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THE HAMMOCK

Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

REAL ESTATE 8 FREE • NOVEMBER 2019

VOLUME 4, NO. 5

A two-judge county Flagler County finally gets its second county judge. Meet Andrea Totten. PAGE 3

Fighting hep A

Inside the turtle hospital Whitney Lab, Sea Turtle Hospital plan for expansion.

PAGES 6-7

Florida has six times as many hepatitis A cases this year as it did last year — a public health emergency.

PAGE 4 INSIDE BOAT STORAGE GETS APPROVAL County gives go-ahead for boat storage on Oceanshore Boulevard.

PAGE 2

TAGER DELIVERS STATE OF ED Flagler Schools’ achievements PAGE 9

MATANZAS SOCCER

Boys and girls teams are ready to play. PAGE 10-11

A baby turtle is prepared to be returned to the beach.

Photo by Paola Rodriguez

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Hammock Dunes completes $7 million expansion, renovation Membership has fallen from a peak of 800 in 2008 but has stabilized at 650, Thorpe says.

BRIAN MCMILLAN

Local Postal Customer

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Hammock Dunes holds a distinguished Emerald Club of the World ranking by Boardroom Magazine since 2013.

After a three-year $7.2 million renovation and expansion project, Hammock Dunes Club is seeing results: The new onsite restaurant has produced a 45% increase in diners, and the new fitness center has seen more than 100% SEE HAMMOCK PAGE 2

HAMMOCK OBSERVER

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NOVEMBER 2019

Hammock Dunes Club CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

increased participation in classes.

Most importantly, according to General Manager Jess Thorpe, the members are happy.

“Everything we do is steered around our members,” he said.

Hammock Dunes was founded in 1989. Unlike the Hammock Beach Resort just to the north, Hammock Dunes has no hotel; it’s a 1,200-home community with amenities available for members

only — including the new restaurant and fitness center.

Although the club membership has shrunken since its peak of about 800 in 2008, membership has stabilized at around 650, Thorpe said. About 45% of the membership lives in Hammock Dunes year-round.

GETTING YOUNGER

The average of club members is over 60, but the club is getting

younger as early retirees and successful work-from-home professionals move in.

“A lot of people e-commute now, so they don’t have to work in an office,” Thorpe said. “So we’re seeing some younger families make that work.”

Thorpe said he held focus groups with club members to came up with the renovation plan, which 85% of the members approved. A splash pad was one request that ended up in the final plans.

NEW AND IMPROVED

The club members will pay for the $7.2 million improvements over the next 10 years.

The new restaurant, called Dunes Tavern, replaced the 19th Hole Bar and added 130 seats and an open kitchen. It’s now open six nights per week instead of five.

The fitness center, which used to be 1,600 square feet, is now 6,000 with a full dance floor and many new pieces of equipment.

In addition, pickleball, bocce and croquet are expanding.

“Everything is built around offering the premium experience,” he said.

COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS

Thorpe said that in addition to the tax base that benefits the entire county, Hammock Dunes Club members combine to fund scholarships, toy drives — and two houses annually for Habitat for Humanity.

“The members are on the board or are very involved in every philanthropic organization in Flagler County,” he said.

The 40,000 square-foot Links Clubhouse is positioned in a prime location along the Atlantic Ocean and overlooks the club’s croquet lawn, which is home to one of the largest croquet associations in the state of Florida.

Boat storage sails ahead Planning director advised the county to allow the boat storage facility.

“This will be an improvement in the Hammock and not a detriment.”

JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR

DAVID SULLIVAN, county commissioner

A proposed boat storage facility in the Hammock is getting the county’s go-ahead: Ruling against an appeal by the Hammock Community Association, the County Commission on Nov. 4 upheld Planning Director Adam Mengel’s determination that the proposed facility would be a permitted use at 5658 N. Oceanshore Blvd.

Mengel had determined that boat storage, though not specifically mentioned in the land development code as a permitted use, is similar enough to an already-permitted use of that parcel of land — which had previously been used for small-scale boat production — that it should be allowed.

Hammock residents had countered that the storage facility would represent an increase in use intensity over boat production, not a decrease as Mengel had stated, because of the comings and goings that would be associated with the boat storage location as opposed to the small-scale production facility. It would be more akin to a warehouse, which would not be a permitted use in that area, they stated.

