NICEVILLE — Family members gathered at the Martial Arts Combat Academy on Saturday to watch Harrison Mauldin receive an honorary black belt.

The 14-year-old Crestview resident earned the honor for his accomplishments in the Special Olympics, along with showing leadership skills and determination.

Harrison, who has a high-functioning form of autism, has participated in the Special Olympics for the past two years, winning a bronze medal in the 800-meter run and a silver medal in the 1,500-meter run in May during the state Olympic games in Orlando. 

"I have never met anyone with the determination that he has," Harrison’s father, Rodney, said. "Once he sets his mind to something, he is going to do it." 

This was the first time the Niceville academy has given an honorary black belt to someone with no martial arts background, instructor John Lee said.

However, Harrison "fit the mold" for criteria of earning an honorary black belt, he said.

"In society today, he is trying to be a positive role model, not just in the Special Olympics, but he encourages other children to get up and be healthy," Lee said.

Harrison also received a martial arts uniform and plaque.

Achieving victory in anything is simple for the teenager, who plans to continue participating in Special Olympics running competitions.

"I win in my heart," Harrison said. "I will always picture myself as a winner." 

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 teen, Special Olympics standout earns honorary black belt

CRESTVIEW — Carol Brown, a secretary at Laurel Hill School, has found the owner of several mementos mistakenly donated last year to the school.  

"I couldn't just throw them away," she said, referring to items including a scrapbook of family photos, report cards and a birth certificate.

After investigating the box’s contents, searching the Internet and receiving help from school staffers, Brown found a Crestview address and phone number for Leslie Atkinson, whom she believed owned the items. She drove to his last known address, asked neighbors about Atkinson, and received the phone number for Vicki, Atkinson's wife.

"I was puzzled when she first called, but as she explained further, I was then flabbergasted," Atkinson said. "… I am amazed that someone would go through the trouble of doing that.”

Atkinson, who moved to Tuttle, Okla., with his wife last October, said he was donating several boxes of National Geographic and Reader’s Digest magazines to the school's library last summer when he accidentally included the mementos.

"It may have been another year until I would have noticed that it was missing," he said. "I would never have guessed it would have been located at Laurel Hill School."

Brown said she was glad to finally reach the mementos’ owner.

"(I was) so happy to find Mr. Atkinson," she said in an email. "It was a great feeling to be able to talk to him."

Atkinson works for the civil service in Oklahoma City. Previously, he worked at Eglin Air Force Base for 10 years.

He and Brown are making arrangements for Brown to mail the box of belongings to Oklahoma.

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: Laurel Hill School staffer finds Okla. man, will return lost mementos

A beloved local activist known for her drive and candor has passed away.

Bobbye Sikes Wicke died in her sleep Aug. 4 at her daughter’s home in Bendersville, Pa. She was 85.

“She had a good long life,” said Bettie Lehr, a longtime friend. “She held up like a trooper until the very end.”

Sikes Wicke, the oldest child of the late Congressman Bob Sikes, was born in Crestview. After moving around the country she returned to Okaloosa County in the mid-1990s. From the moment she arrived until her health declined, Sikes Wicke was involved in the community

  Almost immediately she joined a number of local organizations, including the Okaloosa County Democrats and the Okaloosa Citizens Alliance.

“She was what you might call one of the kingpins, or in her case queenpins,” said Judy Byrne Riley, who got to know Sikes Wicke best while they worked together the year that the Florida Democratic Women’s Club held its convention in Okaloosa County

Anytime she tackled a task she’d see it through to the end, Byrne Riley said.

The proof of her determination can be found in the books she wrote, including her father’s biography, and newsletters she helped publish and distribute. It’s also evident to anyone who walks into the local Democratic headquarters.

No less than five photos on the wall show Sikes Wicke.

“She was available almost anytime,” Lehr said. “She did everything from parades to the fair.”

Although a positive person by nature, Sikes Wicke never shied from the truth or from expressing her view.

“Classic Bobbye would be speaking her mind and telling you,   whether you wanted to hear it or not,” Lehr said with a laugh.

Politics wasn’t her only love. She raised five children while trying her hand at several careers, from starting a medical publishing business to running a horse farm in Pennsylvania to selling real estate.

