Ormond Beach Observer 6-22-23

CITY WATCH

An ECHO grant for the tennis center?

What is the future of the Ormond Beach Tennis Center?

As the center’s current operator weighs whether to extend his lease, the Ormond Beach Leisure Services Advisory Board voted unanimously at its meeting Wednesday, June 14, to recommend that the City Commission pursue an ECHO grant to improve the center at 38 E. Granada Blvd. The city could use the money to add LED lighting and build a freestanding pro shop with restrooms.

City to host workshop

The city of Ormond Beach, in partnership with the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, will host a “Vulnerability Analysis Community Workshop” from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 28, in the Ormond Beach City Commission Conference Room 103 at City Hall.

JARLEENE ALMENAS SENIOR EDITOR

Police station funding vetoed

Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed more than $510 million in state funding for projects from the upcoming fiscal year’s state budget, including $1.45 million for a new building to house the Ormond Beach Police Department and an emergency operations center.

The commission discussed the project at a June 6 workshop. City staff said a $100,000 study was among the projects outlined in the Capital Improvement Program budget for next fiscal year. The city predicts that a new police station and EOC building could cost $51 million, but the project depends on legislative funding.

However, the city is slated to receive more than $9.5 million in legislative funding for six other projects:

„ Ormond Beach Airport Road

Water Main Loop: $975,000

„ Ormond Beach Pump Station and Force Main: $5.35 million

„ Ormond Beach Reuse Reservoir: $1.2 million

„ West Ormond Recreational Community Center: $522,639

„ Ormond Beach Airport Business Park: $750,000

„ Ormond Beach Downtown Community Center: $783,059.

ECHO is a county Environmental, Cultural, Historic and Outdoor Recreation Projects grant program, funded using taxpayer dollars.

Board member Barbara Bonarrigo asked for the item to be placed on the agenda for discussion because the current operator’s three-year lease will expire at the end of November.

The city owns the courts, but has leased out the center’s operations and management since 2008.

“I think we all still want it, because I believe that it’s very important to have a recreation facility,” Bonarrigo said. “It makes a community a whole.”

Jan Buenner, the center’s operator and the sole bidder for the lease three years ago, told the board that while the courts are in great shape, the rest of the facilities — the bathrooms, the pro shop — are not. He said he’s faced major obstacles since taking over operations, first with exterior renovations to the MacDonald House, which contains the pro shop, and then due to hurricane damage last year.

“I didn’t specifically say that I don’t want to do it again, but not in the current set of circumstances,” Buenner said. “So the place has charm. It has potential, but in the current way, I don’t see that now.”

The City Commission has discussed the center’s future several

times over the years. Some developers have expressed interest in tearing the courts down to add more parking or redevelop the property for another use, said Leisure Services Director Rob Carolin. Carolin told the board that work hasn’t started on the interior of the MacDonald House because the Ormond Beach Historical Society is planning to turn it into a museum.

“It’s a little bit down the road, but there’s no reason for the city to put another $300,000 into the first floor if it’s all going to be renovated in a relatively short time,” Carolin said.

But if the MacDonald House does become a museum, the museum would need the space occupied by the pro shop, Carolin added. Plans include constructing a small building to house the tennis center’s

County Councilman Danny Robins on ‘Stupid Motorist’ ordinance. See Page 5A

operations. Those plans are not final and have not been added to the city’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan.

Bonarrigo, who regularly plays tennis at the courts, said she was concerned that if nothing is done to improve the center, it will be torn down in favor of another development.

“Once you take away a recreational facility, you cannot build it again,” she said. “I don’t think so.”

Carolin agreed, saying that no one else has expressed an interest in managing the tennis center, and outsourcing its operations saves the city between $150,000 and $200,000 a year.

Since only about 60 people use the courts, board members suggested adding more pickleball courts to increase membership.

The workshop will include an overview of the grant program, a summary of model results and a review of best practices and policy considerations for resiliency, and will give residents a chance to provide input.

To participate via Zoom, visit bit.ly/3quDIfI.

Development has new site plan

The developers of the Tomoka Reserve subdivision, proposed for the former Tomoka Oaks golf course property, have resubmitted a new site plan that includes fewer units and a minimum lot size of 110 feet by 50 feet.

Previously, the developers — Carl Velie, Ray Barshay, Sheldon and Emily Rubin — were seeking to build 300 homes on the 147-acre golf course. Residents from Tomoka Oaks and other neighboring subdivisions opposed the development during neighborhood meetings in February largely due to concerns about density, traffic and lot sizes they felt were incompatible with existing homes.

The new site plan decreases the proposed density from 2.03 units per acre to 1.87 units per acre. The development will go before the Ormond Beach Planning Board on July 13.

Email Senior Editor Jarleene Almenas at Jarleene@ observerlocalnews.com.

To subscribe: Please call 386.447.9723, email subscribe@observerlocalnews.com or visit observerlocalnews.com/subscribe

File photo by Jarleene Almenas

Jan Buenner has operated the tennis center since 2021.

“My goal is to make your jobs a little easier, and, like you, enhance public safety and protect private/public property.”

Celebrating Juneteenth

Annual community festival prevails despite rainy weather.

Locals celebrated the 25th annual Daytona Beach Juneteenth Community Festival on Saturday, June 17, at Cypress Park in Daytona Beach.

The inaugural Juneteenth Celebration Parade in Daytona Beach’s historic Midtown District preceded the festival. The parade’s theme was “Celebrating Diversity, Unity and Community,” and, despite a downpour, the parade marched on.

Linda McGee, chairman of the Juneteenth Festival and Parade, said that the city of Daytona Beach’s Parks and Recreation Department had originally started the celebration.

“It started with a banquet at the Dickerson Community Center,” she said. “It has grown to 6,000 people.”

The festival featured cultural and educational activities, pony rides, food trucks and merchandise vendors, a pound cake contest, and the Sankofa African-American Museum On Wheels. The celebration ended on Monday, June 19, with the Hometown Heroes Awards Banquet at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

–SUZANNE MCCARTHY

Danny Faqua, state committee representative for the Volusia County Democratic Black Caucus, was on hand to register voters.

Jeshaun Wise (left) of Jacksonville and Chloe Gilmore (center) of Daytona Beach are joined in their jewelry booth by Jackie Mongal, president of the Regional Sunshine Chapter of Bethune-Cookman University Alumni.

Linda McGee (center), chairman of the Juneteenth Festival and parade, is joined by Yvette and Corey Williams of Daytona Beach, who brought their food truck, Taste of Soul, to the festival.

Julio Ortiz (left) of Daytona Beach with Victor Ingram, Ormond Beach resident and the president of the Sunchasers Motorcycle Club

Chef Katressa Bizzell and her son Jordan Porter serve sausage and turkey legs from their booth, Orgasmic Eats.

Linda McGee, chairman of the Juneteenth Festival and parade, is joined by Victor Ingram, of Ormond Beach, president of the Sunchasers Motorcycle Club.

The 25th annual Daytona Beach Juneteenth Community Festival was celebrated on Saturday, June 17.

Speed limit lowered for north peninsula roads Volusia County Council approves ‘stupid

The speed limit on Juniper Drive, Wisteria Drive and Camellia Drive will be reduced to 25 mph to address speeding concerns from residents.

JARLEENE ALMENAS

SENIOR EDITOR

The speed limit on three residential roads in Ormond-by-the-Sea is dropping from 30 mph to 25 mph.

On Tuesday, June 20, the Volusia County Council unanimously approved a speed limit adjustment for Juniper Drive, Wisteria Drive and Camellia Drive after a county traffic study found that the majority of vehicles were traveling closer to 25 mph. The council approved the change through its consent agenda.

The traffic study occurred on April 5 and 6. County Councilman Troy Kent thanked the residents who brought the speeding concerns to the county.

“This is a huge step in the right direction,” Kent said.

All three streets are county roads, and state statute allows the council to alter speed limits after an engineer-

BRIEFS

County Council selects new corrections director

Joseph DeMore, a 22-year veteran of corrections management, will be the new director of the Volusia County Division of Corrections.

The Volusia County Council approved DeMore’s appointment on Tuesday, June 20. DeMore’s first day on the job will be July 31.

He will oversee the Volusia County Correctional Facility and the Volusia County Branch Jail, which have nearly 300 sworn officers supervis-

ing study “determines such a change is reasonable and in conformity to criteria promulgated by the Department of Transportation,” according to a county summary on the consent agenda item.

During the two-day study, traffic volumes averaged about 147 vehicles per day on Juniper Drive, 307 on Wisteria Drive and 113 on Camellia Drive, the study states.

The study found that the 85th percentile speed is 25 mph on Juniper Drive, 28 mph on Wisteria Drive and 24 mph on Camellia Drive.

“Speed limits should normally be set at or near the prevailing or 85th percentile speed of free-flowing, unimpeded traffic,” the study states.

“Artificially lowering speed zones from that level does not substantially change the actual speeds driven, creates the perception of a speed trap and generates disrespect for speed zones and other traffic control devices in general.”

Kent said he wasn’t sure if the speed limit adjustment would fix all of the speeding problems. One traffic control measure he is fond of in some residential areas, he said, is the speed table.

“It does address that traffic, especially like on Wisteria Drive where you’ve got a convenience store at the end of the street,” Kent said. “It’s a

ing an average daily population of 1,350 inmates.

“My plan is to take my time to evaluate and assess the jail operations, which includes programs offered to the inmate population,” DeMore said. “Some of the early focus will be analyzing the staffing model, training, learning the department culture, and reviewing and updating our policies to ensure what we are doing falls in line with nationwide best practices.”

DeMore served as warden of Butler County Prison for the past eight years and previously worked as deputy warden with the Allegheny County Bureau of Corrections in Pittsburgh.

“Artificially lowering speed zones from that level does not substantially change the actual speeds driven, creates the perception of a speed trap and generates disrespect for speed zones and other traffic control devices in general.”

Volusia County traffic study

straight shot from the river, and they have a ton of speeding there.”

Based on the traffic study, Wisteria Drive had the highest number of vehicles exceeding 30 mph.

Four police chiefs submitted a letter of support for the emergency ordinance.

JARLEENE ALMENAS SENIOR EDITOR

Volusia County now has its own “stupid motorist” ordinance.

The Volusia County Council on Tuesday, June 20, approved the creation of an ordinance — to be enacted during declared local states of emergencies — that prohibits motorists from driving around a barricade to enter a flooded street.

Those who violate the ordinance could face a second-degree misdemeanor charge with a fine of up to $500 and/or imprisonment in the county jail for up to 60 days, according to a county staff summary of the agenda item.

County Councilman Danny Robins had suggested the ordinance during a March 7 meeting. He was inspired by Arizona’s “stupid motorist” law, hoping that Volusia’s ordinance would also deter people from driving in floodwaters, which can place first responders in dangerous situations to rescue them.

County Council Chair Jeff Brower said his only question concerned whether the ordinance would impact residents who lived on flooded streets.

Assistant County Attorney Russ Brown said that those circumstances would be taken into consideration, and residents of affected streets would be allowed to enter and exit their homes safely.

for law enforcement, an ambulance or animal services. There were more than 1,000 high-water rescue requests.

Police chiefs in the cities of Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange and Daytona Beach submitted letters of support for the ordinance.

In a May 8 letter to Sheriff Mike Chitwood and the police chiefs of Edgewater, New Smyrna and Port Orange, Robins wrote that he kept track of their agencies’ social media posts and their pleas to the public to stay off flooded roads during Hurricanes Ian and Nicole.

“Years ago it was an issue when I worked the road in Daytona Beach, and it most likely will always be an issue,” he wrote. “My goal is to make your jobs a little easier, and, like you, enhance public safety and protect private/public property.”

Councilman Jake Johansson said at the meeting that he was initially skeptical of the ordinance, but changed his perspective after hearing about a recent incident in which an Escambia County deputy was sucked into a storm drain while trying to help a motorist stuck in a flooded area.

Both the deputy and the motorist were underwater for 30 seconds before resurfacing.

“Being a whitewater rafter and whatnot, I’ve seen people who’ve tipped their kayaks over and get caught underneath a tree,” he said. “... I don’t want that to happen anyway in Volusia County, so hopefully we can stop the madness.”

He is a certified jail manager through the American Jail Association and a certified corrections executive through the American Correctional Association. He is also the current president of the Pennsylvania Prison’s Warden Association and was named Pennsylvania Warden of the Year in 2022.

BOAT SUPER CENTER

“If a roadway is actually flooded — like the barricades have been put up and it’s closed — this is the dangerous situation this is trying to prevent,” Brown said.

During the first 48 hours of Hurricane Ian last year, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Communication Center received 11,954 calls, according to data supplied to the county. Of those, 10,961 were requests

“If a roadway is actually flooded — like the barricades have been put up and it’s closed — this is the dangerous situation this is trying to prevent.”

