Community Archive

A Milton man is counting more than just his blessings after he won a grand prize from the Florida lottery. Bernard Waters, 63, claimed the $5 million top prize from the $20 Monopoly Doubler Scratch Off game this month. According to the Florida lottery, Waters chose to receive his winnings as a one-time lump-sum payment of $3,994,698.

The Arc of the Emerald Coast announced that on Wednesday, Jan. 31, it received a generous donation of $25,000 from the Fort Walton Beach Rotary. The funds were raised at the North Florida Pickleball Brawl, the Rotary’s annual pickleball tournament.

The sound of rain couldn’t drown out the sound of Santa Rosa’s All County Band Saturday, Jan. 27.

In spite of the gloomy weather, parents, school district employees and the community packed Pace Assembly of God to hear both middle school and high school students perform a variety of tunes from classics such as the Wizard of Oz and Star Wars to more recent compositions such as Tarantella by Carol Brittin Chambers.

Consider the variety of needs in our community: beds for children who are sleeping on floors. food, clothing and care for at-risk foster children, STEM and mentoring programs to spark brighter lives for children and teens, marine and wildlife conservation and protection programs.  

At the end of Clearview St. on Garcon Point, you’ll find a gated, 30-acre property with some interesting inhabitants. The property is home to eight horses, a donkey and a litany of pigs. The people who look after these animals, mostly volunteers, are there not only for the animals but for visitors.

Santa Rosa County District Schools is again recruiting and accepting applications for School Guardian. The Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program was established in 2018 through the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. In its initial report, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission found that having guardians in schools is the best way to ensure highly trained personnel are in place to respond immediately in the event of a school shooting.

Over the last two years freshwater fisheries researchers and managers with the FWC have successfully released more than 11,000 shoal bass.

It’s part of an ongoing recovery effort for the shoal bass population after Hurricane Michael devastated the Panama City area in 2018 and depleted more than 90% of it.

Volunteers portrayed prominent residents from Bagdad’s past to teach community members about their stories on the Legends and Lore tour.

Brandt and Samantha Hendricks of Santa Rosa County have been named finalists for the Florida Farm Bureau Achievement in Agriculture award. The couple will compete for the statewide honor later this month at the 2023 Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Orlando, Oct. 25-27.