CRESTVIEW — The latest McDonalds remodel features a new place for kids to play in Crestview.

The McDonalds on James Lee Boulevard had its grand reopening and ribbon-cutting ceremony March 15. Some of the new features include automated ordering kiosks, mobile ordering, and an almost entirely new staff. But the centerpiece of the remodel is a new space-themed PlayPlace, complete with interactive games and a two-story play area.

Costa Enterprises owns all three McDonalds restaurants in Crestview, along with 17 other locations around Northwest Florida. The James Lee location was the last of the Crestview McDonalds to be upgraded.

The company has used underwater themes in PlayPlaces at some of its other locations, but chose to go with an entirely new theme for this location.

“We just wanted to do something totally different than what we’ve done before,” Vice President of Operations David Costa Jr. said. “So we thought it would be kind of cool to make something that was animated and fun and enjoyable for the kids.”

The new area for kids features a more traditional play area with a slide and other features, but also includes interactive games. There is a row of touch screen stations, a touch screen tabletop with various multi-player games to choose from, and an interactive table that lights up in response to touch.

“The interactive table is a brand new element that we’re just trying out,” Costa said. “It allows the kids just to be able to play right on the table and play games against each other. It’s been pretty cool so far. The other games are really just touch-screen games that allow for kids to be able to play actively and also play digitally. So it kind of gives a nice mix in there.”

In addition to the ribbon-cutting on Thursday, the restaurant is hosting an event for families on Saturday, March 17.

“Saturday from 10 to 2, we’re doing what we call McFamily day,” Costa said. “We’ll have the McDonalds characters here. We’ll have face painting. We’ll be giving away bikes, baskets and goodies. We’ll just be having a great time.”

The remodel also features other upgrades that are in-line with the other area McDonalds restaurants. The interior and exterior were completely made over, kiosk and table services added, and the drive-thru was upgraded to digital menu boards.

Costa said adjustments were made to staff as well, bringing in 30 new employees to maximize the customer experience.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Space-themed playground part of McDonalds remodel

CRESTVIEW — Residents of Foxwood Estates have mixed feelings about the recent closure of Foxwood Country Club.

The club closed its doors in October 2017 when the owners allowed the property to go into foreclosure.

Shane Wilks owns a home in Foxwood Estates adjacent to the golf course. After the course closed, Wilks took a job in Orlando and eventually moved his family there. He decided to keep the home as a rental property but found it hard to attract renters to a house that sits on an abandoned golf course.

Wilks, who has worked in the golf industry before, said he was disappointed when the club closed.

“We went to take our daughters down to the pool, after we had already paid our membership,” Wilks said. “When we got there, the pool was closed and was not being maintained.”

April O’Daniels lives near the 18th hole. She says the course closing has not been a bad thing for her family.

“The closure of the golf course hasn’t affected my family and I as we weren’t part of the membership,” O’Daniels said. “We like it being closed as we no longer have to worry with our girls being pelted with potential fly-away balls.”

Both Wilks and O’Daniels confirmed that the property was being maintained and was not overgrown.

The club had been struggling financially for years, according to Terry Thomas, one of the former owners. Thomas said the owners struggled to make a profit in the face of falling demand.

“It’s very expensive to keep (golf courses) in top shape,” Thomas said. “We just didn’t have the money to keep it up. For a long time, we just tried to cut expenses so we could pay the mortgage.

“People just stopped playing golf. It was sort of a snowball effect.”

Thomas said tourists had previously been a large source of revenue but when courses in Destin lowered their rates, people stopped coming to the north end of the county for cheaper course fees.

Golf courses across the country have been closing for more than a decade. As of 2016, more than 1,400 golf courses had closed in Florida since 2000. In Crestview, Adara Golf Course, formerly Shoal River Country Club, closed its doors in 2009. Heritage Plantation Golf and Country Club in Laurel Hill shut down the same year. The Frank W. Dahlinger Golf Course aboard Naval Air Station Whiting Field closed June of 2015.

The Foxwood property is currently held by First City Bank of Florida. A representative from First City confirmed that they took possession of the property and are currently looking for interested buyers.

