LAUREL HILL — Engine 52 is ready to serve residents protected by the Almarante Fire Department.

Thursday afternoon, the new, $250,000 truck pulled into Winn-Dixie’s Crestview parking lot, where Almarante firefighters, supporters, family members and county officials cheered.

“It’s a treasure for us,” Almarante Fire Chief Charles Carroll said. “And we got it at almost zero cost to the taxpayers.”

The department purchased the engine with a FEMA Assistance for Firefighters Grant, which covered 95 percent of the cost. Almarante put up $12,500 toward the remainder.

It is the first new fire truck Almarante ever owned, Carroll said.

“This is brand new,” Carroll said. “It was built over the last six weeks on a brand new 2016 Kenworth chassis. It’s going to be a fine truck.”

The Kenworth, built by Deep South Fire trucks of Seminary, Miss., replaces Almarante’s oldest fire truck, a 1983 model that must be retired due to its age.

“We’ll be retiring it and selling one other truck off,” Carroll said. “We’ll be streamlining our fleet because now we have some really fine equipment.”

Okaloosa County Commissioner Wayne Harris congratulated Carroll on the achievement.

“The leadership of this department is phenomenal,” Harris said. “They have worked so hard to bring the district up to this level.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Fire department in Laurel Hill acquires first new engine

CRESTVIEW — Once Molly Cleek starts chatting about her five years in the British Army’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, the memories come flooding back.

“I was born in a pub — the White Lion — in a village called Blagdon Hill in Somerset,” the 94-year-old Crestview Manor resident said. “My grandfather ran the pub.”

Serving her king and country was an exciting opportunity, so Cleek left home to serve at a rural anti-aircraft battery outside London.

Life was different from the warm, cozy pub in which she grew up.

“There were four of us on the radar,” she said. “We had to get up every four hours to start the generator. We’d sleep in an old barn in the middle of a field. We didn’t get much sleep because the horses would keep kicking the barn.

“It was so cold, that place. They’d bring us a bucket of cocoa at night. It was the most awful, bitter stuff because there was no sugar to be had. But we drank it because it was hot.”

Two years later, Cleek transferred to a stenographer’s post at Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s London headquarters. As the D-Day invasion approached, “There was plenty of excitement there,” she said.

By that late stage of the war, the Blitzkrieg was over. Instead, Londoners “kept calm and carried on” under occasional V1 and V2 missile attacks.

“A few rockets came over, but it wasn’t too bad then,” Cleek said. “The sirens would go off and you’d go down in the basement.”

After the war, she accepted a secretarial position with an American firm in Germany, where she met and married Everett “Red” Cleet, an American soldier from Indiana.

After a couple of years in Norway, the couple moved to Red’s home state and had three children: Colin, a retired Air Force master sergeant who lives in Crestview; Warren; and Nora.

Crestview Manor Director Becky Brice-Nash, a fellow veteran, finds Molly inspirational.

“My 24 years in the Air Force were formed by women like you,” she told Cleek.

“You paved the way for women to be the professionals they are today.”

The Auxiliary Territorial Service, the British Army’s World War II women's branch, formed as a voluntary service on Sept. 9, 1938 and merged into the Women's Royal Army Corps on Feb. 1, 1949.

Due to shortages of men, ATS and other women's voluntary service members tackled support tasks, working as radar operators, anti-aircraft gun crews and military police.

Source: Imperial War Museum, London

FYI

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Manor resident recalls serving during World War II

CRESTVIEW — Cage Wars, a mixed martial arts competition, is coming to Crestview.

The event is 7 p.m. March 19 at the Crestview Community Center, 1445 Commerce Drive. Doors open at 6 p.m.

General admission tickets can be purchased at the door only for $25 each.

Advance VIP tickets cost $35, and a table for 10 costs $350. Call 333-8620 to make a reservation. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview mixed martial arts competition scheduled

CRESTVIEW — Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge Zoological Park will have its annual Easter fest, with free activities while supplies last. Bring your own Easter baskets and cameras.

An egg hunt, crafting, egg decorating for zoo animals are planned, and visitors can meet the Easter Bunny.

The event is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 19 at the park, 5262 Deer Springs Drive, Crestview.

Admission costs $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 2-10. It is free for younger children.

The schedule includes:

● Animal Encounter, reptiles, 10-10:20 a.m. and 1:30-1:55 p.m.

●Keeper Talk, otters, 10:30-10:50 a.m. and 3:15-3:40 p.m.

●egg hunt for ages 8-12, 11-11:10 a.m.

●egg hunt for ages 0-3, 11:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

●egg hunt for ages 4-7, 11:40-11:50 a.m.

● Keeper Talk, lion and tigers, 12-12:15 p.m.

●Animal Encounter, small mammals, 12:20-12:45 p.m. and 4-4:30 p.m.

●Keeper Talk, birds of prey, 1-1:20 p.m. and 2:30-3 p.m.

●Keeper Talk, bears, 1-1:30 p.m.

●Keeper Talk, patas monkey, 2-2:20 p.m.

●Keeper Talk, lemurs, 3:45-4 p.m.

For more information call 682-3949 or visit www.ecwrzoo.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview zoo sets Easter schedule

CRESTVIEW — It's almost time for the 12th Annual Triple B BBQ Festival. The family-friendly event is free of charge.

The event, which is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 19 on Main Street, offers entertainment, a barbecue competition, a car show and more to festival goers.

A Crestview centennial stage is part of the event, and music from different decades will bring fun and memories forth for all ages.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Triple B Festival includes centennial activities, car show

Pat Hollarn will speak on "Event Planning: The Crestview Centennial Promotion"  at the next Emerald Coast Public Relations Organization membership meeting.