RUSS BROWN, assistant county attorney

Joseph DeMore

Search for new Flagler superintendent to start

The School Board is scheduled to approve a new superintendent’s contract on Nov. 21.

BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The search for a new Flagler Schools superintendent will begin with an online survey next month and end in November with the School Board’s selection.

If the timeline proceeds as designed, the superintendent will begin his or her duties on New Year’s Day, 2024.

Andrea Messina, Bill Vogel and John Reichart, of the Florida School Board Association, presented Flagler School Board members with the timeline at a June 20 workshop.

The board had signed a contract with the FSBA to aid in the search. Superintendent Cathy Mittelstadt’s contract runs out on June 30. The June 20 evening meeting was her last appearance on the board’s dais.

Former Assistant Superintendent LaShakia Moore will serve as the interim superintendent until a new superintendent takes over.

Because of scheduling conflicts, the board agreed to move its workshop and board meeting from July 25 to July 18. At the workshop, board members will finalize the questions that will appear in an online survey, which will give community members an opportunity to share what characteristics they would like to see in the next super-

Rates headed up at Belle Terre Swim & Racquet Club

intendent. The board will also identify what advertising venues it would like to use to post the position. The survey will be the first post on a superintendent’s portal that will be on the district’s website, Flaglerschools.com.

The online survey is scheduled to be live on the website from July 28 to Aug. 11. A possible question on the survey would ask if the superintendent would have to be an educator.

“Not everyone believes that,” said Messina, the FSBA’s chief executive officer, noting that some districts have hired superintendents with military or business backgrounds.

At the Aug. 15 workshop, the board will discuss the survey results, select members of a Citizens Advisory Committee and finalize the advertisement for the position.

The Citizens Advisory Committee will meet twice in September, handing in its recommendations on Sept. 29.

At its Oct. 3 workshop, the board will choose semifinalists. On Oct. 17, the board members will select finalists, and they will conduct interviews on Oct. 30.

On Nov. 7, the board will choose a new superintendent and begin contract negotiations. The board will approve the new superintendent’s contract on Nov. 21.

As soon as applications come in, the FSBA will review them, Vogel said.

With so many other districts looking for a new superintendent, the board will probably have to pay a substantially higher salary than it paid Mittelstadt three years ago, Messina said.

Monthly and annual membership rates would increase, with a $50 annual administrative fee added for everybody.

BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The School Board raised membership rates at the Belle Terre Swim & Racquet Club late last year. But with a push to increase revenue and convince the board to keep the facility open to the public, rates are likely going up again. The board is expected to vote on new rates at next

BRIEFS

VCS recognizes heroic staff member, students

Three Beachside Elementary students and one staff member who helped save a student from choking received Superintendent Heroism Awards at a School Board meeting on Tuesday, June 13.

Ann Strader, an office specialist and Title 1 paraprofessional, has lunch duty in the cafeteria. During one of her shifts before the end of school, third graders Chauncey Hankerson, Dominic Checchi and Cai Allen told her that another student was in trouble.

“They said, ‘She’s choking!’” Strader said at the board meeting. “... So I ran over to the student.”

Strader asked the girl if she was choking, and the girl responded with a nod, holding her hand around her throat, Strader said.

month’s business meeting.

Adult monthly rates would increase from $47 to $55. Annual membership was slated to remain at $300, but board member Will Furry, saying the proposed rates were “way too low,” proposed raising it to $420, which averages to $35 a month.

Last month, Furry and board member Sally Hunt voted against keeping the facility open to members. But now the board is committed to helping the club break even or at least see it lose less than $80,000 a year, which is the projected cost of closing the gym and keeping the pool open for student use and group rentals.

In addition, the club will

charge a $50 annual administrative fee for all adult members, including those who use the facility through their insurance plans.

Currently, there are 168 paying members, Joshua Walker, the district’s coordinator of community services, told the board at its June 20 workshop.

But there are also about 800 insurance plan members on the rolls.

“This is the problem. If we’re going to keep it going, we can’t give it away anymore,” Furry said.

The club is holding an open house Saturday, June 24, and Sunday, June 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to try to sell memberships.

The event will include a cookout from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day.

The district’s proposed timeline will give the facility a year to turn itself around, with the club’s revenue and expenses to be presented to the board at the July 16, 2024 workshop.

The board would again vote on continuing the membership model or moving to a student-focused model at the Aug. 20, 2024 meeting. If the board votes to end memberships, the deadline to inform the insurance companies would be Sept. 1, 2024, and the potential last day of membership operations would be Dec. 31, 2024.

Strader performed the Heimlich maneuver, dislodging a piece of food from the girl’s throat.

Beachside Elementary Principal Lynn Bruner told the district about Strader’s lifesaving act, and Strader and the three students

received the Superintendent Heroism Award, presented by VCS Superintendent Carmen Balgobin.

On its Facebook page, VCS commended Strader and the students.

“Thank you for paying attention and making good

choices that saved another student’s life,” the district stated in a post.

The three boys who alerted Strader were also invited to the board meeting to be recognized. “They did the right thing,” Bruner said.

Courtesy photo

Back row: Volusia County School Board member Carl Persis, Beachside Elementary Principal Lynn Bruner, board member Anita Burnette, Superintendent Carmen Balgobin, Beachside Elementary Office Specialist Ann Strader, Board Chair Jamie Haynes and board members Jessie Thompson and Ruben Colon. Front row: Third graders Chauncey Hankerson, Dominic Checchi and Cai Allen.

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MAY 13

EVIDENCE OF SHENANIGANS

5:32 p.m. — 700 block of Lindenwood Circle, Ormond Beach Vandalism. An Ormond Beach resident called police after she found a chunk of cement in her driveway — and a dent in her garage door.

The woman told police that she noticed the cement chunk and the dent around noon and later left to go shopping, according to a police report.

When she returned home, she spotted a rock in her driveway and yet another dent in her garage door.

She suspected the culprit was one of the neighborhood kids, but didn’t have any more information.

She told police she wanted the incident documented for insurance purposes and in case other neighbors experienced something similar.

MAY 16

UNWANTED REDECORATING

9:29 a.m. — 500 block of Collins Street, Ormond Beach Larceny. A landlord who recently evicted tenants arrived at her property to find it vandalized.

The woman told police that she had been checking the home when she noticed the damage, according to a police report.

An officer noted that several walls of the home had been spray-painted with explicit and name-calling language and drawings directed toward the landlord. Multiple light fixtures and electrical wall fixtures were

damaged or removed, and there were holes throughout the home.

The officer noted in his report that a thief took several mounted air conditioning units, causing damage estimated to total over $1,000.

The landlord suspected that her previous tenants were the culprits and wanted to press charges if they didn’t repair all of the damage and return the missing property.

JUNE 2

TOILET TROUBLE

10:40 a.m.

— 100 block of Jungle Hut Road, Palm Coast Criminal mischief.

The bathrooms in Jungle Hut Park are down a toilet after someone destroyed one in the men’s restroom.

A Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to the scene after a county employee called about the shattered toilet, according to an incident report.

The toilet “appeared to have been hit with a sledge hammer,” the report said.

The deputy found that the only seated toilet in the men’s restroom was shattered to the point that the toilet’s plumbing was visible.

The deputy looked for fire damage such as burn markings, but did not see anything to indicate a firework had been used.

County employees estimated the damage at $500.

The women’s restroom was undamaged, the report said.

JUNE 6

ACCIDENTAL SKYLIGHT

6:26 p.m. — First block of Bunker Hill Drive, Palm Coast Weapons complaint. A Palm Coast man called law enforcement on himself after

Members:

he accidentally shot a hole in his roof.

The man was in his room cleaning his black, multicaliber rifle when the shooting happened, according to an incident report. He told an arriving Sheriff’s Office deputy that he’d believed the chamber was clear, but when he released the charging handle, the gun fired.

He called law enforcement because he did not know what to do, the report said.

The bullet passed through the man’s ceiling fan and roof. No one was injured.

JUNE 11

PEDALS NEEDED

8:41 p.m. — Intersection of Ridgewood Avenue and Aragon Street, Ormond Beach Driving while license revoked. A 55-year-old Ormond Beach man was arrested after deputies saw him driving a motor scooter without registration plates.

The man and his wife were both driving scooters southbound on Ridgewood Avenue when a deputy pulled them over, according to a police report.

The man said that the scooters were actually “electric bicycles” that didn’t require registration, but that the couple had removed the pedals because the bikes were hard to ride with the pedals attached.

The deputy told them that, based on state statutes, the couple could not modify the e-bikes without the bikes being reclassified as motor scooters.

When the deputy asked for their driver’s licenses, both of them admitted their licenses were suspended. Because the man was a habitual traffic offender, the deputy took him to jail. His wife received a verbal warning.

Former Councilman Victor Barbosa files for Flagler County Commission Matanzas teen competent to stand trial

“I’m

JONATHAN SIMMONS MANAGING EDITOR

Former Palm Coast City Councilman

Victor Barbosa, who stepped down from the council partway through his term, has filed to run for the District 5 Flagler County Commission seat.

“All these people that are in office keep on not listening to the community and voting against what they want,” he told the Observer. “I think my track record speaks for itself; I always vote for what the people want.”

Barbosa had posted publicly on his Facebook page on June 13, “Although I don’t miss the news media. I miss helping our great community so much. Thinking of running for office 2024. I need your help to make this decision. Should I run?” A number of replies urged him to do so.

Barbosa, a Republican, is the owner of the Man Cave barber shop on Palm Harbor Village Way.

He had resigned from the City Council in March 2022, days after he was accused of shoplifting at Walmart by skip-scanning a shirt at a self-checkout counter, but he told the Observer that his resignation “had nothing to do with that incident.”

Barbosa had maintained his innocence and was never charged with a crime, and Walmart ultimately canceled the trespass order it had initially filed against him.

“I spent $350 that day and one item didn’t ring up,” he said. “I’m not a cashier, and if you Google it, it happens way too often.” Barbosa had returned to the store after the trespass order was canceled, and created a Facebook Live video of himself buying a U.S. flag there.

The only other person who has filed to run for the District 5 County Commission seat is Ed Danko, Palm Coast’s vice mayor. Danko, like Barbosa, had joined the City Council in 2020 and is also running for the County Commission seat as a Republican.

Barbosa, asked about the timing of his filing to run — just days after Danko filed — said he had filed to run for the seat, rather than against Danko.

Former County Commissioner George Hanns, who held the seat for 24 years until he lost to current County Commissioner Donald O’Brien, has announced his intention to run for the commission seat, but has not yet filed. O’Brien is not running for reelection; he is instead running for Florida House District 19.

Barbosa said he is running to help hold government accountable and attract jobs.

“As you have seen the last couple of years, all government has been doing is raising taxes — something goes wrong, they charge the taxpayers, and no one is accountable for the mistakes,” he said in an email to the Observer.

He said he wanted to help draw more businesses to the area, “so we can create more jobs that will create more tax revenue, so it would help taxes to stop going up.”

“The community is well aware of who I am and knows I have always put their wants and needs before mine,” he said. He said people can reach him at 386-569-8748. “I will keep voting [for] what they want.

This isn’t only my county; this is our county,” he said.

SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

A teenager who attacked his Matanzas High School paraprofessional in February is competent to stand trial, according to a circuit judge.

Brendan Depa, 17, appeared in court for a competency hearing before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins the afternoon of June 16. Two psychologists gave opposing opinions on whether Depa is competent to stand trial.

Perkins said competency in this context depends on whether Depa’s autism diagnosis renders him incompetent to proceed.

“This was one of those circumstances where actually hearing from the doctors and the experts was a great assistance,” Perkins said.

Depa has been charged with aggravated battery on an education employee for attacking his paraprofessional at MHS on Feb. 21. The 17-year-old faces up to 30 years in prison if he is found guilty.

He was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation at a pretrial hearing in March. In a second pretrial hearing on May 10, Depa’s lawyer, Kurt Teifke, a defense attorney with 20 years of experience, asked the court for the competency hearing.

Perkins said he was looking to the broader concept of understanding: If Depa understood he was being charged with a crime, that there is a

sentence, and the roles of the court proceedings.

“If you ask most 21-year-olds, ‘What’s the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor,’” Perkins said, “you’re going to get a blank look.”

Ultimately, Perkins said, the reports and testimony showed that Depa has an appropriate understanding of the situation for his age and experience.

Psychologists Dr. Roger Davis and Dr. Jessica Anderton had both interviewed Depa to determine his ability to stand trial. Anderton deemed him incompetent to stand trial, while Davis deemed him competent.

Davis interviewed Depa on May 4, six weeks after Anderton’s interview on March 29. Both the prosecutor, Melissa Clark, and Teifke asked Davis and Anderton questions about Depa’s understanding of the judicial process he is facing and his ability to retain that information.

