Sheriff's Office swearing-in: 'A very solemn duty and oath' (SLIDESHOW)
FORT WALTON BEACH — In the past year, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office made 210,000 calls to service, cleared four cold cases, established multiple outreaches and honored two of their own with the...
View ArticleMan accused of 'sitting' his ex on the couch
FORT WALTON BEACH - A local man was arrested after he allegedly sat his ex-girlfriend on the couch and prevented her from leaving their apartment. On Dec. 17 a Fort Walton Beach Police officer went to...
View Article'Aw (expletive deleted),' homeless man declares after seeing cop
FORT WALTON BEACH - A homeless man had nothing nice to say about being discovered sleeping in a stairwell. On Dec. 15 a Fort Walton Beach policeman was checking a Beal Parkway business and found a...
View ArticleCounty to consider tax break for Holt company (DOCUMENT)
The Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County has proposed a five-year property tax abatement for a Holt business looking to expand its operations. Okaloosa County commissioners are scheduled to...
View ArticleReturning airmen, families: Never too late to celebrate (SLIDESHOW)
While not exactly home in time for the holidays, most of the airmen who arrived at Hurlburt Field from Afghanistan on Monday planned to make up for the celebrations they had just missed. “This was a...
View Article‘A packed house’: Snowbirds flock to register, reconnect (SLIDESHOW)
DESTIN — The flock has arrived. The Destin Snowbirds held their big registration event Monday afternoon at the Destin Community Center. The registration, scheduled to run from 2 to 4 p.m., began early...
View ArticleMandatory life sentence may not stand for local teen (DOCUMENT)
It appears Tyree Washington, one of three teens sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 17-year-old Christopher Pitcock, will be the first resentenced as a result of a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court...
View ArticleRaiders take down Gulf Coast for first conference win
PANAMA CITY — Gulf Coast eventually found its fifth Beatle, so to speak. What it needed was a fifth Commodore. Tenth-ranked Northwest Florida State overcame a one-dimensional Gulf Coast men’s...
View ArticleBaker's Wagner named winner of Haugen Trophy
BAKER - Truth be told, Haley Wagner felt like something was up. A week ago, Wagner, a senior two-sport athlete at Baker High School, spoke to Brian Haugen of the Haugen Trophy Foundation and found out...
View ArticleSTEVE CHAPMAN: Wrong answers to the threat of mass shootings
The film “Casablanca” has many famous lines, but none more immortal than Capt. Renault’s order after seeing a Nazi officer shot by Humphrey Bogart’s character, Rick Blaine: “Round up the usual...
View ArticleEDITORIAL: Relax, D.C., it's only a movie
Senators who are clueless about Hollywood are pressing CIA officers to explain whether the spy agency misled the makers of “Zero Dark Thirty,” a movie that dramatizes the hunt for Osama bin Laden,...
View ArticleAshley seeks funds to keep deputies in elementary schools
CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley on Tuesday asked county commissioners to help pay a portion of the $1.1 million needed to keep deputies in every elementary school through the end of...
View Article2012 OCSO Deputy of the Year chosen
Deputy Mike Gallagher, a member of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Traffic Unit, has been named the 2012 Deputy of the Year. In addition to his traffic duties, Gallagher is...
View ArticleArson suspected in Monday fire
SEAGROVE — The State Fire Marshal‘s Office is investigating a suspicious fire at a 1,200 square-foot San Juan Street home Monday night. The two-story home at 198 San Juan St. was heavily involved when...
View ArticleCold case investigator recognized by OCSO
The investigator whose hard work led to an arrest in a 1985 unsolved murder has been named the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office 2012 Investigator of the Year. Investigator Nesli Suhi-Moore was honored...
View ArticleDeputy: Man asked not to be given ticket because it was Christmas
CRESTVIEW - A driver stopped for not wearing a seatbelt asked an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy not to give him a citation because it was Christmas. He was then arrested for marijuana possession. On...
View Article'If I'm going (to jail), I'm going for a reason'
CRESTVIEW - It was a not-so merry Christmas at a Golden Acres Circle household when a man came home drunk, got into a fight with his father, and ended up being charged with misdemeanor battery,...
View ArticleVolunteers to help with tax returns, try to break 'cycle of poverty'
NICEVILLE — Katie Meany sat at a table in the City Council chambers on Tuesday and watched as book after book on income taxes were handed to her. “As the books keep stacking I started thinking, ‘Oh...
View ArticleMan busted for checking out Craigslist trailer at 2 a.m.
FORT WALTON BEACH - A local man was arrested after he was found inspecting a trailer with a flashlight at 2 a.m. On Dec. 25 an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy went to a Jonleen Drive address to check...
View ArticleResidents plan to protest 'racist' signs on Beal Parkway
FORT WALTON BEACH — Some residents plan to show their opposition later this month to a series of signs posted on private property along Beal Parkway. About 100 people are expected to gather Jan. 26 to...
View Article