Flagler County commissioners Thursday evening agreed to take on a $100,000 mental-health jail diversion program previously paid for by the state, and a $60,000 pre-trial release program they had opposed in earlier workshops. Both shifts took place during a hearing devoted to approving next year’s tax property rate.
Flagler County Sheriff
County Rejects Roma Court for Sheriff’s Office as “Unworkable,” Citing 10 Issues
County Administrator Craig Coffey ended the Roma Court option’s prospects with a 10-point memo listing a series of structural and logistical concerns about the 57,000 square-foot property on Palm Coast Parkway, about half of which would have been leased to the county for the sheriff’s uses in a 15-year arrangement.
Nickel and Diming County Foregoes Program That Would Have Reduced Jail Population
The Flagler County judge and sheriff had supported a proposed pre-trial release program that would have kept low-grade, non-violent offenders out of jail, saving them money in the short term and the county money in the long term, but the county commission eliminated the proposal as part of a $400,000 cut from next year’s budget proposal.
In God’s Name: Polk Sheriff Grady Judd, a Modern-Day Comstock, Is Elected State Sheriffs Association President
Grady Judd is known for his colorful language and controversial quotes, sometimes evoking Anthony Comstock, the head of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice in the late 1800s, as he crusades against sex and porn and brandishes god’s name at every opportunity.
Cool to Sudden Roma Court Proposal, Flagler Sheriff Restates Preferences for Proximity
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre was surprised by an unexpected proposal from the owner of Roma Court, the chronically vacant strip mall on Palm Coast Parkway, to lease the building to the county for sheriff’s operations, and cited several factors that fall outside his preferred options.
Steve Cole Will Head Sheriff’s Investigative Division While Still Overseeing School Cops
Steve Cole, formerly a lieutenant and now a commander, was appointed head of the investigative division–in place of Jack Bisland– overseeing 16 investigators and 11 other people, including six school deputies, whose day-to-day duties will be overseen by Cpl. Don Apperson.
Sold: County Commission Votes 4-1 To Buy $1.23 Million Hospital in Bunnell for Sheriff
After some anguish, a lot of analysis and, on Thursday, a pair of meetings adding up to nearly five hours, the Flagler County Commission approved buying the old 60,000 square foot Memorial hospital, ending four years of wrangling over where, when and how to move the sheriff to a more central location.
Dispelling Rumors, Bunnell’s Armando Martinez Says He’s Not Running for Sheriff Against Manfre
Both Flagler Sheriff Jim Manfre and Bunnell Manager Armando Martinez had heard the rumor that Martinez was preparing to run against Manfre, a friend, for sheriff come 2016. After a meeting with Manfre Wednesday, Martinez categorically said that will not happen.
A Tearful, Grateful Encounter Between 911 Operator and Grandmother Coached Through CPR of 2-Year-Old
Flagler County 911 operator Genice Caccavale rarely knows the aftermath of emergency calls. Today, she got to meet Alicia Fennell and 2-year-old Kelisa Bailey, whom Fennell brought back from a near-drowning Saturday as she followed Caccavale’s CPR instructions over the phone.
Flagler 911 Operator Genice Caccavale in Remarkable Drowning Rescue of 2-Year-Old by Phone
2-year-old Kelisa Bailey was visiting her grandmother Alicia Fennell late Saturday afternoon when she briefly ended up in a pool and stopped breathing. Fennell brought her back to life as she followed the instructions of 911 operator Genice Caccavale.