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Okaloosa commissioner worries about control of BP funds

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Okaloosa County Commissioner Wayne Harris is concerned the county’s most recent financial scandal could hurt its chances of keeping control over any RESTORE Act money headed its way.

At a RESTORE Act workshop Wednesday, he said he’s worried the county might not ever see those funds.

“We’ve got an elephant in the room sitting on us right now with respect to control and accountability,” Harris said. “I am absolutely convinced … and I hope I’m absolutely wrong, but I think it’s going to be taken away from our decision-making process.”

He said he expects the state or federal government to step in and make decisions for the county.

His comments drew little reaction from other board members.

But Commissioner Kelly Windes said Thursday he intends “to remain optimistic.” He said he understands Harris’ worries but wants the county to start planning how it will allocate the funds.

“I think we will get some big benefits out of this,” he said. “We want to be ready.”

Harris said his comments weren’t meant to be discouraging, just practical.

“It could be a vulnerability for us, that’s all I’m saying,” he said. “We have to suffer the consequences of our actions or our inactions. … You never want to count your chickens before they hatch.”

The county discovered lat May that former tourism head Mark Bellinger misused close to $2 million in bed tax funds and BP grant money. The theft sparked local, state and federal investigations, and a seven-month operational audit of the County Commission by the Florida Auditor General.

Don Gaetz, president of the Florida Senate, said he isn’t aware of any effort to divert RESTORE Act funds from Okaloosa County because of the TDC scandal.

“There’s nothing in the statute that would stop the Restore Act funds from coming to the County Commission,” said Gaetz, R-Niceville. “But there’s a natural skepticism by citizens and by policymakers, and I think the County Commission has a lot of explaining to do.”

Gaetz said he has his doubts about whether the commissioners are fit to oversee the RESTORE Act money the county could receive.

“Frankly, our County Commission does not have a good record of financial management when it comes to sudden windfalls of cash,” he said. “Witness the BP funds, witness the bed tax funds.”

Gaetz said the RESTORE Act represents a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for economic development.

"It’s not an opportunity to act like you’re Saturday-night rich,” he said.

Under the RESTORE Act, which Congress approved last year, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas will receive 80 percent of all the fines levied against BP for its role in the oil spill.

The eight Northwest Florida counties directly affected by the oil spill will get 75 percent of Florida’s share. Each of those counties is establishing an advisory panel and a multi-year plan on how to spend the money.

If the civil fines against BP were to total $10 billion, Okaloosa County could receive as much as $63 million.
County Administrator Jim Curry said the county must start preparing for the RESTORE Act money, although “it could be years yet” before it arrives.

The funds must be spent according to specific rules set forth by the federal government, Curry said.

“They’re not going to just write us a multi-million dollar check,” he said. “Every single appropriation for a project has to go through the U.S. Treasury, and those dollars would only be doled out in accordance with their rules.”

Okaloosa hopes to have its nine-member advisory committee in place by June.

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


Florosa woman indicted for child porn

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Corine Danielle Motley, the Florosa woman arrested following a frantic international manhunt sparked by a child pornography video, was indicted Tuesday by federal authorities.

Read the indictment for yourself. >>

The indictment issued in Pensacola states that Motley, aka Corine Gillreath, “did knowingly and intentionally use, persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of producing visual depictions of such conduct.”

It charges her with making a video and illegally engaging in interstate and international commerce by sharing it.
Motley was arrested Dec. 19 at a house trailer on Miracle Drive in Florosa.

The arrest came after Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, took the rare step of seeking help from the public through social media and other means of mass communication.

The feds had a video taken of a woman engaging in sex acts with a female child “approximately 4 or 5 years old,” according to a published statement of facts in the case.

“The adult female’s face is clearly visible during parts of the video,” which the Danish National Police acquired Dec. 12, the statement of facts said.

Homeland Security obtained a “Jane Doe” arrest warrant and issued a news release featuring a photo and a detailed description of the woman in the video, the statement said.

A tip that led them to Okaloosa County and Motley’s name came in less than 24 hours after the news release went out, ICE spokeswoman Carissa Cutrell said.

The report filed at the time of her arrest states Motley admitted to being the woman in the video.

In addition to the charges, Tuesday’s indictment outlines the government’s intention to seize property.

It claims a right to seize all child pornography produced, possessed or shipped by Motley, any property “traceable to gross profits or other proceeds obtained from the offenses alleged” and any property used in the alleged crimes
.

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

December jobless numbers mixed in Northwest Florida

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Florida’s economic recovery continued to outpace the national average in December, although there was some fluctuation in the local numbers.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity released its December employment report Friday. Florida’s statewide unemployment rate decreased to 8 percent, its lowest level since November 2008, and was closing in on the national jobless rate of 7.8 percent.

To see the Florida Department of Economic Opportunty's December unemployment report, click here.>>

In the past year, Florida’s unemployment rate has dropped 1.9 percent while the national rate has dropped 0.7 percent.

“Florida continues experiencing growth in a number of economic indicators, including increases in housing starts, median home prices, online job ads, job placements and migration into the state,” Rebecca Rust, chief economist for the Department of Economic Opportunity, said in an email. “Florida’s long-term trends show a steady and modest economic recovery. Florida’s unemployment rate has shown significant improvement, declining from the recession high of 11.4 percent to the current 8 percent.”

Okaloosa County’s unemployment rate dropped in December. However, Walton and Santa Rosa counties increased slightly.

Okaloosa’s jobless rate dropped from 5.9 percent in November, 2012, to 5.8 percent last month. It had had the third lowest unemployment rate in Florida for December.

