The University of Florida Extension Office in Okaloosa County is taking applications for the 2018 Master Gardener volunteer training course.

The Master Gardener Program in Florida is a joint endeavor of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension and gardening volunteers in participating counties.

This program is designed to recruit and train volunteers to help meet the demands placed on extension personnel by home gardeners.

The mission of the Master Gardener volunteer program is to assist Extension Agents in providing research-based horticultural education to Florida residents.

Primary requirements for participation in the Master Gardener Program are:

•A sincere interest in horticulture.

•Willingness to work with and help other people.

•Time and flexibility to complete all requirements of the program.

Master Gardener training classes will be held 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Tuesday from Jan. 9 to April 17. Most of the classes during this 15-week course will be held at the Gerald R. Edmondson Extension Building, 3098 Airport Road, Crestview.

Instruction includes classroom training by County Extension faculty and UF-IFAS Extension specialists.

Training includes sessions on botany, soils, insects, plant pathology, landscape plant care, vegetable and fruit gardening, lawn management, landscape design and irrigation.

After successfully completing the program, participants will be ready to begin 75 hours of volunteer service agreed to in return for training.

Volunteer activities include answering questions via phone calls, emails and walk-in visits at the Extension office from other gardeners wanting landscape or garden information. Master Gardeners give and/or assist in giving educational presentations for various groups. They help staff plant clinics to assist in diagnosing lawn, landscape and garden problems. They create, install and staff educational exhibits. They provide technical advice to teachers who wish to have garden projects at their schools and assist with the 4-H youth program.

Other duties include acting as judges for contests or fairs. They may write and/or compile information for newsletters and news articles. They conduct soil tests. They install and/or maintain demonstration gardens. They also are responsible for keeping records of their volunteer activities and attending recertification courses to stay current in the field of residential horticulture and environmental issues.

Basically, their volunteer activities are designed to assist the UF-IFAS Extension Office while providing reliable horticulture information to the residents of Okaloosa County.

The course fee is $150. Space is limited.

Call the Extension office at 689-5850 to request an application for the 2018 Master Gardener volunteer training course. Applications must be returned by Dec. 1 to be considered.

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: Time to apply for Master Gardener volunteer training

There appears to be a war on kindness and civility; apparently, being thoughtful and compassionate toward one another has become passé.

The acceptance of violent behavior and coarse words still shocks me, and sometimes children act out in public with no reprimand from their parents.

Are we doing any favor to a generation by allowing them to think the rules of civility no longer apply?

Last week, here in Crestview, a 13-year-old boy was waiting at the bus stop. Apparently two teens drove by and one of them [allegedly] used a gun to shoot the boy.

What does this incident say about our culture? Has human life become so cheap and devalued that kids feel it is acceptable to shoot another person?

I partly blame violent video games and movies. Real life isn't a game and, when the game is over, the person who was shot doesn't get up unharmed and go on their way. There are real consequences to violent actions. Our prayers go with the young man who was shot and we pray for a speedy and complete recovery.

I was taught many good lessons and Bible verses in Sunday school. Two that come to mind are:

•Ephesians 4:32 — "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

•Psalm 139:23 — "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts."

If we put these verses into practice, our lives and the lives of others we touch would be improved.

Some difficult questions we need to ask follow:

Do we, as parents, practice forgiveness in front of our children?

Are we good role models?

Do we take responsibility for our actions, words and even thoughts?

Do we show genuine remorse when we wrong someone, and seek their forgiveness?

If someone wrongs us, do we forgive the person or look for ways to "get even?"

Remember, our children are always watching us and mimic our behavior.

We, as mature adults, need to model good behavior for our children so that they will grow up to be kind, compassionate and loving members of society.

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.

“Has human life become so cheap and devalued that kids feel it is acceptable to shoot another person?”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Children are always watching, learning from us

You may spend decades contributing to your IRA and 401(k). But, eventually, you'll need to use this money. Before that day arrives, you'll want to be familiar with the rules governing withdrawals — and you'll want to know just how much you should take out.

