Hillary Clinton recently was sick, as the media has reported. We've heard about her pneumonia, saw her coughing at the podium and struggling to stay afoot as she was escorted to her car.

The strenuous pace of campaigning for president of the United States would surely take its toll on any human body.

Clinton has been accused of hiding her illness. Secrecy has been a pattern with her when it comes to emails, Whitewater, Secretary of State activities, the Clinton Foundation, mega-dollar speaking fees from none other than Wall Street and a sloughing off about the lifestyle shenanigans of Bill.

She has denied being the woman in Tammy Wynette's song titled "Stand by Your Man," but she did do a good job of standing by Bill during some tough years of adversity. Bill is now standing with her — and what a better place for him to have eight more years to solidify millions and millions more in contributions to the Clinton Foundation.

Even if money were refused from Middle Eastern powerbrokers during Hillary's presidency, continued relationships will be built for donations for years to come.

Maybe this is part of Hillary's health condition. Sometimes, there is simply too much on the plate.

Possibly, there have been too many powerful Saudis calling on the telephone with political suggestions.

Too much loss of sleep wondering where Bill is and what he is doing.

Maybe there have been too many late hours deleting emails and trying to cover up massive contributions to the Clinton Foundation.

No one knows for sure what is going on with Hillary Clinton's health. She looked tired. Her schedule is crazy. She is probably just worn down. It happens. Anybody can get sick. Trump may turn up with the flu. They just need to say, "I'm sick and I'm going to bed. I'll be back out when I'm feeling better."

All of us battle physical ailments. We are all one heartbeat from death. Flu, viruses and sore throats happen to us all. Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic problems began in 1921 when he was 39 years old. Roosevelt was diagnosed with poliomyelitis although years later there were other diagnoses.

He was left with permanent paralysis from the waist down and was unable to stand or walk without support. He laboriously taught himself to walk short distances while wearing iron braces on his hips and legs. He supported himself with a cane, and he was careful never to be seen using his wheelchair in public.

His troubles with illness were well known before and during his presidency and became a major part of his image, but the extent of his illness and physical condition were kept from public view. In other words, he wouldn't call CNN, Fox or NBC for a full video analysis and report of his condition.

Of course, it was a different day. People judged Roosevelt by who he was and what he could do in spite of severe physical limitations. They believed him. They had faith that he was the person to lead this country. He was a proven leader.

Americans aren't that worried about Hillary's pneumonia or Trump's tax returns. If one of them ended up on a walker or in a wheelchair, it would be a moot point.

Americans want somebody to have faith in and believe. Right now, that's our biggest problem.

Glenn Mollette is a syndicated columnist and author of 11 books. His words are read in all 50 states.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Hillary's health — her biggest problem?

When Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson was asked by the condescending crew at MSNBC what he would do about Aleppo, Johnson asked, “What is Aleppo?”

Some say it was his Alamo.

Knowing about this obscure city in Syria is apparently the litmus test to be president, according to the Washington, D.C. chattering class — the same ones who said nothing when candidate Obama said he had visited "all 57 states."

Most of us like Johnson’s refreshing admission that he didn’t know. He owned it. He admitted he made a mistake and then went on to discuss his views on Syria. In general, we Libertarians do not bother to learn the names of cities we don’t plan to occupy.

If asked about Aleppo, Trump would instinctively say to bomb the (redacted) out of it. Hillary would call the question sexist and then have her goons go after the questioner, who would soon be found dead of “natural causes.”

I thought Aleppo was a lesser-known Marx brother. Like most Americans, I only learn world geography when we fight there.

If Mike Barnicle wanted to get Johnson to talk about this, he could have simply followed with, "What would you do about the Syrian refugee issue?" The MSNBC host seemed to relish the "gotcha" moment and smugly let Johnson flounder. Barnicle said slowly, “A-lep-po” like he was telling you the name of a fancy restaurant he frequents or an island where he summers.

MSNBC has Barnicle, a plagiarist who lied about it, and Brian Williams, the faux war hero. There’s your “Basket of Deplorables.”

