CRESTVIEW — After another year of voluntarily sowing gardening and landscape advice for area residents, Okaloosa County Master Gardeners took time Wednesday afternoon to be recognized for their efforts.

Choosing some of the award recipients was difficult because all of the county's 95 Master Gardeners are active in the program, Okaloosa County Extension director Larry Williams said.

See the photo gallery from the Master Gardener awards ceremony>>

"It's a challenge because if it was just a few people and they didn't do anything, it'd be easy, but it's a big group that does so much," Williams said.

Volunteer Master Gardeners serve under the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Cooperative Extension Service at its Airport Road office.

Volunteers’ amount of work equates to three full-time employees, Extension Commercial Horticulture agent Sheila Dunning said. Their services include answering home horticultural questions in person and on the telephone, and working with youth through the county 4-H program.

The gardeners also operate the County Extension testing laboratory; operate a speakers bureau for organizations and gardening clubs; and run Fort Walton Beach’s Master Gardener nursery.

"You're not on your own when it comes to home horticulture," Master Gardener Carol Rose said. "If you move here from anywhere else, you'll know gardening in sand is just difficult. We're here to help."

"I'm just astounded by the amount of valuable volunteer work this organization does," County Commissioner Dave Parisot said during the awards luncheon.

Potential Master Gardeners must apply and interview for admission to the program's 50-hour training classes; pass a comprehensive examination; and work under a mentor before becoming certified.

This year, 31 newly graduated Master Gardeners, the largest class Williams ever instructed, received their diplomas at the awards luncheon. They will be certified following mentor internships.

Then they can operate the phones and address often-memorable gardening questions such as a query Shari Farrell received about 15 years ago.

"This woman called and said, 'Was I right in turning off the water to my neighbors' house while they were on vacation, because it was overflowing on my property and I was getting fungus on my lawn?'" Farrell said.

Farrell said she was about to assure the caller it was probably a good idea until the woman added that shutting off the water also deprived the inside sprinkler system and the house burned down.

"'But I took brownies over,' she told me," Farrell said.

Master Gardener Awards

Master Gardener of the Year: John Bauer

Outstanding Telephone Communicator: Laurie Mackey

Outstanding Educator: Marge Stewart

Outstanding Service to Youth: Linda Meyers

2,000-hour pin: Jenny Gillis and Marge Stewart

1,000-hour pin: Honey Jennings

500-hour pin: Charlie Reuter, Amy Jo Rosati and Joyce Waters-Smith

15-year recognition: John Hipp, Karen Kirk-Williams, Dr. Lionel Leon, Sandie Olsen, John Palm and Ed Smith

10-year recognition: Pat Collins and Linda Morris

"Call On Me" Award: Bob Bayer, Bill Buckellew, Andy Donatelli, Matt Donavin, Charlotte Dunkle, Jenny Gillis, Dorothy Green, Dick Hickenbotham, John Hipp, Laurie Mackey, Linda Morris, Charlie Reuter, Marge Stewart, Bob Thomas and Faye Todd

Service to 4-H/Youth: Lynn Fabian, Linda Meyers, Jane Montgomery, Olga Nemtseva, Marge Stewart, Carol Strom, Stacey Taylor and Roxy Shelgen

Community Education Award: Bob Bayer, Les Chambers, Mike Crow, Andy Donatelli, Shari Farrell, Dave Gordon, Rick Hastings, Marie Harrison, Linda Kulaw, Jane Montgomery, Marge Stewart and Karen Kirk-Williams

Friends of the Master Gardeners: Roger Jay, manager, Lowe's of Crestview; and Bob Buhrow

Pink Flamingo Award— given to a Master Gardener who makes a "grievous or hilarious error of judgment”: Stacey Taylor. She guided a field trip into Alabama that was intending to visit a farm in Walton County.

Home Gardening Advice:

Master Gardener volunteers provide free advice for home gardeners, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, at the University of Florida/IFAS County Extension office, 3098 Airport Road. The hotline, 689-5850, is open during the same hours.

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: Okaloosa County Master Gardeners' voluntary efforts recognized (PHOTOS)

CRESTVIEW — If all goes as planned, downtown patrons will be able to glimpse into the city's past when a mural goes up on the side of a 1920s building.

