The Rymfire Elementary student appeared to have attempted to choke himself, and told a deputy he was being bullied at school. Paramedics cleared him and he was turned over to his father.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
How Palm Coast Tamed Shakespeare’s Shrew, With Eyes On A Lot More at Arts Foundation’s Town Center Venue
City Repertory Theatre’s second edition of Shakespeare in the Park kicks off tonight at the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s venue in Town Center, which the city sees as an anchor to future cultural growth.
In Flagler Beach, Four Candidates for City Commission Reveal Sharp Differences Despite Surface Agreement
Incumbents Jane Mealy and Rick Belhumeur appeared with challengers Paul Eik and Deborah Phillips at a Woman’s Club forum that showed their paper similarities and vast personality differences.
Matanzas High Student, 16, Arrested Over School-Shooting Threat on Snapchat and Blames Bullying
The 16-year-old Palm Coast girl allegedly made threats against other girls at school she claims had been bullying her, but she now faces a felony charge and expulsion from Matanzas High School.
It’s Increasingly ‘The Beau Show’ as Palm Coast Council Strains To Project Fair Manager Interview Process
Interim Palm Coast Manager Beau Falgout continues to solidify his place atop the list of five or six candidates for the permanent manager spot, leaving it to the council to convince other candidates that they still have a chance.
Palm Coast’s Sean Farrelly, 47, Charged With Bribing and Doping 16-Year-Old Girl for Sex
Sean Farrelly, who works in construction and excavation, was arrested on a charge of statutory rape and charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, and is being held without bond at the county jail.
After Mistrial, Michael Bowling Is Again on Trial On Accusations He Molested Girl During Sleepover
After December’s mistrial, Bunnell’s Michael Bowling, 48, was back on trial anew today, facing his accuser who says he molested her in a dark closet during a sleepover at her friend’s house.
County Rebuffs Sheriff’s Request for ‘Critical’ Evidence Storage Space in Latest Operations Center Snag
County commissioners don’t want to spend money piecemeal on short-term solutions for the sheriff’s exile from the Operations Center, but the sheriff says space needs are critical.
Sheriff’s Deputy of the Year and Flagler Fire Truck Involved in 2 Separate Crashes in 4 Days
Austin Chewning, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Deputy of the Year, was involved in a crash in the Hammock Saturday. Firefighters on a tender truck were involved in a crash this morning on Education Way and U.S. 1 in Palm Coast. Two civilians were involved.
County Will Consider Importing Water From Palm Coast For Troubled Plantation Bay, Halting $6 Million Plan
Flagler County was ready to award a $6.1 million contract to build a new water plant at Plantation Bay when Commissioner Dave Sullivan pushed to halt the process and consider other options Monday.
Flagler Commission Picks Jerry Cameron, Retired from St. Johns Government After Eclectic Career, Its Interim
Cameron replaces Craig Coffey, whom the commission forced to resign last month, and is expected to restore some semblance of leadership in an administration adrift for weeks.
With Shout-Out to Grand Haven, Palm Coast’s Opelka Wins 1st ATP Tour Tennis Title and Vaults to 56th in the World
Reilly Opelka, the 7-footer booming serves since he was a little kid whacking balls at Grand Haven and the Palm Coast Tennis Center, won the biggest victory of his pro career Sunday at the New York Open in Uniondale, N.Y.
Stetson President Wendy Libby
Will Retire in 2020 After 11 Years
Wendy Libby became Stetson’s ninth president in July 2009 and its first woman president since the university was founded in 1883. Undergraduate enrollment rose 50 percent during her tenure.
Indian Trails Middle Student, 14, Arrested For Threatening Girl With a Gun in a Video Message
The 14-year-old Indian Trails Middle School student made the threat in a video he recorded while holding a gun belonging to his parents. The incident took place off campus.
In Post-Jones Era, Friends of the Library Revive With Nomination of Carl Laundrie as President
The Friends of the Library, an independent, non-profit support group for the Flagler County Library, nearly met an untimely end with the death of Terry Jones, its long-time president.
Thomas Rando, a Convicted Felon, Is Arrested in Crash Death of 10-Year-Old Hannah Beard
Thomas Rando, a 32-year-old resident of 2551 North State Street in Bunnell, was arrested Thursday and charged with a felony count of driving on a suspended license and causing a death.
Flagler Supervisor of Elections Wants To Know Why You Love Voting: Take the Survey
Flagler County Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart is asking registered voters to take a five-question online survey about why and where they like to vote, grist for further voter outreach in the future.