To begin with, withdrawals from traditional employer-sponsored retirement plans like these fall under the Internal Revenue Service's "required minimum distributions" (RMD) guidelines. (You aren't required to take these distributions from a Roth IRA.) Here are some of the key RMD points to keep in mind:

•You need to take distributions by age 70½. You generally should begin taking RMDs in the year in which you turn 70½. If you don't take your first RMD during that year, you must take it no later than April 1 of the following year. If you do put it off until April 1, you must take two distributions in one year.

If you don't take your RMDs on time, you may have to pay the IRS a 50 percent penalty tax on the taxable portion of your uncollected distribution — so make sure you know your dates.

•You can take more than the minimum. You can withdraw more than the RMD, but, as the word "required" suggests, you can't withdraw less.

•You may be able to delay RMDs in an employer's retirement plan if you're still working. If your employer's retirement plan permits it, you may not have to take RMDs if you are still working and you are 70-1/2 or older. However, this exception won't apply if you own 5 percent or more of your company.

To determine your RMD, you'll need to use either the Uniform Lifetime Table, which is based on your life expectancy, or the Joint Life Table, if you have a spouse who is the sole beneficiary and who is more than 10 years younger. Your tax advisor can help you make this selection.

So, now that you know the basic rules of RMDs, you'll need to consider their impact on your retirement income. As mentioned above, you can certainly take out more than the RMD, but should you? If you need the extra money, then you'll have to take it. However, when determining how much you should take beyond your RMDs, you'll need to weigh some other factors.

For one thing, if you can delay taking Social Security, you'll get bigger checks, so you might be able to lower the amounts you take from your 401(k) and IRA. Another factor to consider is the size and composition of your investment portfolio held outside your retirement accounts.

If you have a sizable amount of investments, with some of them providing regular income, you may be able to afford to take out only your RMDs, or perhaps just slightly more. On the other hand, if your 401(k) and IRA make up the vast majority of your investment holdings, you might need to rely on them much more heavily.

In any case, though, you will need to establish an appropriate withdrawal rate for all your investments to ensure you won't outlive your money. A financial professional can help you calculate this rate.

Do whatever it takes to maximize your benefits from your IRA and 401(k). They're valuable assets — so use them wisely.

This article was written by Edward Jones on behalf of your Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Retirement plan withdrawals — what you should know

I continue with a brief look at one way you can get into proper perspective the matters in your life through brief reflections on Psalm 23.

The first half of verse three states, "He renews my strength."

As I mentioned in last week’s reflection, God invites you to take time to rest your body and mind, to stop rushing from one task or responsibility to another. There is a reason for this.

God invites you to find rest and refreshment in him so your strength can be renewed. Think about weightlifting or running. The longer muscles are exercised in one continuous activity, the more tired they become. When they are used without resting during a workout session, muscles get torn down, and, in time, they stop working. Weightlifters can no longer lift any weight. Runners collapse on the ground. Exhaustion settles in.

The only way for muscles to gain strength is to rest between the times of hard work. It is during the resting periods that strength not only returns, but grows, because the tissue has a chance to heal.

Our Lord heals your tired and worn out heart, soul and mind when you rest in him. He renews your strength and gives you more strength when you rest in his presence, when you feed on him, when you drink deeply of his unending source of living water.

You do not need to be self-sufficient. This is one of the lies foisted on you by an over-achieving society. You do not need to determine your worth by how busy you are. You don’t need to justify your existence. It is okay — even essential — to rest in God’s amazing presence to find strength for each day.

Simply sit in a quiet place that you enjoy — at the beach, along a river or stream, in a park, it’s your choice. Listen to the sounds of nature. Enjoy the fragrances of God’s creation. Allow your mind to reflect on God’s greatness, love, and mercy.

Then you will be strengthened in body, mind and spirit.

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: God will renew your strength