DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Crestview will have no Mardi Gras observances, but area residents can travel just 35 minutes to let the good times roll.

The city of DeFuniak Springs and the Krewe de Yak Mardi Gras Krewe will bring Gras Fest to the city around the lake.

Food, along with art and craft vendors, a car show, a kids fun zone, and the Grand Parade take place 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 23 on Circle Drive in downtown DeFuniak Springs.

Contact Gayle Schupp, 333-3307, for more information, parade entry registration, or vendor registration.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Mardi Gras parade set in DeFuniak Springs

NAVARRE BEACH — Six days after disappearing from Navarre Beach, the body of 28-year-old Christopher Beal has still not surfaced.

Read more from the Northwest Florida Daily News>>

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: UPDATE: Body of missing Crestview man still not found

VALPARAISO — The history of Shoals takes focus during the Genealogical Society of Okaloosa County's next meeting.

The group will meet 10 a.m. Jan. 9 at the Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida, 115 Westview Ave., Valparaiso.

Guest speaker Hank Klein will talk about how the once small village of Destin extended itself well into Walton County.  

"Although there is a sign on the side of the road as you drive east indicating you are leaving Okaloosa County and entering Walton County, folks today consider it all just Destin," an event spokesperson said. "No one remembers that, at one time, the area as you entered Walton County was called Shoals.

Contact Val Moreland, yosimite1@cox.net or 243-0352, for more information.

This announcement was edited Jan. 4 to correct the name of the Heritage Museum.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Learn about Shoals at Okaloosa genealogical society meeting

CRESTVIEW — Florida small business owners, including agricultural cooperatives, businesses engaged in aquaculture and private nonprofit organizations, may apply for U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans for losses related to excessive rainfall, winds and flooding from Sept. 1 to Nov. 20.

Okaloosa, Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Santa Rosa and Walton counties "are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties in Alabama," said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta. "Disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines."

The loan amount can be up to $2 million, with interest rates of 2.625 percent for private nonprofit organizations and 4 percent for small businesses, with up to 30-year terms.

The SBA sets loan amounts and terms, and bases them on each applicant’s financial condition. These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

Applicants may apply using the Electronic Loan Application at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Call SBA’s Customer Service Center, 800-659-2955, or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for details.

Send completed applications by Aug. 10 to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Economic injury disaster loans available for Okaloosa businesses

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE — The Military Order of the Purple Heart Sgt. Timothy Padgett Chapter 811 will honor Florida residents who have made the ultimate sacrifice defending freedom.

The Day of Remembrance, a public event, is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16 at the USAF Armament Museum on Eglin Air Force Base. The annual ceremony recognizes residents who have died in the line of duty since Sept. 11, 2001 while engaged in the Global War on Terror. 

The event will include a reading of the Okaloosa County proclamation naming the third Saturday of January as Okaloosa County — Military Order of the Purple Heart Day of Remembrance; lighting of a memorial candle for each fallen Floridian; and honoring Gold Star Families of Florida, with a promise to never forget their departed loved ones.

In addition, a formal announcement will be made about establishing a memorial park and gardens on the USAF Armament Museum grounds.

Attendees should dress in business casual or duty uniform attire.

Contact Sam Houston, MOPH chapter commander, at 729-2748 or shh1100@cox.net for additional information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Eglin ceremony set to remember fallen Florida service members

CRESTVIEW — Area river waters are receding to normal depths after a deluge in Alabama sent rivers above their Crestview area flood stages and disrupted travel throughout North Okaloosa County and South Alabama.

However, New Year’s weekend looks seasonally pleasant, weather authorities report, with clear skies and high temperatures in the mid-50s and lows in upper 30s forecast.

Roger and Cathy Powell’s annual Christmas Day visit with their daughters to relatives in Laurel Hill almost didn’t happen due to torrential rains that struck their Andalusia, Alabama, area Christmas Eve.

“The Wing-Lockhart Road was under water,” Roger Powell said. “We had to go down through Blackman.”

