HURLBURT FIELD – In the same park that enshrines the memory of the first Air Commandos, 16 Hurlburt airmen set foot on a 450-mile march to honor their fallen brothers during a kickoff ceremony Feb. 3 at the Hurlburt Airpark.
Betrothed couples worried about remembering future anniversaries sometimes choose momentous wedding dates. With that in mind, Santa Rosa County Clerk Donald Spencer is reminding area grooms- and brides-to-be that his office will perform marriage ceremonies on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day.
Clay Bloodworth is a 14-year-old Gulf Breeze High School freshman and film buff who is gaining a name for himself on the internet as a critic with insightful views. In addition to collecting DVDs and going to see independent films at the Movies 4 at Gulf Breeze theater, Bloodworth regularly posts his critique of films on his You Tube channel and currently has almost 700 subscribers.
Work on State Road 87 between Five Forks Road and the southern boundary of Eglin Air Force Base’s range will continue into the spring after a number of delays pushed construction past its December 2012 target completion date.
Local ceramic artist Jason Stokes will travel to Japan in April to work and study the country’s rich heritage of traditional wood-fired pottery. Stokes, 34, is one of three potters from the Gulf Coast Kiln Walk Society that have been invited to tour the country to spend time and work with Japanese artists who use traditional methods to create ceramics.
Looking across the table at Mattie and Robert Bartlett, I couldn’t resist: “Y’all quite a “pear,” I quipped.
“Yep,” drawled Butler, Ala.,-born Mattie. “Been a pair 52 years, and we had twins, so we’re a pair with a pair.”
When the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) acquired additional personnel from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) last year, its staff gained new responsibilities. Now, FWC officers patrol all of Florida’s woods and waters, including its state forests and state parks.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Park Service is observing Prescribed Fire Awareness Week from Jan. 27-Feb. 2. Prescribed fires mimic naturally occurring fires and can help prevent devastating wildfires. Park staff, guided by detailed plans called prescriptions, conduct prescribed burns as a regular and important part of their land management activities in state parks and trails. Prescribed fire is a safe way to apply a natural process, ensure ecosystem health and reduce wildfire risk. Many state parks and trails will be conducting prescribed burns in the coming months.
Ricky Lee Phelps, the former lead singer of Grammy-Award winning country band Kentucky Headhunters, said he’s kept a low profile since moving to Navarre in 2001.
