PAXTON — Until someone told Katie Renfroe’s parents Tuesday morning, it had never occurred to Angie and Dan Renfroe to Google their 4-year-old daughter’s name. Now, if they type in “Katie Renfroe,” a story published Sunday in the Northwest Florida Daily News will pop up dozens of times in a multitude of languages from media outlets around the world. The story about the little Paxton girl with the big cheeks has gone viral. And although donations have begun to pour in for the family of 10, the Renfroes say the greatest gift is the opportunity to inspire others. “I think it will definitely get the word out that just because your child has a problem, you shouldn’t go and abort it,” said Angie, who was touched by online comments from other parents who have faced similar challenges. “Think of all the people we’re helping,” she said. Katie was diagnosed in utero with megalencephaly, a rare disorder that causes some of her facial features to be abnormally large. She has also had part of her brain removed to help control seizures. The family, which includes two younger siblings and five older ones, lives modestly outside Paxton. Although Catholic Charities has helped them occasionally, Marketing Director Kelly Humphrey said the Renfroes ask for nothing and insist that the organization give to others who really need it. The organization’s Fort Walton Beach branch is helping the family with Christmas presents for the children and accepting phone calls from folks with questions about the family. Humphrey’s cell phone number was listed in the original story, along with information about an account that has been set up for Katie at Regions Bank. She said that her phone started ringing Monday morning and hasn’t stopped since. Folks from across the country have called. “Each time I picked up the phone, I would see a different area code on the caller ID,” Humphrey said.  “I had a man call me from Las Vegas. He was in tears. He said, ‘This story just touches my heart. People gripe and complain about all their little problems. You see this and you think, why in the world would I be complaining?’ ” Humphrey said people also were moved that the family was self-reliant despite both parents being unemployed. Local people called as well. The first person to reach Humphrey was someone at an automotive repair shop in Crestview offering to service the family’s 22-year-old van. The Renfroes left Tuesday afternoon for South Florida, where Katie is scheduled to begin a series of surgeries to improve her quality of life. Right now, her petite frame is not strong enough to support the weight of her head. At nearly 5 years old, she weighs just 28 pounds. On previous trips to the hospital in South Florida, Angie said she borrowed her brother’s credit card and paid him back bit by bit over time. This time will be different. By Tuesday morning, $700 already had been deposited into the account, and Angie figured that would be enough to see them through the two-week stay. “Financially, we’re all good for this trip,” she said. “Without the help of everyone out there, I’m not saying we couldn’t do it — we’ve always found a way — but it is so much easier. “This way, I don’t owe anybody anything except gratitude.” WANT TO HELP? An account has been set up at Regions Bank in the name of Angie Renfroe for the benefit of Katie Renfroe. Catholic Charities is also working with the family. Contact Daily News Staff Writer Wendy Victora at 850-315-4478 or wvictora@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @WendyVnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview resident among many helping Paxton family

PAXTON — It’s hard to know what Katie Renfroe thinks.

She laughs when her sisters and brothers sing and dance and act crazy in front of her.

Loud noises thrill her.

She likes sweets and some salty snacks, even though she gets most of her nutrition through a feeding tube.

She watches the Disney Channel with the rapt attention of most 4-year-olds.

But Katie was born with a rare disorder that makes her quite different than most little girls her age.

Diagnosed with megalencephaly before she was born, some of Katie’s facial features are unusually large.

To learn more about this disorder, visit the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. >>

She also had part of her brain removed as an infant to control the seizures that were happening as often as 50 times a day.

“All we know is we give her all the love, all the attention we know how to give her,” says her mom, Angie Renfroe. “We’ve never treated her like she has a handicap.”

Katie is the sixth of Angie and Danial Renfroe’s eight children, the one who came along after doctors told them Angie wouldn’t be having any more.

In the first trimester, doctors noticed anomalies on her ultrasound. The baby’s head was “oddly shaped,” her parents were told.

At three and a half months, a specialist told her parents that Katie’s head was three times larger than normal. He gave them the name of Katie’s rare disorder, but it meant nothing to the rural Paxton couple.

He also told them what her life — and their life — would be like.

“He was trying to help us understand that she might be a vegetable,” Danial says.

“She ain’t nowhere near what they said she was gonna be.”

The specialist told them to come back in two weeks after they had decided what they were going to do.

The couple drove home from Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. As soon as they got there, Angie went into their room, got into bed and cried.

“I tried to figure out how we were going to deal with this,” she said.

And then she realized she had choices.

“You can lay here, you can cry or you can leave this in God’s hands, which is where she belongs,” Angie remembers thinking.

