PALM COAST
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 12, NO. 42
FOR TOMMY TANT PAGE 16 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021
Serving those who served
Taking sides on ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’
Flagler County Veteran of the Year Tom Piekarski continues his fast pace of service. PAGE 3
Q+A
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“How do we feel about our two sons going to a war zone? We just have faith that God will watch out for them. That’s what we believe.” DAVID LYDON, Flagler County Veteran Services Officer
‘A dream career’ Shoshanah Mercado was one of six finalists for Florida’s School Psychologist of the Year award. PAGE 12 INSIDE SOMETHING EXTRA County will add $1.3 million prefabricated metal building to planned Sheriff’s Operations Center PAGE 9
Students protest censorship and display the books in question.
School Board members and the public quarreled over book banning.
BRENT WORONOFF STAFF WRITER
There were many highlights during 9 1/2 hours of Flagler School Board meetings on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Most of them centered on the question of whether the book “All Boys Aren’t Blue” should be available for students at school media centers. During three hours of public comment at the regular board meeting, most of which dealt with the book,
Photo by Brent Woronoff
the opinions were split. The issue came to light after board member Jill Woolbright filed a criminal report with the Sheriff’s Office a week earlier. She said the book’s availability in the schools was a crime according to a Florida statute that prohibits distributing obscene materials to a minor. Like much of the regular meeting, the board members’ closing comments bordered on theatrical, with Colleen Conklin ending her com-
ments by showing a video of “All Boys Aren’t Blue” author George M. Johnson defending the memoir about growing up Black and queer, which includes sexually graphic passages. Conklin and Woolbright delivered lengthy closing speeches, which will no longer be allowed in future meetings. During the very short business portion of the 5 1/2 hour regular SEE FRACTURED PAGE 10
Do Palm Coast’s canals need dredging?
CHAIR MULLINS
In split vote, Flagler County Commission selects Joe Mullins as chairman PAGE 11
INDEX
Business...............PAGE 19 Calendar...............PAGE 15 Cops Corner.......... PAGE 8 Letters................... PAGE 6 McMillan................ PAGE 6 Real Estate...........PAGE 21 Your Town.............PAGE 15 Photo by Jonathan Simmons
WHAT’S IN THE BOOK? Editor Brian McMillan weighs in on what he considers Rated-R material. PAGE 6
Boaters have noticed the canals silting in. JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
Although Palm Coast doesn’t have a beach — the nearest are in Flagler Beach, Marineland and unincorporated Flagler County — it does have saltwater, lots of it, in the city’s canal system. For decades, that saltwater has enticed people to settle here. Palm Coast’s network of tidal canals link locals’ backyard boat docks and lifts to the Intracoastal Waterway; from there, it’s an easy shot for a motorboat to get to open water through the Matanzas Inlet. Palm Coast has long touted the canal system as an attraction: Palm Coast’s first welcome center was on the canal system; now an overhead shot of the canal network forms the background for the city’s new website. But it hasn’t done much to maintain those waterways, aside from fixing the occasional sagging seawall or removing debris. And now the city faces a question: SEE DO PALM COAST’S PAGE 5