CRESTVIEW — The Beta Sigma Phi City Council — comprising sorority chapters Zeta Delta, Preceptor Delta, Xi Psi and Epsilon Master — has donated more than 300 items to Silvercrest Manor.

The supplies — including toiletries, books, blankets, puzzles, candy and socks — will benefit the convalescent and nursing home's 60 patients, said Kimberly Kellogg, the Crestview facility's activities director.

"There was a ton of stuff, an overabundance," she said.

The Epsilon Master chapter contributes to the community's needs year-round, member Katherine Evans said.

In addition to snacks for their March meeting, sorority members toted multiple shopping bags of nonperishable food. They donated canned goods for causes including Samaritan House, First Presbyterian Church’s soup kitchen and Crestview Manor, a senior assisted living facility. 

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: Sorority members provide ‘overabundance’ for nursing home

CRESTVIEW — Residents of Shoal Terrace, Stonebridge, Cherokee Bend and other southeast Crestview neighborhoods find it easier to turn onto John King Road, the access road to their subdivisions, following a county effort.

"We actually had a resident contact us and expressed a concern about the signal timing," Okaloosa County Roads Division Manager Clay Simmons said. "We went in and looked at it and agreed. We were able to make that adjustment and improve the traffic situation for drivers."

The turn lane from southbound State Road 85 had frequently filled up at peak travel periods. Turning vehicles unable to fit in the turn lane would block the S.R. 85 fast lane until they could move into the turn lane.

Traffic often stacked up as far back as the Wendy's fast food restaurant, residents said.

That was before resident Jimmy Wrye wrote a letter to the News Bulletin editor criticizing the situation.

Wrye expressed gratitude for the county’s swift response.

“I thank the county man … for contacting me personally by telephone one day after my letter appeared,” he said on crestviewbulletin.com. “I have noticed a big difference in the number of vehicles that are able to turn left onto John King Road. I am very grateful to this person from the county and to the Crestview News Bulletin for publishing my letter.”

Another motorist noticed improvement.

"It got a little better," Carl Kiser said Wednesday while waiting to make the turn. "You can still see cars backed up at rush hour, though. Only eight or nine cars get through" during a turn cycle.

"We are constantly working on our transportation system and signal timings and we are always monitoring those," Simmons 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: Turn arrow adjustment eases traffic at S.R. 85 and John King Road

GAINESVILLE — Twenty-six counties received the Women’s Activity Award during the Florida Farm Bureau State Women's Leadership Conference March 1-3 at the Plantation on Crystal River.

Award recipients received recognition for contributions to their communities and improving agriculture awareness through educational programming, leadership development and public outreach.

Recognized counties included Okaloosa, Bay, Washington, Gadsden, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Marion, Hernando/Citrus, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Highlands, Brevard, Okeechobee, Orange, Broward, Dade and Western Palm Beach.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Women recognized for making a difference in agriculture

View a slideshow of the damage.

View a video of the crash.

Investigators will review every aspect of the accident, from the winds on Santa Rosa Sound to the background and health of the tugboat operators who were guiding the barges that hit the bridge at 3:15 p.m.

“It’s a causality analysis,” said Lt. Mike Clausen, an investigator with the Coast Guard sector in Mobile, Ala. “They’re asking specific questions: the who, what, when, where, why and how.”

He said the Coast Guard will not release the names of the companies that own the tugs or their operators until the investigation was complete. He estimated that would take two to three months.

The bridge was fully reopened Thursday morning after it was shut down completely for several hours after the accident. The Coast Guard also allowed boat traffic to resume along the Intracoastal Waterway late Thursday afternoon.   

But residents and businesses on Okaloosa Island remained under a boil water notice Thursday night after a water line that was ruptured in the accident was repaired. The advisory will be lifted after tests show no bacteria is in the water, said Jeff Littrell, director of Okaloosa County's Water and Sewer Department.

The tugs Miss Lizzy and Helene Maria were guiding four barges east in the sound when the crane on one of the barges hit the concrete barrier wall on the west side of the bridge and broke the water line running under the sidewalk. Chunks of concrete fell from the bridge and water from the pipe gushed into the sound.

View a photo gallery of the Miss Lizzy and the barges leaving the area.

 No one was hurt and no vehicles crossing the bridge at the time were damaged, said Randy McDaniel, Okaloosa County’s emergency management director.

