LAWYERS, GUNS AND BIKERS Alleged gun-waving motorist identified. TIMPOOCHEE TRAIL ORDINANCE RE-EXAMINED Complaints trigger official response. FIRST BAPTIST HOSTS EVACUEES Stay is short but appreciated. FIRE AT DAMASCUS CHURCH Food bank destroyed before blaze contained. JUNIPER LAKES ROADS UNDER COUNTY CARE Roll over Beethoven, tell Tchaikovsky the news. “TRAITOR”  – AN INSIDE LOOK AT TERRORISM [...]

  GUSTAV WAVED HELLO to Blue Mountain Beach as it blew past on its way to Louisiana and Texas. (Photo by Jenny Gomillion.

  WALTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS denied the Bushee zoning reclassification request. District 5 Commissioner Cindy Meadows said, “I think the perfect zoning for this is ‘rural village.’” The request was to change it to commercial, but the commissioners denied it 4-0.

  “OH, YEAH?!?! IN YOUR EYE, YOU BIG DUMMY!” An attacker gets it in the eyes during a self-defense class sponsored by Sacred Heart on the Emerald Coast. (Staff photo)

FOLLOWING THE ANNOUNCEMENT of her pending retirement, friends, colleagues and family members of  Linda Yates gathered on Thursday, August 28, and held a reception in her honor. Yates is retiring after 35 years of service to the Walton County Middle School. Yates, surrounded by well-wishers, is sitting beneath the torch holding a child in her [...]

By LEAH STRATMANN A Walton County judge has signed a warrant against Gregory Alan Dickson of Santa Rosa Beach stemming from an incident on Aug. 10 when Dickson allegedly brandished a gun at cyclists biking along CR-30A. The incident occurred early in the morning and Craig Baronowski said he and other members of a cycling [...]

By DOTTY NIST Despite heated opposition by Rock Hill Road area residents, a new sand pit operation was approved for their vicinity on Aug. 28. On that evening, after testimony and discussion lasting approximately four hours, the Walton County Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) approved the proposal, known as Azland Borrow Pit. Through a new [...]

By JEFFREY POWELL    The First Baptist Church of DeFuniak Springs was the temporary home for 47 New Orleans and Mississippi Gulf Coast residents fleeing the wrath of Hurricane Gustav. The church received a call Sunday morning requesting help from the evacuees and the first visitors arrived that evening. “This was a real blessing to have [...]

By ALICIA LEONARD During the month of August, around 30 headstones in Magnolia Cemetery have been pushed over or broken and the culprits still remain at large. Averaging about 10 at a time, the last damage done to the headstone was over the weekend of August 23.

By ALICIA LEONARD A concept that came about over six years ago is nearing the construction stage to help citizens of Walton County find support for loved ones with brain disorders.