NICEVILLE — Six North Okaloosa residents join an ensemble cast for Northwest Florida State College's production of "Oklahoma!"

Selected for lead roles are Katie Pickler of Niceville as Laurey Williams; Tristan Allen of Fort Walton Beach as Curly McLain; Sean Royal of Mary Esther as Will Parker; Megan Garofalo of Santa Rosa Beach as Ado Annie Carnes; Daniel Thornton of Baker as Jud Fry; Gretchen Erickson of Niceville as Aunt Eller; Jason Mueller of Fort Walton Beach as Ali Hakim; Clayton Reed of Crestview as Ike Skidmore; Dylan Garofalo of Santa Rosa Beach as Andrew Carnes; and Victoria Mullins of Santa Rosa Beach as Gertie Cummings.

The Women’s Chorus roles will be played by Holly Johnson of Niceville as Kate; Brittany Castle of Fort Walton Beach as Ellen; Arin Walker of Niceville as Virginia; Brittany Parry of Crestview as Vivian; Jordan Van Dyke of Niceville as Sylvie; Madalyn Wilson of Santa Rosa Beach as Armina; Isabel Rivera of Niceville as Aggie; Wesley Urbanczyk of Niceville as Wilhemina; Ansley Walker of Fort Walton Beach as Edwina; and Joleigh Jarvis of Niceville as Becky Sue and a Laurey double in ballet.

The Men’s Chorus roles include Donovan Black of Niceville as Cord Elam (Ranch Foreman); and various men’s roles are played by James Meadows of Fort Walton Beach; Wesley Barlow of Crestview; Zachary Phillips of Niceville; Richard McWhorter of Niceville; Shelby Steverson of Crestview; and Nick Watson of Crestview.

The show — to be presented July 15-19 in the 1,650-seat main stage theater of the Mattie Kelly Arts Center, 100 College Blvd. — is produced by the college’s Humanities, Fine & Performing Arts Division.

Set in the Oklahoma Territory in 1906, the musical tells the story of the high-spirited rivalry between local farmers and cowboys and provides the colorful background against which Curly, a cowboy, and Laurey, a farm girl, play out their love story.

Tickets cost $25, adults; $20, youths age 18 and younger. Purchase through the Mattie Kelly Arts Center’s Box Office, by phone, web or in-person. Call 729-6000 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday or purchase through the center’s website, www.MattieKellyArtsCenter.org.

NWFSC students may request one free ticket per student ID, space permitting, in person from the Box Office starting June 1.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker, Crestview residents among 'Oklahoma!' cast

NOIRMOUTIER, France— Dressed in a genuine World War II nurse's uniform, Pam Coffield said she now understands what it's like to be a movie star.

"Everybody keeps asking to take my picture," Coffield said.

Coffield borrowed the uniform from the Baker Block Museum, where she is a volunteer, when she and her husband, Joe, joined Crestview's delegation to the French island of Noirmoutier, where they helped their hosts celebrate Saturday's 70th anniversary of France's liberation at the end of World War II.

She wasn't the only one dressed for the occasion. The Coffields' hosts, Jean-Paul and Dominique Brochard, and their son, Anthony, provided Joe with a recreated uniform identical to that worn by celebrated and unconventional "Black Sheep Squadron" leader, Maj. Pappy Boyington.

"You see where Dominique had to fix the length for me," Coffield said, laughing as he displayed about 5 inches hemmed up from the bottom of the khaki trousers he wore.

An intermittent rain during Saturday's victory celebration didn't damper the Coffields' spirits, nor those of an estimated more than 1,000 residents, visitors and dignitaries, including the Crestview delegation and Northwest Florida State College performing arts students.

As a brilliant sun illuminated Noirmoutier, which is Crestview's sister city, Pam and Joe Coffield, riding in Anthony Brochard's Willys Jeep, participated in a victory parade of restored war-era vehicles that, led by a Sherman tank, snaked around the island through all four towns and along its beaches.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview residents celebrate France's WWII liberation

Many people treat their lawn with an insecticide when they see mole crickets in the spring or at the first sign of a brown area in their lawn.

What they don't understand is the biology of this pest.

Mole crickets spend the winter as adults in the soil. As temperatures warm in late February and March, adult mole crickets emerge and begin to mate. Male mole crickets construct a chamber in the soil and chirp to attract female crickets. Attracted females fly to the males. After mating, males die and females fly to a suitable area for egg laying.

