Not long after you finish that last bite of Thanksgiving turkey, the sounds of holiday music will fill the airwaves to let you know it’s time to let the decorating begin. And for many people decorating their homes inside and out includes lots of festive lights to brighten the season.

Whether you're following generations of family holiday traditions or starting new ones, it's always good to review safety precautions.

Here are some basic safety and money-saving tips for Gulf Power customers when decorating for the holidays:

Deck the Halls with outside lighting

·Hopefully, you won’t find a tangled mess of lights when opening the container in which you stored your lights in last year. Make sure you examine all the lights and cords, and if they are damaged, frayed or have cracked wires, toss them or recycle them and buy replacements.  Or check with your local home improvement store on trade-in discounts on holiday lights.

·Make sure your lights are rated for outdoor use. Only use lights that have been tested for safety by a recognized testing laboratory, which indicates conformance with safety standards. Only use lights that have fused plugs.

·Make sure to have a plan for the placement of your holiday lighting so that no more than three strands are strung together unless using LEDs. Gulf Power recommends using LED lighting because they use less power, are more efficient and don’t get hot, so they are a safer and more efficient choice for homeowners.

·While they may be more expensive, LED lights pay for themselves in the long run since they are cheaper to operate and last longer. Traditional lights such as the C-7 or C-9 lighting cost the most to operate, with each string costing up to $1 a day to power.

·Once you have a plan, arrange your decorations so that no outlet is overloaded and no cords will be pinched from going around corners. Be sure to plug lights and decorations into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). This type of outlet will shut the circuit down if there is overcurrent. We want your lights to shine, not sparks to fly!

·If you don't have a GFCI outlet, a qualified electrician can permanently install one outdoors for holiday seasons to come. Or, you can buy a portable outdoor unit from your local home improvement store.

·While decorating the outside of your home, never raise ladders, poles or other extended objects into or near power lines. If you are decorating an outside tree, check to make sure its limbs aren’t near power lines. Remember that no power line is safe to touch – ever.

·You can also lower your holiday energy use by putting your lights on a timer. Be sure to use a durable timer that is made to withstand the elements.

·And finally, use caution when removing outdoor holiday lights. Never pull or tug on lights.

Moving the festivities indoors

When you move the reindeer games inside, remember to do so safely. While holiday lighting and electrical decorations do contribute to the splendor of the season, they can also significantly increase the risk of fires and electrical injuries if not used safely.

·Always purchase electrical decorations and lights from reputable retailers. Use lights approved for safe use by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratory (UL).

·Never connect more than three strands of incandescent lights together. Again, consider purchasing LED lights, which use less energy and run cooler than traditional incandescent lights.

·Before decorating, determine how many outlets are available and where they are located. Plan your displays accordingly. You don’t want your guests or elves tripping over extension cords.

·Just like when you decorate outside, make sure you carefully inspect each inside electrical decoration. Cracked or damaged sockets, loose or bare wires and loose connections may cause a serious shock or start a fire.

·Avoid overloading electrical outlets with too many decorations or electrical devices. They can overheat and cause a fire.

·Always unplug electrical decorations before replacing bulbs or fuses.

·For safety and to help save money, make sure to turn off all indoor electrical decorations before leaving home or going to sleep.

·For peace of mind, make sure to check the batteries in your smoke detectors throughout your house.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Gulf Power's 17 holiday lighting safety tips

GAINESVILLE — Your neighbors and peers probably care more about water conservation than one might assume, and that may mean they’re open to some new ideas about using less water, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher says. 

Laura Warner, who will publish a new study on UF/IFAS Extension water conservation programs, thinks these neighborly discussions could prove fruitful.

“You may not notice the ways someone conserves, but they may already be taking action to not waste water by using good irrigation practices, and they may be open to some new ideas if you strike up a conversation about how you save water in the home landscape,” said Warner, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of agricultural education and communications.

Conserving water is critical because about half of the nation’s domestic water use goes toward landscape irrigation, according to a 2016 report by scientists in Colorado. In places such as Central Florida, that amount can exceed 60 percent. In fact, water conservation on the home landscape could save 46 million gallons per day, in Florida, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The new UF/IFAS research showed that people who participate in UF/IFAS Extension water conservation programs are more likely to conserve water in their home landscape. But the study also found that even people who don’t seek out UF/IFAS Extension water conservation programs want to use less water.