Walton County’s unemployment rate increased to 5.7 percent in December, which still was the second lowest rate in the state behind Monroe County at 4.5 percent. Walton County’s unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in November.

Santa Rosa County’s jobless rate increased from 7.1 percent in November to 7.2 percent in December. It tied with Nassau and Hardee counties for the 19th lowest in the state.

“You’re going to see this through 2014,” said local economist David Goetsch. “You’re not going to see major changes. We’re going to see this tepid — a little bit up, little bit back — kind of unpredictable (changes), but you’re not going to see any big numbers. The economy is improving, but it just isn’t improving strong enough to show any major numbers.”

Although Goetsch expects the numbers to stay fairly consistent in the coming months, there are factors that could change that. On Thursday, the Secretary of the Air Force implemented a civilian hiring freeze, which will affect Okaloosa more than most other counties in the state.

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

Law enforcement, educators grapple with preventing, preparing for school violence

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Opinions are rampant in the area about how schools, and communities in general, should handle security.

Some agree that having armed sheriff’s deputies in all schools is the best solution. Others argue it’s more financially prudent to hire private security firms or retired law enforcement and military personnel to handle the job. A few have even suggested that beefing up existing security measures such as video surveillance and fencing will solve the problem.

What is clear, though, is that no one is content with the status quo. Something must change and it must change before a tragedy like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School occurs.

“If you’d asked me before Sandy Hook if we were going to have a (school resource officer), I’d have said, ‘No, we don’t need one,’ ” said Terri Roberts, who oversees several charter schools in the area. “(But) we’re living in a different world.”

She said they’ve learned that the nation’s youngest students aren’t immune to violence.

Elementary students can be touched. They have been touched.

Reacting to tragedy
In the hours following the deadly shooting in Newtown, Conn., educators across the country took a collective breath and then pulled out their own crisis plans.

“I think Connecticut was a wake-up call,” said Okaloosa County Superintendent of Schools Mary Beth Jackson. “I think it said, ‘OK, everybody, you’ve just breezed along the last years,’ and it’s almost like someone crossed the line and now there will be others out there.”

Swift, immediate action was demanded. Parents and communities wanted to know how local school officials would prevent anything like the Sandy Hook shooting from happening locally.

Small steps were taken on the day 20 children and six adults lost their lives there. Principals found ways to improve their school’s crisis plan. Front office staffers were put on high alert for any visitors. Doors were locked.

Parents in Okaloosa County were told they could pick up their children early from school if it would help ease fears.

“I think everybody knew at that point that nothing was the same,” said Roberts, who oversees schools such as Liza Jackson Preparatory and Okaloosa Academy for the Rader Group.

By the following Monday, the sheriffs in Okaloosa and Walton counties had decided to place deputies in all schools, even at the cost of other units within their agencies. Other schools arranged to have law officers to be near or on school campuses whenever they could.

For some, the new precautions soothed concerns, but for others it raised them. How far was too far in terms of school security, they asked.


Protecting the children
More than a month after the shootings, it’s no longer the topic of every discussion, but the sense of urgency to improve school security hasn’t faded.

In Walton and Santa Rosa counties, task forces have been forged between school officials, law enforcement and county government representatives to try to identify solutions.

“This is not a school issue,” said Santa Rosa County Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick. “This is a community issue.”

Wyrosdick said they’ve identified three priorities in his county.

First, they want to make all public facilities, including schools, more secure. They will look at the layout of buildings and scrutinize check-in and check-out procedures.

Next, they will take a hard look at what can be done in the community and schools to understand mental illness better.

The third step, ideally, would be to put resource officers in all the schools, but that depends on funding from state and federal governments, Wyrosdick.

“This is an issue that I believe Tallahassee needs to address whole-heartedly,” Wyrosdick said. “It’s not going away.”

If recent appeals to Florida lawmakers are any indication, superintendents across the state appear to share Wyrosdick’s opinion.

Educators met with lawmakers last week to discuss funding and its importance to school safety.

Right now, school districts get money from the Safe Schools fund for security measures, including school resource officers. However, that has been cut by 15 percent over the last five years.

School districts also have made cuts. In Okaloosa County, for example, School Board members have voted more than once to not place resource officers in all the middle and high schools because of the expense.

To help pay for the resource officers now in all schools in the district, the board dipped into a reserve fund set aside for emergencies. The only school without a county-placed officer is Eglin Elementary School, but security police on Eglin Air Force Base are working with the school.

“I know in order to continue doing this we have to cut something out and I’m willing to do that,” Jackson said. “Because to me … there isn’t a higher priority than the safety of children.”

Counting on students and staff
Security always has weighed heavily on Michael Mosley, superintendent of Rocky Bayou Christian School in Niceville.

With a sprawling 25-acre open campus, it’s impossible to know about every person who enters the property. Right now, Mosley estimates about 85 percent of the visitors actually obey signs asking them to check in at the front office.

Short of installing an entry gate, the school depends on a crisis plan, the staff and the students to prevent or deal with issues.

“In a perfect world I’d like to have a deputy on campus,” Mosley said. “Realistically, bad guys with guns only get defeated by good guys with guns.”

Currently, that’s not an option. The price tag is too high and the size of the campus always would be a challenge.

However, that doesn’t mean the school is doing nothing, he said.

All classrooms have two exits, and exterior doors are always locked. Visitors to the kindergarten area have to be buzzed in.

Mosley said Rocky Bayou’s crisis plan has been reviewed three times and is practiced a couple of times a year.

“I don’t think the danger is ever going to get less,” he said. “And I think most school administrators are going to err on the side of caution.”

At Seaside Neighborhood School in South Walton County, school administrators talked to adults and students.

