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Knights of Columbus Ladies plan Crestview fundraiser, luncheon

CRESTVIEW — An annual Bunco fundraiser and luncheon is planned 9:30 a.m. Aug. 10 at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 701 U.S. Highway 90 E., Crestview.

Tickets to the Ladies Auxiliary-sponsored event cost $25. Call 689-3113 to purchase.

The fundraiser benefits USO Hope House (Teen Shelter) Neonatal Unit at Sacred Heart Hospital.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Knights of Columbus Ladies plan Crestview fundraiser, luncheon

Citizen of the Year presentation Aug. 13 at Crestview City Hall

CRESTVIEW — George Whitehurst will be honored as the Mae Reatha Coleman Citizen of the Year at 5 p.m. Aug. 13 at City Hall, Wilson St., Crestview.

Coleman invites everyone to attend and share their appreciation of the former Crestview mayor.

Whitehurst is credited with procuring funding for two fire department substations and the Crestview Public Safety Building; initiating a drive and raising funds for the Okaloosa County Veterans Memorial; securing 15 acres at no cost to the city for the Crestview Public Library and the community center, and more.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Citizen of the Year presentation Aug. 13 at Crestview City Hall

SPECIAL OCCASION: Syklawer and Kumar plan Jan. 18 wedding

Doctors Erica Syklawer and Neel Kumar are engaged.

Dr. and Mrs. Ricardo Syklawer of Dothan, Ala., announce the engagement of their daughter, Dr. Erica Elaine Syklawer, to Dr. Neel Mukul Kumar, son of Mr. and Mrs. Mukul Kumar of Snohomish, Wash.

The bride elect's grandparents are Edith Newton Hilburn of Crestview, and the late Howard Edward Hilburn, and Mr. and Mrs. William Syklawer of Miami.

Erica, a 2002 graduate of Houston Academy, graduated magna cum laude with University Honors from the University of South Alabama in 2005. She received a B.A. in art history and a minor in chemistry and was president of Chi Omega Sorority.

Erica graduated from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in 2010. She will complete residency training in pathology at the University of Texas at Houston in 2014, and will then complete a dermatopathology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

The future bridegroom is the grandson of Dr. and Mrs. Sumant Gupta of Irvine, Calif., and Mr. Gajendra Kumar and the late Mrs. Kamla Kumar of India.

Neel, a 2001 graduate of Snohomish High School, graduated from the University of Washington in 2006 with a B.S. in chemical engineering, a B.S. in biochemistry and a minor in chemistry. He was the treasurer of Theta Xi Fraternity and vice president of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society.

Neel graduated from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in 2010. He is currently the chief resident in ophthalmology at the Louisiana State University and Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans. After residency, Dr. Kumar will pursue an oculoplastic surgical fellowship.

The wedding is Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014, at First Presbyterian Church, with the reception afterward at The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans.

The News Bulletin publishes north Okaloosa County residents' “Special Occasions”— birth, centenarian, engagement, wedding and anniversary announcements— at no charge. Submissions may be edited for length and style.

Call 682-6524 or email news@crestviewbulletin.com for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SPECIAL OCCASION: Syklawer and Kumar plan Jan. 18 wedding

CHECK IT OUT: Instrument zoo and evening library time planned

See, touch, hear, play, create and eat — that’s right! — a variety of instruments at the Crestview Robert L.F. Sikes Public Library during our Instrument Petting Zoo on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

Arrive any time between 6 and 6:45 p.m. for the zoo, which ends at 7:30 p.m.

Cub Scout Pack 799, Bear Den 11 and Tiger Den 4 will provide instrument-shaped snacks. Special thanks to them and to Upbeat Music and the Pelican Pickers for sharing their instruments.

Evening Library Time is for children as young as age 4 and young-at-heart adults. If you bring smaller children, please keep a close eye on them.

Registration is not required for this free event.

Questions? Call me at 682-4432.

STAFF PICK

“I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie” by Alison Jackson

One of my favorite silly food stories is “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie” by Alison Jackson, with illustrations by Judith Byron Schachner. It’s a Thanksgiving story, but kids will enjoy it year-round.

