One local Milton resident picked up beekeeping as a hobby, now honeybees live in her backyard and her heart. 

Honeybees are practically in Conni Carnley’s DNA. Her grandfather and aunt both had a history of beekeeping, and she has fond memories of visiting her aunt’s hive in her youth. But it was not until 2014 that she decided to pick up the hobby herself. Now she and her husband, Danny, manage 16 hives.

It will be basketball for a good cause when Milton Panther basketball players take on members of the staff in a game at the Panther Den on April 7. Game time is 6:30 p.m.
The money raised will benefit the family of Milton High student Kira Wagner, who had a life-saving heart transplant in February.

The FarmHouse Fair event on Saturday, March 22, featured speakers on homesteading, local sellers, food trucks, and music.

Ladies Skill Sharing founder Rachel Wallace hosted the event. She believes the traditional style of providing families with food raised, grown, or foraged from the backyard is a skill that everyone can and should learn.

Hundreds of families with children from birth to age five attended a special event designed to help young learners thrive on Saturday, March 1, 2025. The “Help Me Thrive” Early Childhood Family Event was held at the Santa Rosa County Auditorium, located at 4530 Spikes Way in Milton.

Leadership Santa Rosa’s Class 38 has officially launched its year-long leadership development program, starting with an immersive team-building experience at Adventures Unlimited, just outside of Milton, Florida Ropes Day, a cornerstone of the annual program, challenged participants to strengthen their teamwork, problem-solving, and leadership skills in an interactive and dynamic setting.

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.

Santa Rosa County District Schools food service provider, Chartwells K12, won second place at the Santa Rosa Kids’ House Chili Cook-Off Feb. 22.

The ninth annual Chili, Cars, & Kids chili cook-off at the Douglas A. Dillon Administrative Complex in Milton. Contestants competed in the community chili cook-off while classic cars were on display. Proceeds from the event benefit the Santa Rosa Kids’ House, which works to protect and advocate for abused and neglected children.

At the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Feb. 27, two local groups and neighbors were recognized for cleaning up 25,000 dead mullet after Winter Storm Enzo.

The record-breaking snowfall in Santa Rosa County starting Jan. 21, 2025, brought prolonged cold temperatures to shallow waters of the Wright basin and Blackwater River, resulting in a massive mullet kill off.

Santa Rosa Animal Services is launching its third annual kennel sponsorship. The sponsorships raise funds for outsourced medical care.

The funds will also go toward foster support, microchip and rabies clinics, spay/neuter programs, and community outreach. All of it is incorporated into their Partners for Pets program that they utilize for medical cases.

The Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program announced they anticipate awarding $250,000 to help restore and protect local waterways. They also announced some changes to the PPBEP Community Grant Program.