Fall to most people means pumpkin patches, cooler weather, and preparing for the upcoming holiday season. Fall to Okaloosa County 4-H means fair week at the Northwest Florida Fair.

The Okaloosa County 4-H program coordinated the annual 4-H events and had over 100 youth participants from Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton County. The diverse group of exhibit judges this year included past 4-H’ers, Okaloosa County Master Gardeners, the Okaloosa County Farm Bureau president, and extension faculty from both the University of Florida and the University of Georgia.

The 4-H youths ranged from 5-18 years old, from both the community clubs and military clubs. They participated in a variety of animal exhibits and shows, including poultry, rabbit, beef, and meat and dairy goat. They also had the opportunity to participate in a dog show, archery competition, and enter project exhibits.

Animal projects provide the youths with a life skills package that includes responsibility, animal care and feeding, management, and record keeping. Showmanship teaches them communication, self-discipline, social skills, and sportsmanship while also showcasing what they have learned with their project animal.

The newly included archery competition allowed youths to showcase the shooting techniques, problem-solving skills, and discipline they had acquired through the safe, educational, and socially acceptable environments in which they participated in throughout the 4-H year.

Their project exhibits gave them an outlet to express their creativity while educating themselves in the subject matter of their choosing.

The Okaloosa County 4-H program had over 740 youth entries in the various events that allowed them to share their accomplishments and educate the public on their projects.

For more information about of school enrichment programs, in-school/out-of-school clubs, community clubs, or becoming a volunteer please contact us as follows: Taylor Wilken, 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent, and Katie Oakes, 4-H Program Assistant, UF IFAS Extension Okaloosa County, 3098 Airport Road, Crestview, FL 32539; 689-5850.

Katie Oakes and Taylor Wilken are agents at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Northwest Florida Fair showcases 4-H youths' skills

CRESTVIEW — "Bienvenue" (or "welcome") opened the special council meeting Monday in Warriors Hall with over 100 in attendance including attendees from Crestview's sister city in Noirmoutier-en-l’Île, France.

This meeting marked the beginning of "City Government Week" — a week dedicated to giving the community an opportunity to learn more about city operations.

Although this was a "special" meeting, the council began in regular meeting format with an invocation.

"We open every meeting with an invocation, and some people say, 'Why do you do that'," Whitten said. "We are a Christian country based on Christian principles."

"What we're going to do is walk you through the meeting so you can see what we do," Whitten said. "Normally, we have very long, boring meetings. Tonight, we will have a short boring meeting."

The council business portion of the meeting was quick with only one item discussed, an out-of-city water service petition by Crestview residents, which passed unanimously with all members present.

Mayor David Cadle then stood before the crowd and read a proclamation designating this week as "City Government Week" for 2018.

"I encourage the citizens of this city to become involved in the activities of your local government thereby enhancing the quality of life in your community," Cadle said.

A large portion of the crowd consisted of groups the council recognized.

After the council recognized their groups, Cadle read the "Sister City Proclamation," but not before taking a moment to honor the community for assisting in Hurricane Michael relief efforts.

"Let me thank each one of you for the heart you gave to our friends and relatives in the Panama City area," Cadle said. "We can go home this evening in comfort, and they're looking at months and years of rebuilding … We will keep them in our prayers."

Noël Faucher, the mayor of Noirmoutier, and Cadle exchanged gifts from each city.

"On Saturday, as I was telling you, we had a barbecue right at this very spot," Cadle said as he held a framed photo of Northwest Florida State College Robert L. F. Sikes Education Center.

They dedicated a garden to Noirmoutier called  "Le Jardin de Noirmoutier," the mayor said.

Faucher gave a speech with the help of a professor of English at a university in Noirmoutier.

"These exchanges have allowed our young French citizens to come here and discover your culture," Faucher said. "… Part of their dream was the American dream to come and check what they had seen for so many years in television and their books and their songs."

The gift from Noirmoutier was a painting of a sea buoy that leads to Noirmoutier "showing you the way."

The night concluded with what many of the boy and girl scouts had been waiting for — cake.

The Crestview Police Department, Crestview Fire Department, council members, and other department heads had booths set up with information for attendees interested in learning and asking questions.

