PENSCOLA - A man wanted in Escambia and Okaloosa counties was arrested in Pensacola on Thursday and faces additional drug charges, according to the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force.

 Task Force members from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties captured 32-year-old fugitive Antwan Jernell Thomas in a home on Saleta Street in Pensacola.

Bags Thomas threw away as he ran from officers were found containing 70 grams of marijuana, 2 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of oxycodone, and 494 grams of a possible synthetic drug, the Task Force reported.

Thomas was wanted in Escambia County for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, grand theft of a firearm and misdemeanor battery.

He was wanted in Okaloosa County for felony failure to appear on a charge of driving while license suspended.

He was taken to Escambia County Jail. Charges are pending.

Ken Wolfe, Okaloosa County’s emergency management coordinator, has been appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to serve on the state’s Emergency Response Commission.

Wolfe, who is a recognized expert on working with hazardous materials, joins the 23-member board as the representative of the Florida Association of Counties.

“I think it will be quite the experience,” he said of the appointment.

Wolfe was recommended for the commission after he spent time as a representative of the association on a hazardous materials response team.

“I am pleased by the appointment,” said Bryan Koon, the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management.

“Mr. Wolfe has worked closely with the division’s Technical Hazards Unit for many years and has a great amount of knowledge and experience in the field of emergency management,” Koon said in an email. “Ken is an ideal fit for the commission and will work hard to ensure Florida’s communities are informed and prepared when dealing with hazardous materials.”

The State Emergency Response Commission was formed in 1986 “in response to a growing concern for safety around chemical facilities,” according to its website.

The commission is responsible for implementing provisions of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act, which “has had a far-reaching influence on issues relating to hazardous materials,” according to the commission’s website.

The panel, which meets quarterly, acts on recommendations from the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Wolfe, 55, has worked for county’s Department of Public Safety for 12 years. He has helped coordinate responses to disasters such as Hurricane Ivan and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“Ken exemplifies the knowledgeable and dedicated caliber of personnel we have in the Public Safety Department,” county Public Safety Director Dino Villani said in the news release. “He is a true asset to our community.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.

A Hurlburt Field airman was found dead Sunday in Montana from an apparent suicide.

A hiker reported finding a man’s body, according to a news release from the Lincoln County, Mont., Sheriff’s Office. Deputies arrived to find the man hanging from a rope.

He was identified as 21-year-old Senior Airman Dalton Wayne Mossey. 

The electrical systems apprentice with the 1st Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron had finished his military service commitment, according to Hurlburt Field. Mossey was on leave while transitioning from the Air Force.

“Team Hurlburt is saddened by the loss of Airman Mossey,” Col. Jim Slife, commander of 1st Special Operations Wing, said in a news release. “We share in the sorrow of his family and friends during this most difficult time.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Uneasy allies, President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai demonstrated Friday they could agree on one big idea: After 11 years of war, the time is right for U.S. forces to let Afghans do their own fighting. U.S. and coalition forces will take a battlefield back seat by spring and, by implication, go home in larger numbers soon thereafter.

"It will be a historic moment," Obama declared.

In a White House meeting billed as a chance to take stock of a war that now ranks as America's longest, Obama and Karzai agreed to accelerate their timetable for putting the Afghanistan army in the lead combat role nationwide. It will happen this spring instead of summer — a shift that looks small but looms larger in the debate over how quickly to bring U.S. troops home and whether some should stay after combat ends in 2014.

The two leaders also agreed that the Afghan government would be given full control of detention centers and detainees. They did not reach agreement on an equally sticky issue: whether any U.S. troops remaining after 2014 would be granted immunity from prosecution under Afghan law. Immunity is a U.S. demand that the Afghans have resisted, saying they want assurances on other things — like authority over detainees — first.

At a joint news conference with Karzai in the White House East Room, Obama said he was not yet ready to decide the pace of U.S. troop withdrawals between now and December 2014. That is the target date set by NATO and the Afghan government for the international combat mission to end. There are now 66,000 U.S. troops there.

Obama's message was clear: The Afghans must now show they are capable of standing on their own.

"By the end of next year, 2014, the transition will be complete — Afghans will have full responsibility for their security, and this war will come to a responsible end," he said, noting that more than 2,000 Americans have died since the war began in October 2001.

The Afghan army and police now have 352,000 in training or on duty, although that number is viewed by many as unsustainable because the government is almost entirely reliant on international aid to pay the bills.

Some private security analysts — and some in the Pentagon — worry that pulling out to quickly will leave Afghanistan vulnerable to collapse. In a worst-case scenario, that could allow the Taliban to regain power and revert to the role they played in the years before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as protectors of al-Qaida terrorists bent on striking the U.S.

Many Americans, however, are weary of the war and skeptical of any claim that Afghanistan is worth more U.S. blood.

