The first Bagdad Spring Fest was almost too successful, organizer Matt Leifer told the Press Gazette last week. “It went freaking awesome,” Leifer said. “The issue is, we think we’ve already outgrown the location. We’ve already had people asking how they can get involved and be a part of it next year.”

Florida led Texas Christian 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning Wednesday, June 21, when Mack Morris opened his home to the Press Gazette. Morris, 96, lives alone at his Metron Estates home in Pea Ridge. The World War II veteran – one of the few remaining representatives of “the Greatest Generation” – was watching the College World Series baseball game between the Gators and Horned Frogs on a large, wall-mounted flat-screen TV in a tidy, tastefully simple living room.

Butterflies in Motion, Inc. – formerly known as Panhandle Butterfly House and Nature Center, Inc. – uses a mobile butterfly habitat to deliver free educational programs across northern Florida between late spring and the end of the Monarch butterfly migration in October. In just its second season, it already has earned awards for environmental education from the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs and the six-state Deep South Regional Garden Club; it also has received a conservation education award from National Garden Clubs Inc.

The Fellowship of Churches Santa Rosa County Juneteenth celebration is going on until 4 p.m. today, Monday, June 19, on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, weather permitting.

Have you ever been listening to a true crime podcast and wondered what it would be like to be a part of the crime scene investigation? Thanks to 4-H, some northwest Florida teens got the opportunity to learn a little about what goes into analyzing crime scenes and evidence. These teens were a part of the 4-H Teen Forensic Day Camp.

The Fellowship of Churches Santa Rosa County is planning a day of music, food and fun for its first Juneteenth National Independence Day celebration Monday, June 19, on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Milton.

When veterans return from war, they face many challenges. Some struggle with readjusting to civilian life while others deal with physical scars or psychological trauma. To help veterans reclaim their lives through treatment, services and other resources, Jamie Wells started Defenders of Freedom Florida in 2020. He serves as its CEO and president.

School’s out, but Butterflies in Motion plans to keep presenting its free shows across northern Florida through October. Audiences include Girl Scout troops, elder care facilities, recovery shelters…any group interested in butterflies.

The S.A.F.E. Program has been growing since its inception in 2022. Recently, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson, Santa Rosa County Emergency Management and Col. Allison Black, 1st SOW Commander of Hurlburt Field, were presented with new S.A.F.E. Program Packs at Samurai Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Navarre.

No one loves you. No one cares about you. If you were to disappear, no one would look for you. You should give up. Those were the deep-cutting words spoken many years ago by the voice in the head of Reggie Dabbs, who was wide awake at 3 a.m. crying in his bedroom.