Warner did not expect to see the latter finding.

“I was surprised to find that non-participants had equally positive attitudes surrounding landscape water conservation and equal perceived ability to adopt the practices and technologies that save water in the home landscape,” Warner said. “To me, this reveals a lot of potential for encouraging conservation among those who don’t attend Extension programs.”

To attract more participants to UF/IFAS Extension water conservation programs, she sees fertile ground in growing urban areas. Warner envisions partnering with organizations that reach people who normally don’t attend the water conservation programs.

For the study, Warner led a group of UF/IFAS researchers who conducted an online survey of 653 Floridians; 199 had participated in UF/IFAS Extension water conservation programs, while 454 had not.

Among other findings, the study showed that people who participate in UF/IFAS Extension water conservation programs enjoy social support for conserving water. Specifically, their families and friends may use rain gauges and irrigate properly, among other practices, and thus, they live in a culture that supports their doing the same. Additionally, people who participate in these Extension programs feel a strong, personal obligation to conserve water. It’s part of their core values, Warner said.

People who don’t participate either are not surrounded by people who actively conserve water or they perceive that they don’t, Warner said. “Their peer groups do not talk about saving water, and they don’t think anyone expects them to do so.”

The study will be published in the December issue of the journal HortTechnology.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Researcher: Neighborly conversations can help with water conservation

Editor’s Note: This story is part of our Celebrate Community series on nonprofit organizations that improve North Okaloosa County residents’ quality of life.

CRESTVIEW — HEROES Express Inc. works with developmentally disabled residents.

Under Helping Everyone Respectfully Overcome Everyday Situations, a Medicaid-funded program, clients ranging from age 9 to 70 participate in community activities, learn new skills, and socialize with peers.

CEO Kathy Ellis and her staff of 17 work with clients 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays at their Main Street location.

"A lot of these individuals who are 30 and upwards years of age, once they graduate there's nothing here for them to do. We work on activities of daily living, adaptive skills and social skills," Ellis said.

Response from community organizations like the Crestview Elks Lodge and American Legion Post has been encouraging, she said. The Elks provide space for HEROES clients to learn cooking skills, and they have created poppies the post uses for its annual memorial display in Crestview.

"We have stuffed bookbags, we have stuffed envelopes, we've gone to the police departments and took snacks and stuff like that to help the police department," Ellis said.

HEROES also provides personal support, supported living coaching, supportive employment, in-home respite, and transportation to and from program locations.

Ellis credits her staff, some of whom have been with Heroes since its beginning in 2005, with giving clients the care they deserve.

"I've got great compassionate, awesome (staff members who) want to see our (clients) succeed in life. We want them to be part of our community, and definitely not be institutionalized," Ellis said.

Call Ellis, 305-2946, to learn more about the organization. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Need HEROES? Here are several

CRESTVIEW — Zack Lewis has poured his heart and soul into music. Now, he’s ready for the world to hear it.

Lewis plays drums for Paul Johnson and the About Last Nights, a band he said is finalizing a contract with a management company.

“In January of 2017, things should take off,” the 1996 Crestview High School alumnus said.

For Lewis, a successful music career has been more than 20 years in the making.

GETTING THE GIG

Lewis started playing in a band at Richbourg Middle School with director David Mayfield. He then moved to Crestview High School under David Cadle’s direction.

As a drummer with CHS’s Big Red Machine, Lewis earned the nationally recognized Louis Armstrong Jazz Award.

“David Cadle was a huge and positive influence on me,” he said of Crestview’s current mayor. “He pushed me to be great! I would not be where I am without him.”

Later, Lewis earned a full scholarship to the University of Southern Mississippi, where he majored in percussion performance, minored in music business and played percussion in The Pride, USM’s marching band.

He left Southern Mississippi one semester before graduation after winning an audition in Jackson with an up-and-coming band.

