CRESTVIEW — Two North Okaloosa residents have progressed in their military training.

Pvt. Second Class Omunique Williams completed Army Basic Combat Training Aug. 17 at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

She is now attending Advanced Individual Training in Fort Lee, Virginia, to become an Automated Logistics Specialist.

Williams graduated from Crestview High School in 2017. Her parents are Clayton and Mary Williams of Crestview.

Pvt. Ethan Davis completed Army Basic Combat Training Aug. 11 at Fort Benning, Georgia.

He will continue his One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning to become an Infantryman.

Davis graduated from Walton High School in 2017. His parents are Crystal and Johnny Snyder of Baker.

Over 10 weeks, Williams and Davis 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.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: North Okaloosa residents complete basic Army training

CRESTVIEW — Boots Across America’s national certification course educates loan officers, real estate agents and housing professionals on how to work with military clients. 

Now, Sharon Calderon, a Crestview resident, joins their ranks, according to Crew Lending, part of the Gold Water Bank, N.A-Mortgage Division.

The Boots Across America Certified Military Home Specialist Course provides the tools and knowledge needed to work with military borrowers in a fast-paced, competitive market.

It also includes timely advice for housing professionals regarding foreclosure prevention, with tips they can give their clients to help them avoid mortgage delinquencies.

The course can result in greater numbers of military families attaining affordable homes through knowledgeable professionals who understand the unique circumstances brought about by military service.

“I’ve been on all sides of the home buying process,” Beverly Ray Frase, the course’s author, said. “I know where the speed bumps are, especially for our military men and women. Working with a certified housing professional should move them down the path to an accurate and timely closing.

“I am a wife of a Vietnam veteran, my son is currently in the U.S. Army, and I grew up in an Army environment and therefore this program is important to me.”

The course helps all housing professionals make sense of the military language, rank and pay system. It also outlines what happens when a service member is injured, and explains how their pay will continue during hospitalization and treatment.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Military housing course certifies Crestview resident

MILTON — Free wealth building classes and financial coaching will be available for families in Okaloosa, Walton, Santa Rosa, Escambia and Bay counties beginning in September.

US Ambassadors for Prosperity, LLC, a new community-based investment club concept, will provide classes, coaching, earn-as-you-learn investor training and life-enrichment activities. Northwest Florida will be the first model territory to launch, with 100 members per chapter authorized.

Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, a nine-week course, will be the first class available. The average family eliminates $5,300 in debt while saving $2,700 in the first 90 days, according to US Ambassadors.

Applications will be processed first-come, first-served, based on funding availability.

Site hosts and sponsorships are now available for September to November.

Email Nancy.Gaskins@operationHSH.com for information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Northwest Florida financial coaching, wealth building classes scheduled

CRESTVIEW — It’s one thing to burrow into history books to learn about the past. It’s another to help recreate what historical periods were like.

Rollin Cluff, a dual-enrolled Northwest Florida State College, University of West Florida and home-schooled high school senior, will plunge headlong into centuries of history when he joins the Crestview Area Sister City Program’s visit to Noirmoutier next month. h

Rollin, 18, is also a history buff and Civil War re-enactor. He'll have the chance to experience firsthand a whole new culture through a home-stay with a Noirmoutrin host family.

“I am really excited about going to France,” Rollin said. “I want to learn about the culture, meet the people and learn everything they do.”

Rollin’s journey also marks a new experience for the Sister City Program. He is the first recipient of the 23-year-old organization’s student travel fellowship, a new program, still being developed, that will partially fund deserving students’ airfare to Noirmoutier.

Actually, Rollin is something of a guinea pig. The Sister City Program’s scheduled Sept. 7-18 trip was a perfect vehicle to test how the travel fellowship program will work.

Rollin met the basic criteria organizers would like for fellowship winners — an enthusiasm for history, interest in Crestview’s relationship with Noirmoutier, a willingness to pitch in at local Sister City events, a financial need, and an open mind willing to accept new cultural experiences.

“We may not have the details of the fellowship program ironed out yet, but we know just what kind of student we want to see be its benefactor,” Crestview Area Sister City Program President Brian Hughes said. “Rollin perfectly fit the bill, plus he has met some of the Noirmoutier Sister City people during their October 2016 visit to Crestview.”

To see how the program will work, the Sister City group contributed $500 (raised during last fall’s Wine Gala) toward Rollin’s airfare. A Sister City member donated the additional $200 to cover the balance.

Other members quickly contributed nearly another $400, which covers Rollin’s train tickets, hotel rooms and other expenses. The Noirmoutier Sister City Committee contributed nearly $250 so Rollin could visit the Puy du Fou historic park with the group.

