What do my almighty “VAM” scores reveal about me, my students, the quality of my instruction or what goes on in my classroom? Absolutely nothing, writes JoAnn Nahirny, who deconstructs Florida’s new teacher-evaluation scores, hers among them, and shows why they have little basis in reality, though they may well define a teacher’s fate.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
For Special Education Students in Flagler, a Program That Unlocks Barriers Through Art
Now in its second year, Very Special Arts is an after-school program for students with learning disabilities that helps them find their talent and their place among peers. The program is under the leadership of Sue McVeigh, a former Flagler County schools employee of the year.
Flagler Beach Woman and St. Johns Man Face Capital Charges of Raping 2 Girls Younger Than 12
Rhonda Lynn Wilkerson, 49, of Flagler Beach, faces one rape charge and William C. Dillow, 27, of St. Augustine, faces two rape charges, after girls in a Flagler County school revealed the alleged incidents to staff. The incidents took place in St. Johns County.
Bitter Criticism and Some Caution from Flagler School Officials on State’s Teacher Rankings
The Flagler and Florida Education Association, the state’s teachers union, is criticizing the state’s so-called “value-added model” that presumes to rate teachers’ effectiveness, calling the data “flawed.” Many teachers and a Flagler County School Board member are also critical of the data, but for varying reasons, while Flagler’s superintendent cautions against making too much of the numbers.
3 Minor Traffic Stops Lead to 3 Arrests on Crack Charges as Detectives Point to Cocaine Uptick
Three separate and unrelated traffic stops for minor infractions over the weekend led to three arrests on cocaine possession charge, an indication, according to the Sheriff’s Office, of a noticeable rise in the drug’s circulation, and in reaction to the crackdown on prescription drugs.
Baker Acts, Age and Social Responsibility: Sheriff Manfre’s Alert to Emerging Perils and Possible Solutions
In a broad-ranging discussion before the Palm Coast City Council, Flagler Sheriff Jim Manfre described a deteriorating mental health landscape affected by age and other stresses, but also pointed to mental health courts and other ways to address the growing problem without turning to cops and jails.
Red Hot Chilli Pipers Rock the Bagpipes in Celtic Style at Flagler Auditorium Tuesday
The Red Hot Chilli Pipers were launched to fame on Britain’s “When Will I Be Famous” talent show in 2007. They’ve since played most continents with their massive band, and come to the Flagler Auditorium for one night only Tuesday, Feb. 25,
Ex-Con Believed To Have Carjacked Orlando Couple Is Arrested in Flagler After Chase and Crash
Dyson Graham, who will be turning 25 on Friday, was released from state prison 11 months ago after serving three years on a conviction for carrying a concealed weapon as a convicted felon. Sunday morning, Graham and a 16-year-old girl missing from Hillsborough County were arrested in Flagler County following a carjacking in Orange County and a car crash in Palm Coast.
Cops Net 61 Pot Plants in Mondex Grow House; Sheriff Doubts Owner’s “Personal Use” Claim
Dwayne Reed, a 49-year-old resident of 5637 Nutwood Avenue in Bunnell was fingered to police by an anonymous source as having marijuana plants, but claimed he used them because of illness, not for distribution. He faces a third-degree felony, pending the State Attorney’s review of the case. Reed meanwhile remains free.
Ribs Over Flagler: Palm Coast and WNZF End Event Partnership as County Offers New Home
Palm Coast and WNZF have ended the partnership that produced the annual Rock ‘n Ribfest every spring and the Seafood Festival every fall in Town Center. The Ribfest will be reborn as part of a fly-in at the county airport called Rockin’ the Runways in late April. In an unrelated move, the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce is ending its annual Taste of Flagler and replacing it with Restaurant Week.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning For Flagler Through 3 PM, Watch Through 5 PM
The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northeast Flagler County and southeast St. Johns County, in effect through 3 p.m. Friday. Palm Coast and Flagler Beach are included in the warning.
Divisions Over Roving Vendors Again Place Flagler Beach’s Business Friendliness on Trial
How the Flagler Beach City Commission finally got to a restrictive ordinance on mobile vendors divided the commission and the town’s business community and again put a spotlight, fairly or not, on the commission’s attitude toward small business. The controversy illustrates an underlying strain between city and business that has not been resolved, and that goes beyond the roving vendor issue.
