TRAFFIC

Antioch Road in Crestview temporarily closed

According to Florida Department of Transportation, Antioch Road in Crestview will be temporarily closed at State Road 85’s intersection from December 1st through December 3rd due to the installation of drainage beneath Antioch Road. 

• Antioch Road will still be accessible by taking S.R. 85 to P.J. Adams Parkway.

Detour signs will be in place to direct drivers through the work zones and access to private property will be maintained. 

The work comes as part of the $25 million dollar project to resurface an 11-mile section of S.R. 85. This includes making improvements at the interchange, and upgrading access for turn lanes, side streets, driveways, and median openings.

• The project is currently estimated for a mid-2024 completion. 

Weather may have an impact on schedules and delays. Drivers are reminded to use caution when driving through active work zones, especially at night.

EVENTS

Christmas events coming to Crestview

The Crestview Community Center will hold a movie night on Saturday, December 18th, at 8 p.m. The movie will be The Polar Express and is suitable for all ages.

• Joey the Jeweler, who is sponsoring this movie presentation, will be serving hot chocolate in souvenir mugs and will also be providing snacks during the movie.

All attendees are welcome to bring their own seating and blankets if they choose. And families are being advised to arrive early if they’d like Santa to take some last-minute gift requests from good boys and girls.

Also in December, Crestview has a handful of other Christmas-themed events:

• December 2nd & 3rd, 7:00 p.m. – “Christmas Vignettes” [Community Chorus Concert]

• December 4th, 5:00 p.m. – [Community Caroling/City Christmas Tree Lighting]

• December 4th, 5:30 p.m. – [Main Street Crestview Association’s Christmas Parade]

• December 6th, 7:00 p.m. – [North Okaloosa Community Band Christmas Concert]

• December 18th, 8:00 p.m. – [Movie Night]

NICEVILLE

Bomb threat at Danny’s Fried Chicken in Niceville

On Tuesday, the Niceville Police Department responded to Danny’s Fried Chicken at 408 John Sims Parkway in reference to a report of a man with a bomb. Officers located the subject and a suspicious device.

Officers blocked off the area as the subject stated there was a pipe bomb in his satchel. Bay County Bomb Squad was contacted and responded, as did agents from the Florida Bureau of Fire Arson and Explosives.

Upon inspection, two devices were located and rendered safe. All areas where possible other devices could have been placed were searched using manpower and explosive K-9’s, according to the Niceville PD.

• No other devices were located and the area is safe at this time.

“This is an ongoing joint investigation and no other information will be released at this time,” wrote the Niceville Police Department in a press release. “We believe this was an isolated incident and there is no further risk to the public.”

UPDATE

Walton firefighter struck by car recovering from head, leg injuries

New information on the status of the South Walton Fire District firefighter who was severely injured on Monday has now been released.

You’ll remember that the firefighter was injured while rendering aid to a person involved in a motor vehicle accident.

• Noah Collins, a South Walton Fire District Firefighter/EMT, has been hospitalized for the past several days as he recovers from traumatic head and leg injuries.

Firefighter Collins underwent multiple surgeries and remains in serious, but stable condition in a local intensive care unit. The severity and long-term prognosis of Noah’s injuries remain uncertain, but within 48 hours of the accident, Noah has been slowly showing signs of improvement.

“This is absolutely worth celebrating, but we aren’t “out of the woods” just yet,” wrote the South Walton Fire District. “Please keep the prayers and support coming. Thank you to our community for lifting Noah and the Collins family up during this difficult time.”

ART

Choctaw alumni create 400-pound mosaic mural to display at the high school

For a few Choctawhatchee High School graduates, this gift was 50 years in the making. 

In April 2021, close friends Elizabeth Brazel Mangum and Tisha Buchanan Fleet had a vision for a paver project to be created at the main entrance of the high school. The two visionaries knew they needed to meet with Principal Michelle Heck to get approval for the project.

It was at this meeting that Mangum casually mentioned that the blank wall above the proposed paver area “would be a perfect place for a mural.” The mural would be of the iconic “running Big Green Indian” that has been a part of Choctaw’s culture for over 60 years. 

