The Okaloosa County Tourist Development Department (TDD) Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism continues to focus their efforts on ecotourism with the deployment of the research vessel R/V MANTA. This expansion supports a long-term vision of continuing to grow as a sought-after destination for those seeking premier fishing and diving opportunities. The deployment of R/V MANTA took place approximately 16 nautical miles offshore on January 15, 2023. The sister ship, R/V DOLPHIN is set to deploy in the weeks ahead. This important milestone for the artificial reef expansion project was fully funded by the TDD, inclusive of the purchase of both vessels. Under the direct oversight of the Coastal Resource team, Tri-Native Contractors performed the extensive cleaning and preparation to eliminate environmental impacts and transported the ships from Lafite, LA to Orange Beach, AL. The vessel was then moved from Orange Beach to the deployment location offshore Destin-Fort Walton Beach by Walter Marine. “This is an exciting new addition to our growing artificial reef system, and we are extremely proud of the work the Coastal Resource team has done with this effort,” says Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners Chairman Trey Goodwin. “Not only will it offer additional fishing and diving opportunities, but it will continue to sustain vital ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico.” R/V MANTA was deployed in approximately 110 feet of water (N 30° 8.630’ W 86° 39.192’). It features a statue of Jesus known as the “Christ of the Gulf,” paying homage to the series of other statues throughout... Read More

 Okaloosa County’s Coastal Resource Team with Destin-Fort Walton Beach Tourism recently initiated and assisted a team of researchers in identifying and tagging devil rays in the Gulf of Mexico. While installing three miles of sand fencing on Okaloosa Island in 2021, members of the Coastal Resource team noticed a number of devil rays swimming close to the beach. The Coastal Resource Team’s curiosity into the migratory patterns of these rays prompted it to contact researchers from Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota. For 14 years, Mote Researchers have collected data on three pelagic ray species: spotted eagle rays, manta rays and devil rays. All three species are classified as “Endangered.” Understanding the migratory patterns of these rays is important for the conservation of the species. “Anything we can do to assist in the advancement of an endangered species in Northwest Florida is going to be a benefit for all of us,” said Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Chairman Trey Goodwin. “We are lucky to have a team of marine biologists in Okaloosa County’s Tourism Development Department that understands how important these rays are to the collective marine ecosystem.” In November, Mote researchers, along with the Okaloosa County Coastal Resource Team, found 17 rays and tagged seven with acoustic tags the size of a small battery. Tracking the movement of the rays will help determine why the rays migrate to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area in the fall and winter months. “It will be great to have some answers... Read More

 By Sean Dietrich She was trash. At least that’s how she was treated. She was found wandering a rural Mississippi highway. Beneath the stars. It was a wonder the girl hadn’t been hit. This was a busy highway. The kind with transfer trucks. The dog was walking in the center of the road. On the yellow line. Clearly there was something wrong with her. Animals don’t walk open highways. But the black-and-tan dog was moving by feel. Because she is blind. All she knew was that she liked open highway because the surface was smooth, and there were no obstructions. And when you’re blind, no obstructions is a good thing. She was a skeleton. Every rib visible. Every spinal disc showed. There were scars all over her, as though she’d been involved in a host of dog fights. A scar on her face. A scar on her chest. One behind her ear. On her side. Another on her right forelimb. Probably, she had been caged with other hunting dogs. The dogs were probably mistreated and hungry. Hunger makes dogs mean. Nobody knows how the blindness happened. But it didn’t take a rocket engineer to figure it out. “Someone hit this animal with a blunt object,” the veterinarian later said, choking back tears. “Someone beat this poor dog. Maybe with the butt of a rifle. Maybe with rebar.” People say that dogs use smell above all other senses. That’s a lie. A dog doesn’t use her sense of smell to avoid... Read More

  The Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (CAA) and South Walton Artificial Reef Association (SWARA) will reveal seven new sculpture designs chosen by jury for permanent exhibition in the fifth installation of the Underwater Museum of Art (UMA). The 2023 installation will include Quantum Reef by Chris Chubb (Tallahassee), Space Nest by Frank Henderson (Evanston, Ill.), Welcome Home by Zachery Long (Oklahoma City), Madam Nature by Andrew Luy (Huntsville, Ala.), Cetacean Remains by Pat Mclain (Stone Mountain, Ga.), One Tree by Ann Moeller Steverson (Huntsville, Ala.) and Opus by Allison Wickey (Santa Rosa Beach). Named in 2018 by TIME Magazine as one of 100 “World’s Greatest Places,” the UMA is presented as part of CAA’s Art In Public Spaces Program and augments SWARA’s mission of creating marine habitat and expanding fishery populations while providing enhanced creative, cultural, economic and educational opportunities for the benefit, education and enjoyment of residents, students and visitors in Walton County. UMA sculptures are deployed with SWARA’s existing USACOA and FDEP permitted artificial reef projects that includes nine nearshore reefs located within one nautical mile of the shore in approximately 58 feet of water. The 2023 installation will join the 34 sculptures previously deployed on a one-acre permit patch of seabed off Grayton Beach State Park, further expanding the nation’s first permanent underwater museum. Deployment of the 2023 UMA installation is slated for summer. Visit UMAFL.org for more information on the timeline and events surrounding UMA’s launch. Project and sculpture sponsorships are available. Please contact Gabby Callaway... Read More

