News Archive

Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a State of Emergency in reference to the disruption of the Colonial Pipeline.

This gives the state the ability to enact Emergency Management Assistance Compact to draw upon resources from other states, activate the Florida National Guard, suspend statutes and rule in relation to procurement and transportation of supplies and engage in other response and recovery measures to mitigate the effects of the disruption, according to information from Okaloosa Director of Public Safety Patrick Maddox.

Maddox added in his email that the region has plenty of inventory and that media coverage led some to panic, which led to demand being temporarily greater than the supply.

A body found buried in a Milton backyard Sunday is that of 60-year-old Cynthia Hoover, who was reported missing March 15.

Johnny Malisham has been charged with homicide and possession of ammo by a convicted felon. Her body was found in his yard, according to his Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

Employees aren’t allowed to officially tell you anything inside the store, but the sign on the front windows says it all: Winn-Dixie in Navarre is reopening this month.

“Grand Opening 5/26/2021” the sign reads.

Investigators with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office received a tip Sunday that a body was buried at 4562 Simpson Street in Milton.

If you missed District 4 Commissioner Dave Piech’s monthly Zoom meeting, here are some of the hot topics he covered:

Elijah Shelton had a plan to rob the Synovus Bank on Navarre Parkway last week, but it turns out it wasn’t executed too well, according to Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson.

Employees aren’t allowed to officially tell you anything inside the store, but the sign on the front window says it all: Winn-Dixie in Navarre is reopening this month.

“Grand Opening 5/26/2021” reads a sign posted.

A 33-year-old man was arrested after the vehicle he was driving struck a child who got out of the backseat of another car and darted across Gulf Boulevard. The accident happened about 7 p.m. Saturday on Navarre Beach.

Ryan Morgan of Fort Lauderdale was charged with driving without a valid license. According to a Florida Highway Patrol media release, Morgan was driving westbound when the 10-year-old boy got out of another vehicle and ran across the road. The Pace boy, who first responders said has autism, was critically injured but expected to recover, the release said. The road was dark and the shoulder was limited, the report said. Morgan stopped immediately after the crash.

Florida Department of Transportation officials have once again suspended tolls on the Garcon Point Bridge, which is being used as a detour during the outage of the Pensacola Bay Bridge. Officials have been suspending the tolls for a month at a time. Local officials have asked that the tolls remain suspended until the Pensacola bridge is brought back to a four-lane capacity. It is hoped that two lanes of the bridge will reopen the week of May 31.

A young autistic boy was struck by a car in the 8000 block of Gulf Boulevard on Navarre Beach Saturday evening and knocked under another vehicle parked on the side of the road, according to Chief Danny Fureigh of Navarre Beach Fire Rescue. The impact knocked the boy unconscious but by the time firefighters arrived, he was alert. The accident happened at about 7 p.m. He was flown to a trauma center by medical helicopter.