Adventure of a lifetime

Concord Presbyterian Church of Gulf Breeze pastor and Navarre resident Jon Becker spent two weeks on a sailing trip from Key West to New York City. The trip featured multiple mast breaks, interactions with dolphins, and a freak storm, in which Becker feared for his life. “I remember taking my wallet and my phone and (putting it) in my shorts and zipped it (up). I thought at least they will be able to identify me. We were all thinking thoughts like that.”

No education without representation

A student on the school board? Several Santa Rosa County students called for some form of student representation at the June 13 school board meeting. “A student advisor (or representative) is not just an advisor to the school board but a liaison to the student body,” said Riley Perantoni, a Gulf Breeze teen. Similar leadership positions are held by students in Leon, Broward, and Miami Dade counties. School board member Linda Sanborn expressed interest in creating a student advisory committee instead of a board representative.

Junior Lifeguard program

The Junior Lifeguard Program is marking its fourth year in 2024. The youth camp, which gives children ages nine to 15 training in lifeguarding skills and water safety, has been a large success. Multiple former Junior lifeguards have become Navarre Beach Lifeguards once they became old enough (at least 16 years old). Navarre Beach Lifeguards, such as Zachary Miller, volunteer as counselors for the program.

Hurlburt Field Airpark opens to public

For the first time in roughly 20 years, Hurlburt Field Airpark is open to the public. 1st Special Operations Wing (1SOW) commander Col. Patrick Dierig, AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, and others celebrated the reopening with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The ceremony, which featured multiple speakers and a delayed enlistment swearing-in ceremony, marked the end of a months long process to set up fencing around the airpark and refurbish the park’s displays and aircraft. Col. Dierig said he hopes the airpark can help tell the story of northwest Florida’s military history.

Tiger King back in Santa Rosa County Jail

The star of Netflix’s “Tiger King,” Joseph Maldanado Passage, 61, was transferred to Santa Rosa County Jail March 27 and is on hold for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Known as “Exotic Joe,” Maldanado-Passage was convicted of charges stemming from a murder-for-hire plot concocted against Florida animal right activist Carole Baskin and for killing and selling tigers across state lines. In 2018, Maldanado-Passage was arrested in Santa Rosa County and eventually sentenced to 22 years. The sentence was reduced to 21 years in 2022.

Need for speed

Navarre High School’s Construction Academy got to test their electric race car at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola ahead of future competition against other schools. Sponsored by Florida Power and Light, the electric car program is led by Navarre High teacher James Fox. The project of building a race car that runs on electricity took two months and lots of work. Going around the track, student Jack Moffa averaged about a minute per lap, hitting speeds of 30 miles per hour. Near the end of the hour long run at the track, the car lost battery power and slowed to a halt. The kit for the car cost $7,000 and Navarre was chosen to represent Santa Rosa County in a competition in April.

Five Navarre students among those nominated to military academies

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz was at Navarre High School Thursday, Jan. 25, to announce the recipients of nominations to military service academies. Amongst the many names called out were five Navarre High School students, four of which were in attendance. Benjamin Johnson, Gennaro Smith, Jesse Lee, Brenner Mavity, and Katelynn Johnson all received appointments to either the Naval Academy, U.S Military Academy at West Point, the Air Force Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, or the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

New board members elected

At Holley Navarre Water System’s annual membership meeting on Jan. 16, two board members were voted in. Incumbent director Mark Miller and newcomer Rob Low were selected out a field of four. In addition to the election of board members, the water system’s membership also voted against a change to the utility’s articles of incorporation. The change would have provided a lower threshold for altering the utility’s bylaws to “at least 5% of the members of the corporation” participating in a vote. As it stands now, a change to the bylaws requires approval by the “majority of membership.” The total membership of HNWS is 14,000.