CRESTVIEW — Attorney Ashley Rogers will present “Legal Corn Hole: A Fun Overview of the Court System and Basic Law Concepts” for the June 2 First Tuesday Series program at the Crestview Public Library. 

The program begins at 10:30 a.m., with coffee and cookies served at 10 a.m. 

Attendees can play law trivia using scenarios that citizens encounter every day. Overall topics will include constitutional law, property law, family law, contract law and business law.

Rogers is the managing attorney at Chesser & Barr's Crestview office. The focus of her practice is business and real estate litigation.  

The library is located at 1445 Commerce Drive behind the Post Office in north Crestview.

Call 682-4432 for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'Legal Corn Hole' competition set June 2 at Crestview library

BAKER — Members of the Chessher family will meet this weekend at the Baker Recreation Center, U.S. Highway 4.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 23. Dinner is at noon. Bring a favorite meal to share with everyone.

Bring your family and friends. Photos (5" by 7") of Jesse Albert Chessher Sr. and all his sons together; and 4" by 6" photos of Sarah M., Pearlie P., Edith Rosana and Daisy will be on sale for $3 each, with funds paying for building rental, supplies and postage. Donations also accepted for that purpose.

If you'd like to play music or sing, call or text 582-0142. Bring your lawn chairs.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 58th annual Chessher family reunion set in Baker

CRESTVIEW — Chayne Sparagowski is the Gulf Coast's new emergency management coordinator, working with the National Weather Service's National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.

It's a significant responsibility for the 2008 Crestview High School graduate, but if his childhood dream came true, it may never have happened.

"All the way through elementary school and middle school, my career goal was to be a school bus driver," the Chayne said. "But I always had kind of an interest in meteorology."

"We're so proud of him," his mom said. "I told him, 'You waited your whole life for this. Well, except for the first 12 years when you wanted to be a school bus driver.'"

As NWS Gulf Coast representative, Chayne said, "I am going to be working with a science representative who also represents the Gulf Coast. He's out of Texas A&M University in Galveston.

"Basically, what I am doing is working with the science lead in developing products for the emergency management field for tsunami mitigation and education.

Here, he discusses more about his new position.

Is this a new program?

It's relatively new, especially for the Gulf Coast states. It was primarily a program on the West Coast, where the greatest threat is. In the Gulf Coast, it's been around but it hasn't been very active, so there's been a bigger push to get it active again.

What are some of your responsibilities?

Provide tools to emergency management for tsunami risks and mitigation practices, and also provide an emergency management oversight, letting the science representative who's working on the actual development of the tools know what we need in the emergency management field.

Every other month they have conference calls with the entire program, which is a total of 28 states and territories. I represent the five Gulf Coast states.

There's also a national meeting in July in San Diego that I'll be attending.

So now, the really important question: Is there a tsunami threat in our area?

There is a risk in the Gulf of Mexico. There are three shelves in the Gulf that, if they were to collapse, they would cause a tsunami. There's one off the coast of Florida, one off the coast of Louisiana and one off the coast of Texas.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Is there a tsunami threat? Crestview High grad has the answer

CRESTVIEW — Experience the magic of Beau Broomall. This mysterious, delightful and professional entertainment begins 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 5 at Warriors Hall.

The event, which lasts about 45 minutes, is part of Evening Library Time, which is designed for ages 4 and up.

Registration is not required, and admission is free for you thanks to our generous Friends of the Crestview Library!

Please visit www.beaubroomall.com for more information about the magician, or call me at 682-4432 with questions.

Heather Nitzel is the Crestview Public Library's youth services librarian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: NITZEL: Magic show set June 5 in Crestview

CRESTVIEW — When Robert  Hansford and Mildred Whaley met about 50 years ago, it didn't take long for them to realize they were meant for each another.

Mildred was working in a café in Trenton, a town about the size of Baker. Robert was a tree surgeon, and his work group would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the café.

He asked her out, and they  started dating. 

Mildred had an idea how Robert felt about her, as he would pick love songs whenever they would "match quarters" for the café jukebox at the café. That is, they'd flip a coin, call heads or tails, and whoever picked the right side got to choose the next song to be played.

