Community Kudos: Beaver Lake Cleanup, helping sea turtles
Beaver Lake cleanup Let’s start this week off tossing kudos to the brave souls of the Oakwood Hills community between Mossy Head and Laurel Hill who will gather in frigid ... OK, actually fairly nice...
View ArticleLatest proposal for Brooks Bridge raises old worries (PHOTOS)
For nearly 50 years, locals and tourists have relied exclusively on the Brooks Bridge to get them from Fort Walton Beach to Okaloosa Island and back. But half a century is about as long as the state...
View ArticleEfforts to build a second bridge never gained public support
Tom Rice, who still holds the title of chairman of the long-defunct Emerald Coast Bridge Authority, refers to his board as the least successful ever. “I had the most unsuccessful bridge authority in...
View ArticleFirst Brooks Bridge would swing open to lets boats pass
Before there was Fort Walton Beach there was Brooks Landing, and before the existing Brooks Bridge there were ferry boats. Later, a swing-style bridge connected the city to Okaloosa Island. John...
View ArticleHead Start registrations scheduled in Santa Rosa County
Parents with young children living in Santa Rosa County are invited to learn more about the Head Start programs available in their area. Recruitment meetings at various locations will begin Feb. 5 and...
View ArticleMan airlifted after found unconscious
FORT WALTON BEACH - A man was airlifted to a local hospital Saturday morning after he was found unconscious near the intersection of Beal Parkway and First Street, according to Fort Walton Beach...
View ArticleCancer Freeze just gets hotter
Deputy Caleb Davidson, a resource officer at Walton High School, never imagined the idea born from a conversation with a co-worker would evolve into something bigger in just eight years. But Cancer...
View ArticleIt all started with Operation Schoolhouse
At age 11, Allie Maney was inspired to change lives. Five years later, the Choctawhatchee High School junior can’t imagine what her life would have been like if she hadn’t started Operation...
View ArticleSt. Mary celebrates 100 years (PHOTOS)
FORT WALTON BEACH — To the Rev. John Licari, St. Mary Catholic Church’s 100 years in town has meant far more than attending Mass. The congregation has grown from a handful to almost 1,300, and with it...
View Article‘I will not let my dream die’
FORT WALTON BEACH — Despite adversity and a few failures along the way, the Rev. Felix Cole did not give up on his dreams. The Air Force captain and associate minister at Beulah First Baptist Church...
View ArticleWoman killed in morning fire
FORT WALTON BEACH — A 29-year-old woman was killed early Monday morning in a structure fire at Royale Apartments on Colonial Drive. Tabatha Tidwell was found unconscious inside her apartment at 614...
View ArticleMan threatens victim with gun, bomb
FORT WALTON BEACH — A 33-year-old man was arrested on charges of armed robbery after allegedly threatening someone with a gun and a bomb — neither of which he actually had. An employee at Chevron gas...
View ArticlePHOTOS: A final look at Saturday's Mardi Gras parade
Take a final look at Saturday's Mardi Gras parade on Okaloosa Island. Click here to see the photos. >>
View ArticleMaking a Difference: This volunteer proves you're never too old to make a...
FORT WALTON BEACH — Kris Sams knows a thing or two about perseverance. At 96 years old, she doesn’t let her age or her walker keep her from volunteering at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center every...
View ArticleWhy do you march? (PHOTOS)
FORT WALTON BEACH — Participants in this year's Martin Luther King Jr. parade were asked why they were marching. From 8 years old to 68 years old, each person had a reason for the steps they took...
View ArticleThirst for adventure adds up to classroom math help for teacher
SHALIMAR — Paige Hudson was an hour from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro when she thought about giving up. At 51, she was the oldest person to sign nearly every logbook at the campgrounds on her six-day...
View ArticleReport: Man pulls gun in argument over girlfriend
NICEVILLE – Police arrested a man they say pulled a gun on another man in an argument over a girlfriend. Carlos Rafael Garcia, 31, of Niceville, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon without...
View ArticleMan accused of punching restaurant manager in head
DESTIN – A Georgia man is in hot water after he punched a restaurant manager in the head, lawmen say. The 25-year-old Alpharetta, Ga., man was being escorted out of Miller’s Ale House on Emerald Coast...
View ArticleMan smacks neighbor, faces battery charge, lawmen say
CRESTVIEW – A man faces a battery charge after he hit another man in the head twice, according to an arrest report. The man, 55-year-old Jack Avery Barr of Crestview, is accused of hitting another man...
View ArticleFrom bridges to festivals, Niceville’s Spence was a leader
NICEVILLE — Jim Vest recalled Monday the first time he ever heard anyone mention the road that would be called the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector. It was in 1992, before the Mid-Bay Bridge was even...
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