William Carl Styffe, 32, of Coconut Creek in Palm Beach County, was arrested by U.S. Marshals Monday as the suspect believed to have tried to rob Hancock Bank in Palm Coast on Aug. 30 and to have robbed a SunTrust bank in Volusia the same day, and a bank in St. Johns County four days later.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Back From Budget Brink, Flagler Youth Orchestra Begins 9th Year on New and Record Note
The Flagler Youth Orchestra is back for its ninth year with a new artistic director–and what appears to be another record-setting enrollment–three months after the school board had considered eliminating the program altogether.
Snap-and-Run: Sheriff Looking for Driver Who Sheared Off Red-Light Camera Pole
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a vehicle captured on video that struck an ATS red light traffic camera pole on Moody Boulevard (State Road 100) at the intersection of Memorial Medical Parkway in Palm Coast. The pole belongs to American Traffic Solutions, the Arizona-based company that runs the red-light spy-and-snap camera system for Palm Coast.
Bunnell City Manager’s Job Draws 83 Applicants, Including Two of Its Own Directors
The 75,000 to $80,000 position to replace Armando Martinez was advertised barely two weeks, but it’s drawn 36 applicants from 26 states and the District of Columbia, with the balance—47 applicants—from Florida, a dozen of them from Flagler County.
That Feared Flagler Schools Enrollment Drop And Loss of $1.8 Million? Didn’t Happen.
Last May, when the school board was campaigning for a new tax, it was projecting a loss of 283 students and $1.8 million. In fact, the district has added a handful of students two weeks into the new school year, ensuring that the state will keep sending that money to Flagler–and reducing pressure on the local district to think of closing some schools.
In a Surprising Shift, County Commission Finds Money for 2 Jail-Diversion Programs After All
Flagler County commissioners Thursday evening agreed to take on a $100,000 mental-health jail diversion program previously paid for by the state, and a $60,000 pre-trial release program they had opposed in earlier workshops. Both shifts took place during a hearing devoted to approving next year’s tax property rate.
19-Year-Old Accused of Molesting 12-Year-Old Step-Sister; R-Section Armed Robbery Report
Earl Robinson III, a 19-year-old resident of Rolling Sands Drive in Palm Coast, is accused of molesting his 12-year-old step-sister; an odd report of an armed robbery in the R-Section; a Good Samaritan Act gone bad on SR100, and rock-throwing and knife-pulling on Point Pleasant Drive.
Flagler Health Department Launches “Gospel” to Combat Twin Killers: Tobacco and Obesity
Two initiatives will be the centerpiece of the Flagler Health Department’s strategy in the coming year: Tobacco Free Flagler and an effort to reduce the incidence of overweight and obese residents through more awareness of good nutrition, BMI and healthier activities.
Flagler County, Palm Coast, Habitat for Humanity and Stetson Line Up 9/11 Events
Several local organizations and local governments, including Flagler County, Palm Coast, Habitat for Humanity, Stetson University and others are commemorating the 12th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
From Indian Trails Middle School to The U.S. Open: Reilly Opelka’s Tennis Zoom
Reilly Opelka, 16, a Palm Coast native and former Indian Trails Middle School student, qualified for the main draw of the U.S. Open Juniors tournament. He lost in singles on Tuesday but he;’s still alive in doubles. He talks about what it was like growing up in Palm Coast and moving to a tennis academy in Boca Raton.
Palm Coast Quietly Plans Community Center Expansion For Bridge Club, Raising Questions
The Palm Coast Bridge Club and the Palm Coast city administration have agreed in principle on a plan that would have the bridge club writing a $250,000 check and the city building a facility it would lease to the Bridge Club as an expansion of the Community Center on Palm Coast Parkway.
Flagler Chamber Signals More Political Engagement With New Government Affairs Director
In the latest signal of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce’s growing political profile, the chamber on Tuesday announced that it was creating the position of government affairs director, and appointing Gretchen Smith to fill it. Smith has been the chamber’s communications director since joining the chamber five years ago.
Labor Day Weekend Violence: Pointing a Gun at a Stepson, Punching a Pregnant Woman
Charles Lockhart, 23, of Palm Coast was jailed after allegedly punching his girlfriend, 34 weeks pregnant, and threatening a murder suicide, and Robert Knoblaugh, 63, of Bunnell was jailed for threatening his stepson with a gun front of grandchildren.
