On March 6, Jared Gonzalez accepted a scholarship offer to play baseball for Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala. Five days later he showed why he was so coveted by the Hawks coaching staff. The senior hurler pitched the game of his life in leading Navarre to its first district win of the season against Fort Walton Beach. His gem gave the Raiders back-to-back victories for the first time this year.
Led by four RBIs from Jenna Bobbitt and Taelor Smith, the Lady Raiders overcame an early 4 – 0 deficit to win at Pine Forest March 12. Trailing 4 – 0 going into the bottom of the second inning, the Raiders scored their first run. Callan Taylor reached first on one of 10 errors committed by the Eagle defense. Taylor moved to third on Kolette Jones’ bunt single and scored on a passed ball, making the score, Pine Forest 4, Navarre 1.
Navarre Beach is finally getting some of the recognition it deserves. We received the TripAdvisor® press release on press day that Navarre Beach was named the No. 25 beach in the Travelers’ Choice™ Awards for Beaches in the U.S. We barely made the list – but we made the list which is an accomplishment. Last Thursday my daughter called me to say that the water at Navarre Beach was especially beautiful. She told me it looked like what magazines always depict for Caribbean resorts. I called the office because I was traveling and sent one of our photographers out to get pictures and three hours later I received a call he hadn’t returned. I forgot all about it until Monday afternoon when I remembered to look at the pictures. I have lived here for more than 20 years and I was blown away by the pristine beauty of Navarre Beach all over again. I was gasping at every picture because the water was crystal clear and was a beautiful emerald green and turquoise opalescent color. And then there was the sea turtle that popped up out of the water, schools of fish that swam by, the jellyfish that appeared, and the heron that landed on the pier railing by our photographer. It was almost as if nature was showing off. We definitely got a “snapshot” so to speak – of our beautiful area.
The second annual Navarre Beach Songwriter Festival is scheduled May 16 – 18 but local songwriters have been honing their skills and playing original songs at Juana’s Club Pagodas for a couple of months.
The deck of the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier was buzzing with activity March 15 in spite of chilly, windy weather. Locals and tourists mingled, enjoying live music at the re-opening of the pier’s outdoor bar, which has been named Lagerheads.
The Florida Department of Business Professional Regulations (FDBPR) has been busy conducting food service inspections in the Navarre area in 2014 and results from their work have ranged from perfect scores and met inspection standards to 23 violations and follow-up inspections required.
Representatives from West Florida Recycling March 14 removed three recycling trailers from Tiger Point Park Road. The trailers had been in the location since July 2012 when they were relocated from inside the parking lot of Tiger Point Park.
For three weeks Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Jim Melvin heard citizens protesting county plans to spend $3.75 million on a site for the proposed courthouse. Opposition was so strong that Melvin felt it doomed the entire project, which depends on voters passing a temporary sales tax increase. Therefore, he added site selection back to board’s agenda March 13.
Marcelaine Taylor grinned when I asked if she and the other four Jiranek sisters ganged-up on their only brother, James Jiranek, when they were growing up.