In a reflection of the diminishing support in Congress for a robust U.S. role in Afghanistan, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a member of the Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Obama on Friday urging him to significantly reduce the number of American troops in the region and bring American forces home as quickly as possible.

"Our troops have accomplished their mission: Osama bin Laden is dead, extremist networks in Afghanistan have been disrupted so that they are no longer a credible international threat and the Afghan security forces have received training and equipment for nearly a decade," Manchin wrote. "It is now time to let Afghanistan determine its own future."

Obama and Karzai also have to decide whether a residual U.S. force will remain after 2014 to prevent al-Qaida from re-establishing a substantial presence in Afghanistan and to continue training and advising Afghan forces. U.S. commanders have recommended that 6,000 to 15,000 U.S. troops remain for those purposes, but the White House seems to believe the true need is closer to 3,000 — or possibly even zero.

Asked at the news conference about a potential post-2104 U.S. military presence, Karzai said, "Numbers are not going to make a difference to the situation in Afghanistan. It's the broader relationship that will make a difference."

Although it's not widely recognized in the U.S., American forces have greatly scaled back their combat role already. In a joint statement, Obama and Karzai said Afghan forces now lead more than 80 percent of combat operations, and by next month they will be in the lead in security for nearly 90 percent of the Afghan population.

Once the Afghans take the lead across the country this spring, "most unilateral U.S. combat operations should end, with U.S. forces pulling back their patrols from Afghan villages," the leaders said in a joint statement. They added that this puts greater importance on providing the Afghans "appropriate equipment and enablers," although they made no mention of specific new agreements to equip the Afghan army or police.

"Starting this spring our troops will have a different mission: training, advising and assisting Afghan forces," Obama said.

He added later that even in a backup role he could not rule out that U.S. troops could be drawn into combat.

"The environment is going to still be very dangerous," Obama said. But he emphasized that the main role of U.S. forces starting this spring will be support, such as training and advising.

Karzai said he was pleased by the agreement, in part because it means that by spring there will be no foreign troops in Afghan villages. That implies an end to a U.S.-led program in which U.S. special operations forces have moved into rural villages in small numbers to quietly build the beginnings of local resistance to the Taliban.

In their statement the leaders said they discussed the possibility of a continued U.S. troop presence beyond December 2014, when the U.S. and allied combat mission is to end. But they did not settle on any specifics.

Friday's meeting was the first between Obama and Karzai since November's U.S. presidential election.

___

Associated Press writer Donna Cassata contributed to this report.

MARY ESTHER - A woman who was seen hiding merchandise in her purse also faces a drug charge after an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy found pills that weren't hers in her purse.

On Jan. 2 the deputy responded to Santa Rosa Mall about an alleged shoplifting. A security guard said he was following two women, and one of them had items concealed in her purse. 

The deputy stopped the women and received permission to search their purses. One woman had no stolen items, but the other had several items of clothing. Before the deputy could ask her about the items, the woman said some of the items were from Spencer's. She admitted stealing them.

Also in her purse was a garment with a Dillard's tag.

She also had a prescription bottle in her purse, but the name on the bottle was not hers. Inside were three pills, later identified as alprazolam.

Employees of both stores said they saw the women acting suspiciously, and the stores were missing items.

The items taken from Dillard's totaled $265. The Spencer's items amounted to $169.94.

The woman, identified as Melissa Gail Vanherwaarden of Mary Esther, was charged with petit theft and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. Her court date is Feb. 26.

OKALOOSA ISLAND — Politicians, business owners, economists and urban planners will gather Wednesday for the first Emerald Coast Transportation Symposium.

The one-day summit at the Emerald Coast Convention Center is a joint effort of the Northwest Florida Regional Transportation Planning Organization and the West Florida Regional Planning Council.

The symposium, which runs from at 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., is open to the public. Ananth Prasad, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, will deliver the keynote speech “Florida’s Vision” at 11 a.m.

Organizers say the event signals a new, regional approach to transportation that hasn’t been tried before. The idea is to bring together groups from Escambia to Bay counties to discuss how to finance the transportation network in Northwest Florida.

“This is the first one of these we’ve had,” said Destin City Councilman Jim Wood, chairman of the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization. “I’m anxious to see what comes out of it. If we always talk about the same old things, we’re never going to get anywhere. … If all we do is identify one thing different, that’s a success for me.”

Wood, who will moderate a panel on building partnerships between counties, said regionalism can make some officials uncomfortable.

“It’s kind of a dangerous word,” he said. “Nobody wants to give up their uniqueness or their ability to make their own decisions.”

But transportation problems that affect several areas often are more easily solved when communities join forces, Wood said.

He cited the limitations of U.S. Highway 98 as a prime example.

“You’ve got this Highway 98 that runs through all of our Northwest Florida counties,” he said. “It’s the main street of many communities like Destin. … So can any one community attack Highway 98 at one time and fix it? No, probably not.”

