Start you kids’ trick-or-treating right here at Navarre Press on Halloween. We will have candy and giveaways from 2 to 5 p.m. We’ll be taking photos and you might just end up being featured in our next issue.
I made a mistake last week regarding voting for the courthouse. Like I said last week, we definitely need a new courthouse. We needed it 10 years ago and we need it even more now. Where I messed up was on the non-binding referendum for the courthouse locations. The non-binding referendum that gets the most votes for the courthouse location will be the courthouse location. You can vote for all three locations – not advisable – or you can vote for just two of the locations if you are unsure. You can also vote no for the courthouse – not advisable – and still pick a location. Very confusing – I know. My No. 1 vote is to keep it in Downtown Milton. My second choice is east Milton. Regardless, we need the courthouse. We have more information in this issue on the vote for the courthouse.
There are a few subjects that have been talked about in Navarre and in Santa Rosa County for the entire 14.5 years that this news organization has been in existence and one of those subjects is the need for a new courthouse. The county courthouse should be the pride and joy of any county. There are many life events handled through your courthouse, including life, death, marriages, taxes – if you don’t pay them – lawsuits, business partnerships, and of course – the good ole’ fashion court case where citizens stand before a judge and/or a jury of their peers.
NYSA would like all the parents that have children participating with NYSA – that their Board of Director Election is October 15 from 5 – 7:30 p.m. at the Soccer Complex and at their main complex. Anyone who is interested in running for one of the eight spots can email nysa@bellsouth.net.
To promote Breast Cancer Awareness, Navarre Press is wrapping itself in PINK for the issues of October 9th and 16th. In Okaloosa County, the Board of Commissioners declared a certain day in October as “Wear Pink Day”, and we think it’s such a good idea that we are borrowing it! Everybody in Navarre should wear PINK on October 9th and look for our PINK wrap issue that will have good information on prevention and care.
We have a big weekend ahead with the Fishing Rodeo and the Sand Sculpting Contest. Read all about it – inside these pages. You will also find a lot more to do throughout the month of October during “Beaches to Woodlands.” Events include: Oct. 3-4 Monarch Madness Butterfly Festival
If you thought citizens did not seem to care about the fate of their own community, you were in for a surprise. If you were late to the Sept. 15 and 16 incorporation town hall meetings, you were also in for two hours of standing.
It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since Ivan, and in ten months it will be the ten year anniversary of Dennis which was the hurricane that affected Navarre Press and personally, my home the most. It is the reason why we have new siding on both structures and the reason why I was able to put my new refrigerator in my office through the outside wall, not through the door. Therefore, if my office refrigerator ever goes out, I’m not sure how it would exit the building. We also purchased a whole building generator that we have never had to use, thankfully. However, I’d like to say we are prepared but no one is truly prepared for catastrophes like Ivan. If you weren’t here ten years ago, I hope you never have to go through anything similar.
Our first Navarre Raider home game is this Friday night. We are playing Wakulla and there is a lot of history with Wakulla. There is something about their refs marching us back with every play when we played them the last time. Hopefully some of the families will be staying in the area – at least overnight. Wakulla is in Crawfordville which is south of Tallahassee. MaxPreps has ranked Wakulla 19th in the state and Navarre is ranked, 46th. We went up in the rankings by 45 points after our win over Catholic. Let’s keep ranking up.
Monday night I told my daughters they had to go vote the next day. At first, they said they were too busy, they had to work, and they didn’t know who they would vote for. “I’m not just going to vote for who you tell me to vote for,” proclaimed both of them in separate conversations. Wow. I was super proud they said that. I pointed them to the voter’s guide that we produced and gave them a synopsis of each candidate and my perceived strengths and weaknesses with the condition that it was just my opinion – a very educated opinion nonetheless. I even told one of my daughters that she might consider a candidate and she flatly said, “Sounds to me like they don’t have enough experience,” totally discounting me. Both of them voted and I know this because my oldest daughter texted me that she saw her sister’s signature and said the following, “So, I went to vote and I asked them if they’ve had a lot of youngsters and they said that they’ve actually had hardly anyone.” When I shared her text with Shana in the newsroom she said, “Well, we know she is not a “youngster” if she actually said, ‘youngster.’” It will be a late night tonight as we await the results and we have already decided what kind of pizza to order.