“I went and talked to small groups of students and just reminded them what we could do,” Principal Kim Mixson said. “I think it’s important that they felt that they have some kind of power and input.”

Administrators at other private schools said they are taking similar approaches, and emphasized that everyone is on high alert even as they realize their plans are not perfect.

“There are just some things that you realize you’re at the mercy of God that it doesn’t happen to you,” Mosley said.

‘We deal with unhappy people’
Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley has made no secret that security policies at schools are full of holes.

He also hasn’t hesitated to make his case for school resource officers. He’s appeared before the County Commission once and the School Board twice.

To him, placing deputies at each school rather than relying on them to visit schools when they can is the cornerstone to improving security.

“If you’re not at the school when it happens, you’re reacting from the outside,” he said. “You’re not reacting from the inside, and you’re certainly not preventing from the inside.”

Right now, most school officials and many parents seem inclined to agree.

“In any school, on any given day, we deal with unhappy people,” Jackson said. “It isn’t just about protecting from an intruder.

“Our society has changed so much that people think anger and violence are the only way to handle things.”

Deputies have helped diffuse a number of situations in the short time they have been in all the schools, Ashley said.

They’ve caught a father who had a domestic violence injunction that prevented him from seeing his family who was trying to pick up his child. They’ve also dealt with bullying issues, a 7-year-old who was stabbing himself and a 12-year-old with a suicide note.

“It wasn’t in our mindset, I don’t think, until Connecticut, that we thought there was a possibility that there were those out there who would harm (children),” Ashley said. “ … When you start walking over 20 dead babies, it makes you think.”

Looming questions
What happens next year and the year after that and five years down the road are questions that few have found answers to yet.

“It’s not as easy as locking all the doors and not allowing somebody in,” said Jim Hicks, who is heading a task force in Walton County to improve school safety. “We don’t want our schools to be a prison and we don’t want our schools to be wide open. We’ve got to find that happy medium.”

In Walton County, officials barely have turned their attention from immediate issues to “intermediate” ones, according to Hicks, who is the transportation coordinator for the school district.

It will be a bit longer before they have the long-term picture figured out, he said.

“Some folks want us to have a knee-jerk reaction, but we’re resisting,” Hicks said. “We communicate with other districts daily just about, ‘What are you doing in this situation?’ ”

Okaloosa and Santa Rosa county officials said they are asking the same kinds of questions.

Will more guidance counselors or school resource officers improve safety? Will metal detectors become necessary? Would school uniforms help? Those types of issues, they say, are where the next true battle lies.

Everyone can agree changes are necessary, but it will take time to weigh the costs against the value of a life. And it will take years to determine the most effective approaches.

Ultimately, when all is said and done, not everyone will be satisfied and the result likely won’t be foolproof.

Tragedy, history has shown, has a way of coming back around. All people can do is prepare, and then hope and pray they’ve done enough.

Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.

‘Deputy V brings the peace’

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FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Dwayne Vasiloff never stops moving at his new job at Kenwood Elementary School.

He walks the school grounds repeatedly. He pokes his head into classrooms and even stops to read a book or give some advice. He patrols the parking lot, the playground and cafeteria.

Vasiloff is one of 26 deputies placed in Okaloosa elementary schools in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting Dec. 14. Deputies began working at the schools Jan. 7.

“That (deputy’s) job is to make sure that their school is secure and that it fits into the overall school district safety plan,” Sheriff Larry Ashley said. “They have an active role.”

Ashley said the deputies are to make certain that classrooms have escape routes, adequate locks for doors and windows, and other safety devices to help prevent incidents such as the Newtown, Conn., shooting.

Although some may wonder what an armed, trained deputy finds to do for eight hours at an elementary school, Ashley and Vasiloff say there’s plenty of work.

The job description calls for getting to the school at least 30 minutes early, examining the campus and doing a security assessment.

During the day, Vasiloff checks locks, monitors problem children and walks the perimeter of the school nearly every hour.

He arrives at least 45 minutes before school and drives through the Kenwood neighborhood to look for anything out of the ordinary.

He then reports to the school and parks his patrol car out front for all to see. In the mornings, he says he waits by his car watching as parents and buses line the street before school starts.

“How’s it going?” Vasiloff shouts to one man.

He waves to the cars passing by as he watches the traffic flow and the street in front of the school. Rain or shine, Vasiloff does his job.

“That’s why it’s a good idea to have a second uniform and shoes in your car,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what the weather’s like, I have a job to do.”

Once students are tucked away in their classrooms, Vasiloff closes the gate to the school property and locks the cafeteria doors, leaving only the front office entry unlocked for visitors.

“We’re trying to show students that we’re here now, not just when there’s a problem,” he said as a small girl with braids stops abruptly from her walk to say hello. “Hopefully, we can have an impact on them. We have a dual role here. We uphold the law and keep the kids safe, but we’re also here to teach them right from wrong.”

In less than two weeks, Vasiloff has become a superstar. In the noisy cafeteria, students smile and wave their peace signs when they see “Deputy V.”

“I came up with this saying where I hold up my fingers and show them the peace sign, which looks like a V,” the father of two said. “So the saying goes, ‘Deputy V brings the peace.’ ”

No matter where he goes, students give him the “Deputy V” sign, a high five or a big hug.

“They’re starting to know who I am,” he said. “This is really different than what I was doing before, but it’s extremely rewarding. This feels like home.”

Vasiloff, who has worked with the Sheriff‘s Office for eight years and before Jan. 7 worked in booking, says he’s acclimating well to the school environment.

At the end of his first week, he went roller skating with the kids after school.