Davis said that as part of his evaluation, he corrected Depa on several pieces of information regarding his situation: Depa initially believed his punishment was five years, not 30, Davis said; and Depa had believed the jury would “help” the judge decide the case.

Davis said that at the end of the interview, to test Deep’s retention, he spoke with Depa about eight pieces of information he had corrected Depa about earlier in the interview.

Depa answered five of the eight questions correctly, he said, which was pretty good.

“He’s a bright young man,” Davis said.

Anderton agreed that Depa’s IQ doesn’t necessarily factor into this case, based on Depa’s previous medical records and her time with him. He can learn about the legal process, she said, but his autism undermines his ability to ability apply that knowledge to his own case.

“That’s where, in my mind, he will need specialized training to obtain competency,” she said.

Anderton said Autism Spectrum Disorder is divided into three levels of severity, with level three being the most severe. In her professional opinion, she said. Depa is a level three.

Clark noted that Depa’s previous medical history only graded Depa’s autism as a level two.

Anderton said that while Depa could retain several pieces of information about his case that she went over with him, he failed to retain others that they had gone over extensively.

Clark said Depa has demonstrated an ability to learn new information. She also pointed out that even Anderton’s report stated that Depa could be “restored” to competency in eight to 12 months.

But Teifke, Depa’s attorney, said his biggest concern was how well information will be retained in the context of a trial.

“I’m doing more than just suggesting incompetence,” Teifke. “I have grave concerns.”

Davis said that just because a person has a mental disorder, that doesn’t mean they are incompetent.

“There have to be specific symptoms that result in specific competency deficits,” Davis said. “And in my opinion, that’s not the case.”

Because of the advertising and messaging around hearing aids and hearing care in general, many people tend to think of hearing aids like a commodity, in which regardless of where or how you get one, which one you get, the outcome is much the same. “One size fits all”, right? Actually, that’s NOT right. When it comes to treating your hearing loss, it is not that simple. To be properly fit with hearing aids, there are four key steps that need to be taken. 1- A comprehensive hearing evaluation, 2- Selection of the “right” hearing aid, 3- Accurate and appropriate fitting, verified to your prescription, of the correct hearing aid, and 4- Comprehensive aural rehabilitation and follow-up after the hearing aid fitting.

Last month we covered the importance of an accurate fitting hearing aid. This month we are going to talk about how important it is to receive comprehensive aural rehabilitation and follow-up after you have been fit. When you first get your hearing aids, many patients cannot get fit to the full prescription strength at the initial fitting appointment. If you have not been hearing normally, possibly for years; then regaining all that hearing sensitivity all in one shot can be overwhelming, especially if you have a more severe hearing loss. Your audiologist should fit your hearing aids to your prescription, then reduce the strength of that

prescription to a level that is beneficial but still comfortable. The goal is to reach your full prescription as soon as possible, by making gradual increases to the prescription strength in the programmed settings in your hearing aids; but that timeline can vary from 2 weeks to 1 year or more. The timeline is different for everyone, depending on the amount of damage you have to your auditory system and the severity of the hearing loss. These visits are considered “follow-up visits” and are very important as your audiologist will measure your progress and make adjustments to the settings in your hearing aids as your brain changes and improves in its ability to understand speech. Understand-

ing speech is not only about whether you can “hear” it (that’s what the hearing aid does for you), but also the processing that your brain does to understand what is being heard.

Aural rehabilitation is the other component of a plan of care. Your audiologist will use counseling and educational strategies to help you improve your communication skills. In fact, hearing is only one of the 5 keys to communication success. Communication is dependent on the speaker, the listener, the environment, technology, and practice. The aural rehabilitation portion of your care plan will focus on designing and teaching you and your family strategies and skills that

will help you maximize the benefit you get from your hearing aids. It is an important component of hearing care and is often missing when patients purchase hearing aids. Today’s technology is amazing in what it can do for hearing impaired individuals, but at the end of the day, it is the human brain that must process the sounds heard and convert them into meaning. Aural rehabilitation, provided by an experienced and appropriately trained hearing professional, is the missing link for many people who struggle hearing, even with their hearing aids.

Go to www.ormondhearingcenter.com/blog. If you already have hearing aids, and you aren’t hearing well, call and schedule an appointment to have real-ear measures performed on your current devices. If you are considering treating your hearing loss, make sure you ask “Do you provide aural rehabilitation

with your hearing aid fittings? Is there a comprehensive care plan? And where did you get your training?”

At Palm Coast Hearing Center, our mission is to not only provide the best quality hearing care possible, but also to educate the community and help all patients make informed decisions so they can get the care they need and deserve.

Visit our website, www.palmcoasthearingcenter.com to learn more and schedule an appointment. We also have a location to serve you in Ormond.

Barbosa will be competing with Palm Coast Vice Mayor Ed Danko and former County Commissioner George Hanns.

Brendan Depa, a 17-year-old with autism, attacked his paraprofessional at Matanzas High School in February.

doing more than just suggesting incompetence. I have grave concerns.”

KURT TEIFKE, defense attorney

Photo by Sierra Williams Brendan Depa, 17, speaks to his lawyer, Kurt Teifke, at his competency hearing.

Victor Barbosa

Flagler receives grant for new library

The county has also agreed to place a 10% deposit on a new helicopter to replace Fire Flight.

SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

Flagler County will receive a $500,000 grant to build a new library facility in Bunnell. The library has applied for the state-funded $500,000 grant for eight years in a row and was ranked number one for the grant each year, but this is the first year the state is funding the grant and the county is in a position to accept it.

During a quarterly update on the library’s status at a June 19 County Commission meeting, Flagler County Public Library Board of Trustees Chair Jim Ulsamer asked the commission to have the new library facility built at its originally planned 22,000-square-foot size, rather than the 12,000-square foot size the county had proposed to save on construction costs.

The building, tentatively slated for land near the Flagler County Government Services Building, would also house some Health and Human Services functions.

But 90% of the proposed reduction in square footage, Ulsamer said, came from the library’s portion of the building.

“The library has been resource constrained for a long period of time,” Ulsamer said.

Library Director Holly Albanese told the Observer that although the overall floor plan stayed the same, “about 9,000 square feet was actually taken from the library.”

The county’s growing population warrants the larger size, Ulsamer said.

The county initially expected to finish the library in the summer of 2024, but construction was delayed until 2025.

The county shifted the existing Bunnell branch library to a smaller building — an 1,100 square foot location on State Road 100 — in 2021 to prepare for the new facility.

That move was supposed to be temporary, but the library has now been there for two years, Ulsamer said.

Even though space is tight, people are still attending, though they’re not staying as long, Albanese said.

The limited space does mean the location can’t hold services like kids reading groups or other activities, she said.

In fact, the libraries are getting more traffic.

CRIME REPORT

Fourth man arrested over threats to sheriff

Detectives have arrested a fourth suspect who threatened to kill Sheriff Mike Chitwood because of Chitwood’s stance against hate groups, according to a news release from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

Tony Stromberg of Calgary, Alberta, repeatedly threatened to kill the sheriff and the sheriff’s family and staff in emails, phone calls and tweets, according to VSO. Stromberg used the name “Condor Calabasas” in his emails.

In a follow-up email to the VSO in March, after other suspects who made similar threats had been arrested, Stromberg wrote that he had made an “obviously much more credible threat” and was disappointed that “not one police car let alone FBI car has pulled up to my house,” according to the news release.

BIZ BUZZ

MOORE TO HEAD UNITED WATER RESTORATION

Calgary Police Service detectives arrested Stromberg on Sunday, June 11, charging him with uttering threats to cause death.

He is expected to face the Canadian criminal charge in Canada, without extradition to Volusia County, according to the VSO.

Man charged with possessing child pornography

Deputies have arrested a 24-year-old Palm Coast man on 15 charges of child pornography possession after a 16-month investigation.

Christopher Carlo Caschera Jr. was arrested on June 14 after Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies allegedly found child pornography on Caschera’s phones.

The FCSO received a cyber tip in February 2022 about 17 child pornography videos and photos uploaded to an email address and username that investigators later linked to Caschera Jr., according to his

INTERNS JOIN KISTEMAKER BUSINESS LAW

Now in its 11th year, the Kistemaker Business Law Group Summer Internship program is welcoming a new class of interns.

In April, Ulsamer said, circulation was up 14% from the previous year and traffic was up 11%. In May, circulation increased 20.5% from May 2022, and traffic increased 10%.

But despite the rise in use, the library’s Palm Coast branch cut its hours in March.

“The staffing got so tight that they had no choice but to reduce the operating hours,” Ulsamer said.

The library’s tentative budget is $1.8 million: $1.6 million for the main branch in Palm Coast and just under $200,000 for the Bunnell branch.

Like every other county budget, it has increased due to a cost-of-living adjustment, health insurance increases and other rising administration costs.

The library’s passport service has brought in over $1.1 million in revenue since 2007 when, Albanese implemented the program.

This fiscal year, Ulsamer said, it is expected to bring in a record $175,000 in revenue.

It’s understandable that the county has to prioritize public safety, Ulsamer said, but with the growth in population, the library is “way behind.”

“The staff is doing a yeoman’s job keeping the place running,” Ulsamer said. “People should take a good, hard look at it and think about

arrest report.

The tip included an IP address — a numeric address identifying a computer on the internet — an email address and a user name for a social media messaging platform. Deputies investigated for nine months, then searched a home on Pittman Drive in Palm Coast in December, confiscating two cell phones owned by Caschera Jr. and connected to the email and

what they want for this community.”

FLAGLER COUNTY TO BUY NEW HELICOPTER

The Flagler County Commission has decided to place a deposit on a new helicopter that will eventually replace the 25-year-old Fire Flight emergency helicopter.

The new helicopter will cost $5.4 million, part of which will be covered by Fire Flight’s $600,000 trade-in value.

The new helicopter is three months away from being completed, and the commission unanimously agreed to pay a 10% deposit of $540,000 to reserve it.

County Administrator Heidi Petito brought the option before County Commission at its June 19 budget workshop and regular meeting for approval.

The 10% deposit would come out of reserves the county government has already set aside for a replacement helicopter.

The county has $1.5 million in its general fund reserve for a replacement helicopter, Petito said.

Should the purchase go through, the county could have the helicopter in the fall.

The county had the option to delay the purchase until next year, but that would increase the cost by close to $500,000.

IP addresses uncovered in the investigation, the report said.

Investigators analyzed the devices, finding fifteen files of child pornography, the report said. A judge issued a warrant for Caschera’s arrest on June 14. Caschera Jr. was released from jail on $150,000 bond on June 15.

TRIBUTES

4/22/32 – 5/16/23

United Water Restoration Group has promoted Bob Moore, vice president of franchise operations, to president and shareholder of United Franchise Holdings, LLC.

“Over the years, he has demonstrated exceptional performance and played a pivotal role in supporting franchise owners and helping them achieve their business goals,” Lajos Nagy, owner of United Water Restoration Group, said in a news release.

United Water Restoration Group began franchising in 2015 and had five franchise owners when Moore joined. Today, it has 90 units and hopes to add 40 more this year.

This year, the firm again welcomes Annabella Torres, an incoming senior who is matriculating in the AICE program at Seabreeze High School, and Maiale Dodd, a student at Daytona State College completing her associate’s degree.

“Summer is an especially great time at our firm, as we have the pleasure of welcoming and mentoring these bright students,” said Erum Kistemaker, the firm’s managing attorney and shareholder.

“We truly enjoy working with them and broadening their knowledge of the law.”

The program is available to prospective law students looking to gain legal experience and greater insight into the practice of real estate, business, condo/HOA, and/or construction law.

For more information about the internship program, go to daytonabusinesslawyers.com.

With open arms the Lord welcomed Shirley into his Kingdom.

Shirley was the last child born to the late Fannie and George Thomas in Newark, N.J. She had three brothers who loved and spoiled her. She gained a sister Susan after her father remarried. Shirley graduated from West Side High School in Newark, N.J. in 1950, went to work at New Jersey Bell at the age of 21. She married and later became the proud mother of Fred and Craig Batchelor. After 8 years, her marriage ended and her sole purpose in life was to raise her 2 children and give them a good life. After her sons became adults, she married Walter Bigams 5/23/86. A few years later retired and moved to Palm Coast. Joined

1st AME Church and served as an Angel of Mercy, a class leader and helped whenever needed. Shirley also volunteered as a hot line helper for troubled children, on Christmas holidays and was also a member of the Democratic Women’s Club as well as a member of the Pioneers Club, an organization of retired Bell Telephone employees. Upon her marriage to Walter she gained 2 step-daughters, Sylvia Denise Bigams, deceased and Shelly Lyn Bigams. Miss me but let me go.

