Aug 5, 2024
Brian Out Loud
Congratulations to the Florida Department of Education (FDOE). It had its “useful as a lifeguard at the Olympics” moment a couple of weeks ago when it officially approved Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) for high school athletes.
Aug 1, 2024
For God’s Sake: Pursue scripture
“If in doubt, sing louder!” I told the volunteer church choir at a rehearsal. The look on their faces said, “Oh, really? Why would I do that?” They knew that I had been a professional musician, but they also knew that I had zero choir-directing experience. I explained, “If in doubt, you hold back, even if you are singing your part correctly, it will sound wrong. So, if you are going to make a mistake, make it a good one, and we’ll fix it!”
Aug 1, 2024
Wastewater plan doesn’t work
Pretty simple concept, isn’t it? The City of Milton plans to spray wastewater on 33-77 acres in the Santa Rosa County Wellfield Protection Area. Not only Milton’s sewage; the plan is to pipe wastewater from NAS Whiting Field to the proposed new Milton wastewater treatment plant, via new sewer mains underneath the Blackwater River.
Aug 1, 2024
Out and About
We had a very eventful week last week. Between the three newspapers, we won 45 awards from the Florida Media Conference. Thirty-six of the awards were from the Florida Press Association’s annual contest. We didn’t win best overall, but I’m fairly sure we came in second in two circulation categories. I’m going to find out.
Jul 29, 2024
Brian Out Loud
For anyone out there saying things like ‘Division III football isn’t good enough for me,’ ‘I’m so much better than that’ or ‘those dudes don’t really even know how to play football,’ you might want to reconsider that faulty line of thinking.
Because if you’ve heard of Quinn Meinerz of the Denver Broncos, then you know he is a former D-III player who just got paid a whole lot of money to keep playing football.
Because if you’ve heard of Quinn Meinerz of the Denver Broncos, then you know he is a former D-III player who just got paid a whole lot of money to keep playing football.
Jul 25, 2024
For God’s Sake: Why work is such work
As I write this column, I am in the last third of a two-week vacation. What exotic or exciting destination did I visit? Well, first, my yard, then my office, and soon I will be visiting my garage. Mine was a “staycation” involving yard maintenance, office and garage de-cluttering, and an unanticipated repair project in the master bathroom. No, it has not been the most restful vacation I’ve ever taken, but it has been refreshing, nonetheless.
Jul 25, 2024
Out and About
Have you heard of the perfect storm? Well, we are being tested here as of the last two-three weeks. Our awesome bookkeeper for the past five years decided she would like a summer to stay home with her children, so she gave us plenty of notice to find a new bookkeeper. One we hired and waited two weeks for, emailed in the day before she was to start and said she took another position. Another person actually started training, and it was obvious in the first few days that she barely knew her way around a computer, much less QuickBooks, so we had to say no thank you. By that time, it was mid-July and rightfully so, our bookkeeper went home to be with her children. And, at the same time, our front desk admin gave her notice because she got a job with better benefits…i.e., a government job, and we hired someone to replace her and four days of training later, the last four days of our former team member’s time with us — she emailed us late one night and said she decided to stay home and homeschool her child. So that left us without a bookkeeper or a front desk admin. I told Gail, our Publisher, that this means something awesome is about to happen. And then, I found a quote from a friend of mine who is also going through some trying times. She wrote, “Whenever something important falls apart, it’s because something bigger and better is on the horizon. And, with sudden change always comes the deepest opportunities for growth. Well, we are definitely growing through this. The good news is that we used to put out a job opening and get zero applicants. Now, they are coming in all day long – which is a job in itself – weeding through applications, interviewing, onboarding, etc. However, well worth it when you end up with awesome team members like we have now.
Jul 25, 2024
Beyond the controversial topics, the ‘meat and potatoes’ of government meetings is what’s really important
In Santa Rosa County, there’s a group of recognizable faces that you see at most public meetings. Whether it’s the Santa Rosa County Commission or Milton City Council, the same people are usually in the crowd.
Jul 22, 2024
Brian Out Loud
No matter where you live in Santa Rosa County, you have to be proud to have someone representing this area on one of the biggest stages.
In this instance, we’re talking about Navarre alum Emily (Madril) Sams, who is in Paris this week for the 2024 Olympics. She’s an alternate on the United States Women’s National Soccer Team.
In this instance, we’re talking about Navarre alum Emily (Madril) Sams, who is in Paris this week for the 2024 Olympics. She’s an alternate on the United States Women’s National Soccer Team.
Jul 18, 2024
For God’s Sake: Some comments on commentaries
A relative recently asked for my opinion on her pastor’s Bible commentary recommendation to her. Of course, the commentaries he recommended are those he uses for his own personal study. I considered his list of three and, whereas they would provide a reader with some interesting information on the Bible, in my opinion, they were not the best for helping someone better understand the message of the Bible.