Monday Briefing: Look Out for Manatees, Look Out at the County Commission, Cottage Fever

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♦ May 17-19: "Southern Fried Funeral," a play at the Daytona Playhouse, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., Adults $20, Seniors 55 and up, $18, Youths 18 and under $8. Address: 100 Jessamine Blvd., Daytona Beach, or see directions here. Buy tickets online here. Box office: 386-255-2431.
♦ May 18: Flagler Pier Fishing Tournament, starting at 6 a.m. at the pier.
♦ May 18: The 2nd Annual Bunnell Bonanza, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's a great family-friendly tradition located in the heart of Bunnell. In its second year, the Bunnell Bonanza will be expanded to a centrally-located venue in the heart of Bunnell at the historic Coquina City Hall. Brought to you by the Flagler County Chamber, the Bunnell Area Council, the City of Bunnell and Yellowstone Landscape.
♦ May 18: Matanzas High School Interact Club's “Rise Up Against Hunger,” in the school's Dining Hall, a food packaging event for the needy starting at 1 p.m.
♦ May 18: First National Kids to Park Day at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. 3rd Saturday of every month. 6:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. For any questions, please contact the Pier bait shop at 386-517-2436.
♦ May 18: Household Hazardous Waste Clean Out Campaign, City of Flagler Beach Library Parking Lot, 315 S. 7th Street, Flagler Beach,8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
♦ May 20: A trial is scheduled to begin, with jury selection on Monday, in the case of Bruce Haughton, the 54-year-old R-Section man who two years ago survived what was alleged to be a double-suicide. Katherine Goddard, 52, who lived at 29 Red Clover Lane in Palm Coast, died. It is an unusual case rich in legally gray areas, with Houghton facing a second degree felony charge of n "negligent manslaughter while assisting in self-murder." The case will be tried before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins in Courtroom 401 at the Flagler County courthouse. See more background here.
♦ May 20: The East Flagler Mosquito Control District board meets at 10 a.m. at the district’s offices, 10 Airport Executive Drive (off Belle Terre Boulevard), Palm Coast.
♦ May 20: Sheriff Rick Staly hosts a ceremony outside of the Flagler County Sheriff's Marine Unit substation at 69 Malacompra Road at 10:30 a.m. to unveil new signage honoring Captain Grady Prather. Prather was a 33-year veteran of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office who headed up the Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit, which he also created. Prather retired on January 31, 2008 and died on Nov. 17, 2009. In 2011, an artificial reef was deployed in Flagler Beach through grants from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation and the St. Augustine Port, Waterway and Beach District. The reef was also named in Prather's honor.
♦ May 20: The Flagler County Commission meets at 5 p.m. at the Government Services Building, Bunnell. The commission is expected to hear a status report on the troubled Plantation Bay utility and will be presented a roughly $10 million spending plan, on borrowed money, to address the utility's problems. The county administrator says the spending plan does not foresee a raise in rates for utility customers. The commission will also discuss where to place the sheriff's operations as the sheriff contends with space issues, both with a too-expensive lease at City Marketplace and with too little space at the courthouse.
♦ May 20: The Buddy Taylor Middle School Advisory Council meets at 5 p.m., the PTO at 6 at the school’s media center.
♦ May 20: The Flagler County Stamp and Coin Club meets at 4:30 p.m. at the VFW Post 8696 47 N. Old Kings Road. From 4:30 - 6 p.m. the time is used for buying, selling and trading stamps and coins. The club meeting starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 7:30. There is a live auction of stamps and coins at the end of the meeting. The club is open for members, the general public, and all who are interested in stamp and coin collecting and investing. Free stamps and coin evaluations at all our meetings. The club is the only non-profit Stamp and Coin Club in Flagler County. For more information please visit the club's web site.
♦ May 21: The Palm Coast City Council meets at 9 a.m. at City Hall in Town Center. The council is expected to discuss and possibly approve a final plat for American Village in Palm Coast's P-Section: Hammock Real Estate Development proposes to replat and subdivide approximately 8.9 acres into
45 single family residential lots, 8.01 acres into three multi-family tracts, a stormwater tract and two recreational tracts for a total of 16.91 acres. American Village, a gated community, is located on the south side of Pritchard Drive, approximately one block north of the Pritchard Drive and Prince Michael Lane intersection. See background here.
♦ May 21: The Flagler County Economic Opportunity Advisory Council meets at 9 a.m. in board chambers at the Government Services Building, Bunnell.
♦ May 21: The The Flagler County School Board meets in workshop at 1 p.m. in training room 3 on the third floor of the Government Services Building, Bunnell, and at 6 p.m. in a meeting in board chambers at the GSB. At the workshop, the board will hear a legislative wrap-up from its Tallahassee lobbyist and discuss records confidentiality.
♦ May 21: Flagler Beach's Beach Management Plan Ad-Hoc Committee meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall.
♦ May 21: Daytona State College hosts an Express Enrollment afternoon and evening from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Palm Coast campus, 3000 Palm Coast Parkway.
♦ May 21: Food Truck Tuesday, 5-8 p.m. at Central Park in Town Center, 975 Central Ave., Palm Coast. Purchase and enjoy delicious cuisine available from food trucks situated along Park Street next to Central Park. Free entertainment is also provided. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to the Family Life Center, which is a local organization that provides essential support services to individuals and families to end domestic violence and sexual violence in Flagler County. Support services include shelter, food, clothing, transportation, medical services, employment coaching, education resources, legal service support, counseling, community education, outreach programs, and partnering with other social service and law enforcement agencies to coordinate support services and programs. More info: www.palmcoast.gov.com/foodtruck or call 386-986-2323.
