Baptist Medical Group expanded their primary care services in Navarre last week by adding traditional primary care at their urgent care center, located at Baptist Medical Park Navarre. The office July 1 transitioned to a family medicine and walk-in care center. The expansion was made possible by the hiring of two additional board-certified providers Mark Benton, D.O., and Charles Windfelder, Jr., PA-C.
Statistics show that more dogs run away and are lost on July 4 than any other day of the year. In many cases, the loud noise that accompanies fireworks is too much for pets that suffer from noise phobia. They get frantic, run and get separated from their owners.
Two popular seasons for northwest Florida anglers and sportsmen started this past week. Gag grouper opened for recreational harvest in most Gulf of Mexico state waters and all federal waters July 1. The Bay scallop season opened June 28 in a limited area stretching from the Pasco-Hernando county line to the west bank of the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County.
Boaters will be taking to the waters around Florida for the busy July 4 holiday weekend, and a conservation group is urging boat operators to be on the lookout for manatees and other wildlife. A Save the Manatee Club spokeswoman said slowing down in wildlife habitat areas and observing all posted boat speed regulations can make a huge difference.
“You will touch the soil of many lands” is a fortune 2nd Lt. Eric Fiel opened 33 years ago from a Chinese fortune cookie. Today, Lt. Gen. Eric Fiel still keeps that fortune in his wallet as he reflects back on his career as an Air Commando and his ultimate job as the head of Air Force Special Operations Command.
Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold will become the 10th commander of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) during a ceremony Thursday at Hurlburt Field. He will assume command from Lt. Gen. Eric Fiel who retired after 33 years of service. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III is scheduled to preside over the ceremony.
Local candidates for county commission and school board seats were required to disclose personal financial information by June 20. The reports reveal interesting facts, including one candidate owns a $30,000 train collection, while another owes seven people promissory notes, totaling almost $100,000. Other candidates disclosed their sources of income and net worth. Only one is a millionaire.
Nearly four months after the release of the final environmental impact document relating to F-35 activities in northwest Florida, the Air Force announced June 27 it had chosen an alternative, which continues to limit F-35 operations in the Valparaiso area. However, an Eglin spokesman said he doesn’t believe the decision will have a significant impact on F-35 operations at Choctaw Field north of Navarre.
A Navarre man remains in the Santa Rosa County Jail on charges stemming from an alleged June 16 incident altercation in which he had to be forcibly detained by a Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s deputy. According to court records, 47-year-old Jerry Leion Barber faces felony charges of battery and obstructing justice and two misdemeanor charges of resisting an officer and probation violation.
The need for more revenue and more personnel took center stage June 23 at the Holley-Navarre Fire District Board of Fire Commissioners monthly meeting. Board members and firefighters weighed-in on the possibility of putting a tax referendum on the November ballot that would garner enough funding to hire three more full time employees and two supervisors for the stations. Fire Commissioners however adjourned the meeting without taking action.