“This is just the wrong spot for what he wants to have with these 240 storage units,” said attorney

Dennis Bayer, representing the HCA. “I think it boils down to interpretation of whether it’s a warehouse or not,” Commissioner Greg Hansen said. “I think it’s unfortunate that Mr. Mengel used the phrase ‘less intense,’ because I don’t see that at all.”

He said he’d spoken to residents of the area who thought that boat storage would be a useful addition.

Commissioner David Sullivan thought the proposed facility would be an improvement over what’s there now.

“I drove over there on Friday … and that place is a mess right now,” he said. And nearby, he added, “There’s another commercial establishment; it’s not just homes. ... My gut feeling is that this will look a lot better than it looks right now, and this will be an improvement in the Hammock and not a detriment.”

Commissioner Donald O’Brien said he saw the proposal as more akin to a marina wth boat storage than to a warehouse or storage facility. The board denied the HCA’s appeal unanimously.

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HAMMOCK OBSERVER

“I believe in the system. Judges need to stay neutral.”

ANDREA TOTTEN

Path to the

bench Flagler’s new county judge reflects on her journey to the judicial seat

Photo by Paola Rodriguez

JOEY PELLEGRINO STAFF WRITER

The walls and furniture in Judge Andrea Totten’s chambers in the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center were still bare after her first day on the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court. Framed degrees and other personal affects sat in plastic containers, waiting to be hung. She had spent most of that first day in court, sitting in on criminal arraignment with Judge Melissa Distler, whose caseload is meant to be lessened by Totten’s appointment to the court, and on the county civil docket, which is to be hers, with retired Judge Pope Hamrick.

“I’m easing into it,” Totten said.

When she was not in court, she was making calls to IT, “trying to get the various computer programs figured out.”

As a child who moved first from Newfoundland to southern Ontario, and from there to Pennsylvania before her senior year of high school, she has learned to adjust to major changes. Going from the state Attorney General’s Office to a new judicial seat came with less culture shock, and it was a move to someplace she had always thought she may end up at.

“I honestly can’t remember when I didn’t want to go to law school,” Totten said. “I just remember from childhood, that always being my plan. There’s a satisfaction in serving victims.”

HOW TO LEARN, HOW TO FAIL

She thought at first she might be a lawyer. After earning a political science degree at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and attending law school at the University of Toledo, it just happened to be that her first real job was at a state attorney’s office.

JUDGE TOTTEN’S INVESTITURE

Judge Andrea Totten will have her investiture at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, at Channel Side, 1 Yacht Club Drive, Palm Coast. All are invited to attend.

“I think the governor made a wise choice in Judge Totten, and we look forward to working with her. Hopefully it eases the caseload of our county court judge.”

SHERIFF RICK STALY on Judge Totten

“It taught me how to learn,” Totten said of her time in law school. “You still don’t know how to act as a lawyer” until you begin gaining practical experience.

After her time as an assistant state attorney in Sanford, Florida, it didn’t take long for Totten to reach Daytona Beach, where, after transitioning from assistant state attorney to judicial law clerk in 2011, Judge Belle Schumann first encouraged her to apply to the Attorney General’s Office.

Moving between criminal and civil law in the Florida judicial system taught Totten about the gulf between proof beyond a reasonable doubt and proof via a preponderance of the evidence, between criminal law’s emotional challenge (“Case details that kept me up at night”) and civil law’s intellectual challenge. But it also taught her, more importantly, about how to fail.

“I only know what I knew the week before,” she said. “There’s a knowledge and maturity that comes from making mistakes.”

THE LUXURY OF TIME

That knowledge and maturity saw Totten appointed to her current judicial seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“I’m sure it was a combination of factors” that made DeSantis confident in his choice of her to serve alongside Judge Distler, Totten said. She believes her many levels of experience are the key to her success. Totten admitted her relief to succeeding on her first application, an uncommon achievement.

JUDGE MELISSA DISTLER ON GETTING A SECOND JUDGE The addition of Andrea Totten as a second Flagler County judge will come just in time for a busy 2020, according to Melissa Distler, who has been one of the most overworked judges in the state since she was elected as the lone Flagler County judge in 2012.

Distler, who has had some help from senior judges on a part-time basis in the past couple of years, will need to take additional time to help guide Totten in the coming months. She expects that Totten will be able to carry an independent workload by spring time and then, “We’ll be a two-county-judge county,” Distler said.

