The city council says there’s no money for ambitious, long-range plans for community centers it discussed on Tuesday, although at previous meetings it never disputed the availability of $10 million for a new city hall.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
15-Year-Old Faces Charges Over a .40-Caliber Gun at Indian Trails Middle School Campus
The gun never made it into the school building, nor was it found during school hours. But Travis Williams was already serving a 10-day suspension from school when he allegedly walked with the gun on school property.
Flagler Firefighters Battling 2-Day, 300-Acre Brush Fire on Old Brick Road
The fire started Saturday, at the same time that firefighters were responding to the plane crash and ensuing brush fire at the Flagler County airport. The brush fire was 30 percent contained by Monday afternoon.
Palm Coast’s Shaklyia Chess, 16-Year-Old FPC Student, Killed in Wreck South of Bunnell
Shaklyia Chess was a 16-year-old junior at Flagler Palm Coast High School. She was driving south late Saturday night on US1 when she lost control of her car.
Single-Engine Yak 52 Crashes at Wings Over Flagler; One Pilot Is Dead; Tribute on Sunday
The Yak 52 went down at 4:27 p.m. while in the middle of a maneuver with another plane. The pilot was killed.
Wings Over Flagler: Warbirds, Yakrobatics and Tributes This Weekend at the County Airport
Wings Over Flagler, the second annual fly-in at the Flagler County Airport, features several dozen vintage warbirds, choppers and other attractions. Visitors can chat with pilots and mingle with history. With a photo gallery.
Flagler Sex Survey: Most Students and Parents OK Better Sex-Ed and Condoms in Schools
Preliminary results from the broadest sex survey every conducted in Flagler schools point to sexual activity among 30 percent of middle school,teens and broad approval for more than abstinence-only education.
Flagler Unemployment Drops to 14.9%, Lowest Since May 2009; Florida Improves to 11.5%
While Flagler County is still at the top of the unemployment chart in the state, improvements suggest that job creation is finally reaching Florida, which added 22,000 net jobs. Flagler’s employed grew by 360.
Wreck and Fatality on I-95, Just South of Flagler-Volusia Line
A single-vehicle wreck and a fatality closed the southbound lanes of I-95 this morning at mile marker 276 in Volusia County, leading to a five-mile back-up to the State Road 100 interchange in Flagler County.
Flagler Beach Dog Lovers: “If We Wanted More Rules We’d Go To Palm Coast”
More enforcement of existing rules and more self-policing, but no change in Flagler Beach’s dogs-on-the-beach ordinance, city commissioners decided after hearing from 38 people over 90 minutes Thursday evening.
Children as Billboards: From School Buildings to Buses, a Lunge for Ads and Revenue
The Flagler school district just broadened its advertising policy to allow ads in school buildings, websites and uniforms. State lawmakers are moving toward lifting the ban on ads on schoolbuses to make up for revenue the state is cutting.
88-Year-Old Palm Coast Woman Scammed by Dominican Republic Phone Fraud
A scammer in the Dominican Republic claimed the Palm Coast resident’s grandson was in jail and needed $2,500 to be released. The grandson was, in fact, still in the military. The woman lost her money.
Murder-Suicide Update: Shooting Took Place Saturday, According to Autopsy Results
David Sharp shot his wife Terry Sharp twice—once in the chest, once in the head–according to the sheriff’s office, then shot himself once in the head.
Their Battle Already Won, Flagler Beach Dog Owners Still Mobilizing to Ward Off Ban
Flagler Beach resident Vicky Mulvaney kicked off a firestorm of opposition to her proposal to ban dogs altogether from the city’s beaches. The city commission, unlikely to go along, hears from Mulvaney and her opponents Thursday.
Get Some: Sex Ed Survey Now Open to Flagler Parents; Student Survey March 23 and 24
Parents with children in school and residents without children are invited to take the Flagler school district’s sex education survey to guide school board policy. Middle and high school students take the survey March 23 and 24.
Trailer Trap: Flagler Beach Commission Still Circling Around Changes to RV Ordinance
Changes to the ordinance would make it difficult for some to park their RVs by their home. The city commission decided to further analyze the matter until May, when it may produce yet another version of the ordinance.
Bunnell Rededicates, and Renames, a Park to Honor Long-Time Mayor Joann B. King
FEMA and other grant dollars paid for the refreshed park, washed out in the rains of 2009. Joann B. King now joins her husband Herschel in having a park named after her.
