Community Archive

Ninety-five percent of people who have Sudden Cardiac Arrest will die from it, and most die within minutes, according to the National Institutes of Health.  SCA is a condition in which the heart unexpectedly and suddenly stops beating.  Each minute of SCA leads to a 10 percent reduction in survival rates.

Commissioners want residents of Santa Rosa County to see tangible results from the gas tax that was implemented Jan. 1.  For fiscal year 2015-2016, revenues from the additional tax are expected to be $2.8 million, growing in fiscal year 2016-2017 to $3.5 million.

In June the busy Gulf Breeze intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and Northcliffe Drive will become a crossroads for customers of the third restaurant to open nearby since August and the fourth since 2012.

The right to vote, one of the most important features of American history and culture, has been a revered and even coveted privilege amongst the American people. The action of a cast ballot has helped to create and shape the United States of America since its inception. Hand-in-hand with our other constitutional rights, the right to vote has helped assure freedom to America and its citizens. However, this right, like so many others, only goes as far as the people are willing to exercise it.

Start sharing again.

That’s the message of Gulf Breeze city officials to Santa Rosa County, which has stopped distributing a portion of tourist taxes that had reached nearly $150,000 annually.

The Pullum Family YMCA After School Care program has partnered with the National Inclusion Project for the third-consecutive year to create an inclusive environment where children with and without disabilities can play, learn and laugh together.

Justin Deese, owner of Rooter Man in Navarre, has been selected as the new Holley-Navarre Fire District commissioner for Seat 4.  Deese will serve out the remainder of the term William Painter vacated in October.  The seat will be added to the ballot in the general election in November.

Many changes have taken place in Navarre during the last decade; the number of households has doubled, the population has soared, and schools are bursting at the seams. New home construction rates are up and two new apartment complexes are set to join the market in 2016. One of those communities, The Sound at Navarre Beach located on U.S. Highway 98, will add more than 300 units to Holley-Navarre Fire Department’s district. The other, The Reserve, will add 148 units to Midway Fire Department’s district. The growth of the area, it seems, is outpacing the infrastructure or any planned improvements.  But traffic patterns and utilities aren’t the only concern. One of the most-depended upon services is fire protection.  The growth of Navarre and Midway are forcing at least one of the departments to take a look at how the needs of the population are increasing and how they can continue to meet them.

United Way of Escambia County is offering free online or in-person tax filing options for those with a household income of $62,000 or less in Escambia or Santa Rosa counties. Last year, the impact of United Way’s tax programs exceeded $5.1 million.

Santa Rosa County education leaders may soon be calculating the distance between Navarre and Vancouver, British Columbia.