Brad Stewart, a descendant of a longtime area family, has been renovating the 1928 Main Street building that houses his law practice. The mural, designed and to be executed by artist Darryl Davis, depicts a child peering into a dentist's office that once occupied the building, as well as historic views of Main Street.

Among the vintage images is a recreation of a noted photo showing a man rowing a boat down Main Street during flooding in the 1960s.

The display will fill the building’s entire side and will wrap partially around the back.

"The actual back portion is visible from Highway 85, so we want to put something on the back that will be very aesthetically pleasing to the community," Stewart said.

The side street wall has a fresh coat of stucco over the 1950s or '60s stucco, Stewart said. His brother, Jeremy, the project's contractor, "smoothed it out so Mr. Davis would have a smooth canvas."

The Main Street façade was re-bricked with vintage, era-specific bricks after a false front of vinyl siding was removed in February.

A $10,000 Community Redevelopment Agency Façade Improvement Grant partially funded restoration of the National Historic Landmark.

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: Downtown Crestview mural to offer glimpse of Hub City history

CRESTVIEW — Soldiers who live at the Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) cantonment could use a recreation area, service members say.

A $10,000 donation from the Crestview Rotary Club will help.

Proceeds from the club’s fall corn maze in Baker funded the donation, former Rotary President Pat Dingess said.

“We really had no idea how successful it was going to be,” she said.

Members discussed several causes to help, but Heidi Blair, Northwest Florida’s United Service Organization director and wife of Rotarian John Blair, suggested the 7th SFG. 

Blair mentioned the project — which includes a pavilion, volleyball and basketball courts, charcoal grills and horseshoe pits — and that was all it took.

“When Heidi came to us with the issue that was going on out at the 7th Special Forces, that won hands down,” Dingess said. “We all feel very, very strongly that we need to support our troops.” 

The recreation area should get a lot use.

“There are a lot of good reasons to have that out there,” said 7th SFG Lt. Col. Chad Reiman, who accepted the check. “Enlisted officers and warrant officers have no place to gather and have a barbecue.”

Many soldiers who live at the cantonment lack transportation and can’t travel to Crestview, Fort Walton Beach or Destin, he said.

Working with the USO allowed the Rotary Club to ensure the money was earmarked for the specific project, Dingess said.

WANT TO HELP? Contact Heidi Blair at hblair@uso.org to donate the 7th Special Force Group (Airborne)’s recreation area.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Rotary’s $10K donation helps fund 7SFG recreational area

CRESTVIEW — A local assisted living home’s residents needn’t worry about bathing facilities and toilets.

Today, Mike Duffer, president and owner of the Nashville-based Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., surprised Crestview Manor's 60 residents with two free walk-in hydrotherapy tubs and the promise of 3,000 toilet paper rolls a year.

The tubs are being installed Saturday — one on each floor — and the toilet paper will keep rolling as long as Safe Step and Crestview Manor remain in business, Duffer said.

He became aware of the low-income residents' needs with an email from Crestview resident Shirley Perring, who — with coworkers at the Jackson Hewitt tax preparation office — supports Crestview Manor as a community service project.

Their involvement began around Easter when they offered to help Emerald Coast Hospice deliver "Baskets of Blessings" to the assisted living facility's residents.

Later, while home recuperating from back surgery, Perring contacted tub and toilet paper manufacturers.

"The tub is dangerous and looks like something out of ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’" Perring wrote in an email, referring to the film about patients in a decrepit mental facility.

"I wrote an email and the rest is history," she said. "Never in a million years did I think I would get it."

Safe Step Cares, the company's nationwide philanthropy program, has received "hundreds of requests" for donations, Derek Farley, president of Safe Step's public relations agency, said.

"The tub request we’re used to," he stated in an email. "The toilet paper request took us by surprise for very good reason: we don’t make toilet paper."

Though Safe Step wouldn't provide a value for the donated tubs, the units, which include custom installation, reportedly range between $10,000 and $15,000.

The toilet paper is estimated to cost Safe Step around $1,500 a year, Farley said.

“We’re a very blessed company and it’s a pleasure and a privilege to be able to make these life-changing donations,” Duffer said. “We are thrilled to bring comfort, independence, safety and convenience to Crestview Manor.”

“This is truly a miracle donation,” Crestview Manor director Becky Brice-Nash said. “It was a donation of a lifetime for some very special people, and beyond our wildest dreams.”

