Monday marked the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January each year.

King, a civil rights leader and pastor from Atlanta, spent much of his adult life campaigning for an end to Jim Crow laws in the American South and advocating for fair and equal treatment of minorities, particularly African Americans, in the United States.

Bagdad Elementary School, one of the oldest schools in Santa Rosa County, recently celebrated its 100th anniversary at its current location on Forsyth Street.

The milestone was celebrated by staff and students Jan. 6.

On Saturday, Jan. 17, people from across Santa Rosa County gathered at Santa Rosa Auditorium in Milton to share a breakfast meal in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Late last month, a Milton resident posted a picture of a river otter swimming through Annie’s Basin near the Blackwater River. The woman was on her dock when a little furry head stuck out of the water.
While not an uncommon sight, river otters are not exactly the poster child for Florida animals. Despite not being as famed as alligators, manatees and Florida panthers, river otters play an important ecological role.

The cold weather shelter for the homeless and/or heatless will be open on the night of Sunday, Jan. 11, and Monday, Jan. 12 at Ferris Hill Baptist Church, 6848 Chaffin St. in Milton.

In theater, people see the culmination of a cast’s hard work — the dance they practiced for hours, the notes they sang until they could hold them for as many counts as possible, the expressions and lines painstakingly practiced. Audience members see the culmination of the hard work, but not the hard work itself.

The Emerald Coast Veterans Alliance donated $51,000 in grants this December.

The cold weather shelter for the homeless and/or heatless will be open on the nights of Sunday, Dec. 14, and Monday, Dec. 15 at Ferris Hill Baptist Church, 6848 Chaffin St. in Milton.

The City of Milton hosted their first-ever Christmas tree lighting ceremony on December 2 at City Hall, officially kicking off the holiday season with the Milton community.

Nemours Children’s Health and Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart have partnered to launch their “Kids Do Better When We Work Together” collaboration to provide families with better-coordinated, specialized and more accessible care. Through their agreement, many pediatric specialists are employed by Nemours and practice on the children’s hospital campus.