Opinion Archive

Want to change party affiliation? Here’s how

I recently sent this letter to our supervisor of elections.  I thought others might want to use it as a template.

A lifetime ago, I was the lead guitarist for a rock band.

When I admit this in church circles, it is met with a bemused look that says, “Really?” I will admit, I bear little resemblance to a “rocker” with my gray hair and conservative attire but put a guitar in my hands and my claim is quickly validated.

Ian Lockwood has been gone for 10 years, but the former Navarre Raider’s legacy remains alive and well.

I personally didn’t know Ian. I wasn’t working here when he was going through his difficult but brave battle with brain cancer.

We all knew that new commissioner, James Calkins, is a proud supporter of former president Donald Trump, but we were amused to find out that the voicemail on his phone identifies him as Trump himself.

“Hi, this is Donald Trump,” it begins, with the last part of Trump’s last name swallowed by another message.

Eight words and at least two months of argument that revealed political fissures, real or imagined, between the north and south ends of Santa Rosa County and pitted science against business might have come to an end.

It is anticipated that the county commission will vote 5-0 during a Feb. 25, 2021 meeting to drop a proposed amendment to the Comprehensive Plan that would have allowed more or new borrow pit mining above a protected drinking water reservoir that serves tens of thousands of people.

There was a Santa Rosa Board Meeting last night. Presiding over the meeting were:

– Commissioner Sam Parker – District 1

– Commissioner Robert Cole – District 2

– Commissioner James Calkins – District 3

– Commissioner Dave Piech- District 4 

– Commissioner Colten Wright – District 5

On 2/4/202, I bore witness to the deep-rooted and systemic issues that are a cancer in our county, state and country.

When 220+ signatures of verified voters in Santa Rosa County voicing opposition to a county board of commissioners’ (all documented and available for public verification on BOCC website) empty resolution saying we support their resolution when we do not, ignoring our voices, is plain wrong.

Archeologists can learn a lot about our ancestors by going through their garbage.

Those treasure troves, called midden piles, can tell us what people ate, what kind of dishware they used, even what they excreted, which is a fancy way of saying poop.

For two months, officials and citizens have been asking for county commissioners to reconsider the proposed repeal of some key wellfield protections.

These same concerned folks were hoping agencies like the Department of Environmental Protection of the Northwest Florida Water Management District would review the proposal and nix it.

I grew up in Mobile. Navarre was our most favorite secluded beach. In the 60s, my family would vacation in Destin.

By the early 70s, my friends and I had driver’s licenses and when it was just us guys wanting to spend a few days away camping and fishing, we always went to Navarre Beach.