CRESTVIEW — North Okaloosa Medical Center on Friday will kick off "Dressing the Town Red," in support of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women and National Heart Month.

The kick-off begins 11:30 a.m. at 151 E. Redstone Ave. for those who want to raise awareness about heart disease, women's No. 1 killer. Friday is also a day to celebrate 10 years of Go Red for Women by wearing red.

The hospital will sell “Red Dress” signs to be displayed at Crestview and surrounding area businesses and homes.  The signs will be $20 each; proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association.

Fast facts

•Heart disease kills more women than men, at an average rate of one death per minute.

•Heart disease kills more women than all kinds of cancer combined.

•Heart disease affects an estimated 43 million women in the U.S.

•Ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Hospital to 'dress the town red,' raise heart health awareness

HURLBURT FIELD — Applications for the Funded Legal Education Program (FLEP) and Excess Leave Program (ELP) are being accepted through March 1. Interested officers are encouraged to compete. The number of FLEP and ELP applicants selected in any academic year is determined based on the needs of the Air Force.

“Our Air Force missions are constantly changing, and commanders deserve to have access to legal advisors with a broad background of military experiences,” said Lt. Col. Rebecca Vernon, Staff Judge Advocate, 1st Special Operations Wing Office of the Staff Judge Advocate. “The FLEP and ELP will ensure that we can continue to maintain a Corps of officers whose military experience complements their legal training providing commanders with the highest caliber of legal support.”

According to Vernon, Air Force JAGs do more than just provide legal assistance. In addition to prosecuting and defending clients brought before courts-martial, JAG officers routinely participate in nearly every facet of the Air Force mission including developing and acquiring weapons systems, ensuring availability of airspace and ranges where those systems are tested and operated, consulting with commanders about how those systems are employed in armed conflict, and assisting commanders in the day-to-day running of military installations around the world.

The FLEP is a paid legal studies program for active-duty Air Force commissioned officers and is an assignment action. Participants receive full pay, allowances, and tuition. FLEP applicants must have between two and six years active duty service (enlisted or commissioned) and must be in the pay grade O-3 or below as of the day they begin law school. The FLEP is subject to tuition limitations and positions may be limited due to overall funding availability. The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) establishes the tuition limit and in Academic Year 2012 was set at approximately $16,000 per year. While in 2012, due to unfortunate budgetary constraints, the Air Force was unable to offer any FLEP seats, the Air Force has secured a handful of seats in 2013 and encourages all eligible officers interested in becoming a member of the Air Force JAG Corps to apply.

The ELP is an unpaid legal studies program for Air Force officers. ELP participants do not receive pay and allowances but remain on active duty for retirement eligibility and benefits purposes. ELP applicants must have between two and ten years active duty service and must be in the pay grade O-3 or below as of the first day of law school.

Applications for FY12 FLEP and ELP will be accepted from Jan. 1 through March 1. Both the FLEP and ELP programs require attendance at an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school. Upon graduation and admission to practice law in the highest court of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States, candidates are eligible for designation as judge advocates. To be considered for FLEP or ELP, applicants must complete all application forms, apply (acceptance is not required at the time of application for FLEP/ELP) to at least one ABA accredited law school, receive their Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) results, and interview with a Staff Judge Advocate by Feb. 15. Officers must provide a letter of conditional release from their current career field. Selection for both programs is competitive.

Applications meet a selection board in early March, and selections are made based on a review of the application package using a “whole person” concept. The total number of applicants selected for any academic year is based on the needs of the Air Force. AFI 51-101, Judge Advocate Accession Program, Chapters 2 and 3, discuss the FLEP and ELP.

For more information and application materials, visit http://www.airforce.com/jag, contact the base legal office at 884-7821, or contact Maj. Sean Elameto, HQ USAF/JAX (sean.elameto@pentagon.af.mil or 1-800-JAG-USAF.)

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: JAG announces law school programs for Air Force officers

CRESTVIEW — Earlier in life, Masuko Gartman created hundreds of paintings that appear in private and public collections in the U.S. and abroad, particularly Japan, Canada and France.

These days, the 82-year-old, who can barely speak, lives at Carrington Manor in Crestview, where she uses a wheelchair and receives care for her declining health.

Masuko is one of 15 patients whom Sara Tyler, a registered nurse and Covenant Hospice case manager, visits per week. Tyler gives a head-to-toe assessment of each patient, verifies medication amounts, informs patients and their families about illnesses, and coordinates with physicians and pharmacies.

Covenant Hospice, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, continues its tradition of comforting some 6,000 terminally ill patients and their families in Florida and south Alabama.

"Our mission is to ensure our patients live as fully and comfortably as possible, accepting all patients, regardless of the ability to pay," its website states.

