Justin Deese, owner of Rooter Man in Navarre, has been selected as the new Holley-Navarre Fire District commissioner for Seat 4. Deese will serve out the remainder of the term William Painter vacated in October. The seat will be added to the ballot in the general election in November.
Many changes have taken place in Navarre during the last decade; the number of households has doubled, the population has soared, and schools are bursting at the seams. New home construction rates are up and two new apartment complexes are set to join the market in 2016. One of those communities, The Sound at Navarre Beach located on U.S. Highway 98, will add more than 300 units to Holley-Navarre Fire Department’s district. The other, The Reserve, will add 148 units to Midway Fire Department’s district. The growth of the area, it seems, is outpacing the infrastructure or any planned improvements. But traffic patterns and utilities aren’t the only concern. One of the most-depended upon services is fire protection. The growth of Navarre and Midway are forcing at least one of the departments to take a look at how the needs of the population are increasing and how they can continue to meet them.
Santa Rosa County’s Public Services Department selected Jennifer Tilden as employee of the year for 2015. Tilden, who has served the county as zoning administrator since January 2013, was recognized by the Board of County Commissioners at the Jan. 28 meeting.
Gov. Rick Scott announced today that December was the strongest month for new housing permits in 2015, with 10,545 permits authorized across the state in December. Florida building permits totaled 107,984 during 2015, up 28 percent from 2014.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s highest court has delayed the execution of a condemned inmate, just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court found flaws in the way the state sentences people to death.
The 12 projects chosen by the RESTORE council and vetted through the county commissioners in September will move forward as a group or a Multi-Year Implementation Plan (MYIP) this month to the Department of Treasury. Commissioners Rob Williamson and Bob Cole both expressed misgivings about the Second Chance Outreach project, but they were encouraged by Commissioner Layne Lynchard and county grant coordinator Sheila Fitzgerald to leave the plan as is. Cole was also uneasy about the Quinn Street Marina in the City of Milton. “I feel like the money would be better applied to moving the waste water treatment plant,” Cole said. Fitzgerald clarified the procedures.
In the wake of the worldwide concerns of the Zika virus, Santa Rosa County is using the opportunity to remind local residents to practice precautions and help reduce the spread of mosquitoes. The Florida Department of Health has reported six new cases of Zika in Florida that are travel-associated, bringing the total to nine for the state. Miami-Dade has four reported cases, Hillsborough has two, Lee has two and Santa Rosa has one.
Kevin Lacz, a former Navy SEAL who played himself in the 2014 hit movie “American Sniper,” now lives in Navarre and, with his wife Lindsey, is the heart and soul of a new veterans outreach effort.
Every hotel and motel room in Santa Rosa County would have to be filled for an entire week in April by Tough Mudder enthusiasts to achieve the economic impact of the two-day event as estimated in a request for state funding filed by the Tourist Development Office.
