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More people are paying off their real estate taxes, and as a result, fewer people are buying up their delinquent taxes. County Tax Collector Rick Watson said last month’s sale of delinquent taxes yielded about $876,410 in sales, with 711 individual certificates. This represents fewer total certificates, but a slightly higher total value, than last…

The negative effect of the coronavirus pandemic on language arts scores among Franklin County third graders this past spring appears to have hit the Franklin County Schools much harder than it did the Apalachicola Bay Charter School. The Florida Department of Education reported that 54 percent of third-grade students statewide this year scored a “satisfactory”…

The Franklin County Schools have reinforced the importance of the school’s dress code, making several changes to address areas that needed correction. While the school board still must approve the revised dress code as part of the code of conduct, Principal Laurence Pender outlined the proposal with the school board at a June workshop. In…

Doris Shiver Gibbs, one of Florida’s longest serving supervisor of elections, passed away Monday morning, at 10:42 a.m. at the age of 69. First elected Franklin County Supervisor of Elections in 1980, Gibbs went on to serve 28 years in the county office before retiring in 2008. She rose to statewide prominence after serving in…

A new interim manager, a good year for airplane traffic and a plan to bring in someone with an eye towards attracting business, are what’s going on at the Apalachicola Regional Airport. Ted Mosteller, selected as interim manager June 1 after the resignation of Airport Manager Jason Puckett, offered a detailed report on what was…

Franklin County’s tax base has fattened up considerably over the past year, growing in the neighborhood of 8 percent, based on the property appraiser’s initial “good faith” estimates. According to numbers provided the county commission at its June 1 meeting. Property Appraiser Rhonda Skipper estimated the combined taxable value for use in the 2021-22 budget…

As far as business goes this summer, the Blue Parrot Ocean Front Café, and all the rest of the restaurants and vacation rentals on St. George Island, have the wind at the backs. But when it comes to throwing mullet on the beach outside the back door, everyone had the wind in their faces Saturday….

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the in-person court system, jury trials are back on track. Clerk of Court Michele Maxwell said the first to be held, in fount of County Judge Gordon Shuler, was that of Otis Wheeler, on May 12, held in the main courtroom. She said 22 out…