Wood said he would like to hear discussions on how to divert through-traffic from U.S. 98, how better to accommodate tourist traffic and how to find creative ways to pay for important projects.

Another discussion will focus on transportation’s impact on the regional economy. The panel will feature Chris Long, president of Pensacola Shipyard; Jason Peters, director of development for the DOT’s Northwest Florida district; and Jorge Gonzalez, senior vice president of development for The St. Joe Company.

Wood said the symposium has a good mix of participants from the public and private sectors.

“We’ve got a core of folks here along our corridor who are capable of getting something done if we can find something that will work,” he said. “You’ve got to find something that will benefit all the (communities) involved.”

Walton County Commissioner Bill Chapman said he’s eager to see what issues are introduced.

“I’m going in there with open eyes to try and glean what the mission is,” he said.

Chapman said he is concerned about the increased traffic on U.S. 98 through Walton County. Strong tourist activity since the April 2010 oil spill has brought much needed money — and major congestion.

“It’s complex. At some point in time, you overtax your infrastructure,” he said. “If the infrastructure doesn’t improve … then people say, ‘I’m tired of fighting two hours of traffic jams’ and they stop coming here.”

Santa Rosa County Commissioner Lane Lynchard said discussion also must extend beyond U.S. 98 to include the region’s ports and military installations.

Lynchard will moderate an afternoon panel on financing future infrastructure.

“It’s a discussion that’s past due, really,” he said. “It’s an excellent opportunity for the community to come together. (Transportation) is really of the utmost importance, not only to our residents but to our businesses and future industries.”

WANT TO ATTEND? The Emerald Coast Transportation Symposium will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Emerald Coast Convention Center.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

The Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputies recently placed in elementary schools are some of the agency’s most skilled officers.

Their new mission — protecting the school district’s youngest students —– requires wisdom and patience that come from several years on the job, Sheriff Larry Ashley said.

“The last thing you want to do is hire a 24- or 25-year-old who just came out of the academy and put them in a school,” he said. “We wanted experienced officers.”

Ashley made the decision in the days following the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14. He acknowledged there is no increased risk to local students, but said the move was the right one.

“What it’s done is it’s made us wake up,” Ashley said. “How many school shootings does it take before we realize our kids are at risk? … I don’t think we can say the world is the same now.”

The 26 deputies placed in the elementary schools were pulled from several units — beach and marine patrol, civil processing, court security, detention and booking, street crimes and traffic enforcement.

The beach and marine patrol, street crimes and traffic enforcement units were depleted and will remain inactive until new deputies are hired.

“It’s prioritizing our resources,” Ashley said. “If I’ve got to choose between whether to enforce traffic laws or protect our kids at elementary schools, then I’m going to protect our kids at elementary schools.”

With the addition of the deputies, the school district now has armed law enforcement officers in each of its 40 schools.

“They’re all very professional and have taken to the task,” Ashley said. “They’re all very motivated.”

The cost of keeping all of those deputies in place through the end of the school year is an estimated $1.1 million.

To maintain that level of security annually, the Sheriff’s Office needs $3.5 million. That’s about $85,000 to $90,000 per deputy for everything from support costs, communications, uniforms, equipment and training.

Ashley has asked taxpayers to cover the most immediate bill of $1.1 million. He has requested half from county commissioners and half from the School Board.

“Basically I’m here with hat in hand and asking (local officials) not to make me choose between the services we provide, because we’re going to have school resource officers,” he said.

School Board members will vote on the funding Monday night. The county commissioners are expected to vote Jan. 22.

Commissioner Dave Parisot has questioned whether the county should have to cover the cost to replenish Ashley’s force.

“I’m not sure he needs to have a marine unit,” Parisot said. “If he felt he could pull those deputies out of the courthouse, then maybe he didn’t need that many. … I just want us to step back. I don’t want us to have a knee-jerk reaction.”

Parisot said the decision to spend $1.1 million in the short term and even more money on an annual basis should be “well thought out” and backed up by “scientific” feedback from the public.

He also said paying for the school resource officers is primarily the school district’s responsibility, not the county’s.

“I’m not convinced in my mind that the Board of County Commissioners should even be funding half of the school resource officers,” he said.

Until the Sheriff’s Office gets the money it has requested, certain divisions of the department will operate with reduced personnel.

“I don’t want to start hiring people to fill these positions and then not have the funding for them,” Ashley said.

After only a few weeks, the strain on the department isn’t great, but Ashley expects that to change.

“As time passes, we’re really going to feel it,” he said.

The time will come “when I say I can’t do funeral escorts because I don’t have the manpower because I have them in schools or I can’t do parades,” Ashley said. “It may take a week to get your process served. Or it may take an hour to clear security at the courthouse when you’re standing in line because there are just one or two people clearing.”

Ashley said he’s leaving it up to public officials and residents to decide whether that’s acceptable.

