CITY WATCH
Board OKs Coquina Shores site plan
A site plan for the 750-unit Coquina Shores development has won the Palm Coast Planning Board’s approval.
The 505-acre development site is on the north side of State Road 100 a quarter mile east of Old Kings Road.
The city’s Planning and Land Development Regulation Board voted 7-0 at its July 19 meeting to approve the site plan.
FPL franchise fee proposal ‘off the table’
The City Council is no longer considering a proposed Electric Franchise Fee after Florida Power and Light could not agree to a referendum for the fee’s rate.
City Manager Denise Bevan told the council at the end of the council’s July 25 budget workshop that FPL would not agree to a citizen referendum on what the rate would be.
Council member Theresa Carli Pontieri — who made the motion to approve the FPL franchise fee agreement during a July 18 meeting — said she plans to withdraw her motion at the Aug. 1 business meeting.
“We all said up here that if the rate could not be a referendum, that we would not vote for it to be put in place,” she said.
“It’s off the table,” Mayor David Alfin said.
Ahead of the Aug. 1 meeting, Palm Coast will host a Town Hall meeting about the budget at the Palm Coast Community Center at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 27, according to a press release from the city government. Pontieri will present information at the meeting.
The Coquina Shores development was originally planned in 2006 as a mixed-use Development of Regional Impact with 2,400 single-family and multi-family units, plus 80,000 square feet of general retail and office space and a 150-room hotel, according to meeting documents.
In April, the board approved an application from the property’s new owner — JX Palm Coast Land, LLC
— to develop the site as a master planned development and rezone the land from mixed-use and conservation to residential and conservation.
JX Palm Coast’s plans for the land reduced the number of residential units to 750 single-family units, removing all nonresidential use.
The lots in Coquina Shores will be a minimum of 40 feet wide and 4,800 square feet in area, with a maximum building height of 35 feet.
On July 18, the Palm Coast City Council also unanimously approved the two Coquina Shores applications.
The council also gave its initial vote of approval to an ordinance to establish the Coquina Shores Community Development District. A CDD is a special-purpose unit of government created to aid in financing, operating and maintaining infrastructure within a large development, according to City Council meeting documents.
In a CDD, the developer, not the city, is responsible for the cost of the infrastructure.
“They’re all in self-sufficient communities,” council member Theresa Carli Pontieri said. “We will not be paying for ... these roads, this infrastructure.”
The council must read and approve the ordinance a second time for it to be adopted. That second reading will occur at the council’s Aug. 1 meeting.
BY THE NUMBERS
80,000
total square footage in the 2006 Coquina Shores DRI designated for retail and office space
2,400
total residential units, both single- and multi-family, in the 2006 Coquina Shores development
750
total single-family residential units in the Coquina Shores development now. The applicant has also removed all nonresidential uses on the land.
505.6
total acres in the Coquina Shores development
14.4
total acres of dedicated recreational space the development is required to have
1.48 Coquina Shores’ unit-per-acre density
City planner Estelle Lens said during the July 19 Planning Board presentation that the development’s main entrance will be off S.R. 100, and the developer will be adding a secondary entrance on Old Kings Road.
Scott Lockwood, a consultant with England, Thims & Miller Inc., represented JX Palm Coast at the board’s meeting. He said the development will add a left turn lane from S.R. 100 to Coquina Shores and conduct a study with the Department of Transportation to see if a signal light is necessary.
Lockwood said Coquina Shores is intended to be an age-restricted community, maintained by a homeowners association.
Staff expressed concerns about the subdivision master plan appli-
cation’s lack of defined recreational space.
A development of Coquina Shores’ size is required to have 14.4 acres of recreation and open space — 9 acres of active recreation space and 5.4 acres of passive recreation space, according to Planning Board meeting documents.
The board approved the subdivision application with the condition that the applicant meets the recreation requirements and provides a more detailed plan for them.
Lens said the developer plans to meet the recreation requirements in Phase 1 of the construction.