Obama appointee Chris Hill, our recent ambassador to Iraq, appeared on MSNBC right after Johnson and, with a smirky arrogance those types of liberals have, misidentified Aleppo himself. Then the liberal torchbearer, The New York Times, reported on the story and had to correct two mistakes they made explaining Aleppo.

The net of the Gary Johnson/Aleppo gaffe is that now more people know him.

Here’s the real issue. Obama drew a “red line” in Syria that President Assad clearly crossed. He runs foreign policy as if he were afraid some nation might write a sternly worded letter to the UN on him.

The Obama Doctrine seems to be, “Well, we can’t win 'em all.” His Secretary of State, John Kerry, could not break up a catsup fight at a Heinz family picnic. Obama's muddled, passive-aggressive, “The whole world loves me, so it will do what I say” strategy hasn’t worked. We no longer have theaters of wars; we have suburban mall-sized multiplexes of wars.

The libertarian policy of Johnson and our crew would have us less involved in the Middle East. Our non-interventionism would have saved us $2 trillion and not entangled us in wars of choice.

From the Bay of Pigs to the Shah of Iran, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Egypt, Libya and others, the USA just costs itself trillions and never makes the situation better.

If we won one, it would be one in a row. Germany at least lost to us and to Russia; they should be ranked higher in the polls than we are just on strength of schedule.

Hillary and Obama say they have no plans to send ground troops to Syria. When has having a plan ever stopped us? They say they will send “advisers” in. Since Vietnam, we have dropped probably 50 megatons of “advice” on other countries.

Russia and Assad are battling ISIS in Syria. We need to stay out. It’s like me watching Ohio State play USC: I hope it’s a 0-to-0 tie with lots of injuries.

The U.S. has spent $500 million recruiting Syrian rebels to fight. We got three. Not bad for D.C.; the government official in charge of that program probably got a performance bonus.

We like the Free Syrian Army in this battle. If you are wondering who they are, they will be the group we send troops to fight against in about a year.

And we will recognize the weapons they will be using against us because we will have the receipts.

Ron Hart, a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, is a frequent guest on CNN. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Gary Johnson’s moment: 'What’s Aleppo?' Who’s John Galt?

Americans are, by nature, a giving and caring group of people. We are generous with our time, talents and money to those who are in need.

There are so many ways to give to others. One way is to simply say "hello" and smile at each person you meet; that will brighten their day.

Another way would be to help your elderly or disabled neighbors with simple tasks, see if they need milk when you are going to the store, offer to take something to the post office, or offer to take their trash barrel to the curb and bring it back up.

These are such small, but needed and kind things to do for others.

My parents, who are elderly, have some wonderful neighbors who help them in many small ways and, in doing so, make my parents' lives much easier.

A friend and I had the opportunity to visit some ladies here n Crestview who don't get out as much as they once did. This made me realize there is a need for regular visits with those who can't drive or get around very easily. Just because someone can no longer drive, it doesn't mean they don't still need and want companionship — and friendly interaction. None of us can ever have too many friends, and we can all use a smile and friendly conversation.

There are several long-term care facilities here in Crestview, as well as assisted living homes. If you feel these types of relationships would fit you, I am sure that your house of worship has a list of people who would love to have visitors, and if you don't belong to a church, then I am sure that the assisted living or convalescent homes would be happy to direct you to residents who have few or no visitors.

If you don't have the time to physically visit those who are shut in or home-bound, cards are always welcome and don't take much time to send. Think of some creative ways you can help and bless others.

What are you doing to encourage your neighbors or those less who are fortunate?

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: Ways to care for others

President Obama said Tuesday the United States will spend $90 million over the next three years to clear unexploded bombs dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War.

A decade ago we began spending $2.5 million a year to $15 million this year. During the Vietnam War America spent nine years bombing Laos with the goal of blocking supplies to Vietnam and fighting communist forces in northern Laos.

Our bombing effort left tens of millions of unexploded cluster bombs. These bombs are about the size of a baseball.

