Have you ever thought about what goes into being a firefighter?

The Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District held a christening event to debut their new rescue boat. The boat, which is 25 ft. and 8 inches long and 8 and a half feet wide, will be used in rescue scenarios in Santa Rosa Sound and, if need be, in the Gulf of Mexico.

Holley Navarre Fire District held its second annual summer cadet program this past week and this weekend. As part of the program, cadets had the opportunity to witness a car fire demonstration from firefighters with HNFD. Pictures by Navarre Press reporter Hansen Hasenberg.

With the first day of school around the corner, Navarre First Assembly of God held its third annual Day of Hope event last Saturday, July 27. Despite rainy weather earlier in the morning, the turnout for the event still reached 700 people, around the average of the other years.

After 32 years in the fire service, Jonathan Kanzigg is retiring. For the last 16 years, Kanzigg has been known as “Chief” by his colleagues at Midway Fire District and throughout the county.

Ahead of the potential landfall of Invest 97L, a tropical wave, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order (EO) 24-156 (Emergency Management – Invest 97L) declaring counties throughout Florida under a state of emergency. These included Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties.

The long-awaited Holley fire station is set to arrive sometime in April. That’s according to Holley Navarre Fire District Chief Kevin Lewis, who recently led a groundbreaking ceremony for the future Station 44. The ceremony took place Tuesday, July 30 at 3993 Highway 87 S, across the street from Holley Assembly of God.

St. Paul United Methodist Church is in a time of transition and embracing it.

In July, the church welcomed the Rev. Teresa Collier Johnson as their new lead pastor. The Methodist minister replaced the Rev. Christina Shaver, who was appointed to Trinity United Methodist Church in Fort Walton Beach.

In a couple of weeks, Santa Rosa County residents will head to the polls to cast their ballot in the August primary (Aug. 20). Up for re-election are three county commissioners. One of these commissioners is James Calkins, who represents District 3, which consists of parts of Milton and most of the northern portion of the county.

At a Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce hosted candidate forum, candidates for the district 1 County Commissioner’s seat spoke to voters on several issues facing the County. Traffic congestion on Highway 98 was one of them.