For years Palm Coast has had an ordinance giving it authority to control where and when burning takes place. The ordinance conflicts with state law, which reserves that authority exclusively to the Florida Forest Service. Rather than approve a new ordinance just yet, the Palm Coast City Council has agreed to seek an Attorney General opinion on what regulatory authority the city could seek within the law.
Cops/Courts
Palm Coast Fire Department Mourns Loss of Former Colleague Zachary Shane Mahaney, 43, to Suicide
The Palm Coast Fire Department is mourning the loss of Zachary Shane Mahaney, a 43-year-old former firefighter who spent a year with the department until last June. He died by a self-inflicted gunshot on Sept. 25 or 26 in Ormond Beach after going missing from his parents’ home on Sept. 25.
Flagler County Jail Reaccredited Is Reaccredited, One of Just 37 in the State to Have Distinction
The Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility–the county jail–became an accredited correctional facility on October 2, 2018. It was reaccredited on October 6, 2021, and most recently reaccredited again on October 2. Accredited facilities are required to be assessed and reaccredited every three years to ensure they maintain the requirements of accreditation.
33-Year-Old Man With Mental Health Issues Again Arrested After Crash with Injuries and 5 MPH Chase on U.S. 1
Kyle McNary, a 33-year-old Palm Coast resident Baker Acted and arrested after a severe mental health breakdown in late August was again arrested on numerous charges after allegedly attacking his step-father and causing a severe vehicle crash on U.S. 1, after which he led police on a crawl of a chase at 5 miles per hour on the highway.
Same ‘Horrid’ Conditions, Different House: Parent of 5 Arrested 4 Years Ago for Child Neglect Charged Again After Toddler Wanders
Five years ago Nicolas Carter and his wife were arrested and charged with felony child neglect after authorities got complaints about the couple’s Espanola home. The couple was living with five young children in conditions lamentable beyond description. On Friday, Carter was arrested again on a similar charge, felony child neglect, and a misdemeanor charge of obstruction after one of his children–a toddler who was apparently born after the incident four years ago was seen wandering in the street, unattended. The house was in conditions similar to the one in Espanola.
The Fireman’s Son: Flagler County’s Even-Handed, Learned Judge Terence Perkins Retires
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins retires today after six years as Flagler County’s chief judge and 14 years as a judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, including stints as chief judge. In a long interview with FlaglerLive, Perkins reflected on a storied career that included a private practice at a firm he co-founded with colleagues, almost all of whom went on to become circuit or appellate judges, on the purpose of local judges, on his personal life, on the isolation and anguish judges feel at times, and on what’s next.
County Judge Andrea Totten on Circuit Judge Terence Perkins’s Retirement: ‘He Will be Profoundly Missed’
County Judge Andrea Totten has known Circuit Judge Terence R. Perkins–who is retiring today–for 13 years, starting from when she clerked for him as a staff attorney in the Seventh Judicial Circuit to when he championed her candidacy for a new county judge seat in Flagler County, to which she was appointed in 2019. Totten reflects on those years, providing a unique perspective on Perkins beyond the courtroom.
Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord Leads Assist Team to Dixie County
Flagler County on Friday sent five team members – Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord, Communications and Engagement Manager Karen Callahan, Emergency Management Specialist Lovie Haley, as well as Fire Rescue Lt. Tony Guerin and Firefighter Paramedic Savannah Loertscher – to one of the hardest hit areas, Dixie County.
Road Rage Incident on U.S. 1 Involving a Gun Results in 2 Felony Charges for 68-Year-Old Woman
Nancy Lee Leight, a 68-year-old Palm Coast resident, faces two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following a road rage incident when she allegedly brandished a gun against a driver she’d cut off.
Hurricane Helene Leaves 3.2 Million Without Power, Including Thousands in Flagler; Local Damage Minor
As dawn broke over Florida and the Southeast today, 3.2 million people were without power in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm at 11:10 p.m. in Florida’s Big Bend area–10 miles west of Perry, in Taylor County–and as one of the most destructive storms on record for the area, with winds of 140 miles per hour and a storm surge of 10 to 20 feet. In Flagler County, while power losses reached 10,000, only a few houses reported being struck by trees, with many more trees down on roads.