local | Crestview News Bulletin

Lane restrictions scheduled on U.S. 90 in Crestview

Written by archive on March 13, 2015. Posted in local, News.

The westbound, outside lane of U.S. 90 will be closed just west of the State Road 85 and U.S. 90 intersection in Crestview Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17 from 9 .m. to 3 p.m. as crews perform construction activities.

Drivers are reminded to use caution and to obey the posted speed limit when traveling through the work zone.

All planned activities are weather dependent and may be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Lane restrictions scheduled on U.S. 90 in Crestview

Marvel of Flight in DeFuniak Springs to feature 10 exhibits

Written by archive on March 13, 2015. Posted in local, News.

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — “Marvel of Flight," DeFuniak Springs' fifth annual aviation festival, is Friday, April 10 from 5-10 p.m. and Saturday, April 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at DeFuniak Springs Municipal Airport on Highway 90 West.

The theme, “Rising Above Adversity," honors Tuskegee airmen of World War II. A traveling exhibit will feature a fully restored P-51 Mustang static display. In addition, the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation's Wiregrass Chapter will display Vietnam-era Huey and Cobra helicopters.

2015 exhibits include:

•NASA Kennedy Space Center — Space and Aviation

•Southeast Alabama Rocketry Society — Model Rockets

•Eglin Aero Modelers — RC planes

•Aviation art by Russell Ferris

•Dixie Division Military Vehicle Club

•Florida Forestry Aviation fire prevention exhibit, featuring a UH-1H “Super Huey” and Cessna 182

•4-H Youth Development Tech Wizards

•Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University unmanned aerial system (drone) exhibit

•Patty Wagstaff's aerobatic instruction

•Walton High School Tuskegee airmen display

The event will include aircraft judging, bi-plane rides, the RE/MAX balloon team program by RE/MAX Agency One-Crestview, pilot seminars, live entertainment, arts and crafts, free kids' activities, a car show, model rockets and food. This is an alcohol-free day of “hometown” fun for the entire family.

Admission costs one jar of peanut butter or jelly for the Matrix Community Center food bank. Learn more at www.marvelofflight.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Marvel of Flight in DeFuniak Springs to feature 10 exhibits

Learn more about adoption, foster care Monday in Crestview

Written by archive on March 13, 2015. Posted in local, News.

CRESTVIEW — Right now, 600 children in the panhandle area are in licensed foster placements, and about 50 of them are awaiting a forever family.

In addition, there are needs for private adoptions locally and internationally.

Often, when families feel interested in foster care or adoption, they are not sure where to begin. To help with the process, Emerald Coast Orphan Care will host an information meeting on Monday, March 16 at 6pm at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Crestview to explain the processes of being an adoptive or foster family.

Local foster care, adoption, as well as private and international adoption will be covered.

Emerald Coast Orphan Care is a ministry that began through Emmanuel Baptist Church and now consists of several local churches that exists to raise awareness of the needs of families and children in our area and to support the families who are caring for these children.

To accomplish this goal, Emerald Coast Orphan Care works alongside Families First Network, an area community-based care provider, and other licensing agencies like Florida Baptist Children’s Homes to help recruit and support foster and adoptive families.

“Our local agencies have some incredible staff members who work tirelessly to care for the needs of the children who come into care," said Justin Wyatt, team leader, Emerald Coast Orphan Care. "Our goal is to support their work in providing the best care possible for these children.”

If you are interested in learning more, attend the Adoption and Foster Care Information Meeting Monday, March 16, 6 p.m., at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 3252 E. James Lee Blvd., Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Learn more about adoption, foster care Monday in Crestview

Children in Crisis elects new board members

Written by archive on March 12, 2015. Posted in local, News.

Children in Crisis Inc.'s new board of directors members includes Don Adams, Okaloosa County undersheriff; Martha Caughey, Pensacola State College; Thomas Remington, retired judge; and Claire Nuckles, business owner.

Board members elected to serve an additional three-year term include: Kitty Johnson, chair; Howard Oakes, treasurer; and Sheila Campbell, Betty Hefner and Judy Wiseman.

Children in Crisis Inc. is a nonprofit that serves abused, neglected and abandoned local children. Call 864-4242 or visit www.childrenincrisisfl.org for more details.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Children in Crisis elects new board members

Marvel of Flight to feature 10 exhibits

Written by archive on March 12, 2015. Posted in local, News.

2015 exhibits include:

•NASA Kennedy Space Center — Space and Aviation

•Southeast Alabama Rocketry Society — Model Rockets

•Eglin Aero Modelers — RC planes

•Aviation art by Russell Ferris

•Dixie Division Military Vehicle Club

•Florida Forestry Aviation fire prevention exhibit, featuring a UH-1H “Super Huey” and Cessna 182

•4-H Youth Development Tech Wizards

•Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University unmanned aerial system (drone) exhibit

•Patty Wagstaff's aerobatic instruction

•Walton High School Tuskegee airmen display

Admission costs one jar of peanut butter or jelly for the Matrix Community Center food bank. Learn more at http://www.marvelofflight.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Marvel of Flight to feature 10 exhibits

Crestview McMahon Environmental Center founder, namesake dies

Written by archive on March 10, 2015. Posted in local, News.