"We go to wherever the patients are; that includes nursing homes, homes and hospitals," Tyler said. 

It's a mission that the Gartman family appreciates, having received Covenant's care before.

"They did a great deal for us before our son passed away," Billy Gartman, Masuko's husband, said. "Anything we needed, they were there for us — anytime.

"We didn't have to ask for anything … It couldn't have gone any better.

Eddie, the couple's son, died from pancreatic cancer in 2005 at age 48.

"No words can express how I felt. It was like the end of the world," Billy, 81, said.

Masuko took the loss of their son the hardest.

"To be honest, I don't think she ever got over it," he said. "It could be part of the reason she is in here."

Earlier in life, Masuko honored Eddie's 20-plus years in the U.S. Navy with "Night Fighter," a painting displayed in the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Mississippi.

"She did some portraits, but seascapes seemed to be more of her liking," Billy said. 

Generosity and philanthropy accompanied her artistry.

She donated a painting of waves crashing on a sand dune beach to Carrington Manor.

In addition, she frequently donated her artwork to the annual Cox Cablethon, which auctions items donated from local businesses to benefit Covenant Hospice.

"She would set up during the show and paint," Tyler said. "It would be marvelous just to see her sit there and create a masterpiece."

Masuko has been Tyler's patient for the past two weeks. In that time, the two have grown close.

"She always has a smile when I come to visit," Tyler said.

 "It's very rewarding for me to help people in the community," she said. "It makes you feel good."

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: Hospice helps two generations among 6,000 patients

View a video promotion of the event.

The World War II veterans will be coming home in a way. They trained at then Eglin Field for the famous April 18, 1942, bombing attack on Tokyo that some say changed the course of history.

Each year, the remaining members of the 80-person team, of which there are now only five, gather at different cities to remember the raid. This year, the men who are in their 90s have chosen to visit the Emerald Coast. It could be their last.

“If you want to see the Raiders, if you want the chance to honor them, it’s going to be here in your backyard,” said Ted Corcoran, president of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, which is organizing the event. The reunion, scheduled for April 17-20, already is attracting interest from across the country. Last year’s reunion in Dayton, Ohio, sold out in three hours, Corcoran said.

The event will include a lunch and banquet April 18 at the C.H. “Bull” Rigdon Fairgrounds and Recreation Complex in Fort Walton Beach, with the possibility of meeting the Raiders in person. All World War II veterans from Northwest Florida are invited to attend free of charge.

The chamber plans to decorate the fairgrounds as a World War II barracks, with people in period attire, a makeshift USO, and jeeps and tanks that were used during the war.

There will be a flyover April 19 on Okaloosa Island that organizers hope will include a B-25, the plane the Raiders flew, as well as other aircraft from fleets at Hurlburt Field and Eglin, Corcoran said.

Gen. Mark Anthony Welsh III, chief of staff of the Air Force, will be the guest speaker at the banquet April 20.

That day also will feature a historic Parade of Heroes through Fort Walton Beach.

Veterans from all wars will march together, led by the Doolittle Raiders, then World War II veterans, then Korean veterans and so on through the Afghanistan war. Active-duty service members from all branches will follow the veterans.

Corcoran said that to his knowledge, the parade will be the first of its kind held in Fort Walton Beach.

“Our community will be lining the streets of Eglin Parkway waving flags and truly acknowledging the love they have for the military,” he said. “We’ll make it the best reunion they’ve ever had.”

Tickets for the events will go on sale in February, although the exact date has yet to be announced. About 500 will go on sale, and Corcoran expects a sellout.

Beach Community Bank is sponsoring of the event. Proceeds will go to set up a Doolittle Raider scholarship at Northwest Florida State College and to the Fisher House.

The chamber bid with several other cities for the reunion.

“It’s a huge honor for us to be able to pay tribute to them and to bring them back to where it all started,” said Eppi Azzaretto, marketing director for the chamber.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Sage Reinlie at 850-315-4440 or lreinlie@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenRnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Organizers prep for Doolittle Raiders reunion coming in April

CRESTVIEW — A Crestview girl is recovering from a cancer that initially scared her parents, but is common for children and is easily treatable.

Diagnosis

Earlier this month, Heather Gary and her husband, Kevin Mayberry, noticed something was wrong with Layla, 2, their youngest of four children, following unusual behavior and mysterious bruises found on her body.

"She always wanted to be held, and when we put her down she would start crying," Mayberry said.

 Layla was taken to a pediatrician and then to a specialist at North Okaloosa Medical Center before she was transferred to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.

The diagnosis devastated her parents.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL — the most common childhood cancer — occurs when bone marrow makes too many immature white blood cells that prevent healthier agents from fighting infections.

