Tunnel to Towers gives mortgage-free home to fallen Air Force veteran's family in Fort Walton Beach
Mobile firefighters respond to morning blaze; children among those treated
Massive bull shark caught outside mouth of Mobile Bay
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation provided the family with a mortgage-free home in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in honor of Memorial Day, according to a Tunnel to Towers news release. The home is one of 25 that the foundation will be giving out to Gold Star families nationwide this holiday.
MSgt. Stuckey came from a military family and followed her father's footsteps, enlisting in the Air Force in 1998. She served in the Air Force for nearly two decades before her death, the release said.
While stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, she met her husband, Deverris.
'We shared the same work ethic, values and morals,' Deverris said of his wife. 'Chrystal was the best wife, mother and friend any man or child could have.'
MSgt. Stuckey was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Air Force Achievement Medal during her service, the release said.
'In tribute to her service, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation ensures that Deverris and their four children now have a forever home that is a testament to MSgt Stuckey's legacy,' the release said.
Truck and dump truck crash head-on in Mobile; man critically injured
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation's Gold Star Family Home Program honors those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by providing the spouses and young children left behind with mortgage-free homes or paying off their mortgages, the release said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNN
20 hours ago
- CNN
‘Wine shuts down': Nobody wants that at a party
There's enough culinary stress as it is hosting a dinner party. Getting worked up about wine is unnecessary, some sommeliers say, but there's no denying that a perfect wine pairing can accentuate the taste and tone of your soirée. A misstep or two, and the night's notes could turn sour. But these easy steps will help ease wine anxiety and make the evening's tasting experience more enjoyable. Bobby Stuckey, a master sommelier and co-founder of Colorado's Frasca Hospitality Group, says the biggest mistake hosts make when serving wine is they don't taste it before pouring it for guests. 'You're hosting, you're busy making sure everyone's comfortable, and you just open a bottle of wine and pour it,' explains Stuckey. 'It doesn't matter if it's $1,000 bottle or a $20 bottle, there is a chance it has this cork taint. You just want to smell and taste the wine.' A wine with cork taint, commonly referred to as being 'corked,' often has a wet-cardboard or moldy aroma and could taste bitter or stale. The taint is caused when a chemical compound, 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole (TCA), interacts with bacteria or fungi in the wine bottle's cork. Carlin Karr, director of wine and beverage at Stuckey's restaurants — including Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder — believes roughly 1 in 10 wine bottles are off in taste, or corked. 'Taste each bottle before your guests arrive,' says Karr. 'Make sure every bottle tastes perfect for your guests and that the wine is at the perfect temperature for your guests when they arrive.' Karr and Stuckey both agree that wines aren't being served at their optimal temperatures at dinner parties. They say white wines are being served too cold, while more full-bodied reds are being poured too warm. 'You want that white to be expressive,' says Stuckey. 'If it's too cold, if it's almost freezing, like, it's going to really tighten up. The wine shuts down. Let that come closer to the red wine temperature.' Conversely, they say, red wines should be served at a temperature closer to the temperature they're stored in a wine cellar. Karr says 60 degrees Fahrenheit is roughly the ideal temperature to drink most wines. Karr also describes red wine as having an 'arc of enjoyment.' When a bottle of red wine is opened, it begins its climb to peak taste as it's exposed to more oxygen. 'Wine is alive. You have to think of it like a living, breathing thing,' explains Karr. But, she says, it will reach its summit, and then quickly reach a downslope if it gets too warm and begins oxidizing from sitting out too long. 'One of the biggest errors that people make with wine at home is they over-decant red wine, or they decant wine way too early, especially with older red wines,' she says, referring to the moment when wine is poured from one container into another — typically from the bottle into a carafe. 'What ends up happening is that older red wine, or even like maybe a 10-year-old red wine, is sitting in this big decanter for hours. 'It actually gets too much air and so it kind of dies in the decanter, and by the time it goes into the glass when you're enjoying it with guests, it's kind of gone.' She says the ideal time to open a bottle of red wine is just as food is being plated in the kitchen. 'You want to have it right before you're putting the food on the table,' she says. 'If I'm cooking all the food, I task my husband with decanting the wine. And so while I'm serving up the food, he's doing that.' And, she adds, if hosts have larger-bowled Burgundy wine glasses, those work exactly like a decanter. The best way to make your wine-hosting duties easier, according to Stuckey and Karr, is to give your guests one glass for all the various wines you're serving. 'Don't overthink it,' says Stuckey. 'Give everyone one glass. If they're going white, red, back to white … just have one glass. 'Once there's wine in that glass, it's ready to be used to drink. We say that it's 'been prepared.' Don't make your life too complex by trying to have an extra glass for each wine.' Karr agrees. 'Let everyone just drink out of one glass. They'll be fine, and you don't need to rinse with water in between. Wine is the perfect rinse.' And her last hosting suggestion: drink more Champagne. 'Welcome everyone with Champagne,' she says. 'Give them a glass of bubbles. It is the perfect thing to excite the palate.'


