CRESTVIEW —  A child advocacy group seeks sponsors and donations to complete a family visitation center.

The Judge Ben Gordon Jr. Visitation Center would allow familiesdealing with child abuse, custody or divorce proceedings to meet in a safe, secure location.

The not-for-profit organization already has sites in DeFuniak Springs and Shalimar. Executive Director Sharon Rogers said the Crestview location, 6187th Ave., Crestview, will be the first visitation center the organization owns.

“It will be state of the art,” she said. “We have been going through a process of making it as safe as possible.”

That means two parking lots, security cameras and a supervisor overseeing visitations, she said.  

In February, the organization –named after a former local judge and an avid child advocate –purchased a Crestview house to use as visitation center.

A $128,000 Impact 100 of Northwest Florida grant helped to purchase the residence. Now, renovations are underway, and several businesses have provided goods and services to the facility.

In addition to providing a secure location for family visitations, Rogers said the facility could offer several services to the community.

“The main use is for (monitored) exchanges,” she said. “The facility (also) could be used for small family services, group meetings for abused women or … a fatherhood group for young men,” she said.

Family psychologists could use the facility for services. It could also be used for other local child advocate organizations like Guardian Ad Litem, she said.

The organization will soon train volunteers to oversee visitations. She hopes to have the facility open with city approval upon construction completion, Rogers said.    

WANT TO HELP?

You can support the Judge Ben Gordon Jr. Visitation Center at www.gofundme.com/e3br1c. See www.familyvisitationcenters.org for more information on its services.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Community sponsors, donations sought for family visitation center

Clowns Without Borders and international clown Kevin Brooking will appear 6 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Emerald Coast in Valparaiso.

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students and children. The church is at 1295 Bayshore Drive in Valparaiso, at the corner of Bayshore Drive and John Sims Parkway. 

Clowns Without Borders, founded in Barcelona, Spain in 1993, offers laughter to relieve suffering. 

The idea began when a professional clown was invited to perform in a refugee camp in Croatia. This performance unexpectedly attracted audiences of more than 700 children, proving that there is a great need for clowns and entertainment in crisis situations everywhere, according to a news release.

Contact Jan Mullins, 974-1483, for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: International clown performing Saturday

A Bay Area Food Bank survey reveals information about Gulf Coast hunger.

More than 250 partner agencies recently participated in Feeding America's National Hunger Study in which 600 people seeking food assistance answered detailed questions.

Here are the findings:

•More than 61,000 households in the food bank's 24-county service area receive food assistance from partner agencies.

•Most of those households sought assistance several times throughout the year.

•More than 70 percent of those households reported having to decide between food, utilities or rent to get by.

•More than 25,000 people weekly receive food assistance

•25 percent of those seeking food assistance struggle financially but make too much money to qualify for federal food assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Bay Area Food Bank serves a 24-county area spanning the Florida Panhandle, South Alabama and South Mississippi.

Feeding America is a nationwide network of 200 food banks serving the United States. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New report reveals region's hunger statistics

VALPARAISO — Get ready for the “Biker’s Blast for the Past” Motorcycle Poker Run this Saturday.

Early online registration costs $15 and ends Thursday, but bikers can register the day of the event at a cost of $20 per person.

It begins at 8 a.m. at the Heritage Museum, 115 Westview Ave., Valparaiso, with music and a live broadcast by 99 ROCK and refreshments from Panera Bread.

Riders leave the museum at 10 a.m.; participants can take the 85-mile "blast," or do the "around the town" run, which covers stops within 10 miles of the museum.

A festival party is from 1-5 p.m. afterward. It includes  vendors, a DJ, and dancing under the "Big Top," courtesy of Tents of Northwest Florida. Historic exhibits, tours and demonstrations and traditional poker run fun,  raffles, games and grand prizes are also planned.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: “Biker’s Blast for the Past” motorcycle poker run is this weekend

Hear success stories of research, serendipity and cousin-finding using websites and records during the Oct. 7 lecture, “Genealogy Online Success Stories" at the Crestview Public Library.

The program begins at 10:30 a.m. with coffee and cookies served at 10 a.m. when the doors open.

Guest speaker Elizabeth Powell Crowe, of Navarre, has been pursuing genealogy for more than 30 years. Her various editions of Genealogy Online have sold almost 200,000 copies. The 10th edition comes out Oct. 22. 

She has worked as an editor for numerous genealogy or technology-related publications including Computer Currents magazine, Valley Leaves, LeDespencer magazine, and the Computers in Genealogy newsletter, and contributed articles to Digital Genealogist magazine.

The library is located at 1445 Commerce Drive in north Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Next month: 'Online Genealogy Success Stories'

Bring a pumpkin and wear paint-able clothes to the Crestview Community Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28 because we’re painting pumpkins! 

Residents age 4 and up can register before the event at the Crestview Public Library’s front desk. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. No-shows will be given to walk-ins at 6:30 p.m. 

When you visit the pumpkin patch beforehand, keep in mind that the pumpkin you pick will be wet with paint when you leave. We recommend a small pie pumpkin because they are cost-effective and easier to handle, especially when wet. You may want to bring a box to help transport it home. 

We’ll spray the pumpkin with acrylic spray to help the paint stay on top of the pumpkin instead of soaking in. While you’re waiting about 15 minutes for the acrylic spray to dry, pick out your paint palette, and then you may begin painting! We'll finish by 7:15 p.m. 

Thank you to our Friends of the Library for providing funds for the paint! Please call 682-4432 with questions.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: Prepare for pumpkin painting