The same weather system that stymied Christmas travelers between Florida and Alabama continued to drop torrential rains in Crestview through Monday.

CHRISTMAS SURPRISE

While weather watchers weren’t surprised, many residents distracted by Christmas preparations were caught unaware.

“We were planning to go to Christmas Eve (church) service in Andalusia when our family members called to tell us to avoid the roads,” Ann McDonald said.

“It was foreseen for awhile,” Crestview native Chayne Sparagowski, now an emergency management planner in Texas, said. “The flood warnings have been posted for about a week and a half from the National Weather Service.”

Sparagowski, who operates an NWS reporting station in Crestview, was driving home for Christmas and said he’d been carefully watching forecasts.

“A bunch of things brought the storm,” he said. “There’s been a low-pressure system slowly migrating through the South and it’s just been one storm after the other.

“But we’ll have a good New Year’s weekend. It’ll actually feel like New Year’s.”

OIL & WATER

Even after rains ceased in the Crestview area, surges from swollen South Alabama rivers and creeks continued downriver and  through the North Okaloosa County area.

“We just got a little bit of the storm, but northern Alabama and just north of us over the state line got quite a bit of it, which is why we’re seeing the flooding,” Sparagowski said.

The Yellow River crested above 14 feet early Dec. 27, more than 2 feet above flood stage.

At the U.S. Highway 90 bridge construction site in Milligan, heavy equipment parked on the banks of the river during the Christmas holiday wound up stuck in flood waters.

Some Milligan residents complained of the smell of diesel fuel in the water and floating metal refuse containers joining downriver-bound debris.

Florida Department of Transportation Public Information Director Ian Satter said upon receipt of a Department of Environmental Protection report, “the contractor checked and didn’t detect any fuel spills.”

Just in case, floating turbidity barriers were deployed in the fast-moving water for erosion control and fuel spill containment while the contractor removed the flooded equipment.

Following Christmas weekend flooding, the Black, Yellow and Shoal Rivers were still running high as upstream surges rolled down to local rivers.

Yellow River             Shoal River            Blackwater River

TOWNS & THEIR FLOOD STAGES:

Milligan-12 feet       Crestview-8 feet    Baker-11 feet

Dec. 24:  6.6 feet     7.3 feet                 11.5 feet

Dec. 25:  9.9 feet     7.6 feet                 14.6 feet

Dec. 26:  13.7 feet   7.5 feet                 12.2 feet

Dec. 27:  14 feet        6.8 feet                 8.4 feet

Dec. 28:  11.3 feet     6.4 feet                 6.4 feet

Dec. 29:  9.7 feet       6.5 feet                 7.9 feet

Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, waterdata.usgs.gov

HOW HIGH'S THE WATER?

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview holiday flood waters recede; New Year's looks clear and bright (VIDEO)

Editor's Note: This is part of the News Bulletin's continuing coverage of Crestview's 100th anniversary.

CRESTVIEW — If the weather outside is going to be frightful, some residents, especially young ones, figure it might as well just snow.

Several times in Crestview’s history, it’s done just that.

The Jan. 29, 2014 ice storm is still a recent memory for most residents, but long-time residents still fondly recall occasions when North Okaloosa County had a rare dusting — and sometimes more — of  the powdery white stuff.

THE SNOWSTORM OF '10

The most recent snowfall with significant accumulation was Friday, Feb. 12, 2010. Schools were to remain open, then-Oakloosa School District Superintendent Alexis Tibbets said Feb. 11, since Eglin Air Force Base would be open.

But when snowflakes started falling faster and longer, parents checked their kids out of school; many took them to Alabama — where it had been snowing longer — for the opportunity to play in a winter storm.

Others stayed in town and frolicked, some heading to Twin Hills Park to try sledding with cardboard sheets.

CNN shared video shot in Antioch Elementary School’s  playground, showing children running around in snow, most for the first time in their lives.

With Northwest Florida’s flurries, every state, including Hawaii, experienced snowfall.

