FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam reviews a year of record murders, record fatalities, disappointments in Palm Coast, but a sheriff’s great year, and new readership records for the site.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Florida’s Year of Turbulence
Scandal, storms and sniping were the hallmarks of 2017 in Florida, where political squalls and natural disasters created havoc in the Capitol and sent tremors through the Sunshine State.
Palm Coast Man Charged With Attempting to Electrocute His Wife 2 Days After Christmas
In one of the strangest cases in recent memory, Michael S. Wilson, 32, is accused of rigging the front door of his wife’s house in Palm Coast’s W-Section with live electrical current.
Coffee Talk: Road Safety Focus of Inaugural Presentation in New Health Series
Palm Coast and Florida Hospital Flagler are presenting a new talk series focused on health, starting Jan. 10 with a focus on pedestrian, bicyclist and driver safety.
2 Stolen Cars, Chase on SR100, and Arrest of 2 Teens, One With History of Car and Gun Thefts
Sammy Rozier, 16, had been released from detention days earlier when he was rearrested Tuesday on charges of stealing a car and leading cops on a chase through Palm Coast and Bunnell.
Douglas C. Egan, 56, Takes His Own Life Near His Home in Seminole Woods
Douglas Egan of 4 Seward Trail was found dead of a gunshot wound the afternoon of Christmas day. He had sent a text to his wife in New York the previous evening saying to call police.
Despite Compressed Sign-Up Period, ACA Enrollment Nearly Matches Last Year’s
A day after Trump said the Affordable Care Act “has been repealed,” 8.8 million Americans had signed up for coverage on the federal insurance exchange in 2018.
Roger Teachworth, 60, of Palm Coast, Is Killed In a Freak Vehicle Accident in His Garage
Roger Teachworth, a 60-year-old resident of 7 Biscay Lane Palm Coast, was pinned by his pick-up truck in his garage the afternoon of Christmas Eve.
Flagler County’s 911 System Getting a $270,000 Upgrade, Adding Voice and Text Messaging
Texting abilities to 911 should be operational in Flagler County by the end of 2018. The grant was awarded by the state, with funding generated from a 40-cent statewide surcharge on phone lines.
Paul Deatherage, 31, Is Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash on U.S. 1, North of Whiteview
Paul Deatherage lost control of a Toyota pick-up, drifting into the median, over-correcting, and ending up in the shoulder before violently striking a tree. He was extricated but pronounced dead at the scene.
“You’re Getting Arrested by The Sheriff For That Kind of Driving,” Staly Tells 19 Year Old
Jacob Reardon, who just months ago was cited for going 84 in a 40, was arrested by Sheriff Rick Staly Wednesday evening, going 112 on I-95. He was also charged with pot possession.
With Project Share, Flagler Beach Rotary Brings Christmas to 1,300 of the Region’s Neediest Children
Project Share was born 18 years ago after Roseanne Stocker drove through rural areas of deep poverty and teamed up with her father to provide toys for 30 children. The project has grown every year since.
Palm Coast Man Accused Of Assaulting Deputy, Threaten His Life and Make Him “Disappear”
A domestic situation on Palm Coast’s Postman lane had gone out of control when sheriff’s deputies arrived, with William Closson, 46, allegedly escalating a confrontation with a deputy.
Painters Hill and Hammock Dunes Property Owners Will Pay Extra Tax for Erosion Control
The four taxing districts, made necessary by hurricanes, will levy surtaxes on property owners only in those areas to defray the cost of protective sand berms and a sea wall the county will build.
For Richard Westervelt, Long Series of Arrests and Evasions Ends in 5-Year Prison Term
Circuit Judge Dennis Craig rejected a more lenient prison term for Richard Westervelt of Palm Coast, who’s been arrested 13 times and faced 44 felonies and misdemeanors since 2010.
Woody’s BBQ at Flagler Plaza Is Burglarized For First Time in 18 Years
Two windows were smashed in in an apparent attempt to steal from the cash register, which was empty. Damage from the burglary was valued at almost $5,000, according to a sheriff’s report.
FPC Marks Football Team’s Perfect Season, a Superior Band for 15 Years, and a 14-Year-Old Champion
The Flagler County School Board meeting Tuesday turned into an evening of celebrations of historic achievements for so many that the meeting had to be moved to the Flagler Auditorium.
