FORT WALTON BEACH

Mayor Rynearson released from hospital, Step One Automotive sends private plane to bring him home

On Friday, Fort Walton Beach Mayor Dick Rynearson underwent surgery to place a metal plate on his broken sternum due to an accident. 

• That surgery was successful, and as of Saturday morning, Mayor Rynearson has been released from the hospital and is up and walking.

His daughter, Heather Rynearson Peters, said that he “feels like a new man” following the surgery and really wanted a Coke as soon as he got out.

“Before the surgery, he would say that there wasn’t a way to possibly describe the pain he was in,” she said. “And now, he said he feels like a new man! There is still a long road to full recovery but we know the road is lined with prayers and support.”

As reported, Mayor and Mrs. Rynearson are at the Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fl. One of the concerns following his surgery is how they both will get back home to Fort Walton Beach. 

• Step One Automotive Group sent a private plane from the Destin Executive Airport to go and pick them up and bring them home on Sunday. 

According to Maureen Bierman, Marketing Director for Step One, the plane is a King Air 200 and seats 6 people. However, it was just Dick and Janey on the 50 minute flight home, rather than the 7 hour drive.

• With the private flight home, Mayor Rynearson was able to recline the seats and stretch out to be as comfortable as possible. 

“We heard about the Mayor’s accident and immediately reached out to see what we could do to help,” said Bierman. “We are so glad that he took us up on the offer of the plane so he can get back home quickly and with the least amount of pain.”

“We can’t thank Step One Automotive Group enough,” said Peters. “Their generosity is overwhelming. Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of love, support and most of all – prayers!”

PARK

City of Valparaiso set to renovate the boat ramp and dock at Lincoln Park

On January 10th, the City of Valparaiso voted unanimously to move forward with a payback grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to renovate the boat ramp and dock at Lincoln Park. 

• The grant amount is up to $414,500.
• Because it is a payback grant, the city will have to spend the money first and then seek reimbursement from FWC.

As part of the grant, the city will have to dedicate the boat ramp as a “boat access facility” for the benefit and use of the public for no less than 20 years.

• If a future city commission decides to remove that dedication, the city will have to payback the money they received from FWC.

After execution of the grant, the City must begin work on the project within 90 days and have must complete everything on or before June 30, 2023.

The City plans to outsource the work and will begin working on the build specs in order to solicit bids from qualified contractors. 

The boat ramp is in big need of repair. There are large slab separations in the water that cause issues with trailers, in addition to the sand accumulation. 

• With the pouring of all new concrete, the boat ramp with go from a single lane to a 25ft double lane allowing two boats to launch at once. 
• There will also be new boat parking.

“I personally think that this is a good idea,” said Brent Smith, City of Valparaiso Mayor. “We’re fortunate right now because we haven’t had somebody get injured on the boat ramp and we haven’t had to replace a boat trailer.”

No timeline has been set on when actual construction will begin.

MILITARY

Gaetz announces push to increase Military Housing Benefits in Northwest Florida

Last week, Congressman Matt Gaetz announced the final passage of resolutions supporting an increase in the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rate for military service members in Florida’s First District. 

• The resolutions were introduced and passed in Okaloosa County, Santa Rosa County, Walton County, and Escambia County. 

In 2021, it was identified that the BAH rate, due to rising inflation and other factors, was insufficient to cover the cost of housing for service members in our district. 

According to Congressman Gaetz’s office, he coordinated with area leaders to signal to the Department of Defense that the BAH rate increase is unanimously supported by the people of Northwest Florida. 

Those involved included:

• Emerald Coast Association of Realtors
• Pensacola Association of Realtors
• Navarre Board of Realtors
• Commissioner Mel Ponder (District 5, Okaloosa County)
• Commissioner Jeff Bergosh (District 1, Escambia County)
• Commissioner Bob Cole (District 2, Santa Rosa County)
• Commissioner Danny Glidewell (District 2, Walton County)

“The deficiency also prompted our office to add a provision in the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the DOD to produce a report on housing and BAH rates in Northwest Florida due by Spring 2022,” wrote Congressman Gaetz in a press release. 

