Dear editor,

I read with great interest the article in regard to the new dog park at Twin Hills. (“Bark Park delayed,” March 25-28, 2017 Crestview News Bulletin) What amazed me is the fact that the city will spend money for dogs when they let our children go wanting.

I have addressed the city (council) in regard to getting additional facilities for our kids and grandkids, but it seems that the needs of our kids take a back burner to the needs of the dogs.

I have lived here for nearly 30 years and things haven’t improved for our children in all of that time.

When I moved here, the kids had to meet at the Winn-Dixie parking lot to have a conversation while sitting on their cars.

Things haven’t changed in all of that time. 

This was brought to the attention of the city (council) but, to me, it was received like water on a duck’s back.

No response nor any action to improve the activities of our teenagers.

What about a skateboard park, larger facilities for basketball, more ball fields for baseball, football, soccer, etc.

We are a growing community and need to update and keep up with the needs of our children.

If we don’t improve our ability to address our children, then the city and county need to consider a much larger budget for more police because idle kids will find something to do, like graffiti. 

Think about it and do something to help implement this very important project.

Jimmy C. DuBose

Crestview

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview kids need more recreational options

Dear editor,

So now the proof is in the pudding. It all comes to light now, and has for many years, why Crestview is still living in the covered wagon days.

After reading the Crestview Bulletin it was stated by Brenda Smith (Community Redevelopment Agency director) that "without a city master plan, big companies won't even consider looking at us," meaning Crestview.

Why doesn't Crestview have a city master plan (after) all these years? All this loss of revenue going to other cities — and Crestview leaders elected don't care.

It's time to either lead, follow or get the (heck) out of the way, leaders of Crestview. We live in the 21st century. Time to stop circling the wagons and quit listening to people.

Open your eyes around you. The sky is falling. Crestview is the biggest city in population in Okaloosa County. There is no reason for losing all this revenue and giving it to other cities.

This, in turn, tells several residents of Crestview one thing: Crestview has plenty of overhead revenue and (doesn’t) want change.

Taxing Crestview city residents is not the (solution).

Well, leaders of Crestview, it's time to wake up and smell the roses.

It's time to be the rabbit. Not the turtle.

ARNIE HAUGER

Crestview

What's your view? Write a letter to the editor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview’s leaders should ‘wake up and smell the roses’

Editor’s Note: Johnny C. Alexander wrote this as an open letter to Crestview City Councilman-elect Joe Blocker.

Mr. Blocker,

I want to congratulate you on retaining your seat on the Crestview City Council. Humble as you are, you don’t take credit for your victory, nor should you.

You said, "‘If it's the Lord's will, I will be there.’ He did his part and the citizens of Crestview placed their trust, faith and belief in me, their proven leader."

Only 334 citizens of Crestview placed their belief in you; 199 of them, including myself, didn’t.

The rest of the people in your district either didn’t care enough to vote, or didn’t even realize an election was going on.

I suppose it was the Lord’s will for thousands of Crestview’s citizens to be apathetic or uninformed about voting for you or your opponent.

You said, "I ask for help with all things, because without you, the citizens of this city” — again, only 334 — “I would not be in this position. I so desperately need the people's input. Together, we're going to move this city forward rapidly."

If you so desperately need the people’s input, then why do you put out a tiny little hourglass when you’re tired of hearing views that oppose your own, while giving all the time in the world to others?

I remember your claim in one particular meeting that, “This council will have transparency!” This was when one citizen decided to take up the latter part of a meeting to oppose a decision that was already voted on and passed, and Mr. Cox wanted to see you bring out your little hourglass.

And as far as rapidly moving this city forward, do you mean at the pace of northbound traffic on Highway 85 at 5:30 p.m.?

It’s kind of hard to “keep an open communication line with the residents and continue creating a ‘family friendly’ and ‘wholesome’ city,” when you shut down the views of citizens you’re supposed to represent, sir.

I have no doubt you have good intentions for how you want to hold your position in this city.

However, I recall a certain road paved with those same intentions.

I do sincerely hope you keep to your word this time, Mr. Blocker. This time, I would like to suggest taking input from all the citizens of Crestview, not just the 334 who voted for you.

Don’t let your last name continue to be the embodiment of Crestview’s progress.

‘JOHNNY C.’ ALEXANDER

Crestview

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Represent all Crestview residents, Mr. Blocker

Dear editor,

It looks like Guy Thompson is gearing up an attempt to retake his throne at city hall, and his main campaign plank is ramming a four-lane through downtown Milton. 

There is little net advantage to that plan except to possibly give financial benefit to Guy and some of his supporters. It would destroy the historic nature and charm of our downtown in dubious favor of increased traffic flow.

Improved traffic flow is a worthy goal, but so is a pleasant, inviting central business district.

We can have both. 

A four-lane through downtown Milton would create a true "bypass." It would encourage people to drive straight through without looking and lingering. 

