Membership at the Belle Terre Swim and Racque Club is down almost by half in two years, maintenance is wanting, and patrons like the Palm Coast Synchro Belles are complaining of poor conditions, prompting the School Board to rethink how it can keep it and Community Education going.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Flagler Deputies Now Equipped With Bean-Bag Firing Shotguns For Less Lethal Encounters
As debates about police tactics in violent encounters with individuals continue, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has converted 30 shotguns from its existing stock to use as less lethal weapons in such potentially perilous situations.
Flagler Commissioner Revels Faces $2,500 Fine Over Ethics Violations as Investigation Points To Discrepancies
Though she was the swing vote, County Commissioner Barbara Revels now concedes that she should have abstained from voting to buy the old Memorial hospital in Bunnell in 2013, and that she should have filed a conflict-of-interest form.
Elisa Marie Homen, 22-Year-Old Involved in Friday’s School Bus Crash, Has Died
Elisa Marie Homen, the 22-year-old Palm Coast woman involved in a school bus crash that sent 25 children to a local hospital, died on Tuesday from her injuries, FHP and family report.
Palm Coast Staples Store’s General Manager Is Arrested Over Refund Fraud Scheme
Robert M. Harper, the general manager of the Staples store on Old Kings Road in Palm Coast, was arrested Tuesday after confessing to defrauding the store of at least $3,000 by creating fake refunds to himself since last April. Customers were not involved.
Flagler County Government’s Citizens Academy Taking Applications Before Jan. 30 Start
Seats are still available for Flagler County’s popular Citizens Academy program, a free nine week course designed to introduce participants to the day-to-day operations of Flagler County government.
Candidates In Special House and Senate Election Strain to Distinguish Themselves
Five Republican candidates in the Jan. 27 special primary for House and Senate fielded questions from three Flagler County business groups in an open forum with few surprises Tuesday evening at the Hilton Garden Inn.
Big Names, Big Numbers and Zombies Animate 2nd Flagler Film Festival at Hilton
Organizers of the three-day Flagler Film Festival, which concluded Sunday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Palm Coast, say attendance was up about 25 percent despite inclement weather.
Attorney At Center of Suits Against Palm Coast and County, Is Arrested on Battery Charge
Joshua Knight, the Palm Coast attorney hired by two Ronald Reagan Assemblies members to litigate actions against Palm Coast and the county that were found frivolous, was arrested on domestic battery and false imprisonment charges Monday afternoon.
Rain and Pair of Wrecks Snarl Traffic on I-95 in Both Directions From SR100
A pair of wrecks involving up to four vehicles but with relatively minor injuries snarled traffic on I-95 Monday afternoon as rain fell heavily in the area of State Road 100. Both wrecks took place around mile marker 284.
As Lenhart Replaces Weeks, A Canvassing Meeting Where The Biggest News Is No News
Gov. Rick Scott appointed Kaiti Lenhart Interim Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, and the county canvassing board met for the first time today in the post-Kimberle Weeks era, and in a radically different atmosphere.
Palm Coast Street Superintendent Tony Capela Resigns Abruptly After 8 Years
Tony Capela, the sometimes embattled, often lauded Palm Coast street superintendent, resigned unexpectedly late Friday, without giving a reason, after eight years with the city.
Judge Will Decide How Much of $18,000 McDonald and Attorney Owe Palm Coast in Frivolous Case
Palm Coast brought sanctions against Dennis McDonald and his attorney for filing a frivolous lawsuit in 2013, alleging, falsely, that the city was about to cut down trees around Palm Harbor shopping center.
As Showdown Looms Over Salamander’s Hammock Beach Hotel, County Asks For Delay
A hearing before the Flagler County Commission Monday evening was to decide the fate of a proposed 198-room hotel at Hammock Beach Resort. The county administration is asking for a delay until February.
28 Killed on Flagler Roads Last Year, Most Since 2008; Total Crashes 2nd-Highest Ever
The spike in fatalities and 876 total crashes (only 2013 had more total crashes) has police and safety officials puzzled, though they say distracted driving is likely the leading cause.
Men’s Futures Tennis Tourney Returns to Palm Coast For 6th Year, Jan. 23-Feb. 1
Up to 128 touring professionals will compete at Palm Coast’s clay court facility for a $10,000 purse and ATP ranking points. Most days’ events are free to the public.
At Imagine School, Fire Inspection Is Cause For Caution, But “Just For Next Couple Of Weeks”
Palm Coast’s fire chief is incensed by the deception of a cautionary email to school staff this week that warns of a coming fire inspection, but also suggests that problem items must be removed or rearranged only “until after the inspection.”