Thomas said he hopes that either another ownership group or the city is able to purchase the golf course and eventually reopen it.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'People just stopped playing golf'

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE — The 33rd Fighter Wing hosted Ethan Ibi, 11, and his family for the "Pilot for a Day" program March 9 at Eglin Air Force Base.

Ethan, who has a rare form of dwarfism, zipped up his very own flight suit and attached some special patches to join the rest of the F-35A Lightning II pilots in the wing.

The base's host wing, the 96th Test Wing, played a major role in Ethan's day. The 96th Security Forces Squadron greeted the Ibi family at the front gate and escorted them with lights and sirens.

"We were so moved to see each person and their role in this event," Ethan's mother Brooke Ibi said. "There was clearly so much effort put into this. Ethan was made to feel like a total rock star by each person we encountered. We expected to go and have a good time as a family, but this day exceeded our expectations tenfold."

Ethan loves the movie "Harry and the Hendersons." During his visit, he received an intelligence and mission briefing on how to find Big Foot in the local area. Ethan set out on a quest to find Harry with the 58th Fighter Squadron "Gorillas." While he didn't actually locate Big Foot, "they had a blast trying," his mother said. She said

"We do not expect for our son to be treated in a special way by others. We don't expect for people to go above and beyond for him, but they absolutely did."

He had the opportunity to sit in the cockpit of an F-35A Lightning II and overlook the base from the air traffic control tower while speaking with pilots in the sky. Ethan was also able to watch a military working dog in action and spray a firefighter's water hose.

"For Ethan, with his condition, being different means not being able to do so many things that he loves," Brooke said. "All of us struggle with something, but he wears his struggle for the whole world to see. People see his struggle before he ever speaks a word. That can be a lot for a person to handle."

The Pilot for a Day program provides an opportunity for school-age children with special needs to experience what it's like to be a pilot and learn about what goes on behind the scenes to make their job possible. The wing selects a child randomly from a pool of applicants sent in by various teachers in area school districts. Ethan was chosen from over 20 applicants.

"Thanks for giving our son a chance to pretend that he was a part of that life with you guys," Brooke said. "He truly felt like he made real friends through this and we are so thrilled to have been a part of something so meaningful."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview resident is 'Pilot for a Day' at 33rd Fighter Wing

CRESTVIEW — Doris and Gary Johnson of The New Way of Life Outreach Ministry will host an event honoring North Okaloosa first responders and military members.

The celebration and appreciation party also honors the memory of the students who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

The event is 1-5 p.m. March 31 at Old Spanish Trail Park, Stillwell Boulevard in Crestview.

The Johnsons are accepting donations toward the event, which will include hamburgers, hotdogs, drinks, music and other entertainment for children through adults.

Donations sought include food, drinks, hamburger and hotdog buns, cutlery, tablecloths, paper towels, napkins and dinner trays; bouncy houses, cotton candy and popcorn machines, cutlery, a barbecue grill, charcoal, tables and chairs, and a dee-jay for entertainment and announcements.

Volunteers are also needed.

Monetary donations should be made payable to New Way of Life Outreach Ministry, a 501(c)(3) organization.

Call Gary Johnson, 229-379-1741, or Doris Johnson, 398-0431, for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Memorial to honor first responders, school shooting victims

CRESTVIEW — Area residents decorated shamrocks in honor of St. Patrick's Day recently at the Crestview Public Library.

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: Bulletin Kids make St. Patrick's Day art

CRESTVIEW — Downtown Crestview may soon have a new marketing agency, and new gateway signs are moving into the design phase.

The Community Redevelopment Agency heard a presentation from Chuck Branch, managing partner of NextSite, at its March 12 quarterly meeting. The CRA also voted to approve a revised design contract for new gateway signs.

NextSite is a retail consulting firm out of Birmingham, Ala. that provides research and market analysis for retail development to cities nationwide.

The NextSite presentation focused on how the company would attract chain retailers to Crestview, both in the downtown area and the greater city area. The CRA had previously partnered with Retail Strategies, another Birmingham firm, but declined to renew that contract in September after not getting the expected results.

Branch focused on the traffic that flows through the city as a key attractor of new businesses.

“You have tremendous traffic counts that I believe a lot of developers and tenant reps do not understand at this point in time,” Branch said. “We’ve got to communicate that message to them that in addition to the demographics, look at those 45,000 and 50,000 cars that are coming south to north or north to south in the morning.”