In addition to presenting the tubs and toilet paper, Safe Step treated residents to gift bags of toiletries and a catered lunch from Hub City Barbecue.

"It's mindboggling that this could happen and get this big," Perring said. "This all started with our little Crestview office doing Baskets of Blessings (in April). Unbelievable!"

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: Tubs, lifetime of toilet paper donated to Crestview Manor

FORT WALTON BEACH — Five parks may have potentially hazardous bathing water, The Florida Department of Health in Okaloosa County stated this week.

Advisories have been issued for Garniers Park of Fort Walton Beach; Poquito Park of Shalimar; East Pass of Destin; Lincoln Park of Valparaiso; and Rocky Bayou State Park of Niceville based on the enterococci standards recommended by the EPA. This should be considered a potential health risk to the bathing public.

*Please be advised that advisories issued due to recent sewer spills are still in effect. Liza Jackson Park in Fort Walton Beach, Marler Park on Okaloosa Island, and Lincoln Park in Valparaiso are under an advisory until further notice.

Due to poor water quality at East Pass in Destin and the recent wastewater spill in Fort Walton Beach and in an abundance of caution, Health Department officials are extending advisories to Gulf Islands National Seashore on Okaloosa Island and Clement E. Taylor Park in Destin until next week’s testing.

The health department advises the public not to enter the water, use water or jet skis, or boat in waters from Liza Jackson Park in Fort Walton Beach to Clement E. Taylor Park in Destin until samples show that the waters are safe.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Five parks receive advisories for fecal matter and sewage spill

CRESTVIEW — Central Baptist Church offers an alternative to traveling long distances for recreational water fun.

Crestview has no municipal pool, but the Recreational Outreach Center’s community pool — available to the public the past two years — is gaining popularity, ROC Director Dana Young said.

“It’s grown this year,” she said. “At any given time, we have around 20 to 30 (at the pool).” The pool, which Young said has a 56-person capacity, is open to the community Monday through Saturday.

Most guests are mothers who bring their children to the pool, Young said. However, military personnel regularly use the pool for exercise during lane swim time.

Shawn Jones and his Crestview family on multiple occasions have visited the ROC, rather than trek to public beaches on the county’s south end.

“It’s way better than the backyard hose,” he said. “It’s a great alternative to Destin traffic. It’s a great atmosphere to come to during community swim time.”

The ROC offers twice weekly water fitness classes taught by certified fitness instructor Dara Smith.

Her Tuesday and Thursday classes attract 20 to 30 participants.

“Basically, everything you do on the land you can do in the water,” Smith said. “It’s a nice change because you are sweating in the water, but you don’t realize how hot and sweaty you are. Because of that, she advises participants to bring plenty of liquids. The pool has an on-duty lifeguard during community swim hours — just in case, Young said. The facility features a fitness room with weight lifting equipment, basketball courts and a soon to be reopened racquetball court. ROC staffers are installing wheelchair accessible seating to allow those with special needs to enjoy the pool.

Such amenities are available to — and often are used by — non-church members, Young said.

“Most of the time, the only people with the church are the (ROC) staff,” she said.

WANT TO SWIM? What: Public swimming When: Various times, Monday through Saturday (see swimming schedule; must have Adobe Acrobat Reader) Where: Central Baptist Church’s Recreational Outreach Center, 1105 S. Pearl St. Cost: Day pass, $2 per person; monthly pass, $25 per person; family monthly pass, $50

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's Central Baptist Church offers public pool access

BAKER — Baker 4- H Adventurers who participated in the June 22 Florida 4-H Dog Project & Show Day at Ocala’s Southeastern Livestock Pavilion took home a number of awards.

The group represented Okaloosa County by participating in obedience and showmanship classes, the Dog Project Quiz Bowl and a Skill-a-thon.

In the obedience class, Okaloosa County’s Kalysta Laird took second place; Allie Dallas took third place.

OkaloosaCounty’s Lily Smith took second place, and Laird and Dallas took third place in showmanship.

The 4-H Dog Quiz Bowl, which tests members’ dog knowledge, allowed youths enrolled in the 4-H Dog Project to demonstrate their knowledge of dog-related subject matter. Questions tested the contestants’ knowledge of dog conformation and anatomy, canine health, and 4-H and American Kennel Club dog show rules. Two teams of four members competed against each other, with Okaloosa County placing fourth overall in the competition.

