CRESTVIEW — The community has stepped up to help secure a Crestview Manor resident’s stash of aluminum cans he collects for recycling.

Thieves recently stole a month’s haul of cans Elvit Enlow painstakingly collected around central Crestview neighborhoods.

The News Bulletin’s recent story on the thefts went viral, sparked outrage, and helped draw support to protect a man’s cans.

Susan Hollingshead of Friendly Florist, who is spearheading a drive to have a chain link fence built behind the Manor to secure Enlow’s cans, said response has been heartwarming.

“People have just called and called,” she said. “I’m just overwhelmed about how good everybody is in Crestview.”

Hollingshead said Charlie’s Fence in Holt offered to provide materials to construct the fence.

“We’re very familiar with Mr. Enlow picking up cans,” Kerrie Stillman, of Charlie’s Fence, said. “It bothered us a lot that someone would go to a nursing home and steal from someone like that.”

Resident Paul Lawson offered the services of himself, members of his church and a troop of Boy Scouts to erect the fence.

Ward Lewis, owner of Precision Tactical Arms Company, said he remembered Enlow well from when the company had a shop north of U.S. Highway 90.

“He used to come behind the alley of our old shop,” Lewis said. “All of us would share our aluminum cans or scrap aluminum with him. We’d put it out back for him.”

Lewis offered to buy a shed from Lowe’s to secure Enlow’s cans, “or do anything else we can to help. At end of day, we just want to give him a little bit of help.”

By Monday morning, donors had given $200 toward materials, Hollingshead said, but by lunchtime the business had reached its $500 goal toward materials.

But the outpouring of help didn’t stop there. As of Tuesday morning $745 had been received, Hollingshead said.

“This place was a zoo with so many people calling and coming in,” Friendly Florist employee Bonnie Knecht said Tuesday morning. “A man donated another $100 to ‘Bob’ himself to cover his losses.”

Hollingshead said Enlow sometimes goes by “Bob.”

“We’ve been given so much it does our hearts good that we can give back whenever we can,” Stillman said.

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WANT TO HELP?

Donations for a chain-link fence to secure aluminum cans that Crestview Manor resident Elvit Enlow gathers for recycling can be brought to Susan Hollingshead at Friendly Florist, 586 Ferdon Blvd. N., Crestview, 682-2571.

Donations for a chain-link fence to secure aluminum cans that Crestview Manor resident Elvit Enlow gathers for recycling can be brought to Susan Hollingshead at Friendly Florist, 586 Ferdon Blvd. N., Crestview, 682-2571.

WANT TO HELP?

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Community steps up to secure Crestview man's can collections

NICEVILLE — Area residents interested in refereeing Northwest Florida soccer games may attend a  United States Soccer Federation basic training course.

There are about 20 referee shortages in Okaloosa and Walton counties a this year due to retirements, referees going to college and folks moving, Emerald Coast Soccer Officials Association member Bernie Busovne.

To qualify as a referee, all three classroom sessions must be attended and an online exam is required at the end.

Training is 6-9 p.m. Aug. 5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 6, and 1-2 p.m. Aug. 7 at Niceville City Hall, 208 Partin Drive N.

This class for the beginner referee consists of on-line education, classroom training and participation.

Registration costs $100 per person, which is nonrefundable and must be paid before July 31 online via Paypal. Additional information is available at www.fsr-inc.com under the "Become a Referee" tab.

Contact Mike Rarick, 496-0770, for details.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Northwest Florida soccer referees wanted, training scheduled

CRESTVIEW — A Baker man is dead after a Tuesday morning accident.

Edward F. Edwards, 52, of Baker, was traveling south on State Road 189, south of the intersection with Nana’s Road, around 4:30 a.m.

His 2004 Dodge Ram left the roadway on the west side and traveled across the west grass shoulder, according to a Florida Highway Patrol media release.

The front right of his vehicle struck a large tree, shearing the right front wheel and suspension from the vehicle.

His vehicle continued forward, rotating clockwise, and came to final rest in the forest west of State Road 189, upright and facing south.

