CRESTVIEW — Yvonne Shanklin, an Edward Jones financial adviser in Crestview, is sponsoring a seminar titled "Emotions, Expectations and Economics" next week.
The seminar begins 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 7 at Coach N Four Steakhouse, 114 John King Road, Crestview. Dinner will be provided.
Call Marcia Fleming, 682-2497, for more information.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview financial seminar set Tuesday
CRESTVIEW — New Life Missionary Baptist Church, which began a year-long financial pledge to aid its building ministry, seeks the public's assistance.
Donations will be used to help pay $10,000 off the $55,000 mortgage on the church's sanctuary and fellowship hall. Fundraising ends July 12, the church's 18th anniversary.
"We are asking those who have a spirit of giving out of thanksgiving, with a full heart, if you would sacrifice a gift of $10 to aid New Life Missionary Baptist Church in this financial endeavor," the Rev. Sanford Hayes stated in a letter.
"Your donation is a very private decision. So no matter what your decision, whether you are able to make a commitment or whether you choose not to commit at all, thank you for giving this matter serious and prayerful consideration."
HOW TO HELP
Want to contribute to New Life Missionary Baptist Church's building ministry?
Mail your donation, payable to the church, to: New Life Missionary Baptist Church, Attn: 2015 Church Anniversary, 285 Duggan Ave., Crestview, FL 32536.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New Life building ministry seeks donations
I freely admit that I don't know the ins and outs of our town's administration as well as I could, because I live in the county.
However, my wish list for our area includes new stores and restaurants.
We need more variety, and it would be nice to shop in Crestview (and keep the revenues and taxes here) rather than driving to Fort Walton Beach, Destin or Pensacola.
Rumors have abounded for years that Target has looked at our area but we don't have the population to warrant a store. I am not sure if this is truth or conjecture; however, my feeling is that we do have enough potential shoppers to have new stores and restaurants as we would draw shoppers from surrounding areas.
Judging from how well the new shopping center on State Road 85 is doing, I think we have shown we want and need new businesses. We have heard the rumor that the 200-acre parcel next to and behind Ryan's was going to be a shopping mall, but it has sat empty for years.
I realize that it takes lots of planning, time, money and traffic studies to draw in new businesses, but it seems time for them to make Crestview and the surrounding area their home.
It would be nice if we could get a great cross-section of family-owned restaurants, as well as corporate restaurants to come to our area.
Growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, we had a "Restaurant Row" in our town, with many types of food. Rather than hurting each other because of the competition, it helped all of them because people could choose what type of food they wanted. There was a variety of food choices — everything from a steakhouse, Mexican, American, barbecue and seafood — along with plenty of parking.
I certainly don't know how we could draw more businesses to our area, but I can have high hopes and dreams!
I pray that you and your families have a very Happy Easter as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.
Janice Lynn Crose lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her brother, Robb; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.
Email listings of upcoming events and activities of public interest>>
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CROSE: High hopes and dreams for new businesses
Sunrise services for the Baker and Crestview communities have been set by local ministerial associations.
Donations accepted during the services will provide funds to help transients and needy persons and families in the community.
Baker's service is 6:30 a.m. April 5 in the Baker School football stadium, 1369 14th St.
The Crestview one is 6:30 a.m. April 5 at Live Oak Baptist Church, 4565 Live Oak Church Road.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Sunrise services planned in Baker and Crestview
FORT WALTON BEACH — Two Okaloosa County parks may have potentially hazardous bathing water, the Florida Department of Health in Okaloosa County stated this week.
On April 1, Liza Jackson Park, Fort Walton Beach, and Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park, Niceville, failed tests based on EPA-recommended enterococci standards.
Enteric bacteria’s presence indicates fecal pollution from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife or human sewage.
Call 689-7859 or 833-9247 for more information.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Only two parks receive advisories for hazardous water
Growing up, our family read the Easter story the Saturday night before Easter and focused on Christ Jesus' sacrifice for our sins.
We went to church every Sunday, but Easter Sunday was extra special. We usually had new clothes — Mother generally made a new dress especially for me — and often we had new church shoes.