Flu Visits to Flagler ER Spike 33% Over Last Season, But Officials Aren’t Calling It an Epidemic
Flu visits to the ER were especially pronounced in November. They leveled off a bit in December. But the first week of January saw the numbers spike again, especially compared to last year,
Four Gay Couples Get Marriage Licenses at Flagler Courthouse in Quietly Momentous End to Long-Standing Prejudice
It was a quiet but significantly historic day at the Flagler County Courthouse as Florida’s ban on marriage equality ended across the state Tuesday and couples celebrated the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses ahead of marriage ceremonies after the three-day waiting period.
Christmas Arch at Town Center’s Fantasy Lights Display Is Vandalized
For the second time in two years, Tiffany’s Fantasy Lights at Palm Coast’s Town Center were vandalized, this time when the Christmas Arch at the entrance of the park was toppled over.
Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks Resigns
Six years into her tenure, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks has resigned. Weeks announced her resignation in a letter to her poll workers this morning, citing family and health concerns.
The Gifted Chemistry of Mentorship: Remembering FPC’s Sylvia Brady
Sylvia Brady, the long-time and popular chemistry teacher at Flagler Palm Coast High School and 1984 Teacher of the Year, died on Friday, age 73. Inna Hardison, former editor of Palm Coast Lifestyles Magazine and current co-owner of Ha Media in Palm Coast, wrote the following profile of Brady in 2009, when Brady was on the verge of retirement.
Bunnell’s Faith Foust, 22, Killed, Boy Critical, Infant Saved in Head-On Crash on South Old Dixie
Faith Foust, 22, of Bunnell, was killed and her two children injured, in a head-on collision with a raised pick-up truck driven by Roberto C. Mcleskey, 22, of Gainesville.
After Confrontation, Police Taser and Arrest Bunnell Man Seeking Suicide By Cop
Henry Brock, 25, was arrested in several counts of police assault after cops stopped a fight between Brock and another man, at which point Brock threatened the cops and himself until he was incapacitated by two Taser shots.
6 Cars Broken Into or Tampered With at Outback and Nearby Lot Tuesday Evening
Four of the six cars had a window smashed out and items of varying value stolen in a crime spree that took place during dinner hours Tuesday evening.
Lower Fuel Costs Will Bring FPL Power Bills Down $2 a Month Starting in 2015
Like all utility companies, Florida Power & Light Company, which services almost all of Flagler County, is required by law to pass on fuel savings to customers.
Argument Over Facebook Images Turns Violent, Landing P-Section Woman in Jail
A violent domestic confrontation between a man and a woman over Facebook images on a cell phone spilled onto the street in Palm Coast Tuesday morning.
Chiumento Law Firm’s Ron Hertel Is Named 2015 President of Flagler Bar Association
Ron Hertel of Palm Coast’s Chiumento Selis Dwyer replaces Doug Williams as president of the Flagler County Bar Association, with Vincent Lyon, an attorney at the same law firm, as president-elect.
As Lawyers Duel, Meet the Interracial Gay Cowboys at Heart of Florida’s Gay-Marriage Quest
Stephen Schlairet and Ozzie Russ are a typical couple in many ways. They finish each other’s sentences, and reminisce over a photo album of their commitment ceremony nearly 15 years ago.
An 18-Year-Old Woman Is Charged With Rape After Sex With Boy, 15, in Public Library Lot
A Flagler Sheriff’s deputy noticed a van rocking back and forth in the public library parking lot on Palm Coast Parkway. The boy’s mother was summoned and asked for charges against 18-year-old Gabriella Martinez.
Medicare Penalties Hit 31 Florida Hospitals Over High Infection Rates; FHF Spared
In its toughest crackdown yet on medical errors, the federal government is cutting payments to 721 hospitals – including 31 in Florida — for having high rates of infections and other patient injuries.
2014 In Review: For Florida, A Year of Same-Olds More Than Change
State government from the governor on down is virtually unchanged, with all major figures and almost all incumbent senators winning reelection, but gay marriage and some legalized marijuana suggest some change for the state.
Stars of Palm Coast: Tiffany’s Fantasy Lights
From Evansville’s Fantasy of Lights at Garvin Park to Palm Coast’s Town Center: Tiffany Butler’s Christmas and how it became ours.
Ebony Wilkerson, Who Drove Her 3 Children Into the Sea, Is Committed to State Hospital
Ebony Wilkerson, who invoked God as she drove herself and three children into the surf off the sands in Daytona Beach in early March, was committed to a state psychiatric hospital for an indeterminate amount of time on Tuesday even as Circuit Judge Leah Case described the 33-year-old woman as “dangerous.”
Flagler Court Clerk Gail Wadsworth on Gay Marriage: “People Should Have Freedom to Be.”