The Skill-a-thon was based on individual questions asked of participants, who had to demonstrate a variety of skills based on their age category. Okaloosa County competed in the junior division for ages 8-10, with Laird taking first place and Dallas placing third. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker 4-H members represent Okaloosa at Dog Project/Show Day

CRESTVIEW — Lightning likely caused the fire that destroyed a Painter Branch Road home this afternoon while Ronald Bray and his wife, Young, were away.

Fire officials were called to the residence around 2:30 p.m. after neighbors contacted volunteer firefighters from Dorcas.

Bray and his wife were at Big Kahuna's Water Park in Destin when they learned their home was engulfed in flames.

Firefighters rescued the couple's dog ─ Jill, a chocolate Labrador ─ which was inside the home during the fire.

Once the dog was free from the burning house, firefighters couldn't corral the scared animal. The dog then ran off into the neighborhood.

"Hopefully the dog is okay," Bray said.

In addition to the home being totaled, a family sport utility vehicle was heavily damaged. The home and vehicle are insured, Bray said. 

Bray said he and his wife will stay at a local hotel for the time being.

"Hopefully the insurance company will cover this," he said.

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: Lightning blamed for residential fire on Painter Branch Road

CRESTVIEW — Crestview Community Emergency Response Team and Holt Volunteer Fire Department members are helping Holt Boy Scouts work toward earning the Emergency Preparedness merit badge.

In turn, Troop 532 members will help Holt during natural or manmade disasters.

Mark Brown, the Crestview CERT’s team chief, on Monday advised six scouts about creating a troop mobilization plan. With the scouts’ assistance, volunteer firefighters could concentrate on providing relief in the community, helping the elderly and clearing roadways during emergencies, Holt Volunteer Fire Department Chief Scott Chestnut said.

"They can help us out in a lot of different ways, handing out water, handing out tarps, ice," he said. "That frees up our guys to do what they are trained to do."  

First, the scouts need to identify a meeting place, such as the troop’s regular meeting location or at the church. Additionally, they need an alternative location, should the first one be unavailable. Other priorities include establishing an alternative communication method, should telephone lines and cell phone towers be unavailable.

Once the troop writes the plan, it must be presented to Brown and Chestnut.

"This is the first time we have endeavored to do the Emergency Preparedness merit badge," Scoutmaster  Max Cooper said. "I have been affiliated with other scout troops in other cities; we have really never had a mobilization plan."

Bryce Taylor, 10, summed it up.

"Let’s just say, a tornado happens out in Holt, you have got to know what to do then," he said. "That is kind of what the badge is all about." 

Scouts browsed Holt fire engines and asked questions; later, they will tour the fire station to learn how they can assist the community during disasters.

The skills they’re developing have long-term implications, Brown said.

"This badge will develop a lifelong learning process that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives," he said. "What they learn now at this early age will teach them skills that they will continue to build on."

Crestview CERT, which trains residents in emergency preparedness, provides a similar service to support Hub City emergency responders.

The group regularly assists members to become CPR-certified and trains amateur radio enthusiasts for licensed communication.

"In the first 72 to 96 hours after a catastrophe hits … it’s going to be neighbors helping neighbors at that time," Brown said.

Email CERT officials at crestviewcert@yahoo.com. Crestview CERT can also be followed on Facebook at on.fb.me/17PyKeh.

Want to help?

 What: Crestview Community Emergency Response Team meetings

 When: 7-8 p.m., fourth Tuesdays

Where: Second-floor training room, Crestview Fire Department, 321 W. Woodruff Ave. The room is wheelchair accessible.

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: Holt Boy Scouts earning emergency preparedness badges

CRESTVIEW — Run for the Hills 5K Mud Run, an Okaloosa County Farm Bureau fundraiser, is 8 a.m. July 13 at 6358 Lake Ella Road, Dorcas. A kids fun run begins at 9:30 a.m.

The adult 5K costs $45; the kids fun run costs $20. Proceeds will benefit agriculture awareness programs that the Farm Bureau facilitates in Okaloosa County schools and communities.

Register or find more details at http://bit.ly/12flCrb.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: THIS WEEKEND: Run for the Hills 5K Mud Run to fund ag programs