At the end of a dead-end road in Holley, the largest known collection of artifacts from the turpentine industry is kept in a tidy clay-colored building behind Raymond Melvin’s home.

Melvin, whose dad, granddads and great-granddads all trace their roots to the industry, started his collection when he was 22. More than 50 years later, it includes more than 1,000 items ranging from tools and scales to cut trees and cups to hold the sap.

To a passing motorist, the corner of Hamilton Bridge Road and Glover Lane may look like others in Milton. The city-owned utility easement has patches of scrubby grass and a circle of landscaping near the triangle formed by the intersection.

Milton officials speak out on new facility

After hearing too many statements they say are inaccurate about the location of Milton’s new water reclamation facility, Milton city officials are speaking up.

“The cars have tripled. The people have tripled. Everything has just grown … “We don’t have enough spots. The island is only so big.” Julie White, director of the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Office.

I wish I could go back to the simpler days,” she texted. No, honey. No, you don’t.

Citizens Moving Forward is organizing this year’s Santa Rosa Black History event Feb. 27 at the Milton High School Auditorium. The celebration will feature the gospel choir at Florida A&M University.

The headstones were provided through the City of Milton, with the help of a large donation from Gulf Coast Wilbert, a Crestview company. Private donations also helped.

A Milton tow truck driver is being hailed as “Our Hero – Our Angel” by the mayor of Fort Walton Beach’s family after saving him and his wife from a burning vehicle.

Mayor Dick Rynearson and his wife, Janey, were heading to a gas station off Interstate 10 near Live Oak Jan. 26 when their car was t-boned and burst into flames.

Many of the “shoulds” of my childhood have been washed away and that is for the better. Women can and need to earn as much as men. Men can and need to be as involved in their children’s lives as women. Leaders of our schools, communities and nation can and need to be people of all genders, nationalities and religions

After several months of relative stability, Santa Rosa County is again facing staffing challenges, with three of its top employees resigning in the last few weeks.

James Cook, the interim head of Public Works, Chris Phillips, the head of Development Services, and Erica Grancagnolo, the associate director of the Economic Development agency have all resigned.