The Apalachicola Times

09/14/2026

In a premier win that earned Franklin County Coach John Cooper a well-deserved Gatorade dunking, the Seahawks secured their fifth straight win Friday night in Bristol, handing rival Liberty County its first loss of the season in the so-called ‘Battle of Tate’s Hell.” In photo, junior #3 Kobe Joseph, left, and senior #5 Kyle Gilbert, right, eye teammate senior #2 Rylan Wood as he breaks up a pass attempt by Liberty County. This photo was contributed by Jadyn Luberto.

For more on the Seahawk's game against Liberty, see franklincounty.news/2026/09/14/seahawks-collar-bulldogs-stay-undefeated/

09/12/2026

09/10/2026

Doug Alderson has taken part in the annual Apalachicola RiverTrek for the past ten years. What keeps him coming back to traverse the 107-mile length river? Check out Alderson's story for the answer and details on this year's team including Skyla Means, a senior at Leon High School in Tallahassee. Means will be the youngest RiverTrek participant to ever paddle the entire river.

See Alderson's story here: /franklincounty.news/2026/09/08/annual-rivertrek-on-apalachicola-features-youngest-paddler/

This year’s Apalachicola RiverTrek will launch on October 14 at Chattahoochee’s River Landing Park and will end five days later at Battery Park in Apalachicola where a hero’s welcome is planned. For more information how to support this year's team, visit apalachicolariverkeeper.org/rivertrek/. All funds generated go to Apalachicola Riverkeeper to support their advocacy, education and outreach work.

Photos provided courtesy of Doug Alderson, Georgia Ackerman, and Rebecca Means.

09/10/2026

This week's newspaper is out on the stands now and on our website at franklincounty.news/this-weeks-paper/. Here's a sneak peek at this week's edition.

09/09/2026

Members of the Buzzett family, a Forgotten Coast family dating back to the late 19th century and one whose ancestors distinguished themselves in the pharmaceutical industry as well as military service and state and local government, gathered last spring to celebrate the placing of a plaque at 75 Market Street in Apalachicola, the site of William D. Buzzett’s original Rexall pharmacy, founded circa 1905.

For more on the historic site, see: franklincounty.news/2026/09/08/buzzetts-drug-store-anchored-the-downtown/

09/09/2026

Dallas Hayden and his wife Rachael, along with partner Josh Conley, owners of Scipio Marina Investments, LLC recently bought the Scipio Creek Marina, at 301 Market Street in Apalachicola, from Creamer Family LLC for $8.5 million. The purchase included the acquisition of Half Shell Dockside Restaurant & Bar as well as Buoy Brewing Company.

For more on the sale of Scipio Creek Marina and the new owners, see: /franklincounty.news/2026/09/08/scipio-creek-marina-sold-to-texas-company/

09/08/2026

For the first time in nearly 15 years, Franklin County commissioners have voted to raise the millage rate for the upcoming fiscal year. By unanimous consent, the commissioners voted Sept. 3 to set the millage rate at 5.4109 mills, about six-tenths of 1 mill above the rolled-back rate of 4.7994 which would have generated a little less than $19.53 million.

For more details, see: franklincounty.news/2026/09/08/franklin-county-to-raise-millage-rate/

09/08/2026

Going up a team that’s won 20 out of its last 23, with a recent state runner-up finish, is not an opponent you can take for granted. A 47-25 victory for the Seahawks secured their fourth consecutive win against the St. Joseph Academy Flashes. “This is a big win,” said Seahawks Coach John Cooper. “St. Joseph has won a lot of ballgames over the last few years, and I'd say it was probably a little step ahead of us in their progression and what we want to be. So I think it's another marquee win for us this season.”
For more on the Seahawks game against the Flashes, see franklincounty.news/2026/09/07/seahawks-dim-st-joseph-flashes/

09/07/2026

On the last day of August, a memo from the Florida Department of Transportation informed local law enforcement agencies that they would no longer have authority to deploy license plate reader technology on state roads.
The next day, Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith climbed to the top of one of the cameras in the automated camera system made by Flock Safety, the nation’s largest LPR network, and draped it so it could no longer record license plates and vehicle characteristics.
In contrast, Gulf County Sheriff Mike Harrison issued a firmly-worded statement that he intended to comply with the governor’s order but “continue to use this technology until it is unavailable on state highways,” referring to the six LPRs on state roads within Gulf.
For more on the sheriffs differing approaches to the cameras, see: franklincounty.news/2026/09/07/sheriffs-take-differing-approaches-to-their-flocks/