Local News

The search for Chad Johnson, who escaped early Tuesday morning from the Gulf County Detention Facility, came to an end sometime before 8:30 p.m. Thursday, not long after the van he had stolen was found about five miles south of Blountstown on Highway 71. “We got our bad guy,” said Sheriff Mike Harrison.  He said…

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…

The Gulf County Sheriff’s Office has identified and obtained warrants for a man suspected in six residential burglaries on Cape San Blas. According to a statement released in the late afternoon on Sept. 2, investigators first began looking for the man, Kevin Schoelles, 36, of Apalachicola, in mid-August after a cooler was reported stolen from underneath a resident’s…

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…