As for long-term options to pay for school resource officers, he has suggested increasing property taxes, floating a local option sales tax, using a portion of bed tax revenue or imposing franchise fees on local utility usage.

“(Local officials) are all working hard to figure out what the solution is,” he said. “They all recognize that no decision is a decision and to do nothing is unacceptable.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa elementary, middle and high school students described how they were “Living the Legacy” on Saturday in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration’s 18th annual Oratorical and Poster Contest.

Check out a slideshow fo the event. >>

Watch a video of the event. >>

The contest at Fort Walton Beach High School is a way to showcase the area’s talented youth, said Wanjiku Jackson, co-chair of the event. It brings the community together and engages them in remembering King and his teachings.

“It’s not just for African Americans,” Jackson said. “Dr. King’s legacy is for all people.”

In the poster contest, students conveyed their messages in a variety of ways. On one poster, a student described how to defend someone dealing with bullies. On another, the student decorated the poster with masks to symbolize people showing their true selves.

Ivy Chastain of Fort Walton Beach High School placed photos of leaders influenced by King inside a picture of the world. She wanted to draw attention to other people who upheld the movement for equality and freedom, she said.

“I don’t think people looking at this always understand the difference these people made,” Chastain said.

 In the oratorical contest, many students spoke of King’s life, highlighting key moments in the civil rights movement. Others described how he inspired them to create their own legacy.

Daylen Boyd of Pryor Middle School said he has the same opportunity as other students to get a quality education, thanks to King’s work. He and his friends all enjoy the same freedoms. There’s nothing standing between him and his legacy.

“The thing that can hold me back is me,” Boyd said.

King’s legacy of compassion and courage still lives on in leaders like President Barack Obama, said Shakyra Sanders of Choctawhatchee High School.

“The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King gives me hope for a better tomorrow,” she said.

POSTER CONTEST WINNERS

Elementary School: 1st place, Katlin Eubanks; 2nd place, Ariel McBroom; 3rd place, Olivia Hooten.

Middle School: 1st place, Andrew Imperial; 2nd place, Jessica Shouse; 3rd place, Elizabeth Toney.

High School:  1st place, Rebecca Morris; 2nd place, Madison Williams; 3rd place, Ivy Chastain.

ORATORICAL CONTEST WINNERS

Elementary School: 1st place, Carl Vlinters; 2nd place, Miranda Gillaspy; 3rd place, Amari Washington.

Middle School: 1st place, Roderick Peacock; 2nd place, Brandi Costello; 3rd place, David Erickson.

High School: 1st place, Raven Sansbury; 2nd place, Toni Reaves; 3rd place, Shakyra Sanders.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado at 850-315-4445 or at ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com.  Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.

CRESTVIEW — An influx of neighbors arriving with military reassignments has boosted the population and propelled the city into the University of Florida’s Top 100 growing cities in the state.

Crestview was ranked 100 in 2010. UF’s December report covering 2012 found the city had nudged its way to 97th place.

The university’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research, using U.S. census reports, determined that Crestview has 22,742 residents. That’s up from 2010’s population of 20,978 and is a 42 percent leap from 2000’s 14,766 residents.

Mayor David Cadle attributed the recent growth primarily to the Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) cantonment south of town, which brought nearly 6,000 soldiers, support staff and their families to the area.

As the city diversifies its businesses, particularly at Bob Sikes Airport and through the city’s Enterprise Zone, more growth can be expected, Cadle said. That will translate into more and better job opportunities and an increased tax base, he said.

“I’m very excited about the continued growth of Crestview, and I think we’re going to see more of that to come as we expand our industrial base,” Cadle said.

Crestview’s growth far outpaced nearby communities on UF’s list. The nearest was Pensacola at No. 51 with 52,202 residents. It saw a 7.7 percent population decline since 2000 and a 0.2 percent growth since 2010.

Panama City was at No. 73 with a population of 35,800. It had a 2.5 percent population decline since 2000 and 0.8 percent increase between 2010 and 2012.

No other city in Okaloosa, Walton or Santa Rosa County made the list.

But Crestview’s growth brings growing pains.

Most noticeably, the evening commute from the south end of the county has increased in recent years. The traffic clogs feeder roads such as P.J. Adams Parkway and John King Road.

The city expanded its water and sewer systems in expectation of the 7th Special Forces’ arrival. However, traffic remains a headache because the county or state controls the roads that need widening the most, officials say.

“The city’s growth creates opportunities but it also creates challenges, and I think we have to be careful not to pursue growth simply for growth’s sake,” said Okaloosa County Commissioner Nathan Boyles. “We want to make sure we are growing in a way that allows us to develop economically, but also allows us to preserve our unique quality of life.

“One important component of that is infrastructure. If we grow so fast that we can’t maintain the necessary levels of service with our infrastructure, we won’t be a very good place to live and we won’t stay on that (UF) list very long.”

