Car crashes into church

A suspected drunk driver has been arrested after crashing into the First Presbyterian Church of Crestview in the early morning hours of Feb. 18. The driver failed to negotiate the turn on southbound State Road 85 at the intersection of U.S. Highway 90. Paul B. Carroll, 38, of Crestview, was arrested on the scene and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in an accident with serious bodily injury, according to a Crestview Police Department media release.

A hero’s farewell

On Saturday, Renee Hamilton should have been celebrating her eighth wedding anniversary to Corporal Ray Hamilton of the Okaloosa County Sheriff ’s Office.

Crestview primary care physician Dr. Abdul Mir, whose practice is known for its family-like atmosphere, is retiring after serving patients in the Hub City for 44 years.
Today is his last day of work at the East Redstone Avenue office he’s had since 1979. Mir, who was the 11th doctor to ever start at the North Okaloosa Medical Center, has been telling his patients in recent months about his plans to retire.

The city of Crestview’s New Year’s Eve Bash is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 31, on Main Street.
The overall celebration, which will usher in 2024 with live music, food, adult beverages, and fireworks, is free and open to people of all ages.

In 2020, an F-22 Raptor crashed deep within the Eglin range.  In the barren location with nothing but trees, snakes, fires, and jet plane wreckage, emergency responders endured sweltering 100-degree May heat for hours without access to restrooms or just a cool place to sit down and recharge.

Okaloosa County Commissioners Paul Mixon and Nathan Boyles, who represent commission districts 1 and 3, respectively, look forward to the results of the county’s up to $1 million “North Planning Study” that’s expected to help guide growth in the unincorporated area north of the Eglin Air Force Base Reservation.

Thanks to a $5,000 grant from Florida Power & Light, leaders of the nonprofit Baker Block Museum soon will be able to enhance the museum’s outdoor pavilion.
The money will be used to provide electrical service, lights, fans and a cement floor for the pavilion, Museum Executive Director Ann Spann said on Sept. 14.

Crestview Fire Department firefighters include one who specializes in cooking Cajun food, another who has special dietary needs and cannot eat pork, and some who like to steal coffee creamer, according to CFD engineer Kevin Walters.

The top reason why local youths miss school is they are embarrassed about their personal appearance, Kiwanis Club of Crestview member Roy Estes said.
“If we can help them with this, they might stay in class,” Estes said on Aug. 31 at Warriors Hall on Stillwell Boulevard, where he and other club members sorted and packed assorted hygiene products to benefit local students.

An ambulance recently had to be called three times in one week to the nonprofit Crestview Area Shelter for the Homeless in order to help people battling triple-digit outdoor temperatures.
During one of those incidents, longtime shelter President Ann Sprague determined that no one inside the shelter at 120 Duggan Ave. had called 911, so the responding paramedics went outside to look around the facility.