News Archive

Tiger King back in Santa Rosa County Jail

The star of Netflix’s “Tiger King,” Joseph Maldanado Passage, 61, was transferred to Santa Rosa County Jail March 27 and is on hold for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Known as “Exotic Joe,” Maldanado-Passage was convicted of charges stemming from a murder-for-hire plot concocted against Florida animal right activist Carole Baskin and for killing and selling tigers across state lines. In 2018, Maldanado-Passage was arrested in Santa Rosa County and eventually sentenced to 22 years. The sentence was reduced to 21 years in 2022.

Need for speed

Navarre High School’s Construction Academy got to test their electric race car at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola ahead of future competition against other schools. Sponsored by Florida Power and Light, the electric car program is led by Navarre High teacher James Fox. The project of building a race car that runs on electricity took two months and lots of work. Going around the track, student Jack Moffa averaged about a minute per lap, hitting speeds of 30 miles per hour. Near the end of the hour long run at the track, the car lost battery power and slowed to a halt. The kit for the car cost $7,000 and Navarre was chosen to represent Santa Rosa County in a competition in April.

Five Navarre students among those nominated to military academies

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz was at Navarre High School Thursday, Jan. 25, to announce the recipients of nominations to military service academies. Amongst the many names called out were five Navarre High School students, four of which were in attendance. Benjamin Johnson, Gennaro Smith, Jesse Lee, Brenner Mavity, and Katelynn Johnson all received appointments to either the Naval Academy, U.S Military Academy at West Point, the Air Force Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, or the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

New board members elected

At Holley Navarre Water System’s annual membership meeting on Jan. 16, two board members were voted in. Incumbent director Mark Miller and newcomer Rob Low were selected out a field of four. In addition to the election of board members, the water system’s membership also voted against a change to the utility’s articles of incorporation. The change would have provided a lower threshold for altering the utility’s bylaws to “at least 5% of the members of the corporation” participating in a vote. As it stands now, a change to the bylaws requires approval by the “majority of membership.” The total membership of HNWS is 14,000.

Incorporation decided (for now)

In 2024, a new chapter was written in the long fight of whether Navarre should maintain its status as an unincorporated community or become a city. Throughout the year, pro-incorporation community members, namely the organization Preserve Navarre, attempted to get the issue of incorporation on the ballot. In previous years, similar ballot measures had failed to pass.

The sheriffs of four counties in Florida’s 1st Congressional District have endorsed Jimmy Patronis in his run for Congress. Sheriff Chip Simmons of Escambia, Sheriff Bob Johnson of Santa Rosa, Sheriff Eric Aden of Okaloosa, and Sheriff Michael Adkinson Jr. of Walton County announced their support for the Florida Chief Financial Officer’s campaign on Dec. 20.

Hurlburt Field – Nov 29, 2024, marks one year since a CV-22 Osprey, assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing, crashed near Yakushima, Japan, while participating in a joint interoperability exercise resulting in the loss of the eight crew members aboard.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Ken Wilsbach, commander of Air Combat Command, and Chief Master Sgt. David Wolfe, ACC command chief, visited the 505th Command and Control Wing, Nov. 14. Wilsbach and Wolfe were accompanied by their spouses, Mrs. Cindy Wilsbach and Dr. Doniel Wolfe.

On Dec. 18, 2024, a Santa Rosa County jury found Aubrey Luker guilty of First-Degree Premeditated Murder. He was immediately sentenced to life without parole in Florida state prison system.

Santa Rosa County Animal Services is temporarily closing all cat adoption operations at the shelter facility until Friday, Dec. 27 due to illness.