The city will continue having events throughout the week.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Over 100 in attendance as city council kicks off City Government Week

CRESTVIEW — Revolt Pro Wrestling is giving area residents a fun way to help people who suffered losses due to Hurricane Michael. RPW wrestlers will have their sixth Crestview live wrestling event soon, with all proceeds going to directrelief.org.

Doors open 6 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Crestview Community Center, 1446 Commerce Drive, and wrestling begins at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $10 each, and front row tickets are $15 each.

"We picked Direct Relief due to the fact that 100 percent of the proceeds that we make from this event will all go to disaster relief for those that are in need," RPW co-owner Ryan Fury said. According to the DR website, its mission is to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay.

Two RPW wrestlers were among people affected by the storm, one of whom lost everything.

"There are also other wrestlers in that area that were affected but we do not know to what degree," Fury said.

Event attendees will get to see bouts between the International Superstars and The Space Cowboys; Zane Stevens and Revolt Heavyweight Champion Christopher Santos; and women's wrestling with Avery Taylor and Ellie.

Competitors also include Cameron Thomas, Blanco Loco, Zane Stevens, Ox Haney, El Cachi, Joey Ozbourne and Brian Valor.

Visit the Revolt Pro Wrestling Facebook page or www.revoltprowrestling.com for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview pro wrestling event will help Hurricane Michael survivors

CRESTVIEW — It's been over a week since Hurricane Michael tore through the Florida Panhandle, and the community is making strides to recover from the devastation.

The Crestview Police Department is working to assist in the recovery.

After heaps of donations from community members flowed into the police department, Crestview officers loaded the supplies into a four vehicle convoy including a Public Works truck and headed to Marianna Thursday morning, per direction from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Public Information Officer Brian Hughes said he was amazed by the amount of supplies the community donated in a short period of time.

"People have been overwhelmingly responsive," Hughes said.

The police department received donations from the Ladies of Law Enforcement and other community members looking for an opportunity to get involved.

Jae Williams, 7, has been a huge help to the police department, Hughes said.

Williams received an honorary official uniform after loading the back of his mom's SUV with cases of water.

Riley Martin, 3, used money she raised from her lemonade stand over the weekend to help children of law enforcement officers affected by the storm.

"It has really been heartwarming to see this out-pour of generosity from the community," Hughes said. "We were  not expecting this."

Hughes said donations have poured in from all ages, young to elderly.

One woman bought a brand new pickup truck and immediately loaded it with pallets of water from Sam's club.

She then unloaded the water at the police department with help from two newly sworn-in officers, Hughes said.

Some of the items donated to the Crestview Police Department included a waffle maker, bedding, plenty of diapers, toiletries, and even children's car seats.

The police department is continuously asking for socks and undergarments due to the inability to do laundry in the affected areas.

“Just that willingness to pitch in makes it a city wide effort," Hughes said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: The Crestview community continues assisting our eastern neighbors

CRESTVIEW — The city of Crestview could be getting another fast-food joint.

Panda Express has purchased property at the south end next to the Zaxby's on State Road 85.

According to Growth Management Director Teresa Gaillard, the restaurant's next step will be submission of their plans to the growth management department, which will go through the meeting process for approval.

Gaillard said there's no estimate on when the plans will be presented to the council, but will likely happen before the end of this year.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Land purchased for potential Panda Express in Crestview

OKALOOSA COUNTY — The November election will take place in less than a month, and Okaloosa County voters will have a chance to vote for North Okaloosa Fire District commissioners.

Both group 2 and group 4 are running opposed.

Here is what each fire district candidate had to say about their platform.

Scott "Scottie" Forn Group 2

Scott Forn, originally from Montana, is a pilot and retired Air Force Lt. Col.

Before beginning his 24-year military career, Forn said he volunteered as a firefighter with an organization called the Fire Explorers before he was able to drive.

"I have carried a breathing apparatus. I have moved ladders. I know what it takes to be a fireman," Forn said

Although Forn has never run for this position, he said he hopes to use his experience working with fire teams to continue improving the North Okaloosa Fire District.

If elected, Forn said he would want to see the other North Okaloosa Fire District stations more active.

Currently, North Okaloosa Fire District has four stations, three of them not fully staffed.

"Having them in the north so close to me, I don't see an issue, but if my house were on the south side," Forn said, "I would be concerned as a citizen down there."

Forn also hopes to see more firefighters added to the district.

"What I have heard and seen is that we have money, we just aren't spending it on the firefighter," Forn said.

