Holley Hill Pottery opened their grounds to the public last Saturday for the WoodStoke Pottery and Kiln Festival. Many people attended the event to enjoy good food, pottery and conversation. Some of the dishes sampled by those at the event included gumbo, chowder, specialty dishes, wood-fired pizza, chili and cornbread.
Lingering questions about the accuracy of economic impact data provided by Tough Mudder Inc. are prompting the Tourist Development Council to initiate an independent fact-gathering effort.
The new President/CEO of the Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Judy Morehead says her vision for the chamber in 2016 is to follow the mission in place: “Our mission is to strengthen and improve the Navarre area by advocating for and representing business’ interest, promoting community development and enhancing the overall quality of life.”
The so-called modern day ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ suspects were shot during a standoff with police early Friday morning in Milton. Blake Edward Fitzgerald, 30, was killed and his girlfriend, Brittany Nicole Harper, 30, was shot multiple times and was transported to a local hospital.
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.
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 our daily lives, we have much to be grateful for, too many things to list. So many things in fact, we rarely say we are thankful for the basics of life and move on to being grateful for the “extras” we enjoy. There are those amongst us who would just be grateful for the basics: a roof over their heads, clothes, food and lately, heat.
Construction of the $30 million SpringHill Suites on Navarre Beach has resumed after overcoming some obstacles, and the 161-room hotel is tentatively scheduled to open in December.
The Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating two armed robberies, one occurred in Navarre and the other in Milton, both along State Road 87. As of press time, investigators were still investigating with no new updates.