The old lady who comes for Thanksgiving dinner has brought a mouthwatering pie — and a monstrous appetite!

To the horror of her flabbergasted hosts and the delight of their children — and readers — the ever expanding elder makes an unexpected contribution to the holiday festivities.

This book is the perfect treat for anyone needing a larger-than-life-size laugh.

Heather Nitzel is the Crestview Public Library's youth services librarian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: Instrument zoo and evening library time planned

Crestview Emergency Response Team offers free training (DOCUMENT)

 CRESTVIEW — The Crestview Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, is offering free basic CERT training course starting on Saturday, Aug. 3.

The basic training course will discuss fire safety,  disaster preparedness and rescue operations among other topics.

This will be the first time that CERT has offered the course, Mark Brown, team chief for Crestview CERT, said.

Click here to get an application for the CERT course >>

"The program consists of 20 hours of training and emphasizes hands-on practice," Brown said in an email. "Classes are taught by trained emergency personnel, including firefighters and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel."

The free training courses continue 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10 and 24. The final exercise and graduation is 1-3 p.m. Aug. 25.

The training is projected to take place at the Crestview Community Center, 1446 Commerce Drive. Should the location change participants will be notified by event organizers. 

 After successful completion of the course, participants will receive a Federal Emergency Management Agency certificate, endorsed by FEMA, the state of Florida, and the Okaloosa County Emergency Management.

In addition the to the certificate, participants will be also receive a free emergency response kit. The kit will include a first aid kit, protective gear, emergency tools and batteries.  

 Those interested in attending must complete a  training application form, which is required for a mandatory background check. 

 Applications can be emailed to kwolfe@co.okaloosa.fl.us, or completed paper applications can be given to Wendell Beattie, by calling 758-2863.

 The deadline to apply has been extended to Aug. 1.

Participants ages 16 and 17 are asked to have written  consent from a parent or legal guardian, in order to attend.

 For more information on the training course, contact Crestview CERT at crestviewcert@yahoo.com.

Want to go?

What:  Free Basic Training Class

When:  Saturday, Aug. 3  from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

            Saturday, Aug. 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

            Saturday, Aug. 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

            Sunday, Aug. 25 from  1-3 p.m.

Where: The Crestview Community Center at 1446 Commerce Drive

Cost: Free

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 Emergency Response Team offers free training (DOCUMENT)

Woman in serious condition after being hit by train

The railroad trestle crossing the Yellow River is where Mindy Raven Sabor, 22, was hit by an oncoming train Tuesday afternoon. CSX Corporation is investigating the incident.

CRESTVIEW — A woman hit by a train in Crestview has been flown to an unspecified Pensacola hospital and is listed in serious condition, according to Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Capt. Larry Ward.

She and a male were on a trestle prior to the incident, authorities said, adding the male also was transported to the hospital.

A representative from CSX Corporation said the train, consisting of four locomotives and 58 freight cars, was traveling from Waycross, Georgia to New Orleans at the time of the incident.

We'll bring you more details as we learn them.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Woman in serious condition after being hit by train

Gale Virtual Reference database gives social media handbook access

To celebrate Library Journal readers voting Gale Virtual Reference Library this year’s "Best Overall Database,” Gale is adding a complimentary e-reference title to the Florida Electronic Library’s Gale Virtual Reference Library collection.

The Gale Business Insights Handbook of Social Media Marketing examines the questions "What is social media marketing?" and "How can it be used in my business?"

This volume focuses on building an internal business case for using social media; highlighting its importance and the benefits it can provide; and explaining how to implement a successful strategy and measure its effectiveness.

Entries examine such topics as:

•Social media types and their followers.

•How to increase discoverability.

•How to define and protect your brand.

•Legal challenges with social media.

To access this title go to www.cityofcrestview.org/library.php and click on the Electronic Resources tab on the left. Scroll down, click on the blue GVRL icon, and enter your 14-digit Crestview Public Library card number. You will find the title in the “Business” section.

Summer reading finale

Summer-reading challenge logs must be turned in by 6 p.m. today. The Summer Finale and Readers Awards is 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 30 at the Crestview Community Center.