The presentation was preliminary and did not include a price tag. The cost of any contract with NextSite would be split between the CRA and the city.

Gateway Signs

The CRA voted unanimously to approve revisions to a design contract for new gateway entrance signs downtown.

Polyengineering, a firm out of Dothan, has been contracted to develop the signs, and can now begin design work after the revisions were approved.

The firm has been contracted to design three signs for the downtown area, including an archway, a monument sign and a column sign.

There was some debate over the price of the revised contract, which is not to exceed $25,000 whether the submitted designs are approved by the CRA or not.

“The cost is in-line. It’s normal. It’s not outrageous at all,” city Public Services Director Wayne Steele said, responding to questions from board members. “Costs have gone up tremendously, especially for design and architectural engineering-type costs. And the reason (is when) they spend a lot of time doing this, and then you don’t do the project, they still have all that time invested in design work.”

CRA board member Ron Gautney was concerned with how long the project would take.

“How fast can you get the information back up here, and how fast can you have them sign for that?” Gautney asked. “I don’t want to wait three years to get it. I don’t even want to wait three months.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Retail marketing agency pitches downtown redevelopment board

CRESTVIEW — An issue that the city has been working on for nearly a year finally has some resolution.

The City Council passed new rules for storing RVs on residential property, replacing an older, more restrictive ordinance after nearly a year of debate. The provision passed by a vote of 4-1 at the March 12 council meeting.

The new ordinance states that one recreational vehicle may be stored on a parcel of residential land, provided it is stored in the rear or side of the property, and is at least three feet from the property line. The ordinance also allows the RV to be used as temporary living quarters. Also, it may be hooked up to utilities but only in certain temporary cases, such as fires or natural disasters.

Debate over rules for storing RVs began in early 2017, when city residents started receiving code violation notices for having RVs on their property. The previous ordinance stated that RVs over 24 feet could not be stored on residential lots or be connected to utility hookups outside of a trailer or RV park.

Public outcry over the ordinance led the council to suspend the code in April 2017 until the council could come to agreement on changes. A revised ordinance allowed for RVs to be stored on residential property, provided they were hidden by some type of screening. The measure failed in November by a 3-2 vote, sending council members back to the drawing board.

The council decided to remove the screening requirement at a workshop in January and put forward the current ordinance.

“You all have done a great job so far. Don’t mess it up now,” Crestview resident Sue Jones said prior to the vote, during the public hearing portion of Monday’s meeting. “We’ve got a good ordinance here that everybody can agree on.”

Councilman Joe Blocker was the only member to vote against the new ordinance. At the first reading on Feb. 12, Blocker said he was concerned the new rules would force people out of their homes.

“Personally, I am not acceptable to part of the verbiage in this ordinance,” Blocker said at the Feb. 12 meeting. “Some of these people have worked their entire working lives to provide a place to get in and out of the weather … now the city comes along passing a law evicting them out of their homes.”

Blocker did not comment on the ordinance during the second reading at Monday’s meeting.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview gets new RV rules

PENSACOLA — Pensacola Sports has released the tentative rosters for the 10th Annual SUBWAY High School All-Star Basketball game happening 5 p.m. March 16 at Pensacola State College Hartsell Arena. Boys and girls from Baker High School and Laurel Hill School will compete.

The SUBWAY High school all-Star Series, organized by Pensacola Sports, recognizes senior athletes in volleyball, football, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, men’s baseball, and women’s softball from Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa County.

The next events in the series are the June 7 boys baseball and girls softball games at the University of West Florida.