Flagler County Clerk of Court Gail Wadsworth, whose office will be responsible for issuing same-sex marriage licenses starting Jan. 6, assuming legalities are worked out, speaks of her support for the sweeping change and hopes that it does not apply in one part of Florida but not others.
Not Wanting Jail Again, Palm Coast Ex-Con Is Arrested Twice in 2 Days on 9 Charges
Ryan Giovine had been to jail twice already this year, on a drug charge and a probation violation charge. He didn’t want to go back a third time this weekend. Instead, he ended up being jailed twice on a total of nine charges, including domestic violence battery, assault, burglary and probation violation.
Flagler Film Festival, the Sequel: Zombies and Star Power Flick In Jan. 9-11
The second edition of the Flagler Film Festival, at Palm Coast’s Hilton Garden Inn Jan. 9-11, features Florida-themed and Palm Coast based productions among numerous entries from around the world.
Four Palm Coast Employees Pull Off Poetic Doe Rescue Trapped in Grand Haven Pond
In Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon’s words (happy-face emoticon not included), “Santa will have all his reindeer this year,” thanks to four city employees who saved a doe from drowning in a coldish pond at Grand Haven Wednesday morning.
Unemployment in Flagler Falls to 8.1%, But Labor Force and Employment Rolls Shrink
Flagler County’s unemployment rate continued to improve in November, falling to 8.2 percent, the fourth successive monthly improvement and the lowest rate since the Great Recession as Florida’s rate, too, fell in November, matching the national rate of 5.8 percent.
Mulling Nuisances, Palm Coast Putters Closer to Trap, Neuter and Release of Feral Cats
With two new supporters of TNR on the council, Palm Coast is slowly moving toward adoption of a trap and release system that still preserves the city’s authority to declare some cats nuisances, and have them removed from public spaces or exterminated.
As Compliance Replaces Controversy, Sheriff Cautions of 2 DUI Checkpoints in Palm Coast
The checkpoints, which must follow strict guidelines, will be located at Palm Coast Pkwy NW and Frontage Road as well as State Road 100, East of Old Kings Road.
Firing a “Sponge Grenade,” Flagler Deputies Defuse a Would-Be Suicide-By-Gun After Hours of Negotiations
Flagler deputies after hours of negotiations near the Palm Harbor overpass in Palm Coast Wednesday morning stopped a man from killing himself with a .38 by firing so-called “less-lethal” munition.
Shirley Nethery, 77, Dies After Mistakenly Driving Her Car Down a Hammock Boat Ramp
Shirley Nethery, a 77-year-old resident and former president of Surfside Estates in Beverley Beach, died Tuesday evening after driving her car down a boat ramp and into the the Intracoastal Waterway.
White Elephant No More: County Approves 5-Year Lease of Costly Ginn Hangar in Deal With New Company
Delta Engineering of New Catle, Del., expanding in Flagler with 10 to 30 high-paying jobs, will fill the old Ginn building that had left the county with a $2 million liability when Ginn went bankrupt.
In Unusual Vote, Flagler Commission Acknowledges Ethics and Elections Complaints Against All Its Members
County and Canvassing Board Attorney Al Hadeed, who was also served with complaints, asked for the vote to assert three points that framed the complaints within the official duties commissioners were performing at the time the issues arose.
Ethics Commission Rejects Settlement With Sheriff Manfre, Reopening Case on All Charges
Manfre’s practices and claims of innocence until cautioned otherwise came under withering criticism by several members of the commission, who voted 7-2 to further investigate all charges originally brought against him.
Divided Flagler Commission Awards Administrator Coffey 5% Raise This Year, With More All But Promised
The Flagler County Commission didn’t go for the 10 percent raise Coffey (or, it is claimed, his staff) was asking for, but he still got a nearly $6,000 raise in a 3-2 vote by the commission Monday evening.
In 4-1 Vote, County Seals Agreement to Build Tourist-Ready Cottages at Princess Preserve
An initial plan to build three cottages in partnership with a state conservation agency would expand to an additional 10 cottages at the River-to-Sea Preserve in the near future.
Weekend Domestic Violence: A Woman’s Teeth Knocked Out; Baseball Bat vs. Lexus
Michael J. Ditaranto and Ralph Moreno, both Palm Coast residents, were jailed following separate incidents that resulted in one woman being hospitalized and a car being smashed up.
Special Election for House: Renner Hauls In $76,500. His Three Opponents Combined: $355
Renner’s $76,500 dwarfed amounts not exceeding $180 raised by three other candidates in the District 24 race — Republicans Sheamus McNeeley and Ron Sanchez and Democrat Adam Morley. Republican Danielle Anderson filed a waiver, as she had not posted a report on the state Division of Elections website by week’s end.