Shirley Bigams

Bob Moore

BUSINESS OBSERVER

Development, real estate + business news

Crumbl Cookies now open in Palm Coast Kava bar opens in Ormond Beach

Tanner and Karli Reaveley have opened eight Crumbl Cookies locations since moving to Florida over two years ago.

ALEXIS MILLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Flagler County’s first Crumbl Cookies location celebrated its grand opening on Friday, June 16.

Franchise owners Tanner and Karli Reaveley have been familiar with the company since it was founded in 2017 in Logan, Utah, where the couple lived before moving to Florida. Before opening Crumbl Cookies locations — the Reaveleys have opened eight in the last two-and-ahalf years since they arrived in Florida — Tanner Reaveley was managing sales teams and Karli Reaveley worked as a registered nurse.

Most of the locations the couple have opened are in South Florida, where they live. Though Palm Coast is far from their home, Tanner Reaveley said, he and his wife will still stop by the bakery from time to time.

“We love getting our hands dirty and making cookies,” he said.

The Reaveleys have hired around 35 employees to staff the Palm Coast location, which is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday and from 8 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

“I’m really excited about the late hours and to try new things, especially new dessert options, in Palm Coast,” said Erin Walker, a customer at the grand opening. “It’s going to be a really big problem for our diets, in the best way.”

The bakery was originally scheduled to open in late April but was delayed because of complications with building permits and electricity.

“We require a lot of power — a lot more than a business this size usually has,” Tanner Reaveley said. “Between our mixers, our ovens, and our warmers and fridges, there’s a lot that we cram into this space.”

The couple chose Palm Coast because they saw a lack of dessert options available, especially late at night, Tanner Reaveley said. They

Owners Jackie and John Sekula made a spur-of-the-moment decision last March to open a kava bar after realizing how many people didn’t know about the drink.

ALEXIS MILLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

wanted a location in the heart of the community and chose Island Walk Shopping Center for that reason.

“It comes down to the love for the concept,” Tanner Reaveley said. “We love the rotating menu, the pink wall, all the pink boxes, we just love being around it. So, we want to make sure we provide the same experience that we’ve had at other Crumbls, along with awesome cookies and great customer service.”

Crumbl Cookie offers curbside pickup, inside and online ordering and delivery.

“It’s been very busy but very fun at the same time,” Karli Reaveley said. “Everyone loves the cookies, and so do we. My goal is just to have the business running well.”

Jackie Sekula began drinking kava about five years ago and got her husband John to start drinking it, too. She then began to introduce her friends to it, bringing the drink — made from a root found in the Pacific Islands — to social events and parties.

“I wanted to introduce everybody to kava because I believe in the product immensely,” Sekula said.

In March, she and her husband started planning to open a kava bar, choosing to incorporate their last name into the bar as well.

Thus, Kava Kula was born. It celebrated its grand opening in Ormond Beach on Saturday, June 17.

The recipe for Kava tea is thousands of years old. The root is turned into powder and put into a strainer so it can be steeped. It is then squeezed until it has a clay-like consistency, ensuring all of the liquid has been drained.

Kava is traditionally ladled into a coconut shell and used for ceremonies and peace offerings. According to the Nation-

al Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, kava is promoted as a dietary supplement for anxiety, insomnia and other conditions.

“It’s a great alternative, in my opinion, for alcohol,” Sekula said. “When you go to a bar and have alcohol, the older you get, the worse it makes you feel the next day, and you won’t get that with kava. When you stop drinking it, within an hour that feeling goes away.”

Kava Kula also offers “K Tea,” which has similar effects but comes from a leaf instead of a root.

Employee Jonathan Casterlane said he enjoys the social element of working at the kava bar.

“Learning how to make new drinks and meeting new cus-

tomers and interacting with them has been so much fun,” Casterlane said.

Customer Annette Escoffery got a tropical fruit-flavored kava drink, similar to a mimosa, at the bar. She liked it.

“I’m a person where I don’t drink any alcohol, so to have something to give me a great, relaxing feeling but tastes good is a game changer,” Escoffery said. Sekula said opening the kava bar at the Fountain Square Shopping Village, located at 142 E. Granada Blvd., was perfect for her and her husband because of the island-themed stores downstairs. Being upstairs, she added, also gives them room to have a patio for customers and possible future events.

The Sekulas aim to open more kava bars around Volusia County in the future.

Photo by Alexis Miller

Karli and Tanner Reaveley, franchise owners of the new Crumbl Cookies

Photo by Alexis Miller

Jackie and John Sekula, owners of Kava Kula

LETTERS

An FYI on vote-by-mail

Dear Editor:

This is a public service notice to Observer readers who received in the mail the vote-by-mail request, required because of recent changes to state law. Filling out the required information and returning such to the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Office would then make one eligible for ballot requests to be received in the mail through 2024, including our Florida primaries and the general election.

The form easily leads one to believe that such things as their phone number, Florida driver’s license number and the last four digits of your Social Security number are required pieces of information in order to receive ballot requests by mail.

I urge everyone to take notice of the option to call the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Office, rather than putting the personal information captioned above

BRIEFS

State Parks, Florida Prepaid partner to provide scholarships

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida State Parks and the Florida Prepaid College Savings Program are joining to encourage families to explore and

YOUR TOWN

ORMOND RESIDENTS TO STAR IN ‘THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA’

“The Princess and the Pea” will open at the Daytona Playhouse at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 24.

Directed by Ormond Beach resident and Daytona Playhouse President Kathy Thompson, the play tells the story of Prince Pea — played by Nehemiah Hunt, of Ormond Beach — who aims to escape the clutches of his mom, Queen Green (played by Ariel Peterman, of Ormond Beach) to marry Raspberry Sherbert, played by Story Knight.

in the U.S. mail. You will be asked three things: your name, your date of birth, and the last four of your Social Security number or your driver’s license number.

I did this; the call took 30 seconds, and I will be able to continue to vote by mail in elections through the year 2024.

BOB BAUMER Ormond Beach

Do not pursue a new police station

Dear Editor:

For several years, the idea of moving the police station has been brought up periodically. Without any input from the residents, the city wants to pursue a $100,000 land use study to replace or rebuild the current police station, which is only 23 years old. Surely, when the city constructs such a building, the life expectation should be at least twice that.

We have been told that the property is in a flood zone. FEMA map

enjoy all that Florida has to offer children, now and in the future.

The partnership invites families to discover educational opportunities through a Florida Prepaid college savings plan, as well as enjoy the Florida State Parks Junior Ranger Program, according to a news release.

Adventurous parents and guardians of children — from newborns to eighth graders — can enter the

Meanwhile, the evil Mandarin Orange (Remilio Lopez) has kidnapped Cinderella (Taina Palacios, of Ormond Beach) to train his daughters Blueberry Crumble (Lilly Graham) and Gooseberry Tart (Carma Richmond) to win the annual contest to find a bride.

Then, Prince Pea makes a desperate wish for help, and Fairy Godmother Spicy Jalapeño (Ivy Lee, of Ormond Beach) appears.

In addition to June 24, the “Princess and the Pea” will be presented at the Daytona Playhouse, located at 100 Jessamine Blvd., at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 25; Saturday, July 1; and Sunday, July 2.

Tickets cost $8 for those 18 and under and $14 for adults.

Visit DaytonaPlayhouse.org or call 386-255-2431.

shows it as a Minimum Hazard area. We are warned about storm surge water. This area has never flooded.

It is reported that the building needs a new roof for $500,000. Any building would need a new roof after 23 years. A new roof is less expensive than the $51 million estimated for a new, unwanted and unnecessary building. The requested $1,451,875 requested from the state was red-lined from the budget this year.

It is said that the building is overcrowded. The parking lot is usually pretty empty, and it appears that most officers are out on the streets on patrol. To speak to an officer, you have to call on a phone in the lobby that is answered in DeLand, where they call back to Ormond to have someone come back to the station. The current station is perfectly located in an area where most of the assistance is needed. It is centrally located between beachside and east of I-95. The police reports in the papers or online indicate that most of their activity is east of I-95. An EOC west of I-95 makes no sense, as most emergencies in this area

“Exploring Education Scholarship” sweepstakes for a chance to win a $1,000 scholarship in a Florida 529 Savings Plan and a Florida State Parks Junior Ranger gift pack, including a hammock and an inflatable stand-up paddleboard.

Ten Florida children will win this prize. The promotion runs now through June 30.

Winners will be randomly selected and notified by July 20.

are a result of hurricanes, which impact the ocean and river areas. West of I-95 could house a substation, and if needed, a training field center and shooting range. Neither of these two activities are desirable or beneficial for populated areas of living and dining.

It is not necessary for the city to spend thousands of dollars for studies. Meet with the residents and listen. This item should not show up on a City Commission agenda some evening and be agreed to without any input from residents.

It has been suggested that the real reason behind the push to move the police station is to make this property available to a developer for more apartments in that area. We do not need any more gas stations, car washes or storage facilities. This would not be in the best interest of the people they are supposed to represent.

CONNIE COLBY Ormond Beach

During this sweepstakes period, Florida Prepaid will also invest $50 toward every newly created Florida 529 Savings Plan account.

To learn more about the Junior Ranger Program and the partnership with Florida Prepaid, or to submit an entry for the scholarship program, visit FloridaStateParks.org/FloridaPrepaid.

“If

VITA VOLUNTEERS HELP WITH TAX REFUNDS

The United Way Volunteer Income Tax Assistance completed $1,919,176 in tax refunds in Volusia and Flagler Counties during the 2022-2023 season, transmitting more than 2,000 federal returns with an average refund amount of $1,304.

From Jan. 30 to April 18, United Way volunteers provided tax preparation services to individuals and families in need, operating nine tax preparation sites and providing more than 5,000 hours of community service.

“United Way VFC is thrilled to have successfully completed another impactful VITA season,” said Lawrence Anderson, community partnerships manager at United Way VFC. “Our dedicated volunteers and community partners played an integral role in delivering free tax preparation services and empowering individuals and families to improve their financial stability. We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who supported and participated in the VITA program this year.”

Nearly 150 cancer survivors and their family members gathered for the 2023 Halifax Health Celebrate Life event on Saturday, June 3.

HALIFAX HEALTH HOSTS ‘CELEBRATE LIFE’ EVENT

Nearly 150 cancer survivors and their family members gathered for the 2023 Halifax Health Celebrate Life event, a breakfast celebration honoring cancer survivors, on Saturday, June 3.

The annual event held in June — National Cancer Survivor Month — recognizes those who are in treatment and those who have fought the disease.

“Recognizing our survivors each year is a time to celebrate how far they have come on their cancer journey,” said Julie Roth, service line administrator for Halifax Health’s Charles L. and Miki N. Grant Cancer Center for Hope. “Gathering together and hearing the testimonies of

ORMOND-BY-THE-SEA LIONS’ DONATIONS BENEFIT LOCAL GROUPS

With the 2022-2023 Lions year coming to a close, Ormond-by-theSea Lions Club members supported the following organizations with donations, acccording to a news release:

„ Barracks of Hope (donation of two additional Smart TVs, along with household supplies; four TVs were previously donated)

„ Family Renew

„ American Cancer Society

„ Beachside Elementary School (both monetary, and coffee and donuts for teachers on the last day of school)

„ Council on Aging

„ Halifax Humane Society

„ Christine’s Blankets

„ Pregnancy Crises Center

„ Florida Special Olympics

„ Conklin-Davis Center

„ Florida Lions Foundation for the Blind

„ Lions Club International Foundation

„ Florida Lions Eye Bank

„ Lions Quest

„ Florida Lions Diabetes Camp

The club also awarded its $1,000 Al Weeks, Sr. Memorial Scholarship

other survivors helps one feel part of a community and not alone.”

The celebration included remarks from Chuck Grant, the Cancer Center for Hope’s benefactor and a cancer survivor, as well as testimonials from cancer survivors Jan Troiani, Brandon Florio and Brittany Sizemore.

Each attendee was given a plant donated by the Garden Club of the Halifax Country.

“There are over 16 million people in the United States who have survived cancer, with that number expected to grow to 22.2 million by 2030,” said Jennifer Peludat, breast cancer patient navigator at Halifax Health.

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

Publisher John Walsh, jwalsh@observerlocalnews.com

Managing Editor Jonathan Simmons, jonathan@observerlocalnews.com

Senior Editor Jarleene Almenas, jarleene@observerlocalnews.com

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Staff Writer Sierra Williams, sierra@observerlocalnews.com

Design Editor Hailey McMillan, hailey@observerlocalnews.com

Director of Engagement Kaitlyn Stier, kstier@observerlocalnews.com

Senior Media Specialist Susan Moore, susan@observerlocalnews.com

Advertising Coordinator Jessica Boone, jessica@observerlocalnews.com

Operations Manager Bonnie Hamilton, bonnie@observerlocalnews.com Circulation Coordinator, Draven Owens, dowens@observerlocalnews.com

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Rambo, a 5-year-old terrier and pit bull mix with a white and bronze coat. His adoption fee is $75.