“It’s not like riding a bike,” he said laughing.

“This is such a rewarding job to have. I’m getting to protect, serve and give back to my community.”

Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow contributed to this report.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.

No (visiting) dogs allowed

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There was a significant omission on the newly revised Waterways and Beach Activities Ordinance that was released Monday.

Removed was a line that would allow visitors the option to purchase permits to bring their dogs to the beach.

The initial inclusion of that item didn't go over well with the crowd gathered at the Jan. 8 BCC meeting, when Interim County Administrator Gerry Demers brought the revised ordinance before the commission for approval.

"At the last board meeting, the board directed me to remove that," said Demers. "The reason I removed it was because the board directed me to; it was probably based on the public."

Demers was tapped last year as the person in charge of revising and compiling existing beach ordinances to make a singular, comprehensive one.

He was supposed to make minor revisions, compile existing ordinances into one, and possibly address fees for various permits, according to District 5 Commissioner Cindy Meadows. Though the former commissioners may have asked him to look into permits for visiting dogs, as Meadows assumed, it should not have come to be a part of the ordinance.

"Gerry went out of bounds," said Meadows. "He admits he really should not have added that back in."

Demers openly agreed.

"It was beyond the scope of what I was tasked to do," he said at the South Walton-located BCC meeting.

So Demers obliged and removed "that language and put it back to the way it was in the existing ordinance," he said.

Though that disliked part of the ordinance was removed, South Walton's residents and Meadows haven't forgotten that there may be a larger issue of enforcement at hand.

"We just can't adopt a lot of ordinances we can't enforce," said Meadows.

Lack of enforcement of the existing beach ordinances is a much-felt sentiment from residents of beach communities, but this hasn't always been a contentious issue. When Meadows was commissioner previously, 2004 to 2008, the county had an entire department devoted to code enforcement.

"It cost money," she said. But, "We had a handle on it."

The five or six people in the department were able to give almost 24-7 coverage in South Walton and were devoted to making sure residents and visitors were adhering to the rules of the beach, Meadows told The Sun.

When the recession hit, however, "that was one of the departments they laid off," said Meadows.

She hopes with the uptick in visitors and revenues, there will be more coverage to come.

"We have to," she said of the importance of putting money back into a code enforcement department.

"We've got this golden goose," she said. "We’ve got to have rules and we've got to enforce them."

The revised ordinance is available on the county's website at www.co.walton.fl.us/DocumentCenter/View/7620.

The ordinance will come before the commission for approval at the Jan. 22 BCC meeting in DeFuniak Springs at 9 a.m.

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

Man charged with cutting neighbor with machete

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NICEVILLE - A man has been charged with cutting his neighbor’s wrist with a machete on Friday evening, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

Buddy Ray Fuller, 56, and his neighbor were drinking at Fuller’s house on 26th Street when the pair got into an argument, the Sheriff’s press release reported. Fuller swung a machete at the 27-year-old victim, hitting his wrist.  

The victim was taken to Twin Cities Hospital.

Fuller changed his story several times, and refused to stay seated and get into the patrol car, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

Fuller was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest without violence.  

He was taken to the Okaloosa County Jail on $5,500 bond.

Crestview considers potential uses for donated building

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CRESTVIEW — A garage to store and investigate impounded vehicles? A recycling center? A community meeting hall?

Those are among the possible uses Crestview officials have suggested for a building that Gulf Power has donated to the city.

The City Council agreed unanimously last month to accept the 3,552-square-foot warehouse at the end of Cadle Drive off P.J. Adams Parkway. Gulf Power required only that the city disassemble and move the building.

Public Works Director Wayne Steele investigated the building and praised its solid construction. He said his department could store the disassembled building until the council decides a use for it.

After discussion with City Council President Ben Iannucci III, Steele said the building could be reassembled on city-owned property off Brookmeade Drive and used as a recycling center.

Councilwoman Robyn Helt suggested at last week’s City Council meeting that it could be a community center.

“I am recommending that immediately upon disassembly, the building be immediately reassembled in Country View Park to provide an additional service for our citizens,” she said.

The building could provide a community center for “Zumba classes or any other kind of recreational facility,” she said. “That facility (Country View Park) is in need of improvement and it’s been in need for quite some time.”

After discussions with Steele, Helt said the building could be split in half and provide the city with two new buildings.

Steele said Police Chief Tony Taylor had a suggestion for one half.

“The police chief has … asked me about having a portion put up at his location to house confiscated vehicles in an area that is secure,” Steele said. “They only have room to park one car in their current area.”

Council members Tom Gordon and Tim Grandberry agreed with Helt, but requested more time to study the matter.

Iannucci — who supports the recycling center as part of green initiatives he is pursuing — agreed.

“We don’t want to sit on the building, but I don’t like the dartboard way of making a decision. I want to make sure we address all these possibilities and make the best decision. I think we need input from the citizens about what we should do with the building.”

The council will discuss the issues at its workshop Feb. 9.

WANT TO ATTEND? The Crestview City Council will host a workshop at 8 a.m. Feb. 9 to discuss, among other issues, possible uses for a building that Gulf Power has donated to the city.

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


Mural gains 23 Fallen Heroes (SLIDESHOW)

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EGLIN AFB — Florida’s Fallen Heroes from 2012 and their families were honored Saturday with the unveiling the 23 additions to the Memorial Portrait Mural at the Air Force Armament Museum.

View a slideshow of the ceremony. >>

The photo gallery was started by the Military Order of the Purple Heart in 2003 to honor Florida service members killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. The newest additions brought the number of portraits to 343.

