CRESTVIEW — Habitat for Humanity in Okaloosa County celebrated the completion of its 59th home with a dedication ceremony Dec. 18 in Crestview.

The four-bedroom, two-bath house belongs to Joshua and Jessica Ruckowski and their three children, Lola, Ledger, their oldest son, and Lawson, their youngest.

While the house was mostly bare and the lawn wasn't completely installed Monday, the Ruckowskis should be living in it by Christmas, according to Habitat Okaloosa's Community Outreach director, Melissa Litscher.

Allen Turner of Allen Turner Chevrolet and company employees presented a sponsorship check for the home during the ceremony. The event included remarks from Turner, city officials, construction managers Bob Hauge and Bill Prescott, and Joshua Ruckowski. Presentation of household gifts and a Bible, a benediction and invitation to tour the home afterward were part of the ceremony as well.

Over 500 volunteers constructed the home. The new homeowners also had a hand in the building of it and their next-door neighbor's Habitat home.

"It was amazing, we learned a lot," Joshua Ruckowski said. "We pretty much did some of everything — framing … she worked on electrical. I worked on roofing, floor, paint, everything."

He said the process of applying doesn't hurt.

"I came in here blind. Everything was a process. What this did for our family, we want to do for others. Shopping at the ReStore helped our family a lot."

He said people who want to be a part of what Habitat does for the community can go to the Habitat website to volunteer.

Jessica Ruckowski said the dedication ceremony felt "unreal, surreal maybe even," because she never thought it would happen. To others considering going through Habitat to purchase a home, she said, "Do it! There will be no better feeling in the world when it's done."

In the program for the dedication ceremony, Joshua Ruckowski stated, "What this means for our family is that we will have showers that won't leak, paint that's not peeling, and windows that actually lock and the kids will each have a place to make their own. 

"We would like to thank each and everyone of the volunteers that took the time out of their days to help us make this happen. We have met many great people."

The Ruckowski family finished the ceremony with a view of the future.

They invited the first Okaloosa Habitat for Humanity participant, Pheba Bush of Fort Walton Beach, to set fire to her mortgage in their driveway. Once the ashes cooled, they were put into a house-shaped box and presented to Bush as a keepsake.

When asked how she felt about the mortgage's completion, Bush said she was a little in shock, but it felt good.

"It really hasn't dawned on me yet, but next month when I get ready to have that payment, I won't have it to make," she said.

Melissa Litscher, Community Outreach director for Habitat for Humanity in Okaloosa County, says there are three main qualifications for Habitat partnership:

•The applicant has lived or worked in Okaloosa County for at least a year.

•The person has a need for housing and the willingness to partner with them.

•The person must have the ability to pay the modest mortgage.

"The need could be they don’t have a place of their own, they might live in a place that is not safe or well-maintained, or they might not be able to afford an increase in rent," Litscher said.

"The willingness to partner is where the sweat equity part comes in. The applicant agrees to 300 hours of work per adult, when they will help build homes already under construction for other families, work at our ReStores, take classes in financial literacy, home maintenance and CPR, and finally work on their own home when the time comes.

"The modest mortgage payment ranges from $350 to $500 in Okaloosa County and that includes their zero-interest principle mortgage, their insurance and their taxes. Their credit will be checked and because our focus is low to moderate income, there are minimum and maximum income levels depending upon the size of the household.

"Please visit our website at www.habitatfwb.org/homeownership for more details."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa Habitat for Humanity celebrates Crestview home dedication

PENSACOLA — Gulf Power ranks among the highest performers in customer satisfaction among electric utilities, according to a recent J.D. Power survey of electric utility customers.

The

"This ranking reflects the dedication of our team and the benefits of continued investment in our grid infrastructure to deliver reliable energy to Northwest Florida communities," said Stan Connally, chair, president and CEO of Gulf Power. "We are honored by this feedback and ranking, but we will also identify ways to better serve our customers."

The Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, now in its 19th year, ranks customers' opinions in six categories from power quality and reliability, price, and billing and payment, to corporate citizenship, communications and customer service.

JD Power calculated customer satisfaction on a 1,000-point scale with the average score at 719. Gulf Power earned a score of 749, raising the energy company from fourth place in its category a year ago.

The study showed that an increase in power outage communication, along with improved price satisfaction, were top drivers of the sixth consecutive year of improved customer satisfaction with residential electric utility companies.

The study goes on to show that more utility customers (66 percent vs. 59 percent in 2016) are receiving critical information during a power outage, such as the cause of the outage, number of customers affected and estimates on when power will be restored.