She remained in Okaloosa County until last year when she decided to move to Pennsylvania so her daughter could help take care of her.

Rather than hold any sort of local ceremony, Sikes Wicke asked people to make a donation to the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in honor of her dog, Bella, whom she adopted there several years ago.

Lehr last talked to Sikes Wicke about two weeks ago. She said that while her friend was “ready to go,” her death will be felt keenly by many.

“We loved her dearly,” she said.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview native, Okaloosa activist Bobbye Sikes Wicke dies

CRESTVIEW — Attendees of the Crestview Public Library’s First Tuesday series now know more about amateur radio.

 The North Okaloosa Amateur Radio Club, or NOARC, explained how someone can get started as a so-called ham operator.

 Ron Mahn, a training expert with the club, hosted the event.

Watch children communicate on amateur radio for the first time >>

"My hobby is amateur radio," he said. "I love the opportunity to talk to people around the world."

 Attendees had the opportunity to use the ham technology, which was one reason Andrew Moore, 12, showed up.

 "I wanted to come out here and listen to and talk into the radio," he said.

 Moore was one of three children who communicated with a Fort Myers-based operator.

"At first I was a little nervous about talking to other people from around the world, but then I (realized) that there was nothing to be worried about," he said.

  Later, attendees went outside the library, where club members made contact via satellite with a radio operator in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ham operators must pass a test to be a licensed amateur radio operator, Mahn said, adding that NOARC serves our area numerous ways, particularly as a backup communication mode for hurricane evacuation shelters.

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 residents get to be ham operators for a day (VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — The Crestview Fire Department responded to residential fire at 578 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., after midnight Aug. 7.

Investigators determined a faulty gas water heater caused the fire.

No one was injured or killed, but property damage was estimated at $50,000 for the house and $15,000 for its contents.

North Okaloosa Fire District also responded to the scene.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview fire causes $65,000 in damage

CRESTVIEW — When AMVETS Post 35 members post and retire service flags in front of their headquarters, they will have a local Boy Scout to thank for the new walkway down the center of the flag array.

Click here to see Tayler Vest's Eagle Scout Court of Honor photos>>

On Saturday, Tayler Vest of Troop 773 in Crestview will receive scouting's highest rank at his Eagle Court of Honor. The walkway was his Eagle project that qualified him for the rank.

Tayler, a June Crestview High School graduate, said he got the idea for the walkway as den chief of Cub Scouts Pack 535's Webelos; he took his younger charges to the post several times and always felt that something was missing.

"When it came time to do an Eagle project, I decided I would do a walkway for the AMVETS," he said.

Tayler brought the idea to AMVETS post commander Craig Sarrasin, who readily gave his consent.

"He loved the idea," Tayler said. "Where they have all the flagpoles, it was just barren. It didn't look right."

Getting to work

A 15-person crew of Boy Scouts from Tayler's troop and adult volunteers got to work at 7:30 a.m. on a rainy May 11 at the AMVETS post on John King Road.

By 11 a.m., they had dug a shallow trench, lined it, put sand in place, installed red paving stones and tamped them down. They then stood back to admire the results of their labor.

Tayler had designed the project and overseen its completion. Per Eagle candidate rules, he was not allowed to actively participate in the actual construction except in a supervisory position.

In designing the project, which will include a stone bench at the end of the walk, Tayler turned to his family's home library.

"We had a home improvement book and I referenced a couple pages out of it for the whole project," he said.

Sarrasin said his organization is grateful for Tayler and fellow scouts’ hard work.

"They did a real good job on it. It's a great project,” Sarrasin said.

Proud parents

Saturday, Tayler will receive the Eagle Scout neckerchief and patch at his Court of Honor at the American Legion post on U.S. Highway 90.

This fall, Tayler will begin studying electrical engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University in Daytona Beach. In June, he received the university's Outstanding Senior Aviation Student award for his studies under Crestview High's CHOICE Aviation Institute.

His parents, Kellie and Joe Vest, are proud of their son's accomplishments.

"My son has come so far," Kellie Vest stated in an email. "He started scouting in first grade at Holloman AFB in New Mexico and has been involved since.