“There were famous, recognizable names auditioning for this gig …,” Lewis said. Still, “I felt really good about my audition and ended up getting the gig.”

After playing with that band for about six months, Lewis moved to Atlanta, where he played drums for various groups and did some recording. A few years later, he moved back to Crestview.

“Technology had caught up at this point and I was able to do my work here,” Lewis said.

‘WE COULD NOT BE HAPPIER’

Lewis met Paul Johnson, who is from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, through a mutual friend. The two began writing music together and, in 2009, formed Paul Johnson and the About Last Nights, which includes guitarist Daniel Williamson and bass player Austin Byrd.

“We could not be happier with our lineup,” Lewis said.

The band’s first record, “Gameshow Rockstar” — described on cdbaby.com as “Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers meets The Foo Fighters — includes uptempo “Ghost Radio,” “Money on the Mattress” and “Let Her Go.”

“Paul and I wanted an album of singles where each song could stand on its own merits,” said Lewis, who names Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and Elvis Costello and the Replacements as influences.

ALWAYS WRITING MUSIC

Lewis stepped away from the band to focus on raising his 9-year-old daughter, and in 2015, Lewis and Johnson released “Property of Jones County,” which features root-based Americana music.

Songs include “Home Grown,” a hometown pride anthem with a Crestview shout-out: “Yeah, we’re stuck out in the sticks but this hallowed ground is home,” Johnson sings. “We’ll sing it from the Hub City to the Free State of Jones.”

Last November, Lewis and Johnson, along with a friend from Atlanta, worked on pre-production for the About Last Nights’ new record.

In January, the two returned to Atlanta and recorded, “Give Up the Ghost.” The first single is “Burn It Down.” While the management contract is finalized, the band is in a holding pattern, but that’s OK, Lewis said.

“Paul and I are always writing music,” he said. “We want our music to give people an escape from their everyday troubles.

“We have a lot to say in our music.”

Learn more about Paul Johnson and the About Last Nights at http://www.pauljohnsonmusic.com

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: ‘We have a lot to say’

Happy Thanksgiving! On Nov. 23, the Crestview Public Library will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will be closed Nov. 24 and 25.

At 6:30 p.m. Nov. 29, Pathdrummer and the first 20 children to arrive will form a drum circle. Free tickets will be available at 6 p.m. that evening.

Again, for the optimal educational benefit, this Family Library Time is limited to the first 20 children (who will all have an opportunity to drum). The event will last about 45 minutes.

Visit www.pathdrummer.com for more information about Pathdrummer.

Heather Nitzel is the Crestview Public Library's youth services librarian.

THE LIBRARY WILL BE CLOSED Thursday and Friday, Nov. 24 and 25 for Thanksgiving. Wednesday, Nov. 23 hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The library will be open regular hours on Saturday, Nov. 26 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

DRUM CIRCLE WITH PATHDRUMMER: 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 29, Crestview library. For ages 4 and up. Limited to first 20 kids — tickets available at 6 p.m.

FIRST TUESDAY TALK: 10:30 a.m., Dec. 6, Crestview library. “Crestview through the Century,” featuring Pat Hollarn, Crestview Centennial Committee chair.

FREE GENEALOGY FAMILY HISTORY WORKSHOP: 5:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 12, Crestview library. One-on-one help sessions at 6:15 p.m.Details: 849-9468.

Upcoming

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Library holiday hours; get ready for Pathdrummer

CRESTVIEW — The North Okaloosa Community Band has scheduled its Christmas concert.

The event — 7 p.m. Dec. 12 at Warriors Hall in Crestview — also will feature the Pensacola Bay Concert Band. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted.

The Friends of the Arts will present the concert, and a percentage of donations will go toward the Warriors Hall piano’s upkeep. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: North Okaloosa Community Band sets Christmas concert

LIBRARY THANKSGIVING SCHEDULE: Holiday hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 23 at the Crestview Public Library, 1445 Commerce Drive. The library will be closed Nov. 24 and 25 for Thanksgiving Day. Regular hours resume Nov. 26, with the library being open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WASTE PRO THANKSGIVING SCHEDULE: Waste Pro will be closed Nov. 24 to observe Thanksgiving Day. Recycling usually picked up Thursday and Friday will be picked up Nov. 25; residential garbage collection will be moved to Nov. 28.

