By LEAH STRATMANN The regular monthly meeting of the South Walton Fire District (SWFD) board started with the announcement that Oct. 3 to Oct. 10 was Fire Prevention Week. Chief Rick Talbert noted fire prevention week was started because of the great Chicago fire decades ago. Fire marshal Sammy Sanchez noted the theme of this [...]

By PATRICK CASEY  The Walton Braves picked up their second district win of 2010 as they defeated the Chipley Tigers 28-14 on Friday night at Everette Yates Memorial Stadium.   Walton used a 21-point second quarter to build a 28-7 halftime advantage, then held on as Chipley attempted to rally in a defensive second half [...]

By PATRICK CASEY    Two Walton County schools separated by a mere 13 miles saw two plays make the difference in their District 1, Class A battle at South Walton High School on Friday night. Freeport made both of them.   David Wesson provided a 70-yard touchdown run and Nick Ellington a 56-yard interception return [...]

OYSTER LAKE LITIGATION SETTLED Eight-year dune lake lawsuit resolved by mediation. FREEPORT APPROVES 2010-2011 BUDGET Down from previous year. DFS APPROVES 2010-2011 BUDGET Brief meeting sets millage rate also. FIRE AT HILTON SANDESTIN Beachside Bar & Grill “fully involved.” RURAL RELIEF GETS USDA SHIPMENT Pantry has distributed 11,000 pounds of food to date. DFS TALKS [...]

By ASHLEY AMASON  In a three-minute meeting of the Defuniak Springs City Council, the Council approved the final budget and millage rate. The 2010-2011 budget is $24,361,000 with a millage rate of 4.5 mills. Composing the budget is $258,703 in the cemetery fund,  $3,683,755 in the sanitation fund, $2,727,992 in the gas fund, $4,275,079 in the sewer [...]

 By BEN GRAFTON In a very poorly attended Special Council Meeting in city hall on Sept. 28, that lasted less than five minutes, the Freeport City Council approved two motions. The first one set the ad valorem tax rate at 3.93 mils. The second motion adopted a proposed total budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 at [...]

By DOTTY NIST An eight-year-long lawsuit involving a Walton County coastal dune lake has been settled. By unanimous vote, on Sept. 28 the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) approved a mediation agreement to settle the litigation based on a number of conditions being met. The approval took place at the outset of BCC [...]

By LEAH STRATMANN After months of often-repetitive paperwork, the food pantry opened under the auspices of the Rural Relief Fund and certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been notified they will receive the first shipment of supplies on Oct. 14. “We don’t know how much will be in the truck or what [...]

By DOTTY NIST Fifteen large-scale amendments to the Walton County Comprehensive Plan were cleared on Oct. 4 for transmittal to the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for review. Walton County Board of County Commissioners’ (BCC) approval of the amendments at a special meeting on Oct. 4 was the final item to be completed prior [...]