CRESTVIEW — As kids enjoy the Allen Park playground’s splashpad on a hot summery day, Crestview’s Citizen of the Year, Felton Barnes, and Dr. Cathy Ward, founder of the Common Ground Community Garden, plant flowers in a community garden being established near the park’s Fairview Center.

“We want people to get involved in their community,” Barnes said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Community garden being planted in Crestview

"The animals are coming two by two, the elephant and the kangaroo!" So begins a really fun song I sang in college with our choir. 

I don’t think we’ll have an elephant, or a kangaroo, or that they’ll come two by two, but animals are coming to the Crestview Community Center. on Friday, July 30! 

Animal Tales will bring animal ambassadors and will teach us how they use their tails, starting 6 p.m. July 30 at the Crestview Community Center, 1446 Commerce Drive.

For more information about Animal Tales, visit www.animaledzoocation.com. 

This event is free to all (because your library is awesome)!

At 6 p.m. we’ll start the evening by awarding prizes to teens and certificates to children who participated in the Summer Reading Challenge (children received their brag tags throughout the summer). 

Right after that, we’ll meet the animals. Please come to meet the animals even if you didn’t participate in the Summer Reading Challenge.

Call 850-682-4432 with questions.

Heather Nitzel is the Youth Services Librarian at the Crestview Public Library.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: Animal Tales event scheduled in Crestview

CRESTVIEW — Let me introduce your 2021 intermediate State Champion Retail Meat ID team!

Back in April, the team of Cayson Barreto, Cate Breda, Anthony Barnett, Anabelle Brush, and Ella Brush represented Okaloosa County at the 2021 State 4-H Meat Judging Contest held at the University of Florida In Gainesville.

This team of first timers worked hard and won several awards, including Reserve champion (2nd) overall meat judging team in the state. Ella Brush won Highest Scorer in the State Meat Judging Competition! Cayson Barreto won third and Ella Brush won second highest scorer on Meat ID alone!

 What a great accomplishment for the kids and Okaloosa County! Please help me congratulate them on a wonderful year.

If you want be part of something great, join Okaloosa 4-H!

Meat judging is very cold. When practicing for a contest or competing, contestants put on an extra layer of clothing and a coat as they step into the coolers of a meat laboratory, business or processing plant.

Food safety has to be the first priority in this project area, because there is a consumable, uncooked product being judged. Beyond the cold, contestants move in a certain order from class to class to evaluate the meat products.

This project area helps youths improve life skills, such as decision making, communications skills and confidence, but it also provides them a very practical skill they can use every time they visit the grocery store or butcher shop.

Youths learn how to examine a cut of meat to determine which will be of the highest quality and flavor. Whether they cook for themselves or others, this useful skill will be perfected over time.

Ronnie Cowan is the 4-H Director at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: 4-H wins State Retail Meat Identification Championship

CRESTVIEW — Looking at photographs of one's family and the places they have visited is a fun past time. Most people use their cell phones for their pictures, but a camera is still one's best choice for great photos.

A point and shoot camera, which are easy to use, start at around $50 and can run to well over $1,000.

To purchase a really good SLR camera can cost upwards of $6,000, plus lenses and other needed accessories.

SLR stands for "single lens reflex" and means that you can view the subject through a mirror system in the camera when looking through the view finder. This helps a photographer frame their subject.

Another advantage to an SLR camera versus a point and shoot is that the lenses are interchangeable. Generally, advanced and professional photographers use SLR cameras, and a point and shoot camera works well for the rest of us.

Another advantage that a point and shoot camera has over an SLR is weight. A small point and shoot camera is lightweight and can easily be in one's purse, backpack or even pocket.

To capture special moments, have your camera charged and available. There is nothing more frustrating that to have a dead battery pack when you are ready to photograph.

For years I kept a small point and shoot camera in my purse and always had it available when we went someplace and could take nice pictures with it.

We have gotten some beautiful beach and sunset photographs because I had a camera with me. I realize that many people think their cell phones take as nice pictures as a camera, but there is a difference.

Tips for photos

When one is going to take a photo, clean up the area and focus on the person, landscape or pet you want in the picture.

Get extraneous things out of the picture — don't photograph your mother holding her purse, set it to the side.

Focus on the subject of the photograph and center your subject, whether it is a person, landscape or an object.

My family takes lots of pictures at Walt Disney World and we make sure we set backpacks, packages and other items out of the picture. We want a memory of our day, not the junk we were carrying around.

Learn how to efficiently use your camera, know what the buttons, dials and settings do and how to use them properly.

Learn how to use the portrait, landscape and zoom settings. It doesn't help to have a great camera if you don't know how to use it to its fullest potential.

Read the manual and then look on YouTube and see if there are any videos that show insider tips for your specific camera.

One of the nice things with today's cameras is that you know instantly if your picture turned out or if you need to take a second one. Take lots of pictures. You can delete any that you don't want from your memory card.

Enjoy your summer and take pictures of the memories you and your family are making.

