Flagler County commissioners on Monday will consider approving a $20 million loan from a commercial bank to finance the proposed Sheriff’s Operations Center in Bunnell, significantly adding to the county’s current debt load of $142 million and annual debt servicing of more than $11 million.
Flagler, Palm Coast & Other Local News
Matanzas’s Jeff Reaves and Buddy Taylor’s Stacia Collier Are Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year
Jeff Reaves has been principal at Matanzas High School since 2017. He’s been in education for 15 years, 12 of those in Volusia County. Stacia Collier is a 2000 graduate of Flagler-Palm Coast High School.
Fifth New Cell Tower in 2 Years, at Palm Harbor Golf Club, Draws Less Than Beaming Reception
A new, 150-foot monopole off of 20 Palm Harbor Drive, on the grounds of the city’s golf club, drew a little bit of resistance from a council member and a few residents, though the Palm Coast City Council appears ready to approve construction later this month.
Officials Discredit False Rumors About FPC Principal Tom Russell as His Covid Battle Continues
Sometime on Monday a rumor started flying around Volusia County that Tom Russell, the Flagler Palm Coast High School principal and former Volusia County superintendent, had died. By evening the rumor was rampant in Flagler County as well. The rumor, which has upset Russell’s family, is false.
He Stalked and Harassed a Judge. He’s Now in Jail Without Bond–on a Pair of Misdemeanors.
It is extremely unusual that a person facing misdemeanor charges be held without bond. But when Darrell E. McDonough was arrested on Friday on a misdemeanor charge of stalking and a misdemeanor charge of harassing phone calls, he got booked at the Flagler County jail and is being held there on no bond by order of Circuit Judge Terence Perkins. His alleged victim: County Judge Melissa Distler.
$21 Million Flagler Sheriff’s Operations Center Unveiled, But Questions About Financing Remain Unanswered
The Flagler County Commission approved a $21 million, 51,000 square-foot Sheriff’s Operations Center. But questions remain unanswered about the project’s financing, which was not presented to the commission today, and its ultimate cost, which would reach nearly $23 million when financing it over 15 years is included.
16-Year-Old Flagler Beach Boy Faces 11 Counts of Possession and Promotion of Child Sexual Abuse Images
A 16-year-old Flagler Palm Coast High School student and resident of North Daytona Avenue in Flagler Beach faces 11 felony counts of possessing and promoting images of child sexual abuse following an investigation by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Pistols, a Hearse and Trucks Playing Chicken: Why Some Voters Felt Harassed and Intimidated at the Polls
Across the country, people complained about threats, aggressive electioneering and racist language both at early voting locations and on Election Day. We’ve corroborated some of those accounts.
Flagler Sheriff’s Detective Agustin Rodriguez, New Face of Progressive Policing, is 2020 Officer of the Year
Flagler County Sheriff’s Detective Agustin Rodriguez, Crime Stoppers’ 2020 Officer of the Year, was a Bunnell Police Officer for two years before joining the Sheriff’s Office in 2012, and joining the Major Cases Unit in 2019. This year he was responsible for closing three violent-crime cases with six arrests.
43rd Flagler Resident Dies of Covid; Local Covid Hospitalizations at 15; Fire Chief Out Sick, County Refuses to Say Who’s In Charge
Some 47 Palm Coast city government employees are currently out either directly or indirectly affected by Covid, but the county is refusing to disclose numbers, or say who’s leading the fire department, whose interim chief, Joe King, has been out with a covid diagnosis.