CRESTVIEW — Mayor David Cadle shared the Hub City’s history and offered a glimpse of what’s to come during Crestview’s centennial celebration today on the Okaloosa Courthouse lawn.

PHOTOS: View photos from the centennial celebration >>

“Imagine, if you will, just 100 years (ago), when a small village began to grow up around arrival of the railroad,” Cadle said. “The people who settled here were industrious and hard-working folks, and soon they were building homes and churches. And on Main Street a hotel sprang up, and a bank, and along with them were several drinking establishments, where the purported favorite beverage was whiskey. Those establishments had many patrons, and even their second floors of their buildings were quite busy.

“As time went by, the dirt roads slowly were being replaced by pavement, and the city continued to grow.”

Fast forward several decades, and the 7^th Special Forces (Airborne)’s move to Northwest Florida brought an influx of new residents, making the Hub City the largest city in the county, and “the undisputed county seat of Okaloosa County,” he said.

“As we celebrate the 100^th anniversary of this great city, I can assure you that the future of Crestview is very bright,” Cadle said.

Approximately 200 people listened to Burnett and other speakers, including Mayor David Cadle, Main Street Crestview Association representative Pat Hollarn, Sen. Don Gaetz, County Commissioners Wayne Harris, Nathan Boyles and Carolyn Ketchel, Judge Michael Flowers and historical re-enactor James Moore, among others.

Among those attending the celebration included Circuit Judge Terry Ketchel, Sen. Greg Evers, County Commissioner Trey Goodwin, Crestview’s city councilmen and numerous city and county employees, and local law enforcement.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CRESTVIEW CENTENNIAL: 'The future is very bright,' mayor says

CRESTVIEW — Crestview resident Juanita Payne-Galbreath sang the “Star Spangled Banner” during the opening ceremony for Crestview’s centennial celebration today on the Okaloosa Courthouse lawn.

PHOTOS: View photos from the centennial celebration >>

Approximately 200 people listened to speakers including Mayor David Cadle, Main Street Crestview Association representative Pat Hollarn, Sen. Don Gaetz, County Commissioners Wayne Harris, Nathan Boyles and Carolyn Ketchel, Judge Michael Flowers and historical re-enactor James Moore, among others.

Keep checking back for updates and more coverage from today’s event.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CRESTVIEW CENTENNIAL: Juanita Payne-Galbreath sings 'Star Spangled Banner' (VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — Jeff Burnett, pastor of Crosspoint’s North Crestview campus, gave the invocation for Crestview’s centennial celebration today on the Okaloosa Courthouse lawn.

PHOTOS: View photos from the centennial celebration >>

“Father, as we gather today, we are excited about what you’ve done here over the past 100 years,”  Burnett said. “We’re so thankful for the community that you’ve brought together, for the lives that you’ve touched here through the city and, Lord, as we celebrate this day we also are thankful that it is a transition to another 100 years.

“We look forward to seeing what you will do in the future and we thank you that you, who started the good work in this place, will be faithful to complete it."

Approximately 200 people listened to Burnett and other speakers, including Mayor David Cadle, Main Street Crestview representative Pat Hollarn, Sen. Don Gaetz, County Commissioners Wayne Harris, Nathan Boyles and Carolyn Ketchel, Judge Michael Flowers and historical re-enactor James Moore, among others.

Keep checking back for updates and more coverage from today’s event.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CRESTVIEW CENTENNIAL: Crosspoint pastor gives invocation (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — Historical re-enactor James Moore — portraying Rep. William Mapoles,  who is credited with founding Okaloosa County — explained, in period clothes, Okaloosa’s origin during Crestview’s centennial celebration today on the Okaloosa Courthouse lawn.

“Let’s look back and understand that when I got elected as a representative from Walton County in 1913, my constituents came to me and told me of a serious problem,” he said.

“You see, (with) the configuration of Walton County and Santa Rosa, it was hard for them to get to the courthouse. You see, if you lived down in Camp Walton, and you needed to go to the courthouse, it was a series of difficult problems.”