During the nine-year bombing, we conducted 580,000 missions over Laos and dropped over 270 million cluster bombs on this neutral country. An estimated 80 million of the cluster bombs failed to detonate, and thousands have been killed since 1973, when we ended the bombing.

We need to clean our mess up in Laos. This is good news for that tiny country. It's not so great news for America.

Our war expenditures continue to be bad news for America: $90 million out the window for more international efforts. We have communities all over our country with dilapidated schools, outdated or unsafe water supplies, desperate economies, and yet we take from our own people to spend more overseas.

How much more will we spend in Southeast Asia? The numbers are worse than horrific: 58,220 Americans died, 153,303 wounded and 1,643 missing. It is estimated that up to 300,000 Vietnam Veterans committed suicide and approximately 700,000 soldiers suffered psychological trauma.

The Vietnam War cost us $168 billion — almost $950 billion in today's dollars; this doesn't include the $350 billion up to $900 billion in veterans' benefits and interest.

Because of the Vietnam War, the American economy suffered. The ’60s were a great economic growth time in this country that spiraled to an economic crisis in the 1970s.

Since Vietnam, we have spent trillions on Iraq and Afghanistan. In just Iraq, over 4,400 U.S. service personnel were killed directly. The numbers again are brutal: 32,223 troops were injured and 134,000 civilians killed directly. 655,000 persons died in Iraq since the invasion who would have not died if we had not have invaded the country. America spent $1.7 trillion in war expenses.

We gave $75 billion to American subcontracting companies, largest of all Halliburton. We aren't done in Iraq. We still have military personnel deployed, and some of our military leadership looks back and wishes we had kept a stronger presence. Therefore, because of ISIS, we will never leave Afghanistan.

 It seems like we can never really leave. How many places can we go and still maintain an American military presence?

Currently, we have 662 military bases in 38 countries. Many of these bases are small, yet we are there.

How long can we afford to maintain so much military and American efforts throughout the world?

There is so much to do in America. I'm not anti helping other people, but we are way overboard.  We can't afford to pay our retirees what we promised and we are in a medical crisis.

Helping Laos is not the wrong gesture. It just proves that we never really leave.

Glenn Mollette is an American syndicated columnist and author.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MOLLETTE: America's wars — we never really leave

NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street … This is not something that I am going to run by anybody. I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed … I know that I stood up for what is right.”

First, he had more “I” in what he says than a President Obama speech about someone else. Beyond that, this pampered athlete certainly has the right to make a statement that has no factual basis.  He can say stupid and hypocritical things; it’s every American’s right to be an idiot.

And it’s my right to make fun of him.

SUPPORTING OPPRESSION

With his whole body tattooed almost all the way up to his neck, you know Kaepernick makes good decisions. His latest rant might trigger the NFL concussion protocol.

He has been fined for using the “N” word against an opponent and then lying about it. Tapes proved he lied and the NFL fined him. A woman accused him of abuse that sent her to the hospital. So he is a racist, a liar and he abuses women. But let’s hear him out on this one as he lectures us on the oppressive conditions in America while wearing a Fidel Castro T-shirt.

Apparently, they do not teach history well at the University of Nevada-Reno. It is estimated that Castro killed between 15,000 and 33,000 people during his self-proclaimed reign as Communist dictator of Cuba.

Again, Kaepernick honored Castro, while lecturing us on oppression.

The now 85-year-old Castro oppressed and killed his own people. He ravaged Cuba’s economy and stole — his net worth is around $1 billion — before retiring to spend more time oppressing his family.

Just imagine how much Castro would be worth if he were not a “share the wealth” communist.

DISPROVING A LIE

Both “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and Black Lives Matter are founded on a lie. Michael Brown didn’t have his hands up in Ferguson. As to Kaepernick’s anti-cop (pro-Black Lives Matter) assertion that blacks are being shot by cops at alarming rates, the facts prove him wrong.

In her new book, “The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe,” Heather MacDonald cites simple FBI crime statistics that disprove the lie on which Black Lives Matter is based.

First, black and Hispanic cops are far more likely — 3.3 times — than a white cop to shoot an unarmed black suspect. While they are only 6 percent of the population, black males make up 40 percent of all cop killers.

