CRESTVIEW — The Wild Olive and Sorabal will serve a full Thanksgiving meal, free of charge, for residents spending the holiday alone.

The Wild Olive — with Mosaic Church of Crestview's assistance, and donations from area businesses — will provide a traditional meal with turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes and other sides.

"We wanted to extend our hands and our hearts to other people, so they could be a part of our family," restaurant co-owner Susan McDuffie said. "It's a way to show the community the love of (Jesus) Christ."

"It's not just for low-income people," she said. "There are military (service members) here, and their families are hundreds of miles away."

Susan and Mike McDuffie attend Mosaic, where many families have loved ones away on duty, the Rev. James Ross said.

Event organizers encourage interested parties to RSVP prior to the event so they can prepare enough food. Contact Holly@mosaiccrestview.com or call the Wild Olive, 682-4455, to do so.

Sorabal, the Korean and sushi restaurant, will serve a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, dressing, green beans, macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole and desserts.

The offer is available to military members and anyone spending the holiday alone, restaurant owner Tommy Batson said. RSVPs are unnecessary.

"Everybody is welcome," he said. "We just want to make the holidays better for people … We are going to keep on serving food until we run out."

Okaloosa County Commissioners Wayne Harris and Nathan Boyles, in addition to restaurant staffers, have volunteered to serve food, Batson said.

WANT TO G0?

WHAT: Free Thanksgiving meal

WHEN:  11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday

WHERE: The Wild Olive, 797 N. Pearl St., Crestview  

RSVP: Holly@mosaiccrestview.com or 682-4455

…

WHAT: Free Thanksgiving meal

WHEN:  Noon to 3 p.m. Thursday

WHERE: Sorabal, 172 E. Woodruff Ave., Crestview

…

Is your North Okaloosa County business offering a community service on Thanksgiving? Share it on our wall at www.facebook.com/crestview.bulletin

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview restaurants offering free meals Thursday

CRESTVIEW —  Residents wanting to raise money and awareness for orphan care and shed weight from Thanksgiving leftovers can participate in Lifepoint Church's 5K Orphan Colour Run.

The Dec. 7 event tracks through Downtown Crestview, beginning and ending in the church's South Ferdon Boulevard parking lot.

Last year's event raised nearly $6,000 for orphan care, according to Cheryl McSween, the church's office administrator.

"The money raised (from this year's event) will be used both locally and internationally," she said.

 Lifepoint provides financial assistance to missionaries working in orphanages in India, Jamaica and Venezuela. Missionaries use the funds to provide clothing, food and educational supplies to children. 

 Additionally, the church is raising funds to build a Crestview orphanage, McSween said.

And Lifepoint uses a portion of the event proceeds to support the church's families with adopted children, she said.

In addition to getting a workout, participants can once again expect things to get colorful. At the beginning and end of last year's 5K, participants were covered in multiple colors of non-toxic powdered paint, McSween said.  

There also will be a Kids Fun Run, and participants can expect refreshments and a drawing for prizes donated by local businesses.

WANT TO G0?

WHAT:  5K Orphan Colour Run and Kids Fun Run

WHEN: 5K begins at 7 a.m.; fun run is at 8 a.m. Dec. 7

WHERE: Lifepoint Church, 400 S. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview

COST: $30 for 5K Run, $10 for Kids Fun Run

DETAILS: Register here or in person 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Fridayat the church office

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Lifepoint Church raising money for orphans with Dec. 7 Colour Run

CRESTVIEW — A small gathering Wednesday evening recognized the significance of one of north Okaloosa County's most historic cemeteries.

The Crestview Historic Preservation Board selected Old Bethel Cemetery as the location for the panel's second historical landmark marker. The first is in front of Conyers Masonic Lodge.

Board chairwoman Ann Spann called the cemetery "one of the most historic sites in Okaloosa County" before unveiling the green and white cast metal marker.

The marker also recognized the significance of Old Bethel Church, a log structure that stood on the cemetery grounds into the early 1960s.

Spann praised Old Bethel Cemetery Commission members who worked closely with Historic Preservation Board members to place the marker.

"We appreciate it," commission secretary Betty Miller said. "I have parents, grandparents and great-grandparents (buried) out here."

The marker also recognizes the role that Austinville, located on a stagecoach route between Milton and Geneva, Ala., played in Crestview's development.  

Griffith Ferry — established around 1850 to transport goods, people and the stagecoach over the Yellow River, about a half-mile from the cemetery — was critical to the commerce route.

Austinville, the town in which the cemetery once stood, was a stagecoach stop and one of the first post offices in the area, Spann said.

Spann said local oral history describes a mass grave of Confederate soldiers buried within a circle of field stones in the cemetery's oldest section.

University of West Florida archeologists — even using ground-penetrating radar — couldn't find evidence of bodies below the markers, she said.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Old Bethel Cemetery recognized with historical marker

CRESTVIEW — North Okaloosa Fire District and Auburn Water System representatives want north Crestview homeowners to know that newly installed fire hydrants could lead to lower insurance premiums.

Homeowners living within 1,000 feet of the hydrants annually could save $1,200 on insurance costs, NOFD Chairman Craig Shaw said.

