PALM COAST
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 7, NO. 7
FREE
IREA LOVES LACROSSE 15 •
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016
‘We’ve been holding our breath for a year’ 2016 MR. AND MISS MATANZAS: Meet Melanie DiMartino and Storm Schalit
INSIDE
Family Life Center gets backyard makeover Leadership Flagler Class 23 gave the center a swing set and walking path. JACQUE ESTES STAFF WRITER
Leadership Flagler Class 23 gave the Family Life Center’s domestic violence shelter an outdoor makeover March 4-7. The team resodded the yard, expanded the backyard from 45 feet by 55 feet to 80 feet by 124 feet and added a new paver and stone entry into the house, and paths for walking and biking. New landscaping,including a new butterfly garden with a bench and birdbath, was added. The class also relocated the existing play set and added a new one, and a covered picnic area. Leadership Flagler is a program of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce. Several employees and family members worked with the class to get the work done. The class raised about $9,000 in funding and material donations from businesses and individuals to pay for the makeover. “We want the Family Life Center staff and participants to know we have been honored to have been able to do this project and they will always hold a special place in our hearts,” said Cindi Lane, class member and Palm Coast city spokeswoman. “Our goal was to create a safe, peaceful and relaxing place for families to enjoy while they’re going through a difficult time in their lives, and we are excited to hear they are already using the improved backyard!”
Photo by Jacque Estes
After a one-year vigil, Ormond Strong and families welcome their soldiers home. WAYNE GRANT NEWS EDITOR
T
he screams from the crowd almost drowned out the roar of the jet engines as the plane carrying National Guard troops of the 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment arrived March 10 at Daytona Beach International Airport.
“We’re ready to burst into tears at any moment,” said Bonnie Bumb, who was awaiting her son’s arrival after a year of deployment. “It’s been a long, long year.” Stephen’s wife, Malana, agreed. “We’ve been holding our breath for a year,” she said. Also waiting was Debbie Kruck-Forrester, who walked the Granada Bridge every morning since they left, along with mem-
bers of Ormond Strong, the group she founded to support the troops and build community awareness of their mission. On one of her last walks with Ormond Strong, she said the troops had been back at Fort Bliss in Texas for a couple of weeks, so she had been talking to her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Tim Forrester “for hours” after a year of only text messages and email. While he was gone, she was SEE COMING HOME PAGE 3
Sgt. 1st Class Tim Forrester and Debbie Kruck-Forrester
“I’ve got the greatest wife in the world.” SGT. 1ST CLASS TIM FORRESTER, on Debbie KruckForrester, leader of Ormond Strong
For the love of creatures... Flagler County Art League had its opening reception on Saturday, March 12 for “Oh Those Glorious Creatures.”
STORY ON PAGE 21
Photo by Jacque Estes