A half-inch of snow more — spawned by an Alberta clipper storm — followed Feb. 14 in parts of the area.

PREVIOUS LOCAL SNOW FALLS

Other North Okaloosa County snowfalls include:

●Dec. 25, 2004: Some area communities receive a dusting for Christmas

●March 12, 1993: The “Storm of the Century” drops up to 4 inches on the area. "The 'no-name' March hurricane created wind gusts over 90 mph, tornadoes, and a devastatingly deadly storm surge," the National Weather Service's website states.

●Dec. 24, 1989: More than 3 inches accumulate

●Jan. 17, 1977: A storm over Canada’s Atlantic coast pushes severe cold weather into the area, with snow starting in Pensacola and heading east, as far south as West Palm Beach.

●Feb. 9, 1973: Two inches accumulate in Pensacola, with nearly an inch more in Crestview and even more in Laurel Hill

●March 6, 1954: Four inches of snow accumulate in 24 hours in Milton, with slightly less east in the Crestview area 

●Jan. 22, 1935: An overnight snowstorm drops about 1 inch 

●Feb. 12 and 13, 1899: Temperatures fall to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and freezing rain turns to snow in The Great Blizzard of 1899, with accumulations up to 2 or more inches

●Jan. 14, 1892: About .4 inches

●Jan. 5, 1887: About an inch of snow falls

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Snowfall in Crestview (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — Two local groups have scheduled public dinners.

●The Concerned Citizens Group of Crestview's street outreach ministry will have a New Year's community sit-down dinner.

The event is set for 4 p.m. Jan. 5 at Carver-Hill School Center, 461 School Ave., Crestview. Contact Pearl Bess, 682-5733, for more information.

The dinner follows the group's successful winter coat drive. "It was a blessing," a group spokesperson said, thanking donors. "We gave over 70 coats and jackets, some shoes and toys.

"We'd also like to thank everyone that helped us get the word out."

●The Crestview Area Sister City Program will have a winter potluck dinner.

The meal is set for 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, in the First Presbyterian Church of Crestview Fellowship Hall, 492 N. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview.

Bring a dish; learn about the area's partnership with Noirmoutier, France; about the groups' October visit from French visitors; and the September 2017 trip to Noirmoutier.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Concerned Citizens, Sister City groups schedule dinners

CRESTVIEW — A resident’s daily laps around the Twin Hills Park walking path were marred over Christmas when the men’s room he sometimes uses was unattended for several days.

“I washed my hands and there was no soap and no paper towels,” Brian Mason said. “And it looked like someone had projectile-vomited in the corner of the stall.”

Mason said he tried to call Parks and Recreation to report the bathroom’s condition but the office was closed for Christmas. By Monday afternoon, the restrooms had been cleaned and stocked.

Parks supervisor George Hillsman said his department will start a procedure to assure the park’s bathrooms are cleaned regularly.

“We were closed for four days,” Hillsman said. “Next time, we’ll have someone come in on their days off over the holidays and check on it.”

Mason said he was pleased to hear of the prompt response.

“I live next to the park. I go there every day,” he said. “I’m glad they’re addressing the issue.’

Hillsman said the bathrooms have been vandalized lately, including someone jimmying open the paper towel dispensers and stealing all the towels, and slicing off the rolls of toilet paper from the stalls.

Parks and Recreation is exploring options, including finding more secure equipment, better ways of securing it, or closing the bathrooms after hours.

“We would hate to have to do that because of all the people who use it,” Hillsman said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Resident concerned after Crestview Parks and Recreation takes a potty break

CRESTVIEW — The Crestview Public Library is hosting a bear hunt for children.

Hours are 6:30-7:15 p.m. Jan. 28 at the library, 1445 Commerce Drive, Crestview.

Children ages 3 and up may wear pajamas to the event. Younger siblings are welcome if accompanied by an adult. Bring a teddy bear, flashlight and six cookies to share.

Call 682-4432 for details.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview teddy bear hunt set Jan. 28