Boyles cited plans for widening P.J. Adams and a P.J. Adams-Antioch Road bypass around Crestview’s southwest corner as examples of the county’s greater focus on the Crestview area.

“I think the job of equitably distributing the limited resources of the county is a challenging one,” Boyles said. “I think having two commissioners from the north end of the county for the first time will help assure our area will get its fair share of those resources.”

Crestview News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes can be reached at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

MARY ESTHER — Zach Fletcher splashed into Santa Rosa Sound on Saturday with seven other teens.

The cold water soon took a toll on the 15-year-old from Niceville. He was left behind as the others searched for the white wooden cross tossed in moments before by the Rev. Elias Stevens of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Mobile, Ala.

“I can’t do it,” Zach yelled as he made his way into deeper water.

Still, he continued to wade to chest-deep and a few seconds later scooped up the cross and triumphantly hoisted it into the air to the delight of dozens of spectators onshore.

“You were like the Navy Seals,” joked the Rev. Gabriel Boutz of Saints Markella and Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church.

Representatives of Greek Orthodox churches in the Western Conference gathered at the Mary Esther Pier for the 38th annual Epiphany Cross Dive to commemorate Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River

View photos from the event. >>

All the teens received a blessing after the dive, but Zach was given one of his own and a gold cross necklace.

“May this symbol of victory be with him throughout his days,” said the Rev. Matthew Carter of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Pensacola.

Another diver, 18-year-old Chloe Bressack, said it was a rush. One minute, the teens were standing together and the next they were moving with one purpose. 

“I feel different,” Chloe said. “I feel accomplished. I’ve done something for my faith.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado at 850-315-4445 or at ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com.  Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.

Enforcement of proposed beach regulations was the primary issue at a recent Walton County Commission meeting.

“We just can’t seem to get enforcement in this county,” Santa Rosa Ridge resident Mary Nielson said of the upcoming Waterways and Beach Activities Ordinance.

After three public workshops, revisions, inclusions and deletions in the existing beach activities law, interim County Administrator Gerry Demers brought what he thought might be the final draft before commissioners last week. However, after hearing from residents again, the proposals ultimately will be pushed back to allow for more revisions.

Demers said previously that the law was intended to compile and clarify existing beach activity regulations and make them more enforceable.

Residents who attended the meeting asked how that would be accomplished.

“How it works in practicality, in the real world, is not necessarily something we’ll know,” said Clay Adkinson, who was sitting in for County Attorney Toni Craig, who was ill.

Much of the discussion concerned a proposal that would allow visitors to buy permits to bring a dog to the beach. Most residents didn’t like it.

“It’s a grave concern for those who live on the beach,” said Sharon O’Keegan.

O’Keegan, a grandmother of six, said when her grandchildren visit her, “I don’t want them to put their face in the sand and come up with poop on it.”

Others had similar comments.

Marion Victor said he watched a jogger with a dog pass his window recently when the dog relieved itself on the beach. The owner covered it with sand and kept jogging.

The problem is “they stop, leave what they want,” Victor said.

He fears that more pets on the beach will cause the area to lose its appeal to visitors.

“This area is known for a couple of reasons: white beaches, clean water, no crime. I’d like to see this preserved,” he said.

Most people said the problem with the ordinance was that it did not have a step-by-step enforcement plan.

“Let’s go back to the drawing board and let’s look at enforcement as far as dogs go,” Nielson said.

After more revisions, county commissioners will consider the law at their meeting at 8 a.m. Jan. 22 in DeFuniak Springs.

Bob Hudson, executive director of the Walton County Taxpayers Association, offered advice to the board.

“Don’t pass ordinances that the county is not willing to put the money up to enforce.”

Walton Sun Staff Writer Molly Mosher can be reached at 850-654-8445 or mmosher@waltonsun.com. Follow her on Twitter @WaltonSunMolly.

BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE, Fla. (AP) — An armed mob set out into the Florida Everglades on Saturday to flush out a scaly invader.

It sounds like the second act of a sci-fi horror flick but, really, it's pretty much Florida's plan for dealing with an infestation of Burmese pythons that are eating their way through a fragile ecosystem.

Nearly 800 people signed up for the month-long "Python Challenge" that started Saturday afternoon. The vast majority — 749 — are members of the general public who lack the permits usually required to harvest pythons on public lands.

"We feel like anybody can get out in the Everglades and figure out how to try and find these things," said Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "It's very safe, getting out in the Everglades. People do it all the time."

Twenty-eight python permit holders also joined the hunt at various locations in the Everglades. The state is offering cash prizes to whoever brings in the longest python and whoever bags the most pythons by the time the competition ends at midnight Feb. 10.

Dozens of would-be python hunters showed up for some last-minute training in snake handling Saturday morning at the University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center in Davie.

The training came down to common sense: Drink water, wear sunscreen, don't get bitten by anything and don't shoot anyone.

