lifestyle | Crestview News Bulletin

8 Okaloosa parks receive advisories for hazardous water

Written by archive on October 1, 2015. Posted in health-fitness, lifestyle.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Eight Okaloosa County parks have potentially hazardous bathing water, the Florida Department of Health in Okaloosa County stated today.

Liza Jackson Park and Garniers Park, Fort Walton Beach; Marler Park, Okaloosa Island; Poquito Park, Shalimar; Gulf Islands National Seashore, Okaloosa Island; Lincoln Park, Valparaiso; Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park, Niceville; and Clement E. Taylor Park, Destin failed tests based on EPA-recommended enterococci standards.

Enteric bacteria’s presence indicates fecal pollution from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife or human sewage.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 8 Okaloosa parks receive advisories for hazardous water

Crestview organization safely unites non-custodial parents with children (FILE)

Written by archive on September 30, 2015. Posted in around-town, lifestyle.

CRESTVIEW — Safe Connections Executive Director Sharon Rogers said circumstances similar to what led to Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Myers' death could be defused through the nonprofit organization's services.

“That was a domestic violence situation. The mother and father had an 8-month-old baby, which means it should have been referred to us,” Rogers said. “Sometimes, it comes in the injunction.”

The wife of Joel Smith, who shot Myers multiple times in the head and back, filed a Sept. 21 injunction against her husband when, she alleged, he physically assaulted her.

Rogers said in such situations, non-custodial parents often care about their children despite animosity toward the other parent. “They’ll say, ‘What about my child. When do I get to see them?’” she said. “This is what we deal with. It highlights the need for our visitation center and a safe place for visitation.”

The 18-year-old organization in April opened a permanent home on Seventh Avenue to provide supervised visits. Here, non-custodial parents can spend quality time with their children in a home-like environment.

The home, with separate entrances for the non-custodial parent and the custodial parent and child, was purchased and renovated under a federal Safe Haven grant and a $128,000 gift from Impact 100 Northwest Florida.

The grant funds OCSO deputies’ presence during visits that might include non-custodial parents with a history or potential for violence, Rogers said. Almost 20 families now use the service, she said.

The non-profit seeks a similar facility in Shalimar, where Safe Connections operates from aging upstairs rooms in the Methodist church.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview organization safely unites non-custodial parents with children (FILE)

More childhood cancer awareness is needed, Crestview residents say

Written by archive on September 30, 2015. Posted in health-fitness, lifestyle.

CRESTVIEW — Katie Mitchell wears a smile that masks a two-year struggle with pediatric cancer.

But make no mistake: this 4-year-old is a survivor.

The Crestview student, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in December 2013, is in remission, but she will continue to receive chemotherapy until next April, her mother, Jamie said.

In fact, today alone, "Katie will receive IV chemotherapy, and will be sedated for a spinal tap and have additional chemotherapy injected in to her spine," her mother said. "The block of treatment she is in is called maintenance. For leukemia, girls receive treatment two-and-a-half years; boys are for three-and-a-half years. "

You may not have known that since pediatric cancer receives less attention than, say, breast cancer awareness, said resident Pam Callahan, whose granddaughter has pediatric cancer. "The average age for breast cancer is (around) 60 years old," she said.

"They bring in large amounts for this worthy cause and spend millions on advertising it. There is more funding for (breast) cancer than any others."

Meanwhile, Callahan said, "Children with cancer have no voice and parents are so traumatized that day-to-day survival is all they can muster."

Mitchell wasn't familiar with ALL —whose symptoms include low blood cell count, a swollen abdomen, enlarged lymph nodes and bone or joint pain, according to cancer.org — until her daughter received the diagnosis.

"My only contact with this was seeing St. Jude (Children's Research Hospital) commercials with cute little bald kids," she said, "but what the public doesn't see is when my then 3-year-old daughter was hooked up to an IV, receiving a gallon-sized bag of neon yellow chemo, that infused in her 24 hours straight.

"That is one of the many chemotherapies she has received — that adults receive, too. And this is one of the drugs that caused her to develop a liver disease and ended up in the (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit)."

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and bringing attention to the issue is important, Callahan said, for a couple of reasons: namely minimal federal funding, significant treatment bills and the belief that parents shouldn't bury their children.

"I, like most people, do not wish to think of young children suffering or dying with dreadful diseases," she said. "It’s unfathomable! It is not supposed to be like that.

"It is not until we are forced to do so that we think or learn about childhood cancer."