"In fourth grade, Tayler was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. He overcame what some call a disability and turned it into an ability."

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: Crestview Boy Scout builds walkway for AMVETS post

CRESTVIEW — Michael Ayers’ family seeks the community’s support for the 29-year-old recently diagnosed with leukemia.

A benefit fish fry and auction is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Old Spanish Trail Park. Proceeds will benefit costs of medical treatments and medications.

 Michael, who lacks health insurance, is receiving six weeks of chemotherapy treatment at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.

 "The chemo has recently kicked (the leukemia) out of his bloodstream," event organizer Andrea Lauren David, Michael’s ex-wife, said. "Right now, he is awaiting results on his bone marrow."

Family life

Michael has four children, Elizabeth, 12, and Kyle, 10, with Andrea; Memphis, 5 months, with his girlfriend, Victoria; and Alexandra Brooke, 13, from a prior relationship.

He attends all his children's activities and sporting events, like Kyle's inner-city football games or Elizabeth’s horse riding, and he regularly calls Alexandra, who lives with other family members in Omaha, Neb., Andrea said.

"His kids are his world; nothing is more important to him," she said.

Financial strain

Michael was working in construction before his diagnosis; his current unemployment and lack of insurance have made it difficult to support his family and cover health care costs.

Meanwhile, Victoria, a stay-at-home mom, spends $70 on gas, taking trips from Crestview to Pensacola to spend time with him, Andrea said.

"Something had to be done," she said.

Fish fry for a cause

Family members hope proceeds from a fish fry and auction on Saturday will significantly offset Michael’s medical bills. Patrons can feast on fried mullet and hush puppies, a side of coleslaw, and baked beans with a beverage.

Activities include a yard sale; children’s pony rides, courtesy of Ropin’ the Truth; an inflatable bounce house; live music from local musicians; and an auction.

Organizers have collected gift certificates and items from local restaurants and businesses including Wayne's Catfish House and Publix Grocery in Crestview, Andrea said.

She and other family members seek additional support.

"We are still going from business to business," she said. 

Want to go?

WHAT: Fish fry and auction benefiting Michael Ayers

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10

WHERE: Old Spanish Trail Park on Stillwell Boulevard, Crestview

COST: $5, adults; $3, children ages 10 and younger

DETAILS: Andrea Ayers, 603-3381 or Ayer25@hotmail.com, or Alisha Kyser, 902-1045 or kysermom@gmail.com

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: Fish fry, auction to benefit Crestview man with leukemia

Shelter House Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Center, formerly Shelter House, now offers 24-7 sexual assault advocacy and support to sexual assault survivors.

After learning that Okaloosa and Walton counties’ rape crisis services were ending this spring, Shelter House leadership filed a letter of intent with the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence to become a certified rape crisis center.

Following the organization’s name change, an on-call team will soon respond to all hospitals and police departments for sexual assault survivors and those involved with forensic rape examinations.

Survivors seeking services may call the Crestview outreach office, 290 Martin Luther King Blvd., at 850-683-0845.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Shelter House now serving sexual violence survivors

MILLIGAN — Allen Fountain has a message for Valerie Rose Young: He has her Richbourg Middle School class ring.

"We found it years ago in Baker at the ball field," he said.

It was probably in 1997 when he found the ring, which is silver with a red stone, and has "VRY" engraved inside the band, Fountain said.

Thinking the initials were unique, he consulted with school administrators to identify the student. Young's name was the only one that matched the initials and the period in which the ring was found.

Richbourg Middle School dissolved about 11 years later, and its students moved to the newly opened Shoal River Middle School.

Fountain said he has learned Young comes from a military family and had moved to another town.

Still, he hopes someone might remember Young from middle school, is still in contact with her and can let her know he'd like to return her ring.

"It's probably not worth much but it means something to her," he said.

…

Do you know Valerie Young?

Allen Fountain hopes a reader might know Valerie Rose Young, a former Richbourg Middle School student whose ring he found in Baker. If so, contact Fountain at 585-7817.

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: Searching for Valerie: Milligan man seeks owner of lost class ring