CRESTVIEW — Resident Bill Cox, a familiar face at City Council and other municipal meetings and workshops, has qualified to run for the Group 2 at-large seat on the council.

The seat’s current occupant, Councilman Tom Gordon, qualified earlier this summer to run for mayor.

Cox has been a strong proponent of widening P.J. Adams Parkway and completing the P.J. Adams-Antioch Road corridor to alleviate traffic in the heavily populated southwest section of the city.

City and county officials have expressed admiration for Cox’s grasp of the complexities of municipal government and his quiet, polite yet persistent pursuit of public services improvements.

Most recently city Parks and Recreation workers initiated refurbishments at Countryview Park following Cox’s documentation of problem areas and presentation to the City Council.

Cox and his wife, Debbie, have four children, and are members of the Audubon Society’s Choctawhatchee chapter and the National Wildlife Federation. He is district sales manager for Dietz Supply Company.

Cox is a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve veteran, and majored in industrial management at the University of Cincinnati. He sits on the Crestview Board of Adjustment. Cox’s March 2013 run for the council Precinct 2 seat was unsuccessful.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Countryview resident qualifies for City Council run

CRESTVIEW — Gov. Rick Scott’s only Okaloosa County campaign stop will be next week in Crestview. Local members of the North Okaloosa Republican Club are helping coordinate the visit.

“It’s his ‘Let’s Keep Working’ bus tour,” club President J.B. Whitten said. “He’ll be coming in along with the lieutenant governor.”

Whitten said in addition to Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, other members of Scott’s administration, including Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, might also be at the Sept. 11 Crestview event.

Though Jack Reid, Scott’s regional political director, liked Warriors Hall when Whitten gave him a tour of local venues, Scott’s campaign headquarters vetoed using the municipal auditorium in favor of a business location.

Holding the campaign stop at a local car dealership better suited the tour’s “Let’s Keep Working” theme, and also prevented the perception of the city providing support for a political campaign, Whitten said.

Whitten said the only drawback to the Lee Buick GMC dealership venue was the 3:30 p.m. event time coincides with the start of evening rush hour traffic on State Road 85 in front of the business.

“It’s absolutely the worst time to be on Ferdon Boulevard,” Whitten said.

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Gov. Rick Scott Crestview campaign stop

WHEN: 3:30 p.m. Sept. 11

WHERE: Lee GMC Buick, 4300, S. Ferdon Blvd.

COST: Free

NOTES:This will be the governor’s only stop in Okaloosa County during his bus campaign tour

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Scott's only Okaloosa campaign stop to be in Crestview

CRESTVIEW — The Give Me Liberty conference, a multi-city tour to promote constitutional rights, is coming to Crestview on Sunday.

The approximately two-hour event — which has already visited Wilton Manors and Lake Placid — swings to Marianna and Panama City on Friday and Saturday, respectively, before coming to Woodlawn Baptist Church.

Featured speakers will include renowned pastors and political leaders, among others, who will discuss the U.S. government's biblical origins and solutions to the country's perceived "dilemmas," according to a news release.

It's not a partisan issue, according to supporters.

"It is not Republican vs. Democrat — it is liberty vs. tyranny," an event poster states. "God-fearing patriots have been rallying around the party to 'take back' Washington for over 30 years, but nothing ever changes. DC keeps getting bigger and more powerful, and the voice of 'we the people' falls on deaf ears."

The country has shifted from supporting traditional values to growing increasingly hostile toward the Bible, according to supporters.

Terrance Shoemaker, a Mary Esther resident and Panhandle Patriots Tea Party supporter, said there are reasons for that.

"Christians are not showing up to vote," he said. "Most of the churches fear, to the point of silence at the pulpit, talking about faith and moral issues that might just be a little political."

Such fear comes from the threat of losing tax-exempt status. "Consequently, we're not doing voter registration drives, we're not promoting from the pulpit," Shoemaker said.

Evangelists Rick Scarborough and Dexter Sanders, along with Alan Ross, founder of Kingdom Companies, a nonprofit organization that calls on business leaders to maintain Christian principles in the workplace, are among the conference's guest speakers.

WHAT: Give Me Liberty conference

WHEN: 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7

WHERE: Woodlawn Baptist Church, 824 N. Ferdon Blvd., Crestview

COST: Free

Learn more about the tour here>>

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'Give Me Liberty' conference promotes faithful citizenship

CRESTVIEW — With the City Council's approval, city staffers are working toward making all street signs comply with federal and state standards.

That means abandoning pre-directional signs. For instance, North Main Street — with the compass point at the beginning — would become post-directional, Main Street North.

“We feel post-directional is the best for us, because that’s what the state is standardized in and since we adopt (Florida Department of Transportation), state and federal highway administration rules in our ordinance,” Public Services Director Wayne Steele said Monday. “We have such a mix going on within the city and it has to be eliminated. You either have to choose pre- or post-; we can’t have both.”

The streets department annually budgets $15,000 for sign changes, Steele said. 

The difference is subtle but “game-changing," GIS mapping analyst and planning technician Teresa Gaillard said.  

“210 North Main Street and 210 Main Street North are two different addresses,” she said. 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: What's in a (street) name? More than you think, Crestview officials say…

CRESTVIEW — Healthy Woman — a North Okaloosa Medical Center resource — and the Main Street Crestview Association will host an Oct. 2 "Pink Street Party" for breast cancer awareness.

The City Council unanimously approved Healthy Woman organizer Alicia Booker's request for the organizations to decorate Main Street pink after she requested permission to use the city's downtown property for the occasion.  

 “We would have the Main Street businesses participating in decorating their store fronts in recognition of breast cancer awareness month,” Booker said.

Booker requested permission to put pink ribbons on the Main Street light posts and attach pink lighting to Courthouse Terrace's gazebo. Adding the ribbons, lighting, usage of the public address system and banners comes at no cost to the city, she said.

The event will include a breast cancer survivor march along Main Street, and NOMC specialists will be on hand to educate attendees on breast cancer detection.

In addition to recognizing survivors, Booker hopes the event will draw more attention to downtown Crestview.

 “We wanted to change the venue and get more people involved,” Booker said. “We hope it draws more people to (downtown Crestview), so businesses can showcase what they got, while showing recognition and raising awareness at the same time.”

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Pink Street Party

WHEN: 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2

WHERE: Main Street, Crestview

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Council OKs downtown breast cancer awareness activities