Approximately 172 million gallons of oil entered the Gulf of Mexico when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred about 50 miles offshore of Louisiana in April 2010.

Locals and tourists still have questions. The Okaloosa County University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Office invited a Gulf of Mexico oil spill scientist, Dr. Monica Wilson, to help answer the five most common questions about the event. Wilson, with the Florida Sea Grant College Program in St. Petersburg, uses her physical oceanography background to model circulation and flushing of coastal systems in the region and the impacts of tropical storms on these systems. She focuses on the distribution, dispersion and dilution of petroleum under physical ocean processes and storms.

During the July 11 event — hosted by UF and the Destin History and Fishing Museum — Wilson covered topics such as whether Gulf seafood is safe to eat, how the oil spill affects  wildlife, cleanup techniques used, and how they are implemented.

This was the first in a possibly ongoing lecture series, bringing more scientific information to our county. “The Destin History and Fishing Museum has a vision that includes expanding its programs to include a lecture series," said the museum's executive director, Kathy Blue.

The oil spill science outreach program allows Sea Grant specialists to learn what types of information target audiences want and develop tailor-made products for them. Outreach specialists produce a variety of materials, such as fact sheets and bulletins.

See https://gulfseagrant.wordpress.com/oilspilloutreach/ for more information on the oil spill.

Laura Tiu is an agent at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Oil spill science seminar kicks off possible lecture series

I don't know how to write a column on this theme except to say stop, stop, please stop the killing.

Killing somebody is the not the answer. Killing people because of race, gender, religion, or for any reason under the sun is wrong. Killing does not eliminate problems. Killing does not solve family or neighborhood squabbles.

A NATION OF KILLERS

We kill all the time. America is a nation of killers. Do we want to start counting people killed in all the wars just in the last couple of hundred years? How many have we killed on foreign soil? How many have been gunned down in Chicago in the last 10 years?

When you start adding up the deaths during the last decade in school shootings, theatre shootings, nightclub shootings, alleged wrongful shootings by police, and deaths of police themselves, it goes on and on.

People are sentenced to prison — or sometimes the death chamber — because of killing. People are filled with rage over somebody they love being killed, and want to kill the person who killed their loved one.

People who are emotionally able to reach a point in their lives where they can sleep, and even forgive someone who murdered a loved one, do so often after years of emotional, spiritual and psychological help.

Many are never able to reach this point in their lives.

If somebody assaulted your child, spouse, parent, sibling or friend, you would be filled with hurt and rage. If somebody tries to enter my house and hurt our family, I will use one of my handguns and shoot with intent to kill. My hope and prayer is that never happens.

I'm sure that is your hope and prayer as well.

FORGETTING ‘THOU SHALT NOT KILL’

Somehow, we must ingrain this hope and prayer in every American: the hope to never hurt of kill.

Old-time church preachers used to preach about "Thou Shalt Not Kill” and “love your neighbor as yourself." Most of America's churches gave that up a long time ago.

Today, the church focuses on entertainment and creating a feel-good environment. Churches used to send missionaries around the world preaching, "Thou Shalt Not Kill” and to “love God and love your neighbor."

When I was a child I used to read, "Thou Shalt Not Kill" written everywhere. I saw it in such places as public classrooms, courthouses and even Sunday school walls at church.

For some crazy reason, America started thinking the Ten Commandments were offensive and that the sixth commandment was no longer necessary.

Having the sixth commandment posted throughout America was a lot less offensive than this killing that's going on in our country.

REMEMBERING THE GOLDEN RULE

The sixth commandment did not prevent killings. Black people were still treated cruelly and even murdered with the sixth commandment posted everywhere. In the days when Thou Shalt Not Kill was written, people were killed all over the Middle East, and it hasn't stopped.

A chapter and verse is not a cure all, but it’s foolish to ignore it.

Somehow, we have to get to the hearts of people — and that means all races, nationalities, genders and religions have to quit hating, biting and fighting.

The Golden Rule says, "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

If all churches, communities, religions, political parties, race groups, gender groups and the whole world would just truly embrace this principle, the world would do much better.

Bad stuff would stop, and so would the killing.

Glenn Mollette is an American syndicated columnist and author.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MOLLETTE: It's foolish to ignore the sixth commandment

There are many ways one can volunteer here in Crestview. We have many worthy organizations and churches that can use our time and talents.

One such organization is the Friends of the Library, which supports the Robert L.F. Sikes Library here in Crestview.

Friends of the Library holds semi-annual book sales whose proceeds benefit the library by purchasing needed items. These include large-print books, funding for special events, children's programs and so on. 

The Friends of the Library’s next meeting is 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 21 at the library.  New members are welcome; annual dues are $10 per year for a single or $15 for a couple. The year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

Speaking of the library, the Children's Summer Reading Awards will be held 6:30-7:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 26 at the Crestview Community Center. Children who have read all summer will be awarded "funny money," which they can use to purchase gifts. What a great program for the children, and what great rewards for reading!

On Monday, Aug. 1, there will be an open house called "Tell Your Story,” 5-8 p.m. at the library. Crestview area groups can showcase their events; state their mission; and tell about their current projects as well as future projects.

There is such a variety of organizations here in Crestview; I hope that many groups will turn out, and that we get a good representation of all the opportunities we have here in town. The Friends of the Library will provide pizza, punch and dessert. This is a free event to both participants and attendees.

