TRAVEL

Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport returns to normal operations following global IT outage

Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) has resumed normal operations following a global technology outage that disrupted flights, affected banks, and took media outlets off-air last Friday.

• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a global ground stop due to the IT outage, prompting VPS officials to advise passengers to contact their airlines before arriving at the airport.

The local disruptions were part of a larger global issue that affected major carriers including American, Delta, and United Airlines. The FAA had reported that several airlines requested assistance with ground stops until the issue was resolved.

Reports indicated that the outage was linked to CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity company servicing multiple industries, which experienced a global outage on that Friday.

As operations have returned to normal, VPS officials remind travelers to always check the status of their flight(s) with their airline directly.

BUSINESS

Bit-Wizards sheds light on Microsoft and CrowdStrike outages

Not only did the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport face disruptions due to the global IT outage, local businesses were grappling with the far-reaching effects of the two technology failures Friday.

• Brian Schlechter, Director of IT at Bit-Wizards, a managed IT service provider in Fort Walton Beach, offered insights into the complex situation affecting the area.

“There are two outages going on at the moment,” Schlechter explained. “The first one is CrowdStrike, a major cybersecurity vendor used by half of the Fortune 500 companies. They pushed an update last night that blue-screened every computer that has their software on it, which means it can’t boot up.”

The CrowdStrike issue is particularly severe, affecting both workstations and servers running Windows with the Falconer product installed. “We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of servers and computers that have to be manually touched because they won’t even boot up. You can’t automate it in any shape,” Schlechter emphasized.

The second outage involves Microsoft Azure and Office 365 services. “Microsoft made a back-end configuration change. I have not seen the actual change they were trying to make, but it caused issues across all the Office 365 suite of tools, even into Xbox and Xbox Live,” Schlechter noted.

While Microsoft has largely resolved their issue, some lingering effects remain. 

• “I’ve heard from people that Teams is still having some issues when it comes to meetings, especially if you’re joining meetings either from outside of your organization or bringing someone from outside of your organization into your Teams meeting,” Schlechter added.

Despite the widespread nature of these outages, Bit-Wizards hasn’t seen an increase in local service requests. “We do not use the CrowdStrike product so we have not been directly affected,” Schlechter explained. “We have had clients who are affected because they have other third-party vendors who are affected. So, they haven’t been able to log in to other websites and things like that, but nothing that we could facilitate a fix for.”

Schlechter anticipates that tourism and hospitality businesses in the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area will be most affected due to flight disruptions. “I’m expecting mostly tourists and hospitality-industry businesses to be affected due to how flights have been impacted. That’s going to have ripple effects, whether they’re directly related or not,” he said.

For businesses experiencing issues related to the CrowdStrike outage, Schlechter advises a cautious approach. “It’s simply a matter of going online, finding the instructions they have put out, and going through the manual process of fixing it and making sure you understand the changes you are making. It’s a very technical issue,” he warned.

Looking to the future, Bit-Wizards stressed the importance of preparedness. 

“Having a business continuity plan in place is so important because if a major service or tool that you are using goes down, you have a backup and your work is not disrupted,” he said. “And a business continuity plan is not just the technology behind it, but the processes that you function your business on and having a contingency plan in place as well as having as much redundancy as you can.”

Bit-Wizards is proactively supporting its clients by providing updates on both outages. “We’ve sent updates to our clients to let them know the status of both issues,” Schlechter explained. “That way they’re made aware of what’s going on and what to expect. We also let them know to please call us if they’re having issues, even if it’s just with a vendor. 

• Schlechter added that even though Bit-Wizards might not be able to fix the issue, they might be able to support them or offer an alternative solution in the meantime.

As for recovery time, Schlechter estimates it could take several days for some businesses to fully bounce back from the CrowdStrike issue. 

“For the CrowdStrike one, it’s probably going to be several days before some businesses fully recover. Like I said, it is a manual process to fix this, and some of the bigger companies have it across hundreds to even thousands of servers, and they have to touch each one manually. So, it’s just going to take them time,” he said.

He concluded by highlighting the interconnected nature of modern business operations: 

• “Even a local business is relying on larger third-party companies across the globe to help manage their operations in this day and age. Everyone here is using Microsoft in some shape or form,” he explained. “Chances are, somebody is probably using a service that is using CrowdStrike. It’s just that we’re all interconnected at a much closer rate than we used to be.”

As the situation continues to evolve, local businesses are encouraged to stay informed and consider reaching out to Bit-Wizards for assistance in developing comprehensive IT strategies and contingency plans to better weather future global technology disruptions.

POLITICS

DeSantis appoints Niceville’s Brett Hinely to Okaloosa County School Board

Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Brett Hinely to the Okaloosa County School Board on Friday, effective August 2, 2024. Hinely fills the vacancy left by Dr. Diane Kelley, who recently became principal of Destin High School.

Hinely, from Niceville, is the President of Cove Marine, Inc. and Bluewater High & Dry. He also directs Marina Cove Realty, LLC and Freedom Distributions, LLC. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Hinely holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Auburn University.

The appointment follows Dr. Kelley’s departure from the school board. Kelley, in her second term after re-election in 2022, was named principal of Destin High School in June. Her board term was set to end in 2026.

• Kelley brings over 36 years of experience in the Okaloosa County school system to her new role at Destin High School, a charter school established in 2021. The school operates independently but was chartered by the Okaloosa County School Board in 2019.

Hinely’s appointment fills the vacancy on the Okaloosa County School Board created by Kelley’s departure.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, Superintendent Marcus Chambers congratulated Hinely on his appointment and said he looks forward to working closely with him to “further our mission of providing excellent educational opportunities for all students in our school district.”