Three weeks after they started dating, Mildred accepted Robert's marriage proposal. "He left and went home back to his parents' (in Alpha) for that Easter," Mildred said, "and (when he came back) he asked me to marry him."

The Hansfords married on May 15, 1965 at her parents' house. They have four children, two boys and two girls; 15 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. A ninth great-grandchild is expected in July.

The couple will celebrate their golden anniversary at 3 p.m. May 16 at Auburn Pentecostal Church, 6144 Highway 85 N., Crestview.

—

We love telling love stories! Share yours if you've recently gotten engaged, are having a wedding or are celebrating a major anniversary.

The News Bulletin publishes North Okaloosa County residents' “Special Occasions” — birth, centenarian, engagement, wedding and significant anniversary announcements — at no charge. We may edit submissions for length and style.

Call 682-6524 or send us an email for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: They married after 3 weeks of dating. That was 50 years ago.

The Okaloosa County Division of Environmental Services is now spot spraying for mosquitoes. 

Within the next couple of weeks, this standard evening broadcast spray schedule is in effect, weather permitting.

MONDAYS:

•John Riley Barnhill Road to Escambia Farms

•Beaver Creek to Baker

•Crestview: Rattlesnake Bluff and Little Silver Road, Live Oak Church Road to John King, Highway 90 East to County Line Road and north to Poverty Creek Road

•Destin, Fort Walton Beach (Brooks Street going west)

•Mary Esther, Wynnhaven Beach and Valparaiso.

TUESDAYS:

•Vinson Ray Road, east side of Highway 189 to Laurel Hill

•Wilkerson Bluff Road to Log Lake (Holt), west to County Line Road

•Crestview: John King to Highway 90 East to Shoal River Ridge; Old Antioch to Highway 90 West

•Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Wynnehaven Beach, Bluewater Bay and Cinco Bayou.

WEDNESDAYS:

•Galliver Cutoff to Milligan and back to Baker

•Garden City to Laurel Hill

•Crestview: Old Bethel Road to Airport Road; south of Highway 90 West to Duggan Street. Fairchild Road to Highway 85 to Airport Road

•Shalimar; streets off Lewis Turner Boulevard and Niceville

THURSDAYS:

•Poverty Creek Road, Highway 393 to Campton, Old River Road to Vinson Ray Road (from Milligan to Baker)

•Crestview: Lake Silver Road to Airport Road to Auburn area

•Poquito Bayou area, Ocean City, Mooney Road area, and Niceville

4 safety tips

•Stay inside with screened doors and windows closed when mosquitoes are biting (dusk and dawn).

•When outside, wear clothing that covers skin.

•Apply mosquito repellant that includes DEET  on your skin when you are outside

•Turn over standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs. Better yet, rid your outdoor area of standing water in which mosquitoes can lay their eggs. 

Source: Okaloosa County Mosquito Control and the Florida Department of Health

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa County announces mosquito control schedule

The fourteenth edition of “Nations of the World” delves into the political, economic and business climates of over 200 countries and self-governing territories in an easy-to-access, single-volume format.

Each country report contains:

•Expert Analysis: a reliable overview of recent, political and economic trends and events plus an economic and political overlook for the country

•Map of the nation: clearly marked with key cities and towns

•Key facts: including official name, head of state, land area, official language, currency, unemployment, foreign debt and visitor numbers

•Key indicators: details trends in population, GNP, inflation, exports, total reserves and exchange rate

•Country profile: includes historical profile, political parties, population characteristics, labor and unemployment, education and health

•Business guide: includes dress codes and hours, entry requirements, security and social customs

•Business directory: information on telephone and area codes, car rental agencies, chambers of commerce, banking, travel information and websites

The print edition is available in the Crestview Public Library’s reference section.

For free online access to the individual country reports, go to www.cityofcrestview.org/library/electronic_resources.php and click on the “Nations of the World 2015” image.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DREADEN: Take a tour with 'Nations of the World'

THE PROBLEM: Weeding and pest control are priorities this spring for people working at the Common Ground Community Garden in Crestview. Volunteers tended beds Friday, pulling and spraying for weed control, and adding a second line of defense: plants to draw pollinating insects and deter damaging ones.

