News Archive

Two photos taken by Navarre resident Jeff Waldorff have been selected to appear in Sea Turtle Conservancy’s annual Sea Turtle Calendar contest for 2025. The photos showcase a sea turtle eating a jellyfish and two hatchlings making their way to the water. Waldorff is known for his nature photography.

Julius Raymond Weems IV, 10, is starring on Broadway in the role of Marlon Jackson in “MJ,” a musical based on the life of Michael Jackson. Weems and his family have moved to New York for Weems’s career, but maintain a residence in Navarre. The ten-year-old’s acting career began less than a year ago with the help of acting coach Jossie Harris, an actress and dancer known as one of the “Fly Girls” on the 1990s sketch comedy show, “In Living Color.”

Kye and Selena Keenam have been taking care of their grandson, Sawyer Johns, since 2019. Johns, 7, has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), a condition which causes seizures and developmental delays. Johns has also suffered from other health issues, which have left him in need of constant care from an in-home nurse. His primary nurse, Crystal Chastain, contacted Make-a-Wish about his story and Johns now has a brand new room and bathroom because of it. Multiple local businesses helped with the remodel, including Off the Walls Murals.

The Bay Pines Circle Neighborhood Homeowners Association is planning to create a community park at the entrance to their neighborhood. To do so, they need to get county approval to rezone the property from single family residential to a passive park. If allowed, the park would be a greenspace with an area for residents to lounge.

Concord Presbyterian Church of Gulf Breeze pastor and Navarre resident Jon Becker spent two weeks on a sailing trip from Key West to New York City. The trip featured multiple mast breaks, interactions with dolphins, and a freak storm, in which Becker feared for his life. “I remember taking my wallet and my phone and (putting it) in my shorts and zipped it (up). I thought at least they will be able to identify me. We were all thinking thoughts like that.”

A student on the school board? Several Santa Rosa County students called for some form of student representation at the June 13 school board meeting. “A student advisor (or representative) is not just an advisor to the school board but a liaison to the student body,” said Riley Perantoni, a Gulf Breeze teen. Similar leadership positions are held by students in Leon, Broward, and Miami Dade counties. School board member Linda Sanborn expressed interest in creating a student advisory committee instead of a board representative.