FAMILY LIBRARY TIME:  6:30 p.m. Nov. 29, Crestview Public Library, 1445 Commerce Drive. Topic: Drum Circle with Pathdrummer. For ages 4 and up; limited to the first 20 kids. Free tickets available at 6 p.m. before presentation.

'A CHRISTMAS CAROL' CONCERT: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 and 2, and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3, Northwest Florida State College, Sprint Theater, 100 College Blvd., Crestview. Production combines vocalists, dancers and theater students. Features four Crestview residents.

FIRST TUESDAY LECTURE: 10:30 a.m., Dec. 6, Crestview Public Library, 1445 Commerce Drive. Pat Hollarn, Crestview Centennial Committee chair, presents, "Crestview through the Century."

LAUREL HILL CHRISTMAS PARADE: 3 p.m. Dec. 10, starting at the industrial park on New Ebenezer Road. The route continues across Highway 85, down Fourth Street and up Third Street. It ends on Second Avenue at the Laurel Hill post office.

‘A PETER WHITE CHRISTMAS’ JAZZ PERFORMANCE: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10, Mattie Kelly Arts Center, Northwest Florida State College, 100 College Blvd., Niceville. Accompanying guitarist White are trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Euge Groove. Reservation required. Front-section seating costs $80 each; general admission costs $40 each. Order at seabreeze.fm or call 729-6000.

'JOURNEY TO THE MANGER' MUSICAL: 10:30 a.m. Dec. 11 and 7 p.m. Dec. 12, First Baptist Church of Crestview, 171 E. Hickory Ave. Free. “Discover the meaning of Christmas on a journey through time … the Depression Era, Italy during the Renaissance, the streets of England, a simple little church in Austria, the manger, and the 21st century,” a media release states. Details: 682-2544.

FREE GENEALOGY WORKSHOP: 5:30 p.m. Dec. 12, Crestview Public Library, 1445 Commerce Drive. One-on-one help sessions start at 6:15 p.m. 849-9468.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT: 7 p.m. Dec. 12, Warriors Hall, Stillwell Boulevard, Crestview. Traditional Christmas music by North Okaloosa Community and Pensacola Bay Concert Bands. Free admission, but donations accepted. Proceeds go to group costs and the hall's piano upkeep.

NORTH OKALOOSA CUB SCOUTS ACCEPTING NEW MEMBERS: Rising first- through fifth-grade boys now can join the Cub Scouts. Registration, through December, costs $14; annual membership costs $24. A Boys Life Magazine subscription costs $12. Scholarships and earning opportunities are available through pack fundraising.

North Okaloosa groups include:

• Pack 530, which meets at Crosspoint Church’s south Crestview campus. Contact Cubmaster TJ Tajalle, 573-842-8214 or tj.tajalle@gmail.com, for more information.
• Pack 799, which meets Mondays at First United Methodist Church in Crestview. Contact Cubmaster John Humphrey, 380-6977 or johnhumphrey@embarqmail.com, for details.
• Pack 532, which meets at First Baptist Church of Holt. Contact Cubmaster Courtney Strom, 228-365-1995 or cejeos5@gmail.com, for details.
• Pack 731 also meets in Crestview. Contact pack chair Mike Wing, 902-3556 or mikecwing@yahoo.com, for details.

Crestview Boy Scout membership is available for sixth-grade through 18-year-old males. Contact Rae Schwartz, bakerny@yahoo.com, or Bryant Perkins, Bryant.Perkins@scouting.org, for details.

CHRISTMAS CANTATA: 6 p.m. Dec. 16, Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, 502 McDonald St., Crestview. Theme: "The Prince of Peace." Free to attend. Rehearsals are 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21; 7 p.m. Nov. 28; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5; and 7 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Carver-Hill School Center, 461 School Ave., Crestview. Darlene Jenkins, 398-6310.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: What’s Happening in North Okaloosa County

CRESTVIEW — Drivers will encounter traffic variations on Okaloosa and Walton state roads as crews perform these construction and maintenance activities. 