Army Sgt. Joshua A. Born of Niceville, Air Force Lt. Col. John D. Loftis of Navarre and Army Staff Sgt. Andrew Britton-Mihalo of Crestview were the local faces added this year.

“We’ve learned from personal experience that the worst possible thing is for our wounded or dead to be forgotten,” said Richard Hunt, Florida commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

The ceremony gives families a chance to go through the grieving process with support from each other and the community, Hunt said.

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll expressed her condolences to the families gathered and thanked them for allowing their loved ones to serve.

“There is no other job in our nation or our world that requires the amount of sacrifice our military men and women face on a daily basis,” Carroll said.

Beth Croft, Born’s mother, said the ceremony helped with the healing process. She was happy to honor not only her son, but all military men and women. 

“Our soldiers sacrifice over there for our freedoms here,” Croft said.

For Holly Loftis, seeing others recognize the sacrifice of her husband and her family made the ceremony even more special. She had only one hope for those who attended.

“That they appreciate their freedoms,” Loftis said, tearing up. “And that they remember the blessings we have here.”

Snowbirds Mike and Jo Anne Krueger from Whitting, Ind., felt it was the right thing to do to attend. Although they did not have any ties to those honored Saturday, they wanted to pay their respects.

“It’s because of men and women like these that we sleep in our beds safely at night,” Mike Krueger said.

Local students played a role in the ceremony. Choctaw High School’s Junior ROTC presented the colors and led the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. Niceville High School’s Junior ROTC conducted a ceremonial flag folding while reciting the Air Force Ceremonial Script. The Emerald Coast Young Marines escorted family members of active or fallen military members to light memorial candles for Florida service members killed from 2002 through 2012.

Ten-year-old Pfc. Michaela Cantwell with the Young Marines said the ceremony was important for families who “lost a son or daughter for our country.” The sacrifice is hard but very important, she said.

“Their son or daughter did the right thing.”

VIDEO, PHOTOS: Mardi Gras Parade on the island draws thousands

Four arrested over two days for meth

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The Walton County Sheriff’s Office arrested four people Thursday and Friday for production of methamphetamine.

On Thursday, a deputy found an active “shake-and-bake” meth lab in an occupied car parked in the middle of Slalom Way in Santa Rosa Beach, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

South Walton Fire Rescue was called and a second bottle of meth was found, bringing the total amount to 14 grams.

The car’s occupants, Stacey Nicole Scott, 29, and Cory Lee Raybon, 27, were charged with possession of meth with intent to sell and trafficking in methamphetamine-14 grams or more, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Both were placed in the county jail on $50,000 bond.

On Friday, the sheriff’s vice/narcotics unit searched a home on West Royal Palm Avenue in DeFuniak Springs.

Inside, items associated with meth production, prescription pills packaged for distribution, meth oil, and drug paraphernalia were confiscated, the Sheriff’s Office reported. A 16-year-old boy and two adults, Lora Sue Lilland, 41, and Troy Wayne Roberts, 38, were home at the time.

Lilland and Roberts were arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, trafficking in amphetamine/methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and child neglect, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

They were placed in the county jail without bond.

No injuries reported in attic fire Saturday

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CRESTVIEW - No injuries were reported from a small attic fire that broke out in a home on Bracewell Street at 12:22 p.m. Saturday, according to the Crestview Fire Department.

The cause not immediately known, but damage was estimated at $10,000.

North Okaloosa firefighters assisted at the scene.

Fishermen leery of regional red snapper management

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DESTIN — Local fishermen are not ready to draw lines in the Gulf of Mexico to help manage red snapper.

“Not now” was the sentiment from most of the 104 fishermen who attended a Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (FMC) scoping meeting last week at the Destin Community Center.

The purpose was to discuss Reef Fish Amendment 39 — Regional Management of Recreational Red Snapper. The two-and-a-half hour meeting, which was called to report and take comments, was one of about a half-dozen held along the Gulf Coast in the last few weeks.

Ryan Rindone with the FMC presented information on how regional management of red snapper would look in the Gulf.

“Regional management would encourage more flexibility in how the recreational quota is managed, and it would enable areas of the Gulf to propose management measures tailored to specific regions,” according to the scoping guide. “However, red snapper would remain a federally managed species and federal conservation goals and annual quotas would apply.”

There also was discussion about how the regions would be divided from Texas to Florida. They could be divided into an east and west region; an east, central and west region; or a region for each state. After the regions are decided, the council would allocate the red snapper quota among them.

Destin boat Capt. Scott Robson of the Phoenix asked about the advantages of regional management.

“If we all suffer when one goes over, what’s the advantage? No matter who overfishes, everybody still pays the penalty. Why go through all this process?

“That fish sees no boundary. ... I don’t know how you can do it,” Robson said.

Pam Anderson of Captain Anderson’s Marina was concerned that in a regional approach another state could exceed its quota and close down everyone.

“If our state steps up and gives better data … why not let Florida take the ball and run for it?” Anderson said.

Capt. Jim Green of the New Florida Girl’s American Spirit addressed the part of Amendment 30B that keeps federally permitted boats from fishing in state waters.

“If you’re going to give us a region, remove all that unneeded stuff,” Green said. “The way we’re going now … we’re just sinking.”

Green said if the Gulf is divided into regions, there needs to be a clean break. “Give us a total number of fish,” he said.

The dates for the 2013 recreational red snapper season in state and federal waters have not been set. The FMC is developing options for the upcoming year for federal waters, which will be examined at its next meeting Feb. 5-8 in Mobile, Ala.