Many of the onlookers dressed in camouflage, though they probably didn't have to worry about spooking the snakes. They would have a much harder time spotting the splotchy, tan pythons in the long green grasses and woody brush of the Everglades.

"It's advantage-snake," mechanical engineer Dan Keenan concluded after slashing his way through a quarter-mile of scratchy sawgrass, dried leaves and woody overgrowth near a campsite in the Big Cypress National Preserve, which is about 50 miles southeast of Naples and is supervised by the National Park Service.

Keenan, of Merritt Island, and friend Steffani Burd of Melbourne, a statistician in computer security, holstered large knives and pistols on their hips, so they'd be ready for any python that crossed their path. The snakes can grow to more than 20 feet in length.

The most useful tool they had, though, was the key fob to their car. Burd wanted to know that they hadn't wandered too far into the wilderness, so Keenan clicked the fob until a reassuring beep from their car chirped softly through the brush.

The recommended method for killing pythons is the same for killing zombies: a gunshot to the brain, or decapitation to reduce the threat. (The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals doesn't approve of the latter method, though.)

Pythons are kind of the zombies of the Everglades, though their infestation is less deadly to humans. The snakes have no natural predators, they can eat anything in their way, they can reproduce in large numbers and they don't belong here.

Florida currently prohibits possession or sale of the pythons for use as pets, and federal law bans the importation and interstate sale of the species.

Wildlife experts say pythons are just the tip of the invasive species iceberg. Florida is home to more exotic species of amphibians and reptiles than anywhere else in the world, said John Hayes, dean of research for the University of Florida's Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Roughly 2,050 pythons have been harvested in Florida since 2000, according to the conservation commission. It's unknown exactly how many are slithering through the wetlands.

Officials hope the competition will help rid the Everglades of the invaders while raising awareness about the risks that exotic species pose to Florida's native wildlife.

Keenan and Burd emerged from the Everglades empty-handed Saturday, but they planned to return Sunday, hoping for cooler temperatures that would drive heat-seeking snakes into sunny patches along roads and levees.

Burd still deemed the hunt a success. "For me, I take back to my friends and community that there is a beautiful environment out here. It's opening the picture from just the python issue to the issue of how do we protect our environment," she said.

___

Online: Python Challenge http://www.pythonchallenge.org/

CRESTVIEW — If Albert was a human, he would be a senior citizen. In his late 20s, Albert — an eastern black bear — moves stiffly and is turning gray around his muzzle and forehead.

He is one of the oldest residents at the Sasquatch Zoo, which is being transformed day by day into the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge Zoological Park.

The long-term transition from a privately owned zoo to a nonprofit rehabilitation and education facility will take several years. But the refuge’s staff and the zoo’s owners are working hard to prepare for a legal handoff in February.

View more photos of the zoo »

“We are working up there diligently,” said Amanda Wilkerson, director of the refuge. “We want to have the least amount of time being closed.”

The zoo currently is licensed by U.S. Department of Agriculture to Debbie Mattox, who started it more than 25 years ago on land running along the Shoal River east of Crestview.

Mattox, who has hand-raised many of the zoo’s animals, isn’t really ready to step away entirely despite the daunting daily workload of caring for 100 animals. However, financial challenges and concern for the zoo’s future forced her and husband Bill Bitsche to evaluate their options. 

The Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge provided the ideal opportunity.

“I told her, ‘You can’t just keep running the zoo ’til something happens to your health,’ ” Bitsche said. “You have to have a way to leave it for the community.”

Mattox made sure that provisions for three of the animals, including Albert, were put in the contract with the refuge. The bear, a 7-year-old lion named Levy and an elderly spider monkey named Cebo will live out their lives at the zoo.

With a deal struck, the finer details for the final transition, including necessary renovations, are under way. 

For example, to meet USDA licensing requirements, the fencing around the big cats’ cages needs to be increased by nearly 4 feet. Trees around the perimeter of the 12-acre park also must be trimmed back.

“We have a four-page list of stuff that we are going to get done,” Wilkerson said.

The list includes building a classroom, rehabbing structures, expanding and enriching habitats, replacing fencing and landscaping.

Volunteers and donations are needed to make all of that happen, Wilkerson said.

Workdays are being held every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the zoo on U.S. Highway 90 until all the work is complete.

Volunteers of all skill levels are needed, ranging from those just willing to pitch in to experienced electricians, welders, carpenters and other craftsmen.

Additional workdays are being added during the week, Wilkerson said.

On Friday, two refuge volunteers worked in the small building known as the commissary, where food for the animals is prepared and stored.

While they scrubbed and sanded, Albert watched the activity from his cage nearby. The women have gotten to know the old timer and his favorite treats. They call him by name and coo to him as he moans with pleasure.

Even as the world around them changes, the animals do what they have always done.

They watch the people. They eat, sleep and have babies. A new llama was born 10 days ago and several young goats scamper around in their pen.

