TOGETHER WITH
Good morning!
Happy Friday! This will be a short newsletter this morning, but definitely worth the read. Let’s get to it!
TRAGIC
15-year-old shot in head while traveling
Yesterday at approximately 4:55 p.m., a shooting occurred on the Cinco Bayou Bridge in the southbound lanes.
A 15-year-old male, who was inside of a vehicle traveling south over the bridge, was shot in the head during the incident and was being treated for the injury, according to the Fort Walton Beach Police Department.
If anyone has information about this incident, please contact Detective Boucher by phone 850-833-9549 or email eboucher@fwb.org.
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MUSIC
Okaloosa’s All County band gearing up for concert at Mattie Kelly Arts Center this weekend
This local high school band coverage is made possible thanks to Realtor Lisa A. Norton! Support those who support our local news coverage!
For band programs across Okaloosa County, All County Band is the best-of-the-best. This is the top band musicians in Okaloosa County at both the middle school level and the high school level.
While making All County is a friendly and healthy competition, it’s still a competition to earn your place within the band each year. The audition arguably selects the best throughout all the sections of the band, and then they’re actually placed in chair order based on those auditions.
The ensemble begins rehearsal in mid-to-late January, and as it gets closer to the concert, a guest clinician comes in, who actually conducts them for the concert.
“Because the ensemble is such a high-performing ensemble, our clinicians that come in can program some really good music for these kids to consume and perform for the community,” said Brad Parks, Director of Bands at Choctawhatchee High School.
This week, the clinicians have had a chance to work their magic and offer up their skills to refine the music that the kids have been preparing in order to create a memorable concert experience.
- At the high school level, Dr. Douglas Phillips, Director of Bands at Stetson University, will be conducting the ensemble.
- For middle school, Michael Loffredo, Director of Bands at Pine Island Academy School, is leading the students.
“They’ve been doing great,” said Parks. “It’s a fun time because you have the best-of-the-best in the room. The kids are able to read through the music very quickly and you can work on fine-tuning and really getting into the details of the music pretty quickly. And they all sound fantastic!”
With close to 100 students in the middle school All County band, and upwards of 115 students for high school, Parks says it’s been great to hear a really big band sound.
“This is a larger band than any of the individual concert bands or symphonic bands or wind ensembles they perform in during the Spring at their own schools,” he said.
Parks says he’s excited for this Saturday’s concert because the music has some memorable moments.
“Give Us This Day by David Maslanka is a masterwork of a piece that can pull the heartstrings with some of the melodies,” he said. “It also hits you with a ton of power with the wind instruments and percussion.”
The concerts on Saturday are happening at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center in Niceville and will be a combined concert with both middle and high school.
- Saturday, Jan 29th from 9am-11am (high school dress rehearsal with clinician)
- 12:30pm-1:30pm (middle school dress rehearsal with clinician)
- 2pm – CONCERT (FREE)
“The students are all wearing their school colors,” said Parks. “The high schools are in their marching band uniforms, and the middle schools are in their uniforms from the fall. So you can see the representation from all of the schools on stage.”
“We just invite everyone from the community out to hear and support the great work that these students from across the district have been putting in,” added Parks.
PRAYERS
Family of Fort Walton Beach Mayor thanks the community for their support following terrible car accident
On Wednesday evening, Fort Walton Beach Mayor Dick Rynearson, and his wife Janey, were involved in a terrible accident as they were heading to a meeting in Orlando.
While traveling on I-10, the Rynearson’s pulled off at the Live Oak exit to make a stop at the Busy Bee. After waiting in the median to enter into the northbound lane to head to the Busy Bee, the Rynearson’s vehicle was T-boned.
This caused their vehicle to be shoved roughly 176 feet, across two lanes of traffic and then onto the on-ramp.
As fate would have it, a Milton-man was at the intersection and witnessed the collision. According to Heather Rynearson Peters, Dick & Janey’s daughter, the man jumped into action and helped get the Rynearson’s out of their burning car before it completely engulfed in flames.
Peters tells Get The Coast that the gentlemen pulled over and started yelling to Janey to get out of the car because it was on fire.
“My mom is stepping over flames to get out of the car and then my dad couldn’t get himself out of the car because the seat belt was stuck,” she said. “Once he got that undone, he couldn’t get himself out of the car because he was in so much pain. That man helped him out and got them as far away from the car as he could before tires started exploding and then completely engulfed in flames.”
- “God sent that angel to be there for my parents and help get them to safety,” said Peters. “God’s presence has been in this the whole time.”
As far as Peters knows, the person in the other vehicle was not injured.
Following the accident, the Rynearson’s were transported and admitted to the Live Oak Trauma Center. Mrs. Rynearson suffered a bad bruise to her stomach from the seatbelt but was later released. After a series of imaging, it was determined that Mayor Rynearson suffered a broken sternum, a broken rib, and has a hematoma near his kidney.
- He was then transferred to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL.
Peters says that the doctors are still trying to figure out the next best steps for the Mayor’s broken sternum.
“We’re waiting for the doctors and the surgery team to figure out a plan,” she said. “Once that happens, then we’ll know what we’re dealing with.”
Despite the incredible amount of pain the Mayor is in, Peters says that his blood pressure is great, he seems to be in good spirits, and still has his humor. Janey has been able to see her husband, while also getting some much needed rest, as well.
“There’s such a calmness down here.”
Due to COVID restrictions, Peters says she hasn’t been able to wrap her arms around her dad just yet, but that she can feel the love and support being sent her way from her community back home.
“As a family, we are overwhelmed by the phone calls, text messages and the prayers,” she said, holding back tears. “I can tell you that with everyone’s prayers coming at us, there’s such a calmness down here.”
The Rynearson Family’s prayer request is for the medical staff to help aid in the healing process for Dick & Janey.
“God has been ever-present and faithful during this time,” she said. “I can’t reiterate this enough: The calmness that has come over our entire family through this whole process is 100% because of the prayers being sent our way.”
As we get an update on the status of Mayor Rynearson, we will provide an update.
OK, that’s all I have for you this morning! I hope you have a great Friday.
p.s. What did you think of this morning’s newsletter? Hit the reply button and let me know!
