LAUREL HILL — Saturday, after months of concern that it wouldn’t happen, the city of Laurel Hill will present its annual Hobo Festival.

More than 50 vendors, a bounce house, live entertainment from local musicians, an auction and — of course, food — will take focus in downtown Laurel Hill, event organizers said. Among participating organizations are The Spanish Trail Cruisers, which will display vintage cars, and members of the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department horse posse. Local country music artist Robert Wayne, The Twin Hills Drummers and the local country music band River Chase will perform. 

The Rev. Mike McVay, of First Baptist Church of Laurel Hill, said he plans to reprise his role as the festival’s iconic hobo, which honors the city’s railroad history. After the Civil War, soldiers-turned-migrant-workers traveled the railroads and gave labor to local farms during pit stops in town.

However, honoring the city’s heritage and enjoying community fellowship almost didn’t happen, organizers said. Earlier this year, low volunteer participation threatened the event’s occurrence.

In July, festival committee members Anita Miller and Betty Williamson stressed the need for volunteers. Miller sent out a news release stating, "If we have no response, the October festival will be canceled due to lack of support."

One Laurel Hill dad wasn’t about to let the latter happen.

Elgin “Trae” Duley III, festival committee chairperson, said parents rely on events like the Hobo Festival to entertain their kids, but he believes the event serves a greater purpose. 

"I want my son to see what it means to help your community," Duley said. "I want him to see what it takes to put this together."

That’s why Duley signed up to help out. Soon, members of Crestview’s Elks Lodge No. 2624 pooled resources.

"We are doing what we can to keep the festival going," lodge member Betty Clark said, adding that 10 members would volunteer at the festival. The lodge also loaned its drug-awareness trailer for selling festival T-shirts and bottled water.

More than 50 food and arts-and-crafts vendors have signed up for the event, Duley said. Vendor registration deadline is Oct. 12, “but the earlier (the vendors) can get in contact with us, the better.”

The Hobo Festival tradition began in 1992. The annual event had relied on volunteer support except in 1995, when Hurricane Opal forced its cancellation.

Last year’s event drew nearly 500 people, according to festival committee member Betty Williamson.

Duley said that, despite its shaky start, community support will ensure the event returns for several years to come.

“We have made this far,” Duley said. “We just need the people to show up.”

Want to go?

The Hobo Festival runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Gene Clary Park on New Ebenezer Road.

Find it online:

For more information on the festival, contact City Hall at 652-4441.

See the Hobo Festival's Facebook page, facebook.com/Laurelhillhobofestival, for a list of items to be auctioned Saturday.

To volunteer:

Volunteers can visit the festival's Facebook page or email Duley at elgin.duley@gmail.com.  

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Hobo Festival needs last-minute volunteers and vendors

CRESTVIEW—Until recently, the problem of multiple community events scheduled on the same day has been the bane of Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce Art and Culture Committee chairwoman Rae Schwartz. Her committee has established a central community calendar and will host a free workshop 5-7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, to help local organizations promote their events.

An active community leader in a variety of interests, including arts, education, the library and Boy Scouts, Schwartz packs a full calendar herself.

“The lack of a central planning calendar has been a problem we have faced in Crestview and north Okaloosa County,” she said. “How many times has an organization planned a great event only to find another great event scheduled for the same day? The chamber has been very gracious to open up their website calendar to any community organization.”

The chamber of commerce’s online calendar is available at www.crestviewchamber.com. Chamber membership is not required to add events to the calendar or attend the workshop.

Schwartz said there are many local organizations—including church programs, school groups, service clubs and professional organizations—that offer events that are open and beneficial to the community. However, enthusiastic members don’t always know the best way to promote their events.

Since becoming president of the Okaloosa Arts Alliance, the official county arts organization, holding an annual workshop at which any organization is welcome to add its events to a community-wide calendar has been one of Schwartz’s goals. Establishing a single community events calendar was another.

At the suggestion of members of the chamber Art and Culture Committee, the workshop expanded to include short presentations by chamber members on writing effective promotional material and press releases; how to have posters, flyers and brochures printed; and how to have affordable, effective signage produced.

Presenters will represent chamber businesses including Hart Printing, Signs Galore and the News Bulletin. There will also be a brief presentation by the Okaloosa Library Cooperative on the Viva Florida! heritage program.

WANT TO GO?

The Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce Art and Culture committee’s Community Calendar Workshop is 5-7 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Crestview Public Library and is open to any community organization. The workshop is free and chamber membership is not required. Refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Library.

