Local News

Summer in panhandle Florida is primetime for outdoor fun. The heat and sunshine in Franklin and Gulf counties make water-related activities, either salt or fresh, first rate in the local paradise within easy driving distance. However, there is a serpent in this area-wide Garden of Eden. The calendar indicates the approach of hurricane season’s peak…

The first significant storm of the 2021 hurricane season to hit Franklin County stormed in with all the finesse of Fred Flintstone and then left with the nimbleness of Fred Astaire. With students hunkered down at home, Tropical Storm Fred made landfall at Cape San Blas around 3:15 p.m., Monday afternoon, flooding roadways and tearing…

The Florida Department of Health in Franklin and Gulf counties is pushing forward with a clear message on vaccinations – they are effective and a critical tool to keeping what has become a resurgent pandemic under control. And they are taking on misunderstandings and rumors surrounding the shots. “The vaccine helps protect you and the…

With Franklin and Gulf county residents getting vaccinated at about two-thirds the rate of entire state, and a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in both counties during the month of July, the Florida Department of Health that serves the population is pressing its message. It’s not about masks, it’s not about handwashing, it’s not about…

A Carrabelle man arrested for abandoning seven mixed-breed pit bull terriers in the county said he dropped them off because he knew they would likely be picked up and later adopted. Following the discovery of six puppies dropped off in a cardboard box July 21 at 300 Ocean Mile on St. George Island, and a…

TALLAHASSEE — With most students expected to be in classrooms next month, after many learned online for at least part of the 2020-2021 school year, retailers anticipate a surge in shopping during Florida’s upcoming back-to-school sales tax “holiday.” The return of students who remained at home last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected…

The low frequency droning is unmistakable. The casual flight pattern belies the potential agony of an encounter and the real possibility of a painful attack from multiple directions. Wasps in Franklin and Gulf counties, and most other locales, are known for their dyspeptic nature and vile retaliation if provoked. They are the grumps of mini…

A 17-year-old Eastpoint girl was killed early Tuesday morning in a one-car collision along U.S. 98, just east of State Road 65. In the report by Florida Highway Patrol Homicide Investigator Cpl. Karen Shipman, no name was released nor a description of the vehicle. The family has confirmed that the driver was Emma Jae Crum,…

More than a year after completing renovations at its new office location, the Franklin County Extension staff welcomed the community to celebrate the new digs, “The road to completion for the project was long and winding with some unexpected turns but in the end we have a beautiful facility in which to serve the public…

Apalachicola Mayor Brenda Ash was among the many dignitaries to speak Saturday in remembrance of former Florida A&M University President Dr. Frederick S. Humphries, Sr., who was eulogized as a mentor, recruiter, leader, visionary, and innovator. Ash said Humphries, a native of her waterfront community, was taught by Roman Catholic nuns in elementary school at…