Community Archive

Navarre High School’s student parking lot is adorned with artwork created by seniors ahead of the school year.

The painted parking spots feature a variety of colorful characters and messages.

This Sept. 11 marks 25 years since the world stood still.

The terrorist attacks, which took place in New York City, Arlington, Virginia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, led to the deaths of around 3,000 people, including hundreds of first responders. The heroic response of many first responders inspired Americans to answer the call and sign up for military service.

The precautionary boil water notice handed down earlier this week for parts of Navarre has been rescinded.

While many pastors and church leaders are worried about the size of their congregations, Navarre pastor Kobus Genis is mostly concerned with his congregants’ hearts.

Genis started GPS Church in 2023, shortly after moving to the Navarre area. GPS stands for God’s People Serving and is affiliated with ECO Churches, a covenant of Reformed, evangelical Presbyterian churches.

While it wasn’t on the agenda for the Tuesday, Aug. 25, Santa Rosa County Commission meeting in Tiger Point, the Navarre Beach Event Hall and Boardwalk project was front and center.

Over 25 people signed up to speak at the meeting, with most wanting to speak out in opposition to the project, which is currently out for bid until Sept. 3. Assistant County Administrator Jared Lowe gave a recap of the project’s timeline before any residents spoke.

Florida Animal Friend, a nonprofit that supports free and low-cost spay and neuter services, recently awarded a combined $95,000 to four Northwest Florida organizations. Throughout the state, Florida Animal Friend handed out $798,053 to 38 organizations.

The organizations in Northwest Florida are A Hope, Crestview Animal Services, Santa Rosa County Animal Services and Save Our Cats and Kittens Inc. (SOCKS). A Hope, SRCAS and SOCKS all received $25,000. Crestview Animal Services received $20,000.

When out on patrol, Santa Rosa County sheriff’s deputies know to keep their eyes out for anything suspicious.

While most incidents involve people, Deputy Dwayne Smith encountered something with two wings Thursday, Aug. 20, around 11 a.m.

On a night when many in Navarre were paying attention to the Florida primary elections, Holley-Navarre Water System’s (HNWS) board of directors was making plans for its own election.

Each January, HNWS holds an annual meeting, during which members elect candidates to serve on the water board. At its Aug. 18 meeting, the board appointed a director to the canvassing board, approved the election calendar and discussed candidate qualifications.

Holley-Navarre Fire District got what it asked for.

On Tuesday, Aug. 18, Navarre voters supported a fire assessment increase. According to the Santa Rosa County Supervisor of Elections, the ballot measure received 3,727 “yes” votes to 2,839 “no” votes. Percentage-wise, the vote was 56.76 percent to 43.24 percent.

Navarre Beach wastewater treatment plant filters, sifts, dilutes and cleans around 250,000 gallons of wastewater per day.

After leaving a house, condominium or business on Navarre Beach, wastewater travels to 1411 Utility Drive, where it is treated until finally being pumped into Santa Rosa Sound. The county-owned facility is permitted to dispense up to 700,000 gallons per day into the waterway.