CNN
a day ago
- CNN
‘Wine shuts down': Nobody wants that at a party
There's enough culinary stress as it is hosting a dinner party. Getting worked up about wine is unnecessary, some sommeliers say, but there's no denying that a perfect wine pairing can accentuate the taste and tone of your soirée. A misstep or two, and the night's notes could turn sour. But these easy steps will help ease wine anxiety and make the evening's tasting experience more enjoyable. Bobby Stuckey, a master sommelier and co-founder of Colorado's Frasca Hospitality Group, says the biggest mistake hosts make when serving wine is they don't taste it before pouring it for guests. 'You're hosting, you're busy making sure everyone's comfortable, and you just open a bottle of wine and pour it,' explains Stuckey. 'It doesn't matter if it's $1,000 bottle or a $20 bottle, there is a chance it has this cork taint. You just want to smell and taste the wine.' A wine with cork taint, commonly referred to as being 'corked,' often has a wet-cardboard or moldy aroma and could taste bitter or stale. The taint is caused when a chemical compound, 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole (TCA), interacts with bacteria or fungi in the wine bottle's cork. Carlin Karr, director of wine and beverage at Stuckey's restaurants — including Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder — believes roughly 1 in 10 wine bottles are off in taste, or corked. 'Taste each bottle before your guests arrive,' says Karr. 'Make sure every bottle tastes perfect for your guests and that the wine is at the perfect temperature for your guests when they arrive.' Karr and Stuckey both agree that wines aren't being served at their optimal temperatures at dinner parties. They say white wines are being served too cold, while more full-bodied reds are being poured too warm. 'You want that white to be expressive,' says Stuckey. 'If it's too cold, if it's almost freezing, like, it's going to really tighten up. The wine shuts down. Let that come closer to the red wine temperature.' Conversely, they say, red wines should be served at a temperature closer to the temperature they're stored in a wine cellar. Karr says 60 degrees Fahrenheit is roughly the ideal temperature to drink most wines. Karr also describes red wine as having an 'arc of enjoyment.' When a bottle of red wine is opened, it begins its climb to peak taste as it's exposed to more oxygen. 'Wine is alive. You have to think of it like a living, breathing thing,' explains Karr. But, she says, it will reach its summit, and then quickly reach a downslope if it gets too warm and begins oxidizing from sitting out too long. 'One of the biggest errors that people make with wine at home is they over-decant red wine, or they decant wine way too early, especially with older red wines,' she says, referring to the moment when wine is poured from one container into another — typically from the bottle into a carafe. 'What ends up happening is that older red wine, or even like maybe a 10-year-old red wine, is sitting in this big decanter for hours. 'It actually gets too much air and so it kind of dies in the decanter, and by the time it goes into the glass when you're enjoying it with guests, it's kind of gone.' She says the ideal time to open a bottle of red wine is just as food is being plated in the kitchen. 'You want to have it right before you're putting the food on the table,' she says. 'If I'm cooking all the food, I task my husband with decanting the wine. And so while I'm serving up the food, he's doing that.' And, she adds, if hosts have larger-bowled Burgundy wine glasses, those work exactly like a decanter. The best way to make your wine-hosting duties easier, according to Stuckey and Karr, is to give your guests one glass for all the various wines you're serving. 'Don't overthink it,' says Stuckey. 'Give everyone one glass. If they're going white, red, back to white … just have one glass. 'Once there's wine in that glass, it's ready to be used to drink. We say that it's 'been prepared.' Don't make your life too complex by trying to have an extra glass for each wine.' Karr agrees. 'Let everyone just drink out of one glass. They'll be fine, and you don't need to rinse with water in between. Wine is the perfect rinse.' And her last hosting suggestion: drink more Champagne. 'Welcome everyone with Champagne,' she says. 'Give them a glass of bubbles. It is the perfect thing to excite the palate.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Mobile's Alabama Task Force 1 search and rescue team deployed to Texas
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey sent a search and rescue team, including members of Mobile Fire Rescue, to Texas to assist in rescue and recovery efforts on Thursday. Global steel manufacturer announces $61 million investment; 100 jobs coming to Loxley According to a news release from Gov. Ivey's office, the state is sending a 40-person team that includes Alabama Task Force 1 from Mobile, the Tuscaloosa Fire Department and the Saraland Fire Department. The team includes members from different disciplines, including rescue, canine search, medical, hazmat, technical search and communications, according to the release. That multi-discipline tactic allows them to conduct search and rescue in all hazards, to include locating, accessing, medically stabilizing and extricating survivors from affected structures and areas, the release said. 'Search and rescue remains the goal, and Alabama is going to do all we can to lend a helping hand to Texas,' Gov. Ivey said. Gov. Ivey spoke on the connection to the devastating floods in Texas, in the loss of Alabama residents, and some Alabama residents still missing. 'We are heartbroken in Alabama and have lost two of our own,' she said. 'I pray for Sarah Marsh's family as they navigate the unimaginable loss of their precious daughter. My prayers are also with the Santanas as they grieve the loss of Camille and are still searching for three members of their family. Truly, we are all grieving alongside these Alabamians, as well as those in Texas and across our country.' Gov. Ivey said she was glad Alabama had the resources and trained people to assist in this tragedy. 'I am grateful to all those who are part of the search and rescue mission, and I pray for their safety and for the success of their mission,' she said. 'Y'all pray for Texas.' Backstreet boy wants it his way in court case against Walton County Sheriff's Office The team left at 3 p.m. today and will work in 12-hour shifts for up to 14 days, according to the release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.