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: HAPPENINGS: Camera types for capturing those summer photos

CRESTVIEW — In Crestview’s historic downtown distract, native Floridian wildflowers are sprouting on the side of a popular bakery café.

The mural on Back Home Bakery Café’s rear side wall is a collaborative effort between building owner Kimberley Howard; bakery owner (and Kimberley’s mom) Dorene Howard; local State Farm Insurance agent Tiffany Woodham; and muralist Christina Donahon.

Inspiration for the mural began when Crestview Police Department Chief Stephen McCosker, City Manager Tim Bolduc and Community Development Services staff began the current ongoing effort to address blight, including graffiti, a scourge that had hit the Back Home Bakery rear side wall.

“It started with graffiti we had to cover up,” Dorene Howard said. “Tiffany came to us a while back and asked if she could help.”

“I felt we should do a downtown beautification project of some sort,” Woodham added. “I want to help make downtown pretty. Kimberley and I met and we discussed what the design should be and Florida wildflowers came up. We wanted to do something that people would like and would want to take their pictures in front of.”

While the Howards painted over the graffiti, Woodham, who funded the project, engaged Donahon’s talents to realize their concept of a Florida wildflowers motif.

One of her main challenges, Donahon said, is the irregular brick surface she’s working on.

“I didn’t realize how much texture there is to this wall,” she said, indicating chinks in the mortar between bricks, plastered repairs, and utilities boxes and cables on the 1920s wall. But those flaws haven’t stopped admirers of the mural from pausing to watch the artist at work.

“It’s amazing how many people have stopped by to say how much they like having some color downtown,” Donahon said.

“We wanted to do something to help beautify Crestview,” Dorene Howard said. “We’re doing our part to make Crestview look good.”

Woodham said she hopes the idea of transforming blank walls into works of art catches on.

“We should all get together with other businesses and create murals,” she said. “It would bring everybody downtown to look at them.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: ‘I want to make downtown pretty’

CRESTVIEW — Here in the United States we celebrate Father's Day on the third Sunday of June each year. In 2021 we celebrate Father's Day on June 20.

What are your plans this weekend? How do you plan to spend Father's Day? Do you have fun activities such as a barbeque planned with the family?

Thinking of your dad, here are some questions to ponder. What is your most memorable time spent with your dad? What did your dad do extremely well? What was your dad's favorite activity? If he is no longer with you, what question would you like to ask him if you could?

In Exodus 20:12 the Lord commands us: "Honor thy Father and thy Mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." This is a command with a promise, something  we need to pay attention to, especially in today's culture of disrespect.

In Ephesians 6:1 we are told, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right." We are told to honor and obey our parents. How do we show honor to our fathers?

Obviously, when one becomes an adult and moves out of their parents' home, we no longer have to obey our fathers, but do we turn to them for advice? Do we still honor them? Are we kind, patient and loving toward our parents?

My dad and mom had great advice and I made very few important decisions without their advice. I valued their life experiences, wisdom and knowledge.

Good fathers are patient, kind, outstanding listeners, respectful to others and love their wives and children. Additionally, they provide financially, spiritually and emotionally for their families. Fathers also model a good work ethic, outstanding morals and character for their children and the world.

There are many qualities a good father should have, but most of all a father needs to be involved in his children's lives.

As I have mentioned before, the only perfect Father is the Lord God Almighty. He is the source of life and our blessings. Don't forget to thank him for your many blessings. Since he is the perfect Father, earthly fathers should model their behavior after his actions.

What gifts can we give our dads? Most of them have enough ties and knick-knacks, so let's try and get them something they will use.

Does your dad need a new Bible? What about some new sports equipment? An easy gift that is thoughtful is a handmade coupon book with chores that you will do for your father, things such as mowing and edging the lawn; washing the car; running errands; taking him to the movie of his choice, cleaning out the garage; or taking him to lunch or dinner.

Use your creativity. There are many "chores" that would suit your dad. You can even make blank ones so he can choose the chores he wants accomplished.

Remember, your father will not always be with you, so spend time with him now so you have no time regrets later on.

Happy Father's Day, Crestview dads!

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: HAPPENINGS: Ways to celebrate your dad on Father's Day

Every time we have a dry period in spring or summer, I get those predictable calls about some mysterious pest that's playing havoc in lawns.

Without realizing it, the caller usually describes a textbook example of dry spots in a lawn. And many times that’s what the problem areas are – dry spots.

Dry spots are the result of imperfections in an irrigation system. They are revealed during dry weather. Adequate rainfall masks the imperfections in an irrigation system.  

Possible imperfections are many. The homeowner may easily fix some irrigation system problems, while other problems may require the expertise of a licensed irrigation contractor.

There may be too few sprinkler heads for adequate coverage, insufficient pressure to operate each zone, incorrect choice of nozzles or wrongly mixing rotors with spray heads on the same zone. The cause for dry spots may be as simple as a maladjusted spray head, a broken spray head, a plugged nozzle, a tree or shrub blocking the water, grass that has grown over a pop-up spray head, etc.

