Milton celebrates its 10th National Night Out
August 3, 2023
The National Association of Town Watch – a nationwide network of law enforcement agencies, neighborhood watch groups, civic groups, state and regional crime prevention associations and volunteers – introduced the first National Night Out in August 1984. Two-and-a-half million people in 400 communities across 23 states participated.
UnForegettable experience for Sarah Edwards
July 31, 2023
A cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean was off to her right. And the opportunity of a lifetime was right in front of her.
Sarah Edwards stepped into the tee box on the 10th hole of the famed Pebble Beach Golf Course feeling every nerve and emotion imaginable as she readied herself to tee off at the LPGA’s U.S. Women’s Open Championship for the first time in her life in early July.
New cadets get feel for life in Pace NJROTC program
July 27, 2023
Alexis Parker remembers her time as a first-year cadet and going through the week-long Pace NJROTC NS1 camp that gives newcomers a feel for what life will be like in the program and what it takes to be successful in it.
Three years later, Parker, a senior, is the commanding officer of a unit that has won the last three national championships, and she’s come a long way and is ready to embrace her new responsibilities.
Jay farmer receives Farm Press award for efficiency
July 25, 2023
If you have ever enjoyed a peanut M&M, then you can likely thank Ryan Jenkins for growing that peanut in his fields in Jay. Recently, Jenkins received recognition as the 2023 Farm Press Peanut Efficiency Award winner for the lower Southeast.
Jenkins, whose family has been farming in north Santa Rosa County for generations, was named the award winner for using farming practices that manage resources such as water and seed more efficiently.
Horse rehabilitation a passion for Milton nonprofit
July 18, 2023
For Rashelle Stewart, executive director of Tiny Acres Northwest Florida, Inc., helping horses is the ‘mane’ thing.
Tiny Acres Northwest Florida, Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting and rehabilitating abused or neglected horses in Santa Rosa County.
Fish hatchery continues to aid unique shoal bass
July 14, 2023
Bob DeMauro, the fish hatchery manager at the Blackwater Fisheries Research & Development Center near Holt, is eager to see the latest results of the center’s ongoing efforts to replenish the Chipola River’s population of shoal bass.
Firefighters are looking for new venue after successful first Spring Fest
July 12, 2023
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.”
Mack Morris of Pea Ridge is among the last World War II veterans
June 26, 2023
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.
Despite pending lawsuit, Butterflies in Motion keeps taking environmental education on the road
June 26, 2023
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.
Cloudy skies don’t stop Juneteenth celebrations
June 19, 2023
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.