Northwest Florida Construction Career Days celebrated a record-breaking sixth year in 2026.
The annual construction and transportation career fair drew more than 1,400 students and chaperones from schools across seven Northwest Florida counties. Counties involved in this year’s event included Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties.
Vernon Compton stands on the edge of Clear Creek Nature Preserve, where Longleaf Alliance, a conservation organization he belongs to, is currently working to create trails for public recreation.
He said it’s an exciting time for conservation in Northwest Florida.
Despite being a well-known figure in Northwest Florida in his time, Jackson Morton’s name has fallen into obscurity.
Born in 1794 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Morton moved to Milton in the 1820s and began a successful brickmaking enterprise, selling mainly to those building Pensacola’s Naval fortifications.
He later parlayed his business success into a political career, eventually serving a term in the U.S. Senate from 1849 to 1855. Years later, he served in the Confederacy’s version of the Senate.
Loxy, a red fox and longtime animal ambassador with Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge, passed away earlier this year.
Right around the start of 2026, Loxy was diagnosed with bone cancer. During that time, Loxy stopped eating and playing.
Santa Rosa County’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is holding a four-part event across two weekends to train county residents how to be prepared for emergencies and help their neighbors out when disaster strikes.
The basic CERT course will serve as an overview of emergency response. The first part of the course will be held Friday, Feb. 20, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Additional dates are Feb. 21 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.), Feb 27 (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.) and Feb. 28 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
Sit on a front porch facing Forsyth Street long enough and you’ll see the traffic.
Large trucks breezing by, people speeding and the twice-a-day congregation of cars coming and going from Bagdad Elementary School are fixtures on the main drag through this otherwise sleepy community.
Wednesday, Feb. 18, marks the annual tradition of Ash Wednesday in the Christian faith.
Ash Wednesday is a time of reflection and renewed focus on Christ, his teachings and each person’s faith journey. The day will also mark the beginning of the Lenten period, a season of prayer and fasting which lasts for 40 days until Easter Sunday.
Maggie Benham is involved with many things.
From volunteering at the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center (NBSTCC) to instructing people on whitewater rafting to creating art, Benham is a sort of “jack-of-all-trades.” Or rather, a “Jill of all trades.”