“At first I felt a little confused,” Rollin said. “Why me? I wasn’t expecting this. Then I got excited because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Who knows when I’ll be able to go back to Europe?”

Rollin is already making plans to give back to both the Crestview and Noirmoutier communities for making the trip possible. He has prepared a PowerPoint slide show as an introduction of himself and his varied activities when he visits English classes in Noirmoutier’s two junior high schools.

During his time on the island, some of which will be spent on his laptop taking online college classes and doing homework, Rollin will also meet with the 21 Noirmoutrin students coming to Crestview in October 2018 and answer questions about their planned experience in Northwest Florida.

Then, when he returns home, Rollin’s experiences in France will be a topic of an illustrated discussion for Crestview High School’s Sister City Ambassadors student club, many of the members of which hope to follow in Rollin’s footsteps and experience Noirmoutier’s history, culture and hospitality themselves.

“I am extremely grateful for this chance,” Rollin said. “I don’t know how I can thank all the people who made it happen. I want to do my best to show them this opportunity for me wasn’t a waste of their money.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview teen to visit Noirmoutier on Sister City fellowship

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

For the upcoming Labor Day Holiday there will be no lane closures on state roads beginning at 6 a.m. Sept. 1 and ending at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 5.

Okaloosa County

•Interstate 10 (I-10) resurfacing from east of County Road 189 (Holt – Exit 45) to west of Yellow River: Drivers can expect intermittent east and westbound lane restrictions 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Aug. 27 through Aug. 29 as crews perform paving operations. Emergency repair work at the Wilkerson Bluff Road overpass near Mile Marker 49 starts Aug. 30 with the construction of a diversion for eastbound lanes.

Some shoulder closures may be required in this area. Crews will also perform concrete gutter and guardrail work during daytime hours along the project. Drivers may encounter periodic inside and/or outside shoulder closures.

•State Road 85 turn Lane Construction from Commerce Drive to north of Airport Road in Crestview: North and southbound lane restrictions are in effect as crews construct turn lanes for a shopping center 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, ending Sept. 28. This excludes the Labor Day holiday weekend.

•S.R. 189 (Beal Parkway) intersection improvements at S.R. 393 (Mary Esther Boulevard): Project activities include concrete removal, forming and pouring curb, sidewalk and driveways, and performing asphalt work. The southbound outside lane on Beal Parkway will be closed 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Aug. 27 through Thursday, Aug. 31 from Park Drive to Ewing Court.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Lane closures canceled for Labor Day

MILTON — Federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and private nonprofit organizations in Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties as a result of the May 1 to June 30 rainfall, wind and flooding.

“These counties are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties in Alabama,” Frank Skaggs said, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta. “The Small Business Administration recognizes that disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines. For that reason, counties adjacent to primary counties named in the declaration are included.”

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers.

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 2.5 percent for private nonprofit organizations and 3.215 percent for small businesses, with terms up to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Disaster loan information and application forms are also available by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Download loan applications from the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Mail completed applications to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Return completed loan applications to SBA no later than April 16.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Small business, nonprofit disaster loans are available

CRESTVIEW — Two historical mementos from the Florida Capitol will be donated to the Okaloosa County Commission for later display in the county’s new courthouse in Crestview.

One item is an exact facsimile of the handwritten legislation by Rep. William Mapoles creating Okaloosa County in 1917. Mapoles wrote out in longhand the precise description of county lines and boundaries, which became law.

The other is a black and white photograph of Senate President Newman Brackin being ticketed in good humor by the Crestview town marshal for double-parking his horse. The photo was taken in 1949 when Brackin (D-Crestview) served as presiding officer of the state’s upper legislative chamber.

The presentation will take place during the commission meeting Aug. 29 at Crestview's City Hall.

“I’m delighted to contribute these interesting documents from our past to be displayed in the courthouse of the future,” former Sen. Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) said. “Commission Chair Carolyn Ketchel heard about these items and was most gracious in arranging for them to be presented to the county.”

A third historical memento that hung in the Florida Capitol, a picture of Congressman Bob Sikes (D-Crestview) addressing a patriotic day crowd, will adorn the wall of the U.S. House of Representatives office now occupied by Gaetz’s  son, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fort Walton Beach). Other Northwest Florida historical items that the State Archives found or reproduced for former Senate President Gaetz are being donated to private and public collections.

Gaetz paid for all archival services and items personally, according to a media release.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New courthouse will feature historical mementos

CRESTVIEW — It’s one thing to burrow into history books to learn about the past. It’s another to help recreate what historical periods were like.

