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

 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)

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

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

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

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

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