As you all are aware, Commissioner Rob Williamson removed the temporary Navarre Beach entrance sign (Hwy 98/Navarre Beach Causeway) under the cover of night on May 25. After being interviewed by Channel 3 News, he recorded and posted online his justification for his actions. The following is a breakdown of those comments, in part, followed by my own thoughts. I have attached the audio so each of you can listen for yourselves, and so there can be no accusation that I inaccurately wrote what he said.
If the sign fiasco wasn’t so serious it would be funny. I had texts from all over the country from people that use to live here asking if Navarre could just get a life. Maybe, this is the first you have heard of it, if you aren’t on social media. I think my 23-year-old daughter said it best, “Why do people think that Facebook is real?” Why would a county commissioner take a sign down based on the emotions of people on Facebook and then post “Done” like it is an official means of communication?” We all know Facebook is fake. I’ve seen couples live what seem like fairy tale lives on Facebook and then the next thing I know, they are filing for divorce. Facebook is where the truth goes to die. People think they can say things about other people without impunity. Some people look at Facebook all day long and depending what is on Facebook will determine the outcome of their day. Obvious that was the case, unfortunately, for Rob Williamson.
Families, friends, et al are wishing graduates well. Churches are giving them Bibles, the Greatest Book ever written, never to be superseded, the ultimate gift. Praise God!
The term “snowflake” is the hot buzzword of the hour. It is usually applied to the young, naïvely-preening men and women who whine about appropriated burritos and that pesky protected speech. Sometimes this whining leads to mob action, as it did in Portland this past week. There, a Category Five Twitter storm shut down a small restaurant for the heinous crime of cooking up Mexican grub while sporting white skin. Here in Navarre, a similar mob whipped up a rare blizzard that blew a legally-installed temporary beach sign out to sea, or into “storage,” or something. This screeching snowflake circus found the perfect ringleader in Santa Rosa County Commissioner Rob Williamson, who performed the courageous act of Sunshine State sign removal in the smack-dab dead of night. Williamson’s gallantry was apparently so well-planned that the genius French-cuffed savior of Santa Rosa forgot to bring a hammer.
We are happy to bring you the Navarre High School graduating class of 2017. There have only been seventeen graduating classes of Navarre High School and this is the 17th year that we have featured their graduating class. I’m glad that we have been here to document history in the making. Today’s news is tomorrow’s history.
We have been part of many professional boards in our 17 years of existence, and we have never seen anything like this. The cover-ups, deceit and outright lies leave us wondering what will become of HNWS when it all comes to light.
Another high school sports season is history, and to the athletes in the class of 2017, I wish you the best of luck in the next chapter of your lives. I imagine looking back on it now, you probably feel like your high school years just zoomed by.
It is the common refrain when new construction comes to Navarre. The idea that this or that might be built near my castle is an insult. We have heard it discussed before with officials on everything from signage for apartments, a wildlife refuge to private schools.
This issue is our next to our last issue of our 16th year. Soon, sweet 16 will be in our rear-view mirror and 17 will be upon us. According to songs about being 17, it is a time to be innocent but experienced, courageous but afraid, naïve but jaded and beautiful yet lonely. According to pop culture – it is a time of transition and change. We will see about that. I think we will just skip the confused, lonely, afraid, jaded and naïve characteristics. We do have a surprise coming up for our 17th year and it does have to do with a song, but we will keep that under our proverbial hats for now.