Mapoles, a Laurel Hill newspaperman, tried to sway fellow legislators to create a new county, historian N. Allen Robinson wrote in a series of 1975 Okaloosa Consumer Bulletin articles.

With Walton and Holmes counties Sen. B.H. Lindsay’s backing, and a provision that voters in the affected area gave it their blessing at the polls, Mapoles’ bill passed on June 3, 1915.

On Sept. 11, 1915, it was up to the voters and, with a 4-1 margin in Walton County, and 2-1 in Santa Rosa, voters gave themselves a new county.

Approximately 200 people listened to speakers including Mayor David Cadle, Main Street Crestview Association representative Pat Hollarn, Gaetz, County Commissioners Wayne Harris, Nathan Boyles and Carolyn Ketchel, Judge Michael Flowers and historical re-enactor James Moore, among others.

Among those attending the celebration included Circuit Judge Terry Ketchel, Sen. Greg Evers, County Commissioner Trey Goodwin, Crestview’s city councilmen and numerous city and county employees, and local law enforcement.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CRESTVIEW CENTENNIAL: Historical re-enactor takes audience back in time (VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel praised the new courthouse’s design during Crestview’s centennial celebration today on the Okaloosa Courthouse lawn.

“I think we’ll really be pleased with what we see on our Main Street,” she said, adding the estimated $25 million, almost 70,000-square-foot structure will be “a centerpiece for our community for years to come.”

Jubilation filled downtown Crestview as speaker after speaker approached the podium with praise for the city and anticipation for a new courthouse to replace a mold-laden 1950s structure.

Approximately 200 people listened to speakers including Mayor David Cadle, Main Street Crestview Association representative Pat Hollarn, Sen. Don Gaetz, County Commissioners Wayne Harris, Nathan Boyles and Carolyn Ketchel, Judge Michael Flowers and historical re-enactor James Moore, among others.

Among those attending the celebration included Circuit Judge Terry Ketchel, Sen. Greg Evers, County Commissioner Trey Goodwin, Crestview’s city councilmen and numerous city and county employees, and local law enforcement.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CRESTVIEW CENTENNIAL: Commissioner Ketchel: 'We have so much to celebrate' (VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — Ongoing fiber-reinforced stormwater drainage pipe failures in the Fox Valley subdivision have Public Works crews scrambling to repair damage before it worsens and threatens homes.

In March 2015, more than 350 feet of 24-inch diameter Hardie Pipe failed, causing storm water to undermine part of Territory Lane, threatening other buried utilities.

That repair cost taxpayers $34,000, Public Works Director Wayne Steele said.

In November 2011, $3,159 worth of repairs were needed to failing 18-inch pipe on Grey Fox Drive.

Now, two more sections, 162 feet of pipe on Foxchase Way and 388 feet of pipe on Swift Fox Run need repair, at a combined cost of more than $52,000.

THE WRONG PIPE

Steele said Hardie Pipe, which is no longer made in the United States, like Hardie Plank, is a composite material reinforced with fiber. It is now made and used only in Australia, he said.

“This type of pipe had not been tested and tried in all types of applications,” Steele said. “Even FDOT had made some recommendations to engineers on stormwater applications: Do not use this pipe.”

Fox Run’s developers used the pipe instead of reinforced concrete, corrugated metal or plastic pipe, Steele said.

“What's happening is this pipe is cracking laterally,” he said. “It is not designed to take the ground load pressure which in the state of Florida is extreme. This pipe here is failing.”

In a memo to the City Council, Steele said the city should never have accepted the developer’s use of Hardie Pipe, which doesn’t meet the city’s code of ordinance specifications.

HOPE FOR REIMBURSEMENT

Steele said he and city attorney Ben Holley have researched possible remedies for the city’s almost $90,000 in expenses to fix the leaking pipes.

“I haven't found a class-action lawsuit, but found the city of DeBary has received a release and settlement agreement in April 2014 from James Hardie Building Products,” Steele said.

“In the case of DeBary, the city put the pipe in,” Holley said. “In this case, the developer put the pipe in. It's going to take some ingenuity to find a way to go after it.”

