News Archive

Community Health Northwest Florida, a nonprofit healthcare organization which serves Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, has instituted a new program to promote healthy pregnancies for medically underserved people.

Announced in July of last year, the Baby Bucks program is designed to provide educational materials and supplies to expectant mothers, as well as incentivize them to keep up with their prenatal checkups.

The Next Generation Aircrew Protection team performed innovative vapor purge testing on an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship at Hurlburt Field, Florida, from June 24 to December 6, 2024.

The 96th Test Wing and local emergency response agencies participated in a large-scale aircraft accident response exercise Dec. 11.

Recreational and commercial blue crab traps in all waters from Franklin County to the Florida/Alabama state line must be removed from the water before Jan. 5, the first day of a 10-day trap closure. This closure will give groups authorized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) the opportunity to identify and retrieve lost and abandoned blue crab traps from the water.

Holley Navarre Middle School Assistant Principal Peter Della Ratta is leaving the school district to become the Vice President of Institutional Advancement at John Melvin Christian College in Pace. The college is only a few years old and is still going through the accreditation process. In his new role, Della Ratta is responsible for tending to the college’s academic affairs, assisting in handling the business of the college, and helping coach the school’s burgeoning baseball program.

Navarre Beach will have a renewed look in 2025 thanks to crews working on the Navarre Beach renourishment project, which is being done to alleviate the effects of erosion on the beach by adding sand on the beachfront.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will temporarily prohibit possession and harvest of Suwannee bass for no less than 24 months in the Wakulla River and its tributaries, effective immediately. This restriction includes the river’s headwaters at Wakulla Springs and extends to its convergence with the St. Marks River, near the town of St. Marks.

Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser Greg Brown II wants residents to mark their calendars. From Jan. 1, 2025, to March 1, 2025, residents can file for a homestead exemption. Two other exemptions, one for persons 65 and over and the other for deployed servicemembers, has a five-month filing window from Jan. 1, 2025, to June 1, 2025. According to the Property Appraiser’s website, all persons who own and reside on real property in Florida on January 1 and make the property their permanent residence is eligible to receive a homestead exemption up to $50,000.

A church in Navarre has found their new home. Founded in 2017 as a plant of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), COMPASS Community Church has met for services at several locations over the years. First in the homes of its congregants, then at the Holley by the Sea recreation center’s Beach House, and finally, at the old Pet Stylers building in Soundview Plaza (8540 Navarre Parkway). On Jan. 5, 2025, the church will hold its first Sunday service at Gulf Pointe Latin School, a Christian school located at 7624 East Bay Blvd. in Navarre. According to Michael Bannon, the church’s pastor since its inception, the move was expected.

Live trees are a festive and fragrant holiday decoration for many families during the Christmas holidays, and Santa Rosa County Public Works offers an environmentally friendly option for disposal. Residents who would like to “treecycle” their tree for mulch may drop off their clean Christmas trees in the designated areas listed below by Jan. 20: