Shoal River Middle School stands at 3200 E. Redstone Ave. and Riverside Elementary School stands just to the east, at 3400 E. Redstone Ave.

Once fully activated, the cameras will take photos and record videos of motor vehicles traveling more than 10 mph above the posted 20 mph speed limit in the school zone between 7:15 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. on weekdays.

During the city’s 30-day, state-required public awareness campaign that will include signs and community outreach, such speeders will receive a warning letter. After the campaign ends, they’ll be cited with a moving violation and given a $100 fine.

“The initial warning signs (letting drivers know about the cameras) have already been posted, and we believe that on Wednesday the actual cameras are going to go up,” Leavins said at the council meeting. “They’ll be calibrated, and by the end of the week you’ll start seeing the public notices (about the cameras) on social media and all of those different ways that we advertise things.”

The 30-day warning period will run from Feb. 11 through Thursday, March 12, city officials said in a follow-up news release.

City officials are working with the Florida Department of Transportation and Okaloosa County to finalize permits for the installation of speed cameras for these other school zones: On State Road 85 in front of Crestview High School, on Old Bethel Road in front of Davidson Middle School, and on SR 85 near Northwood Elementary School and Richbourg School.

NovoaGlobal, of Orlando, is overseeing Crestview’s school zone speed camera program. Since early 2019, this company has managed the Hub City’s red-light camera program that cites drivers who drive north or south through red lights at the U.S. Highway 90-State Road 85 and SR 85-Redstone Avenue intersections.

In January 2025, NovoaGlobal on the city’s behalf conducted a three-day study to identify the number of drivers speeding through school zones while school was in session at CHS, Davidson Middle School, Northwood Elementary School and Richbourg School, and Shoal River Middle and Riverside Elementary schools. Among other findings, the study found that motor vehicles routinely traveled at least 11 mph above school zone speed limits during designated school hours.

According to city information, there are no upfront costs for equipment or installation of the school zone speed cameras. Like the red-light camera program, the school zone speed camera program is violator-funded, will issue notices of violation to vehicle owners, and will allow for administrative hearings before a code enforcement special magistrate.

Citations for speeding in a school zone do not add points to a driver’s license, according to information from NovoaGlobal.

Of the $100 fine assessed to violators, $60 will be used for local public safety initiatives, including speed detection systems in school zones, $12 will go toward school security and transportation initiatives, $5 will be used to recruit and retain crossing guards, and $23 will go to the state Department of Revenue.

“The goal is not to collect fines. The goal is to reduce speeds,” Crestview Police Chief Steve McCosker told the City Council early last year.

As of this afternoon, the jail housed a total of 740 inmates.

Since the new website deputed, members of the public, including the media, who seek to obtain a full day’s listing of booked inmates like they could on the old website have been directed by county officials to email a public records request to riskinfo@myokaloosa.com.

Unlike the old inmate search website, the new site, at https://okaloosacountyjail.myokaloosa.com/inmatelocator/, does not include an inmate’s home address and date of birth, nor does it list the law enforcement agency that made the arrest.

In addition, inmate photos on the new site are smaller and have a lower resolution than those that were posted on the old site.

The county DOC stopped using the old website at the end of January, county Public Information Officer Nick Tomecek said today.

“The technology for the former website was becoming obsolete and is no longer supported,” he said. “Some items (from the old website) are still migrating over to the new site.”

He did not know if the search by date capability would migrate over, or whether the inmate photos would be made larger and clearer.

Tomecek noted that, “The jail inmate search is one of the most popular things on (the county) website.”

The county jail is run by the county DOC and is under the purview of the County Commission, not the county Sheriff’s Office, he said, adding, “Who is booked in the jail is the county’s responsibility, not the Sheriff’s Office.”

S.O. Public Information Officer Michele Nicholson said she and other S.O. officials depend on the county’s inmate search website for much information.

When asked for her thoughts on the new website, Nicholson said, “We would assume, like most new systems, it’s a work in progress, and some of the initial issues that might be encountered will be remedied as the transition is smoothed out.”