Since our focus was on our Lord's resurrection, sometimes there was an egg hunt, sometimes not. We always got Easter baskets filled with goodies, a stuffed toy, a new Bible story book, and sometimes even a brand new Bible, crayons and coloring books.
Most Easters, we would go to our grandparents and have a nice meal; some Easters, other family members joined us. After lunch, we changed into our play clothes and had fun running around and playing with our cousins.
Since Jim and I married, our traditions are a little different. We moved around extensively the first few years of our marriage, so our traditions have somewhat developed over time.
We now begin with the observance of Lent and reflect upon the sacrifice Christ made to redeem us from our sins. We celebrate Palm Sunday and, depending upon the church, sometimes there is the waving of small palm fronds and we may sing a solo or duet.
During the week traditionally called Holy Week, between Palm and Easter Sundays, we attend services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday services are followed by a wonderful gathering of our church family and friends hosted by a very special family.
We believe that Easter is the pinnacle of our faith. Without Christ's death, burial and resurrection, we would not have the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with Christ Jesus.
Our prayer is that you and your family will have a glorious Easter as we celebrate Christ's resurrection from the dead.
Happy Easter, He is Risen!
Janice Lynn Crose lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her brother, Robb; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.
Email listings of upcoming events to NorthOkaloosaHappenings@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HAPPENINGS: Easter traditions and Christ's resurrection
NICEVILLE — Richard Blanco, the first Latino immigrant poet chosen to read at a presidential inauguration, will be the featured distinguished author at Northwest Florida State College's annual NWFSC Reads.
Blanco will present readings from his works at 7 p.m. April 20 in the Mattie Kelly Arts Center Sprint Theater on the NWFSC Niceville campus. Doors open at 6:45 p.m.
Immediately preceding Blanco's reading, additional events will take place from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. in the adjoining Mattie Kelly Arts Center Galleries. These include a welcome reception, student readings and the unveiling of the student art selected for the cover of the college’s literary and arts journal, "Blackwater Review.”
All of the evening's events are free and open to the public.
NWFSC Reads is a free annual week-long event by the college English Department, with an emphasis on literary topics.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Richard Blanco featured author at NWFSC Reads event
If the Federal Reserve raises short-term interest rates this year, as many financial professionals predict, what will it mean to you?
As a consumer, you might experience the “ripple” effects if long-term interest rates eventually follow suit, affecting mortgages and other loans.
But as an investor, you might quickly feel the impact of a move by the Fed — especially if you own bonds.
In fact, your existing bonds' value might drop noticeably if interest rates were to rise. That’s because no one will give you full price for your lower-paying bonds when new bonds are being issued at a higher interest rate.
So if you want to sell your bonds, you might have to take a loss on them.
Of course, if you were always planning to hold your bonds until maturity, you might not be overly concerned with falling prices. Assuming your bond issuers don’t default — and defaults are rare among “investment grade” bonds — you will continue collecting regular interest payments until your bonds mature, at which point they will be redeemed at full face value.
Furthermore, just owning bonds can help you diversify your portfolio, which might otherwise be dominated by stocks and therefore be susceptible to big swings in value. (While diversification can help reduce volatility's effects, it can’t guarantee a profit or protect against loss.)
However, it’s still useful to be aware of rising interest rates' effects on bonds of different maturities.
Typically, when rates rise, long-term bonds will fall in value more than short-term bonds. So if you only owned long-term bonds, your portfolio could take a bigger hit than if you owned both short- and long-term bonds.
Again, this might not be a big issue if you intend to hold bonds until they mature — but if your plans change, a drop in value in your bond holdings could be cause for concern.
Furthermore, if you just owned long-term bonds, your money would be tied up, thereby not allowing you to take advantage of newly issued, higher-paying bonds.
You can help protect yourself against the potential negative effects of rising interest rates by incorporating a “fixed income ladder” in your portfolio.
You can build this ladder by purchasing fixed income securities — such as corporate or municipal bonds — in various maturities.
