Opinion Archive

Navarre is a rising power in the Panhandle, and if you haven’t been paying attention during track season, you are missing out on something special.

On Monday, April 17, Florida TaxWatch joined the taxpayers in our state in celebrating Florida Taxpayer Independence Day 2017. On that day, Floridians are finally earning money for themselves–not for the tax collector. This symbolic date assumes that every dollar earned since Jan. 1 goes to pay federal, state and local tax obligations. This measure of tax burden is based on the relative size of all taxes paid in Florida to our state’s total personal income. In 2017, for the average Florida household, paying its taxes takes 107 out of 365 days, or more than three and a half months.

I was out and about on Saturday (imagine that) and I happened upon a pet adoption event in front of Cricket Wireless. I recognized a few familiar faces but I had the pleasure of meeting Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn for the first time. She was in her element with a mixture of all kinds of puppies and full grown dogs. She was large and in charge (though she isn’t large – that is just an expression.) I knew there was a story there and possibly two. The quick story I wrote about the event and the one I haven’t written – about her. Like everyone, she has a story. I just don’t know about it yet. Her business card has her job title as “Chief Miracle-Maker.” I know that must be true. And, how often have you heard Miracle-Maker? Not often. I’ve heard of a Miracle-Worker which means someone works on making miracles happen. However, Jennifer doesn’t work on it – she makes miracles happen. She puts together dogs that were destined to be euthanized in local shelters into loving homes. She is on her way to doing that almost two-hundred times this year with her team of volunteer foster homes. This was her first event in Navarre, but it won’t be her last. Please read the story on the pet page to find out about Ellie Mae’s big adventure.

In this issue of Navarre Press you will find a comprehensive list of area Easter Egg Hunts and Easter Church Services.

In 2016, Castlight Health did a nationwide study and probed the rates of opioid painkiller abuse in the U.S. cities. What it found might surprise you.

A scientist, Harold Hill, authored “From God To You By Way of The Zoo.” How sad some actually believe they came therefrom!.

Somewhere today, as you read this, a child is crying and desperately begging a parent or other family member to stop the beating. Cowered down in a protective fetal position crying and begging. Slaps to the head and face, hits to the arms or something worse, instilling a deep fear in the child and leaving him or her wondering when it will stop this time. That child has no idea why something that was seemingly an accident, like a spilled drink or forgetting to do a chore, carries such a harsh and painful punishment from the hands of someone they love. It is incomprehensible.

The Navarre McDonald’s has completed their remodeling and from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. this Saturday the Navarre McDonald’s will be having a grand reopening. “McFamily Day” will include a Ronald McDonald clown meet and greet, face painting, fire safety, giveaways and more.

When Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt was kicked out of the Navy for praying “In Jesus’ Name,” the name above all others, little did it know God had bigger plans for him. Satan’s goal, to shut mouths about Jesus, failed because God’s specialty of meaning for good what Satan meant for evil, happened!

I moved to Navarre in 1994.  At that time there were just two schools, one grocery store, one hotel, two hardware stores, a drugstore, a bank, some real estate offices, a handful of fast-food eateries, a doughnut shop and a couple of sit-down restaurants. The tiny post office was in Sand Dollar Plaza and the library shared space with a church in a small community building.  Driving to Fort Walton Beach or Pensacola took only 30 minutes, regardless of the time of day. Aside from the Hidden Creek Golf Course, there were no recreational sports fields, liquor stores or even a sheriff’s office.  Most of our community leaders were (and still are) in the banking, building or real estate business who held fast to their conservative values of low taxes and individual property rights.