CRESTVIEW — The Florida State Fire Marshal’s office is still investigating a Sunday morning fire that gutted an Amos Street apartment building, leaving one resident dead.

Meanwhile, eight people need help replacing life's essentials. None of them had renter’s insurance and, apart from the clothes they were wearing — “and flip-flops on our feet,” resident Beverly Forrester said — they lost all their belongings.

See photos of the Amos Street apartment fire aftermath>>

It's been particularly difficult for some of the residents, including Lamar and Alvin McTear, who, until some donations came in from DeFuniak Springs, needed work pants and boots to return to their jobs.

Forrester said something awakened her about 12:45 a.m. on Sunday. Then her dog, Puppy Boy, started barking — "he knew something was wrong. I started smelling smoke, and I got up and saw a poof of black smoke,” she said.

Forrester and her husband, Tim Albaugh, banged on doors and walls to awaken other residents. She said one neighbor ran into the victim’s apartment twice to try to rescue the victim, but the smoke was too thick to see her.

“It makes you think, doesn’t it, about taking everything for granted,” Scherie Green said. She and her companion, Levi “Red” Knight, are disabled, on fixed incomes and lost needed medications in the fire. “He takes eight medicines a day,” Green said of Knight.

Forrester's sister and brother-in-law, Faye and Bob Roberg of DeFuniak Springs, and family friend Chris Mars began helping the homeless residents.

The DeFuniak Piggly Wiggly and Crestview Sharing and Caring have donated food, and Triangle Chevrolet-Buick, cash, to help the residents remain in the Crestview Super 8 motel after their Red Cross vouchers expired.

Churches in Crestview and DeFuniak Springs have raised hundreds of dollars in cash to pay the families’ motel bill, while an anonymous Fort Walton Beach donor gave $2,000 to help the eight people.

“This is just blessing,” Mars said. “We needed a hand for them and God was the big hand. As people in Christ, people in the community, need to know there’s a need right now in Crestview.”

And Forresters' faith is unshaken — “God is behind us,” she said. “He is the one who’s gotten people together to help us so far. He’s putting the right people in our path.”

HERE'S WHAT'S NEEDED: men’s pants, 30/34, 34/32, 36/32, 36/34 and 38/34; men’s shirts, large, XL, XXL, XXXL; and women’s slacks, petit 0-1, plus 4X-5X

Contact Beverly Forrester, 612-1482; Faye Roberg, 333-1442; or Chris Mars, 520-5086 or 892-7730, to help.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 8 Crestview homeless fire victims keep the faith during aftermath

CRESTVIEW — The Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative, which includes the Crestview Public Library, will take part in the Big Library Read program. Library card holders can borrow and read the autobiography eBook "Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard" by Laura Bates, until April 1 by visiting here>>

"This is a riveting, true-life tale of Shakespeare professor and prison volunteer Laura Bates as she teaches about the playwright in supermax solitary confinement, developing a friendship with a brilliant, dangerous convict," a news release states. "Patrons will be able to select a lending period of one, two or three weeks, which begins at the date of checkout."

Patrons can read the eBook on all major computers and devices, including iPhone, iPad, Nook, Android phones and tablets, and Kindles without worrying about wait lists or holds. Titles expire at the end of the lending period, and there are no late fees.

“This is an excellent opportunity for those who may have never read an eBook through OverDrive to become acquainted with this service," Crestview Public Library Director Jean Lewis said. "Just sign on with your library card number and read!”

The Big Library Read program is made possible through a partnership between OverDrive, the leading supplier of eBooks to libraries, and Sourcebooks, publisher of Bates’ autobiography. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'Shakespeare Saved My Life' available at no charge during Big Library Read

CRESTVIEW — "Europe Bound: Travel Tips for Independent European Travelers," a March 24 seminar, is 6 p.m. at the Crestview Public Library, 1445 Commerce Drive.

Crestview News Bulletin writer, multi-time independent European traveler and Crestview Area Sister City Program President Brian Hughes will speak on how to plan an independent European trip; which kind of luggage to use; how to pack efficiently; how to travel by rail cheaper than using a Eurailpass; how to manage a travel and food budget; and finding affordable accommodations.

