This July, Stuff the Bus, the annual donations drive organized by United Way of West Florida, brought together Escambia and Santa Rosa County residents to support local schools and students for the 2025-26 school year.

It’s a busy day at Benny Russell Park, as it should be on a warm, beautiful Sunday afternoon, just a day before children begin the school year. The park is loud, filled not just with the laughter and joy of children but also music as a speaker serenades the crowd with Christian music. There are inflatables set up in the open area past the park’s splash pad. Teenagers are tossing a football back and forth. Children are chowing down on burgers and hot dogs and families are lounging in the shade under large white canopies.

Pace High marked its 50th graduation with more than 500 seniors receiving their diplomas last Friday night at the Bay Center in Pensacola.


There were smiles and cheers throughout the evening, with the graduates tossing their caps in the air at the end of the ceremony as Natasha Bedingfield’s song, “Unwritten” blared over the speakers.

In the American South, food takes a place on the cultural mantel piece along with rocking chairs and banjo music.
Even in today’s South, where people are more transient and familial connections to the past are often forgotten, you can still find hole-in-the-wall restaurants serving family recipes of gumbo, fried fish, slaw or barbecue.
Chances are if you take a seat at one of these places, you might find yourself sharing a meal with John T. Edge.

November through January is generally known as the holiday season in the United States, as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day are celebrated and observed as days employees have off. Other holidays are also celebrated during that time of year, including Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

While the holiday season may be a short period of the year, there are many other holidays observed throughout the calendar year. In Florida, there are state-specific holidays, which are observed in state offices.

Our own Hansen Hasenberg visited Plains, Georgia, last summer and brought back a story for our readers on the childhood farm and other historic sites associated with Jimmy Carter, whose funeral was held at Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 9.

Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser Greg Brown II wants residents to mark their calendars. From Jan. 1, 2025, to March 1, 2025, residents can file for a homestead exemption. Two other exemptions, one for persons 65 and over and the other for deployed servicemembers, has a five-month filing window from Jan. 1, 2025, to June 1, 2025.

Santa Rosa County District Schools is again recruiting and accepting applications for School Guardian.

The Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program was established in 2018 through the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. In its initial report, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission found that having guardians in schools is the best way to ensure highly trained personnel are in place to respond immediately in the event of a school shooting.

Citizens Moving Forward Inc., a nonprofit corporation the mission of which is “to develop and support the development of programs, curriculums, and activities that enhance the socialization of seniors and the educational development of youth,” held an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, Sept. 28, to celebrate the updating of its kitchen and renovation of the interior of its building at 6151 Dogwood Drive in Milton.

The first meeting with FABA is always on the organization, after that we encourage you to join this fine organization. Membership is by family and for a family to join go to https://blacksmithing.org (click on the membership tab), the cost is only $30 per year.