Forn said he wouldn't recommend raising taxes, but would do so if it was necessary.

"First and foremost, I am not an emotion driven person, I'm data driven," Forn said. "If I get elected, I will not vote for any sort of tax increase until I know what the data says."

Daniel Bowers, Group 2

Daniel Bowers, the incumbent, has served two terms as a commissioner in North Okaloosa.

Bowers said his platform hasn't changed much since the beginning of his first term.

"My platform … has been until this day to operate as much a safe fire department for as much money as the tax payers are willing to spend," Bowers said.

As a current board member, Bowers said community input is important to him concerning tax increases.

"Tax increases are only necessary if people are willing to pay them," Bowers said. "… In the eight years that I've been there, I've never voted for a tax increase. I think we have plenty of money."

Although Bowers doesn't have a background in firefighting, he said he observed the fire commission and felt they were trying to "build an empire."

This didn't sit well with Bowers. For this reason, he decided to get involved, he said.

"I ran on a platform of no increases in taxes unless you voted for it or unless you told me you wanted it," Bowers said.

In eight years, Bowers said he has yet to have constituent request a tax increase.

Prior to 2010, the fire district was in significant amount of debt

Craig Shaw Group 4

Craig Shaw, the incumbent, hopes to be voted into what would be his third term.

After attending meetings, Shaw said he thought there were more options than raising taxes and decided to get involved.

Shaw began his first term in 2010 after winning the vote by 70 percent against Rollin Rathbun.

When he became a commissioner, Shaw said the fire district was in debt.

But, his goal was to rapidly pay off the debt, which they did, Shaw said.

"I was a bad guy for a while because I had to say no to a lot of things that a lot of people wanted," Shaw said. "But, the reason I said no to a lot of other things was so we could pay this debt off."

"In eight years, we've gone from $600,000 in debt with no reserves to being debt free with over a million in reserves," Shaw said.

If elected, Shaw hopes to see continuing improvement in equipment for the fire district.

"If you like your tax rates to stay slow and you don't think that it's wise to blow money on unnecessary things, I'm the guy that's going to make that happen," Shaw said.

Shaw serves as the chairman of the fire district's board of commissioners.

Rollin Rathbun Group 4

For Rollin Rathbun, this race is familiar ground.

Rathbun has been a volunteer firefighter and served in the Air Force for 26 years.

"As I get older — I'm going to be 50 this year — I can't do as much stuff as I used to," Rathbun said. "But, I still want to contribute."

He also served as a North Okaloosa Fire Commissioner from 2012-2014 and was voted out in 2016.

Rathbun said he is not opposed to having a one-time tax increase to help supply the firefighters with necessary equipment.

In the past as a commissioner, he said community members came to the meeting complaining about raising taxes because they rely on their homeowners insurance in case of a fire.

"Having a well-prepared fire department is what you really need," Rathbun said.

With such a fire department, Rathbun's ultimate goal is to keep the firefighters protected as they protect the community.

"My big thing is I want to see the guys be safe," Rathbun said. "I want to make sure they have the equipment that's not going to fail in a fire."

Early voting will begin on Monday, Oct. 22 and end on Saturday, Nov. 3. The general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

For more information about voting in Okaloosa County, visit www.govote-okaloosa.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Four North Okaloosa Fire District candidates vying for two commission seats

CRESTVIEW — The Crestview Fairfield Inn & Suites at 110 Crosson St. is currently a drop-off spot for supplies going to Panama City area survivors on Friday, Oct. 19. Items most in demand are anything usable without power or running water such as bottled water, non-perishable items, hand wipes, water purifying tablets, new clothes and diapers.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Fairfield Inn & Suites collecting for hurricane survivors

CRESTVIEW — The city of Crestview continues the discussion about regulating mobile vendors with an ordinance, an issue that dates back to 2013.

Growth Management Director Teresa Gaillard presented a first draft of the itinerant vendors ordinance, new article 24, to the city council at a workshop meeting Monday.

Mobile vending as defined by the city is "the selling of any product out of any self-propelled or non-self-propelled vehicle including carts, trucks, trailers and movable stands and kiosks."

The council took the opportunity to discuss their concerns with Gaillard.

Mobile vendors applicants would be required to go through a background check conducted by the chief of police, according to Gaillard.

