Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Skip to main content
Advertisement

Crestview wreck seriously injures one

CRESTVIEW — Officials are investigating a crash on County Road and Hunting Meadows Drive that seriously injured one.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol press release, 43-year-old Crestview resident Kristi Lynn Speranza was traveling eastbound on County Road 188 when she crossed into the westbound lanes toward the north shoulder.

Speranza then veered her 2012 Ford Fiesta right and went into the westbound lane into the path of 68-year-old Laurel Hill resident Mikell Ellis Green, the release said.

Speranza’s vehicle then collided head on with Green’s 1999 Sterling Dump truck, the release said. The collision caused $12,000 of damages to the Fiesta and $10,000 to the Sterling.

Speranza was seriously injured in the crash and was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, the release said. Green was not injured.

Alcohol is not believed to be a factor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview wreck seriously injures one

Baker roads closed due to traffic crash, downed power lines

BAKER — All lanes are currently closed at the intersection of Griffith Mill Road and Grandmas Place streets in Baker.

Power lines are down due to a traffic crash in the area.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office states that drivers can expect delays and should use an alternate route, if possible.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker roads closed due to traffic crash, downed power lines

Mediation volunteers wanted for multiple county judicial slots

PENSACOLA — The First Judicial Circuit of Florida seeks volunteers to mediate cases for Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa’s county courts.

Supreme Court Certification training for county mediation is May 21-24 in Pensacola. This training will be free of charge for people interested in volunteering with the courts for several hours once or twice each month. 

Twenty slots are available.

Contact Gene Presley Jr., 595-4415 or Eugene.Presley@flcourts1.gov, for more information and an application. Alternatively, leave a message at 595-4482.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Mediation volunteers wanted for multiple county judicial slots

Commission sets Women's Wall of Honor ceremony for May 7

FORT WALTON BEACH— The Okaloosa County Commission on the Status of Women will recognize 2013 honorees next month.

The ceremony and reception begin at 10 a.m. May 7 at the University of West Florida’s Fort Walton Beach campus.

The OCCSW annually honors women who have contributed to area residents’ well-being.

 Honorees' names will appear on a plaque in the University of West Florida’s Emerald Coast campus library. A book will include a biographical page for each woman. 

Contact Valerie McLaughlin, 833-7587, extension 205, or woh@occsw.org, to RSVP your attendance.

More information

Contact Shirley Pigott, 651-3095 or chair@occsw.org, or see www.occsw.org for more information on the Okaloosa County Commission on the Status of Women.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Commission sets Women's Wall of Honor ceremony for May 7

Pregnancy Center 5K run coming April 13

CRESTVIEW — Mosaic Church in Crestview will sponsor this year's Crestview Pregnancy Center 5K Run on April 13.

The 5K run will begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by the kids’ fun run, for children ages 10 and under, at 9:30 a.m. The event will feature police and emergency vehicles on display, along with a helicopter that will land at the event.

Top male and female performers in the 5K, fun run and walking categories, and those pushing baby strollers, will earn awards. Additionally, door prizes including gift certificates from local businesses, such as a golf course and area restaurants, will be available. Each participant will receive snacks and a raffle ticket. Anyone who brings one or more packs of baby diapers will receive a raffle ticket.

Kids can enjoy face painting, balloons and a bounce house. The Mosaic Church band will provide live music.

"This event is one of our major fundraising events," Pregnancy Center director Sue Carrigan said. 

"One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the Crestview Pregnancy Center," said race coordinator and church member Holly Fitzwater.

More participants have pre-registered, contrasted with last year, Fitzwater said. The 2012 event attracted 200 participants.

The Crestview Pregnancy Center, 898 N. Pearl St., is a faith-based, nonprofit center that educates pregnant women and provides them with tools to prepare them for motherhood.

"We offer free pregnancy tests to those in their first trimester," Carrigan said. "We only help those that test positive at our facility."

The center also offers abstinence education to those who do not test positive for the pregnancy test. 

"On average, we see between 55 to 60 clients a month”; clients’ ages typically range between 16 and 20, Carrigan said. "We see a variety of women from different backgrounds."

Churches, businesses, organizations and individuals’ donations support the volunteer-run operation.

Want to go?

 The 5th annual Crestview Pregnancy Center 5K is 8:30 a.m. April 13 at Old Spanish Trail Park in Crestview. Register at http://bit.ly/USKDI0, or until 7:45 a.m. on the day of the run.   

More information

Call the Crestview Pregnancy Center, 682-1011, during business hours for more details on the 5K run. The center is open Monday and Tuesday, noon to 5 p.m., and Wednesday and Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

See http://on.fb.me/179iO3j for more details.

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: Pregnancy Center 5K run coming April 13

North county events take advantage of spring weather

More than 10,000 people are expected at the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce’s Triple B festival, downtown's biggest street festival.