Other key findings included that customers believe their utility infrastructure is being updated, electronic bill-pay is increasing, paperless communications are on the rise and website access is going mobile.

Last October, Gulf Power rolled out "Service to Fit Your Life," a program aimed at improving the customer experience, including additional customer-focused initiatives, such as a new website, improved mobile platforms, "live chat" as well as making it more convenient for customers to pay their energy bill at one of more than 200 authorized payment locations across Northwest Florida. Gulf Power also offers payment options like budget billing, which smoothes out customer payments by using a 12-month average that helps customers avoid the higher bills that come from extreme weather months.

The J.D. Power 2017 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study focuses on responses from 99,145 online interviews conducted from July 2016 through May 2017 among residential customers of the 138 largest electric utility brands across the United States, which collectively represent more than 98 million households.

Gulf Power garnered the eighth spot from a pool of 100 investor-owned utilities evaluated across the country by the

Wired Group  and second place in Florida. The Colorado-based consulting firm used an internet-based Utility Evaluator that calculates customer value rankings based on a variety of metrics, including efficiency of spending on capital investments, operations and maintenance, reliability and satisfaction ratings.

The energy company was also recently named as one of the

Top 40 Utility Power Brands for 2017. Gulf Power ranked in the top five, garnering the No. 4 spot as one of the best investor-owned electric utility brands. The ranking was a result of a comprehensive investigation of more than 200 measures of utility brand strength, categorized among four dimensions: customer experience, employee experience, brand identity and corporate narrative.

FAST FACTS

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: J.D. Power ranks Gulf Power in top 3 for customer satisfaction

Editor's Note: UPDATE: We're happy to report that Molly is safe and at home with her family.

Previous coverage: 

CRESTVIEW — A North Okaloosa County family seeks information on their missing dog.

Loved ones last saw Molly, a 10-month-old, full-blooded beagle and Whippoorwill Road resident, on Poplar Head Church Road, according to her owner, Abagail White.

"She is wearing a lime-green collar; took off on Poplar Head Church Road through the woods," White said about the 20-pound pup in a message to the News Bulletin. "She is very sweet and would probably come to anyone who calls her.

"Still a pup so she’s very playful; when she barks or bays she leans back as if it took everything for her to be heard."

Molly urinates when she becomes nervous or believes she is in trouble, according to White.

"We are very concerned about her and want her home," White said in a public message on her Facebook page.

Anyone with information on Molly’s whereabouts can contact White at 850-461-1320.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MISSING: Have you seen this Holt family’s puppy? (UPDATED)

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 — Boy Scout Troop 30 celebrated its 95th anniversary over the weekend.

John Mayfield, Crestview resident and assistant scout master, said the troop’s 32 current scouts came together with a handful of the troop’s 3,000 former scouts for the court of honors ceremony, where current scouts also received merits and badges.

“The ceremony is put on by the scouts. They write the program and do all the presentations and everything, and they’re awarded any merit badges or ranks that they have earned since the beginning of the school year,” Mayfield said. “We do these court of honors three times a year.”

This one was different, though, Mayfield said, because it honored traditions and values of the troop that have been consistent since its founding in Crestview in 1922. Mayfield said previous Troop 30 scouts have gone on to become community leaders, politicians and business people who have had large impacts throughout Okaloosa county.

“We had memorabilia from throughout the history of scouting, like pictures or parts of uniforms going all the way back to the 1920s that were on display,” Mayfield said. “We had several past members of the troop attend this event going back into the 1970s.”

One special moment, Mayfield said, was when the scouts were able to present a 1970s Eagle Scout with replica Eagle regalia, identical to the pieces he lost in a house fire years ago.

Mayfield said not much has changed about the troop over the past 95 years and that many of the values are still practiced and encouraged. He said scouts embody the values of being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

“And those values have stayed the same throughout the entire history of the boy scouts,” Mayfield said.

“The culture and the values have stayed the same since the beginning, and it’s for young people to come together and learn skills of leadership and to grow together.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Boy Scout Troop 30 celebrates 95 years

Not to rush through the holidays, but tax season is quickly approaching.

Each year, low- to moderate-income Okaloosa County residents pay high fees to have their taxes prepared, sometimes spending hundreds of dollars.

Preparing your own taxes can be a very confusing process. The United Way of Okaloosa and Walton Counties and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Okaloosa Extension Services are partnering this year to help relieve some of that confusion.

