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A strong week for our faith community

Written by Staff Reporters on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Twelve different faith leaders from different places of worship came together last week to pray for the citizens of Crestview, the homeless and downtrodden, the military, Crestview’s businesses, our students and school leaders, the city’s public services department, its elected officials and the city manager, the Crestview faith community, law enforcement, firefighters, and those in the medical field.

“God, I am so honored and so blessed to be the mayor of this great city that has such a strong faith community,” Mayor JB Whitten said in his closing prayer at the event. “Every day we are surrounded and protected by the many churches we have in this great city, and they would not be fulfilling your will if they didn’t have the fantastic leaders that we have. … Lord, we recognize the hard work and challenges they have in supporting us and keeping us close to you.”

The National Day of Prayer was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman in 1952, and every president since has signed a proclamation that encourages Americans to pray on and celebrate the day. Since it was founded, the National Day of Prayer has always been held on the first Thursday in May.

While the holiday was originally created to celebrate the Christian faith and unite American citizens together in prayer, it is now celebrated by all beliefs and religions, Whitten said while reading his proclamation at the event.

If there was anything disappointing about Crestview’s National Day of Prayer program, it was just that more people did not attend. Last week’s event at the Old Spanish Trail amphitheater had about 75 people attend in a venue that could have easily set double or triple that number.

Regardless of anyone’s religious beliefs are, hopefully most people agree that praying for the safety and wellbeing of the community and the people in it can do nothing but good.

It was also good to see in this issue that the First Presbyterian Church in Crestview is rebuilding and recovering from the Feb. 18 incident where a suspected drunk driver drove through the front of the building at a high rate of speed.

The damage done to the church was extensive. The car crashed into the narthex, spewing battery acid and automotive fluid into the sanctuary, a wall was displaced about six inches, the ceiling of the narthex received so much damage that it must be replaced, an exterior brick wall is covered in plywood, and support post and beams must be repaired.

Even with all of that damage, the church was able to celebrate worship services in its sanctuary for the first time since the accident on Easter Sunday.

“I express my appreciation for the prayers and offers of help from the community,” the Rev. Mark Broadhead said in an interview with the Crestview News Bulletin. “I believe in the power of prayer.”

So do we.

The church still has a long way to go before it fully recovers from the accident, but they are on the right path.

Randy’s Report

Written by Randy Dickson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Almost every athlete, in every sport, started playing their game when they were children. I know I started my athletic journey playing church league basketball and baseball in Memphis, Tennessee, when I was in the second grade.

I remember my first basketball game. My team won 66-6 (not a good omen for a church team). In what was to become the pattern of my athletic career, with the game well in hand, the coaches put me in.

Almost immediately I intercepted a pass. I would like to tell you I showed flashes of brilliance taking the ball the length of the floor for a score. What actually happened is I tucked the ball under my arm and headed to the basket.

That’s the day I learned what a traveling violation is.\

My baseball career didn’t start much better.
I do everything right-handed except swing a bat. My mother didn’t know that the first time she saw me stepping to the plate.

Being the wonderful parent she was, she stood and yelled at me, “You’re standing on the wrong side of the plate.” The coach turned around and informed her I was a left-handed batter.

The first time I reached base was the only time I didn’t strike out that first season. I was hit by a pitch, in my right foot. I believe it was the last game of the season.
I was called out at home plate although I was sitting on it when the catcher tagged me.

My family moved to Gulf Breeze in the fall of 1966 where I continued my less than stellar athletic career, but soaked up every floor burn on the basketball court and swing of the bat in baseball.

There is a natural selection in sports – a survival of the fittest. Most towns have several youth league baseball, basketball and soccer teams as well as age group football teams that see hundreds of children participating.

The number of kids participating in sports shrinks as some realize they simply aren’t good enough to play at a higher level and other young people develop other interests that consume their time. The kid that once played first base on a little league baseball team with minimal success might be the first chair trumpet in his high school band.

Other kids will find their way into computers, robotics or some form of the arts. If they are fortunate, the foundations of teamwork and dedication they learned in youth sports will carry them through life.

I recently turned 65 and I still want to play baseball. I miss the joy of warm spring evenings and the smell of fresh cut grass under my feet.

It has been almost 58 years since that first basketball game when I tucked the ball under my arm and learned about traveling. Next to my faith, family and friends, sports have been the greatest influence and love of my life.

I hope every young athlete will enjoy a similar experience with the games of their childhood.