From Drug Court To Vigil For Anthony Fennick, an Unexplained Death Continues To Rattle
A dusk vigil for Anthony Fennick, 23, who died Saturday after his health degraded at the Flagler jail, mixed celebration of his life with anger at his death, while Circuit Judge Terence Perkins this morning tried to address it in Drug Court.
Second Valentine’s Day Mass Wedding at Flagler Courthouse Features Vows and Surprises
Eleven couples married and five renewed their vows in the Flagler Clerk of Court’s second anual mass wedding on the steps of the county courthouse at noon today.
Buddy Taylor Student, 13, Alleged Target of Bullying, Arrested For Threatening to Shoot Up School During Xbox Game
The student was playing on Xbox Live with two friends when he made threats to bomb and shoot up the school as he was losing. He acknowledged anger issues but faces a felony.
Flagler’s Addiction Crisis Has a Treatment Problem: There’s Barely Any. Council Talks, With Little Action.
In the opioid crisis, first responders are doing their part, only to see the same individuals adrift the moment they’re out of first responders’ hands: The front lines are meeting the challenge. The rear isn’t.
Judge Denies End of Sex-Offender Probation For Ex-Matanzas Teacher Who Had Sex With Student
James Wolfe was found guilty in April 2014 of engaging in unlawful sex with one of his students, who was 16 at the time, and whom he was coaching in cross-country. He was 30.
Flagler Commissioners Will Hold Open 1-on-1 Interviews With Administrator Candidates
The county attorney advised Flagler county commissioners that erring on the side of openness was best in deciding whether to individually interview candidates in closed or open sessions.
Dubai, a Police State, Hosts Flagler Sheriff, 8 Deputies and 60 Other Teams in SWAT Competition
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and eight members of the agency’s SWAT team are in Dubai on an all-expenses-paid trip through Feb. 14 for an international SWAT competition paid for by the UAE Interior Ministry.
Florida Park Drive May See Changes, from Traffic Islands to Roundabouts to Air Sensors
Addressing Florida Park Drive problems as its predecessors have every few years, the Palm Coast City Council is opting for some additional studies and potentially adding traffic-calming devices to the road.
Flagler Jail’s Private Provider Says Its Nurses Did Nothing Wrong in Fennick’s Death–and Asks for Reimbursements
Armor Correctional Health relieved two nurses of duty at the Flagler jail at the sheriff’s request, placing them on administrative leave and asking the sheriff to pay their salaries and their replacements’ salaries.
Suspected Palm Coast Car Thief Takes Deputies on Chase Through Hospital Grounds Before He’s Tased
Yuli Ilchenko, a 29, a resident of Prescott Lane in Palm Coast, led deputies on a brief car chase and a foot chase before he was wrestled to the ground and Tased, then slapped with four felonies and two misdemeanors.
A Woman Is Seriously Hurt When Car Crashes Through Guardrail and Into West Flagler Canal
Jessica May, 34, was severely injured when she drove her car through a guardrail and went into a canal Sunday evening at State Road 100 and County Road 305.
Anthony Fennick Will Die Saturday Morning, Days After Degrading at Flagler Jail. Family Awaits Answers.
The family of Anthony Fennick, 23, will gather around him Saturday morning, when his breathing machine will be disconnected. He was brain dead after suffering days of high fevers at the Flagler jail, where his care was neglected, his family says.
Jim Cigler Is an Unlicensed Contractor. Repeat Judgments Against Him Don’t Stop Him
From Working.
Flagler County just won a judgment against Jim Cigler, an unlicensed contractor known as “The Gutter Guy,” but Cigler faced several judgments before and kept on falsely advertising his services as licensed and insured.
Costs and Concerns Muck Up Plantation Bay Utility as County Begs for $10 Million
The Flagler County Commission is asking for a state appropriation of $10 million to fix the Plantation Bay sewer plant partly from fears that a sewer tank may burst, but the decision was hasty and lacked ready analysis.
Man Who Threatened to Blow Up Sheriff’s Office and Kill the Sheriff Gets 3 Years in Prison
The sentence against Raymond Crown of Palm Coast is a reflection of the vanished tolerance even in the judiciary for threats inspired by bombings or mass shootings.
Inmate At Flagler Jail Complains Of High Fevers For Days and Is Pacified. He’s Now Brain Dead.
Anthony Fennick, 23, was at the jail on a minor drug charge, developed severe fevers, saw nurses but was not allowed to see a doctor, and on Monday went into cardiac arrest and lost all brain activity.