This year, the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program will be offered at the Okaloosa County Extension office in Crestview and Fort Walton Beach, and also the Walton County Extension office in DeFuniak Springs. Qualifying individuals and families are able to set an appointment to have their taxes prepared for absolutely no charge beginning Jan. 25.  

To prepare for this opportunity, the United Way and the Extension office are looking for individuals who would like to become certified tax volunteers. A free tax preparation class will be offered to all volunteers.

If you are a person willing to give a minimum of two hours per week to saving people in your community money, please contact: Jill Breslawski, family and consumer science agent, at the Okaloosa County Extension office at 850-689-5850, or jbreslawski@ufl.edu or cindy@united-way.org

Jill Breslawski 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: Okaloosa residents, free tax help is available

If you could accomplish all your financial goals just by putting your paycheck into the bank every couple of weeks, you wouldn’t need the services of a financial advisor.

But life isn’t that simple — and so, at some point, you may realize you need some professional assistance. But when?

Actually, you might benefit from the services of a financial advisor during many life events, including the following:

•Starting your career — When you’re starting out in your career, you may encounter several questions related to your benefits package. Should you contribute to your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored plan? If so, how much, and where should you invest your money? Are the life and disability insurance policies offered by your employer sufficient for your needs?

A financial adviser can help you answer these and other questions you may have.

•Getting married — When you get married, you’ll have to decide if, and how, you want to combine your finances. Also, you and your spouse may have different attitudes about investing and different tolerances for risk. A financial professional can help you find common ground.

•Changing jobs — When you switch jobs, what should you do with your old employer’s retirement plan? And how should you invest in the plan offered by your new employer? As was the case when you first began your career, you may find that a financial professional can help you make the right choices.

•Facing a layoff or buyout —You may never go through a layoff, or take a buyout offer from an employer, but if either of these events happen, you will face some financial decisions. And during such a potentially stressful period, you may be tempted to make some financial moves that won’t be beneficial. A financial advisor can suggest some strategies that may help you keep your investment situation relatively intact until you land your next job.

•Saving for college —If you have children whom you’d like to send to college someday, you’ll probably want to start putting money away as early as possible.

A financial professional can show you the various college-savings vehicles, and help you choose the ones that are most appropriate for your needs.

•Getting divorced —If you are fortunate, you won’t ever experience a divorce, but, if it does happen, you’ll want to get the professional assistance necessary to ensure fair outcomes for everyone. You’ll obviously need to work with an attorney, but you may find that, in the area of investments, a financial advisor also can be useful.

•Entering retirement —As you near retirement, your key questions will switch — but not entirely — from putting money in to taking money out. How much can you withdraw each year from your 401(k) and IRA without running the risk of outliving your resources? When should you start taking Social Security? If you were to work a couple of years longer than you had originally intended, how would it affect your withdrawal strategies? Again, a financial advisor can help you with these issues.

As you can see, the most important life events will carry some financial concerns. But you don’t have to face these challenges alone – and by getting the help you need, when you need it, you can ease the transition from one stage of life to another.

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

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Times you need a financial advisor

MILLIGAN — Among North Okaloosa County’s Christmas light displays is Dan and Trish Gartner’s feast for the eyes, which has become a holiday fixture.

The couple annually decorate their front yard on Ray Street, complete with a nativity scene, The Nutcracker, Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas trees and Disney characters, among other cheerful sights.

The display takes three weeks to recreate, Trish, a retired Publix employee, has said.

"Our family needs to be credited with their huge help getting the yard ready this year," she said.

This year, "We have a huge helicopter, and a great big hugging bear," Trish said. "The children love [having] their picture with him; his arms move for a ‘bear hug.’"

You can see the lights from 5-10 p.m. seven days a week at 5206 Ray St., Milligan.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Milligan couple’s Christmas display returns

QUINCY — Okaloosa County Emergency Management and the Okaloosa County School Board recently teamed up with Walmart, which donated the use of two tractor trailers and drivers for Farm Share Quincy.

They were able to make the 141-mile journey to the Quincy Farm Share Facility and take back with them 7,250 pounds of water, 860 blankets and 41,040 meals for kids, the homeless and disaster relief. They planned to return with a couple of flat beds to get more.

"When I heard we would be receiving over a million and a half pounds of disaster relief meals, we had to think outside the box," said Dave Reynolds, the Quincy Farm Share facility manager. "I gave my assistant, Monica Owens, the task of contacting all the Emergency Managements and school boards in the 16 counties surrounding us.

"She really knocked it out of the park."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa donations boost Farm Share Quincy

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: The Bulletin Kid