What started with an email from target to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s Shop with a Cop charity in October and a puzzled response that went unanswered has turned into a full-bore and continuing assault on the company by Sheriff Rick Staly, who has been lambasting Target for “talking out of both sides of their mouths” after abruptly severing a 13-year relationship with what had previously been known as Christmas with a Deputy.
Backgrounders
5th Grade Teacher at Wadsworth Elementary Disciplined Over Inappropriate Story About ‘Beautiful Black Boy’
A Wadsworth Elementary teacher told her students a “story” about an inner-city Black student living with violence and poverty and, and told her students–according to their accounts–that they were privileged or blessed to be where they were, leading to disciplinary action against the teacher for being inappropriate and unprofessional.
Angela TenBroeck, Marineland Mayor and 4th Generation Farmer, Is Florida Woman of the Year in Agriculture
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried named Marineland Mayor Angela TenBroeck, an innovator of sustainable and innovative farming techniques, Florida Woman of the Year in Agriculture. TenBroeck is CEO of a 30-acre aquaponics farm in East Palatka and heads the non-profit Center for Sustainable Agricultural Excellence and Conservation.
Grace from the Crime of Punishment
Under the appealing but misguided credo of victims’ rights, prosecutors reach plea deals giving disproportionate weight to what the victim’s family wants. The defendant can end up either with a savior, as Joey Renn did this week in Flagler, or, more often, a gang of rage. A person’s fate should never depend on a dice throw between grace and vigilantism.
The Problems With Banning Cell Phones in the Workplace
Bans on employees using cellphones are relatively common in workplaces such as factories, farms and fast-food chains. Such employer rules are legal, and there is relatively little that employees can do about it. But different situations have indicated the necessity for workers to have access to their phones, for safety’s sake.
He Took Their 14-Year-Old Son’s Life in a Motorcycle Crash. Their Grace Saves Him from 9 Years in Prison.
Joey Renn Jr. was speeding at 109mph on his motorcycle through Palm Coast’s Woodlands when he crashed in January 2020, killing Logan Goodman, 14, who’d been riding with him. He faced 7 to 9 years in prison. Goodman’s parents objected, and agreed only to Renn serving six months in jail, then a week in jail every anniversary of Logan’s death, for 14 years.
Flagler School Board Attorney Kristy Gavin Survives ‘Witch Hunt’ as Board Votes 3-2 to Renew Contract
School Board Chairman Trevor Tucker joined members Colleen Conklin and Cheryl Massaro to rebuff an attempt by fellow-Board members Janet McDonald and Jill Woolbright to fire in-house attorney Kristy Gavin, who’s been with the district since 2006. The move to fire her was underscored ideological dissatisfaction and vague claims at variance with years of positive recommendations.
Flagler Beach Committee’s July 4 Report: Fireworks On, Scaled Back Parade, Stepped Up Policing
The committee the Flagler Beach City Commission appointed to study the future and feasibility of Independence Day activities on the increasingly crowded barrier-island city has dropped all controversial ideas from its final report, adopting instead a moderate, stay-the-course approach that will be recognizable by all, with a few notable improvements planned or proposed.
Shop With a Cop, In Its 14th Year and Under a New Name, Lights Up Walmart
By the time Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies were done donating for this year’s Shop With a Cop spectacular, they’d raised enough money–close to $16,000–to ensure that more than 90 children would each get $175 gift certificate to spend on presents for themselves and their families.
Reconfigured 1,200-Home Eagle Lakes Development on Old Kings Road Draws Sharp Opposition from Neighbors
Long approved for 824 homes, the developers of Eagle Lakes’s next phases are asking for a land-use changes that would allow 1,215 homes on the acreage along Old Kings Road toward the south end of the county. Neighbors from the existing Eagle Lakes development and others are opposed to the smaller lots and higher density.