That’s significant because Distler will have an extra 29 meetings scheduled in 2020 as a member of the Canvassing Board, which makes decisions on ballot-related issues during election years.

Totten is “very intelligent, very articulate,” Distler said.

“I know she’s going to do a great job.”

— BRIAN MCMILLAN

“I’m relieved to not have to run right away,” she said. Re-election will not be required until 2022.

Totten will not get her own robes until sometime in December. Until then, she has had to borrow them from other judges.

So it is with one’s judicial style, too, she said. She has learned punctuality, preparedness and etiquette from Distler; she has learned thoroughness of research from Judge Terence Perkins, for whom she once clerked. “But you can’t replicate just one person,” Totten said.

She has found that a judge has a greater luxury of time than a prosecutor, and that not being on the side of the prosecution is intellectually freeing, allowing one to pursue the facts of a case without the need to rigorously support one side of an argument.

“I believe in the system,” Totten said. “Judges need to stay neutral.”

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE BENCH

The position’s greater luxury of time extends to her home life.

Totten has lived in Flagler County for the past 15 years but has commuted to a Daytona Beach workplace. Now her commute takes one minute, and her husband and two children are relieved.

“They’re proud and excited,”

Totten said, even if her young daughter did not fully grasp Mom’s new job. “She thought I was on the Supreme Court. I think she thought that was the only court.”

Totten was grateful for her husband’s support during her years working against a prosecutor’s unpredictable schedule, and the help of her parents, who had moved to Palm Coast ahead of her.

“Family must come first,” she said. “It can be done!”

Totten advises law students who hope to follow in her footsteps to seek out internships as early as possible — even unpaid, the experience is worth it — and tells them there’s no better time, especially for female law professionals; things have improved since she entered the system.

Yet that sense of being treated differently as a woman, of being approached dismissively or aggressively by male defense attorneys during her time as a young prosecutor, has made her cognizant of the way societal stereotypes, from sex to race, can infect legal proceedings, and has given her perspective.

“I’m really humbled to have been entrusted with this position,” Totten said. “I take a lot of pride in serving the people of the state of Florida.”

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County asks for state help on MedNex, housing, home rule Flagler County declares legislative priorities ahead of March session.

JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR

Flagler County’s top legislative priority for this coming year is supporting the establishment of a University of North Florida health care education facility in the city of Palm Coast, Flagler County commissioners decided during a commission meeting Nov. 18.

The county has eight legislative policy priorities and three legislative funding priorities that it will present to representatives for consideration during the legislative session.

Of the eight policy priorities, all except the UNF proposal are current legislative priorities that commissioners decided to keep on the list. At Commissioner David Sullivan’s urging, commissioners decided to move “supporting home rule” up from No. 8 to No. 6 on the priority list.

Of the three funding priorities, two — sewer collections on the northern barrier island, and flooding and environmental mitigation on the west side — are returning, while the third, a request for $3.7 million for the hardening and enhancement of the county’s Emergency Operations Center, is new this year.

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES POLICY PRIORITIES 1. Support the founding of a state university system presence in the city of Palm Coast by the University of North Florida 2. Support the Legislature appropriation funding for the public Library Construction Grant Program 3. Restore and protect Florida’s Housing Trust Funds 4. Increase the small county consolidated solid waste grant population cap 5. Support the approval of the Florida job growth grant fund application for the Flagler Central Commerce Parkway Roadway Construction Project 6. Continue to support home rule 7. Keep aviation fuel taxes 8. Maintain short term vacation rental legislation status quo FUNDING PRIORITIES 1. Sanitary sewer collection system for the Barrier Island North (Marineland to the Hammock Dunes Bridge). Requested funding: $8,000,000 2. West Flagler County flooding and environmental mitigation Water Control Project (Phase I). Requested funding: $750,000 3. Flagler County Emergency Operations Center hardening and enhancements. Requested funding: $3,700,000

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HAMMOCK OBSERVER

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FIGHTING THE

OUTBREAK BRIAN MCMILLAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR

O

n a recent Monday, Sue Reese spotted an older man with an unkempt beard at a gas station. He asked her politely if she had a lighter he could borrow.

Reese didn’t want to assume he was homeless, regardless of appearance; she believes that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and shouldn’t be defined by a label like “homeless.” But Reese also knew she couldn’t afford to be timid. She had to know. The health of the community could be at stake if she didn’t act.