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Here's further information and reading on Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, pediatric cancer and other resources:

http://www.stbaldricks.org/about-childhood-cancer

http://www.acco.org/about-childhood-cancer/

http://www.childrenbattlingcancer.com/Awareness.aspx

http://www.jeffgordonchildrensfoundation.org/site/c.5oIDJRPyGfISF/b.6874173/k.4BBE/Childhood_Cancer_Stats.htm

4%: Amount ofU.S. funding specifically dedicated to childhood cancer research

67: Adults' average age at cancer diagnosis

15: Average number of years of life lost to adult cancer

6: Children's average age at cancer diagnosis

71: Average number of years of life lost to childhood cancer

Source: St. Baldrick's Foundation

BY THE NUMBERS

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: More childhood cancer awareness is needed, Crestview residents say

CELEBRATE COMMUNITY: Crestview library ahead of national trend (FILE)

Written by archive on September 29, 2015. Posted in around-town, lifestyle.

Libraries are still relevant — even with today’s household technology and phones with Internet access — as extensions of local schools

CRESTVIEW — When Crestview librarians heard a speaker say “Libraries = Education” at the Florida Library Association’s Sept. 11 conference in Panama City, they knew they were ahead of a national trend, particularly when it comes to educating local kids.

The Crestview Public Library is the go-to resource for more than adults seeking the latest bestseller. “Our programs actually promote lifelong learning for the kids,” library director Jean Lewis said. “Once they come into the library, we hope we’ve got them for life.”

This year, the Crestview City Council restored the library’s book acquisition budget, in addition to funding computer upgrades, which library staffers say serve patrons of all ages.

For instance:

•Toddlers learn their A-B-C’s with ABC Mouse, an online children’s literacy and math game

•Middle- and high-schoolers use the library’s computers for term paper research and online test-taking

•College students use them for proctored exams

•Adults use the computers for job and benefits searches, and self-directed research

EXPLAINING THE MODERN LIBRARY

Research librarian Sandra Dreaden, who attended Howard County (Maryland) Library System President Valerie Gross’s Panama City presentation, said formalizing what Crestview’s library has been doing for years is easy.

Part of the “libraries = education” shift is marketing; clearly explaining the services a modern library provides, Dreaden said.

The initiative helps the public realize the local library is part of their community’s educational resources. “This means we’ll never again hear, ‘I get everything I need off the Internet — Why do we need libraries?’” Gross wrote.

“Nobody says that ‘We don’t need K-12; everything’s on the Internet,’” Dreaden said.

The initiative includes helping local politicians understand the library's importance in public education when it comes to funding, especially when facing budget cuts in lean times.

PARTNERS IN EDUCATION

Area educators don’t need convincing that the public library is an extension of their efforts.

“Some students don’t have the resources to purchase additional books at home,” Walker Elementary School media specialist Sheri Cyrus said. “I stress to our students they can go to the public library and check out books for free, and that the library card is free."

Crestview High School media specialist Heather Ramsey said she routinely sends students to the Crestview Public Library when needed materials aren’t available at the school library. “I tell students to check over there if they can’t find it here,” Ramsey said. “Plus, they have computers and services they can use if we’re closed.”

But to get kids used to checking for information at the local library, “You just (have) to start them using it at a young age,” she said.

A LIFE-LONG LOVE

Crestview Public Library’s youth education programs and classes start early, youth services librarian Heather Nitzell said.

“We have babies in the womb at Lap-Sit that hear the rhythm of language, and we have children at Lap-Sit from when they’re first breathing,” Nitzell said.

Students benefit from library classes and programs throughout their school years, and can earn Bright Futures community service hours by volunteering at the library. “They learn how to shelve and shelf-read, and that librarians don’t just sit around and read all day,” Nitzell said. “We hear, ‘Wow, we didn’t know how much work this is’ all the time.”

And they can grow a life-long love for libraries.

“I used to skip recess to hang out in my (middle school) library,” Cheryl Ann Baker said. “The first time my mom brought me to our county library, I was amazed at such a big room just full of books. I checked out ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.’ I must’ve kept it a year. My parents probably had a huge fine to pay!

“That led to volunteering at the library."

‘DUH’ MOMENT

To make it easier for kids to find age-appropriate books, Nitzell said the library is revamping its children’s books color coding, which classifies titles by grade level.

To further encourage integration between the school and library, Lewis said the Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative is considering issuing library cards to all county school teachers. “Then they can find and use and refer students to resources,” Lewis said.

The public library as a component of the community’s education system isn’t a new idea, especially to library staffers. What’s new is ensuring the public — and politicians — understand that.

“It’s one of those ‘duh’ moments,” Dreaden said. “Why didn’t we think of this before?”

