Fuel specialists play an important role in the U.S. military. They manage, operate and maintain fuel storage and dispensing facilities. In the Air Force, this mostly pertains to vehicles and aircraft, both on the ground and in mid-flight. They also help maintain gas stations on the bases they are assigned, test fuel samples for quality and maintain liquid oxygen. In essence, without them, the military is at a standstill.

It was supposed to be a flight like any other.

Northwest Airlines Flight 85 was making a routine flight from Detroit, Michigan, to Narita, Chiba, Japan Oct. 9, 2002. The first few hours of the flight were somewhat forgettable, but once the plane began to travel over the northern Pacific Ocean, it became a flight to remember for Michael Fagan, a resident of northwest Florida.

With Spring Break just a few weeks away, Navarre Beach Lifeguards are getting ready. The beach safety outfit recently welcomed 13 newcomers.

The dangers of fentanyl have been well documented. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), overdoses from opioids like fentanyl are the leading cause of death in adults aged 18 to 45. Northwest Florida’s Medical Examiner’s Office (district one) was named #1 in per capita opioid deaths in the state last year.

The Eglin Reuse Project, also known as the Santa Rosa Reuse Project and the Eglin RIBs Project, is currently in Phase 1A. Land on Eglin Air Force Base is being cleared and prepared for the eventual arrival of a Holley Navarre Water System spray field.

For the past five years, Rachel Coggins has been traveling to the African nation of Togo to help improve some of the country’s educational and agricultural infrastructure.

Set Free Refuge is now Set Free Foundation. The decision came down in December, says Skip Orth, Set Free Foundation’s board president.

Over the past couple of years, the United Methodist Church has been fracturing. Split over the direction of the denomination and the question of gay people being allowed to be ordained, thousands of churches have severed ties with the United Methodists.

Santa Rosa County Development Services held their first public meeting regarding plans for a Navarre Community Access Road, which if built, will run from Panhandle Trail to Edgewood Drive. The road is being billed as an alternative to Highway 98.

On Feb. 8, ecologists and extension workers across Florida gathered on Okaloosa Island for the Northwest Florida Lionfish Workshop.

The goal of the workshop was to give the latest updates on the science around red lionfish, an invasive and venomous fish species native to the Indo-Pacific. They have been in Florida waters since the 1980s.