More than 6,000 cases of ALL were reported in the United States last year, according to cancer.org, the American Cancer Society’s website. Symptoms include fever and easy bruising; risk factors include exposure to radiation or X-rays before birth.

"After the doctor told us what was wrong with her, we both just broke down and started crying," Mayberry said.

Most ALL-related deaths reportedly occur in adults; this cancer quickly worsens if untreated.

However, early detection increases chances of successful treatment.

"The doctors told us that there is a 95 percent survival rate," Gary said.

Treatment

Layla has received seven chemotherapy treatments, which, so far, have been successful in eliminating the leukemia from her body, her parents said.

Monday at 10 p.m., the toddler was life flighted to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston to improve her substandard oxygen levels.

"I am about 50 percent relieved, but there is still a long road to go," Gary said.

"Right now, the doctors are trying to get more red blood cells into her body," Mayberry said, adding Layla also was hooked up to a ventilator that removed fluid from her lungs after a recent case of pneumonia.

Layla's condition is fragile due to having a weak immune system.

During the ordeal, the couple has kept family and friends updated on Layla's condition through a Facebook page.

"It’s a way to keep the phone calls down to a minimum," Mayberry said.

Compounding costs

The family’s sole income source is Mayberry, who works for a Baker landscaping business. Gary is a stay-at-home mom. Mayberry travels one hour from Crestview to Pensacola to visit Layla when he isn't working.

Medicaid will cover much of the medical costs, but other costs have added up, Mayberry said.

"We have gone through $500 in food and gas within the past two weeks," he said.

Complicating matters is the family’s living situation.

Evicted from a three-bedroom home last year, the family of six — including Layla’s siblings, Cody, 11, Bailey, 10, and Cheyenne, 4 — moved in with Mayberry's parents.

Space is crowded, and doctors have told Gary and Mayberry that Layla will need her own room to recuperate.

The couple has set up an account at BBVA Compass Bank for financial assistance.

The family is currently looking for a residence with three to four bedrooms, where Layla can have her own space, Gary said.

"Our life has dramatically changed from us being a single family unit to being spread out," she said. "It has been rough, but we are making it."

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 girl overcoming cancer

NICEVILLE — Nancy Sorenson was a mother, a wife and a friend. The woman from East Rockaway, N.Y., was one of more than 100 people in the United States who died from Hurricane Sandy last October.

Sorenson‘s cousin, Niceville resident Mary Quinn, said the mother of three left a legacy of love and faith. Now, Quinn wants to cherish that memory and help to ease the devastation up north by raising funds for Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens.

On Oct. 29, Quinn said her cousin was trying to retrieve some mementos from her home when the storm surge sent water rushing into her home.

A large mirror fell off the wall and shattered and severely cut Sorenson’s arm. No emergency personnel could respond at the height of the storm, so Sorenson’s family watched as she bled to death.

“Being from here, you know the damage (hurricanes) can do, the disruption, the devastation,” Quinn said. “When you’re looking at somebody crying because she’s looking at her destroyed home, what amounts to a pile of her life — the photos, the mementos, all the things you can never replace — it makes you want to do something.”

Quinn has asked Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida to help raise money for the victims of the super storm. Some people still are without power in below-freezing weather.

The “Grab a Fork, Lend a Hand” fund-raiser will be at 6 p.m. Saturday at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church’s Parish Life Center in Niceville.

“Our goal is to raise $2,000,” said Kelly Humphrey, director of marketing and development with Catholic Charities. “We just want to tell them we’re thinking of you, we’ve been there. It’s a chance for us to support our brothers and sisters in New York.”

The event will feature booths with foods from around the world as well as southern treats and New York classics. There also will be door prizes and a 50-50 donation drawing.

“If we can alleviate some of the suffering on the financial end for everyone involved, perhaps it will help them heal. It can be us and it has been us going through this.

“We need to pay it forward.”

TO LEARN MORE For more information about the fund-raiser, call Catholic Charities at 737-0864. Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church is at 1200 Valparaiso Blvd. in Niceville.

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: Fundraiser scheduled to help victims of Hurricane Sandy

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE — The first MC-130J to be converted into Air Force Special Operations Command’s newest variant of the gunship, the AC-130J Ghostrider, arrived at Eglin Air Force Base.

Modifications to the airframe will be completed in ten months and will be a milestone in the recapitalization of the AC-130H/U fleet.

The AC-130J Ghostrider will inherit the AC-130W Stinger II’s precision strike package, which was developed to support ground forces in overseas contingency operations.

Insurgent activity in urban environments created the need for an airframe that could deliver direct fire support to ground forces, with the ability to precisely engage enemies with low-yield munitions.