The first 20 attendees will receive afree 42-page “Europe Bound” booklet.

The Sister City program and Northwest Florida State College show choirs are visiting Noirmoutier, France, in May. Some participants are planning independent European travels before or after the trip.  

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Learn more about Europe travel during this Crestview seminar

CRESTVIEW — Members of the Crestview Community Cycling Club say the inaugural Spring Century Ride was a rehearsal for next year’s event, which they hope will draw upward of 300 riders.

The club's March 8 event also offered free training for participants, many of whom came from coastal communities, President Mike Davila said.

One cyclist who joined the club, also known as C4's, gathering came from Columbus, Ga., he said.

“C4’s main objective was to get participants to challenge themselves and ride the 60-mile course,” Davila said. “Some rode the fully supported course at 18 mph average speeds while others rode to challenge themselves at slower speeds.”

The course meandered along country roads from Crestview to Laurel Hill and back along State Road 85 and County Roads 2 and 393, Davila said.

C4 and the Emerald Coast Cyclists volunteers supported the dozen or so bicyclists who started under gloomy skies that soon turned into a sunny, cool day for a bike ride in the country.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview cyclists' goal: draw 300 riders by next spring

Northwest Florida author Lon Prater will be the Crestview Writers Group's guest speaker for their upcoming meeting, 6-8 p.m. Monday, March 30, at the Crestview Public Library.

Prater has served in the USS Enterprise's Reactor Compartments, edited the military’s textbook on arms deals, and kept things safe in the produce and laundry industries. He lives, writes, and games in Pensacola.

His fiction has appeared in the Stoker-winning anthology "Borderlands 5"; "Frontier Cthulhu," which features Origin Award finalists; and "Writers of the Future." Visit www.LonPrater.com to find out more.

A Grand Elegance will provide refreshments for this event.

Contact Tami Kidd, tamilynnkidd@gmail.com, for more information.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Pensacola author to speak at writer's group meeting

CRESTVIEW — Week days at the Era Burgan Learning Center on Old Bethel Road are filled with activities for developmentally disabled adult clients.

The center’s mission includes helping clients gain more control of their environments to achieve greater independence, Executive Director Melissa Woollums said.

"It's life skills training," she said, referring to activities promoting nutrition, safety, hygiene, housekeeping, cooking and fitness. Programs tailored to each client’s abilities include computer training, personal finances, basic education and janitorial skills.

So, which activities are recommended?

“It depends on need,” Woollums said. “It’s very person-oriented. Some need independence skills, like cooking. The goal is to be as independent as possible.”

The center’s support coordinators evaluate each client, set skill goals for them, then develop and implement a plan to achieve those goals. Currently, the center supports 15 clients.

For instance, searching for, finding and navigating to episodes of "Digimon Fusion" on YouTube helps one client, Doug, master basic computer skills, Woollums said.

Most Learning Center clients live with family members or in assisted living facilities, but spend their weekdays at the center, and clients have separate vocational teachers elsewhere, she said.

Some of the Learning Center’s clients are Special Olympians who have medaled in regional, state and national competition in sports, including bocce and track.

And when they're with the group, more fun opportunities abound. Group outings include shopping trips, a visit to the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge Zoological Park, or a day at the beach — adventures not readily available in assisted living, Woollums said.

Wayne Harris, Okaloosa County commissioner and Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce president, praised the facility’s role in the community.

“You see these folks at a lot of different places and they’re always friendly and always working hard,” Harris said.

WANT TO HELP?

The Era Burgan Learning Center welcomes donations and seeks members to help support its mission of providing care and training for disabled adults. Available memberships include individual, $10; family, $15; and corporate, $25. Contact Executive Director Melissa Woollums, 689-3663 or Melissa@abilitysnwf.gcoxmail.com.

TRANSITIONING

Era Burgan Learning Center staffers work with coordinators at Richbourg and Silver Sands E.S.E. schools, where students can be enrolled until age 22.

“When they transition out of Richbourg or Silver Sands directly into someplace like us, they don’t have to go without services,” Executive Director Melissa Woollums said. “For students who get used to the school system for so many years, it can be a big change.”

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview center helps disabled adults gain life skills & independence