January may seem like a downtime in the landscape and garden. But there are jobs to perform this month to get the landscape and garden off to a good start for a New Year.

Here are some gardening ideas from the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension North Florida Gardening Calendar (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep451) for the month of January.

Cool-season annuals that can provide color through winter and into early spring include pansy, viola, petunia and snapdragon. See Annuals: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_annual_landscape_plants.

Select and plant camellias this month. Visit local nurseries now for best selection of colors and forms. See Camellias: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_camellia.

In the vegetable garden, Irish potatoes can be planted now. Start with healthy seed pieces purchased from a local nursery or online seed catalog. Continue planting cool-season crops, including broccoli, kale, carrots and lettuce. See Vegetable Gardening in Florida: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_vegetable_gardening.

Plant deciduous fruit trees now to give their roots time to develop before the warm, dry spring months. Prune existing trees. See Temperate Fruit for the Home Landscape: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_home_temperate_fruit.

Be ready to cover tender plants to minimize damage. See Cold Protection and Chilling Damage of Landscape Plants: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_landscapes_and_cold.

Prune non-spring flowering shrubs and trees this month to improve form. See Pruning Landscape Trees and Shrubs: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_tree_pruning.

Celebrate Florida Arbor Day, the third Friday of January, by planting a tree. Consider a hurricane-resistant tree such as live oak, bald cypress, cabbage palm or crapemyrtle. See Arbor Day in Florida: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_arbor_day.

On crapemyrtle, remove seed pods, crossing branches and small twiggy growth to improve appearance and form of the plant, if desired. Hard pruning is not required. See Crapemyrtle: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_crapemyrtle and Pruning Crapemyrtle: http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/pruning/pruning-crapemyrtles.html.

Control persistent scale insects on citrus, shrubs, camellias and deciduous fruit trees by applying horticultural oil while plants are dormant. See Landscape Pest Management: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_landscape_pests.

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Office in your county, including the one at 3098 Airport Road in Crestview, can help you with reliable gardening information during this New Year.

Other Extension topics include agriculture, family and consumer info, sustainable living and 4-H youth. 

Larry Williams is an agent at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Ideas for gardening in January

With the arrival of the New Year, many of us will pause and ponder the age-old question: “Who knows where the time goes?” And, as is always the case, none of us really do know.

However, wherever the time goes, it will usually be a key factor in your success as an investor.

Time can affect how you invest, and the results of your investing, in different ways:

• Growth potential — Contrary to myth, there’s no real way to “get rich quick” when investing. To build wealth, you need patience —and time. If you own quality investments with growth potential, and you give them years — in fact, decades — to increase in value, your perseverance may be rewarded.

Of course, there are no guarantees, and you’ll need the discipline to withstand the inevitable downturns along the way. But in describing how long he likes to keep his investments, renowned investor Warren Buffet says his favorite holding period is “forever.”

• Targeted goals — To accumulate resources for retirement, you need to save and invest throughout your working life. But along the way, you’ll probably also have some shorter-term goals — making a down payment on a home, sending your children to college, taking a round-the-world trip, and so on.

Each of these goals has a specific time limit and usually requires a specific amount of money, so you will need to choose the appropriate investments.

• Risk tolerance — The element of time also will affect your tolerance for risk. When you have many decades to go until you retire, you can afford to take more risk with your investments because you have time to overcome periods of market volatility.

But when you’re on the verge of retirement, you may want to lower the risk level in your portfolio. For example, you may want to begin moving away from some of your more aggressive, growth-oriented investments and move toward more income-producing vehicles that offer greater stability of principal.

Keep in mind, though, that even during retirement, you’ll need your portfolio to provide enough growth opportunity at least to help keep you ahead of inflation.

Thus far, we have looked at ways in which time plays a role in how you invest. But there’s also an aspect of time that you may want to keep out of your investment strategies. Specifically, you might not want to try to “time” the market.

The biggest problem with market timing is it’s just too hard. You essentially have to be right twice, selling at a market top and buying at the bottom.

Also, as humans, we appear to be somewhat wired to think that an activity — especially a long-running activity — will simply continue. So, when the market goes up, we seem to expect it to keep rising, and when the market drops, we think it will continue dropping. This can lead to big mistakes, such as selling after a major market drop even though that can be the time when it may be much smarter to buy because prices are low.