The bridge was closed immediately after the crash and tolls on the Mid-Bay Bridge were suspended to help relieve traffic congestion.

Two lanes on the bridge were reopened Wednesday night and all four lanes were opened about 6 a.m. Thursday, according to Ian Satter, district spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation. Tolls were reinstated on the Mid-Bay Bridge about the same time, Satter said.

“We opened up as quickly as we could. We had people needing to get to work, school, and we have the spring break crowd,” he said.

Inspectors from the DOT found no structural damage to the bridge, and crews with Okaloosa County’s Water and Sewer Department worked overnight to repair the water pipe.

Clausen with the Coast Guard in Mobile said officials with the Panama City Coast Guard station will investigate the crash.

“They’re looking for what caused the accident,” Clausen said. “Looking at work-rest periods of the operator, the vessel log, the machinery, maintenance. And if it’s human-factor error we’ll look at his license, where he obtained it, how long he’s had it. We’re looking for any evidence that it was human fault.”

If found at fault, the tug operator could lose his license.Clausen said the tugboat’s company also could be found at fault.

Satter said a damage estimate for the bridge wasn’t available Thursday, but added that repair costs will not come from the DOT.

“Somebody will be held liable for the damages,” he said.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Coast Guard investigating barge accident (GALLERIES, VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — The Law Enforcement Special Olympics Torch Run is 9 a.m. in Crestview and 11:15 a.m. in Fort Walton Beach March 27.

Crestview participants meet at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Publix parking lot on South Ferdon Boulevard and Redstone Avenue. The run will continue up to the War Memorial on Main Street.

The Fort Walton Beach participants meet at 11 a.m. at the Publix on Racetrack Road and Eglin Parkway. Their route goes to Brooks Landing, a city park at Brooks Street and U.S. Highway 98.

Drivers are urged to use caution when driving near torch run participants.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Special Olympics torch run is Wednesday in two locations

CRESTVIEW — The American Legion Riders of Oscar E. Wilson Post 75 benefit poker run begins at 8:30 a.m. April 6 at 898 E. James Lee Boulevard.

Participation costs $10 per hand, and cash prizes will be presented to winners. Breakfast is free with registration.

The first bike out will leave the post at 10:30 a.m., with the last bike coming in at 2:45 p.m.

Lunch is $6; purchase tickets at registration or legion post. Fish or chicken fingers, hush puppies, coleslaw and cheese grits will be served.

For more information contact TK Johnson, 682-3134 or 865-9879.

This American Legion Riders Chapter 75 event benefits Fisher House at Eglin Hospital in Fort Walton Beach. Fisher Houses are for military families to stay while their soldier received treatment at a nearby base hospital. They are normally located within walking distance of the treatment facility or have transportation available.

There are 60 Fisher Houses in the U.S., on 23 military installations and 22 VA medical centers. For more information visit www.fisherhouse.org.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: American Legion hosts Fisher House poker run benefit

CRESTVIEW — Tremaritus Ewing is cautiously hopeful her 8-year-old daughter’s life is about to change.

Next month, the single mother and second-grader will travel to Miami Children’s Hospital to determine whether Jamicha is a candidate for brain surgery to correct her epilepsy.

If the week-long evaluation determines she is, Tremaritus anticipates the doctors will perform surgery immediately because Jamicha’s seizures are becoming more frequent and local doctors are out of options.

“Hopefully, she’ll be able to live a little bit more normally,” Tremaritus said. “Hopefully.”

The trouble is, Tremaritus is not sure how she and her daughter will get to South Florida.

Her vehicle, which doesn’t have air-conditioning or working windows, barely makes it to doctor’s appointments in Gulf Breeze.

She knows Miami is out of the question, but she needs to get there for her daughter.

Jamicha suffered her first seizure when she was 4 at her voluntary pre-kindergarten program.

When school officials called Tremaritus and said Jamicha was in an ambulance, she couldn’t process it.

“I was, ‘No, you’ve got the wrong child,’ ” Tremaritus recalled recently as she sat out in her front yard with Jamicha and her other two daughters.

At the hospital, doctors said it was probably a one-time occurrence and that it wouldn’t happen again. The family made it through Christmas break without incident, but Jamicha suffered a second seizure after she returned to school.