As the deadly hepatitis A virus continues to spread through the state, the Florida Department of Health has declared a state of emergency and has directed the departments of health in all 67 counties to vaccinate three populations who are at highest risk of contracting and spreading hepatitis A: homeless people, jail inmates, and anyone in drug rehab facilities. Weeks ago, Flagler was designated a high-risk county, with 12 confirmed cases since Jan. 1, 2018.

As the planner for the Department of Health in Flagler County, Reese is tasked with leading the local effort to vaccinate as many

high-risk people as possible.

In fact, earlier on that recent Monday, Reese had just been to a community meal at Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church in Flagler Beach to vaccinate homeless people. On her way home, she stopped at a gas station. Reese told the attendant that she had heard that many homeless people often use the restroom at the gas station, so it needed to be cleaned properly — and the attendants needed to wash their hands thoroughly, as well — to prevent hepatitis A from spreading.

As she was leaving, she spotted the older man with the unkempt beard. Her night was not over yet.

She struck up a conversation, ultimately leading to this offer: She had vaccination supplies in her car. Would he be willing to be vaccinated to help prevent the deadly virus from spreading in the community?

He hesitated.

NO CURE

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. Although the disease was discovered centuries ago, it was only in the past several decades that the five distinct strains — A, B, C, D and E — were been identified. Hepatitis A was first isolated in 1979, and vaccines

BY THE NUMBERS

12

Flagler County cases of hepatitis A since Jan. 1, 2018.

267

Volusia County cases of hepatitis A since Jan. 1, 2018.

45.9

Cases per 100,000 people in Florida who are ages 30-39, the highest incidence by age group. Ages 40-49 were next highest with 30.8 cases per 100,000 Floridians.

57%

People with Hepatitis A who reported using drugs.

21%

People with hepatitis A who reported recent homelessness.

71%

Hepatitis A patients who required hospitalization.

51

Deaths associated with hepatitis A in Florida since Jan. 1, 2018.

were licensed in the mid-1990s, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The hepatitis A virus has just one natural host: humans. It’s classified as an oral-fecal disease, meaning it’s acquired by mouth and spread through feces.

Therefore, a common way for the disease to spread is for someone to neglect to wash his hands after using the restroom. He then could have the virus on his hand, and if he shares a cigarette, the virus could enter another person’s mouth.

After the virus incubates for five to 10 days, the infected person could have flu-like symptoms, have tea-colored urine or gray stools. Jaundice follows within days (the person’s eyes or face could have a yellow hue).

About three of every four people who get these symptoms require hospitalization, with a fatality rate of about 1.8% for patients who are older than 50.

In parts of the world with poor sanitation, about 90% have contracted the disease at some time in their lives; in industrialized countries, the rate is 33%, according to the “Control of Communicable Diseases Manual.”

There is no cure for hepatitis A. But vaccines and hand washing prevent it.

STATE OF EMERGENCY

The Florida Department of Health declared a public health emergency on Aug. 1, 2019, because of an outbreak of hepatitis A statewide. There were almost 3,000 cases reported from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, 2019, already about six times the total in all of 2018.

In response, the state created an incident command structure,

Photo by Brian McMillan

Sue Reese

providing additional resources and requiring each county to set goals and report on progress for administering vaccinations.

“It’s an all-hands-on-deck approach,” said Bob Snyder, director of the DOH in Flagler County.

While Flagler was just recently moved into the high-risk category, Volusia County has long been one of the worst areas — it has the fourth most hepatitis A cases in the state in the past two years.

REESE ON PATROL

Reese feels the urgency. She is working overtime and on weekends. In the past six months, she has vaccinated more than 600 people.

To address the drug rehab patients, she has been to Project WARM (Women Assisting Recovery Mothers) multiple times. She is also developing partnerships with doctors to offer the vaccines to anyone who is prescribed Suboxone, a medication to help people stay off illegal substances.

She has given vaccines to people

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in Drug Court.

To address the jail population, she has visited the Flagler County jail 10 times. The jail medical staff also administers the vaccine now.

To address the homeless population, she makes the rounds at several community meal sites to vaccinate the homeless population, or their friends or family who associate with them.

She also seeks out the homeless on the sides of roads and in the woods, armed with vaccination supplies and a smile on her face.

“I introduce myself, tell them there’s a hepatitis A outbreak going on,” she said. “I tell them Volusia is only 10 miles away, so any people who frequent Volusia — you’re opening yourself up for the opportunity to contract it and bring it back to Flagler County.”