Thus, she determines that a police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is likely to be killed by a cop.

Blacks commit homicide at a rate eight times higher than whites and Hispanics combined. Blacks are 13 percent of the population but commit 52 percent of all murders. This puts them into more tense and more regular contact with police. That’s the issue Kaepernick should speak out about, but that won’t endear him to the media.

The media love Kaepernick’s faux protest but ridiculed Tim Tebow’s Christian values. Now Tebow has a baseball tryout with the Braves — not bad for a guy who has never gotten to third base.

Of course, this is about race, so Obama had to fan the fires. “I’d rather have young people who are engaged in the argument … than people who are just sitting on the sidelines…” Obama said.

Kaepernick is sitting on the sideline and arguing, so he is doing both.

Ron Hart, a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, is a frequent guest on CNN. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HART: Kaepernick speaks out on oppression while supporting it

About a year ago, I wrote about the science fair project called HI-SEAS. The project put people in a dome on a Hawaiian lava slope to see if they could live with no outside resources for an entire year.

The participants were practicing for life on Mars.

This week, the six “astronauts” who lived through a year of simulating life on the red planet came out of their two-story high dome and found themselves in 1952.

Unfortunately, the 2016 presidential campaign is reminiscent of the race from 64 years ago.

The names change, but the tactics and types of issues remain the same.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

That is true in many ways, and politics is one of them.

Let’s compare the 2016 race to 1952.

In 1952, everyone was scared of communists. They were everywhere if you listened to politicians.

There was even “extreme vetting” where alleged communists were called before Congress to prove their American allegiance. Many in the GOP must really believe those were the good old days.

In 2016, all illegal immigrants are rapists, drug dealers and killers. It seems odd that with at least 11 million of them here, campaigns keep using the same five families to show how horrible illegal immigrants made life for their families.

I’m not sure, but I bet you are statistically as likely to be raped by a Stanford University swimmer as you are an illegal immigrant.

There is no more popular television interview than the member of a group discriminated against going live on television and agreeing with the racists who hate him but appreciate his acceptance of it.

A recent example of that is the founder of what is I’m sure a small group called Latinos for Trump. Marco Gutierrez said he agreed that illegal immigration must be stopped. Mexican culture, he argued, was far too dominant to be assimilated. If they are allowed to stay, they will destroy America.

“My culture is a very dominant culture,” he said. “It’s imposing and it’s causing problems. If you don’t do something about it, you’re going to have taco trucks on every corner.”

One man’s nightmare is another man’s fantasy.

Those poor people who came out of the dome in Hawaii may wish they were back on fake Mars soon. When the Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton ads take over the airwaves, we may all want to join them.

This race is scary for many reasons, but the biggest problem is that you have the two least popular candidates ever highlighting each other’s many faults constantly.

That will not help either candidate’s public perception.

Think about how this ends.

Sometime late in the evening on Nov. 8, the biggest selection of voters in United States history will immediately feel a sense of doom and despair because the one of the least favorable candidates ever has just been elected.

I don’t know about the doom and despair, but America will elect one of these two and the lesser of two evils will make a reservation for four years in the White House.

We need to start now in thinking beyond 2016. How can each party develop and promote better candidates? Trump and Clinton may be horrible but both parties used an extensive process to select them.

If horrible is the best you’ve got, maybe it is time to change the system.

Six participants survived for a year in a fake Martian habitat in Hawaii. America survived the Red Scare in 1952. We will survive the presidential election of 2016.

It is time for us to learn from our mistakes and begin building better political parties and processes.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BUSH: It is time to improve the process

Our world is filled with plastic; cups, straws, bottles, wrappers, toys, bags and other items too numerous to mention.

While large plastic items, like water bottles, have always been a water pollution concern, a new threat has been identified: microplastics.

Microplastics are pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters in size. That is 0.2 inches, or about the diameter of an eraser on the end of a pencil.

There are two kinds of microplastics:

●Primary microplastics are small pellets called “nurdles.” These are used to manufacture plastic items such as toys and plastic storage containers. Other primary microplastics include the small beads found in some personal care products, like face wash and body scrubs.

