Man caught looking for unlocked cars, hides from deputy behind tree
DESTIN — A 27-year-old man was arrested April 28 on charges of resisting an officer without violence and prowling. According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, the Destin man was...
View ArticleWildlife Refuge raising funds for eagle flight cage
OKALOOSA ISLAND — Visitors were gazing at an adult bald eagle perched on a branch inside a small cage at the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge on Thursday when it flapped its wings and flew up until it...
View ArticleSmoke advisory issued for area of Yellow River Bridge
MILTON—Eglin Air Force Base has a controlled burn near Yellow River Bridge, or State Road 87, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The 1,200-acre fire is south of Yellow River and 5 miles east of...
View ArticleInternal auditor to review Okaloosa airports first
Okaloosa County’s new internal auditor, Carr, Riggs & Ingram, will turn its attention first to the county’s three airports. County Commissioner Kelly Windes made the suggestion at the board’s...
View ArticleMan gets 25 years for cooking meth in motel room
Acting on a tip, police busted Joshua Ray Little and Cynthia Scruggs on Aug. 5, 2012, as they were cooking methamphetamine in a room at the Hilton Motel. Little, 31, of Crestview, was sentenced...
View ArticleNew Freeport fire chief learning the ropes
FREEPORT — The City of Freeport has hired a new fire chief, nearly seven months after officials fired the former chief when it was discovered he was not properly certified. Fire Chief Chad Harrell...
View ArticleUnexploded World War II-era bomb safely detonated
EGLIN AFB — The unexploded 500-pound bomb found near the Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal school was safely disarmed Thursday morning. The school was evacuated for two days while technicians...
View ArticleJustice Department sues hospice care service co-founded by Don Gaetz
A lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice asserts that Vitas Hospice Services, a company founded in 1983 by a group that included state Senate President Don Gaetz, submitted fraudulent bills...
View ArticleStudents simulate life on Mars
EGLIN AFB — More than 300 fifth-graders took the school bus to Mars on Thursday. At the annual Marsville event put on by the environmental compliance division of the 96th Civil Engineering Group, the...
View ArticleChavers’ murder conviction overturned
Timothy Chavers, the reported triggerman in the killing of fellow teenager Christopher Pitcock in Fort Walton Beach in 2010, will get a new trial. Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeals on Thursday...
View ArticleNo one injured in kitchen fire
NAVARRE - No one was injured in a kitchen fire in a home on Woodmont Street on Wednesday night, according to the Holley-Navarre firefighters. Crews from Holley-Navarre, Midway, Navarre Beach and...
View ArticleMorrison Springs to be closed Monday
PONCE DE LEON - Walton County will close Morrison Springs Park on Monday to disperse chemicals to eliminate hydrilla that is taking over the swimming area. The chemicals are not harmful to swimmers,...
View ArticleSTEMM Academy students learn while having fun (GALLERY)
VALPARAISO — Students at the STEMM Academy left behind their uniforms but kept on their thinking caps during a modified field day Friday. For several hours students and their parents worked through...
View ArticleStudent suspended after starting school shooting rumor
A student who started a rumor that there would be a shooting at Walton High School on Friday was suspended following an overnight investigation. The Sheriff’s Office arrived at the student’s home late...
View ArticleMark calendars: Eglin mission to close roads May 14
EGLIN AFB - Several roads through base property will be closed for a time Tuesday for a test mission. State Road 85 will be closed from Range Road 213 to a point 0.4 miles north of the intersection of...
View ArticleTwo in critical condition following Thursday wreck
A Thursday afternoon crash that critically injured two women in north Santa Rosa County is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol, according to the agency's media release. Two young...
View ArticleSearch leads to trumpet mouth piece with marijuana residue
NICEVILLE— A 21-year-old man was arrested on April 30 on charges of possession of marijuana and drug equipment. According to the Niceville Police Department arrest report, the man consented to let the...
View ArticleReport: Man plagued by bedbugs steals sheets for kids
CRESTVIEW -- A man accused of taking two sets of sheets from WalMart April 11 and leaving the store withut paying for them told police his home had bedbugs and he needed the sheets for his children,...
View ArticleWoman calls 911 to report boyfriend cheating
NICEVILLE -- A 30-year-old Niceville woman called 911 to report that her boyfriend had cheated on her, according to the Niceville Police Department call history record. The dispatcher told the woman...
View ArticleOCSO investigating sexual battery complaint
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office is investigating a complaint that a woman was sexually battered April 30 at Leo Norred Park off Poplar Avenue in Poquito Bayou. The woman said she had a fight with...
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