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Good morning!
The property tax amendment headed to November’s ballot could cut $24 million from Okaloosa’s county budget by year two. Okaloosa is under flash flood risk through Friday as the remnants of Arthur bring heavy rain to the area, and Col. Terrance Keithley took command of the 96th Test Wing at Eglin. The Okaloosa District 1 School Board race is headed to a special election after a qualifying paperwork oversight, and the Taylor Haugen Foundation outfitted Crestview football players with rib protection shirts. Crestview baseball hired Cory McSween as its new head coach, and a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was found dead on a Walton County beach after becoming entangled in a beach chair.
POLITICS
Okaloosa District 1 School Board race headed to special election after qualifying paperwork oversight
Both candidates for the Okaloosa County School Board District 1 race were notified Wednesday that their qualifying packets did not meet all requirements to appear on the August primary ballot, according to the Supervisor of Elections office
- JD Peacock and Jerry Buckman each submitted election packets that contained deficiencies.
Despite prior review by the Supervisor of Elections office, those deficiencies were not noted until after the qualifying period ended last week. Florida statute 99.061(7)(a) requires five specific items to be received by the Supervisor of Elections, and neither candidate met that requirement before the close of qualifying.
With no qualified candidates in the race, a special election will be held on a date to be determined. The Supervisor of Elections office has been in contact with the Secretary of State in hopes that a date can be set as soon as possible.
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GAMES
WordroW: June 18, 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.
WEATHER
Okaloosa under flash flood risk through Friday as Arthur remnants bring heavy rain
The National Weather Service in Mobile placed Okaloosa County under a moderate risk of excessive rain on Thursday, with a rare high risk issued for areas to the west including Mobile and Pensacola, as the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur bring an additional 6 to 12 inches of rain to the region through Friday, with locally higher amounts possible.
- The agency described the broader setup as a “particularly dangerous and life threatening” event, with the highest flash flood threat occurring Thursday.
Torrential rainfall could deliver locally 15 inches or more in the high-risk zone, the NWS said, and significant river flooding is also a concern. High-risk creek beds are expected to see rapid water rises, with potential problems near roads.
The flood risk for Okaloosa is forecast to remain at moderate through Friday before easing to slight on Saturday, with the coastal areas of the county dropping to slight Friday and marginal by Saturday, according to the NWS outlook.
A slight risk of severe storms is also in place for Thursday, with the potential for isolated tornadoes and damaging winds.
SPORTS
Crestview baseball hires Cory McSween as new head coach
After a search that stretched nearly three months, Crestview has its new baseball coach, and it’s a name familiar to Bulldog Nation: Cory McSween.
- McSween is a Crestview graduate who played for the program before returning to serve as an assistant with baseball, an assistant football coach, and the Lady Bulldogs’ head softball coach in 2014.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity,” McSween said. “I played for Coach Gillis, I’ve known him for a really long time, he’s helped me out a lot in my career and having the opportunity to come in and continue what he’s built is a real honor.”
His head coaching résumé began in 2017 at Vernon, where he inherited a program that had won a combined 15 games over the previous two seasons. He led the Yellowjackets to 17 wins in his lone year at the helm. In 2020, he took over at Laurel Hill, serving as the Hoboes’ skipper through 2024 and leading the program to its best seasons in years.
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NEWS
Kemp’s ridley sea turtle found dead on Walton County beach, entangled in beach chair
A Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was found dead on a Walton County beach entangled in a beach chair, South Walton Turtle Watch said in a Facebook post. The Kemp’s ridley is the rarest sea turtle species in the world.
“This one hurts,” wrote Lacie Wegner, president of South Walton Turtle Watch, in the post. “In my 15 years of sea turtle conservation, as a volunteer, permit holder, and now president of South Walton Turtle Watch, this is one of the most heartbreaking and disturbing things I have ever seen, especially on Walton County beaches.”
Wegner said the turtle had survived predators, pollution, fishing gear, boats, storms and other threats in the ocean before washing ashore entangled in the chair.
SPORTS
Taylor Haugen Foundation outfits Crestview football with rib protection shirts
The Taylor Haugen Foundation, in association with the All Sports Association, held an outfitting event Tuesday at Crestview High School, providing Evoshield rib protection shirts for every Crestview football player.
- Aug. 30 will mark the 18th anniversary of Taylor Haugen’s death. The former Niceville High School football player died after sustaining a hit in a game against Fort Walton Beach that ruptured his liver.
Following his death, his parents, Brian and Kathy Haugen, started the Taylor Haugen Foundation to promote awareness of abdominal injuries in youth sports and to ensure that no student-athlete suffers the same fate as Taylor. The Foundation has grown to become the nation’s leading non-profit for abdominal injury protection.
The foundation’s Youth Equipment for Sports Safety (YESS) Program provides protective rib shirts made with exclusive Gel-To-Shell technology that custom molds to each player’s body.
“The composition of how the shirt is made, it’s a compression shirt, and it’s very personalized,” Kathy Haugen said. “It’s like a mouthpiece. You get the mouthpiece in there, hold it until it cools off, and your teeth are imprinted in it. It’s the same concept with this. With the shield around their midsection, it conforms to their body and their rib cage. So it’s a very personal piece of equipment.”
MILITARY
Col. Terrance Keithley takes command of 96th Test Wing at Eglin
Col. Terrance Keithley assumed command of the 96th Test Wing during a change of command ceremony June 16 at the McKinley Climatic Lab, with Chief Master Sgt. Tomio P. Brown Sr. taking over as command chief in a concurrent change of responsibility.
“In terms of what’s going through my mind right now, overwhelming gratitude. I’ve heard about the 96th Test Wing throughout the entirety of my career,” Keithley said. “I’ve been amazed at how this team consistently produces results. Seeing what you guys have done over the last year has been absolutely astonishing.”
Keithley takes command from Brig. Gen. Mark Massaro, who is departing to become the Air Force Test Center commander at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
WEATHER
Today’s weather outlook
TODAY: Showers and thunderstorms before 4pm, then showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 83. South wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.
TONIGHT: Showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 81. Southwest wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 2 and 3 inches possible.
BUSINESS
Okaloosa Administrator says property tax amendment could cut $24 million from county budget by year two
Okaloosa County Administrator John Hofstad updated commissioners Tuesday on the potential local impact of House Joint Resolution 1F, a proposed constitutional amendment headed to Florida voters in November that would expand the homestead exemption.
- If approved by the required 60% of voters, the amendment would reduce Okaloosa County’s general fund revenue by approximately $14.5 million in its first year and about $24 million in year two, Hofstad said. He said the second-year impact would leave about $2.5 million to fund a range of county services after core obligations are met.
“I certainly appreciate the governor and the legislature and their attempt to lessen the burden for those of us that call Florida home and those of us that own property here in the state of Florida,” Hofstad said. “But I’m also your county administrator, and I have a duty and responsibility to you and these citizens to let you know what the potential impacts are of that legislation should that referendum be successful in November.”
In the full story, Hofstad talks numbers for our local area, current millage and fee structures, steps the county is already taking, and more.
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