With your ladder in place, a portion of your portfolio matures at regular intervals.
Consequently, you can benefit from any increase in interest rates by reinvesting your maturing bonds at the higher rate.
And if interest rates should fall, you still have your longer-term bonds working for you. (Generally, longer-term vehicles pay higher rates than shorter-term ones.)
Even if the Fed does raise short-term rates in 2015, it doesn’t necessarily signal the start of a trend. Interest rate movements are notoriously hard to predict — and you probably won’t help yourself by trying to “time” your investment decisions based on where rates may be heading.
But techniques such as a fixed-income ladder can work for you in all interest rate environments. So as you think about how you’ll invest in bonds in the years ahead, keep this type of “all-weather” strategy in mind.
It may be able to help you keep the guesswork to a minimum.
This article was written by Edward Jones on behalf of your Edward Jones financial adviser.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: How will you respond to higher interest rates?
CRESTVIEW — Two area artists draw on nature for exhibits on display at the Crestview Public Library.
In the lobby display cases, Carolyn Stewart combines miniature hand-bound books and textured papers with natural elements including sticks, seashells, sand, gravel and logs.
Her whimsical, dimensional art includes “Tiny Thoughts,” which is composed of miniature cloth-bound books hanging from the branches of stout twigs set in a log.
“Atlas” is a miniature made of cut-up maps perched in the crook of a tree-like branch, while “A Song on the Wind” is a tiny book of sheet music set on a branch trimmed to look like a wind-blown old tree.
On the north display wall, photographer Opal Westmoreland shares images grounded primarily in nature: a leaf floating in a still pond — or is it a puddle? There’s a sheen that could be drops of oil.
Westmoreland finds beauty in city parks and local forests and gardens. Close-ups of flowers in bloom reveal details the eye commonly skims over.
And then there are rustic scenes the photographer’s eye sees in ways others’ don’t. An orange antique car, for example, turns out to be art someone else painted on a weathered metal roll-up garage door.
Both exhibits will be up through April.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Two area artists draw on nature for current exhibits
Send your church’s announcements to news@crestviewbulletin.com.
Maundy Thursday, April 2:
•6 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, 424 Garden St., Crestview
•6 p.m., Central Baptist Church, 951 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview
•6:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 599 8th Ave., Crestview
•7:30 p.m., First Presbyterian Church, 492 N. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview
Good Friday, April 3:
•6 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, 424 Garden St., Crestview
•6:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 599 8th Ave., Crestview
Easter services, April 4:
•4 p.m. and 6 p.m., Saturday, Crosspoint South Crestview Campus, 2250 PJ Adams Parkway, Crestview. Easter egg hunt and carnival follow the 4 p.m. service.
•6 p.m., Saturday, Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, 424 Garden St., Crestview
Sunday services, April 5:
•6:30 a.m., Live Oak Baptist Church, 4565 Live Oak Church Road, Crestview. Also: the same time in the Baker School Football Stadium.
•8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., Woodlawn Baptist Church, 824 N. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview
•8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.; Contemporary Service, 9:45 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 599 8th Ave., Crestview
•8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., Lifepoint Church, 400 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview
•9 a.m. Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church, 8115 4th St., Laurel Hill
•9 a.m., 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Crosspoint South Crestview Campus, 2250 PJ Adams Parkway, Crestview; Contemporary Easter services, 10:15 and 11:30 a.m., held in the Sanctuary.
•10 a.m., Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, 424 Garden St., Crestview. Easter egg hunt follows.
•10 a.m., followed by lunch and an Easter egg hunt. Bounce houses, photo booth and live disc jockey available at no cost. Presented by Mosaic Church. Details: www.easterattwinhillspark.com
•10 a.m., First Baptist Church, 171 W. Hickory Ave., Crestview
•10:45 a.m., Central Baptist Church, 951 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview
•11 a.m., First Presbyterian Church, 492 N. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview
•11 a.m., Live Oak Baptist Church, 4565 Live Oak Church Road, Crestview
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Northwest Florida Easter services and activities planned
