News Archive

A 52-year-old Gulf Breeze man was sentenced Sept. 23 to four months in jail on charges of video voyeurism and disorderly conduct. Robert Sampson was an employee at the Department of Veteran Affairs when he placed a hidden camera in a restroom at the Pensacola VA Joint Ambulatory Care Center.

Heavy recent rains have led to the temporary closure of the Club at Hidden Creek. Regular golfers say it was closed all last week and Monday.

Santa Rosa County District Schools will host a groundbreaking for a new Pace K-8 school on Mon., Oct. 4, 11 a.m. at 3354 Wallace Lake Rd. in Pace.

The number of new COVID0-19 cases in Santa Rosa County increased slightly from 811 cases the week before to 827 this past week. The number of new vaccinations dropped by nearly 300 in the same time frame, down to 721 from 1,088.

A 38-year-old Navarre woman died Saturday night, hours after being struck head-on by a driver who was arrested for driving while intoxicated. The accident happened late Saturday morning on Beverly Parkway in Pensacola.

The victim’s name has not been released. The driver of the other vehicle, Randall McBride, was arrested and is being secured at a hospital until he recovers from his injuries. He is being charged with DUI and reckless driving with serious bodily injury.

A 25-foot sailboat that’s been leaning in shallow water right off the Navarre Park beach is under investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Spokeswoman Bekah Nelson said law enforcement was aware of it, calling it an “open and active investigation.”

Seven turtles with a history of being hooked at local piers were driven four hours to St. George Island last week and released.

An international fishing blog has named Navarre as the No. 2 fall fishing destination, in part due to the Navarre Fishing Rodeo, which takes place Oct. 2 and 3.

Many county offices, including the Clerk of Courts, have been affected by a statewide network outage. Phone lines are still working. To reach a county department, use the online county phone directory.
Other constitutional officers that may be affected by this outage can be reached at the following numbers:

• Clerk of Court – 850-981-5554
• Property Appraiser – 850-983-1880 (north office) or 850-983-1912 (south office)
• Supervisor of Elections – 850-983-1900
• Tax Collector – 850-983-1800

In a span of seven days, nearly 8 inches of rain fell in the Navarre area. That total includes almost an inch on Sunday, an inch and a half on Friday and more than three and a half inches Thursday.

That was the day the stormwater system in the Ortega Drive neighborhood became officially overwhelmed.