CRESTVIEW — Several events today will allow north Okaloosa County residents to leave the house and enjoy fine spring weather.

Whether noshing barbecue, getting a car wash, swinging a golf club, petting a horse or choosing summer beach reading, there's something for a variety of interests.

Here's a rundown of events:

Baker School band 'Swing for the Music'

From 8-11 a.m., Foxwood Country Club, 4927 Antioch Road, hosts a second annual charity golf tournament benefiting the Sound of the Swamp. All proceeds go toward the band's travel, equipment and uniform expenses.

Registration is $50 per player, or $40 for Foxwood club members, and includes lunch. Door prizes will be awarded and a silent auction includes a one-night stay for two in Biloxi, Miss.

Crestview High School chorus carwash and bake sale

The award-winning, 130-voice high school chorus will wash cars for donations from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Carquest, 689 N. Ferdon Blvd., and AutoZone, 2045 S. Ferdon Blvd., in Crestview.

At the same time, the chorus will hold a bake sale at Sears, 1133 Industrial Drive. Funds from both events benefit the school's choral music program, including travel expenses and maintaining performance wardrobes and equipment.

Friends of the Crestview Library book sale

Thousands of books and videos in multiple genres pack the Crestview Public Library meeting room and fill tables on the front porch during the Friends of the Library's semi-annual book sale, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and tomorrow.

All proceeds support the library, including its new-book acquisition fund, which this year's city budget excluded.

Triple B Blackwater, Bluegrass and BBQ Cook-Off

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Crestview's downtown historic district will be filled with the aroma of freshly smoked barbecue and will echo with local groups’ music during the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual community barbecue festival.

Music stages at either end of Main Street bracket the four-block festival. In between, there's a variety of food, fun, art and — new this year — local artists displaying their talents. Admission is free.

Safe Haven Horse Rescue Celebration

Everything equine will be celebrated from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Safe Haven Horse Rescue farm, 8321 Stokes Road, Laurel Hill. Country singer Ed Tanza will entertain as visitors tour the stables, pet horses and participate in an auction.

Admission is $5 for adults; free for children age 6 or younger. A hamburger or hotdog lunch will be $5 for adults; free for children 6 and under. Bring a lawn chair to relax and enjoy the music.

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: North county events take advantage of spring weather

Roadside piano sparks passing neighbors' interest

Emily Sanders tickles the ivories on an old piano that raised neighbors' eyebrows when she set it out by the street.

CRESTVIEW — An upright piano sitting by John King Road excited the interest of passing neighbors in the Cherokee Bend subdivision earlier this week. Social media was instantly a-twitter at the sight.

However, unlike the grand piano that appeared on a sandbar off the coast of Mary Esther earlier this week, there was little mystery surrounding the southeast Crestview instrument. The owner simply wanted it out of her house.

"It's been in my house for three or four years," resident Emily Sanders said. "My son kept saying he's coming to get it, he's coming to get it. I finally gave him an ultimatum: 'Come and get it or I'm putting it out by the road.'"

Sanders said her son-in-law was originally going to put the piano out by the road several years ago, but her son wanted it for his own son to take piano lessons.

When a group of family and friends came to Sanders' home for Easter dinner, she realized she had the moving crew needed to schlep the piano out of the house.

With a "free piano" sign next to it, it wasn't long until a passing motorist stopped to examine the instrument Tuesday evening and promised to come back with the manpower and a vehicle to move it out of Sanders' carport.

Sanders estimated the piano, which bears no manufacturer's name, to be about 50 or 60 years old. She knows little else about it, except, "it's very, very heavy, and has three or four years of dust and dirt in it."

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: Roadside piano sparks passing neighbors' interest

CHECK IT OUT: Magazines available via email, book sale this weekend

Want to have popular magazines delivered right to your email free of charge?

Our Popular Magazines Collection database does just that, delivering users hundreds of titles with a strong focus on current events, sports, science and health.

So if it’s Cosmopolitan, Popular Science, House Beautiful, Women’s Health, Field and Stream or USA Today that you want, you can set up an alert to get it daily, weekly or monthly.

I am particularly impressed with The Economist for its analysis of international news, world politics, business, finance, science and technology. I have it delivered to my email each week so I can read it on my tablet.

To set up a journal alert:

•Go to www.cityofcrestview.org/library.php and click on “Electronic Resources” on the left frame.

•Scroll down and click on the red “Popular Magazines” icon.

•Enter your 14-digit library card number, without spaces.

•Search “Publication Title” for the magazine you want and click on the green title link within the results. There, you will find the “About this Publication” information, including the full-text coverage date range.

Some magazines, like Consumer Reports, will not have full text available for a period because they want you to buy the print subscription first.

Some articles in many magazines’ print version may not appear in the electronic version because the publisher is not the rights holder.

