The Milton City Council has reined in the Hurricane Isaias emergency declaration that Mayor Heather Lindsay extended, with questions regarding whether there is still an emergency.

The men at the center of the controversial killing of a Milton-area alligator in March have entered into a pretrial diversion (PTD) contract. If the men complete the court-ordered tasks, their charges could be dismissed.

Kevin Lacz, Richard Reder and Jason Griffin are accused of illegally removing an 8.5-foot alligator from a retention pond in Milton and bringing the live alligator to a residence, where it was killed with a power drill. Lacz had previously been a SNAP trapper.

Another sea turtle nesting season has come and gone. This year, there were 17 total nests on Navarre Beach, with an estimated 1,700 eggs in total. All were loggerhead sea turtles.

While it was a relatively high number of nests compared to recent years, the promising season turned sour in July. A series of storms inundated 13 nests with water, in essence destroying them. Hatchlings breathe through their porous shells before emerging and crawling to the sea.

A first-grade teacher who has spent 21 years in education was named Pea Ridge Elementary School’s Teacher of the Year earlier this fall, an honor she said caught her completely off guard.

Santa Rosa and Okaloosa residents who sustained damage from Hurricane Isaias can now seek direct financial aid from the federal government after FEMA approved individual assistance for the region on Oct. 29.

The historic buildings at Arcadia Mill survived Hurricane Isaias mostly intact, but fallen trees have made the historic walking trail impassable, and staff say it will take weeks to cut a path back in.

Local residents have formed a political action committee (PAC) to back the renewal of the Santa Rosa County School District’s half-cent sales tax, urging voters to see the Nov. 3 referendum as the renewal of an existing tax, not a new one.

Milton residents whose homes were left unlivable by Hurricane Isaias could be allowed to live in RVs and other temporary options on their own property for up to three years under an emergency ordinance the City Council will discuss Oct. 29.

An early morning accident on Highway 87 S left a Santa Rosa County man seriously injured, according to a news release by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Hurricane Isaias may have forced the City of Milton to postpone their Veterans Day events, but the storm did force those who organized the events to change some things.