When the renovations are complete, some of the refuge’s animal ambassadors will be moved to the zoo. Educational programs will be added and docents will wander the 12-acre park, talking to visitors.

“It will be run just like a zoo, but will have a strong emphasis on education,” Wilkerson said. “All of the animals up there have a story, and I think people would be interested in hearing it.”
 

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Wendy Victora at 850-315-4478 or wvictora@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @WendyVnwfdn

OKALOOSA ISLAND — Judith Milling, 64, made one last pass of the comb through the cream-colored fur on her Birman cat, Simon, then scooped him up and dashed to the judge’s table.

With big, bright blue eyes and lynx-point coloring, the nearly two-year-old cat was an attention-grabber at the Destiny Cat Fanciers show at the Emerald Coast Convention Center Sunday.

“The grooming on him is just phenomenal,” a judge remarked before awarding him best of the specialty long-hair altered cats at her table.

About 90 cats of 40 different breeds were entered into the weekend-long competition, which is in its 8^th year. The cats are judged on which most accurately reflect the attributes associated with their breed and class.

View a slideshow from the cat show.

Simon has won national and international awards, said Milling, who is from Troutman, N.C., near Charlotte.

She said his breed is known as the “lazy man’s cat” because their fur doesn’t mat and is relatively easy to groom.

Still she gives Simon a bath at least once a week, conditions his fur and combs it often to prevent hair balls.

Another nickname for the Birman breed is “Velcro kitty” because they’re so affectionate, Milling said.

Though spectators came through to check out the cats, the convention center’s ballroom was mostly filled with competitors who travel to cat shows across the region.

Despite the competition, they've become a tight-knit group of friends.

Milling started attending shows three years ago after her husband died.

“I wanted to do something different,” she said. “I love it, the camaraderie and meeting people. It gets me out and it keeps me out of trouble – sometimes.”

Samantha Lawrence, 38 of North Carolina by way of New Jersey, has been attending cat shows since she was 5.

That’s when her mother first saw an exotic short hair at a show and bought one for herself.

“The bug was made and that was that,” her mother, Marianne Lawrence, 62, said. Now she’s an exotic short hair breeder.

Samantha grew up on the cat show circuit.

“When I was a kid, I did all the grunt work,” she said.

She worked her way up from swabbing the cages to becoming a judge’s clerk and even judging some shows herself.

“Now I go along to keep my mom company,” Samantha said. “It’s something we do together.”

Mother and daughter both said the circuit is great because they get to travel and there’s a sense of companionship with other cat enthusiasts.

“And I’ll say it – we like the competition,” Samantha said with a grin. “Winning is always fun.”

Boots, their six-month-old calico exotic short hair, sprawled across a table in front of Samantha and languorously posed for passersby.

Her big brown eyes and squishy face drew many people to stoop down to pet her or snap her photo.

Boots, also known by her stage name Instapurr’s Mzbehavin, has competed in about six shows in the two months since she was old enough to enter.

This weekend she won five times and scored her first best kitten award.

“We’re doing really well,” Samantha said. “We’re really proud.”

Show Manager Sue Hansen, 47 from Jacksonville, said turnout was down this year, which could be in part attributed to a booking conflict that required them to change the dates.

Several judges and competitors echoed sentiments that cat shows nationwide are struggling, but with enough support they hope to keep the tradition alive.

“Hopefully a bunch of us can keep these shows going with today’s economy,” Milling said.
 

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Sage Reinlie at 850-315-4440 or lreinlie@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenRnwfdn.

LAUREL HILL— The City Council is pursuing a state grant that could provide up to $600,000 for road repairs.

Although the council will prepare an ordinance that could dissolve Laurel Hill in a referendum March 12, city leaders are taking steps to ensure road funds are in place if the city is dissolved other than money from Okaloosa County.

The council is seeking a Small Cities Community Development Block Grant. This will be the third straight year Laurel Hill has applied for the grant.

Last year’s attempt fell just one permit short, when the city lost its consideration.

“Last time we needed a storm water permit,” Mayor Joan Smith said. “By not having it, we lost 100 points (in the process).”

The engineer and grant writer who worked on that application failed to include the permit with the necessary paperwork, Smith said.

The City Council learned about the city’s removal from consideration last month, Council Chairman Larry Hendren said.

Council members voted unanimously recently to apply for a new grant.

“We got things going the right way and it would be foolish in my opinion to turn that down,” Councilman Clifton Hall said.

The application process will begin this July.

Council members agreed the grant would provide a timelier solution than asking the county for help.
 

Crestview News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown can be reached at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

MILTON — The fate of the somewhat controversial multi-purpose center in East Milton likely will be decided later this month.

Although the agenda for the meeting will not be finalized until the end of this week, Santa Rosa County commissioners are expected to discuss the covered arena at their Jan. 22 meeting and vote on the project two days later.