She explains to the patient that the first shot is 94% effective in preventing someone from contracting the disease. Six months later, they can get a second shot that will increase the effectiveness to 99%.

Because she’s been working at this for so long, people have gotten to know her. Reese’s personality has been key to the success of the program.

“She’s very transparent, engaging, approachable, friendly,

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NOVEMBER 2019

WASH YOUR HANDS! To protect yourself from the hepatitis A virus, wash your hands with soap and water after you use the bathroom, and wash your hands before you eat, says Bonnie Welter, nursing director for the Department of Health in Flagler County. Hand sanitizer has no effect on viruses.

The DOH is currently administering vaccines to the high-risk populations; others should check their insurance and ask for the vaccine at a pharmacy if they so desire.

If you do any work with the homeless or are associated with anyone who is using drugs, you may want to be vaccinated, Welter said.

professional,” Snyder said. “What a perfect skill set. … She doesn’t miss an opportunity.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work, and there is much work to be done. Only about 50% of the homeless people she offers to vaccinate actually accept (that rate is more like 90% at jail, she said).

And the homeless man at the gas station?

“I can offer you the vaccine at no cost today,” she recalled tell him. “I have it in my car. Would you be interested?”

He declined.

She gave him her card and encouraged him to visit the DOH in Bunnell to get the vaccine as soon as he’s comfortable doing so.

She doesn’t know whether he ever did.

But she’s not discouraged.

There are others who will accept.

And those who decline may accept the second or third time they’re offered. She said, “My goal is for this community to be as safe as it can be by vaccinating as many people as we can.”

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THE HAMMOCK

Observer “If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

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A proposed new building ‘will be an instrument of teaching and training new scientists,’ said Jessica Long, the Whitney Lab’s senior director of advancement.

PAOLA RODRIGUEZ STAFF WRITER

T

he Sea Turtle Hospital at the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience received a donation of $6,870 Oct. 31 for turtle food, medications and other supplies, and is also seeking to raise much more for a planned expansion.

Kerry Mitruska, director of sales and marketing of Hammock Beach Resort, and David Ayres, general manager of Flagler Radio, presented the donation. It had been raised through the “Taste of the Fun Coast” event that took place Oct. 29 at the Hammock Beach Resort, where local vendors and supporters combined efforts to support the Sea Turtle Hospital.

The $6,870 will go directly toward essential supplies, according to Catherine Eastman, the hospital’s Sea Turtle program manager.

Meanwhile, the Sea Turtle Hospital is also seeking donations and grants for major facility upgrades.

WHAT IS THE SEA TURTLE HOSPITAL?

The Sea Turtle Hospital opened four years ago on the border of Flagler County and St. Johns

Whitney Lab, Sea Turtle Hospital plan for expansion

Emily Go check.

Mars, a green sea turtle, is being treated for fibropapilloma.

County to provide rehabilitation, education, and research for sea turtle conservation in Northeast Florida, according to the Whitney Laboratory’s website.

Since its opening in 2015, it has treated and released 35 turtles, educated more than 5,000 youth locally, and given tours to approximately 1,000 people.

Sea turtles wash onto Florida’s beaches for a variety of reasons, including boat strikes, coldstunning, swallowing fishing hooks, exhaustion from entanglement with commercial fishing gear, illness from tumors related to fibropapilloma syndrome,

and other diseases.

Volunteers make up a big part of the operation and success of the hospital, Eastman said. There are 24 regular volunteers who assist with food prep, feeding, water testing, and tank cleaning, plus dozens of people who check on nests, struggling baby turtles, and injured or sick turtles that have washed onshore.

BIG PLANS

Jessica Long, senior director of advancement for the Whitney Laboratory, is working on a multimillion-dollar project to expand the Sea Turtle Hospital.

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NOVEMBER 2019

Investing in the Arts for our Community.

Enjoy the Holidays with us!

Photos by Paola Rodriguez

ordon, David Ayres, Catherine Eastman, Kerry Mitruska, Jessica Long and the donation

“The building will be an instrument of teaching and training new scientists, and have more equipment to help science move forward.”

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The goal is to expand public education about conservation.

A proposed $24 million building would contain a more public hospital, with a new lab that would house 12 research teams.

About half of the money has been raised, and the hospital is seeking state support for the rest.