♦ May 22: The Blue Power 2020 forum, hosted by Mike Cocchiola, who heads the Flagler County Democratic Party, meets at 12:30 p.m. at the Democrats' office, 2 Office Park Drive, Suite D, all welcome. The weekly forum is intended to discuss local, state and national issues and to develop action plans to influence policy.
♦ May 22: The IB Class of 2019 has its "Baccalaureate Night" at Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church in Flagler Beach, at 7 p.m.
♦ May 22: A meeting of the Compassionate Friends is scheduled at the Vitas Office at 4 North Old Kings Road (across from Kentucky Fried Chicken) in Palm Coast. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. The Compassionate Friends, a nonprofit self-help bereavement support organization for families that have experienced the death of a child. The meeting is open to all parents, grandparents, and siblings over age 18 who has suffered the loss of a child of any age. For more information, call John Brady at 610-428-3139. To learn more about The Compassionate Friends, visit their national website at www.compassionatefriends.org.
♦ May 23: The Flagler Chamber's Common Ground Breakfast features a 2019 Legislative Update with Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Paul Renner at the Hilton Garden Inn, 55 Town Center Dr., Palm Coast, Checkin begins at 7:30, breakfast starts promptly at 8.
♦ May 23: Flagler Lifeline, a volunteer committee and Flagler Cares affiliate established to broaden conversation and awareness of suicide, will host a public town hall event at 6 p.m.  at the Flagler County Association of Realtors building, 4101 East Moody Blvd. in Bunnell. The Town Hall will feature presentations by mental health experts, suicide survivors and others who have been touched by suicide, and will be facilitated by Colleen Conklin, the long-time school board member and one of Flagler Lifeline’s founders. For the past several years Conklin has hosted periodic events, including electronic town halls, to bring awareness to bullying and suicide prevention. The May 23 town hall, like Flagler Lifeline's emergence, is partly a result of Flagler County's place in 2017 as the county with the leading suicide rate in the state, proportional to its population. See the background story here.
♦ May 23: The Flagler Beach City Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 105 South Second Street. Commissioners will consider making the city a member of the American Flood Coalition.
♦ May 23: The Palm Coast Beautification and Environmental Advisory Committee meets at 5 p.m. at City Hall in Town Center. An agenda had not been posted online as of May 18.
♦ May 23: The Wadsworth Elementary School Advisory Council and PTO meet at 6 p.m. in the school’s media center.
♦ May 23: Palm Coast Artist and 2011 Flagler County Artist of the Year Weldon Ryan hosts a meet and great at the Bronze Kingdom African Art Gallery, 3201 East Colonial Drive, Orlando, from 6 to 9 p.m. Wine and cheese, 15 percent off on all of Weldon's works.
♦ May 23-26: "Southern Fried Funeral," a play at the Daytona Playhouse, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., Adults $20, Seniors 55 and up, $18, Youths 18 and under $8. Address: 100 Jessamine Blvd., Daytona Beach, or see directions here. Buy tickets online here. Box office: 386-255-2431.
♦ May 24: Flagler County Emergency Management chief Jonathan Lord hosts a media roundtable at noon on the upcoming hurricane season, at the Emergency Operations Center, 1769 E. Moody Blvd, Bldg. 3 (behind the Government Services Building), Bunnell.
♦ May 24: Butterfly Walk at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, 6400 North Oceanshore Blvd., 10 a.m. Join a ranger at 2 p.m. for a walk through our historical gardens. Learn about the history of our park while exploring the beauty of the formal gardens, with an emphasis on butterflies. The walk is approximately 1 hour. Please bring water and wear comfortable walking shoes. Meet in the garden parking lot. Garden walk included with park entry. No registration required.
♦ May 25: Pool Safety Day at Palm Coast's Freeda Zamba pool, 339 Parkview Drive, open to all ages, from 1 to 4 p.m. The event is designed to teach the importance and seriousness of safety, but while having fun and participating in activities that children will remember. Florida is one of two states that lead the nation with at least 21 fatal child drownings last summer, according to a report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and USA Swimming Foundation. About ten people die every day from unintentional drowning and of these, two will be children age 14 or younger, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The fee is $1 for seniors and youth age 17 and under. It is $2 for adults.
♦ May 27: Memorial Day, 8 a.m. start time at Heroes Memorial Park, 2860 Palm Coast Pkwy. The City of Palm Coast welcomes the community to share a meaningful Memorial Day tribute to those who have lost their lives while serving their country. U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, who represents District 6, will speak. Rain Location: Fire Station 21 at 9 Corporate Drive Free and no registration required. More info: 386-986-2300.
♦ May 28: The Flagler County Opioid Task Force meets at 6 p.m. in the first-floor conference room at the Government Services Building
♦ May 29: The Blue Power 2020 forum, hosted by Mike Cocchiola, who heads the Flagler County Democratic Party, meets at 12:30 p.m. at the Democrats' office, 2 Office Park Drive, Suite D, all welcome. The weekly forum is intended to discuss local, state and national issues and to develop action plans to influence policy.
♦ May 30: Flagler Palm Coast High School and Matanzas High School hold graduation ceremonies at the Daytona Beach Ocean Center. Matanzas High School’s ceremony begins at 4 p.m. and Flagler Palm Coast High School’s starts at 7. Doors to the Ocean Center open one hour before the start of each ceremony. The student procession begins approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony. Tickets for the ceremonies are free. However, both schools have a 10-ticket limit per student. There may be opportunities for additional tickets. Students will be notified and information is located on each school’s website. Parking passes are also available for pre-purchase. Parking is $5. security measures instituted last year will be in place this year. Please take note and be prepared before you head to the Ocean Center. There will be security checks before ticket holders are allowed entry into the ceremony. Watch livestreams of the ceremonies: Matanzas here, and FPC here.


For events beyond this date, see the fuller Coming Days here.