GPS Ankle Monitors Give Local Cops Stronger Means of Enforcing No-Contact Orders
Alleged domestic violence and other offenders released from jail to await trial usually must stay away from their victims, but such no-contact orders were harder to enforce until GPS devices have been attached to the offenders.
Ollie North Patrols Flagler With Sheriff Staly, One of 5 Finalists for NRA’s Officer Of the Year
Oliver North, the ex-felon of Iran-Contra fame and current NRA president, was in town to film footage with Sheriff Rick Staly, one of five nominees for the NRA’s Officer of the Year Award.
After December Mistrial, Michael Bowling Will Be Tried Again on Molestation Charges Feb. 18
Michael Bowling is facing two counts of molesting a 15-year-old girl who’d been visiting his stepdaughter for a sleepover in Bunnell’s Mondex.
Flagler Pays $16,000 to Settle Website Access Suit, and Much More to Become ADA Compliant
As one commissioner calls it “a scam,” county government will settle a lawsuit and prepare to hire more staff to address Americans With Disability compliance with county websites.
Billye Boyd Jones, 75, Dies of Self-Inflicted Gunshot in Palm Coast’s C-Section
Billye Boyd Jones, 75, of Coral Reef Court in Palm Coast, shot herself the evening of Feb. 4, greatly despondent over having recently retired from the company she built, according to her daughter.
Flagler Commission Narrows Interim Choices to 4, But Questions Remain About Interviews
Three of the four candidates are former city or county administrators. The exception is one internal county candidate. They’ll be interviewed Feb. 18, when the commission may choose among them.
W-Section Drainage Improvements Launch Aggressive Ditch-Upkeep in Palm Coast
Palm Coast’s just-launched ditch-maintenance targets overgrowth of aquatic vegetation and plans are being developed to address localized drainage issues in the W, E, F and R sections.
2 Severely Injured in Head-On Collision on U.S. 1 Near CR 304 After a Car Drives the Wrong Way
Two vehicles collided head on, igniting a fire, on U.S. 1 at County Road 304 Sunday night, sending two victims to the hospital with severe injuries and closing the highway’s southbound lanes.
Lisa McDevitt, Flagler Auditorium’s Vigor and Champion, Remembered as ‘Mama Lisa’ Of the Performing Arts
Paying tribute to Lisa McDevitt, the Flagler Auditorium’s long-time executive director, were some 300 people Saturday, including family, friends, and performers she’d shepherded through the stage over the years.
At GOLA and the Flagler County Art League:
Trish Vevera, Flagler Artist of the Year
Trish Vevera’s journey from Grinnell College to the Art Institute of Chicago’s galleries to Flagler County’s open-air inspirations lands her as the Gargiulo Art Foundation’s Artist of the Year, with upcoming shows at Flagler Beach’s GOLA and the Flagler County Art League.
Van Towing RV Flips on I-95, Closing Southbound Lanes South of Matanzas Woods
The crash closed I-95 southbound from Matanzas Woods. Southbound drivers are advised to exit I-95 at U.S. 1 at the Flagler-St. Johns county line.
Grade Average for IB Class of 2018 at FPC Exceeds World’s By a Shade as 40 Students Claim Diplomas
The FPC 40 students who earned an IB diploma or certificate dispersed to 14 colleges in Florida, two other states and the Philippines before returning to claim their diplomas at a recent ceremony at the school.
Responding to Complaints, Waste Pro Adding 2 Trucks and Shortening Palm Coast Routes To Improve Service
Complaints about Waste Pro in Palm Coast were especially severe around the holidays with missed pick-ups for days at a time, but the company is shortening routes and adding staff to improve service.
Gargantuan Egos Gone, 3 Cities’ Managers And County Get Down to Unusual Business
Flagler County’s three city managers and its commission chairman led a Common Ground panel presentation reflecting the vast change-overs at the top of local government and anticipating a new way of doing business ahead.
As Rap Video Productions Take to South Bunnell, City Enacts Strict Regulations
Recent rap video productions in South Bunnell led the city to draft new permitting regulations that would require producers to have insurance, workers’ comp coverage and explain the scope of their project, among other requirements.
Ramping Up Surveillance, Sheriff Will Have Access to Live Video and Data From 44 Palm Coast Traffic Intersections
Palm Coast government and the Flagler Sheriff’s Office are teaming up to use a “traffic-optimization” camera network at intersection as a surveillance mechanism as well.
Louis Mamakos, 85, Kills Himself With a Gun in B-Section After Citing Intolerable Pain
Louis Mamakos, a long-time resident of Palm Coast’s Boxwood Lane, had been Baker Acted two weeks earlier after attempting to kill himself with a gun. His wife had stopped him.