Ace, a 5-year-old terrier and pit bull mix with a white and bronze coat. His adoption fee is $75.

Jasper, a 5-year-old Catahoula Leopard dog mix with a white and brindle coat. His adoption fee

to Seabreeze High School graduating Senior Molly Johnson. Johnson will be attending Flagler College in St. Augustine in the fall for its performing arts program and will minor in graphic design.

Johnson and her parents were treated to dinner at the club’s meeting, and Past President Lion Mary Yochum presented the check to her at the Seabreeze High School Senior Awards Ceremony.

To learn more about the Lions, call 386-441-4421.

To adopt any of these animals, or see others, visit the Halifax Humane Society’s main campus at 2364 LPGA Blvd. or call 274-4703.

Photo courtesy of Peter Gould Photography Remilio Lopez as Mandarin, Ariel Peterman as Queen Green, Taina Palacios as Cinderella, Lilly Graham as Blueberry, Carma Richmond as Gooseberry, Nehemiah Hunt as Prince and Ivy Lee as Spicy

Courtesy photos United Way VITA volunteers

Courtesy photo

Past President Lion Bobbie Cheh, Beachside Elementary School Principal Barbara Bruner and Past President Lion Mary Yochum.

YOUR NEIGHBORS

“We would like for this to become an annual event. The guests all gave all positives. We try to make our events family oriented, and we are trying to reach a different age group. We have a beautiful location, and with Father’s Day around the corner, we wanted to honor the fathers.”

A Night to Remember

The Casements hosts first father-daughter dance.

MICHELE MEYERS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Fathers, grandfathers and guardians joined their daughters and granddaughters at The Casements on June 17 to sing “Let it Go” from the movie “Frozen,” complete with accompanying arm gestures and faraway gazes. Most dads agreed the song is a household staple.

The city of Ormond Beach’s first father-daughter dance brought out an abundance of flapper dresses, pearls, suspenders and bow ties, harkening back to the roaring ’20s.

Dancers dined on dinner and dessert provided by RPS Catering and accompanied by tunes played by DJ Justin Kerin, owner of Sky Events Unlimited.

Carlee McKinney, special event coordinator for the city of Ormond Beach, had proposed that the city hold a Father’s Day event. She credits the Casements’ staff and the event’s sponsors — The Casements Guild, Morejon & Andrews Orthodontics, Shell Realty and Preferred Business Group — for bringing her vision to fruition.

“We would like for this to become an annual event,” she said. “The guests all gave all positives. We try to make our events family oriented, and we are trying to reach a different age group. We have a beautiful location, and with Father’s Day around the corner, we wanted to honor the fathers.”

Tickets were purchased in advance. Guests were assigned to sit at specific tables that were named after precious gemstones — diamond, ruby, emerald, pearl, sapphire or garnet. Prizes were drawn throughout the event with each including four tickets to the movie theater, free admission to Astro Skate and a pass to Pirate’s Island. Adelin Hanks, Piper McClafferty, Emily Perry and Copper Reynolds took home the prizes. At the end of the night, the Best Dancer award went to Steven and Ella Carbonell, while the Best Dressed award went to Mike and Vivian Demchak.

The city of Ormond Beach’s Cultural Center coordinator, Siobhan Daly, was impressed with the guests’ attire.

“I’m surprised that we didn’t have

a duplicate dress,” she said. “We had 24 girls, and they had different dresses on. I’m very surprised that everybody dressed up, because you never know.”

Everyone grabbed space on the dance floor, where there was singing, impressive dance moves and an abundance of smiles.

“I’m really happy, because I get to spend time with my daddy,” Chloe Porter said about her dad, Zach Porter. “I love him so much.”

Photos by Michele Meyers

Raina and Thomas Starr pose in front of The Casements.

Ella and Steven Carbonell pose for “mom” photos before entering the father-daughter dance.

Emily and Louis Perry

Mike and Vivian Demchak get some dinner before returning to the dance floor.

Flappers Piper McClafferty and Kayden Herring pick up their dinners.

Christian and Abigail Bowman

Jaclene Routzahn gets low at The Casements’ first father-daughter dance.

Sara Dionne, Ormond Beach Cultural Center Coordinator Siobhan Daly and Ormond Beach Special Event Coordinator Carlee McKinney

Gabby and Chris Byle take a moment to pose before the father-daughter dinner and dance festivities.

Kylie Shaw dances at The Casements.

CARLEE MCKINNEY Ormond Beach special event coordinator

LOCAL EVENTS

THURSDAY,

JUNE 22 TURTLE REHABILITATION

When: 5:30 p.m.

Where: Ocean Art Gallery, 197 E. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach

Details: Ocean Art Gallery will host an educational forum talk on turtle rehabilitation with Allie Bernstein, manager of turtle rehabilitation at the Marine Science Center. Reservations are required. Call 386-317-9400.

VOLUSIA-FLAGLER SIERRA CLUB MEETING

When: 6-7:30 p.m.

Where: Natural Concepts Revisited, 142 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona

FRIDAY, JUNE 23

WALKING WITH WARRIORS: A PROJECT REBIRTH TRAINING

When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Beach Details: Join the Volusia-Flagler Sierra Club for a presentation on rain barrels by Chris Rentz, “The Barrel Man” from DeLand. The meeting will also include updates on current group efforts and activities. Free and open to the public.

DAYTONA STATE COLLEGE

SUMMER JAZZ CONCERT

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: The News-Journal Center, 221 N. Beach St., Daytona Beach Details: Attend this DSC jazz concert to kick off the summer. Free admission.Ω

Where: Florida National Guard Armory, 100 Fin Way Palm Coast Details: Attend this training designed for those who care about veterans and first responders. Presented by Flagler Open Arms Recovery Services, the aim of the training is to provide participants with practical tools and resources for responding to the unique needs of veterans and first responders. Participants will receive a free lunch. Register at https://tinyurl. com/mt6hcx5.

TURTLE TALK

When: 11 a.m.

Where: Gamble Rogers Memorial State Park, 3100

S. Oceanshore Blvd., Flagler Beach Details: Learn about the role sea turtles play in Florida and how your actions can help preserve turtles for generations to come. Program is limited to 25. All ages are welcome. Entrance into the park is $5 per vehicle. Call 386-517-2086 to reserve your seat.

BARBECUE AND JAZZ

When: 4 p.m.

Where: Palm

Coast Community Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE, Palm Coast

Details: Join the North East Florida Jazz Association for its annual Barbecue and Jazz event, featuring the Shawn Pfaffman Quartet. Tickets cost $40 for members, $45 for guests and are available at Chez Jacqueline, at 25 Palm Harbor Village Way, or online at NEFJA.org.

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER FUNDRAISER

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Club Mosaic Bandshell, 715 Mosaic Blvd., Daytona Beach Details: The Taylor Road Band will be performing and donating a large percentage of its performance fee to help the community’s animals. Free event. Register at conta. cc/43F8FMR.

is run by Flagler Schools, is looking to boost membership. Open house includes a free cookout both days from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

NAVAL CIVIL WAR IN

FLORIDA

When: 10 a.m.

Where: Anderson-Price Memorial Building, 42 N. Beach St., Ormond Beach

Details: Robert Mattson, member of the USS Pawnee Guard, will discuss a broad overview of naval actions in Florida during the American Civil War, based on his book, “The Civil War Navy in Florida.” Free admission. Event presented by the Ormond Beach Historical Society.

AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE’S ANNUAL FIELD

DAY

When: 2 p.m. Saturday, June 24 to 2 p.m.

Sunday, June 25

Where: Hammock Community Center, 79 Mala Compra Road, Palm Coast

Details: Local amateur radio operators will take part in the American Radio Relay League’s annual Field Day. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities for 24 hours. The local effort will include hams associated with the Flagler Palm Coast Amateur Radio Club, Flagler Emergency Communications Association, and Flagler County Amateur Radio Emergency Service. Free event.

SATURDAY, JUNE 24

CRABBING BASICS

When: 8:30 a.m.

Where: Gamble Rogers Memorial State Park, 3100 S. Oceanshore Blvd., Flagler Beach Details: Learn how to catch Atlantic blue crabs during this one-hour, hands-on program. All ages are welcome. Entrance into the park is $5 per vehicle. Pre-registration required. Call 386-517-2086.

SUMMER OPEN HOUSE

WEEKEND AT BELLE TERRE SWIM AND RACQUET CLUB

When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25

Where: Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, 73 Patricia Drive, Palm Coast Details: The club, which

Details: The Atlantic Federated Republican Women and John Hamlin will host Lt. Col. Allen West, who will speak on the topic on how to bring Black voters back into the Republican Party. General admission tickets cost $65. Visit atlanticrepublicanwomen. com/special-event.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28

GUIDED KAYAK TOUR

When: 9 a.m.

Where: Gamble Rogers Memorial State Park, 3100 S. Oceanshore Blvd., Flagler Beach

Details: Join this two-hour guided kayak tour to learn about the importance of the local coastal ecosystem. All levels of experience are welcome. Registration and donation of $45 per person requested; $20 if using your own kayak. Space is limited. Call 386-517-2086 for AND REFLECTIONS

When: June 4 through July 15

Where: Expressions Art Gallery, 2298 Colbert Lane, Palm Coast

Details: See this exhibition featuring artists Suzanne Barrett and Louise Kennedy.

EXERCISES FOR THE MATURING BODY

When: 10:30 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays

Where: First Baptist Church of Palm Coast, 6050 Palm Coast Parkway, Palm Coast

SUNDAY, JUNE 25

LT. COL. ALLEN WEST

PRESENTATION AND BOOK

SIGNING

When: 2-5 p.m.

Where: Forever Ranch, 3600 West S.R. 40, Ormond Beach

Details: Attend upbeat classes presented by Synergy Senior Fitness and taught by Senior Fitness Specialist Artie Gardella. Classes are ongoing. Insurances that cover fitness accepted, or a donation for those with no coverage. Visit Synergyseniorfitness.com.

MOAS EXHIBITIONS

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

Where: Museum of Arts and Sciences, 352 S. Nova Road, Daytona Beach

Details: Want to spend a day looking at fine art? The Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach has the following exhibitions on display: “Unfolding the Universe: The James Webb Space Telescope,” and “Caribbean Indigenous Resistance.”

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

THE FINE ARTS

INSPIRATIONS AND REFLECTIONS

Two longtime Palm Coast residents and artists have joined forces to present an art exhibit at Expressions Art Gallery on Colbert in Palm Coast.

Titled “Inspirations and Reflections,” the exhibition features the works of Suzanne Barrett and Louise Kennedy and will be on display through July 15.

Barrett shows paintings as far away as California and London, England, according to her bio. She has studied with several artists and is currently studying with local artist Peter Cerreta. Her inspiration comes from nature and the

“joy she finds in her children and grandchildren,” her bio states. Kennedy is a self-taught artist and is also currently studying under Cerreta. According to her bio, her medium of choice is clay, and she sculpts realistic images in abstract and fantasy situations. She has won several awards, including Best of Show for “The Last Hope,” which is on display at the gallery.

Expressions Art Gallery on Colbert is located at 2298 Colbert Lane in Palm Coast. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

–JARLEENE ALMENAS

“Early Spring in the Countryside,” by Suzanne Barrett

Tree Spirit, by Louise Kennedy

Q+A MIKE CAVALIERE, AUTHOR OF ‘THE HUMORIST’

So funny, it’s scary

BRIAN MCMILLAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

What’s scarier than horror movies? Growing up. Or are they two sides of the same coin?

Fear is at the heart of Mike Cavaliere’s debut memoir, “The Humorist,” intertwining life lessons from his adventures in adulting with tongue-in-cheek lessons learned from horror movies.

Cavaliere, a former editor at the Palm Coast and Ormond Beach Observer newspapers, is also the author of “Tracks in the Sand” and won awards at every step of the way. He is currently director of news and media relations at EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University.

Cavaliere spoke with me via Zoom about his motivations for creating, and what follows is a transcript of our interview, edited for clarity and length.

Where did you get the idea for this book, Mike?

It’s been brewing for a while. While we worked together at the paper, I was writing a weekly humor column about my trials and tribulations of being a 20-something. This is sort of the next chapter, about life in my 30s, when you’re in a new phase of life, and you’re dealing with different problems having to do with marriage and being a parent and trying to figure out do I want to have a baby, and death of loved ones being diagnosed with rare diseases. Tying that into my lifelong obsession with horror movies felt like a good fit because I think that when you’re growing up, the common thread throughout all the strongest memories of your life is fear, in one way or another, whether that’s the fear of change, or the unknown.

