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Good morning!
The City of Crestview is building a “tiny town” playground at the library, bringing a uniquely interactive space to local families. Trespassing on Eglin’s Santa Rosa Island test area has climbed in 2026, with officials warning of fines and charges, and the 96th Test Wing will welcome a new commander at Eglin Air Force Base on June 16. Bit-Wizards is urging businesses to prepare for hurricane season despite a below-normal forecast.
MILITARY
Trespassing on Eglin’s Santa Rosa Island test area climbs in 2026, officials warn of fines and charges
People who trespass on the Santa Rosa Island Closed Test Area or enter restricted coastal waterways without a permit face monetary fines or criminal prosecution, base officials said.
From Jan. 1 to April 23, there were 33 trespassing cases on the closed test area, resulting in $3,915 in fines, according to the 96th Test Wing. That figure is slightly more than half of the 65 cases reported in all of 2025, and officials said the numbers are increasing despite red “closed area” signs marking the no-trespass zones.
- The closed test areas stretch west of the El Matador Condominiums to Navarre Beach.
“People trespassing to access secluded beaches are putting themselves at risk because hazardous test activities occur there almost daily,” said Lt. Col. Michael Bruton, 96th Security Forces Squadron commander. “Violators may also disrupt test operations, resulting in negative mission impacts.”
In addition to land-based trespassing, Brig. Gen. Mark Massaro, 96th Test Wing commander, restricted six waterways in 2025 in response to emerging air and waterborne threats.
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GAMES
WordroW: June 10, 2026
WordroW is brought to you by Fort Walton Beach Chiropractic – keeping your mind sharp and your spine aligned, one game at a time.
Can you guess today’s 5-letter word in six tries?
WordroW is Get The Coast’s daily word puzzle featuring local words, places, and phrases from our community. You have six guesses to find the mystery word – green letters are correct and in the right spot, yellow letters are in the word but wrong position, and gray letters aren’t in the word at all.
MILITARY
96th Test Wing to welcome new commander at Eglin Air Force Base on June 16
The 96th Test Wing will host a change of command and change of responsibility ceremony at 9:06 a.m. June 16 at the McKinley Climatic Lab on Eglin Air Force Base, according to a news release from the wing’s Office of Public Affairs.
- Air Force Test Center Commander Maj. Gen. Scott Cain will serve as the presiding official.
Col. Terrance Keithley will assume command of the 96th Test Wing from Brig. Gen. Mark Massaro, who is leaving to become the Air Force Test Center commander at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Keithley, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and command pilot with more than 2,300 flight hours, is arriving from his role as commander of a data masked organization. His career includes various operational, test and staff positions, along with a deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
AMERICA 250
America 250 FREE Drone Show
Okaloosa America 250 is inviting the public to enjoy a one-of-a-kind patriotic drone show at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Rigdon Center and Freedom Tech Center on June 12, 2026.
Parking will be available in multiple locations beginning at 7 p.m. along with a shuttle from the Fort Walton Beach Golf Club. View the map below to view parking and drone show viewing locations.
Tune to 100.3 FM from 7-9 p.m. for event information and music during the drone show. Festivities and food trucks will be available to the public at Freedom Tech Center.
BUSINESS
Bit-Wizards urges businesses to prepare for hurricane season despite below-normal forecast
Bit-Wizards is cautioning Gulf Coast businesses and employees not to let a below-normal hurricane outlook delay disaster preparation, warning that a single storm can still disrupt power, connectivity, supply chains, and workforce availability.
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a below-normal 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, but the Fort Walton Beach managed IT firm said “below-normal” does not mean “low impact.” The company said a single storm can cost businesses thousands of dollars per hour, halt critical local and digital operations, and erode consumer trust.
“Forecasts are useful, but they can also create a false sense of security,” said Brian Schlechter, Director of IT at Bit-Wizards. “It only takes one storm to knock critical systems offline. The best time to validate backups, test remote access, and confirm recovery procedures is before the first warning cone shows up.”
NOAA leaders have emphasized that early-season conditions can still support significant storms, the company said. In a recent interview, a NOAA director noted that conditions heading into the 2026 season resemble those that produced major storms in prior years, and that a less active previous season can still leave the Gulf primed for impactful events, including rapid intensification.
For many businesses, the greatest costs come after the wind and rain, when systems are down and employees cannot access the tools required to serve customers, Bit-Wizards said. Downtime can cascade into missed revenue, delayed payroll and billing, lost productivity, and prolonged recovery timelines.
WEATHER
Today’s weather outlook
TODAY: Sunny, with a high near 86. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
TONIGHT: Mostly clear, with a low around 77. Southwest wind 0 to 10 mph.
PARKS+REC
City of Crestview to build ‘tiny town’ playground at the library
The Crestview City Council voted unanimously on June 8 to approve a $143,019 purchase of play structures for a new imaginative play park to be built at the Crestview Public Library, with the funding coming from the city’s share of the Adams Sanitation ownership transfer.
- The purchase, from Pennsylvania-based Lilliput Play Homes, covers 10 buildings, plus shipping and installation.
In addition to the buildings, the design includes additional elements such as a bus stop and a fire truck the kids can climb on. The park’s layout incorporates small roadways designed to teach pedestrian and roadway safety alongside the imaginative play element.
“We really do have an envisionment of teaching these kids some good pedestrian safety and roadway safety and all of those things that are critical as kids are developing,” City Manager Jessica Leavins said.
Leavins said the park is being designed specifically for younger children, the tricycle age rather than 8 to 12, and addresses feedback from parents that existing playgrounds are dominated by older kids.
The park will have a direct exit from the library, allowing families to transition from the library’s story time programming into the fenced play area.
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Jared
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124 Eglin Parkway SE Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548