News Archive

Standing at 6’7”, it’s hard to miss Akok Chan (pronounced shawn) when you see him on or off the basketball court. Originally from Sudan, he first arrived in the U.S. in 2020 on a student visa and became a scholar-ship athlete at Lighthouse Private Christian Academy, a school in Midway. He was 16 at the time.

Leisure Street at Pepper Drive will be closed on Tuesday, May 6, for installation of the reclaimed water main. The roadway is expected to be closed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Residents in the area can utilize Moray Drive as a detour. This is part of phase one of the Eglin Regional Reuse Project. Santa Rosa County and the Holley Navarre Water System (HNWS) are partners on the Eglin Regional Reuse Project, which will ultimately allow Santa Rosa County to remove treated wastewater effluent from Santa Rosa Sound and allow HNWS to send reclaimed water to rapid infiltration basins located on Eglin AFB.

Caterpillars of the rare frosted elfin butterfly were released earlier this month as part of an experimental program to reintroduce the species across north Florida. The reintroduction of this small butterfly within Ichetucknee Springs State Park comes after three years of organization and preparation by staff from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Tall Timbers, the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Florida Park Service.

Family, friends and firefighters across Northwest Florida gathered Sunday, May 4, to honor the life of Dave Stone, 78, who devoted much of his life to the fire service.  Held at The Club at Hidden Creek, the Celebration of Life featured speeches from Dave’s sons, Shannon and DJ, his pastor, Jack Kale, and others. Stone was a Commissioner for Holley Navarre Fire District and a Retired Assistant Chief with Ocean City Wright Fire Control District. Stone passed away April 14. 

UPDATE: The bill discussed in this article has been postponed indefinitely and will not be signed into law this session. As Florida’s Legislative Session winds down, a bill focused on reforming Florida laws around tourism taxes and how they are used is raising eyebrows and some alarm amongst Florida’s counties and tourism industry.

At a news conference in Destin, Gov. Ron DeSantis was excited to announce the longest Gulf red snapper season in Florida’s history. The 126-day recreational season for Gulf red snapper will begin Memorial Day weekend (May 24-26) and reopen June 1 through July 31 before closing again. It will restart in September and end Christmas weekend, with periodic pauses in between.

Ahead of Mother’s Day, Ignite Church is holding a car wash to raise funds for Pregnancy Resource Center of Navarre. “Clean Cars, Safe Starts” will take place Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Ignite Church (8173 East Bay Blvd. Unit B) in Navarre. The fundraiser is being done through donations.

UPDATE: The prescribed burns originally scheduled for May 4-10 have been postponed. Original: Hurlburt Field will conduct multiple prescribed burns between May 4-10, pending weather conditions.

Drivers in Santa Rosa County will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.

Rachiel Moore, 27, is heading to prison for the rest of her life.

The Navarre woman was sentenced to life in prison without parole, April 24, for setting up the murder of her child’s father, 24-year-old Colby Vinson, in March 2023. Vinson, who had just won custody of their child, was murdered at his Cayo Grande apartment with his baby just feet away from him.