You studied creative nonfiction as an undergrad. How do you define it?

In the simplest terms, it’s stories just like fiction, just like a novel, except they’re based off your own life. So you’re trying to find themes and stories that have a certain narrative punch to them, and you’re

connecting a lot of various threads to try to learn something about yourself or the world.

Your first line of dialogue reads like this: “‘Mom!’ I probably yelled.” And on Page 17, your step daughter has a hilarious line of dialogue, using the word “salacious” and other unrealistic vocabulary for a 4-year-old. What are you trying to teach us early on about how to read this book?

Ideally, I want it to be crystal clear and obvious when I’m taking liberties and exaggerating for comic effect, and when I’m being sincere. I think that you do that through little cues, but usually, I think you do that with tone. It is kind of a tight wire to walk, because you can’t make it so obvious where you’re holding up direction signs, like, “This part is exaggerated, this part is not real.” There is a lot of flipping and flopping in this book between, silly, funny sections, and kind of sad and serious sections.

One of those early sincere passages goes like this: “Scary movies weave themselves into our genes. They persist because no matter how old we get, we never outgrow fear. It’s the one constant through line in each of our coming of age stories. It’s a drug, and I’ve been chasing it’s high … for as long as I can remember.” What have you learned about fear from writing the story?

Fear is this endlessly fascinating thing, because on the one hand, it’s everywhere in our culture, even in weird ways. Look back at our fairy tales. Even “Sesame Street” had a vampire teaching us how to count. It permeates our growing up and teaches us these morals, so it’s everywhere on the one hand; but then, on the other hand, we are ashamed of fear in certain ways. We don’t actively try to face something if it makes us uncomfortable or afraid. We tell ourselves certain stories to kind of navigate around that, like “I’m over it.” We tell ourselves we’ve moved past whatever traumatic thing that’s happened in the past.

I think horror movies are the most visceral art form that we have. When you watch a horror movie, you feel all of these different sensations, and you jump in your seat, and your heart rate goes up, and you might get a little clammy and sweaty. And for someone like me,

who has always been an overthinker, there’s something great about the reminder that horror movies give you that there’s more going on in the world. It puts you more in touch with your body. It’s a reminder that you should pay as much attention to external stimuli, your physical body, as your intellectual one.

Writing this book was basically an exercise in overthinking, trying to find every scrap of significance in little tiny details of your life. What was it like to revisit your life with such a microscope?

It’s a process that feeds itself. The more that I went back, and I thought about these formative moments in my life, and the clearest memories that I had, the more I found all of these examples of escaping through screens, or through imagination, or through defenses of other kinds, whether it be film criticism, or writing or reporting, where you’re sort of involved in your life, but then you find a you find a certain way to detach from the realness and the bigness of it, by just observing and reviewing your experiences rather than actively being a part of them. And by going through all of these memories, it forces you to see patterns in your own behavior, and then confront why you are this way, why you do these things. One of the driving forces behind committing to this project was the desire to break that wall of protection down.

You’ve said “The Blair Witch Project” is one of your favorite horror movies, and part of the reason it’s so compelling is the doit-yourself style. That’s one thing I admire about your book as well, the idea that you decided to do it, set your own deadlines and put this piece of art out into the world. But how do you handle the selfdoubt and the thought that, in the end, maybe no one will care?

I think that you hit a point where that self doubt hits you like a ton of bricks. And you have to ask yourself why you’re doing it in the first place. And if you’re doing it for other people’s approval, or to make a million dollars and to be famous, then you’re probably doing it for the wrong reasons. And so early in the

process, I just had to tell myself that if nobody reads this, who cares? I’m writing this because I feel like I’ve spent all my personal time writing about things that I care about, but kind of tucking it away. I’ve written 2,500 movie reviews, and they’re on Letterboxd now, but for the first 10 years that I did them, I would hand write them in a little notebooks and put them aside in my room and tell no one that I did them. It was just this secret little journal. And this book was about breaking that cycle. I wanted to stop feeling like I was hiding my ambitions or my creativity or a fear of failure.

I decided, whatever happens happens; I’m going to put it out, hopefully people like it, but I don’t have expectations of it blowing up because that seems like the quickest path to disappointment.

At one point you’re asking yourself why you were tipping Port-a-Potties as a teenager, and then you weave that story into one about your daughter, and you’re asking why she is stealing snacks from the pantry. What did you discover?

I think that the generational divide is interesting, because holds a mirror up and forces us to recognize patterns that not only we carry through our own lives, but are maybe universal to everyone who is growing up. And I noticed that there’s this primal urge that kids have to break the rules, and to just do stupid things, for no real reason, and not even think about the consequences. What I came to is, we do this as a way to be seen. We go out in the darkness and make a mess, because this leaves our mark, and we feel like when we drive by in the morning, and we see that Port-aPotty on the street, we know that we did it. I think that it was the same with my daughter: She would get a certain amount of attention, negative or otherwise, from us from doing these things. And it was just such a clear reflection of my own nighttime debauchery in action, just sort of this directionless, smashing up of structure.

Search “Mike Cavaliere The Humorist” to find it on Amazon. Audiobook available soon.

celebrity cipher

By Luis

Campos

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for

“PIH SX UEH XIIA HE XNHFXTK ESY

HLFYXH TEY TYIIGEC VK GYFUAFUM

TYEC HLI JSD ET ... LNHYIG.”

CNYHFU PSHLIY AFUM ZY.

Puzzle One Clue: D equals P

“UGBBHLS HL BRDW ... HO G XRTKBWAWBJ AMGLOXWLVWLA

WCKWMHWLXW. HA’O BHEW WGAHLS KHFFG-UBGDRMWV HXW XMWGT.” THEW YHMYHSBHG

Puzzle Two Clue: U equals F Puzzle Three Clue: N equals B

“DZKKYW TD PWHOJ NRTJPD TJ REZTDTHJH, REJS OTJPD TJ OUEKTJS, DXHPY EC YRKD HJP KHGRYD TJ JYO YJSRHJP.” HWVXTNHRP KHVRYTDX

© 2023 NEA, Inc.

sudoku

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

Courtesy photo

Mike Cavaliere was formerly a journalist and editor for the Palm Coast and Ormond Beach Observers. He now is the executive director of news and media relations at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

COIN FLIPS by Alex Eaton-Salners, edited by Jeff Chen

another.

Strength in numbers

Matanzas football roster surpasses 100 players.

BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The Matanzas football program hit a milestone this spring. For the first time in Matt Forrest’s four years as head coach, the Pirates have over 100 players on their roster.

That’s quite a growth spurt from Forrest’s first season in 2020 when the Pirates had about 40 players in the program, including six freshmen on varsity. All six are still with the team, now preparing for their senior season.

“It feels great,” said fourth-year starter Cole Hash as he looked around at dozens of teammates working out in the hot sun in the Pirates’ summer conditioning program. “I think we’ve proved to our school that we’re going to build something here. I think kids are seeing the work that we’re putting in, and they want to come and join the process, and I think they’re loving it.”

Forrest said looking back at the COVID season of 2020 is kind of a blur.

“It was a bad time to come in and be a head coach for the first time,” he said. “But we established what we wanted this program to look like. We

felt we’d focus on the person first. We wanted them to get in the classroom, get in the community, and the football piece would fall into place. To have this participation now, and the kids sticking it out, is really awesome.”

Preseason practice is still more than a month away, and the players already feel the energy level rising and competition becoming more fierce.

“The coaches are getting more forceful, in a good way, and it’s bringing the team together. Everyone’s getting excited for this season,” said senior Ahmad Louis-Charles, who plays center and defensive tackle.

Senior receiver/cornerback Sho’Marion Gaines moved to Texas last season but returned to Matanzas for the spring semester. He said the difference in summer workouts now compared to his freshman season goes beyond numbers.

“It’s 100 on the roster, so now spots are not just given out on the field,” Gaines said. “Now you got to work to earn your spot on the

Crash course

field. When you see a lot of people, it makes you want to work more and be more competitive. It’s been way more serious.”

The Pirates earned a berth in the playoffs in 2020 by beating New Smyrna Beach 7-6 in a play-in game. They feel they have the talent and depth this year to return to the postseason.

“We’ve had a couple of rebuilding years,” Hash said. “Now that I’m a senior, I see what those older guys meant when they said, ‘It goes by quick, don’t blink.’ Now I’m talking to freshmen and telling them, ‘Hey, it goes by fast, don’t blink.’

“It’s my last year, and I want to go out on a big stand,” Hash said.

“I want to prove to our community and the people that watch us that we mean business here at Matanzas. We’re not just a little brother to FPC. I want everybody to know that Matanzas is really a football school, and that we’re here to make a statement. We’re here to make something happen this season.”

Second annual Seabreeze youth soccer camp teaches skills through fun.

MICHELE MEYERS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Seabreeze girls soccer coach Eli Freidus held the second annual youth soccer camp at Seabreeze High School on June 19-21. Thirty kids participated, an increase from last year’s numbers even though the weather was rainy and the players were relegated to indoor activities part of the time.

Assistant coach Christine Goebel, along with 13 Seabreeze soccer players, joined Freidus to help with instruction and organization. Senior Kylie Watson imparted knowledge about her experience as a high school soccer player for the second year in a row. She and her teammates were excited to participate when Freidus proposed the idea last year.

“We had camps when we were little, and they were so much fun,” she said. “Now we get to be the counsel-

ors. It came full circle.”

One of the most important lessons she would like the kids to take away from the camp is to have fun. She remembers being stressed out and worried about performing well in front of coaches when she played at their age. Watson added that the stress can ruin the sport for kids.

Teammate and fellow rising senior Morgan Long agrees.

“Have fun and enjoy your sport while you can,” Long said. “Also, have confidence. Grab a ball and work on the little things as you can. That will take you a long way.”

Carly McNerney was part of the first camp. She knows a lot of the kids from last year and has built relationships with some of them. She is excited to see that they have been using the skills instilled in them last year. “In order to play soccer, you can’t just think about yourself,” she said.

“You need to be able to think about what every other player is doing. There’s a whole bunch of chemistry in the sport, and if you’re not one with your team and all wanting the same goal, you’re not going to succeed as well as you think you’re going to.”

Senior Hannah Howell appreciates what Freidus brings to soccer. She believes he is the one that pulls everyone together and ensures that all players fully understand even the smallest skill. Being at camp brings back memories of when she started playing the sport.

“This is like an image of myself when I was this age, and I just had love for this sport,” she said. “I just enjoyed it so much. It wasn’t so much about the pressure or the competitiveness, it was more of ... I love to play, and you can really see that when all the little kids are playing.”

Photos by Brent Woronoff

Matanzas football players run sprints during a morning workout.

“I think we’ve proved to our school that we’re going to build something here.”

COLE HASH

Photos by Michele Meyers

Camp counselors Kylie Watson (left) and Hannah Howell battle during a game of “handball.”

Coach Eli Freidus (back right), assistant coach Christine Goebel (back left), the Seabreeze soccer team camp counselors (back row) and the summer campers

“Have fun and enjoy your sport while you can. Also, have confidence. Grab a ball and work on the little things as you can. That will take you a long way.”

MORGAN LONG, Seabreeze soccer player

REAL ESTATE

House in Plantation Bay tops sales list in Flagler

Ahouse in Plantation Bay was the top real estate transaction for May 4-10 in Palm Coast and Flagler County. Rebecca and Michael Focht, as trustees, sold 650 Woodbridge Drive to Charles and Karen Skeens, of Ormond Beach, for $999,250. Built in 2014, the house is a 4/3.5 and has a pool, a hot tub, an outdoor kitchen and 3,150 square feet. It sold in 2020 for $640,000.

ALEXIS MILLER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Condos

Renee Worthington and Emily Holland, of Flagler Beach, sold 4600 East Moody Blvd., Unit 15D, to Brian Kelley, of Bunnell, for $210,000. Built in 2005, the condo is a 2/2 and has 951 square feet. It sold in 2006 for $159,900.

U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee, sold 25 Magnolia Drive South to Brian Omland, of Aberdeen, South Dakota, for $302,000. Built in 1987, the condo is a 2/2 and has 1,300 square feet. It sold in 2022 for $205,100.

Mitchell Jay Freed and Holly Melinda Freed, of Winter Park, sold 3580 South Ocean Shore Blvd., Unit 304, to Steven and Laura Palmer, of Fort Myers, for $530,000. Built in 1982, the condo is a 3/2 and has 1,476 square feet. It sold in 2021 for $349,000.

Rae Marie Maffeo and Nicholas Maffeo, of Flagler Beach, sold 3580 South Ocean Shore Blvd., Unit 508, to Kathleen and Kevin Day, of Belle Isle, for $457,000. Built in 1982, the condo is a 2/2 and has 1,290 square feet. It sold in 2021 for $339,000.

