From the Newsroom: The Panama City News Herald

Dan Rowe, CEO and President of Visit PCB, said that in the contract between the two groups there was a provision that said in the case of a cancellation, R&M was not obligated to repay the money unless it was reimbursed by the companies it used to market its event. 

That had not happened as of Thursday and likely wouldn't, Rowe said.

An athletic trainer at Deane Bozeman School was arrested Monday for allegedly soliciting sex from a minor online.

According to Bay County Sheriff's Office reports, Mark Johnston was charged with use of a computer online to solicit sex from a minor, a third degree felony. Johnston had his first appearance in court Tuesday.

House of Glass: Soon the business will be serving beer, wine and finger foods and expanding its hours at Beach Drive and Harrison Avenue, which long ago house La Fiesta.

Another severe storm and a possible tornado could hit Bay County on Thursday following the damaging weather that struck the area on Monday.

The Bay County Sheriff's Office announced Monday the arrest of 38 people on various sex offender and child predator charges, including a captain of Bay County Emergency Medical Services.

Called Operation Watchdog, the sting was conducted over five days from Feb, 1 to Feb. 5. The operation targeted registered sex offenders who committed new violations, people who traveled to procure sex from minors and others who were in possession of child porn, a press release from the sheriff's office states.

An unnamed woman was hit and killed by a train early this morning in Panama City. 

According to Ken McVay, media specialist for the Panama City Police Department, the incident happened about 5 a.m. on train tracks near the intersection of U.S. 231 and Star Avenue. 

The train was headed south at about 35 mph, a "normal speed (for it) to travel into town," McVay added.

"As they approached that intersection, they noticed a white female sitting on the tracks," he said. "They took precautionary measures to try and stop the train, (but) the woman did not make any attempts to move out of the way."

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man for the shooting deaths of two men in Panama City Beach on Tuesday.

According to a sheriff’s office press release, Ruez P. Hicks, 19, was charged with an open count of murder in the deaths of Robert Shawn Fowler and Robert Keith Gilmore. Both were found dead from gunshot wounds at a residence on Delmar Drive.

Hicks is listed as a transient from the Albany, Ga. area and is believed to have been in Bay County for approximately two months, the press release states. Hicks was arrested at 20508 Verona St. in Panama City Beach.

Bay County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating after two men were found dead with gunshot wounds in Panama City Beach Tuesday evening.

According to a Bay County Sheriff’s Office press release Wednesday, the two victims were found around 11:06 p.m. at a home on Delmar Drive. The names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of the family.

The Bay County Republican Party has declared President-elect Joe Biden as an imposed, illegitimate leader and that officials shouldn’t cooperate with his administration. 

The party’s executive committee voted on Dec. 7 to support a resolution that among other things, declares that the party won’t recognize Biden’s administration as legitimate unless President Donald Trump conceded and acknowledged that the 2020 election was fair. The resolution comes after Trump and his legal team have made multiple failed attempts in court to overturn election results in various states.

Kevin Jean, 34, is being held on a $5 million bond after being charged with burning and mutilating three children Tuesday at a Beach hotel, according to his arrest affidavit.

Jean is accused of taking an unidentified item, hot enough to cause severe burns, and placing it on the victims' vaginal areas. The victims needed medical treatment at a local hospital.