Community Archive

One notices the eye contact first, then the handshake and the posture. Men Empowered members meeting Nov. 5 at the Clyde L. Gracey Community Center in Milton displayed confidence and poise not expected from high school students.

Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Bob Cole, center, presents a plaque to Commissioner Dave Piech this morning commemorating his service on the Board of County Commissioners.

Every morning before school at Central, students file into the library. Some are there for books, but most are there for a fresh brew to start off their day. Coffee has become an important part of societal norms around the globe. Coffee houses and cafes are gathering spots for the young, the old, and everyone in between. And at Central School, coffee plays an important role in bringing the school together.

The deadline to submit qualifications to manage the City of Milton’s almost $70-million wastewater reclamation project passed last month without response.

“This is a big project; a huge project,” Interim Public Information Officer Jay Conrad said Friday. “Our expectation has been that anyone with the qualifications to do this job already is employed; we knew it might take some time to attract the kind of expertise we need for a project of this magnitude.”

It may be coincidence, but Richard Wood couldn’t have timed the release of his first book – Mayhem in the Florida Panhandle – much better.

Tales of murder and mayhem take center stage during the Halloween season and Wood’s 13 tales have the added attraction of being true – and happened in places readers will recognize.

The City of Milton soon will star in its own promotional video series.

According to the National League of Cities, its Community Showcase Video Program – produced by CGI Digital – helps municipalities promote themselves “through the power of video and digital media tools.”

Brandon Savoie, a freelance videographer for CGI Digital’s Community Showcase Video Program, focuses on City of Milton employees Jay Conrad and Jacob Hullett as they kayak along the eastern shore of the Blackwater River. Sponsors pay for the video, there is no cost to the city.

Dora Wiggins Thrash celebrated her 100th birthday Saturday, Oct. 15, with friends and family at First Baptist Church of Milton.

That’s 36,525 days (including 25 leap days). Asked how she achieved such longevity, Mrs. Thrash didn’t divulge a secret diet or exercise regimen; instead, the (almost) life-long Santa Rosa County resident shared practical wisdom.

Friday night lights will be coming to Allentown in 2023.

At a pep rally to celebrate the Central Jaguars Youth Football program, Central School principal Klint Lay announced that school will field a high school team beginning next school year.

The Heritage Festival in Munson took place this past weekend at the Krul Lake recreation area in the Blackwater River State Forest.

The festival highlighted a time when life was much slower and there was a different way of doing things.