“I don't want to give you false hope, but if they acknowledged failure and they made a settlement with one entity in our state, it gives us some hope,” Steele told the council at its April 11 meeting.

FIRST PRIORITY: REPAIR

Steele’s first priority, however, is fixing the current pipe failures, which will be done by inserting a liner in the Foxchase Way pipe, and injecting a cured-in-place liner in the Swift Fox Run pipe.

“If we don't fix it, it would negligence on our part,” Steele said.

Completely replacing the pipes would require excavation work that would completely block the street, ‘which would block most residents from their driveways for a number of days,” Steele stated in his council brief.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Failing fiber-composite pipe threatening more Fox Valley streets

CRESTVIEW — The Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners has awarded a construction contract to Anderson Columbia to pave the 1.82-mile dirt section of Fairchild Road.

The project has been a priority for Commissioner Wayne Harris since he was first elected in 2008 as it is an important infrastructure component for Crestview Aerospace, the north county’s largest private employer.

The road serves not only residents, but as much as half the company’s workforce, Harris said, with as many as 500 employees using the road daily.

Commissioner Nathan Boyles said Anderson Columbia’s bid “is just shy of $1.7 million dollars,” which is about $300,000 less than the project’s original projected cost.

The southeast U.S. construction company has a local plant between Crestview and Holt and has done numerous projects in Okaloosa County, including runway and taxiway work at Bob Sikes Airport, and is constructing the State Road 123 flyover across State Road 85 outside Niceville.

Okaloosa County engineer Scott Bitterman said Anderson Columbia can’t start work until construction engineering and inspection—or CEI—planning is done.

“I would think we would get started at the end of May, early June,” Bitterman said. “There’s a lot of prep work that has to be done before we see the asphalt trucks out there.”

Construction is expected to take about a year, Bitterman said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Fairchild Road paving to begin soon in Crestview

CRESTVIEW — A celebration of Crestview's 100th birthday is 11 a.m. April 16 at the Okaloosa Courthouse, Main Street.

Dress code is comfortable outdoor attire. Centennial cupcakes will be served.

RSVP your attendance to 651-7105.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Last chance to RSVP for April 16 Crestview centennial celebration

BAKER — Baker residents are raising funds to meet two goals: help a former teacher, and aid their adoption of a Chinese child.

Joe Stapp and his family are members of the Both Hands Foundation, which helps widows, orphans and adoptive families, a mission based on Bible verse James 1:27.

On April 30, the Stapps and a team of volunteers will make repairs and possible renovations to the home of Baker resident Nell Pittman.

Pittman, a 12-year widow, worked as a teacher for 38 years and has Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. A media release states she "poured her life into children in both Baker and Crestview area schools, as well as at the Department of Juvenile Justice.

"Cancer has changed all that … impacted her life in many ways, and left her home in need of some TLC."

Meanwhile, over the past year, the Stapps have been working to adopt a 4-year-old girl in China with cerebral palsy. They are accepting donations to assist with the adoption, and plan to bring her home in May.

Both Hands' fundraising method is similar to raising sponsorship for a 5K race, but the service is fixing a widow's home to secure funds for the adoption process. Team funds are used solely for the adoption process, not for administrative costs.

The Stapps have $875 in donations as of April 14, and hope to raise $15,000.

Businesses or individuals may support the Baker team's efforts by donating funds or supplies through April 30.

Contact Joe Stapp, 420-0918 for more information.

Visit the team's page here>>

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Can you help this Baker family repair a widow's house?

CRESTVIEW — Due to inclement weather conditions the traffic shift originally scheduled to take place April 14 on U.S. Highway 90 over Yellow River in Okaloosa County has been rescheduled.

Eastbound traffic will be transitioned to the newly constructed eastbound span Saturday, April 16 at 6 p.m. Drivers may encounter intermittent lane restrictions throughout the day as crews make preparations for the shift.

All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather. Motorists are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling in a work zone and to watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Yellow River Bridge April 14 traffic shift rescheduled