While Blackwater River State Park welcomes visitors, those same visitors often leave behind more than footprints.

Using a Guy Harvey Foundation grant, Santa Rosa County 4-H went onto the river earlier this month to help clean up trash and other man-made debris. The foundation enabled them to rent canoes from Adventures Unlimited.

As smoke engulfed a home’s garage on Holley Court in Navarre May 28, firefighters pulled a rottweiler out from the haze.

Thanks to a specialized mask on board Holley Navarre Fire District Engine 41, the animal was given oxygen, hauled off in an ambulance and able to be given treatment. The dog, named “Sydney,” has reportedly left St. Francis Animal Hospital after a multi-day stay.

The idea of multiplication can be found throughout biblical scripture, whether it pertains to spiritual growth, familial growth, blessings, tithing or miracles such as the feeding of the 5,000 by Jesus.

Easter is a time of death and renewal.

For the Catholic Church, this symbolism of Easter was especially poignant this year as Pope Francis, the Bishop of Rome, died at 88 years old Monday, April 21.

In the American South, food takes a place on the cultural mantel piece along with rocking chairs and banjo music. Even in today’s South, where people are more transient and familial connections to the past are often forgotten, you can still find hole-in-the-wall restaurants serving family recipes of gumbo, fried fish, slaw or barbecue. Chances are if you take a seat at one of these places, you might find yourself sharing a meal with John T. Edge.

Students from 16 schools in Santa Rosa County descended upon Pace High School’s football field for the inaugural north end edition of the Zack Butler Memorial Sports Ability Games Thursday, April 3. Named for a physical education teacher and coach who lost his battle with cancer in 2022, the Sports Ability Games are designed to expand the field of opportunity for special needs students in athletics.

Northwest Florida has a new representative in Washington, D.C. Jimmy Patronis, the Republican nominee for U.S. House District 1, defeated Democratic candidate Gay Valimont Tuesday, April 1 to replace Matt Gaetz.

After resigning from Santa Rosa District Schools last October, Kelly Short, 57, has been arrested on larceny charges related to her time as director of the district’s Office of Professional Learning. Short is accused of engaging in financial improprieties, which amounted to her allegedly stealing from the district over a two-year period. The arrest comes after a monthslong investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

There are few places in the world where you can walk through swamps, prairies, beaches, flat woods and a Civil War battlefield. In Florida, you can see this all in a matter of a month, or if you are Deanna Doane, 19 days. At 26 years old, Doane recently completed the fastest supported known time in Florida National Scenic Trail history.

A Navarre woman’s 2022 death has reentered the spotlight as her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child was set to go on trial April 28 for allegedly kidnapping her, which resulted in her death. The federal trial of Marcus Spanevelo, who is alleged to have transported Navarre resident Cassie Carli’s body to Alabama and buried it in a shallow grave in Springville, a 40-minute drive from Birmingham, is being examined by a capital review committee to see if he could possibly face the death penalty.