Opinion Archive

I hope and pray it takes years for the Navy to give it up.  Long after I’m “pushing up the daisies, not smelling them”.  I doubt the residents of the numerous streets off Pepper Drive (as we are) would appreciate the present tranquility taken away.

This issue is full of great information and I can brag because it isn’t about me – it is about our wonderful staff. They have really stepped it up. However, this level of great coverage is considered normal around here. We have a core value which is “Excellence is our ordinary.” I love that value and it is so true at Navarre Press. We don’t want to settle – we never settle. We didn’t like to settle even before the DirecTV settler commercials became popular.

Let me start by saying I am in favor of building a new courthouse.  The current courthouse is obsolete and must be replaced.  But that doesn’t mean I support the plan to build a $47 million courthouse in Downtown Milton.  And no matter how many times Mr. Rob Williamson calls me a knucklehead on his Facebook page, I won’t be deterred.

Adcomm is having a Job Fair at their Mary Esther office on Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.  They have several positions available.   See their ad on the classified page for more information.

For Christians around the world, Easter represents a time of renewal, and a time of remembrance of the death of Jesus and his resurrection.  However you choose to celebrate Easter, whether it is in Church or in your backyard hunting for Easter eggs or both, we at Navarre Press wish you a day of renewal.  Consider it perhaps a transfiguration of sorts; a shedding of whatever is old and stale and an embrace of new things, habits and ideas.  We can all use that in our life, no matter your belief.

What a blessing your March 17 “Athletes not afraid to express their faith in God” was!

My column is a little shorter than usual because of Sunshine Week and the opportune timing of our commissioner deciding to answer a constituent’s letter to the editor by posting his answer to Facebook and not sending his reply back to the constituent.  Mr. Cichy, veteran, copied Commissioner Rob Williamson on a letter to the editor that he sent to Navarre Press. He didn’t want to blindside Williamson – because – he is nice. However, Cichy is not on Facebook. He didn’t even know of Williamson’s reply until we emailed it to him. Instead of talking to the people, Commissioner Rob Williamson wants to talk to Facebook and have a one-sided conversation. And, he bans constituents with whom he doesn’t agree. The banned constituent has told us he is filing an ethics complaint against Commissioner Williamson. There may be more than one banned constituent. I find it ironic that the very day Commissioner Williamson leaves for Washington D.C., on his constituent’s dime (and many of them) for meetings on Defense Initiatives (of which his participation will show us zero dividends), he lashes out at a veteran who is just expressing his opinion.

Navarre Press frequently receives letters to the editor and we print them.  It is a chance for citizens of Navarre and Santa Rosa County to speak their mind – about whatever is on their mind. Letters to the editor are also part of our mission statement – to be a voice for the voiceless.  It is often a way for someone to express opinions; and the great thing about an opinion is it is neither right nor wrong.  As constituents, the residents of this county are charged with making their opinions known so that their representatives can make informed decisions on behalf of the people who put them in office.  As a newspaper, we are charged with holding the elected officials accountable and to also let them know we are watching.  It’s not “gotcha journalism” – it’s ensuring that everyone follows the rules and that our taxpayer dollars are guarded and spent thoughtfully and wisely. 

The Black Hawk Memorial events went well and we are happy R. Williamson wasn’t involved because he would have screwed it up.

Today’s establishment Republican Party says it represents the party of Lincoln, Reagan and “We the People.” I say it doesn’t represent Reagan’s presidency because in Reagan’s Amnesty Immigration Bill, he signed it because it had border protection for our country in it. We got everything except the promised protection of our border.