CLASSES AND PROGRAMS

The Crestview Public Library offers these educational opportunities throughout the month:

Lap-Sit: 11:15 a.m. Tuesdays and 10:15 a.m. Wednesdays; for 0- to 2-year-olds, with parents

Storytime: 10:15 a.m. Mondays; for 3- to 5-year-olds, with parents

Teen Wii: 2-4 p.m. Fridays; for sixth- through 12th-graders

Family Library Time: Monthly; next session, featuring pumpkin painting, is 6:15 p.m. Oct. 27

Reading to Dozer: 10-11 a.m. Oct. 3; for elementary school age children

Family and adult classes and programs include the First Tuesday lecture series, monthly Poetry and Music Jams, weekly genealogy research, knitting and crocheting classes, monthly Ukelele Jams and senior health services assistance.

Call 682-4432, see www.cityofcrestview.org/library.php or visit the library, 1445 Commerce Drive, for more details.

THE LIBRARY’S THREE PILLARS

The Crestview Public Library provides educational services to all North Okaloosa County residents in three key areas:

• Self-directed education, using its diverse collection and, through the Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative, other municipal libraries’ collections

• Research assistance and instruction, including classes, seminars and workshops for all ages, taught by library instructors and community partners

• Instructive and enlightening experiences, through cultural and community center concepts, events and partnerships.

Source: Public Libraries magazine

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Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include Lapsit's new schedule.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CELEBRATE COMMUNITY: Crestview library ahead of national trend (FILE)

SHANKLIN: Tips for setting — and pursuing — financial goals

Written by archive on September 28, 2015. Posted in columns, lifestyle.

You can get lucky by finding a parking meter with time left on it.

You can “luck out” by having nice weather on your vacation.

You can even be lucky at love.

But when it comes to financial matters, you’re better off not counting on Lady Luck — and focusing instead on setting and pursuing goals.

Here are some suggestions for establishing and pursuing your financial objectives.

●Be specific. You probably have a lot of ideas about what you want to do, but if you’re going to turn these wishes into reality, you need to get specific.

For example, instead of telling yourself that you want to retire early, set a goal of retiring at, say, 62. You can use this target number to help guide your overall investment strategy.

To illustrate: You can determine that you need to invest a certain amount of money each year, and earn a certain rate of return, to be able to retire at 62. You can also estimate about how much money you can afford to withdraw from your investment accounts each year to sustain a retirement that begins at 62.

●Prioritize your goals. Of course, you want to achieve all your financial goals —and you can have a better chance of doing so if you rank these goals in terms of both importance and timing.

For example, you may want to send your kids to college, purchase a vacation home and still be able to retire at age 62.

How should you allocate your resources to each of these goals? Should you invest more at any given time for a specific goal? What types of investments are best for each of these goals?

Prioritizing your goals can help you answer these and other questions — and help direct your overall investment strategy.

●Be prepared to change your goals. Over time, your family and financial circumstances can change considerably — which means you shouldn’t be surprised, or alarmed, if you have to change your goals accordingly.

And you’ll find it easier to maintain this flexibility if you’ve worked diligently to create an investment portfolio with sufficient resources to allow you to change direction, as needed.

●Review your progress regularly. If you’re going to eventually achieve your goals, you absolutely need to measure your progress along the way.

Are your investments performing the way you had anticipated? Are your goals becoming more expensive than you had initially envisioned? To achieve these goals, are you taking on too much — or too little — risk?

To answer these types of questions, it’s a good idea to review your overall progress at least once a year and then make whatever adjustments may be necessary.

As you can see, it will take considerable effort to set, review and (hopefully) achieve your goals.

And it can be somewhat complex, too, so you may want to work with a financial professional — someone who takes time to talk with you about your goals, understands your risk tolerance and family situation, and has the training and experience necessary to help you work toward your objectives.

But in any case, think hard about your goals and how you might accomplish them. And don’t delay in taking action — because goals are generally easier to attain if you have time on your side.

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: Tips for setting — and pursuing — financial goals

Patient safety conference set in Pensacola for healthcare providers

Written by archive on September 24, 2015. Posted in health-fitness, lifestyle.

PENSACOLA — The Association of Safe Patient Handling Professionals will host a regional conference from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 26 at Sacred Heart Hospital, 5151 N 9th Ave, Pensacola.

The program, sponsored by SHH and Providence Hospital, starts with registration at 7 a.m.

Nurses, physicians, patient care technicians, and occupational and speech therapists may attend.

Cost is $125 for association members; $140 for non-members; and $75 for students. It includes breakfast and lunch.