“The building will be an instrument of teaching and training new scientists, and have more equipment to help science move forward,” Long said.

The expansion timeline, she explained, involves finishing renderings for the building this year and raising another $2 million from local donors. Construction would start within the next two years. Long invited community members to write letters to local representatives or senators in support of the Whitney Lab’s work.

REAL ESTATE

HAMMOCK OBSERVER

|

NOVEMBER 2019

Hammock Dunes home gets $1.4 million

A

house in Hammock Dunes was the top seller in the Hammock from Sept. 12 to Oct. 16. William and Stephanie Huber, of Gilbert, Arizona, sold 178 Island Estates Parkway to Jerry and Sherry Rosburg, of Hubbard Lake, Minnesota, for $1,140,000. Built in 2002, the house has four bedrooms, three baths, two half-baths, a fireplace, swimming pool, boat dock, boat house and 3,825 square feet. Following is a partial list of other sales. fireplace, swimming pool, boat dock and 3,688 square feet. It sold in 2006 for $1,520,000.

WAYNE GRANT REAL ESTATE EDITOR

HAMMOCK DUNES

Carol Corcoran and Jane Newman, of Palm Coast, sold 7 Montilla Place to Patricia Thomas, of Palm Coast, for $750,000. Built in 1999, the house has four bedrooms, four baths, a swimming pool and

Robert George, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, sold 19 Island Estates Parkway to James Muldoon, as trustee, for $910,000.

Built in 2000, the house has three bedrooms, four baths, a

3,280 square feet. It sold in 2009 for $721,300.

Troy and Pakchira Shearouse, of Lowell, Michigan, sold 24 Marbella Court to Kenneth and Tamma Nadler, of Palm Coast, for $467,500. Built in 1995, the house has three bedrooms, three baths, two half-baths, a fireplace, swimming pool and

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1443704 Ontario Inc., of Ontario, Canada, sold 11 Avenue de la Mer, Unit 1406, to Claudia and Stanley Pelfery, of Oklahoma City, for $340,000.

Built in 1992, the condo has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,490 square feet. It sold in 2001 for $320,000.

T. William Grimsdale and Alma Sinclair sold 18 Via Capri to Don Alfonso, of Palm Coast, for $310,000. Built in 1991, the house has two bedrooms, two

Sean Zarzana, of Alpharetta, Georgia, sold 34 Cinnamon Beach Way to Robert and Kellie Allen, of Orlando, for $835,000. Built in 2015, the house has seven bedrooms, 7.5 baths, an elevator, swimming pool and 4,809 square feet.

Toby Tobin, of gotoby.com, contributed to this report.

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HAMMOCK OBSERVER

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9

NOVEMBER 2019

In State of Education address, No prayers before board meetings superintendent touts grad rate School Board members feared the process could devolve into a ‘circus’ that would cost staff time.

JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR

Flagler Schools Superintendent James Tager touted the district’s rising graduation rate, its state “A” rating and the successes of its flagship and classrooms-tocareers programs in his State of Education address Nov. 5.

It was Tager’s last State of Education address: He is retiring on June 30, when his contract ends.

The district, he said, has raised the graduation rate from 81% to 88% — with African American students’ graduation rate rising from 69% to 83%, and the rate for students with disabilities rising from 56% to 76% — expanded its tutoring services, and provided mentoring for more than over 1,000 students.

It has also funded more than 400 high schoolers’ college classes at Daytona State College, the University of Florida and EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University, he said.

Among the students who graduated in 2019 are 37 who also received an associate’s degree

JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR

File photo

James Tager

from Daytona State College and 11 who earned Emergency Medical Technician certification through Flagler Technical Institute.

Overall, the district’s middle and high school students earned 147 industry certifications and 375 digital tool certifications.

Future plans for the district include offering dual enrollment classes through the University of North Florida, pairing students with with experienced adults for career coaching, and providing additional support for students with disabilities or reading difficulties.

Among the students who graduated in 2019 are 37 who also received an associates degree from Daytona State College and 11 who earned Emergency Medical Technician certification through Flagler Technical Institute.

Concerned that adding a regular invocation before its board meetings would lead to disruptions and to additional work for district staff, School Board members opted during a workshop Nov. 20 not to make invocations a feature of board meetings in the future.

School Board member Janet McDonald had raised the issue in August by inviting the pastor of the Flagler Beach United Methodist Church, Jeanine Clontz, to speak at the beginning of a board meeting.

