Community Archive

More than 60 volunteers with Navarre United Methodist Church came together Saturday, Sept. 5, to help make beds for children in need. The bed-making process, which included cutting, sanding and building frames, was in support of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit.

Some of North America’s top high-performance sailors will be in Pensacola later this month for the 2026 Viper 640 North American Championship.

Hosted by the Pensacola Yacht Club, the event will run from Sept. 30 through Oct. 4.

The championship is expected to draw 35 to 40 Viper 640s and sailors from across North America for five days of competition on Pensacola Bay.

As students settle back to school, one Northwest Florida program is helping children strengthen their reading and math skills with some unexpected study partners — horses.

At Life Horse at Grand Review Farm in north Santa Rosa County, founder Stacy Waterous leads the Horse Powered Reading program. Just as it sounds, the program uses activities with horses to help children practice reading and math skills.

For now, Navarre Beach will not host a New Year’s fireworks display.

The news came in the newsletter for the county’s Tourist Development Office (TDO).

Damaged metal signposts are getting a second life as underwater microhabitat for marine life in Northwest Florida.

The “reef-cycling” initiative is the result of a collaboration between Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. According to Escambia County, the two counties are incorporating the signposts into concrete artificial reef modules as part of a pilot project.

Five teenagers accepted the call to make disciples and share God’s Word with people in the community.

The teens were at the “Called Deeper” conference hosted by the West Florida District of the Assemblies of God last week at Lifepoint Church in Crestview. According to Ilyn Slattery, a youth adult leader at Holley Assembly of God, the event is designed to help students explore the call of God on their lives.

A school resource officer for eight years, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office Dep. Jared Psinas knows the importance of reaching children at an impressionable age.

He leads the LEAD program at East Bay K-8 and oversees its implementation at other schools in the county. An acronym for Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence, LEAD is a 10-week educational course designed to teach children about the dangers of drugs and how to deal with things like peer pressure.

The grant finalists for IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area’s annual meeting have been announced.

The philanthropic women’s organization has selected 20 nonprofit organizations for 2026. According to IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area, 13 of the 20 finalists will receive a grant of $101,000 during the annual meeting. The meeting will be held Oct. 11.

The teachers of the year from each school in Santa Rosa county have been announced.

A group of citizens saw a need in their community and decided to do something about it.

The Navarre Urbanists, a citizens group founded last year to promote better infrastructure around Navarre, recently organized a trash cleanup in the ditch between Days Inn and the parking lot around Pizza Hut.