Community Archive

Rachel Clearman has had music in her heart since she was 7 years old. That’s when she began playing piano.

Fast forward 14 years and Clearman is now in Nashville, pursuing her dream of becoming a recording artist.

Not a seat was empty, or a ticket unsold for the presentation of “The Sound of Music” by Gulf Pointe Latin School Thespian Society Feb. 27 and 28. The hardworking students ranging from 7th to 12th grade not only devote themselves to musical theatre, but all of them are plugged into many other sports and extracurricular activities.

The University of West Florida is known for its trails as well as its academics.

Much of the trails traverse through longleaf pine forests. The plant, which once spread over 90 million acres across America, is famously fire-resistant and relies on fires to clear out dead underbrush to make room for its seedlings.

Over the past several years, Oriole Beach Elementary School has hosted an event named ‘White Cane Day’ to recognize a blind student enrolled at the school and bring awareness of blindness and other conditions to fellow students.

The annual event has been a big success, with students and teachers participating in a variety of activities to show what life would be like without the use of vision.

Recently, a string of bear depredations has raised concerns among some Navarre residents.

A depredation is the act of attacking or plundering in a destructive assault. The term is used when bears attack livestock, crops, beehives or other property.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there were 63 depredations in the agency’s West Panhandle Bear Management Unit in 2025, an increase from 29 reported in 2024 and 21 reported in 2023. Other statistics for the region indicate an increase in bear-human interactions, which could signal a growing bear population.

Emerald Coast Writers is launching the Emerald Coast Youth Poet Laureate program. Poets ages 13 to 19 may apply.

This opportunity is open to teens who reside in South Alabama and Northwest Florida, specifically Escambia (Florida and Alabama), Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Fort Walton, Bay, Baldwin and Mobile counties.

With an art career spanning 40 years, Dan Beck has built a name for himself.

Beck, an impressionist painter, has won numerous awards and recognitions for his artwork, which bridges traditional impressionism and contemporary art concepts.

Midway Fire District Station 37 hosted firefighters from multiple departments across south Santa Rosa County late last month.

Over three days, Midway, Holley-Navarre and Navarre Beach fire departments participated in high-intensity firefighter rescue training. The three districts are part of the South Santa Rosa Fire Alliance and work together for training and other events.

Every Valentine’s Day, while many families exchange cards and candy, 11-year-old Zeph Hay and his mom, Liz Knight, of Milton, return to the place where love once meant the fight to survive.

Their annual visit to Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola marks the anniversary of the day Zeph nearly died.

Most days, jumping off the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier isn’t a welcomed sight. Monday, Feb. 16, wasn’t one of those days.

The Navarre Beach Lifeguards hosted a lifeguard development course, which is meant to help foster water safety, rescue skills and beach safety knowledge in current lifeguards. The Emerald Coast Lifesaving Association, a nonprofit focused on lifeguard training in Northwest Florida, is the organization behind the event.