The roster for the West Girls Team:      

Pace 

• Blakey Preston 
• Autumn Dunlap 
• Alexus Dao 

Pensacola 

• Malainna White
• Autumn Gorum 
• Akria Jenkins 
• Mikeya Perry 
• Mia Dumas 

Pine Forest 

• KenDauria Brooks 

Tate 

• Jamya Purifoy 
• Imani Allen 
• Natasha Madison 

Washington 

• Lauren Walker 
• Bre'a Rich 
• Tatilia Carmichael 

West Florida Tech 

• Gigi Valentine 

The roster for the East Girls Team:

 Baker 

• Kashira Casey 
• Ayajah Coleman 
• Kailyn Watts 
• Jessica Black

Central 

• Jacki Jerugen 
• Alex Simmons      

Fort Walton Beach 

• Reneasha Payton 
• Alysia McLeod
• Aaliyah Davenport 
• Tanyvia Tassin 

Gulf Breeze 

• Sadie Nix 

Laurel Hill 

• Shelby Fugate 

Milton        

• Jazlyn Simmons 
• Madison Parker 

Navarre      

• Arleigh East 

Niceville 

• Grace Dowden 
• Antionette Lewis 
• Maia Amato 

Rocky Bayou       

• Brooke McBride 

 The head coach for the West Girls Team is Pensacola High’s Allison Davis. The head coach for the East Girls Team is Gulf Breeze High’s Christy Gray.

 The Roster for the West Boys Team:

Catholic

• Demarius Nickerson
• Luke Stringfellow
• Kyheen Coleman
• Alec Grimes

Escambia

• Ainsley Brown
• Nigel Tart

LightHouse

• Chris Jones
• Jamound Bruster

Northview

• Tim Bush

Pensacola Christian Academy

• Michael Thompson

Pensacola

• Shawndarius Cowart
• Davonchae Bryant

Pine Forest

• Blake Lewis
• Austin English

Tate

• Dwayne Kelley, Jr                   

Washington

• Michael Randolph, Jr
• Eric Milton, Jr
• Delond Dale
• Blake Coleman    

West Florida Tech

• Rodney Shoemo

The Roster for the East Boys Team

Baker

• Kalee Civcleo
• Wade Walker

Central

• Levi Fountain

Choctaw

• Aron Scott
• Marquis Jackson
• Stacey Jones                

Fort Walton Beach

• Jack Levin

Gulf Breeze

• Jackson Warren
• Walter Yates III

Jay

• Reid Kelley

Laurel Hill

• Samuel Durm
• Martavious Toles

Milton

• Cameron Shelton 

Navarre     

• Matt Harshany
• Andre Smith

Niceville

• Trey Green-Harris
• Myles Myers
• Juanyeh Thomas           

Pace

• Connor Lee
• Tre Neely
• Rocky Bayou
• David Denbow

The head coach for the West Boys Team is Escambia Charter School’s Alfy Smith. The head coach for the East Boys Team is Choctaw High’s Andy Thigpen.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Tentative roster annouced for Subway High School All-Star Basketball game

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 — Calandra Stallworth, Crestview resident, has been missing since March of 2017. Her family copes on a day-by-day basis while the Crestview Police Department interviews some associated persons multiple times searching for clues.

"As a parent, you would wish that you would never have to go through something like this. In my wildest dreams I never thought I would have to go through this," Stallworth's mother Sheila Knight on Thursday said. "You see stuff like this on TV, but you never think that this would ever happen to you."

Stallworth, 28 at the time of her disappearance, has two young daughters. She maintained daily contact with her family until March of last year, Knight said. After not hearing from her, Knight filed her first missing person report that month.

"She used to call me everyday. This has really been hard…When Mother's Day comes around it just — and the kids — they really miss her. They talk about her a lot, so that's a good thing. Everybody's just taking one day at a time. That's all we can do.

"I just want … everyone to know that we all love her. We all miss her. There's not a day goes by that we don't all think about her," Knight said.

Knight filed the second missing person report April 2. Police closed the first report March 27 after Stallworth informed the police department that she had taken a getaway trip to Alabama with her boyfriend and had a poor cell phone signal, according to the department.

Knight said she wished the police had acted earlier.

"I feel like if they would have got on in there a little bit sooner, maybe we could have found some more answers. It seems like it's just slipping away. Time is slipping away and we still don't know where she is. It seems like we're still in the same spot…the same place, like we haven't moved, and it's very frustrating."

Responding to an email, a CPD Investigations division spokesperson said, "It is a frustrating case, but it is most certainly not a closed case. Every shred of evidence has been investigated and every person associated with the case has been interviewed, some multiple times. We welcome any information, no matter how seemingly insignificant, the public may have."

Anyone with information about Calandra Stallworth's case may contact Sgt. Ray Harp, 682-4157.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: "Time is slipping away"