Bunnell City Attorney Lonnie Groot Resigns Three Days After Commissioner’s Sideswipe
Bunnell City Attorney Lonnie Groot resigned barely two months into his tenure, hinting at a lack of “professional principles and conduct” after Commissioner Jenny Crain-Brady said she didn;t want him “running” the city. The resignation is the latest in a series of blights on the city’s and commission’s conduct.
29-Year-Old Palm Coast Woman Evacuated To Halifax After Shattering Wreck on US1
A 29-year-old Palm Coast woman driving alone, at the wheel of the Oldsmobile, was heading north on U.S. 1 in Palm Coast Sunday evening when, about half a mile south of White View Parkway, when she lost control and violently struck trees, demolishing the car and sustaining severe injuries.
Three High School Students Held Up at Gunpoint For Their Laptops at a Bus Stop
Earlier this week, three high school students were robbed at gunpoint of their Macbook Air laptops at a bus stop in Ocoee, in Orange County. The computers had been issued to the students as part of a pilot program. A similar but much broader initiative is under way in Flagler County Schools, though security issues have not been addressed as broadly.
Flagler and Ormond Cops Looking For Cavalier Bank Robber; Hancock and SunTrust Targeted
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies and Ormond Beach police are looking for a man believed to be involved in an attempted robbery at Hancock Bank in Palm Coast and an actual robbery at SunTrust Bank in Ormond Beach Friday afternoon.
No PALs Allowed: A Mom’s Struggle With Flagler Schools’ Latest Dress-Code Absurdities
Though her children could wear PAL jersey shirts on Spirit Fridays last year, Michelle Taylor was ordered to Bunnell Elementary School Friday morning to replace her two sons’ PAL shirts as the 1st and 2nd grade boys were pulled from class and made to sit in the office “as if they’d committed a crime,” Taylor says.
Palm Coast’s Scott Jones, 51, Drowns in Intracoastal During Fishing Trip
Scott Jones, 51, of Wildwood Drive in Palm Coast, drowned while swimming in the middle of the Intracoastal Waterway Thursday afternoon, during a fishing trip with friends.
Memo to Palm Coast Council: Don’t Let an Unelected Manager Dictate Democracy in the City
By letting Jim Landon’s feud with Supervisor of Elections Kim Weeks drag on at voters’ expense, the Palm Coast City Council is improperly letting its unelected city manager set early voting policy while reminding us why it bears a big share of the blame for sending election turnouts in Palm Coast tumbling to record lows for the past several cycles.
She’s Accused of Burglarizing a Sheriff’s Employee’s Home, Then Defrauding the Elderly
After burglarizing the home of a Flagler County Sheriff’s employee in the W Section, Jennie McAfee, a habitual offender, was arrested for defrauding a 79-year-old woman who was convalescing in a nursing home.
Flagler Tourism Office Rebuffs Consolidation With County, Hinting at More Autonomy Instead
County Commissioner George Hanns and Administrator Craig Coffey had talked of absorbing the tourism office–currently a branch of the chamber of commerce–into county government. It won’t happen. Rather, Tourism Director Georgia Turner is talking of having a stand-alone tourism office in a few years.
County Rejects Roma Court for Sheriff’s Office as “Unworkable,” Citing 10 Issues
County Administrator Craig Coffey ended the Roma Court option’s prospects with a 10-point memo listing a series of structural and logistical concerns about the 57,000 square-foot property on Palm Coast Parkway, about half of which would have been leased to the county for the sheriff’s uses in a 15-year arrangement.
Flagler Beach’s Bobby Pace Pleads Not Guilty to Obstruction Charge
Bobby Pace, the 41-year-old Flagler Beach acting fire chief until late July, has pleaded not guilty to an obstruction charge the State Attorney filed against him on July 25 and waived an appearance before County Court Judge Melissa Moore-Stens at an arraignment on Tuesday.
Palm Coast Food and Wine Festival Returns, This Time With Wine, and Free Admission
The Palm Coast Food and Wine Festival at Town Center’s Central Park is scheduled for noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, with no gate admission, a dozen wines and more than a dozen food vendors from several countries, along with cultural and other entertainments.
