Community Archive

When she’s not working from her Navarre home or taking photos of sunsets, Theresa Adkisson is growing pineapples.

She jokingly calls it a “pineapple farm,” although she harvests a pineapple every few months, at best.

Construction equipment continues to line the eastern perimeter of Navarre Park as progress is made with the first phase of the remodel.

“Navarre Park is being enhanced in multiple phases and we are only funded for Phase 1, which is currently under construction,” said Santa Rosa County Public Information Officer Brandi Bates.

Lt.j.g. Cody J. McWilliams, a Niceville native, earned his wings of gold at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field Dec. 17.

McWilliams graduated from Niceville High School in 2014, and then went to the Naval Academy where he graduated and received his commission in 2018. 

More than 70,000 people live in the Navarre area, but Robert Reyes stands out. The owner of a well-loved restaurant called Stripes and a U.S. Air Force veteran with 23 years of service, Reyes loves to put others first.

Reyes was nominated by multiple citizens and was selected to be the Navarre Press 2020 Person of the Year.

There’s can be only Navarre Press 2020 Person of the Year, but many others made a significant difference to the community this year, which lead to them being nominated for the distinction.

Here are the nominations for other residents worth watching in the months to come.

When Sabrina Svargerko had her baby, a little boy named Lincoln, in August, she still had a lot to learn, she says.

But before the new Navarre mom took him home from the Santa Rosa Medical Center, she sat down and watched a video about the importance of reading and singing to him, even before he was old enough to respond.

Here are some Santa Rosa County Animal Services achievements during a year made more challenging by COVID 19.

Among them are adoption rates increasing by 20%.

Deployment of new reef modules for the one-mile out reef expansion is expected to begin Tuesday morning at three sites off the shore of Navarre Beach.

A total of 47 structures will be deployed, including 20 at a site a little more than a mile south of the pier. The other two sites are a little less than a mile west of the pier.

The year of relentless challenges has finally come to an end and what better way to celebrate the new year then by taking a quick dip in the cold water.

More than 300 people came out to Juana’s Pagodas New Year’s Day for the 12th annual Penguin Plunge. Some registered as “penguins” and plunged into the chilly water of Santa Rosa Sound, while others registered as “chickens” and stood on the sidelines. Either way, all proceeds benefited Healing Paws for Warriors, a nonprofit that provides service dogs to veterans in need.

The Navarre Garden Club helped brighten Christmas for 50 local families this year with its Angel Tree Program.

Ann Marie Corbett, representing the Navarre Garden Club, is shown in this photo delivering Angel Tree Christmas gifts to an unidentified representative of Caring and Sharing of South Santa Rosa County.