Warren and Jacqueline Rosander, of Jacksonville, sold 60 Surfview

Drive, Unit 310, to Stephen and Sherry Ritter, of Bethel, Ohio, for $600,000. Built in 2004, the condo is a 3/2.5 and has 1,640 square feet. It sold in 2004 for $429,900.

Cathryn Demers, as trustee, sold 1400 Canopy Walk Lane, Unit 1432, to Craig Rumrill, of Palm Coast, for $385,500. Built in 2005, the condo is a 3/2 and has 1,377 square feet. It sold in 2011 for $95,000.

FLAGLER BEACH

George MoodyRosana Vidal, of Flagler Beach, sold 1224 South Central Ave. to Christopher and Jennifer Wilson, of Flagler Beach, for $650,000. Built in 1957, the house is a 3/2 and has a fireplace, a pool, a fire pit, an outdoor shower and 1,364 square feet. It sold in 2021 for $430,000.

PALM COAST

Belle Terre

LGI Homes – Florida LLC, of Woodlands, Texas, sold 54 President Lane to Juan Jose Ocasio Sierra and Jinneliz Marie Bassat Reyes, of Palm Coast, for $300,900. Built in 2023, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,270 square feet.

Grand Haven

William Albert Allen and Dorothy Marie Allen, as trustees, sold 13

Egret Drive to Thomas Dean Zike and Leslie Zike, of Palm Coast, for $585,000. Built in 2004, the house is a 3/2 and has a pool, a fireplace and 2,183 square feet.

Hidden Lakes

Jennifer Wagner, of Palm Coast, sold 122 Arena Lake Drive to William Overton, of Palm Coast, for $575,000. Built in 2015, the house is a 3/2 and has a pool, a hot tub and 1,946 square feet. It sold in 2021 for $449,900.

Indian Trails Donald and Angela Urbina, of Flagler Beach, sold 5 Buffalo Grove Place to Cory and Tiffany Saffer, of Palm Coast, for $429,000. Built in 2003, the house is a 5/2.5 and has 2,941 square feet. It sold in 2016 for $225,000.

Lehigh Woods

D.R. Horton, Inc., of St. Johns, sold 50 Ryder Drive to Benjamin Weldon and Victoria Bolzak, of Palm Coast, for $318,000. Built in 2022, the house is a 4/2 and has 1,862 square feet.

Not in a subdivision

Susan Jean Michaelson and John Michaelson, of Henrico, Virginia, sold 57 Forsythe Lane to Tamara Borges, of Palm Coast, for $325,000. Built in 2004, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,561 square feet. It sold in 2013 for $33,400.

Palm Harbor Michael and Laurie Struhar, of Palm Coast, sold 22 Foxhall Lane to Scott Craig Dupont and Jacqueline Dupont, of Palm Coast, for $610,000. Built in 1987, the house is a 4/3 and has a pool, a fireplace and 2,074 square feet. It sold in 2014 for $105,000.

De Linda Jordan, of Clarksville, Tennessee, sold 28 Cold Spring Court to Fernando Ismael Ramirez and Alba Lidia Ramirez, of Plam Coast, for $515,000. Built in 1988, the house is a 4/3 and has a pool and 2,032 square feet. It sold in 2012 for $178,000.

Pine Grove D.R. Horton, Inc., of St. Johns, sold 84 Point Pleasant Drive to Arndt and Sandra Jones, of Palm Coast, for $380,000. Built in 2022, the house is a 3/3 and has 2,363 square feet.

Derrick and Shannon Williams, of Birmingham, Alabama, sold 166 Pritchard Drive to Kyle and Andrea Delfin, of Palm Coast, for $360,000. Built in 2019, the house is a 4/2 and has 1,802 square feet. It sold in 2019 for $218,900.

Quail Hollow Thomas and Leslie Limanni, of McCormick, South Carolina, sold 26 Llewellyn Trail to Douglas and Blanca Warren, of Palm Coast, for $480,000. Built in 2021, the house

is a 4/3 and has 2,445 square feet. It sold in 2021 for $333,800.

Sea Colony

Anne Sowinski, Andrew Sowinski, Stephen Sowinski, Cecillia Mis, Wayne Novach and Kathleen Novach, of Westland, Michigan, sold 18 Medford Drive to Kenneth and Barbara Ambos, of Bay Shore, New York, for $395,000. Built in 1988, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,376 square feet. It sold in 1988 for $108,000.

Seminole Woods Raymond Charles Copeland, of Palm Coast, sold 8 Secretary Trail to Richard Dwyer, of Palm Coast, for $319,000. Built in 2004, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,794 square feet. It sold in 2012 for $118,000.

Toscana Lorie Lynn Hendricks, of Roanoke, Texas, sold 74 New Leatherwood Drive to Donald Lewis, of Palm Coast, for $715,000. Built in 2022, the house is a 4/3 and has 2,274 square feet. It sold in 2022 for $656,429.

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

Well maintained ICI-built home that exudes luxury and comfort. 3BR, 2BA, and a 2-CG. Spacious formal living room and dining room. Private master suite with private master bath. The large screened-in lanai has a summer kitchen, inground salt water pool, and heated spa make outdoor living a breeze. MLS#1108937 $589,000 Call Buzzy Porter 386-405-1000.

Beautiful 3 bed 2.5 bath family home. Located on a large corner lot w/ gorgeous golf course views!! New windows in 2023, laminate flooring in 2021, and a new screen porch in 2021. The bright open kitchen has plenty of cabinets and counter space. $425,000 Call Bill Navarra 386-334-9991.

Creek

Fly In. Beautiful kitchen with high-quality cabinetry and granite countertops. Large owner’s suite with luxurious bathroom and opens to the lanai. Stunning outdoor oasis with a lap pool, spa, waterfalls, fire bowls and gourmet outdoor kitchen. MLS#1109380 $1,975,000

Call Buzzy Porter 386-405-1000.

Welcome to your dream home on the most sought-after street in Ormond Beach! This riverfront house offers an unparalleled living experience with breathtaking views of the river from every room. 3 bed 3.2 bath. new dock, boathouse and lift. Call Bill Navarra 386-334-9991.

The house at 650 Woodbridge Drive has 3,150 square feet of living space.

SPRUCE CREEK FLY IN

OCEANVIEW CONDO

PLANTATION BAY

REAL ESTATE

House in Halifax Plantation sells for over $1 million

Ahouse in Halifax Plantation was the top real estate transaction for May 7-13 in Ormond Beach and Ormond-by-the-Sea. Alex and Debra Mackiel, of Fort Worth, Texas, sold 1405 Lilly Anne Lane to Troy and Penny Berry, of Mount Lookout, West Virginia, for $1,085,000. Built in 2021, the house is a 4/3.5 with a pool, hot tub, fireplace, outdoor kitchen and 3,270 square feet.

ALEXIS MILLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER ORMOND BEACH

Breakaway Trails

Roderick and Sheila Gammon, of Daytona Beach, sold 12 Tomoka Cove Way to Rebecca and Michael Focht, of Ormond Beach, for $890,000. Built in 1999, the house is a 4/3.5 and has a fireplace, a pool and 3,846 square feet.

Charles Square Cody and Hannah Wilson, of New Smyrna Beach, sold 14 Charleston Square to Anna Boyko and Maksim Platonov, of Ormond Beach, for $422,000. Built in 1985, the house is a 3/2 and has a pool, a hot tub and 1,525 square feet. It sold in 2020 for $275,000.

Fox Hollow

Richard Vowles and Ryan White, of Jacksonville, sold 5 Springer Court to William Jerome Kidd and Neva Jayne Kidd, of Ormond Beach, for $349,000. Built in 1987, the house is a 3/2 and has a fireplace and 1,888 square feet. It sold in 2008 for $185,929.

Halifax Plantation

Phillip MacIntyre, of Merritt Island, Robert MacIntyre, of Ormond Beach, and Jodi Williams,

of Ormond Beach, sold 3247 Galty Circle to Elizabeth Ann Lockmiller and John Harold Lockmiller, as trustees, for $425,000. Built in 2002, the house is a 3/2 and has a fireplace and 2,088 square feet.

Daniel and Debra Skidmore, of Ormond Beach, sold 3241 Tralee Drive to Jerry Hartsock and Carole Evans, of Ormond Beach, for $475,000. Built in 2015, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,919 square feet. It sold in 2016 for $259,000.

Hunters Ridge Brian and Margaret Dawson, of Anderson, South Carolina, sold 91 Foxcroft Run to Donald and Theresa Bertch, of Ormond Beach, for $1,000,000. Built in 2007, the house is a 4/3.5 and has a fireplace, a pool, a hot tub and 4,158 square feet. It sold in 2010 for $440,000.

Lauderdale DFV IRA, LLC, of Daytona Beach, sold 80 Country Club Drive to Domain Homes, Inc., of Tampa, for $795,000. Built in 1958, the house is a 3/3 and has 2,197 square feet. It sold in 2020 for $425,000.

Northbrook Jennifer Lynn Mollo and Kristin Marie Butrico, of Ormond Beach,

sold 2 Boxwood Court to Debra and Michael Trotter, of Ormond Beach, for $410,000. Built in 1979, the house is a 3/2 and has a fireplace, a pool and 1,623 square feet. It sold in 2019 for $220,000.

Not in a subdivision

Dawn Marie Shore, of Daytona Beach, sold 828 Fleming Ave. to Chertisa LLC, of Ormond Beach, for $82,900. Built in 1970, the house is a 2/1 and has 672 square feet. It sold in 2018 for $51,000.

Ormond Lakes

Joanna Sovern Martin, as trustee, sold 38 Lakebluff Drive to Amy and Bruce McCandless, of Ormond Beach, for $474,900. Built in 2002, the house is a 4/2 and has 2,221 square feet. It sold in 2002 for $223,700.

Ormond Terrace

Annetta Wolohan, of Monrovia, Indiana, sold 156 Cumberland Ave. to Joanne Bowlus, of Ormond Beach, for $323,000. Built in 2005, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,457 square feet. It sold in 2005 for $239,900.

Riverbend Acres

Joanne Bowlus and Rodney Lane, of Ormond Beach, sold 216 Riverbend Road to Matthew and Tara Pittman, of Ormond Beach, for $600,000. Built in 1984, the house is a 3/2 with a fireplace, pool and 2,131 square

feet. It sold in 2019 for $330,000.

Tomoka Estates Kevin and Tracey McLaughlin, of Racine, Wisconsin, sold 1179 Roberts St. to Susan Marie McCrary, of Ormond Beach, for $465,000. Built in 1978, the house is a 3/3 and has a fireplace and 1,845 square feet. It sold in 2015 for $178,000.

Tomoka Oaks Terri Ann Hauser, of Newland, North Carolina, sold 117 River Bluff Drive to Daniel and Elizabeth Kuras, of Ormond Beach, for $420,000. Built in 1979, the house is a 3/2 and has a fireplace and 1,944 square feet. It sold in 1990 for $129,900.

The Trails Nelson and Harold Acosta, of Spring Hill, sold 31 Rio Pinar Trail to Miles and Kathryn Wilson, of Ormond Beach, for $365,000. Built in 1978, the house is a 2/2.5 and has a fireplace and 2,143 square feet. It sold in 2004 for $175,000.

Trails North Forty Linda Mentzera, of Middletown, Pennsylvania, sold 28 Big Buck Trail to Gina Billups, of Ormond Beach, for $315,000. Built in 2001, the house is a 2/2 and has 1,746 square feet. It sold in 2017 for $193,500.

ORMOND BY THE SEA

John LaSalle, of Palm Coast, sold 43 Capistrano Drive to Home Away

Investments and Services LLC, of Ormond Beach, for $328,000. Built in 1984, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,715 square feet.

William Allen Acton, of St. Augustine, sold 7 Dunes Circle to Steven and Chelsey Lockhart, of Ormond Beach, for $550,000. Built in 1964, the house is a 4/3 and has a fireplace and 2,510 square feet. It sold in 2020 for $389,000.

STU Fish Properties Investments LLC, of Ormond Beach, sold 26 Palm Drive to Anthony John Ufolla, Jr. and Monica Lynn Ufolla, of Ormond Beach, for $419,000. Built in 1955, the house is a 2/1.5 and has 940 square feet. It sold in 2021 for $305,000.

Robert Kolodziejski, of Debary, sold 4 Seaside Drive to Matthew Valdez and Tara Gallahan, of Stafford, Virginia, for $412,000. Built in 1957, the house is a 2/1 and has 1,167 square feet. It sold in 2020 for $201,000.

John Adams, of Adams, Cameron & Co. Realtors, contributed to this report.