Next, she talked to God.

“If you let me have her, I’ll raise her and take care of her the best I know how to do for as long as you give her to me.”

Having made peace with her decision, she talked to Danial.

“I told him, ‘If you can’t handle it — they’re telling us it’s going to be bad — go now,” she says.

He recalls looking at her like she was crazy. He wasn’t going anywhere.

‘Big, pretty cheeks’ Katie was delivered by cesarean section at Sacred Heart on Jan. 28, 2008.

Angie doesn’t remember much about the delivery except seeing her daughter’s “big, pretty cheeks.”

Danial remembers getting his first peek at his “Katie-Bug” while she lay in an incubator right after the delivery.

“What it looked like was a small little body hooked to these two grapefruits — her cheeks,” he says.

In a portrait taken when Katie was 2 months old, she is curled up, sleeping, her cheeks nestled in the lace and satin of her pale pink dress.

As Katie has grown, so have her cheeks. Extra skin on top of her cheeks gives them a mottled brown look. Her ears are also deformed and she has some hearing loss.

Her tongue doesn’t fit in her mouth, but ever resourceful, she has still figured out how to suck her two fingers and her thumb.

She doesn’t have seizures anymore, but her muscles tighten up, causing a stiffness that rolls from one side of her petite frame to the other.

When that happens, whichever family member is closest pats her back, rubs her arm or pinches her feet to help her snap out of it.

Despite her disabilities, in many ways Katie is just one more child in a big family. Over Thanksgiving break, the older girls entertained themselves with face painting. Katie got a flower on her cheek, too.

“I’ve learned a lot,” says 13-year-old Megan of having Katie as a sister. “I have learned how to cope with things.

“When we see other people like her, we actually know how they feel.”

The family takes Katie wherever they go, but have never gotten accustomed to the way strangers respond to their little girl.

A few are kind; most stare. Some make comments that hurt.

Danial says when they go out he puts up an imaginary line around him and his family, and hopes no one crosses it.

“Kids are cruel,” he says. “And it ain’t only kids. It’s just hard.

“If you have a kid like that, you have got to get your head straight,” he says.

‘God rides with us’

The family lives outside of Paxton in a mobile home that has been expanded as the family has grown.

Each older child has his or her own room. The beds are neatly made and possessions, most donated by kind strangers, are arranged on dressers and shelves. The three youngest children sleep with Angie and Danial, piling into their king-sized bed.

In addition to the five older kids, Katie has two younger siblings, 3-year-old Kenneth and 1-year-old Emalee.

The older children — who are 8, 11, 12, 13 and 14 — go to schools in Paxton and Laurel Hill. Katie attends preschool at Richbourg School in Crestview.

Neither Angie nor Danial work, although he receives disability. But they don’t ask for help and are almost entirely self-sufficient.

Yesterday, they piled into their 1995 van and drove to Hollywood, Fla., where a surgeon at Memorial Hospital was to perform the first of as many as seven surgeries on Katie.

“They’re going to downsize her cheeks, fix her ear, shorten up her tongue,” Danial says. “Once she gets rid of this weight, she’ll be able to stand better.”

The van that is their sole means of transportation is a “work in progress,” they joke.

After their last trip to South Florida, they learned that the shimmy in the front end meant the tire was about to come off.

“God rides with us, believe me,” Angie says.

The family will stay in one room with two beds at a nearby facility that reaches out to families of hospital patients.

They will be in South Florida for at least two weeks for the first surgery.

Christmas, when it comes, will be modest, with a few gifts for the children from Catholic Charities.

They don’t need much to be happy, except for each other.

“I’m grateful for my family, my kids, no matter how wild they get sometimes,” Angie says, smiling. “I still love them.”

And since making her decision to go forward with her pregnancy five years ago, she has never looked back.

“I’m a firm believer,” she says. “If God gives you something, don’t throw it away.”

WANT TO HELP?

An account has been set up at Regions Bank in the name of Angie Renfroe for the benefit of Katie Renfroe. Catholic Charities is also working with the family. For more information, call 850-737-0864.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Wendy Victora at 850-315-4478 or wvictora@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @WendyVnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: A Paxton family's love surrounds a special girl

CRESTVIEW — Two Christmas events are in store for north county residents on Saturday.

The Okaloosa Arts Alliance-North kicks off the day with a holiday edition of its CALA: Crestview Area Loves the Arts festival 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Crestview Public Library.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to see what our local artists have been creating and to pick up unique, handmade Christmas gifts,” alliance president Rae Schwartz said. “It’s also a great opportunity to support the arts and artists in our community.”