“Some of the amenities that they’re proposing will be an amenity center with a pool, pickleball courts, fitness area and active trails and paths,” Lens said.
Lockwood said the developer is working with a credible recreation research company to determine exactly what should be included. The developer is also considering turning the site’s borrow pits into ponds as an amenity for residents.
Lens said the developer has been coordinating with the city’s arborist to preserve the site’s historic trees.
“They are designing the site — to the roadways and the trails and the lots — to preserve the trees for the enjoyment of the residents,” she said.
“These are road and infrastructures that will be paid for — they’re all in self-sufficient communities. We will not be paying for ... these roads, this infrastructure.”
THERESA CARLI PONTIERI, City Council memberWaste Pro, Palm Coast sign bin agreement
Palm Coast and Waste Pro signed an agreement on July 20 to avoid litigation over the company’s removal of residential recycling bins.
The city has agreed to release the outstanding payment it was withholding and withdraw its civil citation against Waste Pro, Palm Coast Communications and Marketing Supervisor Shannon Martin wrote in an emailed statement. In return, Waste Pro agreed to release “any and all” potential claims against the city.
“While the city still firmly believes that the recycling bins are the property of the city’s residents, avoiding litigation with Waste Pro is believed to be in the best interests of the residents,” Martin wrote. As its contract with Palm Coast was ending on June 1, Waste Pro began collecting recycling bins as it completed its last pickup routes. The city said the bins were owned by residents; Waste Pro said the bins belonged to Waste Pro.
The Palm Coast-Waste Pro service contract did not explicitly define who would own the bins when the contract ended.
Palm Coast had been withholding a contracted payment of $153,150 to Waste Pro because of the dispute. The city also issued a civil citation ticket of $66,350 to Waste Pro for removing the bins, according to documents associated with the agreement.
Waste Pro released a statement on July 25 saying it looks forward to maintaining a “strong presence in Flagler County with continued growth in our commercial services.”
Waste Pro is still the waste removal service for Flagler County and continues to serve Palm Coast businesses, the press release said.
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Hope + healing
AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway will open to patients on Aug. 2
SUZANNE MCCARTHY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway will open its doors to patients Aug. 2, doubling the inpatient capacity and nearly doubling the emergency room capacity of Flagler County.
The 100-bed, 158,000-squarefoot facility includes surgical suites, cardiac catheterization labs, endoscopy suites for digestive health issues, and more.
“This new, state-of-the-art facility will serve as a beacon of hope and healing,” Dr. Audrey Gregory, President/CEO AdventHealth Central Florida Division, North Region, said at a press conference on July 25. “It embodies AdventHealth’s $167 million investment in our community and in the health care infrastructure.”
The second hospital in Flagler County, AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway sits between U.S. 1 and Belle Terre Parkway at 1 AdventHealth Way.
The hospital is 8 miles north of AdventHealth Palm Coast, which recently celebrated two decades of caring for the Flagler County community.
Complementing the hospital is a 30,000-square-foot medical office building that opened on June 12.
“This has been years in the making,” said Wally De Aquino, President/CEO of AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway. “Going all the way back to 2019, when we started our planning and site selection, we eventually broke ground in September of 2021, and what a time in history to start a project like this.”
A community celebration from 1-4 p.m. July 26 welcomed area residents to tour the hospital and meet the team members, including physicians, nurses, and support personnel.
Board raises rates for Swim & Racquet Club School Board approves funding
The club will have a twotier membership structure, and adult members will be charged a $25 administrative fee.
BRENT WORONOFF
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
As expected, the Flagler County School Board raised membership rates for the Belle Terre Swim & Racquet Club, but the board did compromise on a proposed administrative fee.
At its business meeting on Tuesday, July 25, board members voted 4-0 to go to a two-tier membership structure to increase revenue for the beleaguered club. Board member Colleen Conklin was absent.
A basic membership will include just the use of the gym and tennis courts. The Aquatic Plus membership will include use of the gym and tennis courts as well as the pool and sauna. By creating tiers, the School Board can charge an added fee for use of the pool and sauna for people who use the club’s facilities through their insurance and fitness plans. The insurance plans reimburse the club for their clients who use the facilities.