District Picks 100 Parents to Pilot App That Monitors and Controls Their Child’s Computer
Through a free app called Mosyle, parents will have the ability to control and lock down their child’s school issued device, with all parents given access by next fall.
Bunnell Man, 46, Accused of Raping Girl Since She was 8 and Molesting Another at Sleep-Over
The alleged assaults came to light after a sleep-over involving a 15 year old girl who’d gone to Bowling’s house to see her 15-year-old friend in June 2016.
Overriding Medical Marijuana Users’ Pleas, and Voters, Flagler Commissioners Pass Dispensary Ban
The 3-1 vote to ban medical marijuana dispensaries outright Monday evening ends a year-long process that saw commissioners zigzag between approval and prohibition.
A Fifth of Old Kings Elementary Students Absent as School Grapples With Outbreak
54 students were sent home Friday and at least 35 were sent home today after developing flu-like symptoms, but the outbreak appears limited to Old Kings Elementary.
Barney Davis, 56, Critically Injured in Motorcycle Crash on Seminole Woods By RaceTrac, Dies
There was no contact between Barney Davis’s motorcycle and a van as Davis attempted evasive action after the van cut in front of him, FHP said.
Behind Pending Sale of Sea Ray, A Few Hints As to Why, None As To What Next
Brunswick Corp. had noted a little disappointment with storm-related slowdowns at Sea Ray but explains its sale as a more strategic decision to focus more on different parts of its business.
Masked Gunman Robs Shell Station at Club House Drive, Suspect Arrested Within Hours
Charles E. Rushing-Griffen, 27, was booked at the Flagler County jail at 5:23 this morning as the suspect in an armed robbery by a masked gunman at 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening.
County And Bunnell Score Big Grants For Plantation Bay and Stormwater, Flagler Beach and Palm Coast Do Not
Flagler County won a $500,000 grant for improvements to its Plantation Bay utility, Bunnell won $460,000 for stormwater and sewer improvements from the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Bigamy Charge Revived Against Palm Coast Sex Offender With Long, Violent Criminal History
Paul Stout, a Bunnell resident with a violent criminal history in three states, was rearrested on a bigamy charge he had first faced in 2013, when the State Attorney’s office dropped it.
Early Morning Fire on Wellstream Lane Makes Home Uninhabitable For Family of Five
The fire broke out in the chimney at the 3,500-square-foot, two-level house at 68 Wellstream Lane in Palm Coast just before 1:30 this morning. It then spread to the roof.
Christmas With a Deputy Marks 10th Year By Increasing Shopping-Spree Sleighs to 125 Children
This Friday 125 children will get to go on a Christmas shopping spree with a cop and a gift card at Target, getting there in a long convoy of cop cars, lights and sirens blaring.
Charges or Sanctions Against Judge Scott DuPont Up to Commission as Hearing Ends
The final hearing in the year-long case alleging misconduct against Circuit Court Judge Scott DuPont ended Tuesday, with a decision expected sometime in the next two months.
FPL Customers Will be Billed $176 Million For Pollution Cleanup Following Leak at Utility
All electricity customers in Flagler County are serviced by FPL and will see the cost, albeit modest, reflected in their bills even though the leak took place in South Florida.
25 Years Later, a Palm Coast Murder Is Relived in Flagler Courtroom as Killer Seeks Release
Michael Renaud, now 44, was 17 when he murdered Margaret Rogers at a house on Point Pleasant Drive in Palm Coast in 1992. Today he was back in court, arguing for his early release.
Flagler Clerk of Court Will Hold Mass Wedding Ceremony on Valentine’s Day in New Tradition
On Feb. 14, Clerk of Court Tom Bexley will lead a mass marriage ceremony for all willing couples of all denominations and orientations.
Why Palm Coast Will Soon See Nearly 100-Foot Condo Towers Rise Off Colbert Lane
The development was once called Harbor View Marina. It will now be called Marina Del Palma and will add up to 615 residential units, 461 of them in condo towers of eight stories.
Man Wanted In Hit-and-Run Crash Involving Flagler Deputy Is Extradited to Flagler
James Rex Vorhees, a 74-year-old resident of Beauford County, South Carolina, was booked at the Flagler County jail on $11,000 bond after two hit-and-runs in late November.
