In a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon, real estate agent Johnny Springfield made a request to respect our wildlife, especially the nesting sea turtles who come onto the beach in the evening. According to Springfield’s post, on Wednesday night around 9:00pm a large 250lb Loggerhead Sea Turtle crawled onto beach in Destin to lay her eggs.
The turtle was greeted by people looking to get pictures and shining lights on her. Supposedly, several of the onlookers were seen sticking their hands under her and handled some of the eggs. The turtle was able to nest and return to the water with some help from people who saw what was going on and took charge of the situation. To read Springfield’s entire Facebook post, click here.
PS, as pointed out on Facebook…please don’t take pictures like the one above.
FWB City Mayor relieved after findings…
Upon hearing the news that no evidence of wrongdoing was found regarding the 12 complaints against former Police Chief Ed Ryan and Captain Tracy Hart, Mayor Dick Rynearson said he felt better than he had in a long time. Talking with the Northwest Florida Daily News, the mayor had this to say:
“I’m so thankful that this is behind us. When I learned the findings, I wanted to tell all of our employees that everything’s fine and nobody is going to lose their jobs and we’re going to grow from this. As ugly as the last five weeks have been, we’re going to put this behind us, move forward and grow.”
To read the latest update on the police department complaints, click here.
Former Chamber President Charged with stealing more than $77,000
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has charged former Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce President Valerie Lott with stealing more than $77,000 in Chamber funds while serving as both Chamber President and Office Manager. An OCSO Investigator found evidence that Lott stole money from the Chambers’ accounts by using the Chamber credit card for personal purchases, fraudulently issuing checks, and making cash withdrawals from Chamber bank accounts. He says Lott also forged Chamber member signatures on checks. The expenditures ranged from vet bills and Amazon purchases to a $4000 trip to Walt Disney World in November 2016.
Committee asks for update on Code Enforcement regarding beach
The Public Works/Public Safety Committee asked for an update on the Code Enforcement division at a meeting on Tuesday regarding the current battle of the beach, according to The Destin Log. Talks of making it easier to get in touch with code enforcement by adding the phone number to signs were discussed along with using the City of Destin’s Erosion Control Line GPS device to add markers indicating public vs. private beaches. However, Interim City Manager Lance Johnson states that the city still needs clarification on the jurisdiction over the land that is south of the ECL. To read more on the battle of the beach, click here.
Mississippi murder suspect arrested in Fort Walton Beach
30-year old Mississippi Man, Thomas Crawford of Robert Road, reportedly revealed that he had killed his 71-year old grandmother because she wouldn’t let him use her car. OCSO Deputies arrested Crawford at the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center and were also able to locate the victim’s vehicle, a black Suzuki, concealed in the wood line off Interstate 10 near Mile Marker 58.
That’s all we’ve got for this week. Make sure you follow us on Facebook and the ‘gram over the weekend for other awesome shareable content! See ya Monday!