Clontz had offered an invocation, then spoken about her church, before the meeting started — a move that surprised McDonald’s fellow board members, who requested a board discussion of the potential procedure change.

In previous workshops, the board had been divided, with McDonald and board member Maria Barbosa speaking in favor of the invocations, board member Colleen Conklin open to the possibility but expressing some reservations, and board members Andy Dance and Trevor Tucker in opposition.

By a workshop Nov. 19, Conklin

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in order to avoid accusations of, and potential legal consequences for, favoring some religious viewpoints over others. Hence, the Satanist invocations.

Some government bodies have gotten around that issue by only allowing representatives of local religious organizations to offer invocations.

“I think that just leads to a whole lot of work for staff,” Tucker said. “That could be a circus with a whole bunch of people coming to our meetings all about a topic that does not impact our students immediately.”

Barbosa was also concerned about the potential for a circus.

Conklin proposed some potential compromises: School Board members could meet 15 minutes before the meetings actually begin, and have an invocation then, she suggested, led by a local clergy member.

Or they could have a student offer a “thought of the day” that would not be explicitly religious — an option Barbosa said she was interested in, because it would give students an opportunity to develop leadership skills.

McDonald, who said it had only been her intention to highlight the good work done for students by religious organizations and potentially other organizations such as fraternal groups, acknowledged the other board members’ contributions to the discussion and urged them to bring their ideas to the board’s upcoming retreat in December.

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had decided against invocations.

“I’ve done a lot of research, I’ve watched a lot of meetings — school board meetings, county commission meetings — where they do a prayer before the meetings,” Conklin said. “And almost every single one of them eventually spirals down into a complete circus show. Literally, Google it and watch. … It turns into Satanist members hailing Satan to ‘Come down over this district.’

It was a number of school districts that it just spiraled down into one of the worst kind of shows that you would ever want; I would not sit through that kind of a thing. …

I’ve been struggling with this, because I have a very deep faith, but I also don’t want to put the district where we invite a circus into town, into our chambers.”

When government bodies allow for invocations, they generally must open up the process broadly to people who’d like to offer one,

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MATANZAS SOCCER PREVIEWS

HAMMOCK OBSERVER

|

NOVEMBER 2019

Eyes on the district title Pirates boys soccer prepares for 2019-20 season.

MATANZAS’ 2019 ROSTER

RAY BOONE SPORTS EDITOR

When Matanzas boys soccer coach Rich Weber envisions where he wants his team to be by the end of the season, one particular scenario comes to mind.

“I see us battling against Ponte Vedra like we always do for the district title,” he said. “And I think that’s realistic with the group we have.”

The 2019-20 Pirates are young.

They graduated a plethora of talent from last season, especially on the back end in former Pirates player Trent Stanley, who was the anchor of last year’s defense.

“He’ll be missed,” Weber said.

“But I’m excited. We were very immature last year, not in physicality but also from a mental

Matanzas head coach Rich Weber watches his team from the sideline.

No. 0 Stephen Usina No. 1 Zack White No. 2 David Telfer No. 3 Michael Geremia No. 4 John Fitzpatrick No. 5 Nicholas Ferrer No. 6 Jayson Jahn No. 7 Mario Morejon-Sanchez No. 8 Andrew Alverez No. 9 Joel Meza No. 10 Nicholas Ramirez No. 11 Tristan Alvarez No. 12 Blair Lamphier No. 13 Payne Johnson No. 14 Evan Kopach No. 15 Roman Sychev No. 17 Joseph Powell No. 19 Gianni Longo No. 20 Cameron Sena No. 21 David Vigo No. 22 Ales Braflat No. 24 Kiernan Conville No. 98 Ben Kopach

Matanzas’ David Vigo slides to steal the ball.

Photo by Ray Boone

tona 4-0 in the season opener the night of Tuesday, Nov. 12, at Matanzas High School, have road dates with the likes of Ponte Vedra, Mandarin, Seabreeze and Taylor on the horizon.

“We’re going to be used to not being at home,” Vigo said.

“It’s going to prepare us for the playoffs.”

However, because of the exorbitant amount of youth on the roster, the Pirates will need time to grow.

“We’re still trying to discover ourselves,” Weber said. “We have a lot of potential. But we have to come together.”

standpoint. I enjoy having to fight through adversity.”