At that point, doctors diagnosed her with epilepsy.

The diagnosis was terrifying to Tremaritus, but she said she knew she had to be strong for her daughter.

“She’ll be looking at you one minute and the next minute, she’s gone,” Tremaritus said. “You really can’t sleep ever, trying to listen at night to see if she’s having one.”

Most days Jamicha can dress herself without a problem, but every once in awhile she’ll come out with her clothes on backwards. Doctors told Tremaritus that means she likely had suffered another seizure.

When medication alone didn’t work, Tremaritus accepted a doctor’s recommendation to implant a Vagus Nerve Stimulator underneath Jamicha’s skin near her collarbone.

The device is used to send electrical signals to Jamicha’s brain. The doctors said it would lessen, if not eliminate, her seizures, Tremaritus said.

But despite the magnet on her wrist that can be used to jump-start the device if a seizure begins, multiple trips to the hospital last week following seizures at school have brought the family to the last option: brain surgery.

For her part, Jamicha is excited about going to the hospital. They’ve been there once before and dogs visited her there.

“I like the hospital,” she said with a smile.

Tremaritus is determined to find a way to get there for their April 22 appointment, but she’s not certain how.

They have the lodging situation handled and Tremaritus’ two sisters will watch her other daughters. The only issue left is how they get there.

Jamicha hopes they can fly on a plane because she’s never been on one. Tremaritus doesn’t have the money for a plane ticket or even a bus ticket, but she’s not backing down; it’s her daughter she’s fighting for.

Until a travel solution can be found, she’s going to keep giving her daughter her medication and constantly keep her phone on hand in case Jamicha has another seizure.

Above all, she will stay positive.

“I try to let her see me smile a lot of the time,” Tremaritus said.

WANT TO HELP?

Contact Tremaritus Ewing at 612-2233.

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: A long road ahead for the Ewings

CRESTVIEW — Yvonne Wood wants to give needy children abroad something many people take for granted: shoes on their feet.

The military spouse and mother of two seeks votes so she and others may provide footwear on behalf of TOMS Shoes, a charitable retailer.

The contest

The company, which donates a pair of shoes for each pair it sells, will send its top 50 “Ticket to Give” candidates to deliver new shoes to children abroad. The company — which has sent volunteers to Honduras, Argentina and Peru — reportedly has donated more than 2 million pairs of new shoes.

Wood hopes she’s among this year’s volunteers and humanitarian organizations aiding the effort.

"This is something I really want to be a part of," she said. "It would be an honor to work with them." 

Voting is underway and will end at midnight April 11, Wood said. You can vote for Wood’s entry at bit.ly/YmtpRu.

So far, 298 voters have supported Wood’s entry, and the top candidate has 2,348 votes, as of press deadline.

"Right now, I am not in the top 50, but there is still time left," she said.

This will be no vacation getaway, the contest’s website, toms.com/ticket-to-give, states. Winners will take long bus rides on curvy roads and must kneel on concrete surfaces while placing shoes on needy children’s feet.

The trips will take place between July and December. Five groups of 10 will visit one of the countries for a week. An official announcement regarding winners and locations will be made in late April, according to the company’s website.

A giving habit

Regardless of the election’s outcome, Wood wants to continue spreading the word about the charitable shoe company, which has stores in Fort Walton Beach, Destin and at toms.com.

"They don't advertise; they really go by word of mouth,” she said.

Supporting charitable causes is nothing new for Wood.

"I have been involved with fundraising from the American Cancer Society; I have also worked for the Fisher House (Foundation)," Wood said. The foundation provides housing so families can be near a military member receiving hospital care.

While working with the organization, Wood recognized her calling to work with non-profit organizations.

"It has opened my eyes," she said. "In the future I want to continue to work with non-profit organizations."

“I know, without a doubt, that non-profit work is my destiny,” her “Ticket to Give” profile reads. “I have never had the opportunity to participate in something so amazing.

“Please help make it my first!”

Want to participate?

See bit.ly/YmtpRu to vote for Crestview resident Yvonne Wood’s entry to deliver footwear to needy children in the TOMS Shoes “Ticket to Give” contest.

Facebook users can follow Wood's "Ticket to Destiny" group at http://on.fb.me/ZE8J9k.

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 woman seeks votes to provide footwear for poor children