BAKER — The battle against breast cancer has received a boost from Baker Pro Rodeo sponsors.

For the second year, the rodeo presented a $1,000 check to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of the Emerald Coast. Proceeds came from an April 11 Breast Cancer Awareness Night during the rodeo at the Baker Arena.

“In the rodeo world, it’s a big event to have Saturday nights as pink night for breast cancer awareness,” Baker Area Recreation Association President Mark Todd said. “We joined the movement last year and we want to keep it a tradition from now out.”

ACS will use the money for research and education to help save women's lives, breast cancer survivor Donna Fought, of Making Strides, said. “Getting the word out assures women get their mammograms,” she said.

“Even if you encourage just one woman to have an annual mammogram, you’ve saved a life. The American Cancer Society saved my life. I was one of those women who didn’t do what she was supposed to do.”

Rodeo organizers presented the check on Monday by a truck with a pink AAA Waste trash bin as a backdrop. Company owner Russell Moorman, one of the organizers, said AAA places the pink container at various community events, particularly cancer research fundraisers.

“It gets a lot of attention,” Moorman said. “People like to sign it.”

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker rodeo donates $1K toward breast cancer education, research (VIDEO)

LAUREL HILL — Residents now can donate toward a horse rescue program that benefits military veterans with post traumatic stress disorder.

The website http://www.gofundme.com/x9h2jt84 is accepting donations for Safe Haven Horse Rescue Center, which provides horse rehabilitation and adoption along with therapy for veterans.

So far, $80 of a $5,000 goal has been raised, according to the website managed by Amanda Hults.

The 20-acre center can care and provide shelter for 15 to 20 horses at a time. Eighty percent of the organization's funding comes from co-owner Jim Bryan’s retirement fund and donations, according to the site.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Fundraiser established for Laurel Hill horse rescue organization

CRESTVIEW — The next time Gavin Raabe, 5, hauls in the big one, it could be with a fishing lure he received from Bass Pro Shops.

Ryan Cox, the Destin sporting goods store’s manager, donated goodie bags to six registered participants of the city's annual fishing camp. Contents included fishing lures, a battery-powered LED lantern for night fishing, and other useful equipment.

See summer fishing camp photos>>

Crestview High School outdoor education teacher and sports coach Ernie Martin, who led last week's camp, has shared his love of fishing with young anglers for almost 15 years.

Between sage advice, stories of his “ones that got away,” and homespun humor, Martin imparts life lessons on respecting the environment and perpetuating Northwest Florida outdoors traditions.

Indicating fish swimming around the campers’ baited hooks, Martin shared what makes Twin Hills Park's footbridge a prime fishing spot.

 “I’m kinda like the fish,” he said. “I hang around where I get fed.” 

The camp is now on its second generation of fishermen, as evidenced by Brantley Conway, a 2-year-old whose dad, Patrick, a Crestview High alumnus, was one of Martin’s campers years ago.

Though Brantley was too young to be an official fishing camper, that didn’t douse his enthusiasm as he pulled in a small wiggling bream while perched on the bridge’s top rail where Patrick held him.

For five days, Martin said, his students daily caught — and released — between 20 and 25 fish, including catfish, bream, war mouth “and a few turtles thrown in."

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bass Pro goodie bags enhance Crestview summer fishing camp (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

BAKER — Emily Stuckey knows how to manage her time well.

Then again, maybe that's putting it mildly.

The 16-year-old is a rising junior at Baker School, where she is on the honor roll, and is dual-enrolled at Northwest Florida State College; she is a member of Mu Alpha Theta, an honors math club; she plays the flute for Baker's marching band; and she somehow makes time for her true passion: riding horses. 

"I do as much as I can when I can," she said.

How does she balance it all?

"It's just scheduling," she said. "I wait until marching season has slowed down and then focus on (horse) shows. 

"I just hope I don't have a test the next day."

RIDER FOR LIFE

Stuckey, who owns five horses, currently rides Arnold Spotzenagger, an 11-year-old Arabian/quarter horse.

