News Archive

Dr. Patrice Williams-Shuford used the theory of the butterfly effect to describe the legacy and impact her friend and business partner, Dr. Naomi Barnes, had on the community. The butterfly effect states that small things, like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, can have large impacts far away.

The two Okaloosa County Courthouse locations were closed early Tuesday after bomb threats were called in to both locations.

The teenage son of Rebekah Jones, a data analyst and former Democratic Party candidate for U.S. House, has been charged with intimidation, a second-degree felony. Jackson Jones, 13, was arrested for allegedly threatening to conduct a mass shooting at Holley Navarre Middle School, where he was previously a student. The threats first came to the attention of Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office March 20, when an East Bay K8 student told school officials about a school shooting threat she saw on social media.

Housing Trust Group (HTG), one of the nation’s largest developers of affordable housing, and AM Affordable Housing, a non-profit founded by NBA Hall of Famer and Miami Heat legend Alonzo Mourning, have closed on financing and commenced construction on a new Crestview project. Princeton Grove is a new $23.5 million affordable housing community on Aplin Road catering to seniors aged 62 and up along with senior veterans of the armed services in Crestview.

The North Okaloosa Fire District’s new fire engine at Bob Sikes Airport looks like it belongs in an episode of Star Trek more than a local fire station. The department received its new crash rescue truck, a specialized fire engine designed to meet the needs at an airport, last month. The roughly $1.3 million truck was delivered to the North Okaloosa Fire District’s main station on Bob Sikes Airport on March 22.

A few area teams find themselves in a good spot in the first edition of the regional rankings.

Waste Pro recently announced the promotion of Rick Chancey to division vice president of the company’s coastal region.

The Okaloosa Arts Alliance would like to invite all county students to participate in the 14th annual OAA Okaloosa County School Poster Contest.

The theme for the contest is “What art means to me.” The posters can be created on paper with markers, pencils, paint, pastels, charcoal, mixed media or crayons.

The Okaloosa County School District has partnered with the United Way Emerald Coast on a new mentorship program to improve literacy in young readers.

ReadingPals is a statewide early literacy initiative that provides volunteer mentors for local students from voluntary prekindergarten to third grade who may need extra help. Once a mentor passes their background screening, they undergo training before getting placed in a classroom where they work at a 1:2 ratio.

On the morning of March 27, Ashley Garry was dropping her car off at a local shop when she received an alert through her phone from her home security system. Someone had broken into her home at 690 Shortwell Ave. She might not know who exactly did it, but she’s pretty sure she knows where they live.