Festival gives Apalachicola airport a lift 
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Festival gives Apalachicola airport a lift 

I t all started when Phil Shelly, who heads up the Experimental Aircraft Association chapter at the Apalachicola Regional Airport, got together with Franklin County Commissioner Ottice Amison several months ago to discuss scheduling a modest fly-in to the airport. Later at the annual Chef’s Sampler in early spring, the two would meet with Steve…

Red wave sweeps over Forgotten Coast
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Red wave sweeps over Forgotten Coast

Forehand, Cook elected tax collectors If there was any question that Democrats still held a seat at the elected officials’ tables in Franklin and Gulf counties, it was answered last week at the ballot box. Republicans took both of the countywide tax collector spots up for grabs in the two counties, as well as the…

Honoring hometown heroes
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Honoring hometown heroes

As part of the annual Veteran’s Day program Monday morning at the First Baptist Christian School in Apalachicola, these four students offer a song of thanks, and recite Psalm 34:8-13 before the congregation. Pictured from left are second graders Shiloh Harrison and Ava Moore, first grader Kevin Heath and second grader Mason Crosby. Later that…

No injuries reported in school bus collision
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No injuries reported in school bus collision

A busload of 24 students at the Franklin County Schools escaped injury Friday morning, when it was struck by a pair of vehicles drying to pass it just west of Carrabelle. According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, the schoolbus, driven by a 74-year-old Eastpoint man, was traveling west on U.S. 98 near…

Sun shines down, festival attendance up
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Sun shines down, festival attendance up

Sunshine rained down on this year’s 61st annual Florida Seafood Festival, and amusement park rides twirled once again, making for what was by most accounts a successful event. “We were up from last year,” said John Solomon, president of the all-volunteer board of directors. “I think it was a great festival. Everybody was happy and…

Festival royalty brings seafood pedigree
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Festival royalty brings seafood pedigree

You don’t get more of a deep lineage in Franklin County’s seafood industry than the royal family that will reign over the 61st annual Florida Seafood Festival this weekend in Apalachicola. The newly crowned Miss Florida Seafood, Franklin County High School senior Olivia Poloronis, has roots in the industry that extend back more than a…

Moreno and Viator redeem themselves with Redfish Cup win
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Moreno and Viator redeem themselves with Redfish Cup win

The letters R-E-D begin both the target species and the term of motivation that drove Gary Moreno and Tony Viator to victory at the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter at Apalachicola Bay last weekend. After finishing last in the 2023 event at South Carolina’s Winyah Bay, the Texas anglers came to town…

Patience, persistence move Frenette and Robinson into lead at Redfish Cup 
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Patience, persistence move Frenette and Robinson into lead at Redfish Cup 

The mental calculation of when to stay/when to go required a different formula than it did on Day 1, but Michael Frenette and Mark Robinson made the numbers work.  In so doing, they tallied a two-day total of 23 pounds, 6 ounces and took over the Day 2 lead at the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup…

Bait change puts Rickard and Marsonek atop Redfish Cup field
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Bait change puts Rickard and Marsonek atop Redfish Cup field

Ryan Rickard knew that a second title would not be spoon-fed to him, so he and partner Patrick Marsonek played a savvy game and positioned themselves well with a two-fish limit of 11 pounds, 4 ounces that leads Day 1 of the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter at Apalachicola Bay. Qualifying through…

ABC students get their glow on
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ABC students get their glow on

Students at the Apalachicola Bay Charter School are glowing eerily in the dark, but it’s not from the drinking water or from getting too close to radioactive plutonium. It’s actually being infused by their teachers, as part of a schoolwide effort that stems from ideas that about two dozen members of the faculty gleaned from…