Good examples of this mistake abound in our area. 

Look closely at four-lane business corridors such as Garden and Gregory streets in Pensacola, Highway 90 in Pace and Highway 85 in Crestview. 

What you see is struggling businesses and traffic, not people or prosperity.

Contrast that with the renaissance occurring on two-lane South Palafox in Pensacola, where people stroll, shop, dine and enjoy the leisurely pace and charm.  Cross right over four-lane Garden Street (be careful) to four-lane North Palafox, and again what you see is moving cars, not people.

What Milton needs, as currently proposed by our mayor and city council, is a four-lane southern Highway 90 alternate route to facilitate traffic flow around Milton while maintaining two lanes downtown to encourage the same welcoming atmosphere as South Palafox or the Highway 98 alternate in Fairhope, Alabama.

Without having to dodge four lanes of rapidly moving traffic, people will be more likely to linger and enjoy our historic town center and beautiful riverfront.

Combine a pedestrian-inviting downtown with the business-friendly environment being developed by our new city council and you have the kind of destination location Milton has always had the potential to become.

We are almost there.

Four-laning Highway 90 through downtown will kill that potential.

ROB JOHNSTONE

Milton

What's your view? Write a letter to the editor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Southern Highway 90 alternate route needed

Dear editor,

On Jan. 16, Floridians will once again observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring the man who advanced and steered a civil rights movement that pushed America toward equality and justice for all persons.

Dr. King and his followers stood in strong opposition to racial discrimination, as well as the wrongful and unequal treatment of people who differed in national origin and religious beliefs.

Florida is no stranger to racial inequities. Yet, the Sunshine State has made incredible strides toward ending racial injustices and discrimination since the days when Dr. King was leading the civil rights movement.

Despite advances, prejudice and inequality still exist in many forms. Workplace, housing and public accommodations discrimination still exist in our contemporary landscape, leaving some to seek remedy.

Since 1969, the Florida Commission on Human Relations has sought to address these issues by helping to eliminate discrimination and ensuring the fair treatment of all persons. The leadership and staff of the commission work diligently to ensure that unfair treatment based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, pregnancy, national origin, age,  marital status and familial status in housing will never be tolerated in this state.

So, as we reflect upon Dr. King and the day we celebrate his memory, let it be a time for all Floridians to echo the bravery shown by not only Dr. King, but all those who stood up for equality in the face of injustice.

Their courage promoted the advancement of tolerance evident in today’s society. 

It is our duty and honor, as Americans and as Floridians, to continue his legacy of protecting the civil rights of all people.

TONY JENKINS

Vice Chair, Florida Commission on Human Relations

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Despite advances, prejudice and inequality still exist

I like American football, be it Pee Wee, middle school, high school, college or pro. But over the years, it seems like there are more and more college bowl games.

With that, I checked to see just how many college bowl games there are and I counted 40! The state of Florida hosts the most with nine bowl games.

Heck, I could only find nine bowl games played when I was a kid back in the 1950s and '60s. Now, there is a bowl game for everyone.

In these "entitlements / I deserve it" years we are raising our kids, soon there will be a "Loser Bowl," "I Sat on The Bench All Season Bowl," "Participation Bowl" and not to mention the "I Tried Out, But Didn't Get Selected Bowl"! Television will be airing 24-7-365 live bowl games.

As it is, there are already too many sports channels I don't want, but I'm forced to have if I want a lower cable TV bill.

Give me a break!

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Are there too many college bowl games?

Dear editor,

I saw where Barack Obama again criticized and blamed Fox News for its news coverage costing Democrats the election.

He spoke as if Fox News created the people who voted for the president-elect. This is how far the liberal left truly is from reality.

Fox News' first broadcast happened Oct. 7, 1996, so using this liberal thought process, voters who voted Republican also didn't exist until that date. Yet the party is just now, with this election, seen as racist, homophobic, all the other phobias and a basket of deplorable people, according to Hillary Clinton and the liberal left.

The fact is Fox News did not create these people; it was these people and the liberal left news media who created Fox News!

It was the constant left leaning of CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, ABC, NPR, etc., that created a void with their political news coverage. Fox's first broadcast was to 17 million homes and today to 95 million homes.

I guess Barack getting all his credible news from left-leaning news media, as he has said numerous times, explains his confusion for giving such a conceptually wrong political speech — exposing his left-leaning view of reality!

STEVEN KING

Milton

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Comment exposes Obama's left-leaning views

In 1992, I was a young political science student who had just run his first campaign with tragic results. We had won the primary but just missed avoiding a runoff.

During that runoff, the other candidates’ voters coalesced against the woman I represented and she lost by the slimmest of margins — eight votes.

The State Senate race she was trying to win encompassed tiny gerrymandered parts of six counties in west-central Oklahoma. We had to come up with $600 per county to demand a recount. After we did it, nothing changed.

