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  By Doug Stauffer Champs again! Crowning National Champions in Northwest Florida is becoming habit forming with the NWFSC basketball programs. The college’s women’s basketball team did it again, winning the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. This is the second national championship for the Lady Raiders, having been crowned two years ago. The men’s basketball team filled in the 2022 gap by winning the championship. That’s the three-peat: Lady Raiders (2021), Raiders (2022), Lady Raiders (2023). Be sure to get your season tickets for 2024. The Lady Raiders’ two national titles are the first in program history. President Devin Stephenson congratulated the team and their coach, saying, “I couldn’t be prouder of the Lady Raiders and coach Bart Walker. It is an outstanding achievement and a testament to our commitment to excellence at Northwest Florida State College. The best truly is our standard.”The Lady Raiders defeated the dynasty-driven Trinity Valley Community College Lady Cardinals in a 66-63 nail-biter. The game started with Trinity Valley jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first four minutes of the contest, but the Lady Raiders remained poised, resilient, and determined. “We matured a lot and we had to match their physicality,” Burt said. “That was the biggest thing was we got tougher as the season came on. We found our team’s heart this week and that’s why we won this.” In a game with nine lead changes and eight ties, neither team led by more than five... Read More

  Signs of spring – balmy weather, blooming flowers and nesting birds – are occurring. Warmer temperatures also mean alligators are more active and visible. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recommends taking precautions when in and around the water:While serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, the FWC offers the following tips about how to safely co-exist with them: – Keep a safe distance if you see an alligator and never feed one. When fed, alligators can lose their natural wariness and instead learn to associate people with the availability of food. – Swim only in designated swimming areas during daylight hours. Alligators are most active between dusk and dawn. – Keep pets on a leash and away from the water’s edge and never let them swim in fresh or brackish water. Pets often resemble alligators’ natural prey. Call the FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286) if you believe an alligator poses a threat to people, pets or property and the FWC will dispatch a contracted nuisance alligator trapper to resolve the situation. The FWC administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) to proactively address alligator threats in developed areas, while conserving alligators in areas where they naturally occur. Find more resources about living with alligators at MyFWC.com/Alligator. The American alligator, Florida’s state reptile, is a conservation success story. Florida has a healthy and stable alligator population, which is estimated at 1.3 million alligators of every size. They are found in freshwater lakes, ponds,... Read More

  By Doug Stauffer The “Welcome Home” ceremony at the Air Force Armament Museum honored those who were captured in the Vietnam War and returned home 50 years ago. The date was March 4, 1973, when the North Vietnamese released nearly 600 U.S. POWs from their prisons. On Feb. 12, 1973, the first of 591 U.S. prisoners began the trip home, with more flights returning until late March. The festivities hosted a reception and program to honor the POWs now calling Okaloosa County home. The honored include: Brig. Gen. George “Bud” Day, USAF, Ret. Col. Keith Hall, USAF, Ret. Col. Howard Hill, USAF, Ret. Col. Ed Hubbard, USAF, Ret. Col. Ron Webb, USAF, Ret. Lt. Col. Dave Gray, USAF, Ret.“We hope this brings a feeling of strong patriotism and respect for what these men endured in those days,” said Tricia Flaherty, Director of Operations at the Air Force Armament Museum. The words “You are not forgotten” are a constant reminder that we should always remember the sacrifices of these veterans who paid so dearly in defense of freedom and our nation. The United States fought in the Vietnam War for 10 years, from 1965 to the fall of Saigon in 1975. On Jan. 27, 1973, the U.S. signed the withdrawal agreement of American troops from South Vietnam. The agreement included the negotiated release of the nearly 600 prisoners of war held by North Vietnam in various prisons and camps, including the infamous Hỏa Lò prison in Hanoi, dubbed by many... Read More