Last year the season ran from June 1 to July 10, but gained six days because of bad weather in June. This year there is talk of a 27-day season running from June 1-27, with a two-fish bag limit, according to Pam Dana of the Gulf Council. However, the stock assessment for the red snapper will be finished in June, so the season could be extended.

Rindone said that if the stock assessment finds the numbers are up and snapper are starting to rebuild, the National Marine Fisheries Service can open or close a fishery.

“We hope the stock assessment will add to the” total allowable catch, Dana said. “Let’s wait and see.”

Destin’s Capt. Brant Kelly of the Relentless wanted to know who was pushing the project. Dana said the Louisiana delegation has brought it to the council.

“It’s just another layer of bureaucracy,” Kelly said.

Destin’s Capt. George Eller of the Checkmate 2 said there was some merit to regional management, “but at this time there are too many questions. It needs to be tabled until the assessment comes out. It’s not your fault; it just hasn’t progressed far enough along yet.”
 

Destin Log Staff Writer Tina Harbuck can be reached at 850-654-8440 or tharbuck@thedestinlog.com. Follow her on Twitter @DestinLogTina.

Eglin Parkway work to shift to southbound lanes

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SHALIMAR — Construction fatigue be gone.

With a great rumbling of heavy machinery and tactical maneuvering of large concrete barriers, crews working on Eglin Parkway will exit phase one of their ever inconvenient project this week and usher in phase two.

In the second phase, attention will shift from the middle of Eglin, where large drainage pipes now have been installed, to the southbound lanes, where feeder pipes running west off the big ones will be laid.

“The construction contractor plans to shift Eglin Parkway southbound traffic to the center portion of the roadway,” according to a news release from the Florida Department of Transportation.

DOT spokesman Ian Satter said last month he hoped the change of scenery might diminish “construction fatigue” he blamed for sparking complaints as the project reached its seventh month.

Satter said Friday that crews have pledged to move phases two and three along quickly to meet the springtime deadline to complete the work.

“The construction people on site are continually looking for ways to move the project along much more quickly,” Satter said. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure phase 2 and phase 3 move along at a much quicker pace.”

With Eglin’s southbound lanes closed, traffic will be diverted to the middle of the road. Motorists will continue to be limited to two lanes northbound and southbound, DOT spokeswoman Tanya Branton said.

Access to businesses will be maintained at all times, according to the DOT. As before, left turns and U-turns will be permitted only at the Shalimar Drive/Cherokee Road and Ninth Avenue/Erwin Fleet Road traffic signals. 

The drainage work is scheduled to continue into March and April, the news release said. 

For more information and the latest traffic advisories, visit www.MyEglinParkway.com.
 

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

Many missed South Walton segment on 'Emeril's Florida'

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SANTA ROSA BEACH — The segment on Emeril Lagasse’s new TV show that featured his home of South Walton County last week left many people scanning the channels and scratching their heads.

The county’s Tourist Development Council, which spearheaded buying one episode of the new series for $150,000, apparently was not aware that the people living in South Walton could not watch it.

The first-run episode of “Emeril’s Florida” aired Sunday morning on the Cooking Channel. The channel is not offered by Mediacom, which serves much of the area. The only people who could watch it were those with a satellite dish or those able to pick it up on their computer.

Several people wanted to know why.

TDC director Dawn Moliterno said, “No, I was not aware (that 30A would not be able to tune in), but the real value and purpose was to reach tens of millions of viewers, expose (them) to our area and highlight the diverse culinary we have in South Walton.

“In fact, we had a call come in right after the airing from the northeast area to our visitor center requesting a visitor guide. They were so impressed with what they saw on the show they are now planning their next vacation later this year to South Walton,” Moliterno said. “Also, this was a co-op with Visit Florida and the Cooking Channel. We didn’t have a choice to go with a different network.”

Some people understood and some did not.

Local Realtor Murray Balkcom said he watched the show on his computer.

“My thoughts about it are that there are different types of advertising, and if she was advertising to people outside this area it might draw them here,” he said.

However, there were many more who said their tax dollars paid for show and they should have been able to watch it.

“We bought his (Emeril’s) new kitchen for over a hundred grand with our TDC tax dollars. When do we get to see it?” said Bob Dobes of Seagrove Beach.

A Mediacom area supervisor said his company serves 12,000 modems in South Walton from the Bay County line west to near the west end of County Road 30A.

Sandestin is serviced by Cox Communications, which offers the Cooking Channel on its upgraded package.
 

Walton Sun Staff Writer Deborah Wheeler can be reached at 850-654-8443 or dwheeler@waltonsun.com. Follow her on Twitter @WaltonSunDeb.


Crestview fourth-grader to attend inauguration

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CRESTVIEW— A fourth-grader at Bob Sikes Elementary School received a surprise on Christmas Eve when a mysterious manila envelope arrived at her grandparents’ home in Garden City.

A Postal Service barcode sticker obscured the return address.

Curious, Justice Livingston’s grandmother, Pat Mosely, peeled back the sticker. Underneath was imprinted “The White House, Washington, D.C.”

“ ‘Justice!’ she shouted and I came running. ‘Yes? Yes?’ ” Justice said.

Justice had written to President Barack Obama in late October to wish him luck in the November election.

“I told him I had been keeping up with him and I thought he had done a good job,” she said.

It wasn’t her first correspondence from the president. She had written to him soon after his first inauguration when she was a kindergartner, and was excited then to have received a card from the White House.

This time, a cascade of items fell from the envelope.

In addition to a photo of Obama, there was a smaller picture of Bo, the first dog; a brochure describing a typical day in Bo’s life, including photos of him romping with the first family; another brochure about the White House and its history; and “a letter signed by President Obama in ink!” Justice said, proudly displaying the now-framed missive.