●Secondary microplastics come from the breaking down of larger plastic items, like bags and water bottles, through ultraviolet light, chemical or microbial processes.

 Scientists estimate that about 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year. Polyethylene microplastics — found in personal care products as well as plastic fibers from washing synthetic clothing — can enter coastal waters in wastewater effluent. Wastewater treatment plants don’t have the capability to remove these small buoyant plastic pieces and fibers.

Unfortunately, these petroleum-based plastics never biodegrade. They just break down into small pieces. In the ocean, toxins can attach to the surface of the plastics. Birds, fish and mammals often mistake the microplastics for food, leading to clogged digestive systems.

The Florida Microplastic Awareness Project is a citizen science project to raise awareness about the sources of and threats posed by microplastics in the coastal environment. Volunteers are collecting and analyzing water samples from around the state, documenting the presence of microplastics.

In Okaloosa County, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences has partnered with the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance and Northwest Florida State College to participate in this effort. Volunteers collect water samples from around the area while students filter the samples and record results on the FMAP website.

You can help too.

1. Read labels. Choose personal care products that do not contain polyethylene

2. Reduce, reuse, recycle and refuse plastic. Do you really need that plastic bag or drinking straw? Use a refillable water bottle.

3. During September, read and share daily posts on the Florida Microplastic Awareness Project's Facebook page as well as on the project's website (www.plasticaware.org). You also can sign the pledge and join a free webinar on Sept. 16.

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: TIU: Just say ‘no’ to microplastics

Just like her boss and mentor, Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin-Weiner struck a “political power couple” deal with her ex-Congressman husband, Anthony “Carlos Danger” Weiner.

This speaks to two things: judgment and just how thirsty they are for power.

Huma learned a lot from Hillary about climbing the ladder of power, including how crucial it is that you do not out someone’s peccadilloes but rather exploit them for your own gain.

To her credit, to save her marriage Huma put up with infidelity for as long as she could. However, Anthony Weiner no longer has power, so Huma finally decided to separate from him this past weekend after his latest scandal involving sexting with a woman on the West Coast.

The New York Daily News tells of his latest sordid online affair.

Anthony sent the West-Coast woman a provocative photo of himself with his son in the background while Huma was in the Hamptons. She finally had enough and decided to separate.

As Hillary Clinton hurls accusations about Donald Trump’s judgment, one has to weigh the wisdom of Hillary’s 10-year relationship with the Weiners.

Oddly, Barack Obama’s closest confidante is Valerie Jarrett, who was born in Iran. Hillary’s is Huma Abedin, who is Muslim. No wonder our relationship with Israel has gone downhill.

We learned recently that Huma’s mother edited a radical Muslim journal. While Hillary and Barack Obama paint themselves as tolerant liberal Democrats, their closest advisers are women with strong Muslim ties, in a religion that treats women and gays terribly.

Huma was also in the news recently with a “Top Secret” document scandal of her own. She left classified documents on the back seat of her car, but realized it and retrieved them. Unlike Hillary, who deleted and “bleached out” her emails to make sure authorities could not get them, at least Huma did the right thing.

As a reminder, Anthony Weiner was a high-level Democrat Congressman, whose fall from grace was epic. He and Debbie Wasserman Schultz were the media faces of the Democrats on issues for years.

Anthony Weiner clearly loved cameras, especially cell phone cameras, entirely too much. In his spare time, he enjoyed shoving his cell phone down his pants and taking pictures. Then he would send them to random women online: an exotic dancer, an unwed mother and a blackjack dealer.

At first Weiner said his Twitter account had been hacked and that he did not send the incriminating pictures; he was going to look into it and would get back to us. He tried to elevate himself to the highest honor a Democrat can bestow upon himself: victimhood.

All the while, Weiner was married to Hillary’s right-hand woman, Huma Albedin.  Huma is all Clinton, all the time. She was the bag woman between Hillary as Secretary of State and the Clinton Crime Family Foundation (while being employed by both). She was the fall woman when the State Department finally said in its report that Hillary’s use of her private server would have been denied if she had asked permission. Knowing the answer would be “no” was the main reason Hillary didn’t ask permission in the first place.

