Local News

The Panhandle Players, the Forgotten Coast’s community theatre group, made a request to the county earlier this year to repair the lot at Apalachicola’s Chapman Auditorium, which it oversees. The county has come through. Commissioner Noah Lockley used $27,310 funds from his road paving budget to pave the lot with asphalt in front of the…

Apalachicola Mayor Kevin Begos died early Saturday morning in Tallahassee. Members of the family confirmed Kevin Paul Begos, Jr. passed away at Capital Regional Medical Center at 1:40 a.m., at the age of 63. He had been rushed there early Thursday morning via medavac after experiencing cardiac arrest. His mother, Jane Richardson, of Apalachicola, was…

For the first time probably ever, but certainly since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1940’s attracted a strong following in the rural South, Franklin County is now more red than blue. As of Tuesday, among the county’s 8,150 registered voters, Republicans outnumbered Democrats 3,418 to 3,408, with 1,324 voters preferring to remain without…

Fire struck Port Carrabelle last week, but fortunately no one was hurt and there was little damage except for two sheds. If you are wondering where Port Carrabelle is, it’s the name given a stretch of homes under the Carrabelle bridge, on the west side, by the late Ben Watkins, a longtime attorney and landholder…

COVID-19 vaccination rates lag in vast swaths of rural Florida compared to the rest of the state — a pattern that also has been seen in other areas of the country, a new report shows. Neither Franklin nor Gulf counties are immune. The report, released Friday by the state Department of Health, said 55 percent…

LANARK VILLAGE –  A 71-year-old Lanark woman was shot and killed in her home last week by a former boyfriend, who then turned the gun on himself. Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith said an inquiry into the whereabouts of Francine Weeks began shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 2, when deputies, asked to do a…

LANARK VILLAGE –  A 71-year-old Lanark woman was shot and killed in her home last week by a former boyfriend, who then turned the gun on himself. Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith said an inquiry into the whereabouts of Francine Weeks began shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 2, when deputies, asked to do a…

Dunn rallies GOP to take back House EASTPOINT – It would not be an apt description to say U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn served up red meat in a fiery speech to a hungry Republican audience last week. Rather, the three-term congressman in the sprawling 2nd District, that encompasses all or part of 19 North Florida…

The gymnasium was filled to the rafters Friday evening, but it wasn’t to cheer on an athletic contest.  Rather, it was a pep rally for dedicated pupils, a spirit gathering for scholarship, as 62 members of the Class of 2021 strode across the stage to receive their diplomas from Franklin County High School. “The real…

The senior recognition night last week didn’t draw a huge crowd, and the number of scholarships were down over previous years. But the enthusiasm was strong.  Guidance Counselor Melanie Copeland said the financial impact of COVID-19 on donors had cut into the number of scholarships. Still, based in large part on the financial total of…