The Santa Rosa County Commission on Thursday proclaimed its appreciation for 11 Leonardo Helicopters and Leonardo DRS employees who pulled a pilot from a crashed private plane at Peter Prince Airport on Monday, Feb. 6.
For the past 18 years, people from Santa Rosa County and beyond have gathered at the Gulf Coast Kiln Walk Society’s Woodstoke Festival for fun, food and friends, but mostly for pottery. On Saturday, Feb. 18, they came back to celebrate the latest kiln firing, look at the pottery and, in some cases, buy it.
Woodstoke Festival, named as an homage to Woodstock, brings together potters and ceramics artists from across the region with the chance to use some of the high-quality kilns at Holley Hill Pottery (7507 Buckeye Drive in Holley).
Residents have begged Santa Rosa County for months to improve code enforcement to prevent erosion damage and water pollution. Last week, the Board of County Commissioners approved increasing landfill fees, including a $1 per ton impact fee to pay for four new compliance officers.
The old ball and chain has been given a new meaning. On Tuesday, Feb. 14, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson spoke at a news conference about a murder for hire case involving a man and a woman from Pace.
“I think this is my first Valentine’s Day press conference,” Johnson said. “That’s kind of appropriate because we’re going to tell you about a love story.”
The local Navarre sewing group Salt Water Stitchers continued their quest to make quilts for all the school resource officers in the south end of Santa Rosa County.
Last May, they made eight quilts and presented them to the Navarre and Woodlawn Beach schools.
In September 2022, they began to make five more quilts for the school resource officers at the Gulf Breeze schools, Oriole Beach Elementary, and the new officer at Holley Navarre Primary.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office has determined that a photo circulating on social media this week of a gun and ammo was not considered a credible threat against Navarre High School, according to Jillian Durkin, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office.
The photo, which was sent to the Navarre Press by a concerned parent, included the caption “Wednesday can’t come faster,” with a sad face emoji.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Milton Thursday to present a $2.36 million Broadband Opportunity Grant to Santa Rosa County leaders.
The popular Republican governor visited the historic Imogene Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 2, to announce the first Broadband Opportunity Grant Program awards to expand broadband internet for Florida’s underserved communities. The Santa Rosa grant will help bring high-speed internet to 791 homes and businesses in the county. Statewide, the program is committing more than $144 million for 58 projects in 41 counties, impacting almost 160,000 unserved residential, educational, business and community locations.
There have been a number of Christian-centered religious schools that have opened in Santa Rosa County in the past decade.
LEAD Academy, located in Chumuckla, will be celebrating 10 years as a school this year. Since that time, Gulf Pointe Latin School in Navarre has opened, as has Coastline Christian Academy in Oriole Beach.
The turtle’s OK. A conversation with Navarre Beach Pier operator Tamara Fountain convinced Santa Rosa County Commissioner James Calkins to drop his objection to new signs for the facility.
