the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is still investigating the case, uncovered evidence that Michael Stavris conducted unauthorized background checks on three sitting city commissioners: Bill Baxley, John Rogers and Elbert Tucker. Stavris may face no penalty for doing so, for lack of a policy in Bunnell.
Bunnell
Angry But Cornered, County Takes Old Courthouse Back from Bunnell, Handing Its Fate to a Committee
Commissioners Barbara Revels and George Hanns bitterly criticized Bunnell’s decision to reverse course and reject the old courthouse, blaming the city for accelerating the building’s deterioration and leaving the county little choice. In the meantime, the county will again pick up the $60,000 to $80,000-a-year tab of maintaining the building to keep it from deteriorating more than it already has.
County’s Generosity To Bunnell Runs Out as Commission Imposes Rent and Exit Deadline
Bunnell city government has been occupying county office spaces for almost five years. On Monday. the county agreed to slap on $2,400-a-month rent and $100-per-meeting fees on the city, starting Aug. 1, and it will expect Bunnell to vacate the GSB by Dec. 1 regardless.
Charles Cowart Jr., Just Released From Jail on Dropped Charges, Is Arrested For Burglary
Charles Cowart Jr. was accused of breaking into a Cowart family-owned house in Flagler Beach Monday evening–the same house where part of the incidents that led police to investigate Cowart and three other men on rape and kidnapping charges had unfolded in March 2013. Those charges were dropped last week.
Supreme Court’s Decision Allowing Prayers at Government Meetings Reverberates Locally
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision today allowing explicitly religious prayers at local government meetings had two direct connections to Palm Coast and Bunnell. So the ruling had particular resonance locally—happily for some, not so happily for others.
Patron, Angered By Food, Arrested For Punching Chicken Pantry Owner; Woman Arrested Over Rogue Gunshot
Spencer Veney, 52, of Palm Coast, was arrested after getting upset over the food at the Chicken Pantry and allegedly punching out the owner. Ashley Ross, 27, of Bunnell, was arrested for firing a .22-caliber gun in public the following evening. Both incidents drew large crowds.
Wings Over Flagler Leader and Bunnell Director Arrested on Drunk Driving Charges Over the Weekend
Bill Mills, a lead organizer, with WNZF, of Wings Over Flagler since the event’s inception four years ago and its rejuvenation this past weekend, was arrested just before midnight on Friday night on the Flagler Beach Bridge. Mick Cuthbertson, Bunnell’s community development director, was arrested early Sunday morning after going against traffic on U.S. 1 and crashing into a car.
On Again: Carver Center Auction Opens Bids for Safaris, Bowling, Pizza in a Commissioner’s Home (BYOB) and More
The popular Carver Center Online Auction is back for the fourth year, with some 67 items to bid on through the rest of the month as Bunnell’s Carver Center foundation hopes to yet again raise at least $5,000. It has done so quite successfully in previous years.
No Thanks: Bunnell Votes 4-1 to Return Old Courthouse to the County, Citing Costs and Liabilities
The stunning reversal culminates months of doubt and disappointment about the building on city officials’ part as they discovered a structure in more serious disrepair than the county had let on and tallied far more expensive bills ahead than the city could afford, if it were to keep the building.
Bunnell Cop Michael Stavris Is Arrested on Charges of Computer Porn Involving Underage Boys
Michael Stavris, an officer with the Bunnell Police Department, was jailed Tuesday evening on two charges of computer porn and a charge of criminal use of someone else’s personal information following a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into several instances where Stavris is accused of soliciting naked images from underage boys.