Afterward, children who read at least 15 minutes a day June 17-July 21 can spend earned “funny money” in the Funny Money Store.

Talk to the world with amateur radio

Over the past 20 years, communications at the touch of a button have become commonplace. The cell phone enables us to talk to our nextdoor neighbor or a loved one serving in the military on the other side of the world.

However, as we have learned in natural and man-made disasters, this communication infrastructure is fragile. If this system breaks down, amateur radio can take its place and get information to the outside world.

On Aug. 6 at the Crestview Public Library, Ronald Mahn, amateur call sign KI5FR, and Mike Martell, KK4KRZ, from the North Okaloosa Amateur Radio Club will demonstrate the many things you can do with amateur or ham radio.

The program, appropriate for fourth-grade students through adults, begins at 10:30 a.m. with coffee, juice, and cookies served starting at 10 a.m.

We will listen to people talk and transmit data from around the world, and some audience members will be able to talk to other people in Okaloosa County using sophisticated hand-held radios.

At the end of the presentation — weather and equipment permitting — attendees can step outside the library and talk to people around the country. They'll use a radio and satellite 300 miles above the earth as it passes over the library between 11:20 and 11:35 a.m.!

You can learn more about this hobby using books available at the library, thanks to a donation from the local radio club.

STAFF PICK

“Fordlndia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City” by Greg Grandin

In 1927, Henry Ford purchased property twice the size of Delaware in the Brazilian Amazon. He wanted to grow rubber there for his automobile line, but his business’ American policies clashed with indigenous workers’ native sensibilities. Author Greg Grandin chronicles the rise and demise of Fordlndia, which ultimately was sold for a $20 million loss after synthetic rubber’s rise.

Sandra Dreaden is the Crestview Public Library's reference librarian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Gale Virtual Reference database gives social media handbook access

Davis Road residents in Svea want better maintenance

Hazel Harper displays a bolt that she found on Davis Road. The county has replaced five of her tires due to debris in the fill rocks.

SVEA — Some residents say Okaloosa County doesn't even address road concerns, but two Davis Road residents say the county doesn’t make proper repairs.

Davis Road, a dirt country lane, runs from State Road 85 north to the Alabama state line through the Svea community east of Laurel Hill. In dry weather, it's a drive through verdant farmland and beneath leafy shade trees. However, when it rains, Davis Road becomes a quagmire, resident Hazel Harper said.

"It's just a mess down here," she said. "Some of us have small cars. We're not all truck drivers."

Clay Simmons, Okaloosa County Public Works Roads Division manager, said plans are in place to return Davis to passable condition.

"When you got the kind of rainfall we've had of late, the routine problems have been amplified," he said.

Once washouts and standing water issues are addressed, the road will return to routine weekly grading maintenance, Simmons said.

However, Mike Harper, Hazel's son and neighbor, said the county doesn't do the maintenance correctly.

"When they grade the road, they just churn up the top layer of rocks," he said. "They don't lower the blade (of the grader) enough to grade the potholes down. When they grade, they don't do it properly."

Before grading, there was little standing water at the entrance of David Osborne's driveway and around his mailbox. Scraping soil from the side of the road created a depression that three days after recent rains was still a large puddle.

Farther south, runoff from recently logged property has started flooding the road, causing ruts and potholes as traffic passes, Hazel Harper said.

"It fills up so heavily with water that it runs across the road," she said.

The county is aware of the drainage problem and hopes to address it through regular weekly grading, Simmons said.

In addition, the county hopes to pave Davis Road next year, he said.

In the meantime, Harper said an ongoing problem is ballast the county scooped from an abandoned railroad bed in the 1990s to build up Davis Road.

Mixed in with rocks — some jagged enough to embed in vehicle tires — was metal debris including railroad spikes and pieces of hardware that fell off trains.

Although the county cleared much of the rocks and debris several years ago, ongoing maintenance and heavy rains reveal pockets of the sharp rocks and occasional pieces of metal.

Hazel Harper said the county has replaced five of her tires, though a request for reimbursement for a tire perforated by one of the sharp ballast rocks was denied.