Stepping into the spotlight are Tristan Alvarez and David Vigo, among others. Alvarez is one of the team’s captains for the second season in a row, and Vigo — a junior who is a “very strong, very smart player, according to Weber — has started every single game since his freshman year.

The Pirates will have to fight through a very difficult schedule this season — one that was made difficult “on purpose.”

The Pirates, who defeated Del-

Email Ray Boone at ray@palmcoastobserver.com.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Matanzas’ Nicholas Ferrer heads a ball toward a teammate.

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OrmondBeachObserver.com PalmCoastObserver.com * One entry per person. The contest is open to subscribers of the Observer’s eNewsletters. All entries must be received by 10/24/19. Late entries will not be entered. Participants will be entered into the drawing to win an $250 Visa Gift Card. No cash alternative to the prize is offered. The prize drawing will be independently supervised. The winner will be selected at random and notified by the Observer by 10/31/19. It is the recipient’s responsibility to obtain any permission necessary and entrants must be aged 18+. The winner agrees for their name, job title and company to be published in our publications: Palm Coast Observer, Ormond Beach Observer, Plantation Bay Observer, Hammock Observer, Port Orange Observer, and Daytona West Observer. Employees of the promoter and their immediate families or anyone professionally connected with the promotion will be excluded from the prize drawing. The winner is responsible for any tax liability which may arise from receipt of a prize. The promoter is the Palm Coast Observer whose decision in all matters is final. Promoter does not accept liability for damaged or faulty prizes. The winner’s details are available upon request from maureen@palmcoastobserver.com. These terms and conditions are available upon request.

HAMMOCK OBSERVER

Pirates girls soccer aims for rebuilding year Matanzas is tasked with figuring out to replace its senior talent from last season.

RAY BOONE SPORTS EDITOR

After a season in which Matanzas’ girls soccer team went 9-12 and graduated some of their top players, the Pirates’ Pawel Slusarz said his team will have to focus on the mental aspect of the game entering his second season as the head coach.

“That’s the biggest thing,” Slusarz said. “Hopefully with a new group, we can fix that.”

The Pirates had high expectations last season but suffered a 6-0 loss to Ponte Vedra in the district semifinal on Jan. 28. In addition, the Pirates graduated one of the school’s best goal scorers in team captain Alyssia Paiz, who topped 100 goals for her career last season.

Slusarz isn’t expecting to replace someone of her abilities anytime soon.

“It’s tough,” he said. “We all know that she was a scoring machine. It takes time to find a replacement like that. Without someone like that this year, we need to play more as a team, more as a group. We cannot count on one player to score those goals for us. Finding someone who can put the ball in the back of the net will be one of our biggest challenges.”

Matanzas coach Pawel Slusarz gives his team directions during a preseason match.

|

11

NOVEMBER 2019

MATANZAS’ 2019 ROSTER No. 1 Kylie Johnson No. 2 Jeannette Mosher No. 3 Mia Almeida No. 6 Isabella Rivera No. 7 Ava O’Malley No. 8 Abigail Denino No. 9 Alexis Wilson No. 10 Victoria Wilcox No. 11 Olivia Slusarz No. 12 Emily Hatten No. 13 Allison Tuggle No. 14 Jillianne Piedrahita No. 15 Fatima Barham No. 16 Destiny Dorsey No. 17 Ruby Anders No. 22 Anessa Harrison

The Pirates’ Victoria Wilcox dribbles the ball in a preseason match.

Photos by Ray Boone

The Pirates’ Jeannette Mosher dribbles the ball.

Some of the players Slusarz expects to step up in 2019-20?

Junior midfielder Emily Hatten, who missed the majority of last season with an injury; junior midfielder Mia Almeida, who transferred back to Matanzas after a year at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Augustine; and sophomore midfielder Victoria Wilcox.

Wilcox believes the team has grown closer together since last season.

“We’re probably going to

improve a lot throughout this season,” she said. “ ... The biggest thing will be growing as a team to be better next season.”

The Pirates have goals for this season: to finish the year with a winning record and to make the district final.

“We want to make every single one of these girls a better player,” Slusarz said.

Almeida added: “This is a building year.”

Impact a child's future today!

Join the Imagination Library Champions who are working to make sure 3,600 children in Flagler and Volusia counties continue getting high-quality age appropriate books delivered to their homes.

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HAMMOCK OBSERVER

|

NOVEMBER 2019

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