This week, U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) will introduce the “National Prayer in School Act.” This legislation, if passed, will allow students and staff to pray in school without fear of repercussion if they choose to engage.

Laurel Hill’s proposed fiscal year 2024 budget will leave a bit of money left over for reserves, Mayor Robby Adams said at the City Council’s Aug. 10 budget workshop.
The new budget year starts Oct. 1

Gary Ellis, owner of Crestview Plumbing and Hardware at 297 N. Main St., plans to close the iconic downtown store for good on Oct. 31, Halloween, after working there for almost half a century.

Ellis, 65, of Baker, said on Aug. 3 that he plans to lease his overall commercial property to 3rd Planet Brewing Co., which plans to open a craft brewery like the one it has in Niceville sometime next year.

Gaze at the stars during Family Library Time on Friday, Aug. 25, when the Emerald Coast Science Center brings its inflatable dome to the Crestview Robert L. F. Sikes Public Library.

A 69-year-old Crestview man who city police say stabbed a man twice with a knife on Aug. 7 remained locked up in the Okaloosa County Jail on Aug. 10.
Richard Lee South, of 324 Aplin Road, was arrested and charged on Aug. 7 with attempted murder, armed burglary and aggravated abuse of a disabled adult. South was jailed without bond on the attempted murder charge.

Marshalls celebrated its grand opening at Crestview Commons on Thursday, Aug. 10 by donating $10,000 to the nonprofit A Bed 4 Me Foundation.
The Niceville-based foundation provides beds to children and teens in Okaloosa and Walton counties who would otherwise be sleeping on the floor or other inadequate spaces.

Meals on Wheels of Okaloosa County began serving elderly, disabled or recuperating people in 1971 and is managed by the nonprofit Elder Services of Okaloosa County.
The opportunity for a meal recipient to socialize a bit with a Meals on Wheels volunteer is just as or even more valuable than receiving a meal, Elder Services Executive Director Kim Fraley said recently.

Dozens of guests walk across a porch lined with wooden rocking chairs and decorated with saddles to enter a barn-like music hall.
They buy tickets and snacks and choose where they’ll sit in front of a large, burgundy-colored curtain, which opens to reveal a United States flag above the center of a stage bookended with wagon wheels.

In only a decade of work, post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh created about 2,000 pieces of art, including more than 850 oil paintings.
“Over a short period, he was incredibly prolific,” Fanny Curtat said on Aug. 7 at the exhibit, “Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” at the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds.