CRESTVIEW — There’s a new place in town to get everything you need for your pets, and maybe to bring home a new furry friend.

Petsense held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting event April 14 at their new Crestview Crossing location.

The store carries a wide range of pet supplies including natural pet foods, grooming supplies and toys. It also offers salon grooming and bathing services to pets.

“For the future, we’re going to have a VIP clinic that will come through and offer reduced prices on basic services for dogs for some of our local veterinarians,” store manager Nancy Pruitt said. The clinic will offer basic examinations, spaying and neutering, and flea and tick prevention, she said.

At the grand opening, a crowd of people filled the aisles inside the store, as well as at a large adoption event in the parking lot.

“It is going fabulous,” Pruitt said. “We couldn’t ask for a better grand opening. The community is very involved and supportive, and I think we’re going to do well here.”

Saving with Soul Pet Rescue organized the adoption event, which featured cats and dogs rescued from shelters around Okaloosa County.

Jennifer Hagedorn, president and founder of Saving with Soul, said it was nice to finally have a place to hold regular adoption events in Crestview.

“So many of us live in Crestview, so this is awesome,” Hagedorn said. “There really haven’t been a lot of great venues here to do events. It’s really nice to have a Crestview location.”

The organization found new homes for more than a dozen animals at Saturdays event. Hagedorn said she hopes to hold adoption events at Petsense once a month. Many of Saving with Soul’s events feature 20 or more pets looking for homes.

The next adoption will be held May 5 at Petsense.

The store is located at 2200 S Ferdon Blvd. It is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Petsense hosts grand opening, adoption event

CRESTVIEW — A candidate for state Commissioner of Agriculture passed through Crestview Monday on the campaign trail.

Matt Caldwell stopped at Hub City Smokehouse in Crestview on April 16 for a roundtable with officials from the city and county. He also made an appearance at the Okaloosa County Republican Executive Committee meeting Monday evening in Niceville.

Caldwell is currently the state representative for Florida’s 79th District, which covers the northern part of Lee County in Southwest Florida. He announced his candidacy to replace Adam Putnam as agriculture commissioner in May of last year. Putnam is running for Governor this year.

“This morning was to get with community leaders, making sure I’ve got a good understanding of what’s important here in Crestview and Okaloosa,” Caldwell said.

Caldwell said he is committed to visiting Northwest Florida at least once a month while on the campaign trail. To date, he says he’s traveled nearly 60,000 miles crisscrossing the state.

The issues that are important to people in Northwest Florida, Caldwell said, are the same as they are in the rest of the state.

“The issues really aren’t that different. Fundamentally, all people want to make sure that they’ve got a secure future and that their kids have a secure future.”

One issue Caldwell feels is important to Northwest Florida as well as the rest of the state is water policy.

“It has been one of my signature issues in my eight years in the legislature. Looking forward with a state that’s growing as much as we are – a thousand people a day – making sure you put in the right policy and the right infrastructure so that the urban sector is able to be successful without putting the squeeze on rural Florida.”

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services oversees a wide range of areas including business services, forests and wildfire, energy and even the concealed weapons program.

“People really view that office as the second amendment office in the cabinet, and I’ve got a very strong record when it comes to that,” Caldwell said.

On his campaign website, Caldwell writes that he’s running to protect Floridians’ second amendment rights, natural resources and property rights.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Agriculture candidate stops in Crestview

CRESTVIEW — U.S. Air Force Airman Emil C. Seijas graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.

The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force. 

Seijas is the son of Dianna Lesser of Beverly Hills, Florida and Neal Seijas of Inverness, and brother of Holly Axtell of Crestview. 

The airman is a 2017 graduate of Lecanto High School, Lecanto.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Seijas completes basic military training

CRESTVIEW — Here are upcoming events in North Okaloosa County and surrounding areas: 

College nursing program adds additional semester

Northwest Florida State College's Registered Nursing Program is offering a second semester for new Associate of Science in Nursing students. In previous years, the program has only admitted new students during the fall terms. The school will now have an additioanl spring semester.  

The application period for spring 2019 is May 1 to June 1.

Contact Kathy McNair, Nursing Instructional Support Specialist, at 729-6400 or mcnairk@nwfsc.edu for more information.

County seeks Value Adjustment Board member 

CRESTVIEW —Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Value Adjustment Board is seeking a citizen volunteer to serve on this board. This Board was established under the guidelines of Florida Statute 194.05.

Applicants must own homestead property within the county and may not be a member or an employee of any taxing authority, or be a person who represents property owners in any administrative or judicial review of property taxes. Term would be for one year.

The deadline to apply is May 1.

Go to http://myokaloosa.com/citizen-councils/home to view the policy, complete an application, and obtain more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: North Okaloosa Community Briefs

CRESTVIEW — The Kiwanis Club of Crestview, the Mike Josey Memorial Sporting Clay Tournament and the Building Industry Association present the third annual Kiwanis Charity Sporting Clay Tournament. Event proceeds will be used to build a playground at the John B. McMahon Environmental Center in Crestview and support other Kiwanis projects.

Registration, breakfast and warm-ups are at 8 a.m. April 28 at Shoal River Sporting Clays and Shooting Center, 3985 U.S. Highway 90 E, Crestview. Practice shots will be available for purchase. The tournament's shotgun start is 9 a.m.

Cost is $125 per person or $500 per team, which includes ammunition for 12- or 20-gauge shells (participants with different gauges must provide their own shells), clays, breakfast, lunch by Samuel's Roadhouse, a T-shirt, and a goody bag.

Karen Donaldson, one of the events organizers, said participants may contact her in advance to reserve a golf cart for the tournament. Cost is $100 each.

Tournament activities include raffles, according to Donaldson.