Full text of the resolutions passed in Escambia County, Okaloosa County, Santa Rosa County, and Walton County can be found below:

• Escambia County
• Okaloosa County
• Santa Rosa County
• Walton County

MILITARY

Eagle II fires first missile during live-fire event over Gulf of Mexico

Flying over the Gulf of Mexico, the Air Force’s newest fighter, the F-15EX Eagle II, successfully fired an AIM-120D missile on January 25, 2022.

The 40th Flight Test Squadron aircrew and aircraft fired the weapon pursuing a BQM-167 aerial target drone as part of the 53rd Wing’s Combat Archer, an air-to-air weapons system evaluation program. 

During the flight, the F-15EX detected the drone using onboard sensors, acquired a weapons-quality track and launched the missile at the target. After tracking the missile’s release and flight toward the BQM-167, the shot was determined a WSEP success, at which point the missile flight was terminated.

The successful release marked the first weapon fired from the aircraft and another major milestone following more than six months of integrated developmental and operational flight testing for the shot.

“This was an end-to-end verification of the entire weapons system, which will pave the way for more complex missile shots in the future,” said Colton Myers, F-15EX test project manager with the Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force.

Not only was this the first F-15EX live fire, it was also the first missile shot for experimental test pilot Maj. Benjamin Naumann. A large part of Combat Archer is providing first-hand, live fire experience. Many pilots perform their first live fire at WSEP.

“I am humbled to have the opportunity to fire the first weapon, but the bigger success is the verification of the F-15EX capability to live-fire a missile,” said Naumann. “This shot is another important step towards fielding the aircraft to combat units.”

The missile shot is one of many milestones for the F-15EX test team at Eglin Air Force Base. 

Only two months after arrival, the F-15EX deployed to Northern Edge in Alaska. The Eagle II was pushed to its limits in the multi-service exercise and a significant amount of data was collected on the aircraft’s internal performance and how it performed with and against other aircraft, according to a press release.

“The fact that both aircraft were able to turn around from a streamlined acceptance period and immediately deploy to a major exercise is a testament to the maturity of this platform, as well as the expertise of the combined test team as a whole,” said Myers.

The F-15EX Eagle II was revealed and named during a ceremony April 7 at Eglin Air Force Base. The aircraft is the first Air Force aircraft to be tested and fielded from beginning to end, through combined developmental and operational tests. 

SCHOOL SAFETY

School Resource Officer of the year

Lt. Deputy Tori Mason, School Resource Officer at Niceville High School, has been named the 2021 SRO of the Year.

• The award recognizes an individual that has gone above and beyond the normal duties of an SRO and has shown the dedication and tireless work ethic to enhance the school resource officer philosophy of counselor, teacher and law enforcement officer.

Deputy Mason initially began her career as an investigator for Child and Family Services but later realized her true calling was in Law Enforcement. 

“Deputy Mason has a giving heart, helping students navigate struggles at home and in the classroom,” said Marcus Chambers, Superintendent. “She loves her job and her passion for students’ safety is impossible to miss.”

DESTIN

New “Welcome to Destin” sign

Out with the old in with the new. On Friday morning, several members of the City of Destin’s Public Works team replaced the iconic “Welcome to Destin” sign.

If you’re looking at the sign and thinking, “This looks exactly the same…” You’re correct!

The previous sign has been up since 2020 but the sun definitely takes its toll on the color. Not to mention, shortly after replacing it in 2019, someone tagged the sign with graffiti. Thankfully, the city had another banner on hand and was able to quickly replace it.

As you can imagine, the “Welcome to Destin” sign has drawn some comments from the public now that access to it is blocked by a fence.

The heavily-photographed sign currently stands at the western foot of the Marler Bridge. That property is owned by Eglin Air Force Base, who erected a 10ft fence down that stretch of land leading to Redneck Beach. 

• The popular East Pass Beach Area was closed by 96th Test Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Scott Cain back in May 2020 due to illegal commercial activity happening on the federal property, along with trash being dumped and parking issues.

Since 2008, the City of Destin has partnered with Eglin Air Force Base for the maintenance and replacement of the banner.

Click to watch the video of the process