In the small, tight-knit town of Malone, where basketball is more than a game, it's a heritage—few names have become as interwoven into the legacy of the orange and navy blue as that of Coach Steve Welch.

The Graceville Civic Center was the place to be Saturday morning as families from Jackson County gathered for the first back-to-school giveaway of the 2025–2026 school year. Hosted by the City of Graceville, the event was held in the city’s 10,000+ square foot civic center, a community mainstay since its construction in 1978.

For many Marianna residents who came of age in the late 1960s and early 1970s, fast food didn’t mean a chain with a drive-thru window and a nationwide ad campaign. It meant heading down the street to one of the town’s beloved local hangouts, Chandler’s, Big R, or Stafford’s, where the food was hot, the prices were fair, and the memories were made daily.

For those who live in the city limits of Marianna or Sneads, they know the services Waste Pro provides in picking up their trash. They work hard to make sure pickups are made on schedule.

The Cottondale Darlings swept through the district and were named District Champs for the first time in Cottondale Rec Ball history. The next step was to prepare for the next step which was a state championship in Belleview.

17-year-old Emma Poole has traveled around the country showing her pig, Baby Glo. Recently she placed third at the World Pork Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana. This competition features competitors from all around the world with the best pigs from around the world. A few thousand pigs compete, and Poole placed third in the Crossbred Gilts category.

Jackson County is indeed fortunate to have rec parks all over the county. The granddaddy of them all is located in Marianna. If you ask the young athletes who gravitate to the rec park on Caverns Road week after week through football, soccer, softball, and baseball seasons, they will quickly tell you, “We’re headed to “M.E.R.E.” That name has stuck from the day it opened.

Last week was a special Marianna Rotary meeting. Along with their regularly scheduled guest speaker, the children of the Rotarians were invited to attend with their parent(s). Appropriately, the scheduled speaker for today was Renae Rountree from the Washington County Public Library System.

As summer temperatures soar across the Sunshine State, Florida Power & Light is urging customers to take small but impactful steps to reduce their energy bills, especially when it comes to one of Florida’s most essential comforts: air conditioning.

President Richard Williams presented four Rotarians with Paul Fellowship awards at last week’s meeting.

In a moment of quiet but powerful history, Sara Applewhite Hughes recently became the first woman president of the Marianna Rotary Club, marking a new chapter in the organization’s proud legacy of service. While she is the first to hold the gavel, she is quick to point out she was not the first woman inducted. That honor belongs to Carmen Smith, who joined in October 2015. Hughes followed just a few months later in January 2016.

The Marianna Rotary Club held its yearly meeting last Wednesday with some important awards and recognitions on the agenda.