Two weeks before Christmas, a moving truck is parked in the driveway of a home in a small neighborhood just outside of Holley by the Sea. A “for sale” sign swings in the front yard.

The young man who answers the door explains they are moving out, rather than moving in. It was easy selling the home, he says.

Just in time for the holidays, readers helped Navarre Press reach its goal of helping one Santa Rosa County veteran get a Healing Paws for Warriors dog in 2022.

The dogs, which are mostly rescues, are trained to support veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury or other emotional and mental trauma.

A 54-year-old man from Crawfordville, Florida caused a Thursday afternoon accident in the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 at the beginning of the Blackwater River Bridge. He was not injured, but his passenger received minor injuries.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, he failed to notice that traffic had completely stopped in front of him and struck a vehicle carrying a 34-year-old Crestview woman and a 3-year-old girl. Neither were injured.

A man accused of driving from Georgia specifically to kill a Navarre Beach man was indicted by a grand jury Dec. 14. John Patrick Gillebeau, a 60-year-old from Ellijay, Georgia, has been charged with first degree premeditated murder in the death of Victor Stephen Trial.

A Mobile, Alabama man who turned himself in seven months after a fatal hit and run accident in Navarre on U.S. Highway 98 has been arrested and charged. Johnny Mosely, who is 25, has been identified as the driver of the box truck that struck and killed Robert Triplett Sr. as he was walking to work on the morning of March 2.

On Tuesday, the day this column was due, I erased everything I had written and started all over.

My original premise was to write about the homeless, since I always think of them when it’s hot or cold or a time of year when the rest of us are celebrating and they are trudging from campsite to campsite.

When citizens contact their commissioners, two items top their list of concerns. One is stormwater management, which translates into flooded yards, streets and, sometimes, homes.

A Keep Santa Rosa Beautiful (KSRB) audit conducted by an investigator with the Clerk of the Circuit Court concluded that the organization has “seen better days” and that it is unable to pay its bills.

KSRB is the umbrella organization for the Panhandle Butterfly House (PHB), which has floundered since relocating from Navarre Park to make way for renovations. KSRB funds have always been kept separate from PHB, the audit notes.

A group of small business owners gathered Monday to talk commercial impact fees with officials from Holley-Navarre Water System (HNWS).

As the year inches toward its close, the Santa Rosa County School District has checked a number of boxes to provide for future growth.

In 12 months, the district has opened one new school – East Bay K-8 – and has a second K-8 under construction in the north end of the county.