CRESTVIEW — Retired forester and Florida Forestry Association poet laureate John McMahon “will be sorely missed,” Mayor David Cadle said.

McMahon — who died Monday at age 90 following an illness — was born Jan. 28, 1915 in Fort Myers. He studied at Arkansas State Teachers College, and earned a degree in forestry from the University of Oklahoma-Stillwater.

Drafted into the Army in World War II, McMahon fought in the 1944-45 Battle of the Bulge, the German military’s last-ditch effort to repel the Allied invasion.

His career in Florida forestry began in 1951, but perhaps his largest local impact came upon his retirement when he founded the Hub City Environmental Center in 1989.

“I just like the plants and animals, and decided, ‘Well, let’s turn this into a little nature park so people can enjoy them,’” McMahon told Northwest Florida Daily News writer Tom McLaughlin in a 1990s interview.

The 2-acre park — built on a site formerly occupied by the forestry service for its lookout tower — was later renamed the McMahon Environmental Center.

As recently as last fall, McMahon would delight in guiding school groups and organizations through the park and its accompanying small nature and local industry museum, housed in what was originally the forester's residence. He planted the arboretum with more than 100 species of native trees and shrubs.

As the forestry association’s poet laureate, McMahon penned many lines of verse, but his favorite was “The Woodsman’s Prayer,” written in 1972, which he said then-Gov. Reubin Askew decreed should be displayed in every Florida welcome station.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Whitehurst-Powell Funeral Home. As of now, no date was yet set for family visitation or his funeral service.

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 McMahon Environmental Center founder, namesake dies

Reading biographies: more than just good for you

Written by archive on March 9, 2015. Posted in local, News.

A biography (from the Greek word bios, meaning “life,” and graphos, meaning “write”) is an account of a person’s life.

Reading a great biography (or autobiography) can be as exciting as your favorite thriller, it can provide more valuable and useful lessons than most self-help best sellers and it can offer more professional development wisdom than you can likely apply.

Leadership expert Kevin Eikenberry offers these five reasons for choosing to read biographies:

•They allow you to stand on the shoulders of giants.

•They remind you that history repeats itself.

•They promote self-discovery.

•They allow you to see the world in new ways.

•They give you mentors at a distance.

Check out these notable biographies:

•"A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

•"A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail" by Bill Bryson

•"American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House" by Jon Meacham

•"American Sniper" by Chris Kyle

•"Black Boy" by Richard Wright

•"Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert

•"Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

•"Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly" by Anthony Bourdain

•"Night" by Elie Wiesel

•"On the Road" by Jack Kerouac

•"Out of Africa" by Isak Dinesen

•"The Years of Lyndon Johnson" by Robert A. Caro

•"Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

•"Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson

•"The Agony and the Ecstasy: Michelangelo" by Irving Stone

•"The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

•"The Motorcycle Diaries" by Ernesto Che Guevara

•"The Professor and the Madman: a Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of Oxford English Dictionary" by Simon Winchester

•"Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Reading biographies: more than just good for you

Benefit set for Crestview man's liver transplant

Written by archive on March 9, 2015. Posted in local, News.

CRESTVIEW — Friends and family next month will help raise awareness and funds for a local man who needs a liver transplant.

A community yard sale and barbecue, along with entertainment, are scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 11 in Lifepoint Church's parking lot. Proceeds will benefit Ron Walker.

This is in conjunction with the National Foundation for Transplants. April is Transplant awareness month.

Donors also can visit the Facebook page or www.transplants.org and search for Ron Walker.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Benefit set for Crestview man's liver transplant

Emerald Coast Community Band presents check to Covenant Hospice

Written by archive on March 9, 2015. Posted in local, News.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Covenant Hospice has extra support, with a recent $1,382 donation from the Emerald Coast Community Band.

Donations from groups such as the Emerald Coast Community Band help fund bereavement and spiritual support services, children’s support programs and charity care in Okaloosa and Walton County.

The nonprofit has offices in Crestview and Fort Walton Beach, among other Northwest Florida locations.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Emerald Coast Community Band presents check to Covenant Hospice

Next week: Irish music, dance take focus in Crestview

Written by archive on March 9, 2015. Posted in local, News.

CRESTVIEW — St. Patrick's Day will be celebrated in music and dance March 17 at the Crestview Public Library.

Some of Irish Blend's Northwest Florida members will perform music, and Katie McCarthy of Crestview will demonstrate Irish dance moves 6:30-7:30 p.m. at 1445 Commerce Drive.

Registration is not required. Evening Library Time is designed for age 4 and up. Call Heather Nitzel, 682-4432, for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Next week: Irish music, dance take focus in Crestview

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