Pilgrim Rest Baptist celebrating 135th anniversary

Written by Randy Dickson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Green could have been singing about Pilgrim Rest with these words found in the first verse, “But as those who’ve gone before us, let us leave to those behind us, the heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives.”

The exact date the church incorporated has been lost to time. The date isn’t as important as the fact the men and women of Pilgrim Rest have been faithful to pass along the heritage of godly lives through the generations that have followed.

The church will celebrate its 135-year anniversary at the annual Homecoming Sunday, April 30. There will be one worship service at 10 a.m., followed by a church family meal. Former associate pastor Darren Williams, who twice served at Pilgrim Rest, first as the Youth Pastor and then as the Children’s and Worship Pastor, will return to help lead the Sunday morning service.

Pilgrim Rest Pastor Geoff Prows said the men and women throughout the generations of the church have been faithful.

“I don’t know what the vision of those pioneers planting Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church,” the pastor said. “I would love to tell them, ‘Job well done,’ because they had a vision bigger than themselves and that’s why we are here today.”

Prows said it is his understanding that Pilgrim Rest is the third oldest Southern Baptist church in north Okaloosa County and is one of the oldest churches in the area of any denomination.

The only two SBC churches older than Pilgrim Rest are First Baptist Milligan, which was established in 1864, and First Baptist Holt, which was established a few months prior to PRBC.

The church first held services outside and sat on rough wooden benches split from logs of trees the men of the church had harvested.

“They sacrificed to have this church,” Prows said.

Prows, who began his ministry at Pilgrim Rest in December of 2013, is the 28th pastor of the church. Wiley Martin was the first pastor. Church records indicate that Donald Smith was the longest tenured pastor, serving the church from 1980-2004.

Under the leadership of Prows the church has seen its greatest growth.

Pilgrim Rest broke ground on its current worship center in October 2014. Earlier this month the church officially launched the Pilgrim Rest in Crestview.

The church is on mission around the world supporting missionaries and going on mission trips. It’s also active in the Baker community.

Prows is quick to credit his predecessor, Dr. Gerald Haley, who served from 2004-2013, for the groundwork he laid to make possible the growth the church enjoys today.

“He’s the one that God used as a catalyst to set the church up for our new worship center,” Prows said. “I remember in January 2014 I shared with the church that my goal was to have a building plan (for the worship center) by the end of the year.
“I didn’t know that we would be breaking ground in October 2014,” he added. “I didn’t know the plans were literally drawn up and just needed a little tweaking. That’s because of the vision of Gerald Haley.”

Like most Christians, Prows believes Jesus will return before another 135 years have passed. But under his leadership, Pilgrim Rest Baptist will continue to strive and light the way for future generations.

“I’m excited because I can tell you we’re going to continue to be missional,” Prows said. “We’re going to continue to try to reach our community, the surrounding community and the world for Jesus.
“We want to embrace all that has happened over the last 135 years and the great command of the Word to love the Lord with our heart, mind, soul and strength. We will love our neighbors as ourselves. We will truly embrace the Great Commission (passage found in Matt. 28:19-20) to reach the hurting for Jesus.”

Crestview High School principal announces retirement

Written by Randy Dickson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

“I think a lot of things (went into the decision),” he said. “It’s just a feeling of when you know it’s time.

“I came into this position and my intention was to work five to six years. I had a plan, but you know, God has his plan. It was a difficult position; I’ll say that for sure.”

He admitted that his wife, Stephanie, retiring from her long career with the Okaloosa County School District played a small part in the decision. The opportunity to spend more time with his grandchildren before they start school was also part of it.

Sanders stressed that Stephanie was supportive in whatever decision he had made.

The love Sanders has for Crestview High School pours through when he speaks of the school.

“I came here and loved being at Crestview High School,” he said. “I did the best job I could. My first year was very difficult because it was probably the worst year with COVID.

“This year was much better. I think I would want my legacy to just be the progress we’ve made. I continued to set the table for the next person to come in.”

Sanders loves the fact that despite its size, Crestview still has a small town feel and that it is a one high school town.

“There is one high school for all Crestview and so that’s just so, so special and important,” he said. “I love that everybody here is a Crestview Bulldog. Everybody’s kids here, for the most part, are Crestview Bulldogs.

“I think that just gives us that special feel that it’s really still a small town,” Sanders added.

Prior to taking over as the Crestview principal, Sanders was principal at Davidson Middle School.

When asked what advice he might give to his successor, or any principal for that matter, he centered in on the students.

“Just try to always make every decision based on what’s best for the students,” he said. “If in everything you do, you always decide on is in the best decision of the kids, I don’t think you can go wrong.