Palm Coast Tax Holds Even, But Council Tiring of Deficit-Ridden Golf and Tennis Operations
The Palm Coast golf course had a $50,000 deficit this year, the tennis center a $100,000 deficit, both covered by taxpayers, with more deficits expected ahead. Palm Coast City Council members are wearying of carrying both centers. But they’re not ready to end the subsidies, either.
Majority of Palm Coast Council Would Forego Early Voting Fees, But Weeks Hardens Over Space
The clash between Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks and Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon is not nearing resolution even as a majority of the city council would extend free use of a room at the community center for early voting, because Weeks is insisting on using a larger room, which the council won’t concede.
Drunk on a Sailboat, Drunk and Violent at the Bowling Lanes, Sobered Up at County Jail
Hamish MacDonald was found passed out on the deck of his circling sailboat in the Intracoastal Waterway, near Grand Haven in Palm Coast, and Shane Hefner was arrested for throwing a drink at a Palm Coast Lanes bartender, and driving drunk.
Firehouse Subs Marks 10 Years in Palm Coast As Community Ties Aid Longevity
Monday afternoon Palm Coast’s Firehouse Subs celebrated its tenth anniversary, $8 million in business and considerable donations to local fire houses with visits from its core constituents—firefighters—but also company CEO Don Fox, Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts, several other city council and county commission members, and of course franchise owner David Hause and his wife Melinda.
Lonnie Redner’s Life Sentence for Double Murder Ends an Almost 4-Year-Old Case
Lonnie Redner of Palm Coast went to Ormond-by-the-Sea in November 2009 to rob two men of prescription pills. He murdered them instead and stole 50 pills and $20 in cash. In a case that ended last week, he was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
In a First, Flagler County Will Prohibit Legal Tobacco Use On and Off the Job For New Hires
It is the first time a local government has made new employment conditional on the prohibition of use of a legal substance, though numerous governments and private employers are increasingly taking the same approach, and Palm Cast and the school board may soon hop on board.
Mystery Burglar in B-Section, Counterfeit-Topped Pizza in Ps, and Strangulation in the Rs
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies contended with at least two mystery men and one case of domestic violence that ended with a suspect hiding in a bathtub with a knife Wednesday in three separate incidents that stretched from the B Section in North Palm Coast to the P and R sections further south.
Supreme Court to Hear Red-Light Camera Challenge in Case That Will Affect Palm Coast
The $1.7 million Palm Cast reaped in red-light camera fines between 2008 and 2010 may be at stake if the Florida Supreme Court rules such systems illegal after it hears the much-anticipated case on Oct. 8, with ramifications for numerous cities and counties across the state.
CPR and First Aid Heart Saver Certification Training Offered Free
The Flagler County school district and the Palm Coast Fire Department are offering free day-long training in CPR and first aid heart-saver techniques to all school employees or any member of the community. Anyone 13 and older may participate in the Saturday classes Aug. 31, Oct. 5 and Dec. 7.
All Quiet On the Hurricane Front Half-Way Through Season, But Don’t Relax Yet
Federal emergency managers held a news conference Wednesday to reinforce the message that Florida is just entering the thick of hurricane season in late August and September even though so far the 2013 hurricane season has been a breeze in Florida.
Jacob Oliva All But Appointed School District’s Next Superintendent as NAACP Objects
The Flagler County School Board will forego a state or national search and advertise locally for a new superintendent even as a majority of the board is ready to appoint Jacob Oliva, the former FPC principal, to replace Janet Valentine, a decision the NAACP calls “cronyism” in light of internal issues the organization says won;t be addressed by hiring from within.
Home Sales in Flagler Hit Post-Recession High as Time On Market Declines and Prices Rise
Homes for sale in Flagler County have spent on average just 55 days on the market, also a post-recession low, while the median sale price of $155,000 in July in Flagler improved an impressive 7 percent on June’s median of $144,500, and 19.7 percent on the median price a year ago,
Matanzas Teacher Tells Girl Accusing Him of Sex: “Because I Thought I Cared About You”
New details from Matanzas English teacher James R. Wolfe’s arrest and personnel records show he arranged a meeting last Saturday with the girl accusing him of having sex with her when she was 16, when he allegedly told her he didn’t mean to hurt her–a meeting cops recorded. Wolfe’s evaluations at Matanzas show the struggles of a “rookie” teacher, but also his triumphs, and no blemishes.