Two tests to try

Regardless of the cause, there are a couple of simple tests that can help confirm that the problem areas are to be blamed on lack of sufficient water instead of a mysterious pest.

First, check the affected areas by taking a soil sample in the root zone. Use a soil probe or shovel to remove a core of soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Visually inspect and feel the soil sample for moisture. Do the same test in an area of the lawn that looks normal and compare the difference. It should be obvious if there is a difference in moisture between the areas tested.

The second test involves placing several empty straight-sided cans such as tuna fish cans in the affected area and several in a "normal" area of the lawn. Then let the irrigation system run long enough to collect some water in the cans. Compare the amount of water collected in the two areas. It should be obvious if there is a difference in the amount of water applied in the areas tested.

These tests are cheaper, less trouble and more environmentally friendly as compared to purchasing and applying pesticides for nonexistent pests as a result of incorrectly diagnosing the problem.

If these tests do not identify the problem as lack of water, you may have a lawn pest. But don't guess.

Occasionally inspect your irrigation system while it's running for obvious, easily corrected problems such as a maladjusted or broken spray head.

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences publications listed at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/entity/topic/residential_sprinkler_systems will help with your inspection.

Larry Williams 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: EXTENSION CONNECTION: Don't blame pests for dry spots in your lawn

CRESTVIEW — Have you heard of Allen Park? Located at 895 McClellend Street, this eight-acre facility offers a picnic area, softball field, outdoor basketball court, playground and youth recreation center.  

What does that have to do with the library? Glad you asked. This year the Robert L. F. Sikes (Crestview) Public Library and Allen Park are collaborating again, this time to offer Tails and Tales Summer Reading in the community. 

What does this mean? Stories, entertainment, crafts and special guests every Tuesday from 10-11 a.m. starting June 15 and concluding on July 20. The first class will teach participants about plants and gardening.  

Special thanks goes to the Common Ground Community Garden group and officers Dr. Catherine Ward and Mary Hallford for providing their time and expertise to create a lovely garden at the recreation center.

We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to the individuals and organizations who anonymously funded the plants; Walmart for donating mulch and planting supplies; and Crestview Facility Maintenance for preparing the ground. 

More about Tails and Tales

Learn about animals and their tails/tales each week. Meet baby chicks, goats and working dogs.

Reading awards will be presented July 30 at the Crestview Community Center, 1446 Commerce Drive, where we will be entertained and educated on more exotic animals from special guest Animal Tales starting at 6 p.m.

Storyteller Pat Nease will be performing at the Allen Park Recreation Center at 6:30 p.m. June 18. Interactive stories are family-friendly fun for everyone. Be sure to check out the beautiful new garden while you’re there!

Jean McCarthy is director of Library Services at the Crestview Public Library.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: Crestview’s Allen Park joins the Library Summer Reading Program

Even though the calendar says it is spring, the weather outside this week has been telling us that it is definitely summer. 

It seems that scorching temperatures, humidity, and the fierce rays of the summer sun have made their way to Northwest Florida, and soon our electric bills will reflect it. Balancing our comfort in our homes with our checkbooks can be a challenge. Here are a few ways to keep your energy costs from soaring to new heights this season. 

1) Close the curtains. During the daytime, sunshine hitting your windows and doors can help magnify your home temperature. To minimize this effect, close your curtains or blinds while you’re at work and throughout the day to keep the sunlight from coming to heating rooms and working your air conditioning unit. Thermal or blackout curtains or shades work best. 

2) Insulate. Cracks and crevices through your home will allow cool air produced by your AC unit to escape and let hot air in. Use caulk or foam sealer where appropriate and weather stripping on your doors and windows to put a stop to these costly leaks.

3) Change your filter. Make it a regular appointment on your calendar to change your AC unit filter once a month. The build-up of dust, dirt, and debris like pet hair on a filter can put a lot of stress on your unit, making it work harder to cool your home. Changing your air filter once a month can keep your unit running more efficiently and may prevent costly repairs.

4) Use a fan. Using a standing, ceiling, or desktop fan can help to keep you cool throughout the summer while allowing you to turn the temperature on your AC up. So, for example, setting your AC at 76 instead of 72 and using a fan to help cool you will use less energy than using your AC alone. Be sure only to use your fan while you are in the room. Remember, fans are not meant to be left running 24/7 and only cool people; they do not cool rooms. Running a fan in an empty room is a waste of electricity and may burn out.

5) Open your windows: If there is a cool night with low humidity, open your windows and let nature do its job. Be sure to close the windows early in the morning before the sun hits and the air temperature rises.

Living well webinars can help

For more information about energy efficiency and live home maintenance demonstrations, join us for Living Well Wednesday webinars on June 9, 16, and 23 at 11:30 a.m. Central Time. Register for these free webinars at http://bit.ly/LWWhome.

For more information, please contact Jill Breslawski, Family, and Consumer Science with the UF/IFAS Okaloosa County Extension, at 850-689-5850 or jbreslawski@ufl.edu.

Jill Breslawski 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: EXTENSION CONNECTION: 5 ways to save money on energy costs