True love isn’t an easy thing to find in any lifetime. William (Bill) Festing and Marie Wager, however, have found it together in their 90s. This coming Saturday at 2 p.m., the two will be joined in marriage in a private ceremony at The Beacon Senior Living Facility in Gulf Breeze. Festing’s son-in-law will officiate the wedding ceremony, and the two will be expecting some 50 guests in attendance, including their closest friends and family. The couple’s wedding ceremony will be held in the beautiful dining hall of the facility.
Seattle Seahawks’ star wide receiver Doug Baldwin will speak live at Momentum Church on Easter Sunday. Baldwin, a graduate of Gulf Breeze High School, will speak live at the 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. services at Gulf Breeze Elementary School.
It isn’t uncommon to hear an athlete thank God for his or her success in sports or to see athletes from both teams gather together for a prayer circle after a game.
My column is a little shorter than usual because of Sunshine Week and the opportune timing of our commissioner deciding to answer a constituent’s letter to the editor by posting his answer to Facebook and not sending his reply back to the constituent. Mr. Cichy, veteran, copied Commissioner Rob Williamson on a letter to the editor that he sent to Navarre Press. He didn’t want to blindside Williamson – because – he is nice. However, Cichy is not on Facebook. He didn’t even know of Williamson’s reply until we emailed it to him. Instead of talking to the people, Commissioner Rob Williamson wants to talk to Facebook and have a one-sided conversation. And, he bans constituents with whom he doesn’t agree. The banned constituent has told us he is filing an ethics complaint against Commissioner Williamson. There may be more than one banned constituent. I find it ironic that the very day Commissioner Williamson leaves for Washington D.C., on his constituent’s dime (and many of them) for meetings on Defense Initiatives (of which his participation will show us zero dividends), he lashes out at a veteran who is just expressing his opinion.
Navarre Press frequently receives letters to the editor and we print them. It is a chance for citizens of Navarre and Santa Rosa County to speak their mind – about whatever is on their mind. Letters to the editor are also part of our mission statement – to be a voice for the voiceless. It is often a way for someone to express opinions; and the great thing about an opinion is it is neither right nor wrong. As constituents, the residents of this county are charged with making their opinions known so that their representatives can make informed decisions on behalf of the people who put them in office. As a newspaper, we are charged with holding the elected officials accountable and to also let them know we are watching. It’s not “gotcha journalism” – it’s ensuring that everyone follows the rules and that our taxpayer dollars are guarded and spent thoughtfully and wisely.
Santa Rosa County Tourism Director Julie Morgan applied for the same position last December in Walton County, where the job pays roughly twice her current $68,000 a year.