He's been with her in shows as close as Baker and as far as Poplar Place Farm, just north of Columbus, Ga., and Rocking Horse Stables in Altoona.

Stuckey's mother, Dolly, rides in some of the same shows, on her horse, Little Bit of a Girl.

It's a family affair, so riding horses is nothing new for Stuckey.

"I have been riding practically all my life," she said.

Since the first grade, Stuckey has participated in over 100 shows, many in Baker, she said.

The way she prepares for those competitions adds even more responsibility for an already busy teenager.

"I train my own horses," she said.

That makes her particularly accountable for the show's result.

"What I get reflects on me," she said.

So far, results have been impressive.

For instance, she won first place in senior-level dressage last year at the Area A 4-H Horse Show in the Jackson County Agricultural Center in Marianna.

Dressage "uses movements and figures — gymnastic exercises — that have been developed over centuries to demonstrate the complete unity possible between a horse and rider," according to the United States Dressage Federation.

DREAMS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

The teen is featured on the July/August cover of the nationally distributed "Young Rider" magazine with Baskin Sheen, her 16-year-old Arabian.

That's fitting because Stuckey's love of all things equestrian is evident. Her Facebook likes include Horses; Eventing; Olympian horse rider Karen O'Connor; Horse People Quotes; My Virtual Eventing Coach; and Fergus the Horse.

And oh, yes: a fan page with a lighthearted headline that says it all: "If heaven doesn't have horses, I'm not going."

Of course, heaven can wait because first comes high school graduation, and then college, along with the real world and all that goes with it.

As for college, Stuckey plans to study chemical engineering.

She has not decided whether she will participate in the marching band after high school, but there's no question that she'll continue to ride.

There's still time to figure out the details, though; after all, it's more than a year away.

"I am not sure how that will completely work out, but that is my plan," she said.

Eventually, Stuckey wants to be a high-level amateur. That means she will continue to own her horses but she won't be paid to ride.

"I like that better than being a professional," she said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker student featured in Young Rider magazine

Okaloosa County will be well represented in the July 8-11 Florida 4-H State Horse Show in Tampa.

Annie Cooke, Caelyn Grodoski, Layla Overly, Mackenzie Barrow and Kiara Martin will compete in the show's junior class division. Klarissa Williamson, Kelvin Williamson and Alex Cooke will compete in the senior division.

4-H clubs across the state held a qualification show in the spring to determine who could participate at the state show. Round Up 4-H Club and 4-H Country Club members who participated in the Area A Horse Show April 17-18 at the Jackson County Agricultural Center in Marianna competed in Western, Hunter, Speed Events and Saddle/Gaited divisions. Okaloosa was one of the largest counties that participated, with 12 participants out of 16 panhandle counties.

The Florida Cooperative Extension's 4-H horse program allows young people to participate in activities designed to improve citizenship, sportsmanship, horsemanship, character, competitive spirit, discipline and responsibility while creating an atmosphere for learning and awareness. It also gives kids the tools to improve critical thinking skills and provides opportunities for traveling and scholarships.

Youths enrolled in a 4-H horse club learn how to select a good saddle horse, how to properly care for horses, how to ride, to train and handle horses, to acquire a broad equine knowledge base, and enjoy riding as a healthy outdoor recreational activity. Membership is open to all 5- to 18-year-olds.

Interested in joining? Contact Misty Smith, 689-5850 or mismith@ufl.edu.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 8 Northwest Florida residents to compete in state horse show

Crime fiction is the literary genre dealing with crimes and their detection and criminals and their motives. 

Perhaps one reason for its wide and enduring appeal is the genre’s flexibility.  It means different things to different people at different times.

Booklist recently named their "Best Crime Novels of the Past Decade."

Here are some highlights:

•Louise Penny’sArmand Gamache Three Pines series, starring an intrepid Canadian police inspector in the Quebec village of Three Pines, are some of the best traditional crime mysteries being published today. 

With rich characters and a firm grasp of human psychology, Penny uses police stories to explore depth of character and the intrigue of human relationships.