Add your organization’s events to a central north Okaloosa County planning calendar and learn effective advertising and promotional techniques from local business leaders. Call Rae Schwartz at 585-5672 for more information.

To have your event added to the planning calendar in advance, email your organization name, event, its date and time, location, and contact information to Schwartz at bakerny@yahoo.com.

To place an event on the central chamber of commerce website, visit www.crestviewchamber.com and click on the “Calendar of Events” button under “News and Events.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Workshop conquers calendar conflicts

CRESTVIEW—Remember elementary school? One day, you’re king of the hill before becoming the object of ridicule as the oaf who dropped his books (or worse, his lunch tray) all over the floor. However, that’s OK, because you made it up the next day by being your classroom’s champion book reader, speller or rope skipper.

Who could be more qualified to capture those many moments of triumph — tempered by the occasional moment of embarrassment — than a veteran educator? Many visiting Walker Elementary School parents, guardians and grandparents, eager to conduct the business of the day, may never have noticed the series of watercolors in the school office.

After 11 years as the News Bulletin’s editor through most of the 1980s, Bob Overturf completed his college studies and became a teacher at Walker. He never lost his love of painting, a hobby he started in the 1960s. In this modest collection, he captured the kids he encountered over a many-year career.

In November 2011, an exhibit of many of his works opened at the Crestview Public Library. However, the Walker collection of eight whimsical, watercolor washes was not represented. That makes it special: To savor the caricatures of typical school kids, you have to go right to the source. Just observing the throng of kids that fills the hallways, classrooms and playgrounds, you can instantly identify the personality in each drawing.

“I think he’d always done a lot of cartooning,” Overturf’s widow Dr. Marilyn Overturf said of her husband during the opening reception for the library exhibit.

There’s the happy little girl jumping rope, the fleet-footed field day runner, the happy reader, the enthused finger-painter, the eager scholar, and yes, even the lass tripping and sending her stack of textbooks flying.

How intimately we’ve known each personality, because each of us, at one time or another, has been each one of those kids.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Agony, ecstacy of elementary school appears in caricatures

LAUREL HILL — Clifton Hall, 65, is the City Council’s newest member, appointed Oct. 2 to a seat that was vacant more than 18 months. The job is new to him, but he has eyed business growth as one area the city should focus on.

"I would like to see some more businesses in the area," he said. "Plus, many of the streets are in need of repair."

The city of Laurel Hill currently has 13 licensed businesses, according to city clerk Anita Miller.

The city of Crestview has 908 businesses listed that have been approved and renewed for business licenses, according to Loretta Scardina, the Hub City’s assistant city clerk.

Although he has never held political office, Hall said he has always wanted to help the city. Mayor Joan Smith convinced him to run for the position.

Hall said he learned about the job through Smith, whom he knew through her late husband, Harvell, who had business dealings with his company, according to Hall.

Hall’s experience in construction and roadwork lies in the company that he operates with his wife, Monique. In addition, he is credited with building several subdivisions, schools and businesses in Crestview.

However, after nearly 30 years of business, Hall said he and his wife have plans to sell.   

"It just got to be too much for me," Hall said, adding the decision came after the economy worsened and jobs became scarce.

Hall was born and raised on a farm in New Harmony in Walton County. He said he became familiar with many people in the area from his days at Paxton School, from which he graduated in 1965.

 Hall served in the U.S. Navy, as a firefighter on Eglin Air Force Base, before he entered the construction business.

Hall and his wife moved to Laurel Hill shortly after they married in 2007. Hall has two grown sons and Monique has a 17-year-old daughter, respectively, from previous marriages.

Though Hall’s city council role might have suddenly arisen from a life outside politics, he said he always felt civic responsibility.

"My wife and I have attended several meetings in the past," Hall said. "From what I have seen over the years, I knew I wanted to help out in some way."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Hall wants to help Laurel Hill grow

The first Saturday in November, we will celebrate International Games Day @ Your Library, an initiative of the American Library Association to reconnect communities through their libraries. Activities include educational and recreational games that have social value.

Step into our teen/children’s area and you will see games being played either on the TV with the Wii or table games. The library is not just your ordinary place to pick up a good book; it is a place to go for fun and meeting with friends.

As the fifth annual year rolls around, the games-day event has been expanded to include international libraries. ALA expects to double the number of participants this year. Last year, more than 27,000 people joined in on the fun, with 1,400 libraries across the country participating.

Families, students, home-schoolers and library patrons who like to play games are invited to come to the library for a fun day of play. Home-schoolers can meet and play with public school kids. This is an opportunity develop friendships as well as learn how to play new games.

