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.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
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.
Woman’s Report of Armed Robbery Leads to SWAT’s Raid of 2 Homes Before Suspect Is Caught Elsewhere
The alleged armed robbery of 23-year-old Nicole Rizzo on Bunnell’s South Chapel Street in early evening Friday led to the arrest of Charles Lenard “CJ” Phillips.
Supervisor of Elections Weeks and Ex-Candidate File Load of Ethics and Elections Complaints on 4 Commissioners
Calling it a “witch hunt,” the four commissioners say the complaints rehash minor issues that were almost all resolved during the election season, and that the ploy mostly is an attempt to tarnish.
County Administrator Craig Coffey Seeking 10% Raise, to $161,000, Amid Other Personnel Costs
The county administrator’s salary would increase from $146,383 and would add an automatic 3 percent merit pay increase a year absent an affirmative decision by the county commission.
Palm Coast Inaugurates 3-Day Birds of a Feather Fest With “The Big Year”‘s Greg Miller Headlining
The inaugural and broad-spanned three-day Birds of a Feather Fest is scheduled for Feb. 6-8, 2015, offering a weekend of birding, workshops, presentations, kayak trips and family activities.
Wadsworth Dog Park Remains Open After Abandoned Puppy Found in Area Is Euthanized for Parvo Virus
A stray puppy that hung around Wadsworth Park in Flagler Beach was diagnosed with the virulent parvovirus virus and euthanized, but unlike last year, the county administration has no intention of closing the dog park at Wadsworth, in part because it’s not clear exactly where the stray dog was found.
Cash, Crack, Pot and Pills: Drug Sweep in Palm Coast and Bunnell Yields 16 Arrests
Most of the arrests were the result of under-cover drug buys conducted in November, leading to search and arrest warrants that SWAT teams and other cops served today. There were no arrests in Flagler Beach.
In Mass-Casualty Simulation, Flagler First Responders and Hospital Test Capabilities
The simulation entailed a plane crash at the county airport and more than two dozen injuries as fuel and debris struck Hijackers’ Restaurant. The exercise unfolded in front of Florida Hospital Flagler’s Emergency Room.
4 Years In, Judge Dennis Craig Is Reassigned To Volusia and Replaced By Michael Orfinger
Craig has been reassigned to the civil division in Daytona Beach. He will be replaced in Flagler by Michael Orfinger, who was elected to the bench after running unopposed last summer.
Salamander Losing Streak Continues as Planning Board Rejects 198-Room Hammock Hotel, 3-2
The vote, coming at the end of a nearly four and a half hour hearing, is the latest in a series of defeats for the developer, though the binding decision does not take place until the Flagler County Commission hears the proposal.
Projecting $1 Million Saving, Palm Coast Will Build $2.5 Million City Hall Addition Now Instead of 2019
The total Palm Coast City Hall cost rose to $9 million as the council agreed to build an 8,000 square foot addition as part of a broader construction plan that would net the city savings over five years.
Palm Coast Council Weighing Suspending Red-Light Camera Program Entirely
The Palm Coast City Council is considering suspending–but not ending–its red-light camera program until courts rule more conclusively on the legality of the system.
Citing New Evidence, Flagler Detectives Reopen Case of Robert Picard’s Disappearance in 1997
Flagler County Sheriff’s detectives have reopened the 17-year-old case of Robert Patrick Picard, who went missing in western Flagler County in circumstances then-Sheriff Bob McCarthy called “suspicious.” The disappearance took place within days of the man’s trailer being burglarized by a man and three boys.
Flagler Opens 1st Secure Site For Supervised Children’s Visits in Sally’s Safe Haven
It took three years and $400,000 from a federal grant, but on Monday county officials dedicated the safe haven in the old Bunnell Post office location, ensuring that parents don’t have to travel to Volusia or St. Johns to execute court-ordered, supervised children’s visitations.
In Reversal, Accused European Village Attacker Daniel Noble Found Competent to Stand Trial
Daniel Noble appeared ready to shoot his Uzi-style assault weapon at a crowd at European Village in March before he was wrestled to the ground. After being deemed incompetent to stand trial three months ago, a judge ruled today that trial can proceed.
Eric Niemi Is Sentenced to Life in Prison, No Parole, for R-Section Murder of Leonard Lynn
Niemi killed Leonard Lynn, his 72-year-old landlord, in a savage beating last year. The sentencing hearing reflected Niemi’s own demeanor: stark, almost shorn of emotions, dispirited, more matter-of-fact than anguished.
How to Easily Navigate Big Changes in Fine Print of Obamacare Plans Before Deadline
Even if you’re getting the same plan — of the nearly 2,800 health plans offered in 2014, about 1,700 of them will exist in the same form next year — their benefits may not stay the same. Here’s an easy way to figure it all out.
Flagler Sheriff’s Deputy Byrne Injured During DUI Investigation of Bunnell Suspect
Kevin Byrne, an eight-year veteran and a corporal with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, was struck in the leg by a suspect’s car, which the suspect had left unsecured during a DUI investigation near Los Amigos on Nov. 30.
Varn Park Will Close Until April 15 For $476,000 Renovations Thanks to Scenic A1A Grant
The federal National Scenic Byways grant was the largest of just three such awards in Florida, and will have a $140,000 match from Flagler County.
Between Nature Scapes, Salvo Project and the Flagler Youth Orchestra, a Daylong Convergence of Art, Music and Green
Salvo Art gallery and Nature Scapes will be host to a day-and-evening-long celebration of art, music and trees all of Saturday, with performances by the Flagler Youth Orchestra to go along with an art opening of small works at the gallery.
“I Didn’t Want To But It Had To Be Done”: Details Emerge in Husband’s Alleged Shooting of His Wife
Jonathan Canales allegedly told his wife Tiffany Norman, just before shooting her in their Mondex home on Nov. 15, that he could kill her “and nobody would even know about it.”
Sgt. Larry Jones, One of Flagler Sheriff’s First Black Deputies, Retires After 30 Years
Jones’s career has straddled the best and worst of the county’s history. When he was hired in October 1984, Jones was only the fifth African-American deputy hired in Flagler County, which only a few years earlier had been the last county to desegregate its schools in Florida.
3 Motorists Escape Serious Injury in SUV-vs-Trailer Wreck on I-95 Bridge Above SR100
Palm Coast’s Matthew Reed escaped with minor injuries after carelessly rear-ending a pick-up truck’s trailer, a wreck that shut down a lane on I-95 at State Road 100 late Wednesday evening.