 By Pastor Doug Stauffer I have taught Revelation several times and written several books on the subject. Starting in March, we will study the Book of Revelation verse-by-verse at 7 p.m. each Wednesday. Everyone is welcome to attend or watch online. High-Level Overview of Revelation Revelation 1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; Verse 19 offers an overview of the book of Revelation from John’s first-century perspective. It is a high-level – past, present, and future – viewpoint. PAST: The things which thou HAST SEEN PRESENT: The things WHICH ARE FUTURE: The things which SHALL BE HEREAFTER The simplified outline: Verse 19 first points to the things which “thou (John) hast seen,” with verse 20 pointing to what John already saw. Revelation chapters 2 and 3 chronicle what John saw. Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. The Past: John writes in verse 20 that he already saw the seven stars and seven golden candlesticks. He records what he saw in chapters 2 and 3, making these chapters already past. Verse 20 defines the candlesticks as the seven churches. It designates the seven stars. These stars are the seven angels of each of those seven churches. The first verse of each church epistle... Read More

 By Maurice Stouse, Financial Advisor and Branch Manager The new year has begun for investors. After watching both the stock and market experience significant drawdowns in 2022 (a rarity for the two to move in tandem), people wondered what the new year might bring. Thus far, we have been showered by the media with talk of recession, stoking fear in the hearts and minds of consumers. Eventually, consumers begin to over worry and they begin to snap their wallets shut. This, however, does not seem to be the case, at least not yet. At this writing, while the economy has most definitely slowed, many companies continue to make money. Seventy-one percent of companies reporting their Q4 earnings have surpassed expectations. We are left to wonder which is the greatest evil: a recession, inflation or deflation. Inflation over time erodes the standard of living and is not sustainable. Deflation, we think, is the worst of outcomes as it is a collapse of demand and it eventually pulls the economy down, perhaps into a depression. We are reminded of a quote Ronald Reagan repeated more than once: A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, and a depression is when you lose yours. A recession is an economic reset and investors are reminded to take note that when the economy is seemingly at its worst, that is the time to invest in stocks if they are long-term, growth-oriented investors and have the tolerance for the risk. What is driving us here?... Read More

 By Michelle Ruschman In this ongoing series, What Teens Want Us to Know, we asked the question, “What “adulting” skills do you want to be taught before you leave home? (Consider what you might want to know in the areas of physical and emotional health, relationship building, professional success, lifestyle, creativity, practical skills, and education.)” At school, there’s a focus on social, academic, and extracurricular activities, but what about what they want to know…need to know… as they prepare to launch into life beyond graduation? In the busyness of working jobs, getting kids from one activity to another, church life, etc it’s hard to know what our kids don’t know. One mom mentioned, “My college-age son called me the other day and asked me how to make a grilled cheese sandwich! I didn’t know he didn’t know how to do that until that moment!” It’s easy for a modern family to miss the things that we, as parents and grandparents, took for granted growing up. Back then, there was time to learn how to cook together, we assisted our dads in the workshop or garage, and families lived closer together so elders could pass on what they knew to the younger ones. Kids still need this training and mentorship but there don’t seem to be the same opportunities. When our teens answered, there were clear themes they wanted to learn most: Financial Literacy – How to pay for different expenses, how to do taxes, and how to create a budget.... Read More

 By Dr. Richard Chern, MD Today I’d like to talk about Levothyroxine or Synthroid. This is likely the most commonly prescribed thyroid medication in the world but this is slowly changing. This article may be a bit difficult to follow so don’t feel bad if you have to read it several times before it all clicks. I usually spend about an hour educating patients about the thyroid with white board drawings too so 500 words may not be enough to get the full picture. Thyroxine (T3) is the hormone that drives every metabolic process in our body, so of course, it’s extremely important. It turns all the factories in the body on, which then burns more fuel, which means thicker hair, less brain fog, not feeling cold all the time, and maintaining proper weight. We can get T3 two different ways. We can make it in the thyroid or we can convert T4 into T3. The thyroid is told when to make T3 and T4 by the brain. The brain secretes Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) which tells the thyroid to make T3 and T4. To make sure we don’t make too much T4 tells the brain to stop making TSH. This is where Levothyroxine can be a problem. As we get older the body slowly loses its ability to convert T4 into T3. That means the only way we can get T3 is from the T3 produced by the thyroid and not T4 being converted into T3. This is often... Read More

 By Kay Leaman, Health Architect These two organs are part of our digestive system and are often forgotten in our quest for better gut health. They are responsible for absorption and elimination and many diseases can be traced to the failure of these functions. We normally don’t even think about them until symptoms develop. So let’s take a brief look at these two critical organs. The liver consists of 2 lobes. It works with the gallbladder, pancreas and intestines to digest, absorb and process food. It’s main jobs are: • Making bile • Filtering blood coming from the digestive tract before passing it to the rest of the body • Detoxifying chemicals and metabolizing drugs • Making proteins used for blood clotting and other functions The gallbladder sits under the liver and stores the bile sent to it by the liver. The gallbladder is triggered when we start to eat releasing the bile into the biliary ducts and ends up in the duodenum, the upper section of our small intestines. (If you’ve had your gallbladder removed and would like information on what you can take to improve your digestion and nutrient absorption (especially calcium) email me with ‘Gallbladder Aids’ in the subject line.) The bile is responsible for processing fats and absorbing the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K and Beta Carotene. It’s also responsible for gallstones which consist of bile material. (This is why, if you’ve had your gallbladder removed, you can still get ‘gallstones’.) These stones can... Read More