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Following a hugely successful return to July Fourth festivities, all the more exciting because the holiday spanned a weekend, more than smiles and joyous memories were left behind. There was plenty of trash that had to be attended to. Following the Independence Eve celebration that drew an enormous crowd to downtown Apalachicola, about two dozen…

Five young men and women graduated last month from high school in Franklin County, but it wasn’t from Franklin County High School. Rather, at a ceremony June 4 at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve outdoor amphitheater, they graduated from ED Corps High School of the Forgotten and Emerald Coasts, the very first graduating class…

Franklin County is going to the World Series and they aren’t just happy to be going. The county’s littlest softball girls, the Darlings, ages 7-8, took home a state championship last weekend in Belleview, and now they’re headed to Prince George, Virginia on July 23 to compete at Worlds. “We brought it home and we’re…

The rain held off and a huge crowd filled up Apalachicola Saturday evening, as the annual Independence Eve celebration got back on track. The parade from Lafayette Park, hosted by Franklin’s Promise Coalition and the Conservation Corps of the Forgotten Coast, was back from 2019 in fine fashion, with lots of golf carts and cyclists,…

The Apalachicola community turned out Sunday evening to the Chapman Auditorium to honor the memory of Mayor Kevin Begos, Jr., who passed away June 19 at the age of 63. Remembering Begos as a “son, brother, friend and neighbor,” three speakers – Karen Cox-Dennis, Chuck Lombardo and Rose Griffin – offered remarks that touched on…

Making an entire elegant meal from scratch isn’t easy, neither is serving it up, but that’s what the students taking part in the Summer Arts

Institute did last month.

And the critical …

Hi Y’all, Happy Fourth of July! Have a fun, safe holiday. Carrabelle will light up with fireworks on Friday, July 2 for the holiday. Be careful out there and enjoy the fun. There will be a small parade at 5 p.m. with bikes and scooters. The road could be blocked at that time. Apalachicola’s fireworks…

Tami-Ray Hutchinson is named as interim commissioner In a show of unanimity, five days after the death of Mayor Kevin Begos, Apalachicola city commissioners voted Thursday evening, June 24 to name Mayor Pro Tem Brenda Ash as interim mayor. “I’m humbled,” said Ash, following the 3-0 approval of a motion by Commissioner Despina George, and…

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”…

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…