“For my eight years as a principal, that’s what I’ve always tried to live by,” Sanders added.

Star Wars ‘fans’ need to grow up or move on

Written by Staff Reporters on . Posted in Uncategorized.

It’s been well publicized that Star Wars actors Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran were cyberbullied until they deleted their social media accounts.

As bad as that is, what happened earlier this month during Star Wars Celebration is even worse.

For those who don’t know, Star Wars Celebration is a semi-regular convention designed to celebrate all things Star Wars (and some Indiana Jones since there’s a new movie coming out this year). This year’s Celebration took place April 7-10 in London.

While I couldn’t be there myself, I watched what I could online and it looked like it was a great event with a lot of awesome announcements, including the reveal of three new movies.

Not everyone was as happy about the event as I was though. On Twitter, someone using the handle @AvengeStarWars was so upset with what he was seeing at Celebration, and I’m guessing how Disney has treated the Star Wars IP since they purchased Lucasfilm from George Lucas in 2012, that they actually encouraged people to go to the convention and kill Lucasfilm employees and fans of the Disney era of Star Wars.

“With Lucasfilm having somehow hit an all-time low, I believe now is the time to act against them and their supporters,” they tweeted. “While it is too late to save Star Wars, we can make (expletive) sure we avenge it and hit these (expletive) where it hurts.
“While obviously I can’t be in London myself, I’m sure at least one person there would be willing to help this cause,” they continued. “Of course, we can’t get rid of EVERY single Lucasfilm employee and shill, but hopefully if one of them falls others will resign out of fear for their safety.”

I love Star Wars. The first movie came out when I was five months old, so it has been a part of my life since basically the beginning.

I cannot imagine what was going in this person’s mind that they actually thought not liking a TV show or movie was worthing killing or inciting violence over. I was and still am extremely disappointed with how the final film, The Rise of Skywalker, turned out. But that doesn’t mean I want to go after director JJ Abrams because of it.

Thankfully nothing happened. No one took this misguided person’s plea to heart and acted on it. The person’s Twitter account was banned, along with several other Twitter accounts they created after being banned.

The FBI was contacted and I hope this person is arrested and charged with making terrorist threats, because that’s what they were doing.

If you read my column long enough you’ll see that the message I try to get across the most is to just be nice to one another. We don’t all have to have the same beliefs or like the same movies, but don’t lash out or threaten violence against someone if they don’t share the same opinion.

At least the replies to the person’s post on Twitter were entertaining.

@_WrongHordak had one of my favorites: You’re a good example of why parents should monitor what their kids post online.

@SnyderVMarvel I think summed it up the best: It is a fictional series. If you are not happy about it, just move on.

City’s foreclosure vote a good step

Written by Staff Reporters on . Posted in Opinion, Uncategorized.

City leaders don’t want to foreclose on properties, but we applaud their efforts to combat blight in the community.

City staff have been reaching out to property owners for months if not years on some of these cases telling them what steps need to be taken to get their property into compliance with city codes. As that’s been going on, fines have been adding up to the point where the fines on some of the fine totals are now three times higher than what the property is worth.

“We are working for the citizens to make things safe for everybody,” said Councilwoman Cynthia Brown at the March 27 City Council meeting. “This has been a long, hard process (working with) these foreclosure properties. I think we have no choice but to go along with this legislation.”

Even with the city starting the foreclosure process, staff will continue to reach out to the property owners to continue to get them into compliance.

“The goal is to get to compliance, not to actually get the properties foreclosed on,” said City Manager Tim Bolduc at the meeting. “Unfortunately, we can’t get compliance, and so that’s the next step.”

The properties the council took action on last month are what the city called the worst of the worst in Crestview. Properties that have been left vacant for years, sometimes without even having doors, windows and in some cases roofs. Even worse are the properties that have been taken over by squatters.

The property that received the most attention during the March 27 council meeting was 650 Shortwell Drive, where according to Police Chief Stephen McCosker the previous property owner passed away without an estate to leave the property to and squatters have since taken it over. Based on the comments from the people who live near 650 Shortwell Drive, the conditions there sound nightmarish.

According to several people who spoke at the meeting, trash is piling up several feet high in many places on the property, there’s no water and sewer at the house, so the squatters apparently use the restroom in the woods and later burn their fecal waste to get rid of it.

The nearby residents also spoke about how concerned, and in some cases scared, the squatters have made them. One resident talked about how squatters had walked past and peered into her daughter’s window on multiple occasions and one time she saw one them walking down the middle of the street swinging an ax.