We will begin our day with a scavenger hunt. The participants will learn what is available in the library and where things are located. Prizes will be given for correctly finishing the scavenger hunt. Next, the kids will begin game playing, which will include board games like Monopoly, Clue, chess, checkers, card games and Wii. They can also join a national video game tournament.

Bring your favorite game and teach others how to play. This day is a day for fun and interaction with others. You might just meet a new best friend or get the opportunity to talk and play with students you only see in passing at school. We want your library to be a place where you feel comfortable, and that you think of as the place to go for fun as well as for books and studying.

I am amazed to see students playing card games instead of computer games — and they are doing just that on Monday afternoons when they come in to play Yu-Gi-Oh!

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is a Japanese collectible card battle game developed and published by Konami. Based on the Duel Monsters concept from the original manga series, the game requires players to use a combination of monsters, spells and traps to defeat their opponent.

The students are serious players. They come in, set up the tables and start the game. A leader ensures the rules are followed.

If you are interested, I’m sure there will be a game going on during gaming day. You can get an idea of what this Yu-Gi-Oh! game is all about.

Teen Wii: Fridays at 4 p.m. Nintendo Wii, ages 12-17 are welcome.

Teen Time: Ages 12-17 Tuesdays 3:30-4:30 p.m. meet in the story room.

Wii Play: Monday and Tuesday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. or Saturday 12–2 p.m. Families and adults are invited to come in and play Wii.

Call 682-4432 if you have questions about library services.

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: Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game at the Crestview library

Mary Katherine Bell and Shannon Michael Strand of Crestview were married Sept. 15, 2012, in Laurel Hill.

The bride's parents are James and Judy Bell of Florida. The groom's parents are Scot Strand of Pennsylvania and Marie Jones of Florida.

Do you have a wedding, engagement or anniversary announcement? Email it to news@crestviewbulletin.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview couple united in marriage

SHALIMAR — The Okaloosa County Tax Collector’s Office will offer free email-based tax bill delivery to area residents at www.okaloosatax.com. Sign up online before Nov. 1, when the bills will be mailed to area residents.

“Currently, there are 108,011 real estate accounts and 13,573 tangible personal property accounts in Okaloosa County. Our goal is to save taxpayers time and money when doing business with us, so it is logical to promote this quick and efficient method of getting the tax bills to the account holders," tax collector Ben Anderson said,

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa offers tax bills by email

SAN ANTONIO – Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing emergency financial assistance to military families, will accept nominations for the Military Child of the Year Award through Dec. 15. Winners will be recognized in April 2013.

This award is presented to an outstanding child from each branch of service – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Winners will receive $5,000 and a laptop, and will be flown with a parent or guardian to Washington for a special recognition ceremony on April 11.

To nominate a child in your community, to become a sponsor, or to see photos from past events, visit MilitaryChildOfTheYear.org.

The Military Child of the Year Award recognizes children who stand out among their peers. Ideal candidates demonstrate resilience, strength of character, and thrive amid military-life challenges.

In previous years, recipients have met Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and First Lady Michelle Obama, who were guest speakers for a previous award ceremonies.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Nominations open for Military Child of the Year

CRESTVIEW — A divided city council on Monday didn’t take action on an agenda item that would have made a resolution opposing Amendment 4, an item on next month’s statewide ballot. The Florida League of Cities had requested that local governments pass resolutions opposing the amendment.

Because the amendment would prevent local municipalities from raising the assessed value on residents’ property to maintain a steady tax income, even if the property value has declined since the previous year, real estate agents support the initiative.

Present at the meeting was Cliff Long, an executive with the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors, who was prepared to speak against the resolution if it came to a vote. Long said other business groups also support the amendment, which would increase the homestead exemption for first-time homebuyers and reduce assessment limits.

“… We have the local chambers (of commerce) with us, the Florida chamber as well,” Long said. “This whole resolution, the League of Cities is trying to push all the cities to support it.”

City Clerk Betsy Roy, recommending the city council pass the resolution, cited “potential loss of property tax income if the amendment passes.” However, the council — led by Councilwoman Robyn Helt, a real estate agent — was divided on the issue.

“I do not see the need for the city to pass a resolution,” Helt said. “I would not be in favor of supporting a resolution but I am personally in favor of Amendment 4.”

Stating that she could see “the League of Cities’ position concerning the amount of taxes that could be recouped,” Helt said her responsibility was to Crestview’s property tax paying residents.

