News Archive

A 71 year old woman died after striking the back of a school bus in the eastbound left lane of Highway 98 Wednesday, March 11. The incident occurred near Sunrise Drive in Navarre.

Holley-Navarre Fire District was dispatched to the scene at 1:50 p.m. and found the woman’s vehicle, a Chevrolet, partially underneath the school bus.

Around 2:05 p.m., a paramedic with HNFD declared the driver deceased.

The Navarre Beach Lifeguards returned to a foggy Navarre Beach Saturday, March 7.

The lifeguards will be looking to follow up a successful 2025, which saw over 1.9 million visitors, 1.5 million preventative actions, 6,337 assists and zero drownings.

Santa Rosa District Schools has announced the grand opening of the Santa Rosa Center for Innovation, a state-of-the-art facility designed to expand hands-on, career and technical education opportunities for students across the district. A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Open House will be held on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at the new center located at 6447 Highway 90, Milton, Florida, 32570.

In some areas of Northwest Florida, gas prices at the pump have jumped nearly 50 cents since Sunday morning and overall more than that as prices were around $2.49 per gallon at the beginning of last week.

The University of West Florida is known for its trails as well as its academics.

Much of the trails traverse through longleaf pine forests. The plant, which once spread over 90 million acres across America, is famously fire-resistant and relies on fires to clear out dead underbrush to make room for its seedlings.

Fourteen students from Holley Navarre Middle School and one student from Navarre High School are advancing to the State Science and Engineering Fair.

The 15 students competed in the 71st West Florida Regional Science Fair at the University of West Florida. According to Santa Rosa County District Schools, this year’s fair featured 56 projects, 60 student participants, six schools across two counties and more than $3,500 in awards.

Drivers in Santa Rosa County will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.

Holley Navarre Water System board of directors met Feb. 17 to discuss, among other things, strategic planning options.

Earlier this year, the board told HNWS staff of its desire to create a five-year strategic plan. The plan would lay out a series of goals for the system and how the board could reach them with respect to budget constraints.

Recently, a string of bear depredations has raised concerns among some Navarre residents.

A depredation is the act of attacking or plundering in a destructive assault. The term is used when bears attack livestock, crops, beehives or other property.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there were 63 depredations in the agency’s West Panhandle Bear Management Unit in 2025, an increase from 29 reported in 2024 and 21 reported in 2023. Other statistics for the region indicate an increase in bear-human interactions, which could signal a growing bear population.

Midway Fire District Station 37 hosted firefighters from multiple departments across south Santa Rosa County late last month.

Over three days, Midway, Holley-Navarre and Navarre Beach fire departments participated in high-intensity firefighter rescue training. The three districts are part of the South Santa Rosa Fire Alliance and work together for training and other events.