Okaloosa County

• State Road 123 widening, from north of S.R. 85 south to north of Toms Creek: North and southbound traffic from south of Toms Creek to south of unnamed branch will transition to newly constructed northbound lanes beginning 6 p.m. Nov. 20. The shift will remain approximately two months as crews complete construction of the southbound roadway.
• Interstate 10 routine maintenance just west of Crestview (S.R. 85/Exit  56): Westbound lane closure at mile marker 54, just west of S.R. 85, 9 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21 to 2 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22 as crews make repairs to the roadway.

Walton County

• S.R. 83 routine maintenance north of DeFuniak Springs and just south of County Road 1883: Expect lane restrictions 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21 as crews take samples and make repairs to the roadway.

No work requiring lane closures will take place on state roadways from 7 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27 in observance of Thanksgiving holidays.  

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 3 Okaloosa and Walton traffic changes

LAUREL HILL — Randy and Tracey Duncan stay busy for a retired couple.

A typical day starts with feeding and watering the pigs and chickens, bottle-feeding a calf separated from her mother, checking the cows and collecting eggs. Those need to be gathered from more than 60 chickens three or four times a day.

Approximately 1,000 blackberry plants are worked daily in season and weekly the rest of the year. A row of 600 muscadine grape vines produced hundreds of pounds of grapes that Tracey used to make jelly for friends and family.

The Duncans drive their eggs, meats and berries to Gulf Breeze Farmers Market on Tuesdays and Palafox Farmers Market on Saturdays to sell.

“This is what we do for fun,” Tracey said.

Their farming and ranching careers on Flyin D Ranch began in 2012 when they moved onto 300 acres 16 miles northeast of Crestview.

“I retired from an office job to a real job,” said Randy, a former chief financial officer for an aerospace corporation. Tracey is a retired schoolteacher. Although they aren’t from farming families, the Duncans owned a few cows when they lived in Texas, and Tracey has always kept a garden. “We want to know what we eat,” she said.

The land they wanted to transform into a diverse operation consisted of row-cropped cotton fields and unmanaged woods. They started by contacting USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

District Conservationist Darryl Williams helped them develop a conservation plan and get technical and financial assistance to plant grass, build cross fencing, install drip irrigation and install a solar panel to power a water pump that supplies water to cattle on two pastures.

Since they started their operation in the last 10 years, they qualified for funding through the New and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers category of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

The Duncans entered into a Conservation Stewardship Program contract in 2014 on 200 acres of pastureland. Some of the management practices the program helped fund include grazing management to improve wildlife habitat, monitoring key grazing areas, restoring rare and declining habitats and maintaining a riparian buffer.

“Darryl has made every process with NRCS very manageable,” Tracey said.

The Duncans rotate 78-head of grass-fed, antibiotic and hormone free Brangus cattle on six pastures also used to grow hay for feed and to sell. 

“Pasture management is important, so we built all the fences far away from the creek,” Randy said. Horsehead Creek runs through their property and drains into the Yellow River in route to the Blackwater River and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico.

Their heritage Tamworth hogs are a breed originating in England that Randy chose because it has fatter marbling than in today’s breeds. They have seven sows and two litters of pigs.

“We like our pork,” he said.

Pest management on the farm is natural. The Duncans release chickens to roam near their blackberries and vegetables, installed 20 hummingbird feeders and built 11 bluebird houses. 

The chickens and pigs feed on non-GMO feed. Tracey said customers like that. The chickens are a recent addition to their operation.

“Our granddaughter told Randy we didn’t have a real farm because it didn’t have chickens, so he took care of that,” Tracey said.

“So many kids don’t know where their food comes from,” she said.

Next year the Duncans are building a high tunnel to raise vegetables year-round and planting food plots for wildlife. They are also considering removing 100 acres of scrub and reestablishing longleaf pine.

“Anything to do with wildlife is important. We have some quail and a healthy turkey population,” Tracey said.

NRCS is accepting applications for CSP until Feb. 3. If interested, visit your local NRCS field office and request help developing a conservation plan.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Retirees enjoy ranching, agriculture in Laurel Hill