An alcohol investigation is pending, according to the FHP. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker man dies in traffic accident

MILTON — Santa Rosa County and surrounding areas saw an economic impact from this spring's Tough Mudder event, according to an SRC spokesperson.

Almost 6,000 people participated in the April 9-10 obstacle endurance course at the Ates Ranch in East Milton. Another thousand-plus joined them as spectators. 

As part of their contract with Santa Rosa County, Tough Mudder commissioned the Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development to assess the event’s value.

Analysis showed that overnight visitors spent almost $168 per day, excluding lodging; day-trippers spent almost $69 per day, with most dollars allocated primarily on food, beverage, clothing or retail, including fuel. Hotel operators saw 2,023 room nights filled as a result of the Tough Mudder, generating $255,681 in regional lodging spending.

“Santa Rosa's investment of around $100,000 to bring Tough Mudder back in 2016 resulted in approximately $1.5 million of economic benefit to the county's residents and businesses," Haas Center director Zachary Jenkins said. The assessment showed a total regional impact of $2,753,229.

Approximately 35 percent of respondents had never traveled to Santa Rosa County before attending Tough Mudder. Most were from the Gulf Coast area or other Florida counties, however visitors reported traveling from California, Washington, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Most said they would return to the area within the next year for a non-Tough Mudder event.

See www.santarosa.fl.gov for a complete copy of the Haas Center report on the 2016 Tough Mudder.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Tough Mudder's significant economic impact on Santa Rosa, Northwest Florida

Mary Roach, best-selling author of “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” and “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal,” has now tackled the science behind some of a soldier’s most challenging adversaries — panic, exhaustion, heat, noise — and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them.

In "Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War," Roach explores the science of keeping human beings intact, awake, sane, uninfected and uninfested in the bizarre and extreme circumstances of war.

Take a tour of duty with Roach, and you’ll never see our nation’s defenders in the same way again.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DREADEN: Crestview Library Staff Pick

Need something to do this week? Check out these fun events: http://bit.ly/29wV9ir.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 3 things to do this week in Northwest Florida

CRESTVIEW — The Ten Talents Youth Theatre's next production is a family-friendly presentation of "The Wizard of Oz."

Cost is $5 for students in kindergarten through 12th grade; $10 for adults; and free for and free for age 5 and younger.

Showtimes are 7 p.m. July 29, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. July 30 at the Warriors Hall, 201 Stillwell Blvd., Crestview.

Purchase tickets from cast members; email nancy@ctpromedia.com; call 826-3409; or go to www.tentalentscrestview.com.

The theatre will provide a cast list later today, July 11, which will be posted here.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Ten Talents Youth Theatre presents 'The Wizard of Oz'

The Autism Society of the Emerald Coast, a part of the Autism Society of America, were the June recipients of the Costa family McDonald’s McCafe with a Cause program.

This initiative was designed and developed by Costa Enterprises, owners of twenty-one McDonalds in Northwest Florida. At all their McDonald’s restaurants, 50% of the McCafe coffee proceeds every Monday during the month resulted in a $1,500 donation to the Autism Society.

The Autism Society supports individuals with autism and their families through numerous opportunities that are funded by donations and grants. 

As well, the non-profit organization offers specialized training programs to area first responders and teachers to familiarize them with how to best work with those with autism.

For more information about this non-profit organization, visit www.asecfl.com.

“On every Monday throughout the year, customers can purchase any size McCafe coffee, hot or iced, of our 100% Arabica Bean fresh-brewed coffee, and 50% of these proceeds will benefit a charity each month in Northwest Florida,” David Costa, Sr., CEO of Costa Enterprises, said.

The July program benefits the Boys & Girls Club of Northwest Florida, and August will benefit the Taylor Haugen Foundation.

For more information on the McCafe with a Cause program, visit www.mcdmc.com/mccafe-with-a-cause.asp   

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview, Navarre area McDonald's owner cuts check to Autism Society of the Emerald Coast

CRESTVIEW — Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Okaloosa and Walton counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.

