In the American South, food takes a place on the cultural mantel piece along with rocking chairs and banjo music. Even in today’s South, where people are more transient and familial connections to the past are oft forgot, you can still find hole-in-the-wall restaurants serving family recipes of gumbo, fried fish, slaw or barbecue. Chances are if you take a seat at one of these places, you might find yourself sharing a meal with John T. Edge.

Most people know to slow down when approaching a school zone. After all, there is a good chance a law enforcement patrol car could hand you a sizable ticket if you don’t. While the immediate area around a school generally constitutes a school zone, nearby streets and highways don’t always apply.

Students from 16 schools in Santa Rosa County descended upon Pace High School’s football field for the inaugural north end edition of the Zack Butler Memorial Sports Ability Games Thursday, April 3.

Named for a physical education teacher and coach who lost his battle with cancer in 2022, the Sports Ability Games are designed to expand the field of opportunity for special needs students in athletics.

The Mer Sea development on Navarre Beach, which is supposed to bring a 47-house subdivision to the corner of South Carolina Street and White Sands Boulevard, is moving forward.

The project’s future was uncertain following the untimely deaths of its developers, Steve, Ann and Jay Hering, this past November.

With the exception of part of 2019 and 2020, Santa Rosa County has had recycling services for at least two decades.

In 2012, the County entered a contract with West Florida Recycling, citing financial burdens from maintaining a county-run recycling service. In 2014, the County redirected their recyclables to a Montgomery, Alabama-based processor, after West Florida Recycling shut down. The following year, the Alabama recycling center shut down and recycling was back in County hands.

Santa Rosa County Zoning Board will meet Thursday, April 10 at 6 p.m. to discuss 15 rezoning requests from across the county. Six of the 15 requests come from County Commission District 4, which consists of Navarre and Holley. The meeting will be held in the Board of County Commissioners meeting room at Santa Rosa County’s government offices (6495 Caroline St., Milton). The meeting is open to the public and public comments are encouraged.

Midway Baptist Church is getting set to host a conference Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6. The conference, entitled “Meeting Christ at the Cross,” will feature multiple speakers and sermons focused on helping people take hold of their lives and pursue their faith in Jesus Christ.

Northwest Florida has a new representative in Washington, D.C. Jimmy Patronis, the Republican nominee for U.S. House District 1, defeated Democratic candidate Gay Valimont Tuesday, April 1 to replace Matt Gaetz.

How do you honor someone who meant so much to so many people?

That question is at the heart of a recent request made to Santa Rosa County District Schools to rename a facility at Gulf Breeze Middle School after Mark Stringfellow, a longtime coach at the school who passed away in January.