Natalie Fahr pushes one of the Special Olympics athletes in a wheelchair across the Milton High softball outfield during a warm-up run ahead of practice on a chilly Thursday evening. The smiles on both of their faces say it all.

The numbers are staggering. The number of overdoses in northwest Florida, the number of calls to first responders for overdoses, the number of pills laced with fentanyl continues to grow.

The City of Milton is accepting applications from Ward 4 residents interested in serving on the city council.

A traffic crash at County Road 191 (Munson Highway) and Lawler Lane in Milton led to the death of a 22-year-old Milton man Saturday, Oct. 28. Christopher Ammons, 49, the driver of a pickup truck, which collided with the 22-year old’s vehicle, has since been arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter.

The cold weather shelter for the homeless and heatless will open on the nights of Tuesday, Oct. 31, and Wednesday., Nov. 1, at Ferris Hill Baptist Church, 6848 Chaffin St. in Milton. Those who want to stay at the shelter must arrive between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Only service animals (with verification of rabies vaccination) are permitted to stay with guests. 

Last week, Florida Sen. Doug Broxson, Gulf Breeze-R, told Santa Rosa County residents that he will sponsor a bill creating an authority to oversee water-related utilities north of the Yellow River and bills to reform how county fire districts are funded.

Milton’s city council and its various appointed boards will soon meet in the Al Brewton Chamber at City Hall. The council at its Oct. 19 agenda workshop unanimously approved renaming the City Council Chamber to memorialize the longtime advocate and activist, who died Aug. 16 at 76.