County Commissioner Bob Cole, who has saved $1 million from his district’s recreation funds for the arena, said part of the controversy over the center stems from confusion about what it is. In early discussions, it was referred to as an equestrian center. However, he said it will be much more than that.

“This is not an equestrian center. This is a covered arena,” Cole said. “If you’re a horse person, then it’s an equestrian center. If you like to show dogs, then we can have a dog show. If you’re an archer and want to stand up a big archery event and know that if it rains you can use the indoor facility, then it’s an archery center.

“This is why we (designed) this building as a multi-purpose building,” he added. “The bleachers aren’t permanently put up and the corrals for the horses aren’t a permanent fixture. They’re all things that can move around.”

The county sought construction bids last year, but commissioners delayed voting on approving a contract with A.E. New Jr. Inc. at their Dec. 10 meeting because they had too many questions about future funding for the project.

A.E. New Jr.’s bid originally was scheduled to expire at the end of December, but Cole said it has been extended through the end of January.

Since commissioners delayed their decision, the county’s Tourist Development Council voted to contribute $200,000 to the project and Cole has found a way to save $50,000 in construction costs.

Rather than having the contractor purchase all of the supplies and materials, the county will purchase the materials without having to pay sales tax, Cole said.

“There’s 50 grand instead of going to the state for sales tax can go into the project,” he said.

If the project is approved at the Jan. 24 meeting, Cole said construction likely would start within 90 days.

The covered arena would be built at the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Bobby Brown Road. It would feature a 200-foot-by-300-foot covered pavilion, a judges’ booth, meeting room and restrooms.
 

Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.

Northwest Florida residents have one last opportunity to participate in a historic and potentially life-saving study.

The American Cancer Society is seeking volunteers for the 20-year Cancer Prevention Study-3. The study hopes to reduce cancer cases in the future by discovering what factors contribute to the development of the disease.

“(The scientists try) to discover cures, combinations, any common denominators, any factors that people might share that would develop cancer down the road,” said Cindy Davis, a volunteer for the American Cancer Society. “It’s really very, very vital to the research that’s going to be done and is being done on this disease.

“It’s a vital study,” Davis added. “When you think about it, it’s not only saving ourselves, but up the road our children, their children.”

The original Cancer Prevention Study conducted in the 1950s was the first one to link lung cancer to cigarettes. Cancer Prevention Study-2 started in 1982 and is ongoing.

Cancer Prevention Study-3 is open to anyone age 30 to 65 who has never been diagnosed with cancer. Everyone who is accepted in the study will donate blood at an upcoming signup and fill out a detailed survey on their lifestyle and their family medical history. For the next 20 years, each participant will update their surveys once every two to three years.

If a participant is diagnosed with cancer later, his or her blood sample will be pulled to be studied and compared to other people diagnosed to look for clues of what might have caused the disease.

The study requires 300,000 participants. About 180,000 had signed up by the end of 2012.

The final round of enrollment in Northwest Florida will be from 7 to 11 a.m. March 14 at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast in Miramar Beach. Additional signups will take place through March 22 at West Florida Hospital, Baptist Hospital, Woodlands Medical Specialist and Gulf Breeze Hospital.

Lori Perkins at the Cancer Society’s Pensacola office said 800 people from Northwest Florida have signed up for Cancer Prevention Study-3 since 2007. The goal for the March enrollment is to sign up at least 500 more volunteers.

Davis is coordinating a kickoff event for the enrollment Jan. 24 in Pensacola, and is looking for people to become “community champions” for the study. Each community champion who attends the event will commit to recruiting at least 10 people to participate in the study.

To become a community champion, contact Davis at cdacsrtr@yahoo.com.

TO LEARN MORE

For more information on the Cancer Prevention Study-3, visit cancer.org/cps3 or email cps3@cancer org.
 

Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — A fire destroyed a bedroom and caused significant damage to the rest of a home Sunday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to the home at 483 Hunter’s Ridge Road shortly before 2 p.m., said DeFuniak Springs Fire Lt. Jerry Hall. Flames were shooting out of the back of the one-story house.

One person who was in the home at the time of the fire was able to get out safely, Hall said. No injuries were reported.

The occupants were displaced from the home due to smoke and water damage, Hall said.

He said the cause of the fire was possibly a candle and a bed sheet.

No damage estimate was available Sunday night.

WATERCOLOR — A 27-year-old man who has been eluding law enforcement for more than a month was located Sunday at a home in South Walton.

Travis Letaz Williams was arrested on numerous warrants yesterday when he was caught hiding in the attic of a Watercolor home. Williams was at the home visiting with individuals he knew working in the area, according to the Walton County Sheriff's Office press release.

Williams warrants include failure to appear on the original charge of resisting without violence, failure to register as a sex offender, sex offender failure to report vacating residence, sex offender failure to report residence change and battery by strangulation.

He is currently at the Walton County Department of Corrections.