2 Suicides, in Flagler Beach and at Palm Coast Econo Lodge, Bring Year’s Total to 19
Sharon Keeler, 66, lost her husband Karl to a vehicle crash earlier this month and died by suicide over the weekend. Seth Michael Rice, 47, of Jupiter, died of a gunshot wound at a Palm Coast hotel.
Found Guilty of Escape Out of Cop’s Car, George Wood Faces Up to 30 Years in Prison And Two More Trials
George Wood III of Palm Coast, 31, a felon now 11 times over, had busted out of a cop car after his arrest on SR100 in January and led police on an air and foot chase.
Ethics Commission Orders Kim Weeks and 2 Others To Reimburse $312,000 in Fees Over Frivolous Complaints
The state Ethics Commission ordered Kim Weeks to pay nearly $130,000 and Dennis McDonald and Mark Richter Jr. to pay the rest to compensate the county for defending against frivolous and defaming complaints they’d filed.
Joint Legislative Committee Unanimously Votes To Audit East Flagler Mosquito Control
Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Paul Renner, who represent Flagler, had asked the committee for an audit after that the tax-supported district incurred a $1.1 million deficit in a budget of $1.8 million.
Sidestepping Health Concerns, Flagler Approves 5 New Cell Towers, 2 Rising 350 Feet
Without denying health hazards, the Flagler County Commission approved the siting of five new cell towers, including one in Palm Coast, as part of its next-generation emergency communications system.
In 18 Minutes, Jury Finds Paul Dykes Guilty on 24 Counts of Child Sex Crimes, Including Rape
A jury of six women barely deliberated in the case of Palm Coast’s Paul Dykes, 21, found guilty of directing the rape of a 1-year-old girl with an ex-girlfriend, also found guilty in September.
Dale S. Winton Sr., 52, Takes His Own Life in Garage on Palm Coast’s La Mancha Drive
Dale S. Winton Sr., 52, in the hours before his death had written a note to his girlfriend, but it was unintelligible. She later found him unresponsive and paramedics found him without a pulse.
Lighting and Sign Improvements Coming to 3 Flagler Interchanges on I-95
Interchanges at Palm Coast Parkway, State Road 100 and Old Dixie Highway will see improvements between 2018 and 2019 in a $5.6 million project.
In Paul Dykes Trial, A Shaken Jury Is Subjected to Unrelenting Accounts of Unspeakable Acts
The first full day of trial for Paul Dykes, accused of raping a 1-year-old girl, subjected the jury to a tortuous onslaught of disturbing evidence. At day’s end, Dykes’s accomplice in the alleged rapes appeared.
Renner Again at Odds With Local Officials as His Recovery Centers Bill Gains Momentum
The House version of the bill is co-sponsored by Paul Renner, who represents Flagler, but whose proposal is opposed by Palm Coast government and the local hospital.
County Calls Waste Pro On the Carpet, Only to Lavish Praise, Flattery and Excuses
The county administration’s account of Waste Pro trash-hauling service contrasted sharply with commissioners’ stories of complaints, or documented complaints in Palm Coast.
After Wrenching, Day-Long Process, A Jury Is Impaneled In Child-Rape Trial of Paul Dykes
A jury of six women and one man was chosen from a pool of 50, as potential jurors were excused for a variety of reasons, many of them over the anxieties triggered by the trial’s subject matter.
Death Sentence Commuted to Life For William Gregory, Double-Murderer of Flagler Beach
William Gregory was on Death Row for the 2007 murders of his ex-girlfriend Skyler Dawn Meekings, 17, and her boyfriend of two months, Daniel Arthur Dyer, 22, at a house on John Anderson Highway.
In Reorganization, Hansen Takes County Chairmanship, Sullivan Is on Canvassing Board
The county commission chairmanship gives Hansen added visibility during an election year, while Sullivan takes over a canvassing board position with a fraught history.
Flagler Beach Pier May Reopen Dec. 15, But City’s Library To Remain Closed For Now
The Flagler Beach Pier and the city’s library were both damaged again by Hurricane Irma even after reeling from Hurricane Matthew. But a tentative date is set for the pier’s reopening.
Upwards of 1,100 Flagler Volunteers Are Recognized For Indispensable Help During Irma
More than 1,130 volunteers were documented to have lent a hand during the Hurricane Irma emergency and many more helped but were never added to lists.