"Every time I go into Strickland Tires, he laughs and says, 'They graded your road again, didn't they?'" Harper 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: Davis Road residents in Svea want better maintenance

New water well and tank progressing on Old Bethel Road in Crestview

Workers from Speegle Construction have completed the basic structure of Crestview's newest landmark, a water tank on Old Bethel Road.

CRESTVIEW — The city's newest landmark is taking shape on Old Bethel Road as contractors complete the basic structure of a tank that will store water from a new well.

Since mid-March, Speegle Construction crews have been working on the well next to Old Bethel Cemetery and constructing the tank. Simultaneously, another crew from Evans Contracting has buried a 10-inch diameter PVC water main south of the well along the winding countryside road.

The whole project is budgeted at $2.04 million.

"They are essentially done," city engineer Fred Cook said. "They just have to pressure-test the line and do a bacteriological test."

City planning officials forecast the city's next wave of growth will occur in the area. New housing developments have sprung up along Old Bethel Road in the last year.

The new pipeline includes several fire hydrants. The Crestview Fire Department hopes to construct a new firehouse on Old Bethel Road to serve the expected growth and existing neighborhoods.

Public Works officials said the new well and pipeline will link Crestview's water distribution lines currently serving as far south as Antioch Road’s western portion.

Although recent thunderstorms have set construction of the tank back about two weeks, the project should be completed by the end of January 2014 as scheduled, city engineer Fred Cook said.

"It's the well and the well house that will take the rest of the time," Cook said, adding well drilling should begin July 22.

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: New water well and tank progressing on Old Bethel Road in Crestview

CHECK IT OUT: The Crestview Public Library as a meeting place

For years, libraries were known as the place to borrow books. We have evolved into a community meeting place, providing a space where community members come together and talk about what they can do for the community or what the community can do for them. Meeting room space is available for groups up to 80 people.

We are also the community’s technology center, providing free access to the internet, Wi-Fi, notary service and fax service.

A wide variety of classes is available; for example, this past month we started a sign language and Spanish language class. We provide space for art exhibits and musical performances. Another out-of-the-box program is stargazing — 6:30-8 p.m. third Tuesdays — presented by Tom Haugh from the Northwest Florida Astronomy Association. The Northwest Florida Astronomy Association has donated an Orion Star Blast 4.5-inch telescope for check out.

Check out our library — you will be surprised and delighted by what is available.

However, please note: We will close Friday for air conditioning repair. We will reopen at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

STAFF PICK, Jean Lewis

“The Plum Tree,” audiobook edition by Ellen Marie Wiseman

This very informative novel features lots of detail about Germany during World War II and the Holocaust. After listening to the audio book, I was instantly drawn into the time and place.

Kristine — the narrator, a young German teenager — falls in love with a Jewish boy just as the Germans order all Jewish people in their community to restrict their behavior and wear the yellow Jewish Star.

After the boy and his family are sent to a work camp, Kristine helps him escape and hides him in her attic. However, both are discovered and sent to Dachau, the German concentration camp, where they remain until the war ends.

This historical novel depicts the horrors of life in Dachau and provides insight into the life of Germans during that time.

STAFF PICKS, Marie Garcia

“Gettysburg: The Last Invasion” by Allen C. Guezlo

The 150th anniversary of this historic three-day battle fought during the American Civil War has passed, but interest in the subject continues, especially for Civil War buffs.

Many works detailing the battle are considered one of the war’s major turning points, and Guezlo’s work will surely be included among the list of this bloody battle’s great accounts. The writer’s work brings to life the grittiness, loss and suffering of those who fought.

Also recommended is the movie "Gettysburg," starring Martin Sheen and Jeff Daniels. It is based on Jeff Shaara’s acclaimed novel, "The Killer Angels." Both are available at the library.

Want to learn more about the Civil War and have a library card? Browse through our “Sources in U.S. History: The Civil War” electronic resource. This database is rich in primary sources like vivid photos and personal journals written by those who fought and lived during the war.

Contact Info:

Website: www.cityofcrestview.org/library.php

 Phone: 682-4432

 Address: 1445 Commerce Drive, behind the Crestview post office.

Jean Lewis is the Crestview Public Library's director.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: The Crestview Public Library as a meeting place

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