The next book sale will be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 at Warriors Hall, 201 Stillwell Blvd., Crestview.

I am an avid reader and love getting great books at a bargain. I always enjoy attending the book sales — you never know what gem you may find!

Janice Lynn Crose, a former accountant, lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: A case to volunteer with Crestview's Friends of the Library

As you probably know, a mutual fund may contain many types of investments, such as stocks, bonds and government securities.

But as an investor, you need to pay attention to not only what goes into your mutual fund, but also what comes out of it — namely, the three ways in which a fund can compensate you.

Let’s take a look at these three avenues:

Dividends and interest — A mutual fund earns income from dividends on stocks and interest on bonds. The fund pays out nearly all the income it receives over the year, in the form of a distribution, to you and the other fund owners.

Usually, you have the choice of taking the distribution check or reinvesting earnings to purchase more shares. If you don’t actually need the income to boost your cash flow, you’ll certainly want to consider the reinvestment option, because it’s an easy and cost-efficient way of building your share of ownership.

Keep in mind, though, that whether you take the distribution as a check or reinvest it, you will still owe income tax on the dividends.

Capital gains distributions — You will receive your share of any net profits the fund makes from selling investments.

Mutual funds usually make these capital gains distributions annually or semiannually. You can choose to automatically reinvest these distributions into your fund, thereby purchasing more shares.

Even if you reinvest the proceeds, you’ll incur taxes, but as long as the gains are long-term, you’ll pay only the capital gains rate, which will likely be 15 percent.

Increased share value — Generally speaking, you invest in a mutual fund because you are hoping its price will rise over time.

When its price per share — its net asset value — does rise, you can sell your shares for a profit. As long as you’ve held them for more than a year, you’ll pay the capital gains rate rather than your normal income tax rate.

Of course, there are no guarantees when it comes to earning a profit from mutual funds; some funds decline in value and never recover.

So when choosing a mutual fund, you’ll need to carefully evaluate a number of factors, including these:

●What are the fund’s overall objectives?

●Has its management team been in place for long?

●Does it have a good track record?

While past performance can’t guarantee future results, you can get a sense of how a fund has performed in different economic environments by looking at its history over five or 10 years.

You’ll need discipline and patience when investing in mutual funds.

You’ll need the discipline to continually reinvest your dividends and capital gains distributions so that you can accumulate more and more shares.

And you’ll need patience to wait for an increase in share value, which is not guaranteed and may take years to develop.

But if you have this patience and discipline, you may find that mutual funds can help you make progress toward your financial goals.

So look for quality funds that are appropriate for your situation and risk tolerance.

Your search may well be worth the effort.

Mutual funds are offered and sold by prospectus. You should consider the investment objectives, risks and charges and expenses carefully before investing.  The prospectus contains this and other information. Your Edward Jones financial adviser can provide a prospectus, which should be read carefully before investing.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SHANKLIN: How mutual funds compensate investors

As an investor, you may find that the  elements of your portfolio that seem to draw most of your attention are stocks and bonds.

After all, these investment vehicles, and others derived from them, provide you with potential growth and income opportunities — which is why you invest in the first place.

Yet, you also may find significant value in a more humble financial asset: cash.

In fact, you might be surprised at the various ways in which the cash, and cash equivalents, in your portfolio can help you complete your financial picture.

One way to understand the uses of cash is to look at the “USES” of cash.

In other words, consider the acronym USES:

Unexpected expenses and emergencies — You’ll need sufficient cash for situations such as a job loss, a home repair or an unplanned medical expense.

During your working years, you should keep three to six months’ worth of living expenses in a cash account specifically designed to meet unexpected expenses.

Once you’re retired, you may be able to get by on a smaller emergency fund — up to three months’ worth of living expenses, although you will need more for everyday spending.

Specific short-term savings goal — Are you anticipating a big expense —a wedding, a big vacation, a down payment on a new home, etc. — sometime within the next few years?

If so, you’ll want to set aside sufficient cash, with the exact amount depending on your specific short-term goal.

Everyday spending — It goes without saying that you’ll need adequate cash for your everyday spending needs — groceries, utilities, entertainment, mortgage/ debt payments, and so on.

Of course, while you’re working, you will probably handle most of these costs with your paychecks, but you may still need to set aside one or two months’ worth of living expenses.

Once you’re retired, though, it’s a somewhat different story.

While your expenses may go down in some areas (such as costs associated with employment), they are likely to go up in others (such as health care).

So your overall cost of living may not drop much, if at all.

Consequently, it may be a good idea to set aside 12 months’ worth of living expenses, after incorporating other sources of income, such as Social Security and outside employment.

In addition, you’ll have to decide on the most efficient way of drawing on your other sources of income, including Social Security and investment accounts such as an IRA, a 401(k), etc.

It’s especially important to create a sustainable withdrawal strategy for your investment portfolio because you don’t want to run the risk of outliving your money.

Source of investment — You’ll want to have some cash available in your portfolio — perhaps 2 percent to 3 percent of the portfolio’s value — to take advantage of investment opportunities as they arise.

Also, having even a small percentage of your portfolio devoted to cash can modestly improve your overall diversification — and a diversified portfolio is your best defense against market volatility. (Keep in mind, though, that diversification can’t guarantee a profit or protect against loss.)

So, there you have it: four key USES of cash. Taken together, they provide some good reasons to keep at least a modest “stream” of liquid assets in your portfolio.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SHANKLIN: What are the key USES of cash?