3-Truck Wreck Briefly Closes Southbound I-95 Just North of Palm Coast Parkway
One semi was carrying a full load of lumber planks. Another was carrying huge steel beams. The crane truck was clipped from behind during the chain wreck. One driver was injured.
Mystery Scarring Unsolved, Malacompra Trail Policing Is Turned Over to Biking Group
The Malacompra mountain bike trail, for years a somewhat anarchic free-for-all recently torn up by bikers, will now, in an unusual arrangement, be policed by a mountain biking group and supervised by county authorities in cooperation with Hammock conservationists.
Autopsies To be Conducted Tuesday In Murder-Suicide; No Note Left Behind
The time of death has yet to be determined, and the case remains officially open, though all indications point to a murder-suicide. A .12-gauge shotgun was recovered in the Sharp home.
No Money, No Director: Flagler Youth Coalition Struggles for Survival and Identity
Created to fight youth drug abuse, the Focus on Flagler Youth Coalition is out of money, has had no executive director since last year, and its non-profit status may be in jeopardy. Coalition board members are exploring survival options.
Latest Irish Migration: St. Patrick’s Day in Flagler Beach
Flagler Beach held its first St. Patrick’s Day Parade Saturday, after Palm Coast’s Irish Social Club could no longer hold its parade down Old Kings Road. A few pictures from the event.
Murder-Suicide Shakes Community on Barkwood Lane in Northern Palm Coast
A middle-aged couple was found dead in their home on Barkwood Lane, off of Belle Terre Parkway, late Sunday afternoon. A shotgun was found at the scene next to the man.
Pier Restaurant Lease Hobbling Again As DEP Rejects Permitting a New Deck
Flagler Beach was going to pay for and build the $50,000 deck as a concession to potential restaurant owner Ray Barshay. Until DEP’s decision, Barshay and the city were very close to a long-term, deal.
Brush Fire at Yacht Harbor Village Is Quickly Contained
The fire broke out across a home on Harbor Village Point in the Yacht Harbor gated community on the Intracoastal side of State Road A1A.
Digital Video Awards’ 73 Contestants Spotlight School District’s Click on Technology
Computer-generated art, podcasts, digital photography and more: A complete list of contestants and winners from the second annual Flagler Digital Media Awards, held Friday at the Flagler Auditorium.
Economic Development Set Punts Again to More Meetings, Postponing Hard Questions
The same five “strategic goals” were hashed over again in the third day of an economic development summit, and a fourth was scheduled in May, for yet another $7,000 for “facilitator” Don Upton, bringing his tax-funded total to $30,000.
Military Training Likely Source of Morning Rattling or Minor Temblor in Flagler
Emergency services don’t know why roofs, windows and perhaps the ground shook at around 9:30 a.m. this morning in eastern Flagler County, from the Hammock to Bunnell. Authorities are still investigating.
Bullying of Gay Student at FPC Leads to Teacher’s Public Apology and Policy Change
FPC shop teacher Floyd Binkley made gay jokes in front of his students. A gay 9th grader in his class, who’d been repeatedly bullied by others outside of class, took the jokes as an offense directed at him.
Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes Scam in Flagler: Be On The Alert
Readers Digest claims you’ve won. You get a check then get asked to call somewhere to “activate” the check. It’s a scam to get your financial information. Don’t fall for it.
Just in Case: How Flagler County Firefighters Prepare for Japan-Like Catastrophes
Operation Integration, held at Camp Blanding near Starke once a year, gathers dozens of first responders, members of the National Guard and others for training in mass-casualty catastrophes. Flagler County firefighters took part for the first time this year.
Alcohol, Molotov Cocktail, Machete, Taser: Mondex Man in Jail for Assaulting Deputies
Rafael Rodriguez, 25, is in jail after brandishing a machete as he walked with an unleashed dog toward sheriff’s deputies. He’d allegedly thrown a Molotov cocktail on a Mondex road earlier.
Reversing Bad Run, Flagler Auditorium Scores $5,000 Grant from Tourist Council
After losing out on at least $15,000 for various reasons, the Flagler Auditorium managed to eke out $5,000 from the Tourist Development Council, a small but significant financial boost to a budget of over half a million dollars.
Youth Center II: Carver Gym Rises Again As School District Takes Over Management
South Bunnell’s Carver Gym, no longer on the endangered list, will be run like the Youth Center on FPC’s campus: with money from the county–and other sources–and staffing from the school district, along with new controls and programming.
