Letters to the Editor Archive

My dad was a World War II veteran, who I’m sure had a lot of harrowing and exciting stories to tell of his time overseas.  He never told them although I wish he had.  When I asked him one day about why he never shared his experiences with us, he said it was because he didn’t do anything that anyone else “over there” didn’t do.  He said that he was honored to serve a great country like ours.  In my adult life, I met other men and women who served in that war and they always told their stories quietly, never in a bragging way, and were humbled by the mention of their actions or even surprised when presented with recognition.  In their heart, it was never a matter of our country being lucky to have them, but one of them being lucky to have been given the opportunity to serve.

In December, we adopted a 9 month old girl, Beagle puppy from the Pensacola Humane Society. We were told that she was very afraid of people and they thought she had probably endured some hard times where she had been previously. We only had her about 2 days when she escaped from our enclosure which we had inspected as safe for her. We were heartbroken, as we already loved her in that short time.

Bill Engvall is famous for his signature “Here’s your sign” routine that features anecdotes about stupid questions with obvious answers. Navarre residents can better relate to that routine now with the addition of the “Welcome to Navarre” sign installed Sept. 30 on Highway 87 near the abandoned Pure gas station.

As I watched the Santa Rosa County Primary results come in, my first thoughts were of all the friends I had made in the months leading up to the election.

For centuries many gave their lives for worthy causes. The King of Saudi Arabia warns, ISIS is overtaking Europe , and America is next. The radical Islamists’ cause is “Convert of die!”God rest the souls of our military! They didn’t give in to ISIS, Hamas, Jihad, Al-Qaedi, Boco Haram or the Muslim Brotherhood.

I would like to thank all of the Firefighters and the Forestry Department who responded to the fire in my backyard at 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Without their quick response there is a good chance my neighbors and I would have lost our houses. They were able to not only save our houses but they were able to save our fences as well. Being that close to losing our homes gives me a new understanding of what fires can do and what risks firefighters take to put them out. Thank you again for everything.

Campaign season:  months filled with signage throughout neighborhoods, alongside highways, intersections and atop billboards; mission statements, claims, counterclaims, occasional clarifications and retractions.

Heretofore, my opinion on the new Santa Rosa County Courthouse was not expressed in writing, although I frequently voiced, for many years, that it should remain downtown Milton, as many agree!

Navarre Press won nine awards, including two first place awards, in Division C of the Florida Press Association’s Better Weekly Newspaper contest. More than 60 newspapers submitted about 1,600 entries for consideration by out-of-state judges.

Does anyone care in Santa Rosa County? Why isn’t there anyone swimming or fishing in the sound around Navarre? Why are there more frequently than not –  posted signs behind our Chamber of Commerce in Navarre stating, “swim at your own risk” because detected high levels of fecal counts in the water. The water is consistently not safe, so why don’t we do something about it? Why can’t the county officials see that the only answer is to re-open the Navarre Pass!  All we want is our water to be cleaner, so we can enjoy our area like others enjoy theirs. The beautiful artificial reefs that have been installed in the sound are hardly visible underwater because of the water clarity. Not to mention the ones installed in the Gulf are very hard to get to unless you take a chance on swimming or kayaking to them. What about the treatment facility on the beach dumping partially treated sewage in the sound because they don’t have anywhere else to put it? Maybe that is the reason why there are no fish other than mullet, red fish and trout.  Where have the clams, the oysters, the shrimp and the crabs gone? Are we being held hostage by the county because we are just a zip code and not an incorporated area? Does not being incorporated and having money for stormwater projects hurt our area compared to other areas such as Escambia, Okaloosa and Walton counties? Why is Navarre left out when it comes to funding needed projects? (Senator Gaetz just announced a $10 million grant from the BP oil spill for coastal counties of which $5 million will be designated for seven projects in Santa Rosa, Bay and Okaloosa counties.)  Gulf Breeze was the first project mentioned to start.