Dec. 1
In two high-profile cases, a grand jury returned first-degree murder charges. Cory M. Hagwell, 29, was charged in the death of 3-year-old Adelynn Merrell at their Mossy Head home. Barbara Wozniak, 65, accused of killing her husband and then hiding his body under the stairwell of their Shalimar home, also was indicted.
Dec. 2
Santa Rosa County Superintendent of Schools Tim Wyrosdick says he will not ban Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” from the school curriculum. Sonja McCall-Strehlow filed the formal request Oct. 10, questioning whether the book was appropriate because of its use of profanity and using God’s name in vain. She also had concerns about Bradbury including sex, drugs, suicide, murder and abortion in the book.
Dec. 5
The U.S. Air Force's first — and only — group dedicated to assessing and addressing digital systems' operation and security, the new 96th Cyberspace Test Group, was activated at Eglin AFB.
Dec. 6
By a 4-1 vote, the Okaloosa County School Board denied Arden Farley's appeal to be placed on paid leave while awaiting trial in the Kenwood Elementary School child abuse case.
Dec. 7
Most Okaloosa County commissioners voted to approve placing the county’s proposed half-cent sales tax question on the Nov. 6, 2018, general election ballot rather than conducting an expensive special election next spring.
Dec. 8
More than 70 members of the Air Force’s most-deployed wing arrived home just in time for Christmas. The troops returned to Hurlburt Field from deployments of anywhere from four months to a year in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Dec. 9
President Donald Trump urged voters to elect a Republican Senate candidate in Alabama, Roy Moore, who has been dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct during a campaign-style rally in Pensacola. Moore would lose the election.
Dec. 12
Doctors, hospital staff and community leaders came together for the unveiling of Fort Walton Beach Medical Center’s new rooftop helipad, which wraps up the first phase of a $20 million emergency room expansion project at the hospital.
Dec. 13
First Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Eddins announced he will convene a grand jury to review the many serious issues his office has uncovered in the course of investigating the Okaloosa County School District.
Dec. 14
All three Child Development Centers and the Youth Center at the headquarters of the Air Force’s 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field remained closed “in an abundance of caution” to prevent the continued spread of a norovirus outbreak.
Dec. 15
A former principal in the Okaloosa County School District, Marline Van Dyke, files a suit against the district alleging she was discriminated against while an employee, particularly after she decided to run for superintendent. Specific targets in the lawsuit are Mary Beth Jackson, Stacie Smith, Arden Farley and Henry Kelley.
Dec. 16
An ongoing outbreak of norovirus at Hurlburt Field now numbers more than 100 cases, more than double the number of cases noted the previous week in initial reports on the outbreak.
Dec. 22
A private investigator found that Henry Kelley, the Okaloosa County School District’s program director for the Office of Community Affairs, broke the state's public records laws when he released documents exempt from public scrutiny to a television reporter. The documents were related to an official complaint filed by Fort Walton Beach resident Gene Earley against Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Stacie Smith.
Dec. 23
City Council has agreed with the staff’s recommendation to rescind the council’s recently approved request for proposals (RFP) aimed toward companies interested in buying and taking over the Gulf Power utility system in Destin. City officials met with Gulf Power officials Dec. 15 about possibly forming a new contract between the company and the city.
Dec. 26
Okaloosa County Attorney Greg Stewart recently told the County Commission that he and county Growth Management Director Elliot Kampert have been working on a draft ordinance that would regulate floating structures moored in waterways within the county’s jurisdiction. On a related note, the Destin City Council plans to host a public workshop in January to discuss possible ways of regulating the major party spot known as Crab Island.