As smoke engulfed a home’s garage on Holley Court in Navarre May 28, firefighters pulled a rottweiler out from the haze.

Thanks to a specialized mask on board Holley Navarre Fire District Engine 41, the animal was given oxygen, hauled off in an ambulance and able to be given treatment. The dog, named “Sydney,” has reportedly left St. Francis Animal Hospital after a multi-day stay.

Hurricane season officially kicks off on Sunday, June 1, and runs through November 30. Emergency management officials are urging everyone to be One Week Ready.

One Week Ready means having enough supplies on hand to sustain your entire household, including pets, for at least seven days without outside assistance.

A Training Air Wing FIVE helicopter incurred a hard landing at around 2 p.m. Monday, June 2 at Naval Air Station Whiting Field’s Navy Outlying Landing Field Santa Rosa near Milton.

The Milton Police Department has arrested 22-year-old Mohamed Bakayoko in connection with a large-scale fraud investigation that resulted in the theft of $852,983.06 from the Santa Rosa County Clerk of Court & Comptroller. Bakayoko has been charged with grand theft, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in state prison.

Santa Rosa County Animal Shelter gets five new benches thanks to a Milton High School student, Brent Leaver and his Eagle Scout project.

An Eagle Scout project fulfills the Scout Oath “to help other people at all times”. Every year, Eagle Scout projects provide millions of hours of community service making significant impacts in local communities. For Leaver’s project, he built five benches and donated them to the Santa Rosa County Animal Shelter.

Boy Scout Pack 400 hosted a first responder den meeting at Woodbine Church on April 29. The scouts were given a firsthand look inside the careers and lives of first responders.

At the special zoning meeting on March 27, commissioners rejected District 3 Commissioner Rhett Rowell’s proposal to extend the Rural Protection Zone. At the following regular meeting on April 7, Rowell said he was taken aback by the 180 the board had done.

“At the very beginning of the destruction of Avalon Beach – that’s when they knew,” Arthur Hauck said. “In my opinion they are liable for negligence.”

Florida has long faced the difficult task of managing growth and development. Here in Santa Rosa County, more subdivisions seem to pop up every day. Locals have said consistently, “Keep the country, country.” But a newly proposed bill could change that with more housing built on agricultural land.

On Thursday, March 13, Toby James White, who was apprehended by law enforcement Jan. 25 for second degree murder, was found dead in his cell at Santa Rosa County Jail.