Exhibitors include ceramic artist Trace Connelly, wood turner Keith Gutshall, bookbinder Mary Richards and Viola Owens, who paints country motifs on decorative gourds. Area musicians will entertain throughout the event and some will offer CDs and other merchandise for sale.

Saturday evening, the annual Main Street Crestview Association Christmas Parade rolls at 5:30 p.m. when Grand Marshal Velma Conyers leads dozens of floats and marching units up the city’s main thoroughfare from south of the railroad crossing to the courthouse.

Conyers, who will soon turn 99, was a favorite choice to lead the parade, Main Street President Ellis Conner said. The idea germinated in June when the city’s Historic Preservation Board, of which he is a member, unveiled a historic marker in front of James R.L. Conyers Masonic Lodge.

Velma Conyers, a past Worthy Matron of the lodge’s Eastern Star chapter that bears her name, and a longtime community activist, attended the marker dedication ceremony at the lodge named in her late husband’s honor.

“She got up and told us how she feels about things. I didn’t forget about that,” Conner said. “Our planning committee that does the legwork for a lot of the Main Street events picks a grand marshal and we pick a theme. Our recommendation was Mrs. Conyers and some other names but hers kind of came to the top.”

This year’s parade theme is “Blessed are the Children.”

“It’s really got a significant meaning when you look in the dictionary because the children are our future, and we want to recognize and honor them,” Conner said.

Conner said Main Street Crestview expects nearly 100 or more organizations will be represented in Saturday evening’s parade. Fifty entrants had registered by Thanksgiving.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Christmas events scheduled for Dec. 1

CRESTVIEW — When the library’s book acquisition fund was cut from this year’s budget, library staff and Friends of the Crestview Library started finding creative ways to keep popular new titles in local readers’ hands. A book-fund donation tree, erected Monday in the library lobby, is their latest effort.

Library clerk Audrey Milcarek, who heads the Friends-sponsored project, said three distinct ornaments are available, representing three tiers of donation levels.

“It’ll be a lime green book-shaped ornament for $1, and a bright pink candy cane for $5 or more, because donors are sweet to do it,” Milcarek said. “And we have a bright yellow star for anybody giving $10 or more. If it’s your business and you give $10, we’ll staple your business card to the star.”

Milcarek said she hopes ornaments will soon cover the tree.

“We don’t want a Charlie Brown tree,” she said, referencing the scrawny sapling Charlie selects in the a holiday TV special. “We want it full and decorated.”

Library staff members asked library patrons to stop by during the holidays, offer donations, and see the number of ornaments grow on the book fund tree.

“We want to challenge our patrons to come in and purchase at least a $1 ornament,” library Director Jean Lewis said. “We actually have more than 20,000 patrons, so even if half of them came in, that’s $10,000 to purchase books for the library.”

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: Patron donations earn ornaments for library book fund tree

CRESTVIEW — In addition to being the Hub City, locals have called Crestview "the icebox of Florida” due to its cold winters.

On the Weather Underground website, wunderground.com, Crestview often appears among the top 10 Florida cities with the lowest temperatures.

Crestview should have one of the coldest climates due to its location, but the cities with the lowest temperatures are neighboring Milton and the New Hope community east of DeFuniak Springs, Florida State University climatologist David Zierden said.

"Crestview is one of the coldest, but it is not the coldest in the state," he said. On average, Milton and New Hope have beaten Crestview by a couple degrees."

With a 30-year average of low temperatures for January in Florida, Milton and New Hope have an average of 36 degrees, beating Crestview by just one degree, Zierden said. 

"Typically, if we are not the coldest, then we are close to it," said Chayne Sparagowski, who collects data for the National Weather Service with a weather monitoring system at his Crestview residence. The Citizens Weather Observation Program shares data from his monitoring system and other weather stations throughout the country.

"A lot of times, we are the coldest by just a few degrees," Sparagowski said, adding the city is north enough inland that ocean temperatures coming from the Gulf of Mexico don't affect the city. Such temperatures typically help warm coastal cities like Fort Walton Beach, Panama City and Destin.  

As of this writing, Crestview’s all-time lowest temperature was 8 degrees Fahrenheit, recorded Jan. 13 1981, Zierden said. 

Florida's all-time lowest temperature belongs to the state's capital. On Feb. 13 1899, Tallahassee recorded a low temperature of -2 degrees Fahrenheit.

"There were actually kids playing in the snow near the capital building steps," Zierden said, referring to photographs that document that day.