She also will get to see the president in person Monday.

Her cousins, Crestview natives Libby Lewis-Reeves, Tawanah Reeves and Master Sgt. Tonya Lewis, will take her to Obama’s inauguration and the parade to follow. They also plan some sightseeing, Justice said.

“They just adore Justice,” Mosely said of her granddaughter’s cousins. “One is coming from Atlanta, one from Orlando and one is in the Army in Kentucky.”

“I want to see the Washington Monument,” Justice said. “I can’t wait! Two days in paradise! I’m not excited about the cold, but I’m excited.”

Mosely said she and her husband Howard encourage Justice to take an interest in local and national affairs and to care about other people.

“We want Justice to be real civic-minded and help people in the community,” Mosely said. “She has a good start.”

Justice ran for fourth-grade class president. Although she didn’t win, she is involved with the student government and intends to run again at the next opportunity.

Last fall, Justice started the Brownstone Manor News, a newsletter for her subdivision. In it, she welcomes newcomers and introduces them and their pets to their new neighbors. The circulation has grown from six to 27.

During the holidays, the newsletter launched a Toys for Tots drive. She later delivered the toys to City Hall.

Justice intends to prepare a report on the inauguration for her classmates. She also is writing a reply to Obama’s letter.

“I’m going to tell him I support him on gun control and the nation has to, too,” she said.
 

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

Hundreds attend Dr. Martin Luther King celebration (GALLERY)

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FORT WALTON BEACH — Hundreds of people gathered Sunday night to honor and remember the legacy of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The lively celebration at Fort Walton Beach High School was the 27th annual put on by a local committee on the weekend of Martin Luther King Day.

View a photo gallery from the event >>

Carl Winters Jr., 8, winner of the oratorical competition, gave a short speech about what he could do at his age to carry on King’s legacy.

He decided that would be pursuing a high level of education, which would help him reach his goal of becoming the next African American president of the United States.

“I’m going to see the end of what Dr. King started,” he said and then paraphrased a quote of the civil-rights hero. “We are here, and we ain’t going to let nobody turn us around.”

About 60 young voices sang out into the auditorium during the youth choir performance. Another dozen danced, bringing the audience to its feet.

Dr. Gregory Seaton, associate professor of education at the College of New Jersey and the keynote speaker, talked about learned helplessness and how to overcome it.

He told the story of an experiment involving an aggressive type of fish called the pike. The pike was put in a tank with a glass wall separating it from a bunch of feeder fish.

When the pike got hungry, it charged into the glass wall dozens of times to try to get to the fish before eventually giving up.

Then the glass wall was removed, but the pike did nothing.

“The pike had learned to be helpless,” Seaton said. “It learned it so well, that pike died with all it needed to live around him.”

He said every American, every person, needs to work to break that metaphorical glass wall.

That can be done through education, he said. He also said everyone should evaluate the people closest to them in life to see if they are helping them to reach goals or hindering their progress.

He said even though the pike gave up, everyone deserves another chance to try to change, to be better and to move forward in life.

Fort Walton Beach High School student Raven Sansbury, 17, another winner of the oratorical competition, spoke about how that potential for change is in everyone.

She said anyone can be a catalyst for change, from a pregnant teen to a person without a college degree to someone who has a bad reputation. It just needs to start now.

“As we wait and wait and wait, so do the children from future generations,” she said. “Later may never come, so live the legacy now.”

At the end of his speech, Seaton asked anyone in the audience who had participated in a civil rights movement to stand. He thanked them and made a promise.

“We will not let you down,” he said. “Your sacrifices have not been in vain, and we will do, and we will struggle to make our community and our country a better place.”

WANT TO ATTEND?

The Martin Luther King Jr. celebration continues Monday at 10 a.m. with a march from the Fort Walton Beach Civic Auditorium to Fort Walton Beach High School.
 

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Sage Reinlie at 850-315-4443 or lreinlie@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenRnwfdn.

Okaloosa to consider more money for sheriff, tighter swimming rules

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Okaloosa County commissioners are set to vote Tuesday on two major issues.

The board will consider Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley’s request for more money to help fill 26 vacant positions. The slots were left empty when Ashley placed deputies in every school in the county following the shooting rampage in Newtown, Conn., last month

Most commissioners have supported Ashley’s decision. But now they must decide whether to help him replenish his deputies or allow him to operate with a staff cut by about 11 percent.

“I don’t know where the money is going to come from,” County Commission Chairman Don Amunds said. “Right now it would have to come out of general fund reserves.”

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 be inactive until new deputies are hired.

County commissioners also are expected to vote on several proposed changes to the ordinance governing county parks.

Under the changes, beachgoers would be prohibited from swimming more than 300 feet from shore. The proposal includes a ban on swimming, diving, surfing or watercraft use within 150 feet of the Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier.

Beach safety officials say the restrictions are needed to discourage “extreme swimmers” who insist on swimming in red and double-red flag conditions.

Those swimmers can prompt wide-scale emergency responses and put rescuers at risk, officials say.

“It’s really designed for when you have a problem person who’s really creating a life-threatening situation,” County Administrator Jim Curry said. “You’ve got to have a rule that says, ‘This is not allowed.’ ”

Another proposal would make it illegal to leave items such as chairs, coolers, toys and tents on the beach unattended between midnight and 7:30 a.m.

The abandoned items block the county’s beach cleaning service, which sweeps the sand each morning. County officials say the debris also causes problems during sea turtle nesting season when the beach must be kept clear, according to a federal mandate.

WANT TO ATTEND?