So the story is a cliffhanger. Will Huma testify in the Clinton Foundation shakedown scandal? How is she involved? And will her estranged husband continue to send pictures of his private parts to other women?

It is just like the Weiners to leave things dangling.

Ron Hart, a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, is a frequent guest on CNN. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: RON HART: Analyzing Clinton’s relationship with the Weiners

On behalf of Drew’s family, we would like to thank everyone who visited the American Legion, Post 75 in Crestview on Aug. 6 for the Winkler’s Wish event. It was a benefit for Drew Winkler's boys and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) awareness.

We know Drew would have been proud of how things went. We believe he felt we honored him and every veteran who had their picture displayed as a visual reminder of just a fraction of veterans who lost their fight with PTSD in a matter of a few days.

Each veteran (22TooMany) was so much more than just a number — they had names and answered the call to fight in "war(s)" in another country. Someone here, left behind, loves them.

We believe Drew was smiling about the event — and even laughing during moments of total craziness.

First, we thank the American Legion, Post 75, for use of the entire Legion, including the grounds.

Thank You, Artie Rodriguez, and your band, Country Gold, for an AMAZING concert. Drew would have absolutely loved it.

Thank you, Lisa Ogden and Josiah Everett, for providing additional music for our guests’ enjoyment.

Thank you, Jeremy Fouquet, Jessica Fouquet and Jenilyn Troost-Mowery, who put a ridiculous amount of time into planning and setting everything in motion for this to be the success it was.

Thank you to all of Drew's family members (Rick Winkler, Corey Winkler, Irmma Winkler, Craig Winkler and Anissa Marie Thompson), who helped wherever sent by Mom, and even wore tie-dye shirts (especially the guys).

Thank you, Jamie Custer, for bringing your and Drew's sons out so everyone could see how beautiful and amazing they are (Nana is WAY partial).

Thank you, MaryAnn Basilio and Cris Basilio, for running the raffle, and DJ Mike for walking the grounds doing mobile ticket sales for the raffle.

Thank you to Byron Campbell and his son, Trevor, for coming Friday night to help set up the concert hall for Artie Rodriguez’s concert.

To any of Drew's other friends and co-workers who may have been forgotten by name, we thank every one of you just as much.

Thank you to the Crestview Fire Department for sending a fire truck with Capt. Michael Waterman, Lt. Scott Cook and firefighters Rick Lara-Navarro and David Griggs.

Thank you to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office for allowing Deputies Derek York and Zach Putnam, with their canines and their Strategic Response Team vehicle with Deputy Todd Schrader, to attend.

Thank you, Deputy Tony Rigdon and Bob Grappone, who kept a watchful eye over things.

Thank you to the Airman Leadership School class that showed up at 9 a.m. to set things up, and then did whatever else was needed.

We apologize if there is anyone else we have forgotten, because all your help was definitely appreciated. We had incredible support from several groups and organizations that provide services or support for veterans; these included: Veteran Angel Organization, Healing Paws for Warriors, Inc., Panhandle Warrior Partnership, and 22 Too Many.

We want to send a special thanks to George Eshleman from Unified Warrior Foundation, who set up the Winkler's Wish: 22 to 0 Facebook page for our family, and continues to provide support and encouragement while carrying Drew’s nametape on his trek back from the Appalachian Trail.

