The Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners held its reorganizational meeting this morning in Milton, seating two new board members and electing the chairman and vice chairman for the coming year. Judge Robert Hilliard, himself a former county commissioner, administered the oaths of office to new District 4 Commissioner Ray Eddington and District 2 Commissioner Kerry Smith. The new board elected District 5 Commissioner Colten Wright to be chairman and District 1 Commissioner Sam Parker to serve as vice chairman until November 2023.

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office arrested Monique Marie Garner, 32, of Milton, Saturday night in connection with the stabbing of a Pace woman earlier in the day.

The Santa Rosa Band of the Lower Muscogee celebrated Native American culture Saturday with Creek Fest, a gathering of artists, craftsmen, dancers, storytellers and vendors from various indigenous cultures sharing their skills and selling their wares at the band’s festival ground west of Milton on Willard Norris Road.

Newcomer Marilyn Farrow led former Milton Mayor Wesley Meiss by two votes after the Santa Rosa County Canvassing Board counted overseas ballots Friday, sealing her victory in the Milton City Council Ward 2, Seat 1 race.

The Florida Highway Patrol responded to two fatal automobile accidents Thursday morning in the Pace area. Neither victim was wearing a seatbelt.

This Thanksgiving, Santa Rosa County Animal Services (SRCAS) is offering residents an opportunity to foster a pet through a short term foster program. Home for the Pawlidays, the name of the foster program, will last for the week during Thanksgiving.

On Tues., Nov. 22 or Wed., Nov. 23 from 1 to 4 p.m., foster parents can pick up a pet from SRCAS and foster them through the holiday and drop them off Mon., Nov. 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

City of Milton staff will ask the city council how to proceed after receiving just one response to a request for proposals to find alternatives to widening U.S. Highway 90 through historic downtown Milton. The matter is included as an agenda item for the council’s committee meeting, which meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 6738 Dixon St.

Milton City Manager Randy Jorgenson is expected to ask the city council to allow him to find a wastewater treatment plant project manager after the city’s request for proposals (RFP) received no response.

About 100 Milton-area residents attended a workshop Tuesday at the Santa Rosa County Auditorium to learn about possible threats to the Blackwater River from the city’s proposed new wastewater treatment facility.

The Santa Rosa County School Board is scheduled to discuss the new Wallace Lake K-8 School’s attendance zone at a workshop scheduled at 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at 5086 Canal Street in Milton.