Seven contact hours are available for registered nurses. Contact hours are also available for Alabama and Florida nursing home administrators.

Visit www.asphp.org/events (under "Regional Networking Events") to register. Call 610-248-9911 to register.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Patient safety conference set in Pensacola for healthcare providers

Latter-day Saints church hosts women's conference

Written by archive on September 24, 2015. Posted in Faith, lifestyle.

CRESTVIEW — A women's conference for Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be broadcast via satellite for viewing at Fort Walton Beach Stake churches.

The one in Crestview is at 7 a.m. Sept. 26 at the LDS church, 3 Del Cerro Camino, Crestview.

It includes inspirational talks by women leaders in the church and from the church's presidency and is also viewable by satellite at other churches in the Fort Walton Beach Stake, lds.org, BYU TV, and the Mormon Channel.

The public may attend or view at home. Pie and ice cream served at local chapels.

Call 862-3263 for details.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Latter-day Saints church hosts women's conference

BROADHEAD: People disappoint, but God remains faithful

Written by archive on September 24, 2015. Posted in columns, lifestyle.

Everyone has been hurt or wounded — whether physically, emotionally or spiritually. The lasting effects can be devastating.

Those hurt physically may carry scars the rest of their lives, a constant reminder of their negligence or the negligence of others. With each painful step, with each push of a wheelchair, or each glance in the mirror, the reminder is there.

Emotional injuries also last a long time, and their effects can be passed on to others — either consciously or unconsciously. Think about those who treat their spouses or children the same way they saw a parent treat another; or how those who were bullied turn into bullies later in life.

Spiritual wounds also have long-lasting effects. Through another Christian's careless words, false hopes that can be instilled, prayers answered in a way not liked or understood and church-goers' seeming hypocrisy, people can feel disillusioned, angry or bitter.

Yes, other people fail us. We fail them, too. We are all human beings and fall far short of perfection.

Please remember, however, that you have been loved long before the world knew who you were or hurt you.

Long before physical scars appeared, long before emotional bruises set in and long before people of faith disappointed you, God knew you and loved you.

A loving God brought you into this life. The world may appear to not care one whit about you. People may continue to dig at you emotionally. People in church — including pastors — may continue to disappoint you. But God is always faithful.

God never acts with evil intent. God never acts maliciously. God is constantly faithful and loving — which sometimes includes disciplining his children, just as any loving parent must do.

If you doubt God’s love for you and how God wants what is best for you, look at what he has done to prove it.

He came to Earth in the person of Jesus Christ and allowed Jesus to be nailed to a cross. That sacrifice alone — as unloving as it may appear on the surface — was the greatest act of love the world has ever seen.

The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BROADHEAD: People disappoint, but God remains faithful

Okaloosa health department announces water quality results

Written by archive on September 24, 2015. Posted in health-fitness, lifestyle.

FORT WALTON BEACH — No Okaloosa County parks have potentially hazardous bathing water, the Florida Department of Health in Okaloosa County stated Sept. 21.

All of the parks had good water quality ratings, except Gulf Islands National Seashore, Okaloosa Island, and Lincoln Park, Valparaiso, which have moderate water quality this week.

The tests measure based for enterococci based on EPA-recommended standards. Enteric bacteria’s presence indicates fecal pollution from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife or human sewage.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa health department announces water quality results

CROSE: Autumn — and wreath crafting season — are here

Written by archive on September 23, 2015. Posted in columns, lifestyle.

Autumn has officially arrived, and the weather has finally cooled some.

My collies — who spent most of the hot summer in the house — love playing in the backyard again. I enjoy watching them frolic outdoors, but I really look forward to turning off the air conditioning for the season.

And fall projects.

What do you plan to accomplish? Working in the yard and planting beautiful flowers? Painting a room in your home?

The leaves will turn magnificent colors soon; there are mums in lovely colors, and my potted hibiscus plants are still blooming. I enjoy seeing all the gorgeous flowers.

And making wreaths.

Have you made a wreath that incorporates all the lovely fall colors for your front door?

A basic wreath is simple to do and would make a great family project, so get the kids involved!

There are lots of instructions online. For instance, try this link:www.ehow.com/how_12340285_make-fall-elements-wreath.html.

I want to make a Mickey Mouse-inspired fall wreath.

What will you make?

Share photos of your hand-crafted wreaths on the Crestview News Bulletin's Facebook page. Just search for "Crestview Bulletin."

Please say "hi" if you see me on my jaunts around town.

Janice Lynn Crose 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: Autumn — and wreath crafting season — are here

BY THE NUMBERS

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