State Road 85 road striping: Motorists traveling near the S.R. 85 North/State Road 123 intersection will encounter lane restrictions 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. July 10-13.

●US Highway 90 resurfacing: Eastbound and westbound lane closures 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 11-16, from west of Summertime Drive to Old River Road.

●US Highway 98 Brooks Bridge lighting repairs: Westbound lane closure from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. July 12.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Traffic alerts set for North Okaloosa, Walton counties

Long-term unemployment (defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as unemployment last­ing 26 weeks or more) can be an incredibly destructive force in a career. It’s easy to get caught up in the vicious cycle — the longer you spend without a job, the harder it becomes to get hired for a new one.

Henry Farber is keenly aware of this problem. The Hughes-Rogers professor of economics at Princeton University, where he’s also the director of the Industrial Relations Section, has had his research on long-term unemploy­ment published in the Economic Policy Review, the Quarterly Journal of Eco­nomics and many other publications.

Monster caught up with Farber to talk about the challenges faced by the long-term unemployed, as well as what they can do to get their careers back in gear.

Q. What are some of the root causes of long-term unemployment?

A. It depends on the state of the economy … It’s more productive to talk about what makes it easy to find a job, which is that you have skills that other employers want, or that you’re willing to move to take a job. But some people are fixed in place, and the older unemployed tend to have longer spells of unemployment, and older job losers tend to take longer to find work. It’s really a whole range of things, but it’s very sensitive to the state of the labor market. So in the depths of the Great Recession (roughly early 2008 to mid-2009), the rate of long-term unemployment just shot up. And frankly, it’s stayed pretty elevated even through the recovery.

Q. What kinds of obstacles do the long-term unemployed face that make it difficult to get their careers back on track?

A. Many people argue that the skills you have to offer atrophy — that if you’ve been unemployed a year, employers worry that you don’t have the skills you need to compete. Or if you’re unemployed a long time, employers might take that as a signal that you’re not really a go-getter or not very well qualified. But you would think that wouldn’t be so relevant in a deep recession like the Great Recession, because employers can say, “Well, the guy’s been unemployed a long time. I’m not going to make too much of that, because hardly anyone’s finding work, it’s just a terrible economy.”

But in a strong economy or stronger labor market — maybe more like what we have now — if you’ve been unem­ployed a long time, the employer says, “Well, the economy’s strong, and if he was a go-getter he would have found a job.”

Q. What’s the situation right now, post-reces­sion? Is the labor market improving?

A. I would say the labor market as a whole is getting better, but the rate at which newly unemployed people can find work is higher than it’s been in a long time. The unemployment rate is relatively low, but the fraction of unemployed who are long-term unem­ployed is higher than it’s been in any pre-recession period, and remains high.

So there are some warning signs that the benefits of the expansion are being shared unequally.

Q. What can the long-term unemployed do to create some forward momentum in their careers?

A. Ultimately, I think it’s about a strategy of job search. … My under­standing is there’s an awful lot of what I’ll call mechanized first-stage screen­ing of resumes. What they’re looking for are particular keywords, and if the job applicants understood that screen­ing process better, they could tailor how they present information on who they are in ways that could be more productive.

It’s easy to get lost in the noise. But workers need to think carefully about what skills they have to offer, what jobs they should apply for. If they need to get more skills, they should figure out ways to get more skills. … And it might even be that people need to be willing to move to find work in ways that they haven’t.

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Most hot jobs don’t pay well

CNN Money reports that most of the 10 projected fastest-growing jobs pay less than the typ­ical annual wage of $35,540. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs like personal care aides, home health aides and nursing assistants are hot but pay about $12 an hour. Retail and food service jobs are also fast-growing but pay even less. — More Content Now

CNN Money reports that most of the 10 projected fastest-growing jobs pay less than the typ­ical annual wage of $35,540. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs like personal care aides, home health aides and nursing assistants are hot but pay about $12 an hour. Retail and food service jobs are also fast-growing but pay even less. — More Content Now

Most hot jobs don’t pay well

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: GELBER: Breaking the cycle of long-term unemployment