The Okaloosa County Commission will meet at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Water and Sewer Administration Building at 1804 Lewis Turner Blvd. in Fort Walton Beach.
 

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

Swearing an age-old oath, Obama steps into 2nd term

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama was sworn in for four more years Sunday in a simple ceremony at the White House, embarking on a second-term quest to restore a still-shaky economy and combat terrorists overseas while swearing an age-old oath to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution.

"I did it," a smiling president said to his daughter Sasha seconds after following Chief Justice John Roberts in reciting the oath of office. First lady Michelle Obama and the couple's other daughter, Malia, were among relatives who bore witness.

The quiet moments were prelude to Monday's public inaugural events when Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be sworn in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol before a crowd expected to reach into the hundreds of thousands and a television audience counted in the millions.

The trappings were in place — the flag-draped stands ready outside the Capitol and the tables set inside for a traditional lunch with lawmakers. Across town, a specially made reviewing stand rested outside the White House gates for the president and guests to watch the traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.

A crowd of perhaps 800,000 was forecast, less than the million-plus that thronged to the nation's capital four years ago to witness the inauguration of the first black president in American history.

The weather forecast was encouraging, to a point. High temperatures were predicted for the lower 40s during the day, with scattered snow showers during the evening, when two inaugural balls closed out the official proceedings.

The 44th chief executive is only the 17th to win re-election, and his second-term goals are ambitious for a country where sharp political differences have produced gridlocked government in recent years.

Restoration of the economy to full strength and pressing the worldwide campaign against terrorists sit atop the agenda. He also wants to reduce federal deficits and win immigration and gun control legislation from Congress, where Republicans control the House.

If he needed a reminder of the challenges he faces, he got one from half-way around the globe. An Algerian security official disclosed the discovery of 25 additional bodies at a gas plant where radical Islamists last week took dozens of foreign workers hostage.

In Washington, tourists strolled leisurely on an unseasonably warm day.

"I'm very proud of him and what he's trying to do for immigration, women's rights, what they call 'Obamacare,' and concerns for the middle class," said Patricia Merritt, a retired educator from San Antonio, in town with her daughter and granddaughter to see the inauguration and parade as well as historic sites. "I think he's more disrespected than any other president," she added, referring to his critics.

Sean Payton, an operations analyst from Highland Ranch, Colo., said he hoped to hear "a nice eloquent speech that makes people feel good about being an American."

Republicans lent a touch of bipartisanship to the weekend.

"We always want any president to succeed, to do well, that means America does well and Americans do well," Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Obama took the oath in the White House Blue Room where portraits of Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Tyler grace the walls. He placed a hand on a Bible held by his wife. His daughters stood nearby.

The nation's political divisions seemed scarcely to intrude as Obama, a Democrat, shook hands with Roberts, a Republican appointee, in a rite that renews American democracy every four years. Unlike four years ago, when Roberts stumbled verbally, the chief justice recited the oath without error.

Before the swearing-in, the president listened from a second-row pew at the 175-year-old Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church as the Rev. Jonathan V. Newman asked God's blessing for the him and his family. "But also prepare him for battle ... because sometimes enemies insist on doing it the hard way," he said.

Like Obama, Biden began his day early. He attended Catholic Mass at his official residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory a few miles from the White House. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic justice and an Obama appointee, administered the oath of office.

Biden then joined Obama at the cemetery, where the two men placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and observed a moment of silence as a bugler sounded "Taps."

Man paddles for love of Florida waters

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Thanks to his Florida roots, which run 31-years deep, Justin Riney feels a deep affinity with the waters that surround and run through his home state.

Riney turned his back on his degree in finance and last year followed his heart and founded his own non-profit organization: Mother Ocean.

Riney explains that Mother Ocean celebrates the unique resources of Florida's waterways, and promotes awareness and conservation.

"It's a group of like-minded individuals working together toward common interests and projects that promote awareness and conservation," he explained.

Some of the ways Riney promotes awareness include going into schools and speaking about the importance of conserving water, and once a week is Ocean Hour when he and others do their part to help clean up the ocean or other waterways.

"I am a Floridian and grew up on the water. It has given me so much and has set my career path," he said.

Riney needed a project to kick off his newly-founded organization and bring attention to it and when he read that 500 years had passed since Ponce de Leon discovered Florida, he decided that was a cause for celebration.

On Jan. 1 he began a 365-day journey around Florida on a stand-up paddle board from Pensacola. He plans to spend six months paddling the peninsula, ending In Jacksonville on July 4. Then, he will spend six months on the inner waterways, ending Dec. 31 in Tallahassee. He has named this adventure Expedition Florida 500.

"It's a year-long project in celebration of Florida's waterways and communities, and the unique history and resources here," he said.

Along his journey Riney spends the night with friends, when he can, camps in state parks, speaks at schools if invited, attends events, blogs about his adventure, and paddles six out of seven days a week.

He spent about four days in South Walton last week and attended two events; one at The Red Bar and one at Camp Helen State Park.

While here, Riney learned about our area's history, our unique Coastal Dune Lakes, explored our state parks, and spent some time with members of the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance. The things he learned he shared on his daily blog, which will be seen by people throughout Florida.

"It will help bring awareness about this area," he said.

Riney's next stop is Port St. Joe, where he has an event scheduled highlighting Florida's oceans and waterways, then on to St. George Island.

"Mother Ocean is my personal project, but it is also a collaborative effort and has a growing network of ocean advocates. It's a labor of love," said Riney.

At present, Riney is living on his personal savings and receives some help from family and friends. He depends on donations and grants to fund this labor of love. Donations can be made through Facebook or at www.motherocean.org.

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