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 winter temperatures among lowest in state

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Curious George, star of the PBS Kids show “Curious George,” will attend Story Time 10-11 a.m. Nov. 30 at the Valparaiso Community Library. Story Time begins at 10:15 a.m. with Curious George swinging by at 10:30 a.m.

Attendees can watch an episode of the “Curious George” program and participate in other activities. The event is free of charge.

The PBS Kids character visit is part of a new literacy initiative by local public broadcaster WSRE to reach out to children, parents and caregivers to share the wealth of resources available through its children’s programming.

“We will be bringing characters to various area libraries in Northwest Florida each month from now through next summer for story times to encourage a love of reading and learning,” said Jeni Huckstep, WSRE’s educational service coordinator.

Additional learning resources for parents, teachers and children are available at www.wsre.org/education.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Curious George visiting Valparaiso Community Library Nov. 30

CRESTVIEW — Thursday, many Okaloosa County residents, regardless of their position, gave thanks for life’s blessings, sharing a meal and fellowship with loved ones.

But fewer had something unique to be grateful for: doing those things at 100 years old.

Nearly 72,000 centenarians were living in the United States in 2010, according to latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which projected growth to 601,000 by 2050.

Shoal Creek Rehabilitation Center in Crestview, among other facilities, may be witnessing that upswing, as it’s unusual to simultaneously have three patients there who are centenarians, or at least 100 years of age, Activities Director Amanda Owens said.

Clean living

So what’s the secret to a long life?

Willie Sanford might have the answer — at least for him.

"I have lived a clean life," he said, adding he avoided drinking alcohol and only tried tobacco once.

Sanford, nicknamed "Paw-Paw" by Shoal Creek staffers after he moved here from Baker, often passes through the hallways in his wheelchair, chatting with residents and staff.

"He is very sociable," she said. "He attends almost all of the activities we have here."

"I feel very good," Sanford, who is 95 percent independent, said.

When he isn't involved with church activities like listening to gospel music, he spends most of his time reading his Bible.

In fact, faith is a driving force in his life, he said.

"I know where I am going … I've made it this far and I'm going to keep going 'til the Lord is ready to take me," Sanford said.  

Until that day, Sanford has support from his five children, including Melba Shue, his eldest daughter who regularly checks on him and brings clean clothes.

Marital bliss

Clifford Langdon, who has Alzheimer’s disease and hearing loss, saw his 77th wedding anniversary earlier this year.

His wife, Ruth, 99 — who can still stay by herself with son Bob and daughter Joan Hollmann as caregivers — credited mutual respect and understanding for a successful marriage.

“You really have to love and appreciate each other,” she said, adding that communication is key.

Clifford would often consult with her on business decisions when he was running a chain in grocery stores in Indiana, she said, adding, "We always talked things over. Even if we didn't agree, we always found a solution."

A healthy diet probably aided Ruth’s own longevity, she said, adding her meals always include fruits and vegetables.

Another tip is keeping your mind preoccupied, said Ruth, whose 100th birthday is next August.

“If you keep (your mind) active, you don’t have to worry about the unnecessary things,” she said, referring to her hobbies of knitting, crocheting and reading books, including her Bible.

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: Centenarians on the rise, trends indicate

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE — Last week, the first two United Kingdom pilots started training to fly the F-35.

They join an elite rank. Only 30 pilots in the world have been or are in the process of training to fly the new stealth fighter jet, which is still in testing phases.

“It’s an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Royal Air Force squadron leader Franki Buchler, one of the two pilots. “I feel very privileged and lucky. I hope I do the aircraft and the Air Force justice.”

Buchler and fellow pilot, Royal Navy Lt. Cdr. Ian Tidball, have joined the U.S. Marines Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, which is conducting initial training and instruction on the F-35B at Eglin Air Force Base.

The Air Force is conducting similar training on the F-35A variant.

The U.K. pilots will take academic courses for about six weeks before they go on their first flights.

In addition to the two pilots, 12 aircraft maintainers, two supervisors and their families moved from the United Kingdom to the area to join the Marines and learn about the F-35.

In 2014 this group, along with another pilot and 50-odd more maintainers, are set to head to Edwards Air Force Base in California to stand up their own United Kingdom squadron to test the plane for combat use.

While at Eglin, wing commander Jon Millington, who heads the U.K. group, said he and his men effectively are operating as Marines.

“I told them, ‘You are part of that Marine squad. Embrace it. Enjoy it. You won’t have a chance to be a Marine again,’ ” Millington said.

Buchler said being embedded with the Marine Corps is different than the Royal Navy. He’s been taking part in squad runs and has noticed the Marines require much more physical training time, which he said is a good thing.