For Rollin Cluff, a dual-enrolled Northwest Florida State College, University of West Florida and home-schooled high school senior; history buff and Civil War re-enactor, he’ll plunge headlong into centuries of history when he joins the Crestview Area Sister City Program’s Sept. 7-18 visit to Noirmoutier next month.

But there’s more awaiting Rollin, 18, in France than just an opportunity to explore places where history was made. There’s also the chance to experience firsthand a whole new culture through a home-stay with a Noirmoutrin host family.

“I am really excited about going to France,” Rollin said. “I want to learn about the culture, meet the people and learn everything they do.”

Rollin’s journey also marks a new experience for the Sister City Program. He is the first recipient of the 23-year-old organization’s student travel fellowship, a developing program that will partially fund deserving students’ airfare to Noirmoutier.

Rollin met the basic criteria organizers have in mind — enthusiasm for history, interest in Crestview’s relationship with Noirmoutier, a willingness to pitch in at local Sister City events, a financial need, and an open mind willing to accept new cultural experiences.

The Sister City group contributed $500 (raised during last fall’s Wine Gala) toward Rollin’s airfare. A Sister City member donated the additional $200 to cover the balance.

Other members quickly contributed nearly another $400, which covers Rollin’s train tickets, hotel rooms and other expenses. The Noirmoutier Sister City Committee contributed nearly $250 so Rollin could visit the Puy du Fou historic park with the group.

Rollin is already making plans to give back to both the Crestview and Noirmoutier communities for making the trip possible. He has prepared a PowerPoint slide show as an introduction of himself and his varied activities when he visits English classes in Noirmoutier’s two junior high schools.

During his time on the island, some of which will be spent on his laptop taking online college classes and doing homework, Rollin will also meet with the 21 Noirmoutrin students coming to Crestview in October 2018 and answer questions about their planned experience in Northwest Florida.

Then, when he returns home, Rollin’s experiences in France will be a topic of an illustrated discussion for Crestview High School’s Sister City Ambassadors student club, many of the members of which hope to follow in Rollin’s footsteps and experience Noirmoutier’s history, culture and hospitality themselves.

“I am extremely grateful for this chance,” Rollin said. “I don’t know how I can thank all the people who made it happen. I want to do my best to show them this opportunity for me wasn’t a waste of their money.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: A plunge into history

CRESTVIEW — Business owner Joey Tinklepaugh Jr., got an unwelcome surprise at his store the morning of Aug. 22 in Crestview.

His video surveillance system captured footage of a bearded, shirtless man, who appeared to be a senior citizen, dropping his pants and defecating that morning between Tinklepaugh's and his wife's trucks. The vehicles were parked behind their business, Joey the Jeweler, at 201 Main St. N. in Crestview.

Tinklepaugh posted the video on his personal Facebook page; soon, a video of the incident, titled "Crapperman.avi," spread among Crestview social media users.

While Tinklepaugh said he had previously seen spots where people urinated behind the store before, this is the first time anyone left excrement on the property, and in broad daylight, no less.

Tinklepaugh didn't know until he posted the video and saw people's comments that similar incidents had happened to other businesses on Main Street.

"It's happened three times at the food truck section, one at Desi's, one at the tire shop and one at the doctor's offices here in town," Tinklepaugh said.

He reported it to the Crestview Police Department, "who did a report and everything," Tinklepaugh said. He posted the video in an effort to find out the man's name so the police can take further action.

Police are still actively looking for the suspect, according to a CPD media release.

"Incidents like these have a negative effect on the quality of life in our community,” Police Chief Tony Taylor stated in a media release. "It’s just downright shameful when people don’t give a crap about their town.

"It really stinks."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Business owner catches man doing his 'business' downtown

CRESTVIEW — An Aqua Drive resident in Crestview contacted the News Bulletin Aug. 23 with the question: "Can you find out why south Crestview smells like a sewage plant today?" She said a friend of hers on Airport Road was also asking "why Crestview smells so bad today."

We contacted the Crestview Public Services department to see if a local sewage spill had occurred. Public Services Director Wayne Steele said no spills have been reported by Water & Sewer crews.

"We have people check all of our lift stations every day. Normally we'll know about (spills or other problems) before or as soon as a resident does," Steele said.

He said issues such as sour water or natural gas being released could also cause that problem.

"It's not uncommon to have some issues with the rain and heat we've been having," Steele said.

He then asked for an address so he could dispatch an employee to assess the situation.

Steele said residents who experience out-of-the-ordinary sewage smells in their area are welcome to contact Water and Sewer, 682-6132, to report the problem.

"Let us know and we'll be glad to check into it," Steele said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Public Services investigating sewage smell