The meeting is 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 22. The group's new lunch location is Chapala’s Mexican Restaurant, 67 Eglin Pkwy. NE, Fort Walton Beach. Lunch costs $15 for members, $20 for non-members and $10 for students.

If you do not want to eat but want to hear the program, the cost is $10. Guests are always welcome and should bring business cards for networking.

Hollarn owns Integrity Unlimited LLC, Consulting Services, in Shalimar. Before starting her consulting business in 2008, she served as the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections for 20 years. She also taught in Idaho and Florida for more than 20 years.

She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, and attended graduate school at both New York University in New York City and St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. She has a certificate from the Florida Center for Public Management at Florida State University and is a Certified Election and Registration Administrator, Auburn University.

Hollarn belongs to many organizations throughout Okaloosa County and has received numerous honors and awards for her commitment to the community. Among her top skills are government, public speaking, public relations, fundraising and event planning.

For more information about ECPRO, contact Kathy Morrow at 974-3662, or visit www.ecpro.org.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Emerald Coast public relations group to discuss Crestview centennial

CRESTVIEW — A Yeti cooler, valued at $349.99 and donated by Ace Hardware, is part of a raffle.

All proceeds will benefit the Kiwanis Club of Crestview, and used toward one of its key projects, revitalization of the John McMahon Environmental Park.

Tickets are $5 each or five for $20 to participate. A drawing for the winner will take place at the March 19 Triple B Festival.

All funds remain in Crestview.

Click here for more information>>

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Enter to win a Yeti cooler, support Crestview improvement projects

CRESTVIEW — The fair is in town!

James Gang Amusements LLC is hosting the event, which is 6 p.m. nightly through March 12 at Old Spanish Trail Park.

Parking and admission are free. Arm bands for rides cost $15 per person Wednesday and Thursday, and $20 on weekends. Coupons available at businesses throughout town offer $3 off the armband price. 

The types of rides available include swings, a boat ride called the Sea Ray and a scrambler. "It's like an egg beater. It spins around with tubs on it," Rodney James of James Amusements LLC said. 

The park is located on Stillwell Boulevard. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Enjoy the fair in Crestview through March 12

CRESTVIEW — The host for the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce's next Business After Hours is the group, Friends of the Crestview Public Library.

The event is 4:30-6:30 p.m. March 10 at the library, 1445 Commerce Drive, Crestview.

Attendees can enjoy hors d'oeuvres, keyboard performances by Dennis Mitchell and a tour of the library.

Call 682-4432 for details.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview chamber Business After Hours set March 10

BAKER — The Old Spanish Trail Rodeo has attracted some of the Southeast’s top cowboys and cowgirls to Baker for more than a quarter-century.

The 27^th annual event, set for April 8 and 9, continues the tradition, featuring a crew from the Professional Cowboy Association, according to Baker Area Recreation Association president Mark Todd.

Here’s what attendees can expect:

●Traditional events of bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, break-away roping, barrel racing, team roping, calf roping, steer wrestling and bull riding.

●Eager participants. “PCA just had their finals in Biloxi, Miss., this past January and they had their largest turnout and a payout of over $200,000, which is huge for a rodeo circuit in our area,” Todd said.  “We expect to see great things from them.”

Last year, the rodeo attracted more than 200 riders to the two-night event. The BARA sweetens things up by adding $1,000 to the purse in each event.

“What that does is draw better riders into the rodeo,” Todd said. “It’s a win for the rodeo and also for the spectators. We want the riders to do well because if they do well it will make the younger kids want to get into rodeo.”

●Fan favorites the All American Cowgirl Chicks to be back for their fifth year. “They’ve (the Cowgirl Chicks) become an important part of our rodeo like Rudy the clown and Mr. (Jim) Poole our announcer,” who also will return, Todd said.  “The Cowgirl Chicks do an opening for us. They then perform two times during the rodeo. They will do a meet and greet again this year at Ace Hardware in Crestview on Saturday of the rodeo from 12-2 p.m.”

●Herbert Theriot of Poplarville, Miss.-based ST Rodeo Company,  returning as stock contractor

●A ceremony each night to honor a local war hero with an American flag.

Advance tickets go on sale March 21, and some ambitious young readers may win free entrance. Students from area elementary schools will participate in the Reading for the Rodeo program, meeting reading goals in hopes of winning a ticket. Todd said the goal is to help make students lifelong readers.

Another goal, for the entire event, is to keep Northwest Florida and surrounding residents coming back. Todd said he’ll attend about a half-dozen rodeos throughout the year to see how to improve the Old Spanish Trail Rodeo.

“To me this is not just a rodeo, it’s a performance we are going to put on for these spectators,” he said. “We want the spectators to be able to enjoy it as a family event that they will be able to come back to in future years.

“We can’t do this without the fans.”

UPCOMING

WHAT: Old Spanish Trail Rodeo

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. April 8 and 9; gates open at 5 p.m.

WHERE: Barnhill Arena, Highway 4, Baker

COST: Adults: $12 advance, $15 at gate. Children ages 5-12: $7 advance, $10 at gate. Children under 5: free. Reserved seating tickets, $20, available at Ace Hardware Crestview and Tractor Supply.

NOTES: Advance tickets go on sale March 21 at locations throughout the area. See more information at http://bakerarena.com/bara_rodeo.php

Old Spanish Rodeo Information

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Old Spanish Trail Rodeo schedules return to Baker