“It’s going to get my fitness back into shape,” he said.

He was honored to become a temporary part of the force.

“Just to be around the guys, it’s great,” Buchler said. “They’ve bent over backwards to make us feel that we’re Marines, too.”

The United Kingdom has had a hand — and money invested — in the development of the F-35 from the beginning.

“The F-35 would not be here today if it wasn’t for the U.K.,” said Marine Col. Art Tomassetti.

He said the United Kingdom has the most knowledge on earth about short takeoff and vertical landing capabilities, which the F-35B variant has.

The U.K. has purchased three of the planes, two of which already are at Eglin. The third is expected in February.

For now, those planes are added to the Marine fleet of 11 F-35Bs. The three planes are expected to be flown to the U.K. by 2018.

Millington said the community has been extremely supportive of his men and their families, including the 21 children who were brought to live here while the team trains.

Most have settled in Bluewater Bay, he said.

Royal Air Force Capt. Steven Grant, who graduated from his weapons maintenance course Monday, relocated his wife and 3-year-old son from northern Scotland.

He said it was “a bit of a different climate” in Florida. The family arrived in September when it was still warm enough to go to the beach.

“It’s been very hectic since we got here, but everybody’s been really helpful,” he said. “Everybody we spoke to, they realized who we are. They seemed to know we were coming before we were even here.”

He said many locals invited the families to their homes for Thanksgiving.

Tomassetti said the Marines, the United Kingdom’s Navy and Royal Air Force and the U.S. Air Force have formed a uniquely qualified team with wide-ranging experience to work through initial test phases with the F-35.

“Other than the fact that people are wearing slightly different clothes, it would seem that everybody’s a part of one big operation,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: First U.K. pilots begin training to fly F-35

FORT WALTON BEACH —The Okaloosa County Tax Collector Offices will be closed Nov. 22 and 23 for Thanksgiving. Business can still be conducted online at www.OkaloosaTax.com.

Normal operating hours will resume Monday, Nov. 26.

The final day to receive a 4 percent discount on property taxes is Nov. 30. Okaloosa County Tax Collector Ben Anderson said, "We anticipate collecting 65 percent of the tax revenue, or approximately $120 million, by the end of this month.

"We will have staff staged in the lobbies of our offices the last three days of the month to accept drop off payments by check. Customers can then get in and out of our office without having to wait in line with those conducting other transactions,” Anderson said.

The variety of payment options available includes express payment online (E-checking is free).

For more information call 651-7300.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Tax Collector's Offices closure, discount announced

FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County has received $450,000 from BP to pay for a study of reef development in area waters.

The grant was funded from a $57 million Deepwater Horizon settlement established to promote the tourism and seafood industries in regions along the Gulf Coast affected by the April 2010 oil spill.

“The basic objective of the project is to get a general estimate of the biomass that exists on the public reefs offshore of Okaloosa County,” said Scott Henson, who manages the county’s artificial reef program. “We’re looking at fish … particular species that are reef fish and pelagics.”

Henson came up with the idea for the study while trying to figure out reef density in Northwest Florida waters.

 The county applied for $450,000 each year for the next four years but so far has been approved for only the first year.

Henson said the study will help provide the state with “empirical data” on various fish populations on and around reefs in Northwest Florida.

“What we’re trying to do is help the state verify the assumptions they’re making about our reef systems,” he said.

County Commissioner Dave Parisot said the study should provide the county with “valuable data” on the quantities and types of fish around the reefs.

“One of the big problems we’ve got right now is inaccurate counts of our fisheries,” Parisot said.

In early 2013, the county will solicit proposals from companies to conduct the study.

“We will put a bid out for the work that needs to be done,” Henson said. “It’s very specialized, very technical.”

The chosen company will use two primary forms of technology — side scan sonar and hydroacoustics — to study the reef populations.

The field work, which involves going out into the Gulf of Mexico and mapping out 600 square miles to study, likely will take a couple of months to complete, he said.

“After that field work, it goes into the data processing and that will take four to five months,” Henson said. “When all the data’s looking good and we’ve got it packaged, that’s when we’ll be able to go out on the Web and say, ‘Here’s what we’ve got.’ ”

Henson said the data will give the county another tool with which to understand the limitations on existing reef resources.

“If you think about it … artificial reefs and fishing are the reasons a lot of people come here,” he said. “The more often that we get to do this, the better picture we have. This type of study is something that’s needed to be done since people started putting reefs out there.”

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 gets $450,000 BP grant to study reefs