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Good morning!
Okaloosa County Commissioners advanced a pay-to-park exploration (with free parking for residents to remain), approved creating a task force to address panhandling, vagrancy, and related community issues, and approved launching in-house animal control in September. Also, all Mary Esther and Longwood employees have been placed for the next school year, according to the Okaloosa School District HR director. Eglin AFB will conduct prescribed burns near Florosa June 26-28.
MILITARY
Eglin AFB to conduct prescribed burns near Florosa June 26-28
Residents north of U.S. Highway 98 near Florosa should expect to see smoke over the next three days as Eglin’s Wildland Fire Branch carries out prescribed burns on the western portion of the Eglin Range.
- The burns are scheduled June 26 through 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, weather permitting.
The burn area sits east of County Line Road, approximately a half-mile north of U.S. Highway 98, and west of Range Road A-21, near residential property toward Florosa north of the highway.
Crews plan to burn between 450 and 1,000 acres. Smoke is predicted to rise 2,000 feet and move north over the Eglin Range.
Wildland fire crews and equipment will be on scene throughout the operation to monitor the fire line and ensure public safety.
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GAMES
WordroW: June 26, 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
All Mary Esther, Longwood employees placed for next school year, Okaloosa HR director says
Every instructional and support employee from Mary Esther Elementary and Longwood Elementary has been placed for the 2026-27 school year, Okaloosa County School District Human Resources Director Lindsay Maxey told the school board during a Monday workshop.
“All of those people have been placed,” Maxey said in response to a question from board member Parker Destin about the status of staff from the two closing schools. She said the district was “ahead of schedule” in finalizing placements, meeting its goal of informing employees of their next assignments before the summer.
The board voted unanimously on Feb. 23 to close Longwood and Mary Esther elementary schools and rezone affected students to Shalimar, Kenwood, Wright, Elliott Point, Edwins and Florosa elementary schools. At the time of that decision, district leaders pledged that employees in good standing would have positions for the upcoming school year.
Maxey said operations crews, led by Asst. Superintendent Grant Meyer’s team, are now moving employees’ belongings into their new classrooms and work spaces.
In the full story, we recap:
- Hiring season by the numbers
- No ‘Teach at the Beach’ this year
- Hiring approach tied to enrollment decline
PARKS+REC
Okaloosa takes next step on pay-to-park exploration; free parking for residents to remain
Okaloosa County Commissioners voted unanimously on June 16 to approve a special selection committee that will oversee procurement for the county’s planned pay-to-park program, advancing a process first endorsed by the board in January.
- The staff document emphasized that all previously approved guard rails remain in place, including free parking for county residents.
Other guard rails set in January call for likely reduced or eliminated fees during winter months from November through February, a revenue-sharing arrangement with the vendor rather than significant upfront capital investment by the county, and no long-term contract lock-in.
Locations previously identified as potential test sites include Beach Access Lots 1 through 7 on Okaloosa Island, Beasley Park, and boat launch parking at Marler Park and Cinco Bayou.
The county says pay-to-park is a potential alternative revenue source in light of a constitutional amendment on property taxes proposed by the state legislature. Revenue from the program is intended to fund capital improvements and maintenance of park and recreational facilities and could potentially lower the park MSTU rate.
Click here to read the full story or leave a comment
PROMOTED
A World of Signs to throw a two-day grand opening party in Fort Walton Beach
After 20 years in business locally, A World of Signs is celebrating its new shop at 106 Hill Ave NW (old FedEx building) with a Grand Opening Extravaganza on Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27.
- Friday runs from noon to 7 p.m. with Tiana’s Lunch Box on site. Saturday goes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with Tehillah Coffee & Co. pouring. Both days are free and open to the public — no purchase necessary.
Visitors can tour the new facility, watch live vehicle wrap and shirt press demonstrations, try hands-on sign-making activities, and pick up free shirts and decals. Raffles run throughout the event, including a drawing for up to $1,000 in shop credit toward signs, wraps, apparel and promotional products.
Details and raffle registration: go.aworldofsigns.com/opening
NEWS
Okaloosa creates task force to address panhandling, vagrancy and related community issues
The Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on June 16 to declare panhandling, vagrancy and a range of related community issues a matter of urgent public importance and to create a task force charged with studying the problem and recommending action.
- The agenda item, brought by Deputy County Administrator Craig Coffey and sponsored by Chairman Trey Goodwin, identified a list of concerns affecting residents countywide.
According to the staff document, those include panhandling and vagrancy, traffic safety, people sleeping on the side of the road, littering, illegal camps and squatting, drug use, theft, breaking and entering, and other crime.
“This is not an indictment of our nonprofits, our churches, our community stakeholders,” Goodwin said. “It’s clear that those entities have a desire to do the right thing to help provide relief for those in need.”
He said the task force should focus on people he described as abusing the system rather than those genuinely seeking help, and said constituents have told him the level of panhandling and vagrancy in the county is not what they expect.
Goodwin also said the issue has affected local military installations. He said illegal camps have appeared on base property and that local commanders have raised the matter as a mission impact concern.
Goodwin said his expectation is that the task force will deliver concrete recommendations rather than open-ended discussion.
WEATHER
Today’s weather outlook
TODAY: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts less than a tenth of an inch possible.
TONIGHT: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 80. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
BUSINESS
Okaloosa County to launch in-house animal control in September
Okaloosa County will start its own animal control operation this fall after commissioners voted unanimously June 16 to approve a scaled-back service model, ending more than 20 years of contracted service through the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society.
- The county’s contract with PAWS expires Sept. 22 with no extensions. The PAWS board voted May 1 not to renew the agreement and submitted a sheltering-only proposal that exceeded the entire current contract, according to Kira East, the organization’s director of operations.
The approved plan, recommended by Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox, will stand up a small county-run unit responding only to calls required by Florida statute and county ordinance. Those include dangerous dog and bite cases, animal cruelty and neglect, livestock at large, disease reporting, and contracting with outside agencies for sheltering, sterilization and humane euthanasia.
The county will not handle non-emergency stray pickups or owner surrenders under this model.
Commissioners also unanimously approved a separate motion directing staff to research a potential half-cent sales tax referendum that could fund a more robust animal control program. Chairman Trey Goodwin, who proposed the idea, said voters could decide directly how much service they want to pay for.
“If they [voters] supported a half-cent sales tax, it will be well-funded,” Goodwin said. “And in fact, you could probably run it as a countywide consolidated service, and all the municipalities could get out of it and et the sales tax pay for it, and it would pay for it and then some.”
Staff is expected to return with options during the first quarter of 2027, in time for the 2028 ballot.
OK, that’s all I have for you this morning! I hope you have a great Friday! 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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124 Eglin Parkway SE Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548