Mated females begin tunneling and laying eggs in the tunnels. They lay about four clutches of eggs in different areas, averaging 35 eggs per clutch. Female crickets die shortly after laying their eggs.

Use of insecticides during early spring is not recommended because adult mole crickets are not easily killed, they cause minimal lawn damage during the mating and egg laying process and re-infestation from subsequent flights is likely.

The best time to treat for mole crickets is during mid-June through -July, when eggs have hatched but before the nymphs (immature mole crickets) are large enough to do much damage. Proper timing of the insecticide application is important to achieve control.

If you are not sure whether mole crickets are present, you can find out with a soap solution.

Mix 1½ fluid ounces of a lemon-scented liquid dishwashing soap in 2 gallons of water in a sprinkling can or bucket. Pour the soapy water over an area approximately 4 square feet and count the number of mole crickets that emerge. It only takes several minutes for mole crickets to crawl to the surface after the soap treatment if they are present.

Repeat the process around the yard where you suspect mole cricket problems. If you flush an average of two to four crickets per site, treat the lawn with an insecticide. Follow up with spot treatments if any crickets escape the first insecticide treatment. But don't treat at all if there is no evidence of mole cricket activity.

There are a number of products for mole cricket control in home lawns. Look for insecticides that contain the following active ingredients: bifenthrin, carbaryl, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, imidacloprid, lambda-cyhalothrin or permethrin.

Before using any product for mole cricket control, first identify the problem as mole cricket damage by using the soap flush technique. Then choose an insecticide that lists mole crickets on its label.

Finally, read the container carefully for use directions, application techniques, irrigation requirements and precautions.

Larry Williamsis 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: WILLIAMS: Here's a soapy solution to monitor for mole crickets

Mother’s Day is almost here. This occasion may have special significance for you if you’ve been fortunate enough to have your mother around for your adult life. So naturally, you’ll want to bring Mom some flowers or another gift.

But if she’s planning to retire soon, you may want to think about a longer-term way to improve her life — namely, by initiating a conversation about her retirement income strategy.

Of course, she may already have matters well in hand. But a great many people on the verge of retirement have not planned for those years, so you may be able to provide some valuable suggestions. Here are a few ideas:

•Boost contributions to retirement plans. If Mom is still working, urge her to contribute as much as she can afford to her IRA and her employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k).

The chances are pretty good that she will be spending many years in retirement — in fact, the average life expectancy for a 65-year-old woman is 20.5 more years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So she’ll want to accumulate as much as possible before she bids “adieu” to the working world.

•Discuss appropriate withdrawal rates. Encourage your mother to meet with a financial professional to determine an appropriate rate of withdrawal from her investments.

To help ensure that she doesn’t outlive her resources, she needs to avoid taking out too much during her early years of retirement.

•Take care of legal arrangements. If you haven’t already done so, ask your mother if she has drawn up the important legal documents related to her estate plans.

Does she have a will? Has she created a durable power of attorney, which allows her to name someone to make financial and health care decisions on her behalf if she becomes incapacitated?

As you know, this is a sensitive topic, so you’ll want to approach it with care.

•Evaluate Social Security options. Your mother is probably well aware that she can start taking Social Security as early as age 62, but will get much bigger monthly payments if she waits until her full retirement age, which will likely be 66 or 67.

But she may not know that she might be able to benefit from a Social Security “spousal strategy” that could result in her receiving more income than she could get by just taking her own benefits.

For example, if her spouse is the higher wage earner and can afford to delay taking benefits, your mother could eventually receive higher survivor benefits.

Or, your mother and her spouse could employ a “file and suspend” strategy. Under this strategy, her spouse, upon reaching full retirement age, files for retirement benefits and then immediately requests to have those benefits suspended. As a result, your mother can file for spousal benefits, which would be larger than what she would receive at her full retirement age.

To make sure they are making any Social Security-related moves correctly, though, your mother and her spouse will want to consult with a tax adviser who is thoroughly familiar with Social Security rules.

You want your mother to enjoy a long, happy and active retirement. So, talk to her about the moves she can make to help turn that aspiration into reality.

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: 4 ways to help Mom with her retirement income strategy