•Click “Create Journal Alert” on the right side under “Tools” and type your email address, choose how often you want it delivered, and click “Submit.”

We also encourage you to come into the library to browse the current issue of the magazines we subscribe to in print. (I do this with The Economist since not all articles are included in the database version.) Each magazine’s current issue appears on shelves in the rear of the library under the mural, and the back issues that may be checked out for two weeks are below.

The library also appreciates residents who donate magazine subscriptions to us. Please call Audrey, 682-4432, to learn what titles are needed.

BOOK SALE THIS WEEKEND

Don’t miss the Friends of the Library semi-annual book sale this weekend.  The Friday preview sale is 5-8 p.m. with a $2 admission charge if you are not a Friends member, but you may join at the door.  Memberships start at $10 for an individual or $15 for a family. 

The sale continues Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with no admission fee.  A large selection of books, CDs, and movies is available in all genres.  There is an especially large selection of large-print titles available for this sale.

Come support the library with your purchases, donations, and memberships.  All money goes to help the library, providing everything from new books and programs for children to special projects like the library mural, foyer display cases, and the “Whiz Kid” statue. 

There is a special need for library fundraising this year since the library’s budget for new books was cut from the city budget this year.

STAFF PICK

“Wine to Water: How One Man Saved Himself While Trying to Save the World” by Doc Hendley.

Doc Hendley, a small-town bartender, loved his Harley, music and booze.

That was before he learned about the world’s water crisis, after which he decided to host a few fundraisers.

His involvement in the cause deepened, and travels led him to chaotic, dangerous Darfur, Sudan, where the government wiped out villages with state-sponsored genocide, using water as a chief weapon. By dumping corpses in wells and shooting up water bladders, Janjaweed terrorists doomed hundreds of thousands of citizens to dehydration and disease.

Hendley, at 25 years old, was inexperienced, untrained and in constant danger — but he stepped up to save lives.

His efforts included begging international agencies for funding, dodging trigger-happy Janjaweed, and drilling and repairing wells to give drinking water to those who desperately needed it.

Here is a gripping story of how an ordinary person can make a difference.

See www.winetowater.org for more information about Hendley’s ongoing efforts to provide safe drinking water to 1 billion people who lack it.

UPCOMING

Poetry Slam and Open-Mic Night: 6 p.m. April 9, Crestview Public Library, Commerce Drive. Bring three original poems to perform. Free  event for National Poetry Month.

Investments 101 Class: 6-7 p.m. Mondays, April 15-May 20. Taught by financial advisor Joe Faulk.  The first 20 to reserve a seat and attend the first class will receive free workbooks.  Attend any or all classes: Take Stock in the Market, IRAs: Retirement Can Be Less Taxing, A Smart Start to Mutual Funds, Focus on Fixed Income, Tax-Free Investing, and Retirement by Design. Call 682-4432 for details.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHECK IT OUT: Magazines available via email, book sale this weekend

New well system to support expected growth in northwest Crestview

A backhoe operator prepares to bury pipes along Old Bethel Road for a new water distribution system.

CRESTVIEW — The Public Works Department has begun construction on a $2.4 million water well, storage tank and distribution system on Old Bethel Road.

For about two weeks, Evans Contracting crews have buried 10-inch diameter PVC pipe south on the winding country road from the well site at the Old Bethel Cemetery curve. At the same time, Speegle Construction has begun site work for the well and tank.

Okaloosa County officials have indicated the road might one day form the northwest component of a Crestview city bypass route, linking at U.S. Highway 90 with the proposed P.J. Adams Parkway-Antioch Road bypass coming up from the southwest.

City planning officials forecast the city's next wave of growth will occur in the Old Bethel Road area. The Crestview Fire Department seeks funding to build a firehouse on Old Bethel Road to serve the expected growth and existing neighborhoods, including developments off Sioux Circle.

Fire Chief Joe Traylor said Old Bethel neighborhoods are underserved because emergency response vehicles must travel from the downtown or P.J. Adams Parkway public safety buildings.

The new well and distribution system — engineered by water system consultants Tetra Tech — will link with city water distribution lines serving as far south as the Taylor Farms subdivision being constructed on P.J. Adams Parkway, Public Works Director Wayne Steele 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: New well system to support expected growth in northwest Crestview

American Legion post collecting food for Crestview residents

CRESTVIEW — American Legion’s James McCollough Post 395 members, in conjunction with Crestview Sharing and Caring, recently kicked off a food drive.

The group seeks the public's help in collecting 250 pounds of food a month through 2013. The items will be distributed to needy Crestview residents.

Types of nonperishable foods wanted are canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, shelf-stable meals, pasta, rice and cereals.

Drop off donations 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at 2260 S. Ferdon Blvd., Unit 35.

Contact Robert Williams, food drive coordinator, at 682-0287 for more details.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: American Legion post collecting food for Crestview residents

error: Content is protected !!