Charles Ownbey, 72, Is Killed In Motorcycle Wreck on I-95, South of Palm Coast Parkway
A motorcyclist riding a Harley-style bike south on I-95 was killed early this afternoon when one of the motorcycle’s tires reportedly blew, sending the bike across the paved shoulder and into the wood-line.
Jamal “Jamie” Nejame, 3-Time Candidate for Office in Flagler Beach, Jailed on Stalking and Injunction Violation Charges
Jamal “Jamie” Nejame, who three times ran for public office in Flagler Beach and had been a frequent and vocal presence at city commission meetings, was arrested and jailed Wednesday evening on charges of aggravated stalking and violation of an injunction. He also faced a stalking charge in 2009.
12-Year-Old Rymfire Elementary Girl Faces 2 Felony Charges in Knife Incident at Bus Stop
The 12-year-old Palm Coast girl faces charges of aggravated assault and the reckless display of a weapon, both felonies, for allegedly pulling a 12-inch knife on a 10-year-old boy and threatening to slash him. Both the boy and the girl accuse the other of teasing repeatedly in the past.
Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High Learn Of Suicide of Senior Alexandria Rodriguez
On Tuesday, the grandfather of Alexandria Rodriguez, an 18-year-old senior who’d attended Matanzas High School last year and Flagler Palm Coast High School until Thanksgiving, came to FPC to retrieve her two younger sisters and inform the administration that Alex, as she was known, had committed suicide that morning.
Ahead of Bunnell’s March 4 Election, Three Commission Candidates Battle With
More Blanks Than Bullets
Few of the candidates’ answers at the only candidate forum before the election grappled with actual issues, ideas or solutions, hewing instead to generally positive statements about wanting to do their best or speaking in generalities that would not distinguish them either from each other or from any well-meaning resident of the city they seek to represent.
Ronald Reagan Republicans Launch Campaigns In Every Local Flagler Race, Signaling Insurgency Against GOP Incumbents
Six candidates introduced themselves Monday evening, including two for school board, two for the Palm Coast City Council, and two for the Flagler County Commission. Six of the seven are running against incumbent Republicans, suggesting that the Triple-R’s are looking to be the insurgent candidates of this election cycle—against their own party.
Suspect, 18, Accused of Battering a 71-Year-Old Employee at CVS Over a Phone Charger
Dakota S. Walls, 18, of Palm Coast, is accused of slugging a 71-year-old employee of CVS pharmacy after allegedly trying to steal a phone charger then claiming that the employee had taken his $20. Karen Breen, a Palm Coast resident, is accused of a similar charge after allegedly purposefully colliding with her elderly parents during an argument, and in front of a cop.
Fire Police’s Bob Hudak Among Top Winners in Palm Coast Fire Department’s Annual Awards
Hudak was named the 2014 Fire Police Officer of the Year Saturday evening, bringing some attention to one of the more thankless and least-rewarded aspects of emergency operations. Firefighter-Paramedic David Faust was named Career Firefighter of the Year, and Lt. Paul Matarazzo was honored as Volunteer Firefighter of the Year, among other awards.
Patrick Amaral, 32, Kills Himself By Laying in Path of 2 Palm Coast Drivers on I-95
Patrick Amaral, a 29-year-old Palm Coast resident and father of a toddler, was killed in an apparent suicide Friday evening as he laid himself in the center lane of I-95 and was struck by two cars.
Ailing Palm Harbor Shopping Center Poised To Revitalize Itself as Bigger Island Walk
The remaking of Palm Harbor shopping center as Island Walk, with more and bigger stores in the old but semi-vacant heart of Palm Coast, has broad support despite a few unanswered questions, among them the likelihood that the shopping center will have enough tenants to fill the new space.
For Darlene Love, It’s Christmastime All Year Round as She Brings 6 Decades of Stardom to the Flagler Auditorium
At 72, the great jazz, pop, rock star and sometimes actress, who brings her show to the Flagler Auditorium, reminisces in a FlaglerLive interview about her journey from back-up singer for the greats such as Elvis and Tom Jones to stardom on her own.
Michael Halford, 61, Is Killed After His Truck Plunges in Canal at Belle Terre and Royal Palms
Though Michael Halford of Palatka was initially rescued from the canal by an off-duty Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy, the 61-year-old man later died at Halifax hospital from injuries sustained in a wreck authorities cannot yet explain.