Council President J.B. Whitten said he didn't see reason why the city should deny a business with an owner who has a previous criminal background dating back more than five years.

"You can't hang somebody for something that they did as a teenager," J.B. Whitten said.

Councilman Doug Faircloth continued with an issue he had in 2016 — out-of-town car dealers.

He said he has received complaints of business being taken away from local dealerships.

“There’s too much money involved and we’re not protecting our local dealers,” Faircloth said.

Council members also agreed to add more precise language concerning citations and consequences for violating the ordinance.

"You can't have a guard dog that doesn't bite," Faircloth said.

"I think we should have a written penalty in there," Council Vice President Bill Cox said.

Permits will be issued by the building and permit department.

The city's code enforcement officer will be in charge of engaging with mobile vendors who are in violation.

"We're growing way too fast and there’s a lot of people … it's just time to get some control of it, lay some ground rules," Gaillard said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'It's just time to get some control'

PANAMA CITY — The Crestview News Bulletin is printed by our sister paper in Panama City, the site of widespread damage from Hurricane Michael. Parts of the building there were destroyed and the press was damaged during the hurricane rendering it inoperable in the short run. For News Bulletin customers, this resulted in many papers not reaching them Saturday by mail or delivery

We’ve signed an agreement with a press in Montgomery. However, due to the short notice, many Oct. 13 papers were not delivered. We hope to have our press back up and running Friday.

The hurricane affected mail delivery of papers, too. That Panama City plant also housed the computers that keep our records of subscribers and the machines that print the mailing labels, which we put on the papers before we send them to the post office. As a result, your Saturday paper is still here — along with 900 others — needing its mailing label.

In the meaintime, the regular Wednesday, Oct. 17 paper will arrive a day late both for regular delivery and mail delivery.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Hurricane Michael affects Crestview News Bulletin delivery

DOTHAN, ALABAMA — The 75th annual Miss National Peanut Festival Pageant was Oct. 5 and 6 in the Dothan Civic Center in Alabama. For the first time in the pageant's history, Okaloosa County sent a representative to compete in the two-day event.

Miss Okaloosa County, Skylar Babin, is the 19-year-old daughter of Destin residents Nancy and Shane Babin.

During the Friday evening preliminaries, Skylar competed with a field of 38 representatives from Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. She had two rounds of interviews with the five-judge panel, had two on-stage questions and a word category. Judges assessed her and other contestants' competition writings on topic contents, grammar, and spelling; an extensive Peanut Knowledge test, a verbal “commercial” for Okaloosa County, and a verbal summary about themselves.

On Friday, Babin placed in the top 5 for Evening Gown, Verbal, Written, and Peanut Knowledge categories.

During the finals on Saturday, she placed in the top 10 semi-finalists, and then the top 5 finalists. She was awarded winner in the Written Communication and Peanut Knowledge categories.

She won two cash scholarships, a silver tray, crystal vase, and Peanut trophy.

As Miss Okaloosa County, Babin and her sister queens will have their own float for the 75th Annual National Peanut Festival Parade Nov. 10 in downtown Dothan. Her sister queens are Toddler Miss Okaloosa County Ellie Eger of Crestview; Tiny Miss Okaloosa County Evey Rivera of Crestview; Junior Miss Okaloosa County Kadance Fredericksen of Crestview; and Teen Miss Riley Herrington, who is dually enrolled in Freeport High School and Northwest Florida State College.

History of the National Peanut Festival

The 2018 National Peanut Festival Fair is Nov. 2-11. The nation's largest peanut festival, the NPF is held in Dothan, Alabama each fall to honor Georgia, Florida and Alabama peanut farmers and to celebrate the harvest season. Dothan is known as the "Peanut Capital of the World" and is a prime location for growing

peanuts. The majority of all the peanuts grown in the United States are grown within a 100-mile radius

of Dothan.

Okaloosa County peanut production

According to Okaloosa County Extension Agent Jennifer Bearden, over 3,000 acres of land in Okaloosa

County are planted in peanuts, resulting in yields of 29 million pounds of peanuts annually. The

panhandle of Florida produces enough peanuts annually to place Florida among the top three peanut

producing states in our country. Average crop yields are 2.5 to 3 tons per acre. Bearden says most of Okaloosa's peanuts are bought to make snack cakes, peanut butter, and peanut candies.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Miss Okaloosa among top 5 National Peanut Festival Pageant contestants