"We're raffling off three guns in a drawing the day of the event, and we also have an auction table where people can enter a raffle to win various items, such as knives and gift baskets," she said.

To register in advance, contact Donaldson, karendonaldson@synovus.com, 826-2630 or 689-4349; go to http://crestviewkiwanis.wix.com/crestview-kiwanis; or pick up a registration package at Synovus Bank's north branch, 1139 Industrial Drive, Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Kiwanis sporting clay shoot funds to be used for McMahon environmental center

CRESTVIEW — The Spanish Trail Cruisers will host their 18th annual Average Joe Car Show. Some of the proceeds go to the Okaloosa School Nutrition Association Scholarship Fund.

The event starts at 8 a.m. April 21 on Main Street in Crestview.  Cars from 1988 and older are welcome.

Sixteen classes of cars will be open for judging, with $1,000 in cash prizes for registered participants. Registration is 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and the car show starts at 9 a.m.

Singing of the national anthem is 11 a.m. and trophy presentations are at 3 p.m.

Activities also include a 50/50 drawing and vendors.

Contact Danny Tate, 850-978-3688, or go to www.SpanishTrailCruisers.org for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Average Joe Car Show features 16 classes

CRESTVIEW — One of the the Crestview Public Library's classes for young children covered what to do after a sneeze.

Have a cute photo of your kids out and about? They could be our next The Bulletin Kid! Email a photo with your child's name, age, hometown and a description of the action to news@crestviewbulletin.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: The Bulletin Kid presents sneezing etiquette

Many years ago my two sons and I took a few days and traveled to Southern California. We enjoyed seeing some sights in Los Angeles and San Diego. It's was one of those fun things we did I'll always remember.

One thing not so fun was our decision to cross the border into Tijuana, Mexico. We had never been to Mexico and thought it would be interesting to visit and then we could say we had been there. We drove to a parking lot just on the border and left our car and took a designated walkway path that led us right into Mexico. We were greeted by lots of taxi drivers who offered us a ride. We climbed into a cab and got our ears full on into the town of Tijuana. The taxi driver was full of expletives about what Tijuana was all about which was mostly drunkenness and prostitution. It felt like the taxi ride from hell. I was embarrassed for our family and was glad when we could get out of the car.

I felt like we had stepped into a scum hole. There was nothing really worth seeing in Tijuana and every other building was a loud bar with lots of men on the street begging us to come in to see the prostitutes. We probably survived our visit maybe an hour hoping to see something worth seeing before we finally found a taxi to take us back to the border. The driver on the way back laughed and said, "We have nothing here worth seeing or losing. We are not like the United States. We have nothing to lose." When we got out of the taxi there was a long line of people waiting to get through customs back into the United States. What took only a minute to cross into Mexico took us almost two hours that day to get back into our country. We were so glad to cross back into California.

I don't have anything against Mexico. There are lots of beautiful vacation spots and lovely people in that country. I eat breakfast at a place in our town operated by wonderful people from Mexico. However, the taxi driver was right in one point of his comparison between Mexico and America. We are worth something and have plenty to lose in this country.

A friend of mine just moved from a Texas border community and was irritated because someone from Mexico came across the border and stole his motorcycle. "I'll never see it again," He said. He also told about families he knew close to the border who would never let their children play outside alone. "Those families are terrified of their children being kidnapped and taken across the border. They know if that happens they will never see their children again."

Utilize our national guard on the border. Drugs are flowing into our nation from Mexico. People are still crossing illegally. We need to protect our people. Our borders should be crossed legally and people should abide in our country legally. America is worth protecting.

Glenn Mollette is an American syndicated columnist and author. 

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Write a letter to the editor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Troops on the Border

CRESTVIEW — If you have an event you would like to submit, send your first and last name and information about the event to news@crestviewbulletin.com.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 3 things to do this week in Northwest Florida

CRESTVIEW — Crestview Police Chief Tony Taylor met with the public and the press Wednesday morning at his monthly Coffee with a Cop event.

Taylor answered questions on issues ranging from red light cameras to community outreach programs. He also talked about the traffic problem in Crestview, which he identified as the number one public safety issue his department deals with.

“That’s our biggest complaint we get," Taylor said, "the traffic. Obviously the amount of crashes that we have indicates that we have a traffic problem.”

Taylor participated in a Facebook LIVE interview for the News Bulletin during the event. During the interview, a reader asked if the police are doing anything about Crestview’s drug problem. Taylor said his department is “very cognizant of the drugs in the community,” but could not divulge specifics on what actions the police are taking to combat the issue.

On the topic of red light cameras, Taylor answered questions about whether the program would send money out of the Crestview economy and about whether lengthening the yellow-light period would also help prevent accidents at busy intersections.

“The state takes a little over half the money,” Taylor said. “The rest of the money stays here in Crestview. It’s designed to be a revenue-neutral program.

“If there are any residual funds after the vendor is paid, then that money stays here in Crestview. What my suggestion to the city council was that we open up an enterprise fund to go to public safety equipment.”

In response to the yellow light questions, Taylor said the length of the yellow light will automatically be increased slightly as part of the camera program. He went on to say that once drivers adjust to the new yellow light timing, red light running will become a problem again.

Another topic Taylor addressed was community outreach programs.

“Our biggest community outreach is our Citizen’s Police Academy,” Taylor said. It’s a 10-week program; it’s one night a week for a couple hours a night. What we do is we basically take them through our entire operations at the police department.”

The Coffee with a Cop event began in 2013, less than a year after Taylor started the job. At the time, Taylor stressed his belief in the importance of having an open-door policy and getting feedback and input from the community.

The event is held on the second Wednesday of each month from 8 am to 10 pm at Casbah Coffee in downtown Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview police chat with residents over coffee