News Archive

On Monday evening, birds sang from trees above an outdoor gallery containing hundreds of photos of loved ones of 79-year-old Dorothy Bess-Preston, who looked over the charred remains of her adjacent house that recently was destroyed by a fire.

Longtime and now-former Okaloosa County corrections officer Curtis Johnson was fired on Monday following his arrest on a charge of second-degree murder in Santa Rosa County.

The Okaloosa County School District, in partnership with the Crestview, Destin, Fort Walton Beach, and Niceville-Valparaiso Chambers of Commerce, announces the launch of “Support to Soar,” a community-powered initiative designed to help students thrive by providing essential classroom resources and healthy snacks.

Perseverance paid off for historian and author Ronald W. Collins while researching his book “Mystery at Green Pond: The Murder of Bud and Nancy Davis by the Blackwell Brothers.”

Starting on Friday, the following disaster prep items will be permanently tax-free in the Sunshine State:

Two black-morph female Eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies danced around the flowers of a sweet pepperbush, the sounds of mourning doves, a woodpecker and a red-shouldered hawk echoed through the Blackwater River State Forest, and a deer screamed at me during my recent hike at the Karick Lake Recreation Area.

The Okaloosa County School District Transportation Department has released school bus routes for the 2025–2026 school year, which starts on Monday, Aug. 11.

A 19-year-old man from Fort Walton Beach and a 50-year-old woman from Fort Worth, Texas died in a traffic accident at 9:25 p.m. Friday on Okaloosa Island.

Sunshine Hot Chicken N’ More District Manager Shannon Pelham handled the big scissors during Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company’s new eatery at 2493 S. Ferdon Blvd. in Crestview.

Timothy Paul Price-Williams entered a plea of guilty to first degree murder on Thursday in the December 2022 death of Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Ray Hamilton.