PUBLIC NOTICES

AT 1138 COUNTY ROAD 305 FROM FLAGLER COUNTY “C-1, NEIGHBORHOOD COMMERCIAL” TO CITY OF BUNNELL “B-1, BUSINESS DISTRICT”. ALL INTERESTED PERSONS ARE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE as may be legally permitted on the day of the meeting. Instructions on how to participate by electronic or other means, if legally permitted, would be found on the City of Bunnell’s website at www.bunnellcity.us on the homepage. The public is advised to check the City’s website for up-to-date information on any changes to the manner in which the meeting will be held and the location. The failure of a person to appear during said hearing and comment on or object to the proposed Ordinance, either in person or in writing, might preclude the ability of such person to contest the Ordinance at a later date. A copy of all pertinent information this ordinance can be obtained at the office of the Bunnell Customer Service Office, 604 E. Moody Blvd. Unit 6, Bunnell, FL 32110. Persons with disabilities needing assistance to attend this proceeding should contact the Bunnell City Clerk at (386) 437-7500 x 5 at least 48-business hours prior to the meeting.

NOTICE: If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Commission on this matter a recording of the proceeding may be needed and for such purposes the person may need to ensure that a verbatim record is made which includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is based. (Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes) June

the day of the meeting. Instructions on how to participate by electronic or other means, if legally permitted, would be found on the City of Bunnell’s website at www. bunnellcity.us on the homepage. The public is advised to check the City’s website for up-todate information on any changes to the manner in which the meeting will be held and the location. The failure of a person to appear during said hearing and comment on or object to the proposed Ordinance, either in person or in writing, might preclude the ability of such person to contest the Ordinance at a later date. A copy of all pertinent information this ordinance can be obtained at the office of the Bunnell Customer Service Office, 604 E. Moody Blvd. Unit 6, Bunnell, FL 32110. Persons with disabilities needing assistance to attend this proceeding should contact the Bunnell City Clerk at (386) 437-7500 x 5 at least 48-business hours prior to the meeting.

NOTICE: If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the City Commission on this matter a recording of the proceeding may be needed and for such purposes the person may need to ensure that a verbatim record is made which includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is based. (Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes)

THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 2023

also

consider any other business that may properly come before it. A copy of the agenda and Proposed Budget may be obtained at the offices of the District Manager, c/o PFM Group Consulting LLC, 3501 Quadrangle Boulevard, Suite 270, Orlando, Florida 32817, (407) 723-5900 (“District Manager’s Office”), during normal business hours, or by visiting the District’s website at http://tomokacdd.com. The public hearing and meeting are open to the public and will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Florida law. The public hearing and meeting may be continued to a date, time, and place to be specified on the record at the meeting. There may be occasions when Board Supervisors or District Staff may participate by speaker telephone. Any person requiring special accommodations at this meeting because of a disability or physical impairment should contact the District Manager’s Office at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1, or 1-800-955-8771 (TTY) / 1-800-955-8770 (Voice), for aid in contacting the District Manager’s Office.

Each person who decides to appeal any decision made by the Board with respect to any matter considered at the public hearing or meeting is advised that person will need a record of proceedings and that accordingly, the person may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, including the testimony and evidence upon which such appeal is to be based.

Venessa Ripoll District Manager

June 22, 29, 2023 23-00151F

The house at 1405 Lilly Anne Lane has 3,270 square feet of living space.

The Board of Supervisors (“Board”) of the Town Center at Palm Coast Community Development District (“the District”) will hold a Public Hearing on Friday, July 21, 2023 at 10:00 a.m., at Hilton Garden Inn Palm Coast Town Center, 55 Town Center Boulevard, Palm Coast, FL 32164. The purpose of the Public Hearing will be held pursuant to Chapter 190, Florida Statutes, to hear comments and objections on the adoption of the budgets of the District for Fiscal Year beginning October 1, 2023 and ending September 30, 2024 (“Fiscal Year 2023/2024”). A regular Board meeting of the District will also be held at that time at which the Board may consider any other business that may properly come before it.

A copy of the agenda and budget may be obtained at the Office of the District Manager, Inframark Community Management Services, 210 North University Drive, Suite 702, Coral Springs, Florida 33071, during normal business hours. In accordance with Section 189.016, Florida Statutes, the proposed budget will be posted on the District’s website at www.towncenteratpalmcoast.org at least two (2) days before the Public Hearing date.

The Public Hearing and meeting are open to the public and will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Florida Law for Community Development Districts. The Public Hearing and meeting may be continued to a date, time, and location to be specified on the record at the Hearing or meeting without additional publication of notice.

Description of Assessments

The District imposes special assessments on your property, the purpose of which is to fund the District’s general administrative and maintenance budget, and to provide the funds necessary to pay debt service on outstanding bonds as reflected in the District’s debt service budget. The budget is adopted each year after consideration by the Board and after a public hearing. This year the District will be collecting the assessments for operations and maintenance and debt service on the Flagler County Tax Bill.

All benefited lands within the District pay these assessments, including undeveloped and developed lands. Lands within the District are assigned units of measurement in accordance with their use. Platted residential lots are considered to contain one (1) residential unit. Unplatted residential lands and non-residential lands including commercial lands are assigned units in accordance with the District’s assessment methodology on file at the offices of the District Manager. The table below contains the proposed assessment rate for each of the different product types within the District.

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA GENERAL JURISDICTION DIVISION CASE NO. 18-2022-CA-000185 NEWREZ LLC D/B/A SHELLPOINT MORTGAGE SERVICING, Plaintiff, vs. THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, BENEFICIARIES, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES AND ALL OTHERS WHO MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST IN THE ESTATE OF MARIANO TORRISI SR A/K/A MARIANO TORRISE, DECEASED, et al.

will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash at https://flagler.realforeclose.com,

The assessment against each parcel is the total of the units in each parcel multiplied by per unit assessments. The District expects to collect no more than $ 1,390,005 in gross revenue as a result of the operations and maintenance assessment, and $ 1,493,394 in gross revenue as a result of the debt service assessment.

You have the right to appear at this public hearing and express any objections, suggestions or comments you may have. You may also file written objections within twenty (20) days of the date of this Notice at the office of the District Manager, Inframark Community Management Services, 210 North University Drive, Suite 702, Coral Springs, Florida 33071, Attention: Robert Koncar. By operation of law, the District’s assessments each year constitutes a lien against your property located within the District just as do each year’s property taxes. It is important to pay your assessments since failure to do so will cause a tax certificate to be issued against the property which may result in loss of title.

Additional Provisions

There may be occasions when staff or other individuals may participate via speaker telephone. Any person requiring special accommodations at this Hearing or meeting because of a disability or physical impairment should contact the District Manager’s Office at Ph: 954-6030033 during regular business hours at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the Hearing or meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Service at 7-1-1 for aid in contacting the District Office. Each person who decides to appeal any decision made by the Board with respect to any matter considered at the Hearing or meeting is advised that person will need a record of the proceedings and accordingly, the person may need to ensure a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, including the testimony and evidence upon which such appeal is to be based.

Bob Koncar District Manager

DILLARD TURNER; JAMES KUYKENDALL; CARLYN KUYKENDALL; FLORIDA HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION are the Defendant(s). TOM W. BEXLEY as the Clerk of the Circuit Court will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash at https://flagler.realforeclose.com, at 11:00 AM, on July 28, 2023, the following described property as set forth in said Final Judgment, to wit: LOT 3, OF BLOCK 47, OF PALM COAST, MAP OF PINE GROVE, SECTION 28, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF, AS RECORDED IN MAP BOOK 9, PAGE 51, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA. Property Address: 21 PORT ROYAL DR, PALM COAST, FL 32164 Any person claiming an interest in the surplus from the sale, if any, other than the property owner as of the date of the lis pendens must file a claim in accordance with Florida Statutes, Section 45.031. IMPORTANT AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT. If you are a person with a disability who needs an accommodation in order to access court facilities or participate in a court proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. To request such an accommodation, please contact Court Administration in advance of the date the service is needed: Court Administration, 101 N. Alabama Ave., Ste D-305, Deland, FL 32724, (386) 257-6096. Hearing or voice impaired, please call 711. Dated this 14 day of June, 2023. ROBERTSON, ANSCHUTZ,

Defendant(s). NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated June 09, 2023, and entered in 18-2022CA-000185 of the Circuit Court of the SEVENTH Judicial Circuit in and for Flagler County, Florida, wherein NEWREZ LLC D/B/A SHELLPOINT MORTGAGE SERVICING is the Plaintiff and THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, BENEFICIARIES, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES AND ALL OTHERS WHO MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST IN THE ESTATE OF MARIANO TORRISI SR A/K/A MARIANO TORRISI, DECEASED; THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, BENEFICIARIES, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES AND ALL OTHERS WHO MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST IN THE ESTATE OF MARIANO JOHN TORRISI, JR., DECEASED; GIANNA TORRISI; LOGAN MUNSON, BY AND THROUGH HIS/ HER COURT APPOINTED GUARDIAN; SKYLEIGH RAE TORRISI, BY AND THROUGH HIS/HER COURT APPOINTED GUARDIAN; ROSEMARIE BROWN; STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE; CLERK OF THE COURT OF FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA are the Defendant(s). TOM W. BEXLEY as the Clerk of the Circuit Court

SECOND INSERTION NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION 48 File No.: 18-2023-CP-00219 XXXXXX IN RE: ESTATE OF CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER WALTERS, Deceased.

SECOND INSERTION

FIRST INSERTION NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION File No. 2023 CP 000184 IN RE: ESTATE OF GUY VERNON LARSON Deceased.

The administration of the estate of GUY VERNON

are required to serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, on Stephan C. Nikoloff, Esquire, of Greenberg Nikoloff, P.A., whose address is 1964 Bayshore Blvd., Dunedin, FL, 34698, within thirty (30) days after the first publication of this Notice in the Business Observer, and file the original with the Clerk of this Court either before service on Plaintiff’s attorney or immediately thereafter; otherwise a default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint. WITNESS my hand and the seal of this Court on day of 6/14/2023. TOM BEXLEY CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT & COMPTROLLER (SEAL) By: /s/ Amy Perez Deputy Clerk Greenberg Nikoloff, P.A. 1964 Bayshore Blvd., Suite A Dunedin, FL 34698 (727) 738-1100 June 22, 29, 2023 23-00087G

The administration of the estate of CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER WALTERS, deceased, whose date of death was January 20, 2023, is pending in the Circuit Court for Flagler County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 1769 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell, Florida 32110. The names and addresses of the personal representative and the personal representative’s attorney are set forth below. All creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this notice is June 15, 2023. Personal Representative: JUSTIN A. WALTERS 1700 Briar Ridge Road McLean, Virginia 22101

Attorney for Personal Representative: ELLEN L. REGNERY, ESQ. Florida Bar No. 863769 Nason Yeager Gerson Harris & Fumero, P.A.

15, 22, 2023 23-00082G

NOTICE OF ACTION FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE (NO CHILD OR FINANCIAL SUPPORT) IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE Seventh JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR Flagler COUNTY, FLORIDA Case No.: 2023 DR 000551 Division: 47 Luis M Rodrigues, Petitioner, and Maria De Lurdes Tomas Figueiredo Rodrigues Respondent, TO: Maria De Lurdes Tomas Figueiredo Rodrigues {Respondent’s last known address} Unknown YOU ARE NOTIFIED that an action for dissolution of marriage has been filed against you and that you are required to serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, to it on {name of Petitioner}, whose address is 13 Flemington Lane Palm Coast FL 32137 on or before 7/22/23, and file the original with the clerk of this Court at 1769 E. Moody Blvd. Bldg 1 Bunnell, FL 32110 before service on Petitioner or immediately thereafter. If you fail to do so, a default may be entered against you for the relief demanded in the petition. The action is asking the court to decide how the following real or personal property should be divided: ____ Copies of all court documents in this case, including orders, are available at the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office. You may review these documents upon request. You must keep the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office notified of your current address. (You may file Designation of Current Mailing and E-Mail Address, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.915.) Future papers in this lawsuit will be mailed or e-mailed to the address(es) on record at the clerk’s office.

WARNING: Rule 12.285, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, requires certain automatic disclosure of documents and information. Failure to comply can result in sanctions, including dismissal or striking of pleadings.

Dated: 06/09/23 CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT (SEAL) By: /s/ Deputy Clerk June 15, 22, 29; July 6, 2023 23-00081G

the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office. You may review these documents upon request. You must keep the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office notified of your current address. (You may file Designation of Current Mailing and E-Mail Address, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.915.) Future papers in this lawsuit will be mailed or e-mailed to the address on record at the clerk’s office.

WARNING: Rule 12.285, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, requires certain automatic disclosure of documents and information. Failure to comply can result in sanctions, including dismissal or striking of pleadings.

Dated: 6/7/2023 CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT (SEAL)

Items Under $200

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