years after Amelia Earhart disappeared while attempting to fly around the world, the mystery of what happened to the pioneering aviator continues to draw researchers to some of the most remote places on Earth.

For William Wilson, a University of West Florida maritime archaeologist and faculty research associate, the opportunity to investigate one of those places firsthand meant traveling thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean to search for evidence of Earhart’s missing aircraft.

Voters in the Holley-Navarre Fire District and Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District went to the polls in October and on Nov. 3 to decide who would serve on their respective fire commissions.

Soon to be the largest artificial reef in the world, the S.S. United States will be sunk Thursday, Nov. 12, approximately 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin.

The 990-foot ocean liner will now serve as home for numerous species of marine life, provide a premier diving destination and contribute to the local and regional fishery.

Veterans Day, which honors all former U.S. military service members, is held annually Nov. 11. This year, even amid hurricane debris cleanup efforts, Santa Rosa County will host several events for Veterans Day.

Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center recently celebrated the completion of a habitat expansion for one of its animal ambassadors.

Safari, a 130-pound African-spurred tortoise, lives in an outdoor habitat just outside the center’s entrance.

From old-school hot rods to the latest high-performance sports cars, the 26th annual Navarre Beach Car, Truck & Bike Show featured a plethora of vehicles for car enthusiasts. In all, 75 vehicles participated during the Oct. 31 event.

The event is organized by the Pirates on the Panhandle, a philanthropic social club based in Navarre. Since its founding in 2009, the organization has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and donated those funds to nonprofits and schools throughout Northwest Florida.

A new documentary is giving voice to veterans of the Vietnam era here in Northwest Florida.

“Their Vietnam: Voices of Azalea Trace” is an approximately 100-minute-long film highlighting the service of veterans currently residing at Azalea Trace, a retirement community near the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

The men at the center of the controversial killing of a Milton-area alligator in March have entered into a pretrial diversion (PTD) contract. If the men complete the court-ordered tasks, their charges could be dismissed.

Kevin Lacz, Richard Reder and Jason Griffin are accused of illegally removing an 8.5-foot alligator from a retention pond in Milton and bringing the live alligator to a residence, where it was killed with a power drill. Lacz had previously been a SNAP trapper.

As Santa Rosa County is past the two-week mark of Hurricane Isaias’ landfall, the county is now working on the months-long chore of cleanup, a task that local officials say could cost them at least $50 million combined.

That task involves clearing roads, both public and private, along with clearing debris from the Town of Jay, which was approved by the Board of County Commissioners Oct. 20.

(By Staff Sgt. Alexis Morris) Nearly two decades after the U.S. Air Force retired the airframe from combat, one F-117A Nighthawk had the rare opportunity to take to the skies once more: this time, in the cargo hold of a C-5M Super Galaxy. The historic stealth aircraft, bound for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, would soon join the institution’s permanent collection.