District 1 County Commissioner Paul Mixon, whose district covers the northeastern quadrant of the county, could not immediately be reached for comment about the new website.

That surge in adoptions, she said, followed a November 2024 consult she had with the University of Florida Shelter Medicine team, which recommended Animal Services pursue a “barrier-free” adoption program.

“It’s been a year or more since we charged an adoption fee,” Healey said.

Animal Services, which is a division of the city Police Department, debuted in early 2022. Healey was the first employee of the division, which she created along with then-City Manager Tim Bolduc and other administrative staff after the city could not reach agreement with the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society on a new contract.

The Animal Services shelter stands at 715 N. Ferdon Blvd. The Animal Services division currently has a total of 48 animals – 19 cats and 29 dogs – in its care. Most of those animals are in foster homes in the community.

“We rely heavily on foster homes,” Healey said, adding that Animal Services partners with about four to six people who regularly foster animals. “While we might not have all of those animals physically in our building, they’re in our care via foster families. We provide 24-hour support of our foster homes, so if you foster a pet for us, we provide all of the medical care and any supporting supplies (such as crates, food, and bedding) that they need. If somebody has a sick kitten in the middle of the night, they’re calling us, and we’re getting it transported to the emergency clinic.”

‘Community’ cats

Animal Services’ current budget of $596,000 is funded with city general fund dollars. In addition to Healey, the division’s employees consist of an animal control officer and three animal care technicians.

In 2025, Animal Services recorded a total of 357 pet adoptions, provided 148 animal rescue transfers, had 51 pets reunited with their families, and had 174 feral or “community” cats trapped, spayed/neutered, vaccinated and returned safely to the field, according to information from the division. Overall, the division had nearly 600 cats and dogs spayed or neutered last year.

Animal Services implemented its “trap, neuter or spray, return,” or “TNR,” program for community cats within Crestview’s city limits when the division was established in 2022, Healey said.

“I do transports to Pensacola Humane Society at least twice a month, and the majority of those slots are for TNR cats,” she said, adding that the program has lowered the number of community cats in the area.

“It also decreases natural behavior by cats, which is typically what the nuisance is that people are calling and complaining about: Cats spray, they fight, they’re outside mating, they’re being obnoxious,” Healey said. “Some of those things would also dwindle down with the spaying and neutering of cats. (Overall), We’re putting a Band Aid on a bullet hole when it comes to (decreasing the number of community cats). The bottom line is, there’s thousands and thousands of cats that already exist in the environment, so the only way that we’re seeing fit to really attack the issue is by lowering the numbers with spay and neuter. That’s something we’re super passionate about.”

A heart for animals

Healey has worked in animal welfare for 10 years. She began her career at PAWS, which included a two-year stint as an animal control officer, and then moved to the Dallas area, where she worked as an animal care technician and then as an animal control officer for the city of Irving Police Department.

Healey later returned to Florida and employment with PAWS before going on to work for Saving With Soul Pet Rescue of Northwest Florida, Reichert Performance Horses in Holt, and Crestview Animal Services.

In her current job, “The most challenging thing all along has been creating a department while simultaneously running a department that has come with a lot of challenges,” she said. “But my biggest takeaway … when I worked in Irving, that was a huge, billion-dollar shelter. So I think that I had the mindset at one point that we needed some sort of big, beautiful thing to do great work. But having such a small facility and a small staff (in Crestview) has really been a blessing because I’m able to directly help people, like one-on-one, in the community, and we’re doing big things for such a small team. It makes me so proud to see the fruits of our efforts in the community.

“I want the community to trust us and see us as a resource, and not think of animal control as the antagonistic, scary dog catchers like they portray in movies. I want people to come here because they need help and they feel like we will help them. We want to obviously help and save as many animals as we possibly can.”

While most of Animal Services’ work is focused on animal care and welfare, the division’s overall job is really a people-first one, Healey said.