Throngs Voice Opposition as School Board Endorses Cuts With Sweeping Consequences
The board voted 4-1 to approve recommended cuts that would reduce middle and high school days by one period, among other cuts totaling $3.5 million. The proposal must be approved by employee unions before it goes into effect.
Disaster Ready? 5 Nuclear Reactors in Florida, 3 Of Them Within 180 Miles of Palm Coast
Progress Energy’s Crystal River Plant in west Florida is exactly the same distance–140 miles–separating Tokyo from the exploding Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Two reactors in Jensen Beach are 180 miles south.
Two Alumni of Flagler Beach Follies Make City Manager Shortlist in Diminutive Polk City
Caryn Miller, the former Flagler Beach Community Redevelopment Agency director, and Scott Janke, whose wife’s porn-star flicks cost him a job and subsequent candidacies, are candidates for Polk City’s $60,000-a-year job.
Citing Cost and Turnout, Palm Coast Approves Voting and Election-Cycle Changes
Early voting will last two weeks and be held at the public library in Palm Coast rather than in Bunnell, but voting locations are reduced to six. Voters will be asked to approve a referendum moving elections to even years.
Sex-Ed in Flagler: School District Prepares to Move Away from Abstinence Only
Flagler’s sex-ed curriculum is abstinence only. But it’s barely taught and it appears not to address rising STD rates, though Flagler’s teen-pregnancy rate is lower than that of Florida or the United States. School board members are exploring a change.
Flagler County at the Heart of a Mortgage Fraud Investigation That Nets 11 Arrests, $9m Losses
Eighteen of the 23 homes at the heart of the fraud scheme were in Flagler County as fraudsters focused their attention here because it was out of the way. The scheme totaled some $9 million in losses, mostly to banks.
“In the Mood” Tonight at the Auditorium: 1940s’ Swing, Romance and a Simpler Age
String of Pearls brings its swing, jazz and other big band sounds and dance of the 1940s to the Flagler Auditorium for one performance March 14, recalling what Woody Allen called “a more charming time and a better time.”
Palm Coast City Election: Reducing Polling Locations, Changing to Even Years
Polling locations would be reduced from 21 to six, early voting might be reduced to a week, and voters will be asked to approve a charter amendment that would switch elections to even years, to save money and take advantage of turn-out.
Flagler Beach Police Officer Brett Smith Jailed on DUI Charge (Updated With Arrest Report)
Brett Smith, 30, was found passed out in a vehicle in the Daytona North (Mondex) area of the county Saturday evening. He was not on duty.
Humane Safari: Alms for the Paw Opening At the Flagler County Art League
The Flagler County Art League’s “Alms for the Paw” show, featuring 40 artists and 60 works, is part fund-raiser for the Flagler County Humane Society, part showcase for animal art: it’s not as easy as you may think.
Inspired By Chagall: The Art of Whimsy Reinvented, at Hollingsworth Gallery
Every square inch an inspiration, Marc Chagall is the point of departure for a couple of dozen artists at the Hollingsworth Gallery’s latest show, an adventure in rediscovery and reinterpretation of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists.
New Flagler Beach Commission Is Seated–and Pier Restaurant Deal Almost Unravels
Unexpected discussion about breaking the bait and tackle shop at the pier out of the restaurant lease, and inviting others to bid for running it, almost demolished months of negotiations over the restaurant lease.
John Rogers Certified as Bunnell City Commissioner after Provisional Ballot Count
John Rogers will be sworn in with Jenny Crain Brady on March 14. For Bill Baxley, who lost by just three votes, the election is a learning experience. He says he will run again at the next election.
State of Education Forum in Flagler: Anxiety and Advocacy as District Braces for Shock
If the state of education in Flagler County is strong, it won’t stay that way if state policy continues on its budget-slashing course, advocates and school officials told a large crowd at an education forum Thursday evening.
More Questions Than Answers As Palm Coast Desalination Project Scouts Locations
The public got its first chance to weigh in on Palm Coast’s $200 million seawater desalination project. Opinions were not friendly, and concerns over environmental issues specific.
Missing Cleveland Girl, 15, Found at Palm Coast Best Western This Morning; Father Jailed
Ashley Cantrell, of Cleveland, went missing last week and was believed to be traveling with her biological father, Terrance Cantrell, who is now at the Flagler County jail.