Colorful powder filled the air April 5 in Fort Walton Beach as hundreds of runners and walkers participated in the third annual Going the Distance for Autism Color Run. The event supported the Autism Society of the Emerald Coast, a nonprofit that provides support for individuals with autism and their families.
Due to redistricting following the 2010 census, Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Jim Melvin and Commissioner Bob Cole, both Republicans, are vying for the District 2 seat against Wallis Mahute, an independent candidate. Melvin and Cole faced off April 3 in Milton at a debate hosted by the Central Republican Club.
In February 2009 three Santa Rosa County Commissioners voted to purchase 88 acres of land from Navarre developer Bill Pullum at a price which triggered a federal grand jury investigation and is blamed for the downfall of former commissioner Gordon Goodin. That property on Hwy. 87 South, named the Northwest Florida Interstate 10 Industrial Park, remains vacant five years later.
The former provider of marketing services for the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council is being blamed for late and unpaid vendor bills. The problem has been brewing since the Navarre Beach Fishing Rodeo last June and still isn’t resolved.
Two people were seriously injured in a one-vehicle crash early Monday morning on Highway 87 at River Road. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the driver, 30-year-old Adam Frederick of Mary Esther and his passenger, 31-year-old Clinton Culliver of Opp, Ala., were transported to Baptist Hospital. The report noted neither the driver nor the passenger was wearing a seatbelt.
A couple from Fort Walton Beach was charged April 1 for neglect of their three children, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Former Santa Rosa County Commissioner Byrd Mapoles said when the county began buying large parcels of land in East Milton in the mid-1990s there were plans to build a new courthouse next to Santa Rosa County jail. A road adjacent to the jail was even named Judicial Boulevard in anticipation of a future judicial facility.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office arrested 43-year-old Tammie Lynette Gutierrez at her Milton residence April 1 and charged her with one count of possession or distribution of a listed chemical having reasonable cause to believe the chemical will be used to unlawfully manufacture a controlled substance.
A former firefighter with 20 years of experience is the first to file paperwork with the Santa Rosa County Supervisor of Election’s Office seeking a seat on the Holley-Navarre Fire District Commission. Doug Schumpert is seeking election to for seat three, which is currently held by Fire Commissioner Nancy Morgan.
Brandon Cade Gillreath was sentenced to the Department of Corrections to serve four consecutive 30-year sentences upon completion of his previously imposed 30 year federal sentence. According to a news release from State Attorney Williams Eddins, the sentence arose from Gillreath pleading guilty April 3 to four counts of attempted sexual battery with a victim less than 12-years-old. Circuit Judge William Stone also designated Gillreath a Sexual Predator during the sentencing.
