Officials investigating suspicious Crestview fire
CRESTVIEW — Firefighters were at the scene of a suspicious fire at an abandoned house for nearly 16 hours Wednesday night and Thursday. They were called to 604 S. Wilson Street at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday...
View ArticleLane restrictions expected at Cotton Bridge
BAKER — There will be intermittent lane restrictions on State Road 4 over Cotton Bridge just west of Baker from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. TODAY as crews remove debris from under the bridge. All activities are...
View Article1920s Main Street undergoes facelift
CRESTVIEW — With the flap of a vinyl strip, a gentle shower of plaster dust and a clatter of dislodged wooden furring strips, a downtown architectural gem long hidden behind a plastic façade was once...
View ArticleDog show draws international entries (GALLERY)
FORT WALTON BEACH — The Okaloosa Kennel Club is holding its annual dog show today and tomorrow at the C.H. "Bull" Rigdon Fairgrounds. This year's show features along side it, the Tibetan Spaniel...
View ArticleMan gets 25 years for meth trafficking
CRESTVIEW — Kenneth Ben Williams will spend 25 years in prison for trafficking methamphetamine. Williams, who was sentenced Thursday, was arrested June 25, 2012, with more than 200 grams of meth after...
View ArticleMatt Gaetz: Legislature to debate health care, self-defense
FORT WALTON BEACH — Even politicians are getting upset about Washington’s inability to prevent $85 billion in spending cuts. With sequestration taking effect March 1, state Rep. Matt Gaetz voiced his...
View ArticleSanta Rosa to advertise sale of industrial park land
MILTON — Santa Rosa County commissioners decided to move forward Thursday with plans to lure a distribution company to bring hundreds of jobs to the county. Commissioners voted unanimously to...
View ArticleWhat scouting is all about
FORT WALTON BEACH — Girl Scout Troop 306 raises money for different causes every year. The girls have donated to local firefighters and paramedics, Children in Crisis, the military and Pyramid Inc.,...
View ArticleBrain Injury Connection offers understanding from those who know
FORT WALTON BEACH — Patrick O’Neill can remember when he drove himself to school, spoke articulately and walked without help. Those days are long gone. O’Neill was hit by a drunken driver in 1972....
View ArticleOkaloosa could sue advertising firms over Bellinger’s thefts
As Okaloosa County commissioners begin trying to recoup many of Mark Bellinger’s questionable purchases, they have not ruled out legal action against Lewis Communications and The Zimmerman Agency....
View ArticleAmended ethics bill questioned
An Okaloosa County commissioner and local tea party leader wonder if language added recently to a state Senate ethics bill essentially neuters what has been called groundbreaking legislation. “The...
View ArticleShelter closes as river starts to recede
BRUCE - The emergency shelter at Bruce United Methodist Church has closed as the Choctawhatchee River began to recede Thursday afternoon, according to the Walton County Sheriff's Office. No one had...
View ArticleFlooding still has some roads closed
Several roads in the area still were impassable Thursday from recent flooding. The following roads were closed in Okaloosa County: Old Dorcas Road at the Shoal River, County Line Road from County Road...
View ArticlePolice to offer child safety seat check
CRESTVIEW - The Police Department will offer a free child safety seat inspection March 16. The inspections will be in the parking lot of the Crestview police station at 201 Stillwell Blvd. Child...
View ArticleFlorida man swallowed by sinkhole under bedroom
SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) — A huge sinkhole about 30 feet across opened up under a man's bedroom and swallowed him, taking all of the furniture too. Jeff Bush, 37, was feared dead after the floor gave way...
View ArticlePocket dialing calls police to Oregon drug deal
MOLALLA, Ore. (AP) — Police in the Oregon town of Molalla say a dispatcher received a cellphone call and overheard a drug deal taking place. A phone in the woman's pocket inadvertently dialed 911...
View ArticleNearly 100 quilts displayed at show in Destin (GALLERY)
DESTIN — Hundreds of crafters meandered through the Palms of Destin Resort and Conference Center on Friday morning for the Flying Needles Quilt Guild quilting show. The Emerald Coast Quilt Retreat...
View ArticleNiceville gets new fire boat (GALLERY)
NICEVILLE — The Fire Department now is prepared to respond to just about any situation on the water, thanks to a new piece of equipment. The department received a 27-foot fire boat this week. It is...
View ArticleWoman says husband hit her - but first he put their baby in crib
DESTIN – A man who beat his wife first took their 3-month-old daughter, who was lying on a mattress beside her mother, and moved her into a crib, lawmen report. The incident occurred Feb. 24 at a...
View ArticleReport: Stepdad's admonishment earns him a slap, eye-gouging
FORT WALTON BEACH – A 33-year-old man did not take kindly to being told to clean up after himself by his stepfather, an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report indicates. On Feb. 26 a deputy...
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