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.

Construction of a roundabout on busy Mirage Avenue just west of Chick-fil-A and State Road 85 might begin around autumn 2024. The roundabout, which is planned to stand in the general area of the existing three-way intersection of Mirage Avenue, Malibu Street and Crosson Street, is expected to help traffic flow better. The overall project calls for realigning Malibu Street so it matches up with Crosson Street.

To address the overcapacity of traditional elementary and middle schools in Crestview, the Okaloosa County School District plans to open a new K-8 school next to the Southwest Crestview Bypass in the fall of 2026. Currently, while design work continues on that future school, construction is progressing on many other district projects, including classroom additions at Crestview High School and the K-12 Laurel Hill School.

It’s fine that some people elsewhere spent this year’s Juneteenth holiday enjoying barbecues and basketball tournaments, local educator Vaneesa Harrington said. “But it’s important to put the educational aspect in this event,” Harrington, the assistant principal of Richbourg School and a member of Crestview’s Juneteenth Committee, said on June 19 at the Hub City’s second-annual Juneteenth Celebration.

The recent city-hosted Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast included the showing of a video of people talking about their favorite park in Crestview. After the video ended, City Manager Tim Bolduc told attendees of the June 1 breakfast at the Crestview Community Center that his favorite city park “is the next one.”

LAUREL HILL – Officials from Okaloosa County’s oldest and northernmost city plan to use tourist development tax money to pay for two new welcome signs. The monument-style signs will stand on the north and south ends of the city along State Road 85. Each sign will contain the words, “Welcome to Laurel Hill, Okaloosa County’s oldest city.”