In a 1st, Flagler Requires All Juniors to Take SAT, Raising Concerns About County’s Image If Grades Drop
On February 26, almost 1,000 juniors–double the usual number–will take the SAT at Matanzas and FPC, but School Board member Colleen Conklin worried that the resulting drop in average results may send the wrong message to families and businesses looking to relocate to Flagler County.
New “I Am Art” Gallery Opens in the Hammock; Timothy Murphy and Joe Campanellie Featured at Ocean Books and Art
The I AM ART/Rachel & Friends studio and gallery, which premiers with “The Heart of Expression” on Feb. 14, opens in the Hammock on Valentine’s Day. Flagler Beach’s Ocean Books and Art features sculptor Timothy Murphy and photographer Joe Campanellie.
A Gas Station at the Corner of Pine Lakes and Wynnfield? Property Rights, Not Palm Coast, Would Prevail
The Palm Coast City Council says it is powerless to stop a Cocoa-based company from building a gas station at the until-now wooded corner bordering the entirely residential W-Section, as the site has always been zoned commercial.
On Old Haw Creek Road, a Confrontation So Hostile That a Cop Asks For It To Be Videotaped
Stuart Denison, who’d been arrested three times in the last few months on domestic battery charges, allegedly threatened to kill his girlfriend and the cops who arrested him Sunday; separately, Michael Testa was arrested for the ninth time.
Art That Gives Garbage a Second Chance: Violet Skipp Haffner’s Lazarus Act at Hollingsworth
Violet Skipp Haffner’s art, now on display at Palm Coast’s Hollingsworth Gallery in her first solo show, creates illusions–and sculptures–out of objects that have been discarded or forgotten, and that evoke a darkness that lets you fill in the blanks.
Downed Power Line Triggers Fire Along Seminole Woods Blvd., But Blaze Is Controlled
A road crew was working on the east side of Seminole Woods Blvd., clearing brush in the first step of construction of a path, when a track hoe severed a power line that set a 70-by-70 fot area on fire. No residential or commercial properties were in danger.
Domino’s Pizza Delivery Woman Reports Being Shot at in Palm Coast’s P-Section
The pizza delivery woman was asking for directions from two men on Powder Hill Drive when one of them displayed a gun, and reportedly fired it as the woman backed up to escape. A bullet struck the car’s console, but the woman was not injured.
Kelly S. Melton, 49, Critically Injured in 3-Motorcycle Wreck on U.S. 1 and Palm Coast Parkway
Kelly S. Melton was riding with Gordon E. Drady, 61, and Michele L. Tola, 42, of Jacksonville when all three slowed on the approach to a red light at Palm Coast Parkway, but Melton, who was not wearing a helmet, lost control, and crashed on the pavement.
Robert Cronin, 62, Is Killed in Single-Car Wreck on Palm Coast’s Whiteview Parkway
Robert Cronin, a 62-year-old Palm Coast resident, was at the wheel of a Toyota Camry early Saturday morning, speeding east on Whiteview Parkway in Palm Coast, when he lost control of the car and crashed against a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Suspect in W-Section Crime Spree Is Pulled Out of Class at FPC and Arrested on 7 Warrants
Matthew Wright, who just turned 18, is accused of being Danquelle Nash’s accomplice in a burglary and car theft crime spree on Jan. 6. A mother’s attempted strangling her juvenile daughter lands the mother in jail. A man is accused of battery on his pregnant girlfriend.
Red-Light Cameras Meet Poetry Meet Visual Improv at Flagler County Art League
“Art that inspires Poetry and Poetry that Inspires Art,” the Flagler County Art League show opening Saturday, is an improvisational conversation between artists and poets, whose combined works will adorn the league’s walls through February.
The Diagnosis
FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam learned he had cancer over the holidays. He describes the experience and his travels since, mostly down and up the abyss that becomes a premier tourist spot for many of those coming to grips with the diagnosis, even though death row appears, in his case, a very long way off.
Arrested For Felony Child Abuse and Pot Possession: The Mother’s Account
Sophia Zhudro is the 30-year-old resident of Palm Coast’s B-Section who was arrested on Jan. 24 for marijuana possession as she was parked with her 15-month-old on the side of a residential street in her neighborhood. She tells her side of the story, taking issue with the way the incident was related by police.