“Mr. Hinely and his family have been long-time residents of Niceville. His deep roots in our community and extensive experience as a local businessman position him as an ideal candidate for this role,” said Chambers. “As a graduate of Okaloosa schools and as a parent of two students who have graduated and another one still attending Okaloosa Schools, he appreciates the importance of a strong school system and the value of a quality education for all students.”

A MESSAGE FROM DIANA HEALTH

Diana Health: Revolutionizing women’s healthcare in Fort Walton Beach

Diana Health offers women’s healthcare focused on the whole woman – addressing physical, mental, and social healthcare needs.

• Led by medical director Dr. Michael Hennessey and a provider team of physicians, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants, Diana Health’s services include end-to-end maternity care, Labor & Delivery services, preconception and family planning, along with comprehensive, full-scope Gynecological care.

Located adjacent to HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital, the Diana Health care program is designed to empower women to make the best health choices for themselves and their families, providing information, tools, and support every step of the way. And, when you visit in person, you’ll be welcomed with a calm and comfortable practice space to make you feel at home.

Diana Health is in-network with most major insurance plans, including Medicaid and TriCare. New patients are welcome and can book an appointment – even prior to 10 weeks of pregnancy if desired – within one week in most cases.

Call to schedule an appointment at (850) 243-2229 or learn more and book online.

TRAFFIC

Okaloosa and Walton Counties Traffic Advisory

Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Okaloosa and Walton counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.

Okaloosa County:

• Brooks Bridge Replacement Project – Drivers may encounter the following traffic disruptions, Sunday, July 21 through Thursday, July 25, between 9 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. for utility work and construction activities:
  • U.S. 98 alternating lane closures between Ferry Road and Pier Road.
  • Santa Rosa Boulevard alternating lane closures from east of Amberjack Drive to Ross Marler Park.

• Mid-Bay Bridge Rehabilitation Project – Drivers may encounter intermittent lane closures on the Mid-Bay Bridge, Monday, July 22 through Thursday, July 25 from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. for construction activities.

• U.S. 98 Resurfacing from Josie Road to Florida Place Southeast – Drivers may encounter intermittent U.S. 98 lane closures, between Josie Road in Mary Esther and Florida Place Southeast in Fort Walton Beach, Sunday, July 21 through Thursday, July 25, between 8 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. for paving operations.

• Interstate 10 (I-10) Resurfacing from west of Yellow River to east of Shoal River – Drivers will encounter alternating lane closures between mile markers 50 and 58, from 7 p.m. Sunday, July 21 until 6 a.m. Friday, July 26 for paving operations. In addition, drivers will encounter lane closures between mile markers 56 and 58 Tuesday, July 23 through Friday, July 26 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• State Road (S.R.) 189 Intersection Improvements – Drivers may encounter intermittent S.R. 189 lane closures and traffic signal interruptions at Pelham Road and Lewis Street, Sunday, July 21 through Thursday, July 25, between 6:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m., for signalization work. Law enforcement will be on site to safely direct drivers through the work zone.

• Mary Esther Boulevard (S.R. 393) Resurfacing from U.S. 98 to Beal Parkway (S.R. 189) – Drivers may encounter intermittent lane closures on Mary Esther Boulevard, for crews to place thermoplastic striping and perform traffic signalization work, at the following locations and times:
  • Sunday, July 21 through Thursday, July 25, from U.S. 98 to Hollywood Boulevard, between 7 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.
  • Sunday, July 21 through Saturday, July 27, from Hollywood Boulevard to Beal Parkway, between 7 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.

Walton County:

• U.S. 331 Intersection Improvements from South I-10 to U.S. 90 – Motorists may encounter intermittent lane closures Sunday, July 21 through Thursday, July 25 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for construction activities.

TRAFFIC

Seal slab work begins on Brooks Bridge replacement project

Construction on the Brooks Bridge Replacement Project is moving along, with crews currently focused on pile driving and activities associated with constructing the piers for the new westbound bridge structure, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.

Workers are tying reinforced steel bars, known as “rebar,” inside wooden formwork for a precast seal slab. This seal slab will serve as the bottom of a “footing” form, which will be used to construct the footing for one of the bridge piers.

• The next steps in the construction process involve placing concrete into the wooden form and adding steel wall forms around the edge of the slab.

This ongoing work is part of the $171-million Brooks Bridge Replacement Project. The project aims to replace the current four-lane bridge, which opened in 1966, with two new parallel bridges. These new structures will increase the bridge’s capacity to six travel lanes.

The Florida Department of Transportation estimates that the project will be completed in summer 2027.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Quick action saves 11-month-old found unresponsive, face down in Destin waters

An 11-month-old child was rescued from the water at Destin’s Norriego Point Public Beach Access on Friday after being found unresponsive, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident occurred on July 19, 2024, when the infant was discovered face down in the water. A family member and a bystander immediately began performing CPR on the child until Coast Guard personnel arrived at the scene and took over resuscitation efforts, according to the OCSO.

The baby and its parents were transported to the Coast Guard station to await the arrival of a medical transport helicopter. While there, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Coast Guard personnel continued their life-saving efforts and were successful in getting the child responsive and breathing before the air transport.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office commended the rescuers for their “intense efforts” and expressed their support for the family.

• “We applaud their intense efforts and send our heartfelt prayers for the baby and its family,” the sheriff’s office stated in a press release.

No further details about the child’s current condition or the circumstances leading to the incident were provided in the release.