Community Archive

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.

Fall under the spell of autumn as Boo at the Zoo returns to the Gulf Breeze Zoo for another year of family fun for Gulf Coast residents with activities for all ages. Boo at the Zoo offers families a safe atmosphere to trick-or-treat while enjoying festive Halloween decorations in the wild and not-so-spooky setting of the Zoo.

Genealogy is a pastime that fascinates most. It offers a narrow glimpse into the past to learn more about a family’s lineage. Some can trace their ancestors back a few hundred years, but others have detailed family trees that outline their history.

Jane Debellis, the Technical Processing Coordinator of the Santa Rosa Family History & Research Center, offered insight into why she thinks people are so captivated by genealogy.

Protecting your personal health is an important part of life. Protecting community health can be just as important.

In Santa Rosa County, and throughout the state of Florida, the Department of Health (DOH) provides a variety of services to help bolster community health and educate people on how they can keep their families on the right track when it comes to personal health and well-being.