Flagler’s Vacation Rental Reform Bill Advances Through 2 Committees, Buoying Chances
The proposed reform of a law that would return control of short-term rental regulations to counties and cities gained additional support at the Legislature Tuesday as it cleared a second Senate committee and its first House committee with solid backing.
No Surprise: Flagler School Board Votes 5-0 To Appoint Jacob Oliva Superintendent
The initial tally, reflecting how board members ranked the two candidates, was actually 4-1, with Collen Conklin voting for Pam Tapley of Osceola County schools, but the vote to actually appoint Oliva superintendent was unanimous, to reflect the board’s unanimity.
Discount Tire Store Construction Near Panera Abruptly Halted; Palm Coast Says It Had Nothing To Do With It
Discount Tire is not explaining why it decided to stop construction on its planned store next to Panera Bread on SR100. The decision startled the city, which insists it had nothing to do with it.
Bunnell Names Tom Foster, Veteran of Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Its New Police Chief
Tom Foster, 57, retired as a captain from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in March 2012 after a year as head of the street crime section of the special operations division, which oversaw gang enforcement, juvenile arrests and “problem-oriented policing.”
Woody’s BBQ Owners Take On New Restaurant at Bull Creek Camp, With County as Landlord
The Flagler County Commission unanimously approved leasing the restaurant and bait shop at Bull Creek Campground for $1,000 a month to JMC Food Company, a consortium of three partners who run Woody’s B-B-Q in Palm Coast, including Matt Crews, Joe Rizzo and Chris Zwirn. The restaurant opens in spring.
December’s Palm Coast Tornado Focus of Emergency Alert Survey in CodeRED Study
The City of Palm Coast is participating in a new University of Missouri-Columbia research study regarding emergency tornado notification–and asking residents who were in Palm Coast on Dec. 14, when the tornado struck, to take part in the survey and help improve emergency response and safety measures.
Two Palm Coast Men Held on $250,000 Bond For Armed Robberies at Two Pharmacies
Daniel Lindsey, 29, and Matthew Barker, 27, of 72 Leidel Drive in Palm Coast, were arrested following the robberies of a pharmacy in Palm Coast and one in St. Augustine over the weekend. Narcotics were stolen.
Flagler Cases Not Among Those Affected By Extensive Drug-Evidence Theft at FDLE Crime Lab
A chemist who worked nearly 2,600 cases for 80 law enforcement agencies spanning 35 counties and 12 judicial circuits is on paid leave pending an investigation into pain-killer pills stolen from an FDLE evidence vault and replaced with over-the-counter drugs.
Flagler Beach Police Launch Initiatives to Protect Residents and Property, But Public Records Expose Vulnerability
Though the initiatives are very well-meaning, participating residents who want their house watched while they’re away or who live alone and need a daily check-in must fill out detailed applications that reveal a lot of personal information and details about their property. The documents are public records, and may potentially create vulnerabilities for the very residents police are aiming to protect.
Sweet Waters Smokehouse, With Grand Opening Saturday, Adds to Restaurant City in Flagler Beach
The Tuscan Grille restaurant owners were approached by the property owner of the former Hurricane Patty’s in Flagler Beach and asked to take over. They agreed. After Sweet Waters Smokehouse’s soft opening Oct. 1, the restaurant launches in earnest with a grand opening Saturday, Feb. 1, starting at 11 a.m.
Musical CPR: Bee Gees Tribute Band Brings ’70s Revival Act to Flagler Auditorium
Two of the three founding brothers of one of the most popular band of the 70s have died, but the Canadian Bee Gees tribute group Stayin’ Alive brings its 1970s memory-lane show to the Flagler Auditorium for one show only tonight (Friday), at 7:30.
Jacob Oliva, In Commanding Performance Through Superintendent Interview, Describes Gains and Promise of Innovations
Acting Flagler Superintendent Jacob Oliva was second and last in the school board’s interviews Thursday. Surprising board members by challenging existing norms such as zero-tolerance policies, Oliva projected a strong command of his administrative leadership while outlining a series of recent innovations and more to come.
In Day’s 1st Interview, Superintendent Candidate Pam Tapley of Osceola Projects Bubbly Personality, Passion and Generalities
First of two interviews for school superintendent Thursday, Pam Tapley proved immediately personable, well-spoken, occasionally funny and comfortable with herself and the board, but she was less in command of specifics when answering probing questions by the board.