As we’ve seen, the way you interact with time can affect your investment efforts. So, think carefully about how you can put all the days, months and years on your side. Time is the one asset you can’t replenish — so use it wisely.

This article was written by Edward Jones on behalf of your Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Time is a key factor in investing

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Brianna N. Fickle graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.

The airman completed an 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.

Fickle is the daughter of Allen Fickle of San Angelo, Texas, and Melody Autry of Crestview, and stepdaughter of John Autry of Crestview.

She is a 2013 graduate of Central High School in San Angelo.

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

CRESTVIEW — An Applebee's Short Stacks for a Tall Cause pancake breakfast will help raise funds for a local organization's scholarship program.

The Velma K. Conyers Chapter 7 Order of the Eastern Star is selling tickets in advance and at the door for the event, which is 8-10 a.m. Jan. 13 at Applebee's, 215 Rasberry Road, Crestview. The cost is $8 per person.

Contact Foya Johnson, 699-3889; Arnette Robinson, 758-1078; Riva Hollanquest, 205-401-9519; Tonsiaweda Hayes, 621-4187; or velmakconyers@gmail.com to purchase.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Order of the Eastern Star sets pancake breakfast

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living recognized Silvercrest Health and Rehabilitation Center in Crestview for its achievements through the Quality Initiative Recognition Program.

The program honors member facilities for their individual work in achieving AHCA/NCAL Quality Initiative goals. Silvercrest met or exceeded five of the eight goals.

"The entire team at Silvercrest Health and Rehabilitation Center is honored to be recognized for this incredible achievement," said Al Hudson, nursing home administrator. "We are proud to improve care for our patients and residents. Our commitment to quality will continue." 

Silvercrest accomplished its goals in these areas:

• Hospitalizations
• Safely reducing hospital readmissions
• Improving discharge back to the community
• Improving functional outcomes and staff stability 

"This achievement overall represents not only improvement on a set of quality measures in these centers but also significant improvements in outcomes among the elderly they serve, such as fewer hospitalizations, more discharges back to the community and stopping the use of antipsychotics that can be harmful," said Dr. David Gifford, AHCA/NCAL senior vice president of quality and regulatory affairs. "We applaud these organizations for making a difference in the lives of their patients and residents."

AHCA/NCAL launched the Quality Initiative in 2012 as a national effort to build upon the existing work of the long-term and post-acute care profession. The initiative aims to further improve quality of care in skilled nursing centers and assisted living communities by challenging members with specific, measurable targets.

Silvercrest, along with other achievers from across the country, will be honored at AHCA/NCAL's March 12-14 Oualiti Summit in New Orleans.

"The entire team at Silvercrest Health and Rehabilitation Center is honored to be recognized for this incredible achievement. We are proud to improve care for our patients and residents. Our commitment to quality will continue."

—Al Hudson, nursing home administrator

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Silvercrest recognized for quality care

Drivers will encounter these traffic variations on state roads in Okaloosa and Walton counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.  

OKALOOSA COUNTY 

• U.S. Highway 98 deceleration lane construction near St. Mary Avenue: Eastbound traffic near St. Mary Avenue will encounter lane restrictions through Thursday, Jan.11 as crews construct a deceleration lane in the median and new curb, gutter and sidewalk.
• U.S. 98 turn-lane extension west of Wright Parkway in Fort Walton Beach: eastbound inside, left-lane restrictions from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., from west of Wright Parkway and east of the city of Mary Esther as crews extend a turn lane and construct a driveway. 

WALTON COUNTY

• U.S. 98 widening from Emerald Bay Drive to Tang-O-Mar Drive: Motorists can expect alternating east and westbound lane closures from the Okaloosa/Walton County line to Tang-O-Mar Drive from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. through Thursday, Jan. 11 as roadway widening and drainage upgrades continue.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa, Walton traffic changes set

Millions of Americans in states like California, Illinois and Kentucky are already in peril because of the horrendous government mismanagement of teachers’ and state workers’ retirement money.

Americans are in further peril because we will face severe hardship in this country if the long-term path of our Social Security program continues. Our government leaders must take steps to resolve the road Social Security is on. We must pay back what has been borrowed from the fund and stop buying trillions of dollars in Treasury securities that we cannot pay back to ourselves.

We are the biggest owners of our national debt.

America owes $20 trillion.

Our Social Security Trust Fund or our retirement money owns a big chunk of the national debt.