THE SOLUTION: Workers, including Okaloosa Master Gardeners and the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Office's Crestview employees, spent several hours Friday working in the Common Ground Community Garden on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., just off Main Street (behind H & R Block). The goal was to clear no longer usable winter-season crops and prepare the beds for spring plants. They weeded the garden, sprayed pesticide to kill weeds —  particularly blackberry vines trying to reclaim the once-empty lot —  and prepared areas along the edges for planting. By the afternoon, Okaloosa Extension Office employees and Master Gardener Stacey Taylor dug furrows and planted seeds in an attempt to draw beneficial insects. "In one corner are a bunch of herbs for (butterfly) larvae," said Sheila Dunning, extension horticulture agent. "Chives, parsley and coriander will provide a food source." The cosmo and zinnia flower seeds will be used to draw those butterflies. Sorghum seeds are being used as a "trap crop" to draw insects that would otherwise munch the garden's vegetables. "The beneficial ones (can then) eat them," Dunning said. The team also planted rows of sunflowers and buckwheat to draw pollinators and other beneficial insects like native bees, honeybees and midges; and several perennials, coneflowers, blanket flowers, and other daisies. Once the seeds have grown, gardeners will come back and use nets to catch insects and make sure the new plants are functioning as expected.

BACKGROUND: The garden is rotated twice a year: once to clear out winter items, and once for spring items. Right now, organizers are focusing on spring vegetables that can benefit from the warmer weather, such as tomatoes, peppers, melons and squashes and beans.

Here's more information on the Common Ground Community Garden>>

CARE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SOMETHING? Drop us a line at:

PHONE: 682-6524                          

EMAIL: news@crestviewbulletin.com

FAX: 682-2246                               

 MAIL: 638 Ferdon Blvd. N., Crestview, FL 32536

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Follow-up: Volunteers prepare Crestview community garden for spring crops

CRESTVIEW — A gospel concert to benefit 17-year-old Naja McCutchen is planned for Saturday.

The Crestview resident, who has acute myeloid leukemia, is currently in a Birmingham, Ala. hospital, where she is undergoing bone marrow testing. Donations will be used for Naja and her mother, Tryphenia Wright's, travel and lodging expenses.

The concert starts 7 p.m. May 9 at the Recreational Outreach Center, 1105 S. Pearl St., Crestview. Donations will be accepted during the program, or you may contribute to an account in Ms. Wright's name at Beach Community Bank, 5131 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview, FL 32536.

Organizers are also selling "Pray for Naja" T-shirts. Cost is $10 for sizes small to XL, and $12 for size 2X and up.

Contact Mary Jones, 423-0269, or A.J. Brinson, 333-5678, for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Gospel concert to benefit Crestview's Naja McCutchen

CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County crews repaired a serious washout in Grandview Drive within two months of the April 29-30, 2014, storm.

But discussion within the Grandview Heights homeowners' association has yet to produce a decision to repair the dam that failed that morning, draining the lake.

Today, the former Grandview Pond, known as Lake Fred on some maps, is a green wetland and meadow with a stream trickling through it. A gaping hole remains on the dam's south end.

Some former lakefront homes now overlook the meadow, while neighbors a few doors down still have lakefront property, being on the opposite side of the failed dam and facing neighboring Stafford Lake.

With no solution yet in sight, Mapquest.com removed Grandview Pond from its online map.

Not all residents are happy with a January assessment made throughout the development to raise funds to repair the dam. Some are withholding payment until all residents are granted access to the pond.

"They assessed us nearly $400 per lot," resident Nancy Sparagowski said. "The bad part of it is, only the people who live on the lake have access. The HOA tried to feed us the line that the lake will improve everyone's property values."

Although a peninsula reached into the pond, a lack of parking made access problematic for residents who wanted to fish from it.

Sparagowski, who, with her husband Kevin and son Ethan, don't have lakefront property, said her family paid the fee, but not willingly.

"Many of us are upset over the fee and the fact that we're fixing a lake just for the people that live on it," she said. "We were under the impression that a portion of our homeowner dues were going toward dam maintenance."

HOA officers contacted for this story did not return calls.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at brianh@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: ONE YEAR LATER: Former Crestview pond is now a meadow