After reporting back to the 50th Class Reunion Committee that Principal Heck approved the paver project and “liked” the idea of a mural, Mark Forsman and Tonya Nunes were both inspired to not just paint a mural but to build something great. 

​Forsman, who was the Class Artist, began working on a sketch of the Big Green Indian on a wooden base ​in Pensacola. Once complete, he then delivered the massive base to Nunes’ garage in Fort Walton Beach.  The mural then “lived” in Nunes’ garage from August 10th to November 30th.  

When it came to art, Nunes had only worked with glass as part of her stained-glass hobby. By taking on this mosaic mural, that meant that she would be learning to work with tile. 

“Every piece​ of tile came from multiple thrift stores from Fort Walton Beach to Pensacola,” said Nunes on Tuesday. “Friends on Facebook even provided colored plates when the call went out for specific shades of green.

The plates were smashed with a hammer and then cut to the exact shape​s​ to fit into the spots.​  

• In total, Nunes devoted over 800 hours into skillfully caulking thousands of small tile pieces onto the frame.  

The last pieces added were the sun rays which are the hallmark of the school’s fight song, explained Tisha Fleet.  “HOLY MOLY…Tall as a Mountain with his head up in the sky, Broad as a bayou with THE SUN FOR HIS LEFT EYE…”  

​”This gift is presented to all Choctawhatchee High School alumni, students, and to our loving and supportive community,” said Fleet. “We are a fierce-some foursome with deep affection for the spirit of Choctawhatchee High School, home of The Big Green Indians!!”

On Tuesday afternoon, the group from the Class of 1971, along with a few Choctaw staff members, watched as a small crew from Lord & Son Construction worked to perfectly position the oval mural onto the brick wall. 

• Fun fact: Lord & Son Construction Inc.’s President, Spike Lord, graduated with the Class of 1984.

“We offer a special thanks to the extremely generous team of volunteers from Lord & Son Construction Inc.,” continued Fleet. “Thank you Spike Lord and Dave Burleson for making our dream a reality.”

Principal Michelle Heck stood with the mural creators as the final bolt secured the art piece to the school. 

“To know that the alumni in our community continually and unconditionally give back to Choctaw is an incredible feeling,” said Heck. “The ongoing support and the love that has been shown to our school with this beautifully crafted masterpiece that captures our Big green Indian traditions is overwhelming.  I’m simply in awe and so proud.”

On Wednesday morning, students and staff immediately noticed the mural and started asking questions. 

“When did that get hung?”

“Has it that been there all year long?”

“That mosaic is stunning and we love it. Where did it come from? Who made that?”

Heck said that it was she could do to not get goosebumps.

“I just keep thinking about how lucky our school is to be loved by our community and our alumni,” she said.

Click here to see more pics of the mural

OKALOOSA ISLAND

Beach enrichment project underway on Okaloosa Island

A new beach enrichment project on Okaloosa Island began this week. It involves a non-traditional method of restoring the beach and is happening between Beach Access 3 & 4.

It’s called the NuShore system, and it’s essentially a number of porous groins, or nets, that extend from the shoreline out into the water.

“This system actually slows down the sand that may be suspended in the water column and allows it to accumulate within the system,” said Alex Fogg, Coastal Resource Manager for Okaloosa County. “It’s a more cost-effective method of building back the beaches here in destination.”

• According to Fogg, offshore-traditional dredge projects that restore beaches are very expensive.

The system involves driving poles into the ground on the upland side, along with poles that will emerge out of the water. That’s where the nets will be placed.

• This project was approved a few months ago and is being funded with tourism development dollars.
• It will be in place until early March, before Spring Break season and before sea turtle season kicks off.

“We hope to see quite a bit of sand accumulation during that time,” said Fogg. “It’s best to actually have this system installed during the winter because the seas are generally rougher, suspending a lot more sand into the column and allow a lot more to settle out and accumulate on our beach.”

Fogg says that his team will be constantly monitoring the project, not only to see how much sand is accumulating, but to make sure that the system is still intact and nothing is getting tangled or breaking within the system.

“The last thing that we want is for us to be negatively impacting the environment that we’ve installed it in,” he said.

For more information about this project you can go to Destinfwb.com.

Click here to watch the video