Earlier this year, the council voted to amend its land development code to allow the city to move forward with foreclosures on properties that have remained out of compliance for months and years without taking any steps to come into compliance. Thank you to the city council, manager and mayor for finally adding the needed changes to clean up these properties.

If seeking foreclosures is the only way to resolve a situation like what is going on at 650 Shortwell Drive, the council should have taken that action a long time ago.

Technology really is the best and worst

Written by Staff Reporters on . Posted in Uncategorized.

I have a computer more powerful than the computers NASA had when they were sending people to the moon. Their computer was so big it took up an entire room. Mine is about the size of a book.

I have a virtual reality headset in my living room, something 10-year-old me would have flipped out over.
There’s a funny photo that circulates around social media every so often of all the pieces of technology that smartphones have replaced. Obviously, the landline telephone is there, but so is the television, the VCR, video game consoles and many more.

While I do like that some technology keeps getting smaller and smaller, I have a big flat screen television that my younger self would also not believe.

So yeah, technology is great and I love it.

I also recognize that technology is making me, and probably many others, idiots.

When I was in high school and college, I had all my friends and family members’ phone numbers memorized. After dialing them so much, most of them were bound to stick around in my brain for a while.

But those days are long gone.

I have hundreds of phone numbers saved in my phone, many of them I haven’t called in years. But nowadays? I couldn’t tell you my best friend’s or even my wife’s phone number without looking them up.

At this point, I remember my parents’ landline number, my cell phone number and my old employer’s number because I would either call it or give it as the number to call me back at so often.

Speaking of that old employer, when I was first hired as a reporter at the Northwest Florida Daily News in 2006, we had three county-wide map books for Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties.

Whenever I needed to go somewhere I wasn’t familiar with, I’d have to look it up in the book, and then sometimes make copies of multiple pages to plan my route. Then I’d actually have to pay attention to the street signs as I was driving and, heaven forbid, look at the actual address numbers on the houses or business buildings as I was looking for my destination.

Now I can just plug my destination into one of several different map apps available on smartphones, punch in my address and have Siri tell me exactly where to go and where to turn.
If I had to go back to using a paper map to help me navigate, I’m not sure I could do it any longer.

Honestly, I’m pretty sure I would get lost.

Last week, I was covering a story up in Baker. I punched in the address to the location while I was still in the office and had a good phone signal and my phone got me there no problem.

But trying to get home was a little trickier. I waited in that parking lot for about five minutes trying to will my phone to get a signal long enough to tell me how to get home. When that didn’t work, I set out on my own, going in a direction I was hoping was southeast-ish enough to get me home. And luckily there were no issues. I’m sure Lewis and Clark would be proud.

Despite that, I don’t think I would do well when the zombie apocalypse happens and I lose wonderful technology that’s making me dumber.

For God’s Sake: We can turn to the Bible for our definition of faith

Written by Rev. Mark Broadhead on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Thomas, one of the 12 apostles, was not with them for this visit. When Thomas returned, his friends told him Jesus somehow had entered the locked room and stood with them. Thomas did not believe them. He wanted proof, to be his own eyewitness.

One week later, Jesus again stood among them. This time, Thomas was present.
Jesus told them, “Peace be with you,” then held out his hands to offer Thomas the chance to see for himself that the Risen Lord was standing before. Not a ghost or vision, but real flesh and bones.
Thomas had seen enough. “My Lord and my God,” he proclaimed.

At these words of Thomas, Jesus responds, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus performed many miracles, signs of his divinity, and yet there are those who still did not believe. Sometimes, even when we see things with our own eyes, we don’t believe they happen.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary offers this definition for believe: “To accept something as true, genuine, or real.”

Often, this belief comes from evidence or the words of eyewitnesses. But how can we believe when the evidence is no longer available, or the eyewitnesses have long since left this earthly plane?

This is when faith comes into play.

We can turn to the Bible for our definition of faith. “Now, faith is assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).”

What if our faith is not strong enough? What if, even though we desperately want to do so, we still cannot believe?

Perhaps the answer lies in the man who brought his son to Jesus to be healed (Mark 9:22-25).
“…if you are able to do anything, help us! Have compassion on us!” Jesus responded, “If you are able? All things can be done for the one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” At that, Jesus heals the young boy.

When you have doubts, when your faith is weak, repeat the words of this desperate father, “I believe; help my unbelief.”

The Rev. David Clothier is priest-in-charge at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Crestview.

Return to writing has been enjoyable experience

Written by Staff Reporters on . Posted in Uncategorized.

