Community Archive

The Navarre Paddle Classic is back, bringing paddlers, spectators and outdoor enthusiasts together for a weekend of competition and community connection. The fifth annual event will return to Navarre Beach Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17. Start times for the event are 8:45 a.m. to 9 a.m. each day.

While most Santa Rosa County schools are focused on finishing the 2025-26 school year, Kasie Windfelder is already planning for the opening of Soundside High School in 2026-27.

Windfelder is the principal of Soundside High School, the new high school on the south end of Santa Rosa County. Located in Midway across from the Gulf Breeze Zoo, the school is nearing completion. Construction cost around $115 million.

On May 1, Windfelder gave Navarre Press reporter Hansen Hasenberg a tour of the new school.

Jan. 1, 2026, was anything but fun for Monica McBrien, who works for Santa Rosa County Tourism Development Office. While many were ringing in the new year with fireworks, she suffered a seizure.

After coming to, she couldn’t recognize her family’s faces. She knew something was wrong. Shortly after, an MRI unveiled a diagnosis no one wants to hear: “you have brain cancer.”

From May 1 through the end of October, sea turtles come onto Florida beaches to nest. Navarre Beach has seen its fair share of nests over the years.

At the highest point, the beach had nearly 20 nests in a season. In 2025, there were 18 nests found on Navarre Beach.

A few dozen people crowded into Arc Gateway’s South Santa Rosa Adult Day Center for the grand opening of a sensory room.

Arc Gateway serves adults with special needs across the Emerald Coast. The south Santa Rosa location was started nearly 8 years ago.

Each month, a support group for caregivers meets at Navarre Gardens. The common thread among those who attend: They care for a person with Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease, and 1 in 3 older adults die with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. The organization estimates there are more than 13 million unpaid caregivers of dementia patients in the United States.

The public is invited to learn the lifesaving skill of CPR at the Gulf Coast Press the Chest Community CPR Event on Sunday, May 17, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Pensacola Bay Center.

Fans dressed in black and yellow filled the streets of downtown Pensacola May 6 as Keyla Richardson made her way back through her hometown as American Idol film crews followed her. A top three finalist in the national singing competition, Richardson claimed she felt blessed and honored to be given this platform and to represent Pensacola on such a huge stage.

She appreciates the support she has been receiving from her hometown on this journey.

“Shoutout to the Keyhive. That means everybody that’s supporting me, that’s been loving on me, praying for me,” she said.

A wooded area separates Gulf Breeze Proper from the rest of the Fairpoint Peninsula.

The seemingly nondescript wooded area is Naval Live Oaks Reservation Area, which operates as the headquarters of Gulf Islands National Seashore. While it’s an enjoyable site for hiking and birdwatching, it also holds a special place in American history.

On Earth Day, held each year on April 22, Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center held a sea turtle release event at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Walton County.

Among the five turtles released was Crater, a 12-lb. juvenile green sea turtle. Crater was rescued off Navarre Beach Fishing Pier earlier this month after getting hooked in the mouth by someone who was fishing.