That is the result of the vast majority of recounts and that will be the result of the recounts being requested by Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein and supported by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Recounting votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania won’t make any difference. There is no evidence of widespread fraud and mistakes aren’t that common and they are just as likely to deliver more votes for Donald Trump as they are to swing the election another direction.

Trump called the effort to commission recounts a “Green Party scam to fill up their coffers” on Twitter. He’s probably at least partially right.

Stein said every candidate has a right to ask for recounts to make sure elections are fair. That’s at least partially right, as well. The fundraising aspect of the recount is just a little extra green for the Green Party.

But Trump can’t just win and go about his business — not “that business” — the business where he is actually supposed to be preparing to run the country.

He went on a Twitter tirade about the election after feeling challenged by the fact that House Republicans won the popular vote nationwide and he is losing the popular vote count by two million while enjoying a win in the Electoral College.

If the transition is any indication of the way Trump will lead, we’re in for a bumpy ride. Someone really needs to take away his personal Twitter account because he can cause a lot of trouble in 140 characters.

In a moment of braggadocio where he was saying he would have won the popular vote if he needed to, Trump went on to send a tweet that not only seems to justify Stein and Clinton’s recount requests, but supports broader election audits.

“Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California — so why isn’t the media reporting on this? Serious bias — big problem!” the President-elect said.

Of course, like most of his claims, Trump has zero evidence to support this. In fact, the only news site to report such fraud is consistently false and conspiracy theory headquarters Infowars.

If you have a crazy uncle on Facebook or Twitter, you know about Infowars and its lead crazy newsman, Alex Jones. Jones has claimed in the past that the government is creating homosexual people, the Air Force caused a tornado in Texas and the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.

The fact that our President-elect is too busy to receive intelligence briefings from government sources, but is said to be getting updates directly from world leaders and is getting his news from conspiracy clickbait sites raises true concerns.

Even though he is 100 percent wrong, the fact that the President-elect believes there is “serious voter fraud” in at least three states means that either Republicans in those states need to repudiate his claims and assure the country that elections there are fair and properly counted or begin the recount process immediately.

— Kent Bush is publisher of Shawnee (Oklahoma) News-Star and can be reached at kent.bush@news-star.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: KENT BUSH: Recounts reveal that voter fraud isn't a real issue

Dear editor,

Last Friday, Nov. 18, between 9:30 and 10 a.m. at the Garden Park, I had my faith in humanity restored.

I and four other ladies from the Dogwood Garden Club were working in the flower bed at the south end of the park, and I was down on my hands and knees pulling out dead grasses.

I got a cramp in my leg, so I told one lady, “I am going to have to get up.” Well, I tried — and couldn’t — so some of the ladies came over to help me, but I still couldn’t, and then I fell over into that Sago Palm and then I began to panic.

Then, all at once, I felt something at my waist and looked down: There were two gentle black hands. The next thing I knew, I was up, and by the time I turned around, he was gone.

I asked my friends what happened and they said he was in his car waiting to get onto 85, saw me and he jumped out of his car and came running over and asked if he could help, and he did.

Then, as quick as he came, left.

I felt so bad I didn’t even get to thank him, but somewhere in Crestview is a very nice young black man that truly cares for people.

I just really wanted to tell people about the good people.

All we ever hear is all about the bad people. So, to that very nice young man, I truly thank you.

May God bless you always.

THELMA SMITH

Crestview

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Thanking Crestview's Good Samaritan at Garden Park

Dear editor,

Almost half of all people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias are in hospice care toward the end of their life.

Even with the increasing number of Americans contracting the disease and requiring accurate hospice and palliative care, less than half of surveyed nursing homes have some palliative care or hospice care directed exclusively for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.

For people with advanced dementia, such adequate care — which focuses on managing and easing symptoms, reducing pain and stress, and increasing comfort — improves quality of life, controls costs, and enhances patient and family satisfaction.

However, as the demand for such care grows with the aging population, more must be done to ensure an adequately trained workforce.

We would like to thank Sheilah Bowman, the district director for Congressman Jeff Miller, for recently meeting with local Alzheimer’s Association representatives to discuss its potential impact.

The bipartisan Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (S. 2748/H.R. 3119) would increase palliative care and hospice training for health care professionals, launch a national campaign to inform patients and families about the benefits of palliative care, and enhance research on improving the delivery of palliative care.

We are deeply grateful for the support we’ve received from Rep. Miller and we look forward to working with Congressman Gaetz on this important issue.

In order for the Alzheimer's Association to meet our mission to end Alzheimer’s disease, public officials must take bold action in confronting this epidemic now.

It is only through adequate funding and a strong implementation of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease that we will meet the Alzheimer's Association's goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025.

Daniel Durkin

Ambassador, Alzheimer's Association

AL/ FL Panhandle Chapter

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Take action now to end Alzheimer’s by 2025