“There is a provision of the existing law that concerns me greatly — that there would be increased taxation if a property owner’s property value declines, their assessed value can continue to go up, and I think that is highly unfair,” Helt said.

Councilman Tom Gordon said he could appreciate both sides of the issue, but personally, “I am not in favor of Amendment 4.”

In addition, Helt said passing the amendment also could positively affect companies’ relocation decisions. "Passing amendment 4 would potentially attract new companies and create jobs and additional revenue for our state and boost our economy," she said.

Councilman Charles Baugh Jr., a member of the Florida League of Cities board of directors, said, “It is important that the Florida League of Cities take a position on this matter.”

However, Baugh said he would prefer voters inform themselves of the amendment’s provisions as well as other initiatives on the ballot, before voting.

“I would just ask the citizens inform themselves of this matter,” he said.

Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Councilwoman Robyn Helt was opposed to Amendment 4 and felt its passage would be detrimental to attracting new business to the state. The News Bulletin apologizes for the error.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview City Council offers no formal position on Amendment 4 (UPDATED)

 Don Gaetz has plenty of campaign money and a bunch of new constituents in redrawn state Senate District 1. He sounds almost grateful to also have Richard Harrison. Harrison is a Marianna farmer who is fed up with the status quo in Tallahassee. He’s running as a non-party-affiliated candidate against Gaetz, R-Niceville, the Senate’s president-elect for 2013-14. “This is a reapportionment year and all of them are up for re-election whether they want to be or not,” Harrison said. “We need to replace as many as we can.” Gaetz professes to love campaigning and doesn’t have much trouble rattling off the four times in his long political career that he has faced opposition. The last time was 12 years ago when Republican David Morgan, Democrat Chuck Lynch and non-affiliated candidate John Hughes challenged Gaetz for the Okaloosa County school superintendent’s job. Gaetz crushed them all. Gaetz said by the time he’s through politicking this year, he will have knocked on 35,000 doors, many in counties in a district heavily altered through reapportionment. “I particularly have enjoyed the new areas of my district, Washington, Holmes and Jackson counties,” Gaetz said. “We’ve done a lot of door knocking there in a part of the state I haven’t represented before.” On the face of things, the incumbent doesn’t appear to have much to worry about. He’s got something like $332,000 in campaign funds to spend to Harrison’s $2,000 loan to himself, and seems capable of picking up contributions even on Harrison’s turf. “We had a recent fundraiser in Marianna and it yielded $1,250,” Gaetz said. “People I haven’t gotten to know before were showing up with $5, $10 and $25 contributions. That’s grass roots at its best.” But Harrison views himself as the David in a David vs. Goliath-style showdown, and most people know how that one came out. “I believe in God, the Constitution and common sense,” he said. “The Bible was written on biblical principles and until recently we were a Christian nation.” Harrison is running to change what he calls the corrupt way that the Florida Legislature is run. He believes the process in which bills are routed through committees headed by powerful members of the ruling party must be eliminated. “We have too few people who decide which bills get taken up. That needs to change,” he said. Harrison wants each state House or Senate bill brought unamended before the full legislative chamber into which it is introduced, to be voted up or down. “Each bill should stand on its own merits if you’re going to have clean government,” he said. “Most people don’t benefit from the bills as they’re introduced now and can’t do anything about it. That’s tyranny.” Harrison has pointed out in his campaign two specific examples of bad legislation. Both of them, strangely enough, are bills that passed with support from Gaetz and Harrison. Harrison said neither of the bills, one killing legislation to require an every-five-year inspection of the state’s septic tanks and the other allowing service stations the freedom to pump ethanol-free gasoline, are what they appeared upon passage. “Most people think the septic tank inspections have been repealed,” he said. “They haven’t been.” He called the ethanol legislation, sponsored by Gaetz’s son, state Rep. Matt Gaetz, “a mandated legislative bluff.” Gaetz, who has heard Harrison annunciate his issue positions only once, said Harrison’s conclusions about the two bills he’s raised as issues are incorrect. He said he isn’t sure his opponent understands the way the state Legislature works. “Mr. Harrison has a misunderstanding of the legislative process,” he said. With a month left before the election, Harrison has not yet made it past Panama City. As a member of the Calhoun Liberty Patriots organization, Harrison said he has sent out feelers to similar organizations in Okaloosa and Walton counties, both of which remain in District One. He said if he received an invitation to a speaking event he might make the trip from Marianna, but he has no firm plans for now to travel west. “I’m not going to do Senator Gaetz’s routine of going door to door,” he said.   Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Gaetz faces challenger for first time in 12 years