Opinion Archive

We have all heard the phrase, “Out of sight, out of mind,” right?

Just a quick note to thank you for the recent article in the Navarre Press that featured my wife and me. What a pleasant surprise. Yes, we were interviewed in our home by Bobby and Nancy, but we did not expect the final product to be so well written and polished. What great tallent. Bobby said it would be quick and painless. We have received many, many nice comments from our friends. You made us celebrities for a day.

Wil Pergande from the Gulf Breeze Sertoma Club stopped by the office to tell us about the 24th Annual Family Fishing Rodeo that is being held Saturday and Sunday at Shoreline Park in Gulf Breeze. Proceeds from the tournament benefit a host of community organizations that help children and their families. There is a really impressive list of recipients on their website, familyfishingrodeo.com. To get the details of the event, look for their ad in this week’s issue on Page 8C.    

Navarre Beach lifeguards and Navarre Beach firefighters conducted their first, official joint training exercise of the season June 21. Training between the two groups is conducted several times annually but this was the first official training since the drowning of a tourist from Louisiana in late May. The 19-year-old entered the water on a red flag day west of the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier, where lifeguards are not stationed, and unfortunately was caught up in a rip tide.

Some might consider this a “slow news” week, but I’m OK with that. We have already had our share of unexpected news in the past few months. There is a chance that by the time you read this Jayer Williamson will be appointed by Governor Rick Scott to sit where his father once sat as a Santa Rosa County Commissioner. It will be great to have our fifth county commissioner back. Jayer has big shoes to fill but the good news is – he knows that. He will faithfully and dutifully serve his seat to the benefit of the citizens of Santa Rosa County. He will be there for us, not for his own personal agenda.

After seven years, Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council Director Kate Wilkes announced last week her retirement effective Aug. 1, 2014. TDC board members and other community and business leaders recognized and thanked her for leading the county’s tourism development efforts through some challenging times. We only have to look back four years to the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill to understand that it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Wilkes.

The county originally handled its own recycling but in 2012 determined it was more cost effective to contract the service to a professional provider. The county entered into a contract with West Florida Recycling, which also brought the added convenience of “single stream recycling.” In other words, residents no longer needed to separate different types of recyclables.

The Holley Navarre Senior Center is hosting a pancake breakfast (or an egg special if you prefer) Saturday, June 14. After breakfast, you can shop for plants (indoor and outdoor), garden items, books and more! There will even be experts there to answer questions. Breakfast & Plants event is $2 – $5. 

For the second consecutive year, a tourist visiting Navarre Beach from Louisiana has died in the Gulf of Mexico. In both cases, the victims entered the water in red flag conditions and were west of the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier, not in the designated swimming area patrolled by Navarre Beach lifeguards.

My job is so much fun that it is going to be my demise. If I could just do everything full-time – then I wouldn’t get anything done. I really would love being a full-time writer, a full-time photographer, a full-time investigative reporter, a full-time sales person and a full-time boss and manager. The only thing that I really couldn’t do because I don’t have the technical skills is design. I know good design, but I don’t have the technical skills to do it full time. However, if I wasn’t busy doing everything else, then I could possibly learn. I think I have written this before, but I’ve had employees tell me that they loved working at Navarre Press because basically you can be anyone that you want to be on any given day, except an EMT or a doctor.