We also had an amazing amount of donors for the raffle. They included: It’s All About You Massage & Day Spa; Riviera Fitness Center; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Emerald Coast Harley Davidson; Scentsy; Foxwood; AMC Theatres; Tractor Supply Co.; Aegean Restaurant; Uncle Bucks Fishbowl & Grill; Charidy Krouse Photography; Express Oil Change; Sheraton Hotels & Resorts; Emerald Coast Martial Arts Academy Fort Walton Beach; Lowe’s; Joey the Jeweler; Sephora; Johnny O’Quigley’s; G Man On-The-Go; Kevin Hand; Charles Reynolds; Cowboy Eddie; Holly Baez Morris; Baker Block Museum; Rasbeck Family; David Richardson; Space Walk of Crestview and Fort Walton Beach; Wild Willy’s; Rolling Easy; Abraphotocadabra; Effort and Time Massage; Destin Commons; Ohana by Design; Big Red Truck; Bote; Walmart; Pawsitively Scrumptious; Gulfarium; Cash’s, Extreme Concepts; Perfect Fit 24-7; Hideaway Pizza; Stewby’s; DJ Mike; Jami Schaeffer Photography; White Sands Tanning and Hair Studio; The Marquis Cinema; Carrabba’s; Big Kahuna’s; Grey Tactical; Leitz Music; AJ’s; and Float Brothers.

We sincerely hope that this event was just the beginning of many more to come in our endeavor to establish Winkler's Wish Foundation, and bring increased awareness to the battle our veterans with PTSD struggle with every day, often times in silence, feeling helplessly alone.

Drew Winkler, you will never be forgotten, and we will never give up in our mission to keep the promises we made to you.

We will now fight your fight, and that of all veterans needing help. Your future foundation will be there for every veteran who, although seeking help from the VA, still lacks the help and care promised; or finds it nearly impossible to get access to the VA for mental health care appointments, so they may once again be healthy and victorious in taking back their lives.

Drew ~ FLY FREE.

Rebecca Winkler (Drew’s Mom)

—

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the boy in the photo is Drew's stepson; in fact, he's Drew's son. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Veteran's mom thanks Crestview area for support

It’s not so easy being a college kid these days. The job market for recent graduates has been shaky while, at the same time, students are leaving school with more debt than ever before.

If you have children who will someday be attending college, should you be worried?

You might indeed have cause for concern. Americans now owe more on student loans than on credit cards, according to the Federal Bank of New York, the U.S. Department of Education and other sources.

For the college class of 2011, the most recent year for which figures are available, the average student loan debt was about $26,500, according to the Institute for College Access and Success’s Project on Student Debt.

This type of debt load, coupled with the struggles to find a well-paying job commensurate with their education, is causing many recent graduates to get off on the wrong foot in terms of developing savings and investment strategies that could help them throughout their lives.

So, what can you do?

If you want to help your kids pay for college, you may want to consider a 529 plan. When you invest in a 529 plan, all withdrawals will be free from federal income taxes, as long as the money is used for qualified college expenses. (However, non-qualified withdrawals may be subject to ordinary income tax plus a 10 percent penalty on the earnings portion.) Contribution limits are high, and, contributions may be eligible for a tax deduction or credit for residents in certain states.

A 529 plan, while valuable, is not the only college savings vehicle available. You may also want to consider a Coverdell Education Savings Account, which, like a 529 plan, can generate tax-free earnings if the money is used for higher education expenses. However, a Coverdell account’s contribution limits are much lower than those of a 529 plan. You could also establish a custodial account, known as an UGMA or UTMA, which offers some tax benefits and no contribution limits.

Nonetheless, while these vehicles may help you save and invest for college, they may also divert resources that you might have used for other financial goals — such as a comfortable retirement.

Of course, it’s not an “either-or” situation — there’s nothing stopping you from contributing to a 529 plan, Coverdell account or custodial account along with your 401(k) and IRA.

Clearly, though, it will take discipline and perseverance on your part to save and invest for both your children’s education and your own retirement.

Like everyone else, you don’t have unlimited resources. But you do have another ally — time.

The earlier you begin investing for education and retirement, the greater your chances of achieving your goals in these areas. And by understanding how your goals interact, you can work to make sure you don’t inadvertently derail one when saving for another.

Avoiding the student loan “debt trap” while still making progress toward your retirement savings will require creative thinking — and both you and your children may have to make some sacrifices along the way.

But the ultimate goals — a college degree that isn’t one big IOU and a comfortable retirement — are worth the effort.

This article was written by Edward Jones on behalf of your Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SHANKLIN: Help your children avoid student debt burden