East Bay Boulevard in Navarre is closed near Edgewood Drive as of Wednesday morning, April 23. The road is now expected to be closed for two weeks to install two crossings in the area.
The popular saying “you can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes” encourages empathy and understanding. For the family of Lilliana Boczar, an 11-year-old Navarre resident with two rare genetic disorders, they found out just how empathetic their community can be when a child is in need.
Over the past few weeks Lilliana’s church, Ignite – A free Methodist Community, organized a shoe and donation drive to get Lilliana a new bed. At a cost of roughly $16,000, the Cubby Bed is designed for people with special needs and includes a protective mesh and a seizure monitoring system. Mari, Lilliana’s mom, said the bed will ensure that Lilliana is safe and secure throughout the night.
Plans have been submitted to Santa Rosa County for a new church building at 7484 Autumn Trace Blvd., near Harvest Village in Navarre.
The church, Bethel Community Worship Center, has been around in its current form since 2018, meeting at Betty J. Pullum YMCA for services. The 0.674-acre Autumn Trace property has been in the church’s possession since 2020, but it is currently vacant.
On the evening of Easter Sunday, April 20, a teenage boy was swimming with family members out in the Santa Rosa Sound east of Navarre Beach Bridge. At some point during the evening, the teen’s family lost track of him, leading to a missing person report and a search and rescue effort which lasted until the next morning.
Shortly after 6 a.m. April 21, the teen’s body was discovered in the Sound near Navarre Beach Marine Park’s Pelican and Black Skimmer pavilions.
Thanks to a $1,000 grant from the Santa Rosa Education Foundation (SREF), 18 students recently participated in an art project in partnership with the Milton Juvenile Probation Office and the Santa Rosa County District Schools Student Intervention Specialists, Paula Lowrimore and Kimi Gillis.
(By Jim Turner) Former Rep. Joel Rudman became the third appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis to resign this month from a Northwest Florida college or university board of trustees while awaiting Senate confirmation.
Meanwhile, the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee on Tuesday refused to back another DeSantis appointee, University of West Florida trustee Adam Kissel.
The Santa Rosa County Environmental Department is partnering with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to hold a Waste Tire Amnesty Day at the Central Landfill from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, 2025. A maximum of eight (8) tires per Santa Rosa County resident will be accepted at the Central Landfill, 6337 Da Lisa Road in Milton, free of charge with a photo ID as proof of residency. Tires from commercial shops and vendors will not be accepted. Residents can drop off tires during regular operating hours.
The Florida State Senate recently passed a bill which will ban fluoride in drinking water supplies across the Sunshine State. The proposed ban, included in the “Florida Farm Bill,” would prevent adding substances to public water supplies which aren’t about “water quality.”
Navarre resident and former State Representative Dr. Joel Rudman’s chances of staying on the Pensacola State College Board of Trustees have taken a hit after he was unanimously voted down by the Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education during an April 15 hearing.
Appointed by Gov. DeSantis, Rudman still needs to go before the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee before a vote is taken on the Senate floor, which will decide whether he maintains a seat on the board of trustees. The Ethics and Elections Committee meets Tuesday, April 22.
