Local News

The Sumatra Volunteer Fire Department is growing, and continues to seek local residents for help. A recent raffle of a 50-quart Pelican ice cooler, donated by Taylor’s Building Supply, raised more than $500 for the department. Apalachicola’s Joe Gander was the winner The new fire chief, Dakota Boone, was on hand for the presentation. “We…

One of two escaped inmates from the Gulf County Detention Facility has been apprehended, the other remains at large. The search for Chad Edward Johnson, 43, expanded outside of Gulf County on Wednesday after he escaped with his cellmate, Rex Aaron Veasey, Jr., 29, some time before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. The two inmates, both last…

All the non-profits that applied for grants from the Tourist Development Council for the 2021-22 fiscal year received them. But with $228,000 budgeted, and only $188,000 claimed so far, $40,000 will remain in that line item in the budget to be rolled over for the next year. The applications were opened Aug. 4, and after…

All eyes are on the city of Apalachicola, as voters get ready to flock to the National Guard Armory this Tuesday to decide on the lone city commission race. Incumbent Anita Grove, 61, of 174 Avenue C., will face challenger Amy Hersey, 40, of 451 25th Street, in the Sept. 7 balloting. With only two…

Chapman gets a puppy for his birthday Something unusual happened to Patty Matuszewski’s party of four while they were vacationing on St. George Island about a month ago. It had not been the easiest of two years since a nightmarish day, July 6, 2019, when her 42-year-old son Jereme Ryan Anselm was driving his girlfriend…

A Franklin Correctional Institution inmate has been charged in the death of another. On Feb. 6, 2020, James Knudsen was sentenced in Okaloosa County for one year, seven months and 18 days in the state penitentiary for possession of a controlled substance, and battery. About five months short of when he expected to go home,…

A “skinny dipping” incident on St. George Island two summers ago figures into a multi-state, multi-jurisdictional case being made against a former FBI supervisory special agent on charges of indecent exposure in front of juveniles. In an Aug. 22 news release, Sheriff AJ Smith said a warrant for the arrest of David Lee Harris, 51,…

Kudzu, Old World climbing fern, and tropical soda apple are all widely known as invaders which were introduced into the region from faraway and exotic locations. Each has its own story of how it arrived here and escaped into a welcoming environment. Once established, these and other alien plant interlopers have aggressively pushed out native…