“These new weapon systems and small diameter bombs will provide overwatch and further standoff distance to cover a wider range of space for our warfighters on the ground,” said Maj. Stuart Menn, U.S. Special Operations Command Detachment 1 commander.

The precision strike package includes dual electro-optical infrared sensors, a 30-mm cannon, griffin missiles, all-weather synthetic aperture radar and small diameter bomb capabilities. The sensors allow the gunship to visually or electronically identify friendly ground forces and targets at any time, even in adverse weather.

“The precision strike package that is going into this aircraft is proven down range,” said Todd McGinnis, USSOCOM Det. 1 AC-130J modification manager.

Pairing weapons with a networked battle management system, enhanced communications and situational awareness upgrades the J-Model’s ability to deliver surgical firepower.

“Now we get the successes of this precision strike package and marry it up with the advantages of the J-model bringing the best two C-130s together in a new weapons system,” said McGinnis.

The AC-130 primary mission is close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance.

Close air support missions include delivering fire support to ground forces that are fighting enemies and convoy escort. Air interdiction missions are conducted against preplanned targets or targets of opportunity. These missions also include strike coordination and reconnaissance.

The AC-130 gunship has proven to be a reliable and fierce weapon system used by special operations forces since the 1960s. AC-130s had roles in Urgent Fury in Grenada, Just Cause in Panama, Desert Storm in Iraq, Continue Hope and United Shield in Somalia, as well as Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. In each operation, AC-130s were credited with many life-saving overwatch missions.

According to the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, “AC-130 gunships have been invaluable in supporting operations against insurgent and terrorist groups in Iraq and Afghanistan. These units have therefore been in heavy demand even as a portion of the fleet approached the end of its service life.”

The AC-130J has the speed of the MC-130J, the precision strike capabilities of the AC-130W and carries forward the heritage of the AC-130H/U.

A total of 37 MC-130J prototypes will be modified as part of a $2.4 billion AC-130J program to grow the future fleet, said Capt. Andrew Reed, USSOCOM Det. 1 AC-130J on-site program manager. The first AC-130J is expected to be completed Nov. 2013 and expected to be ready for initial flight testing by Dec. 2013.

“This will be the most advanced gunship that will be in the inventory,” said Menn.

Northwest Florida Daily News Editor’s Note: The AC-130 gunship was named the number one most feared weapon by the Military Channel.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'The most fearsome weapon' is evolving

FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County commissioners have agreed to help Sheriff Larry Ashley fill vacancies created when he pulled 26 deputies from other units and placed them in local elementary schools.

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to provide the Sheriff’s Office with up to $44,200 on a month-to-month basis as needed. As he fills the slots, Ashley must formally request the money, which will be pulled from the county’s general fund reserves.

Ashley placed deputies in every school following the Dec. 14 shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

See a photo gallery of a resource officer on duty.

On Jan. 8, Ashley requested that commissioners contribute $265,000 — or at least commit to the idea of the funding — to help replenish the force.

The request initially rankled a few commissioners, who labeled it a knee-jerk and costly decision. On Tuesday, only Commission Chairman Don Amunds and Commissioner Dave Parisot continued to question the need for the funding.

Commissioner Kelly Windes said it was risky to operate the Sheriff’s Office with fewer deputies on the street.

“I agree with the sheriff,” Windes said. “My concern is partly the void on the street that we’re creating when we take these officers and put them in the schools. We can’t let the whole suffer because of the special needs that have just come up.”

Windes said “the stakes are too high” for the county not to make the funding of school resource officers a priority.

Commissioner Wayne Harris agreed, adding that “public safety and security is paramount.”

Parisot questioned whether the Sheriff’s Office must fill every position it has vacated. He suggested it could do without a marine unit or operate with reduced courthouse security.

He also noted that county reserves had been decreased “well below” his comfort level and that Okaloosa might need the reserves to get through a weather emergency.

Although Parisot wanted the board to take more time to study the issue, he eventually agreed to provide Ashley with up to $44,200 as needed on a monthly basis.

Ashley told commissioners he is in the best position to know how many deputies he needs to protect the county.

“It gets down to, ‘Do you trust me?’ ” he said. “Do you trust me to give you the right numbers? I know the previous sheriff has certainly made our county a very difficult place to operate.”

Ashley said all the units from which he pulled deputies are essential services. Because of the manpower shift, the Sheriff’s Office is operating without a street crimes unit, beach and marine patrol and a traffic enforcement unit. The areas of civil processing, court security, and detention and booking have been significantly reduced.

Keeping deputies in all of the district’s schools will cost an estimated $3.5 million a year.

Commissioners agreed that would be a main point of discussion during 2014 budget deliberations in the spring and summer.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa approves extra funding for deputies (SLIDESHOW)