Replacing Valentine: Flagler School Board Will Decide Scope of Search for New Superintendent
Janet Valentine will end her tenure as Flagler School Superintendent in June. To ensure a smooth transition, the Flagler County School Board will take a significant first step tonight as it decides whether to conduct a local, statewide or national search for her replacement. Jacob Oliva, the assistant superintendent and ex-FPC principal, is a front-runner.
County Celebrates Carl Laundrie and His Rescuers 10 Days After Near-Fatal Wreck in “The Drink”
Firefighter-paramedics from every agency save people every day, but when the same employer signs the checks of the person saved–PIO Carl Laundrie–and his saviors, the intersection lends itself to the sort of recognition the county commission organized at the top of its meeting Monday evening.
Weekend Blotter: An Argument Over Kitty Litter, Another Over Sex, Land 2 in Jail
Avelino Garon, 59, of Palm Coast was accused of threatening his wife’s life after allegedly threatening to throw a cat against the wall during an argument over its kitty litter. Separately, Christina Quintanilla was accused of aggravated assault against Jessica Nagledinger, whom she accused of having oral sex with her husband.
13-Year-Old Boy On a Bike Struck By SUV at Belle Terre and Ponce de Leon
Just after Buddy Taylor Middle School let out, a boy of about 13 riding his bike south along the northbound lanes of Belle Terre Parkway was struck by a pick-up truck as the boy was crossing Ponde de Leon at 1:38 this afternoon. He was slightly injured.
School Bell Schedule for Flagler County Schools, 2013-14
Clip and save: bell schedules for Flagler Palm Coast High School, Matanzas High School, Buddy Taylor and Indian Trails middle schools, and the district’s five elementary schools: Bunnell, Belle Terre, Rymfire, Wadsworth and Old Kings.
Sticker Shock: How Bunnell Rang Up a $24,000 Legal Bill Its First Month With a New Attorney
The $24,000 July bill from City Attorney Lonnie Groot and his firm amounts to almost half the city’s entire annual budget for legal services. Groot and commissioners said the fee is the result of several high-profile cases, but commissioners and staff alone rang up $7,363 in billable hours.
Tallahassee For Sale: Six Lobbying Firms Collect More Than $1 Million Each
Bolstered by huge paydays from some clients, at least six lobbying firms, including the Southern Strategy Group, collected $1 million or more in legislative lobbying fees between April 1 and June 30.
Three Occupants Pulled from 41-Foot Hatteras Yacht Sinking in Intracoastal in Flagler Beach
A 41-foot Hatteras yacht carrying three people began sinking in the Intracoastal Waterway after 10 a.m. Saturday. The boat was listing severely, but was still afloat around noon, with several people in and out of it, trying to salvage it. No one was injured.
James Wolfe, Popular English Teacher and Coach at Matanzas, Accused of Sex With a Student
James Wolfe, a successful cross country coach at Matanzas, was arrested and charged with seven counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, whom he allegedly drugged, based on allegations dating back to between August 2010 and May 2011, when the alleged victim was 16.
Child Trauma-Evacuated, 2 Adults Injured After 2-Vehicle Wreck on Royal Palms and US1
A child had to be evacuated on a trauma alert and two adults–each driver of the two cars involved–were taken to Florida Hospital Flagler with less serious injuries after a 2:30 p.m. wreck at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Royal Palms Parkway in Palm Coast.
Kevin Spearmon Leads Police on Yet Another Chase, Ending With Taser, Jail and No Bond
Kevin Spearmon of Palm Coast has repeatedly been arrested–and served a prison sentence–for fleeing police and doing drugs. He was arrested again for the same reasons Thursday, when he was in the company of a 16-year-old girl, and was subdued after another chase in the P-Section and a Taser shot to the back before being taken to jail where he’s being held without bond.
Florida Unemployment Stuck at 7.1% For 3d Month, Flagler’s at 10.3% On Low-Pay Jobs
The national economy, Florida’s and Flagler County’s might as well be the three twins of lethargy: all three economies are mirroring each other in fitful but anemic activity, adding some but mostly low-paying jobs as Florida’s unemployment rate remains at 7.1 percent for the third straight month and Flagler’s continues in the low double digits, at 10.3 percent.