CRESTVIEW — Crestview Health Center will host “Cookies with Santa” 5-7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4 at 800 Hospital Drive, across from North Okaloosa Medical Center's Emergency Room.
Children can share their Christmas wishes with Santa Claus and, just in case Santa needs a reminder, they can send him a letter to the North Pole, dropping them off in Santa’s mail bag.
Parents are welcome to bring their camera to this free, fun, family event.
Available packages, provided by Soaring Adventures of America Inc., are as follows, according to the bid sheet:
●One-person ride, valued at $225. The minimum bid is $120, and the winner can choose from 200 locations when they book their flight.
●Two-person ride, valued at $450. The minimum bid is $240.
●Four-person ride, valued at $900. The minimum bid is $480.
Kiwanis members will announce the winner during their Pancake Breakfast and Silent auction, which is scheduled for 7 a.m. Dec. 12 at Samuel's Roadhouse.
The winner will be announced around 11 a.m., but he or she does not need to be present.
CRESTVIEW — Historian and actor James E. Moore will perform “General Andrew Jackson: A Live Tribute” for the Dec. 1 First Tuesday Series class at the Crestview Public Library.
The program begins at 10:30 a.m.; coffee and cookies will be available 10 a.m., when doors open.
"In this dramatic presentation, General Andrew Jackson comes alive as Florida's first territorial governor," a library media release states. "(Moore, as) Jackson, recounts his forceful, disputed invasions of Florida that convinced the crowns of Europe that continued foreign attempts to colonize Florida were no longer feasible, resulting in a treaty transferring Florida to the United States.
For more than 20 years, Jim Moore has voluntarily performed historical presentations for schools, civic clubs, church groups and fraternal associations.
He has been a regular presenter for the Florida Chautauqua Assembly in DeFuniak Springs, the Florida League of Arts and other associations, representing various historical personalities.
Moore has studied the lives of each personality he portrays and appears in the dress appropriate for the occasion.
The Crestview library is located at 1445 Commerce Drive. Call 682-4432 for more information on the Jackson presentation.
CRESTVIEW — The United Way of Okaloosa-Walton Counties needs Volunteer Income Tax Assistance partners.
VITA, an IRS community initiative led by the United Way of Okaloosa & Walton Counties, offers free tax preparation for people with low to moderate income.
The United Way seeks volunteers to work in Crestview and Fort Walton Beach. You can be a greeter or help prepare and file tax returns.
"As a VITA volunteer, you will receive IRS training and certification, expand your knowledge of federal tax return procedures, add a new skill to your resume, serve local citizens, and help stimulate the local economy," a United Way spokesperson said.
Community VITA programs in Florida have aided working families in receiving more than $14 million from the Child Tax Credit, providing taxpayers a much needed financial boost to better support their children, according to a media release.
"A program such as VITA not only helps individuals and families in our community, but it also helps our local economy by helping residents retain funds to save and spend locally," the spokesperson said.
CRESTVIEW — Common Ground Community Garden organizer Cathy Ward said she recently noticed a new item tacked on the property's information bulletin board.
Two San Diego women left a hand-written thank-you note expressing appreciation for the lush area.
"Unrolled our sleeping bags and had a great night's sleep here in the garden," Alicia Washington wrote, explaining that they have been biking from San Diego to St. Augustine and, while in Crestview, "enjoyed your town."
"We have been on the road camping and staying with warm showers hosts," Washington said in the letter. "It has now been two months and I still love sleeping outside and riding every day.
"The beginning of fall has been incredible as it's unfolded across the (southeastern) landscape.
"We will return to the Northwest and dream about 2 1/2 months of eternal summer," they said.
"Thanks again for having such an inviting community space."
Ward said the letter was a pleasant surprise.
"We thought it was very cool and wanted to share it with you and your readers!" she said.
CRESTVIEW — The Concerned Citizens of Crestview group will host Thanksgiving dinner for community residents.
The group's Street Ministry will serve a free sit-down dinner as part of their community outreach starting at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the Carver-Hill School Center, 461 School Ave., Crestview.
They will also start delivering plates to homebound residents starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
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MORE HELP AVAILABLE: The Concerned Citizens will serve Thanksgiving meals early.
In other news, The Brotherhood of Love, a Crestview-based organization, and Great Faith Ministries in Crestview are planning a Thanksgiving feast. But they need residents' donations to serve 600 meals.
LEBANON, Tenn. — Cumberland University’s Will Boler, a 2011 Crestview High School graduate, has been voted to the Capital One Football Academic All-District 2 team.
He enters a pool of candidates from around the nation for selection to the Academic All-America team next month.
Student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior or senior academically and maintain a 3.25 grade-point-average to be eligible for the Capitol One Academic award.
He or she must also be a starter or important reserve and play in 75 percent of the team’s contests.
Boler is a two-year starter on the Bulldogs' offensive line. He started all 11 games at right tackle in 2014, helping Cumberland rush for 201.5 yards per game, which ranked 23rd nationally. The senior has played in 10 games with seven starts this season at both left and right tackle.
He has a 3.37 GPA in Criminal Justice/Public Administration.
FORT WALTON BEACH — The Society for Human Resource Management's Emerald Coast chapter is having its annual Suit Up to Move Up Clothing Drive.
The drive provides interview and limited work attire, at no cost, for job seekers.
Society members should bring professional clothing they no longer use to the group's next meeting, 7:15 a.m. Nov. 18 at Two Trees Restaurant, Fort Walton Beach Golf Course, 1959 Lewis Turner Blvd., Fort Walton Beach. Registration at 7:15 a.m. costs $15 for society members and $20 for nonmembers.
Donated items should be clean, pressed and on hangers. There is a current need for men’s and women's khaki pants. Accessories are also welcome.
Suit Up closets are available at the CareerSource Okaloosa Walton Centers, 212 Wilson St., Crestview, and 409 Racetrack Road NE, Fort Walton Beach.
CRESTVIEW — Choctawhatchee Electrical Cooperative members will see a rate reduction on their November bills this year due to better-than-expected margins.
Members will see a reduction in the distribution cost adjustment, a rate that tracks changes in the cost to deliver power to members. It can increase or decrease, depending on how expenses fluctuate.
The DCA is currently $.00275 per kilowatt hour, but for the November bill, it will change to a $.00325 credit per kWh.
The opportunity to provide this type of credit to members comes from CHELCO’s continued efforts to reduce costs while focusing on safety, member satisfaction and reliability, a spokesperson said.
The company:
●Reduced controllable costs below budget
●Avoided some wholesale power costs through its Beat the Peak programs. Members contributed to this effort by conserving power at times of peak demand.
●PowerSouth, CHELCO’s wholesale power supplier, refunded excess margins to CHELCO.
CRESTVIEW — Tom Gordon has been featured numerous times on the covers of international martial arts magazines.
Gordon Martial Arts — the downtown Crestview school that he and his wife, Barbara, own — hosts an annual international seminar in Crestview.
In late October, the Gordons made their latest mark in global martial arts, traveling to Guadalajara, Mexico to participate in a training event.
Tom was invited to teach as one of a half-dozen instructors for roughly 250 participants.
Attendees from seven countries included beginners to high-level master instructors, "with roughly 40 to 50 percent not having English as a first language, and 25 percent not understanding English at all," Tom Gordon said. "But the camaraderie among martial artists seems to act as a universal language, and everyone seemed to enjoy the seminars."
After seminars, the Gordons' adventures included seeing the Guachimontones, circular stepped pyramids thought to be from the Aztec era several thousands of years ago, and Volcán de Colima, a volcano that last erupted in 2005.
