NEW OKALOOSA COUNTY JUDGE

Okaloosa County has a new County Judge. Former Assistant State Attorney Angela Mason was sworn in yesterday morning at the Okaloosa County Courthouse by Circuit Court Judge Michael Flowers. Mason becomes the newest judge to join the ranks of the First Judicial Circuit of Florida, which includes Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties. She fills the seat vacated by T. Patterson Maney, who stepped down in May after 29 years at the bench. The 41-year-old Mason is a graduate of the University of Tennessee law school, and has been an assistant state attorney for almost 16 years.