“We have to care about human equity as well,” she said. “It’s rewarding to watch a person who might come in here, who is homeless or about to be unhoused and needs supplies for their pet, and we help them and support them. And they come back a few times for some pet food, and we maybe connect them with a low-cost spay and neuter clinic. And then a few months later, they come back and maybe their puppy is now an adult, and it’s healthy and it’s fixed, and the person has a better living situation.

“And we were part of that story, and that’s important, that’s valuable.”

The Crestview Animal Services shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The shelter accepts donated blankets, sheets, towels, pet toys, and wet and dry dog and cat food.

For more information, or to report an animal control issue, call (850) 682-2055. The Animal Services website is at https://www.cityofcrestview.org/697/Animal-Services.

The Florida Department of Transportation’s preferred route for the proposed 2.4-mile paved path for pedestrians and cyclists runs along the south side of U.S. Highway 90, from Cooper Lane’s west leg to just east of Cooper Lane’s east leg, then continues along the north side of the highway before ending just east of Summertime Drive.

Max Cooper and his wife, Frances, were among a handful of Holt residents who attended the FDOT’s informational meeting about the “U.S. 90 Shared-Use Trail Project Development and Environment Study.” The meeting was held at First Baptist Church of Holt, 532 U.S. 90.

Max Cooper said Cooper Lane is named after his great uncle, John J. Cooper, who owned a pecan grove off Cooper Lane about a century ago.

“I don’t have a feeling on (the proposed shared-use path) one way or the other,” he said.

According to the FDOT, the intent of the PD&E study is to enhance multimodal infrastructure along U.S. 90 for the residents of Holt in order to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety, enhance trail connectivity, increase mobility and recreation, and promote economic development.

The planned trail, or path, would be part of the state’s Shared-Use Non-motorized Trail Program, which calls for a statewide system of interconnected and paved multi-use trails for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The PD&E study began in early 2024 and is set to end in mid-2026, FDOT spokeswoman Cassidy Taylor said. She said the design phase of the proposed path project is funded, but right-of-way acquisition and the construction phase are not.

The proposed project is not included in the FDOT’s current five-year workplan, FDOT officials said.

Max Cooper said hikers on the Florida Trail probably would be among the people who would use the potential path. Currently, a gap in the trail forces end-to-end trail hikers to walk along a stretch of U.S. 90 that passes through Holt.

Presented by Humane World for Animals and Maddie’s Fund, the award is a national honor and is given to emerging leaders in the animal welfare field to encourage continuing education and professional development, city officials said.

“We are ecstatic about all of the good work that Officer Healey has been doing in the community,” City Manager Jessica Leavins said at Monday’s City Council meeting. “We will recognize her in April, once she has that award in hand.”

Crestview Animal Services, which is a division of the city Police Department, debuted in early 2022. Healey was the first employee of the division, which she created along with then-City Manager Tim Bolduc and other administrative staff after the city decided not to renew services with the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society. The Animal Services shelter stands at 715 N. Ferdon Blvd.

Healey said she was shocked to win the Trailblazer award.

“I’m super-grateful to be recognized,” she said today, adding that she would not have won the award without the help of her team at Animal Services. “My agency is continuing to do things to provide more access for care.”

In 2025, Animal Services recorded 357 pet adoptions, provided 148 animal rescue transfers, had 51 pets reunited with their families, and had 174 community cats trapped, spayed/neutered, vaccinated and returned safely to the field, according to information from the division.

The Animal Care Expo that Healey plans to attend is set for April 7-10. At its meeting on Monday, the council approved a grant agreement with Humane World for Animals that includes the following benefits for Healey:

• Coverage of the full conference registration fee and one Learning Lab ($385 value)
• Hotel stay for up to four nights and round-trip airfare (up to $500).

Expo participation includes a “Leading for Change” workshop and a “CAWS Day” (Community Animal Welfare Service) event on April 7, according to city officials.

The commission unanimously approved moving ahead with this item at its Jan. 20 meeting. District 5 Commissioner Drew Palmer, whose district includes Destin, said he’s very much in favor of keeping parking free of charge for county residents who park at the various types of county recreation sites. His fellow commissioners agreed.