“A Rule against Murder” finds the inspector traveling to a remote resort to celebrate his wedding anniversary; naturally, murder is on the guest list.

When the choir director of a monastery in a remote corner of Quebec is murdered in “The Beautiful Mystery,” the inspector is charged with finding a killer among a group of largely silent monks, whose recording of Gregorian chants has made them famous. 

“Roiling human passion set against the sublime serenity of the chants produces a melody of uncommon complexity and beauty," the list states. 

More titles in the series include: “Brutal Telling,” “Bury Your Dead,” “How the Light Gets In” and “The Long Way Home.”

•“Bangkok Haunts,” by John Burdett: Burdett’s third Sonchai Jitpleecheep novel, starring the Bangkok police detective and co-owner, with his mother, of a brothel in the city’s notorious District 8, builds on the exquisite moral ambiguity implicit in both setting and hero with his tightest plot yet — and an even more potent mix of underworld seaminess, startling tenderness, and Buddhist wisdom.

•“The Dark Horse,” by Craig Johnson: From the motel backdrop through the indelibly inked characters, and on to the set piece ending (in snow and lightning atop a mesa), this is one of Johnson’s best. 

Likewise, in “Death without Company” Johnson uses the landscape of the Wyoming high country to evoke the sense of lives crushing in upon one another, as secrets refuse to stay buried and old wounds continue to fester. Johnson combines a vivid sense of the dailiness of life with a sure-handed touch for jolting both his characters and his readers out of their comfort zones and deep into harm’s way.

Additional top crime fiction includes:

"Blotto, Twinks, and the Dead Dowager Duchess," by Simon Brett

"The Broken Shore," by Peter Temple

"The Cairo Affair," "The Nearest Exit" and "Victory Square," by Olen Steinhauer

"Cemetery Road," by Gar Anthony Haywood

"The Devil She Knows," by Bill Loehfelm

"Darkness, Darkness," by John Harvey

"Echo Park," by Michael Connelly

"Exit Music," by Ian Rankin

"The Foreign Correspondent," by Alan Furst

"Free Fire" and "Out of Range," by C.J. Box

"The Godfather of Kathmandu," by John Burdett

"Gone Girl," by Gillian Flynn

"Gone Tomorrow," by Lee Child

"Hush, Hush," by Laura Lippman

"In the Morning, I’ll Be Gone," by Adrian McKinty

"Iron House," by John Hart

"Live by Night," by Dennis Lehane

"Natchez Burning," by Greg Iles

"Night Film," by Marisha Pessl

"An Officer and a Spy," by Robert R. Harris

"Painted Ladies," by Robert B. Parker

"Perfidia," by James Ellroy

"Poison Flower," by Thomas Perry

"Red Means Run," by Brad Smith

"The Redbreast and The Snowman," by Jo Nesbo

"The Rules of Wolfe," by James Carlos Blake

"The Sacred Cut," by David Hewson

"The Secret Place," by Tana French

"Secret Speech," by Tom Rob Smith

"Started Early, Took My Dog," by Kate Atkinson

"Suspect," by Robert Crais

"The Thicket," by Joe R. Lansdale

"The Troubled Man," by Henning Mankell

"Vicious Circle," by Robert Littell

"What Comes Next," by John Katzenbach

"The Whites," by Harry Brandt

"Winter’s Bone," by Daniel Woodrell

"Wyatt," by Garry Disher

Sandra Dreaden is the Crestview Public Library's reference librarian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DREADEN: Best crime novels of the past decade

FORT WALTON BEACH — The United Way of Okaloosa-Walton Counties introduces Ron Denson as the director of the Florida Panhandle's Combined Federal Campaign.

The CFC program is a nationwide annual federal workplace campaign that United Way of Okaloosa-Walton Counties has managed locally since introduction in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy.  CFC raises hundreds of millions of dollars for non-profits locally, nationally and internationally.

Denson served 20 years in the United States Navy, followed by 11 years as the director of the Greater Pensacola/EscaRosa Area CFC program. He is a member of the CFC National Committee, trainer at a number of national CFC conferences, and co-chaired the National CFC, Million Dollar Roundtable Atlanta, Georgia Conference in 2013. His campaigns have been awarded a number of National CFC Awards and he is a past president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, West Florida Chapter.

