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Good morning!
Okaloosa County Schools will not change middle and high school start times following a state-required public hearing on the matter, while the Island Resort opens Cabana Cantina & Tequileria on Okaloosa Island with public access. A ‘Ties and Tiaras’ father-daughter dance in Fort Walton Beach will benefit Children in Crisis, Okaloosa Schools is hosting a free movie afternoon for kindergarten and VPK registration at Regal Cinemas, and police have a suspect in custody after shots were fired near Lovejoy Road.
- Plus, try today’s WordroW puzzle.
GIVING BACK
‘Ties and Tiaras’: Father-daughter dance in Fort Walton Beach to benefit Children in Crisis
Jason Carducci wanted to find more ways to connect with his daughter and create special moments together, but the options felt limited.
- “I’ve had the idea of doing something for a while to bond with my daughter because it’s super hard as a dad to find ways to connect,” Carducci said. “She wants to get her nails done every weekend, and that gets expensive. So I thought, why not create an event that gives dads and daughters something special to do together?”
That idea became Ties and Tiaras, a father-daughter dance scheduled for Jan. 24 at Emerald Coast Harley Davidson in Fort Walton Beach. All proceeds will benefit Children in Crisis, a local nonprofit providing emergency shelter and foster care for children across Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties.
The event runs from 6-9 p.m. and will feature DJ Zoran, food, drinks, a mocktail bar for children, photo booths and bouquets provided by Our Greenhouse Floral. Tickets cost $35 for a father-daughter duo, with family packages available for $60 covering a father and up to three daughters.
Carducci co-organized the event with Megan Serafin, community engagement manager at Children in Crisis. The idea crystallized after Carducci saw photos from the organization’s Blue Moon Gala, an annual mother-daughter event held each September for girls in their care. He wondered why there wasn’t something similar for dads and daughters. (Or for uncles or grandfathers who play a vital role!)
- After visiting the Children in Crisis campus, he wanted to create that opportunity for the girls there while offering it to the whole community.
Organizers have capped attendance at 200 people and hope to raise $10,000 for Children in Crisis, with about $5,000 already secured through sponsorships. For families unable to afford tickets, sponsors have purchased tables specifically to provide free admission.
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GAMES
WordroW: January 13, 2026
WordroW is brought to you by Fort Walton Beach Chiropractic – keeping your mind sharp and your spine aligned, one game at a time.
Can you guess today’s 5-letter word in six tries?
WordroW is Get The Coast’s daily word puzzle featuring local words, places, and phrases from our community. You have six guesses to find the mystery word – green letters are correct and in the right spot, yellow letters are in the word but wrong position, and gray letters aren’t in the word at all.
SCHOOL
Okaloosa Schools hosting free movie afternoon for kindergarten, VPK registration
A trip to the movies next month will double as a chance for Okaloosa County families to register their children for kindergarten or voluntary prekindergarten.
- The Okaloosa County School District is partnering with the Okaloosa Public Schools Foundation and the Early Learning Coalition of the Emerald Coast to host a free family movie afternoon on Sunday, Feb. 1, at Regal Cinemas Santa Rosa, 300 Mary Esther Blvd.
“Our goal is to make the transition to kindergarten welcoming, supportive, and engaging for families,” said Amy Dale, the district’s director of elementary curriculum.
The event begins at 2 p.m. and is open to families with children enrolling in VPK or kindergarten. Each household can receive up to three complimentary movie tickets along with a children’s snack pack. District staff and early learning partners will be on hand to assist with registration.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Families are encouraged to pre-register through Eventbrite. Parent permission and adult participation are required.
For more information, contact Dale at DaleA@okaloosaschools.com or the Early Learning Coalition of the Emerald Coast at communications@elc-ec.org.
BUSINESS
Island Resort opens Cabana Cantina & Tequileria on Okaloosa Island, open to public
The Island Resort on Okaloosa Island has opened Cabana Cantina & Tequileria, a reimagined restaurant and bar concept that blends coastal Mexican flavors with Gulf Coast atmosphere.
- The venue, which opened Wednesday, transforms the resort’s signature Cabana Bar into a Mexican-inspired dining and drinking destination. Located between the resort’s Grotto and Cabana pools, the cantina is open to both resort guests and the public.
The menu features coastal ingredients across shareable starters, street-style tacos, burritos and entrees. Signature dishes include shrimp ceviche, Mexican street corn, carne asada, adobo chicken and churros served with warm Mexican chocolate.
The tequileria offers more than 50 tequila selections made from 100 percent agave, spanning blancos, reposados, añejos and extra añejos. The collection also includes mezcal and sotol options.
PUBLIC SAFETY
POLICE: Suspect in custody after shots near Lovejoy Road in Fort Walton Beach
A suspect is in custody after shots were reportedly fired near Okaloosa Academy Charter School on Monday morning, prompting a brief lockdown of the campus.
- The Fort Walton Beach Police Department received multiple calls about gunfire in the area of Lovejoy Road and Burnette Street at approximately 10:05 a.m. on Jan. 12. The school was placed on lockdown within moments.
Officers from the Fort Walton Beach Police Department and deputies from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office tracked the fleeing suspect and took the individual into custody without incident.
Police said there is no remaining threat to the public.
SCHOOL
No changes coming to Okaloosa middle and high school start times, public hearing required by state
A public hearing on school start times was required by Florida law — but the Okaloosa County School District has no plans to change when students begin their day.
- District officials addressed confusion at Monday morning’s School Board workshop ahead of the public hearing, emphasizing that the meeting is a compliance checkbox rather than a signal of impending schedule changes.
“It’s a little confusing to put out that we’re going to take a hearing on something we’re not going to do,” Chairman Linda Evanchyk said. “And that’s what it amounts to, but that’s what we have to do as a board and as a district.”
The confusion stems from a 2023 state law that originally mandated middle schools start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. After pushback from districts across Florida, lawmakers amended the statute in July 2025 to allow local control — but with strings attached.
Districts that choose to keep their current schedules must submit a compliance report to the state by June 2026 explaining why. Holding a public hearing is part of that requirement.
The compliance process has required multiple departments to examine what later start times would mean for Okaloosa schools. Transportation posed particular challenges — shifting elementary schools to accommodate later secondary schedules would mean young children waiting at bus stops in the dark or staying late in the afternoon.
The district operates a three-tier bus system where buses make three separate runs each morning and afternoon. Moving to a two-tier system would require hiring more bus drivers — a challenge when the district is already about 20 drivers short — and likely purchasing additional buses, according to Chambers.
- Staff also analyzed impacts to athletic practice and game schedules, staffing contracts, after-school programs, childcare arrangements and the schedules of military families connected to Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field.
One speaker urged the board to reconsider.
Dr. Lynn Keefe, a local pediatrician in Niceville who has advocated for later start times for two decades, told the board that research on adolescent sleep has only strengthened over the years.
- “If the data on adolescent sleep and kids was a five out of 10 for the past 20 years, now it’s a 10 out of 10,” Dr. Keefe said. “The data that has exploded regarding kids’ brains and health and the damage that’s irreversible when they don’t get enough sleep is there. And our earliest start times continues to harm the kids in our community.”
OK, that’s all I have for you this morning! I hope you have a great Tuesday! Help us shape the future of local news and make a meaningful impact on your community. Click here to learn how you can support us!
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Jared
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