The premise behind a pay-to-park system for non-county residents “would be to utilize the funding for capital improvements and maintenance of these park and recreational facilities and to potentially lower our park MSTU (Municipal Service Taxing Unit) rate,” county Facilities and Parks Director Jeff Peters said in a report to the commission.

Peters also made note of state legislators’ ongoing efforts to reduce property taxes, which local governments heavily rely on to pay general fund expenses. A potential constitutional amendment to lower property taxes might appear on November’s general election ballot.

“With potential funding changes on the horizon being discussed at the state legislature level, the county may need to pursue revenue efforts like (a pay-to-park system) as replacement funding for revenue shortfalls,” Peters said in his report. “Any such project will take some time to procure, initiate, and work out any bugs, so the sooner the start, the sooner such a system can be in place.”

Among other potential guidelines that the commission will finalize at a future meeting, the county’s pay-to-park system would seek to make revenue but have “reasonable” rates, allow customers to visit an app to look for available parking spaces, and possibly charge reduced fees or no fees during the winter season from November through February, according to county information.

In his report, Peters noted that the military charges $10 a day for parking at its beach park on Okaloosa Island, state and national parks within the county charge entry fees, and the Emerald Grand in Destin charges a flat $20 parking fee. He also said the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, various private parking lots in the Destin area, and the city of Destin charge for parking.

Those and other pay-to-park systems will “allow the county to learn what works and what doesn’t in order to better pick an optimal system for the county’s needs,” Peters said.

“The first point is, I wanted to give honor to my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ,” said Echols, who is a retired Air Force veteran and a former Crestview Planning and Development Board member. “Without him, I would not be here.”

Echols then thanked his wife, Judy, and their children, grandchildren and Godchildren, as well as his loved ones in Georgia and his first church family in Florida.

The new councilor then praised “Old Glory” and the United States.

“Ever since I’ve been in the military and been serving, it’s always been about the people of this country,” Echols said. “I think we serve a great country. The things we see today are not of this country. We’re greater than that. We’re better than that. And for that reason, I’m looking forward to representing the people in Precinct 2.

“I want to be an advocate for you. I want to be a voice for you, and I want to hear from you, and I’ll do the best I can to represent you here on the City Council.”

Precinct 2 covers the city limits south of Interstate 10. Echols was appointed by the council on Jan. 20 to serve the remainder of the unexpired term of former Precinct 2 Councilor Ryan Bullard.

Bullard, who was elected to his four-year term in November 2022, resigned from the council on Dec. 31 after citing increasing professional obligations, personal responsibilities, and ongoing health considerations. The unexpired term expires in November.

Echols was one of seven people to apply for the open council seat and was one of three finalists who were interviewed by the council.

Mayor J.B. Whitten and councilors Brandon Frost and Shannon Hayes had excused absences from Monday’s swearing-in ceremony and the regular council meeting that followed.

The 1-mile segment runs between Live Oak Church Road, which is just north of the Shoal River, and P.J. Adams Parkway. The widening of this four-lane segment to six lanes is in the Florida Department of Transportation’s draft five-year work program and is slated to begin in the state’s 2028 fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2027.

The County Commission unanimously approved the $10 million allocation last Tuesday.

According to county Public Works Director Scott Bitterman, the estimated total construction cost of the widening project is $36.2 million.

In addition to its $10 million contribution, the county has purchased a pond site, located on the southeast corner of SR 85 and Live Oak Church Road, that will capture stormwater runoff from the wider SR 85. The county also plans to acquire a stormwater management property near the SR 85-P.J. Adams Parkway intersection.

According to Bitterman, the SR 85 widening project would help the county realize the full benefits of the overall, more than $200 million southwest Crestview bypass, the county-led portion of which is anticipated to open to traffic by the end of March.

Construction of the FDOT’s portions of the bypass is scheduled for completion in mid-2027. They include a new Interstate 10 overpass and interchange that will stand east of the existing Antioch Road bridge over I-10.