Our U.S. Treasury manages the U.S. debt through its Bureau of Public Debt. The debt falls into two categories: debt held by the public and intra-governmental holdings. The intra-governmental is the portion of the federal debt owed to 230 other federal agencies. It totals about $5.6 trillion.

Why would the government owe money to itself? Some agencies, like the Social Security Trust Fund, take in more revenue from taxes than they want to set aside and invest. Rather than saving the money, these agencies buy U.S. Treasury notes with it. They do this because our federal government is so strapped for cash for the general fund. Someone will say our country is investing our Social Security money. It's not an investment to loan money to someone who already owes $20 trillion.

By owning Treasury notes, they transfer their excess cash to the general fund, where it is spent. One day they will redeem their treasury notes for cash — it is hoped. The federal government at that time will either need to raise taxes or issue more debt to give the agencies the money they will need, and the agency will be desperate for it because it owns Treasury notes.

It's sort of like robbing Peter to pay Paul. The day will come when the financial crisis is so great that it will be very difficult to raise the payroll tax more and more to cover the demand to pay retirees.

Which agencies own the most treasury notes? Social Security.

Consider these figures:

• Social Security Trust Fund and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund — $2.8 trillion
• Office of Personnel Management Retirement — $888 billion
• Military Retirement Fund — $670 billion
• Medicare — $294 billion
• Cash on hand to fund federal government operations $580 billion

Here are the holders of public debt as of December 2016:

• Foreign — $6.004 trillion
• Federal Reserve — $2.465 trillion
• Mutual funds — $1.671 trillion
• State and local government including their pension funds — $553 billion
• Banks — $663 billion
• Insurance companies — $347 billion
• U.S. Savings Bonds — $166 billion

Other (brokers, bank personal trusts, individuals, government-sponsored enterprises, corporate and non-corporate investors and other enterprises, $1.662 trillion

If you add up the debt held by Social Security and all the retirement and pension funds, nearly half of the U.S. Treasury debt is held in trust for your retirement.

If the United States defaults on its debt, China, Japan and Ireland would be very upset, but current and future American retirees would be hurt the most.

In October 2017, China owned $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt.

Japan owned $1.1 trillion.

Ireland is third, holding $312 billion.

Brazil holds $270 billion.

The Cayman Islands owns $269 billion.

Luxembourg is $218 billion and Belgium $116 billion.

Switzerland, The UK, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and India hold between $141 billion and $254 billion. (Sources: Treasury Bulletin, Monthly Treasury Statement, and Table 6. Schedule D Investments of Federal Government Accounts in Federal Securities, U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 2016. "Treasury Bulletin, Table OFS-2 Ownership of Federal Securities" U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 2016.)

The numbers are always changing, of course, when it comes to our national debt. The numbers above don't add up to exactly what our current debt is because the numbers are always changing.

We have to reduce the size of government.

We must reduce spending money we do not have.

We must stop spending trillions of dollars on Iraq, Afghanistan and other foreign countries.

Reducing our financial support of the United Nations is a good move. Reducing our financial support to other countries is imperative. Especially the countries who now for years have burned our flag and demonstrated hate toward America.

We have to get our own house in order.

At the current trend, a lot of our young Americans are going to be very hurt down the road.

Sources: Treasury Bulletin, Monthly Treasury Statement. Kimberly Amadeo.

Glenn Mollette is an American syndicated columnist and author.

What’s your view? Write a letter to the editor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Hurting our young Americans' futures

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Embroiderers' Guild donates Sampler to Crestview Habitat family

Pvt. Caleb Davis completed Army Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on Nov. 17. He is currently attending Advanced Individual Training in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to become a Patriot Fire Control Enhanced Operator. He graduated from Paxton High School in May 2017.

Pvt. Tyler Forrest graduated from One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia on Dec. 8 to become an Infantryman. He graduated from Crestview High School in May 2017. He is currently stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. His parents are Ben and Lisa Kimbrough of Crestview.

Pvt. Michael Mason of Crestview graduated from One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, on Dec. 15 to become an Infantryman. He is currently stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Pvt. Jonathan Judge of Crestview completed Army Basic Combat Training on Dec. 19. He is currently attending Advanced Individual Training in Fort Lee, Virginia to become a Mortuary Affairs Specialist.

Over 10 to 14 weeks, these soldiers learned basic tactical and survival skills along with how to shoot, rappel and march. They also learned the basics of Army life and military customs, including the Seven Core Army Values.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Northwest Florida residents complete Army combat training