I obviously started my career in journalism as a reporter, but for the past five years I had primarily been an editor at different papers. While I would write the occasional story, those opportunities didn’t present themselves very often.

When I accepted this job, I knew writing would be a much more regular part of the my regular job duties and I was a little worried about how that would go.

I’m pleased to report it’s been like riding a bike. It’s been fun to stretch those creative muscles once again.
Most of my reporting for the Press Gazette so far has been writing some of the public safety articles, like the fatal New Year’s Day shooting that took the life of Pace resident Doug Davidson and a preview story of the volleyball fundraiser held for his family.

There have been the occasional story that has run in both papers, like state Rep. Dr. Joel Rudman announcing the filing of a proposed bill that would close a loophole allowing insurance companies to deny approval payment for a procedure months after they had previously approved it and paid for it.

However, the majority of my writing has been for the Crestview News Bulletin.

It’s been great getting entrenched in a community again and making contacts. I’ve gotten to work on stories that are important to the community, like updating the current progress of the Crestview bypass or Mayor JB Whitten’s ongoing efforts to battle the opioid epidemics.

And I’ve got some fun ideas coming up for future coverage. I’ve been speaking with Crestview Police Chief Stephen McCosker and starting this summer we’re going to be following a new police cadet through their time at the police academy and then their first months or year on the department after they graduate in a multipart series.

I’m really excited about that one and it should be kicking off in June or July.

Another part of the job I’ve really enjoyed has been getting to stretch my legs with photography more.

At every newspaper I’ve worked at before this job we’ve had at least one photographer on staff. So while I would take the occasional photo to run with my story, those opportunities were few and far between.

In college, I had to take one or two photography classes to get my journalism degree, and while I’m pretty sure I passed those classes I would never say I’m the greatest photographer.

That said, it is something I’ve always enjoyed. And while I’m not the greatest photographer, I have worked and been friends with some amazing photographers.

When I would go out on assignments for the Northwest Florida Daily News, I would always watch their photographers to see what they were doing, what angles they were shooting at and I learned a lot from them.

It’s been fun passing on what I’ve learned to some of our reporters, so hopefully you’ll be noticing better photos in the weeks and months to come.

So if you have a story idea for me, please reach out.

Proposal to allow death penalty for child rapes should move forward

Written by Staff Reporters on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Good.

We agree with Senate Criminal Justice Chairman Jonathan Martin, a Fort Myers Republican who is sponsoring the bill (SB 1342), who said sexual battery on a child is not a crime that happens accidentally.

Anyone who could rape a child is depraved and they don’t belong in society. We agree that the death penalty is appropriate in those cases.

It looks like the bill has some bipartisan support at this stage as well. Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Democrat from Hollywood, Florida, suggested the committee look at some potential changes to the bill to help it withstand legal challenges.

“These are not crimes that you can ever be rehabilitated from,” Pizzo said. “No one has ever convinced me that you can be rehabilitated.”

A similar bill is making its way through the House.

One concern with the bills is that the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court have long barred death sentences for people who rape children, including a 2008 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in a Louisiana case. However, Martin believes that could soon change with the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We’re going to kill you if you touch our little kids,” Martin said. “I’m OK with that.”

So are we.

While we support this bill and want to see it move forward, we’re a little more hesitant on a somewhat related bill that lawmakers are also currently discussing, one that would eliminate the requirement of unanimous jury recommendations before judges can impose death sentences in murder cases.

If that bill goes forward and is signed into law, it will allow death sentences to be imposed based on the recommendations of eight of 12 jurors.

The issue of revamping death-penalty laws emerged after Nikolas Cruz last year received a life sentence for the murders of 17 students and faculty members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. The life sentence came after a Broward County jury did not unanimously recommend death.

Since 1973, 190 former death-row prisoners have been exonerated of all charges related to the wrongful convictions that put them there. According to a 2014 study that looked at three decades worth of data, 4.1% of people currently on death row may be innocent.

People make mistakes and sometimes innocent people get convicted. Knowing that, loosening the restrictions on who can be sentenced to death does seem a little scary.

It’s not hard to find examples of innocent people who have been executed for crimes they didn’t commit.

In 1989, Carlos DeLuna was executed for a homicide he didn’t commit. Cameron Willingham was put to death in 2004 for arson and triple homicide for a fire that was later proved to be accidental.

We were dismayed that Cruz did not receive the death penalty like many others, but we don’t believe the current law needs to be changed when it could result in more innocent people being executed for crimes they didn’t commit.

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