Ken Henrich, United Way President/CEO states that “Ron’s selection to run our areas' campaign was intentional as we knew his experience in the CFC community would assist our areas' program to sustain during upcoming nationwide program changes.”

“The first change, introduced this year, Ron successfully merged the EscaRosa and Okaloosa-Walton Counties campaign to create the Florida Panhandle CFC. His involvement on the CFC National Committee has allowed us to be directly engaged to be better prepared in the transitions of the CFC program in 2016.” 

Denson said “the changes forthcoming are designed to reduce nationwide administrative cost, eliminate redundancy in operations, and strengthen controls to give our federal employees confidence in their participation in the CFC Program.” 

See www.FloridaPanhandle-CFC.org  or contact 243-0315 for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: United Way announces Florida Panhandle director for federal campaign

CRESTVIEW — Fourth of July celebrations in Northwest Florida are listed below.

CRESTVIEW FIREWORKS: 9 p.m., Twins Hills Park, 100 Hathaway St. S., Crestview. Activties from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

$1 MUSEUM ADMITTANCE: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 4, Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida, 115 Westview Ave., Valparaiso. Free for museum members and children 4 and younger. Children’s holiday crafts  and free American flags or posters for all guests while supplies last. Details: 678-2615, www.heritage-museum.org.

NICEVILLE FIREWORKS: 8 p.m. July 4, over Boggy Bayou.

DESTIN FIREWORKS: 9 p.m. July 4, over East Pass.

FORT WALTON BEACH FIREWORKS: 8:45 p.m. at the Fort Walton Landing. Featuring the Emerald Coast Chorus. Earlier: 4 p.m., FWB Kids Got Talent; 5 p.m., opening ceremony; 5:30 p.m., Autism Sings; 6 p.m., entertainment by Continuum; 8:15 p.m. Emerald Coast Chorus.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Independence Day fireworks scheduled in Northwest Florida

CRESTVIEW — Debate about flying Confederate flags in a post-Charleston 9 world has reached the Hub City.

The Okaloosa County NAACP is petitioning Crestview's mayor and city council to remove the rebel flag from the William "Uncle Bill" Lundy memorial at the East First Avenue-State Road 85 intersection. As of this writing, the change.org petition has 180 supporters of a 200-signature goal. 

"I and others of the city and county call upon you to join the hundreds of thousands who are speaking up and saying once again, do your part to rid this country of an ideology of racial hatred," Raymond Nelson, the group's president, states. "If you are truly dedicated to making Crestview a place where all residents and guests feel and are welcomed, remove the Confederate flag."  

Meanwhile, Crestview resident Amanda Kay started pleas to save the flag on change.org and ipetitions.com. "I don't see this flag as racist like people are screaming, and it shouldn't be taken away and forgotten … because someone did something awful," the change.org petition states. "Everyone gets to believe in what they believe in, in America, and this flag deserves to fly over this monument."

As of this writing, Kay's iPetition has 39 signatures of a 1,000-supporter goal; her change.org petition has 140 supporters of a 200-signature goal, according to the respective websites.

"I'm sure that the City Council will look at this very closely," Mayor David Cadle, responding to the debate, said in an interview with the Northwest Florida Daily News. He said he's received two phone calls about the issue.

The Crestview Lions Club built the Lundy memorial in 1958 to honor the man they believed was the last surviving Confederate veteran. Some residents have questioned Lundy's military record, citing Census data that suggests he wasn't old enough to have served in the Civil War.

The NAACP has made a number of requests to have the flag removed; the most recent, in November 2013, resulted in no city council action.

Nationwide, the Confederate flag has been targeted since Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white man, killed nine black people — now remembered as the "Charleston 9" — at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.

Wal-Mart, Amazon, Sears and eBay stopped selling items featuring the rebel flag, according to CNN. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley earlier this week ordered four such flags removed from the state Capitol.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview's Confederate flag debate inspires petitions