The NOFD annually uses $10,000 from its fiscal budget to provide five new fire hydrants.

"In our charter, it specifically says one of our responsibilities is to provide fire hydrants," Shaw said.

Auburn Water System officials work with the NOFD to find locations with high population density. The water company also provides labor for installing the hydrants.

The NOFD is providing a vital community service, Richard Laux, Auburn Water's operations manager, said.

"The more (population) grows, the more the need grows," he said.

The need is to save lives and property, NOFD Chief Ed Cutler said.

"Providing emergency water for fire — that's the objective," he said. "The objective of putting the hydrants in is to benefit the most people."

More details:

If you are a homeowner living within 1,000 feet of these fire hydrant locations, North Okaloosa Fire District and Auburn Water System officials suggest contacting your homeowner's insurance provider about potential savings. Locations are as follows:

The corners of: Auburn Road and Hayes Drive; Reinke Drive and Hunter Drive; Auburn Road and Tansey Lane; Bill Lundy Road and Josey Road; Grandview Drive and Wheeler Place; Grandview Drive and Oakcrest Drive; and Phil Tyner Road and Pointer Road, or the north end of Aurora Drive.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: NOFD: New fire hydrants could save homeowners money

CRESTVIEW — William Lee was one of several residents who appreciated Ferris Powell's vast knowledge of Native American culture following Saturday's American Indian Hunting Camp at the Crestview Public Library.

"I am very interested in Native American history," he said. "I have learned a lot from this man."

During the presentation, the Shalimar resident, also called "Blue Heron," educated attendees on Creek Indians, who occupied the southeastern United States in the 1500s.  

"When everyone thinks about Indians, they think about head dresses and tepees," Powell said. "I try to give them some education, insight on what it was like."

Wearing Native American attire, Powell spoke about Creek Indian history, clothing, weaponry and recreational activities.

 Jeff Kiewiet brought Cub Scouts in Pack 799 to meet their education requirements.

Pack member Waylon Hopwood, 8, said he enjoyed learning about various knives the Creek Indians used.

Lee attended last year's camp and plans to attend next year's event to learn more, he said.

"I do whatever I can just to be here, just to listen to him," he said. "In my opinion … more people need to come and just listen to just what the Native Americans went through."

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Hunting camp offers insight into Creek Indian Culture

CRESTVIEW — If grocery shoppers picked up one extra non-perishable food each week and donated it to Sharing and Caring, the local food bank could meet its weekly demand.

The "Everybody Give One" drive is the brainchild of Sharing and Caring volunteer Bret Jenkins, an instructor at the Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal at Eglin Air Force Base.

The number of families that Sharing and Caring serves continues to increase over last year's record-setting numbers, food bank vice president Robin Marston said.

"We're serving well over a hundred a week that walk through the door," she said, explaining that each person who collects food represents several other family members at home who were served by Sharing and Caring.

By buying nonperishable food offered during grocery stores' buy-one-get-one-free, known as "BOGO," sales, donors could help keep the food bank's shelves stocked, Jenkins said.

"If everybody would just give something every week, we'd have more than enough," he said. "When you go to Publix or Winn-Dixie and they have BOGO, that extra one could help feed a family at no extra cost."

Business drop-offs

Jenkins also initiated a business sponsorship program. At no cost to the business, Sharing and Caring will designate the company a food bank drop-off location, provide a collection bin, and will pick up donations weekly.

The News Bulletin, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Crestview station and Gordon Martial Arts are three sponsoring organizations.

The food bank is about to reap a windfall in one commodity thanks to local farmers, University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences extension agent Elaine Courtney said.

Courtney has been working on a peanut butter collection drive with the Crestview and Niceville chambers of commerce. Nearly 300 jars, or 5,288.5 ounces, of peanut butter were donated in the Crestview area.

The Florida Peanut Producers Association will match the donations ounce by ounce, Courtney said. Peanut butter will remain in the community in which it was donated, she said.

While some will remain with churches that donated it for use in their cold weather soup kitchens, the majority will go to Sharing and Caring, Courtney said.

WANT TO HELP?

Sharing and Caring needs nonperishable foods and toiletries. Canned hams, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing and other holiday feast fare are especially welcomed. Drop off donations at the News Bulletin, 705 Ashley Drive; Gordon Martial Arts, 130 Oakdale Ave.; the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, 197 E. James Lee Blvd.; or Sharing and Caring, 298 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., all in Crestview.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Sharing & Caring launches food drive, business support network

Crestview AMVETS members, for another year, will deliver Thanksgiving dinner to Hub City residents who can't afford it.  

Meals include turkey with gravy, stuffing and rolls, green beans and corn, a fruit cup and dessert.

The delivery area includes Shoal River in the east and south, Yellow River to the west and Auburn Road to the north.

Call 682-8435 before 5 p.m. Nov. 25 to have a free meal delivered to you. Provide your name, address, phone number and the number of meals needed, along with directions to your home.

You may also call and reserve meals to be picked up instead.

This is the 14th year that Crestview AMVETS have delivered Thanksgiving meals to needy residents.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview AMVETS members delivering Thanksgiving dinners