SilverSneakers, the largest of the fitness plans associated with the club, approved the added fee to their clients for pool and sauna use but rejected an annual administrative fee of $50.
The board will charge an administrative fee only to its members, but after Board Chair Cheryl Massaro objected to a total increase of $170 for annual memberships, the board agreed to lower the administrative fee from $50 to $25.
“There is an administrative cost,” board member Sally Hunt said. “Someone has to be there, help them with paperwork and then possibly process the paperwork.”
Joshua Walker, Flagler Schools’ coordinator of community services, said the paperwork usually takes 15
NEW MEMBERSHIP RATES
BASIC (GYM, TENNIS)
Adult annual $250 (plus $25
fee)
Adult monthly $25 (plus $25
fee)
Student annual $150
Student monthly $15
Insurance $0
AQUATIC PLUS (GYM, TENNIS, POOL, SAUNA)
Adult annual $420 (plus $25
fee)
Adult monthly $55 (plus $25
fee)
Family annual $750 (plus $25
fee for adults)
Single parent annual $550 (plus $25 fee for adults)
Family seasonal (3 months) (plus $25 fee for adults)
Adult seasonal $190 (3 months) (plus $25 fee)
Student annual $200
Student monthly $20
Insurance monthly $25
Insurance annual $250
Daily use $5 (unchanged)
to 30 minutes per person, and the employees are paid about $15 an hour. Board member Will Furry, who proposed higher rate increases last month than those that were agreed to by the club’s Advisory Committee, consented to adjusting the administrative fee to $25 annually.
The fee applies to the club’s 162 adult members. The 29 student members will be exempt from the fee.
Full adult membership rates will increase from $300 a year to $420 plus the $25 fee. Adult monthly membership will rise from $47 to $55 plus the annual fee. A new family annual pass will cost $750. The administrative fee applies to all adult members.
New basic membership rates that do not include use of the pool or sauna include $250 annual and $25
monthly rates for adults.
Rates for insurance members to use the pool and sauna will be $25 monthly or $250 annually.
The board is hoping to gain more revenue from insurance members. Walker said about 1,100 people have signed with the club through their insurance plans. From July 1 through Dec. 31 of last year, 672 unique insurance members used the club’s facilities, he said.
Although Furry agreed to the lower administrative fee, he said, “It sounds like we’re nickel and diming up here, but with as much loss as we have annually with this pool, every penny counts.”
Furry closed the discussion by taking exception to comments made by the club’s Advisory Committee president, Doug Courtney, regarding Furry’s rate proposal.
In a video, Courtney criticized the two-tier proposal, which he said has been tried before and failed. He also criticized Furry’s steep annual rate hike proposal. Courtney also had comments published on the news site FlaglerLive, where he called the rate plan “ludicrous.”
Furry said Courtney portrayed him as a bully demanding the rate increases.
“You can see that we have collaboratively worked through this, and I don’t appreciate somebody that we are working with to advise us to personally attack a board member,” Furry said. “So, I would ask in the future that we have a conversation. Our board meetings are always open to the public. And the advisory committee has even more availability, just because we’re seeking their direction. That’s not the way to go about to get what you want, whether it’s me or any other board member.”
“It sounds like we’re nickel and diming up here, but with as much loss as we have annually with this pool, every penny counts.”
WILL FURRY, School Board member
Youth Orchestra
The district will try to fill four openings, including one for a new director.
BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The Flagler County School Board has approved its annual funding for the Flagler Youth Orchestra Strings Program. Now it needs to find a new program director, as well as a new artistic director and two more music instructors/conductors.
Cheryl Tristam, the FYO’s program director since its inception 18 years ago, resigned on July 3 saying in an article she wrote for FlaglerLive — her husband, Pierre Tristam’s, news site — that conduct toward her and the program by some School Board members “has been reprehensible and inexcusable.”
The school district has been auditing the FYO’s bank account since it discovered in May that the account, operated by Cheryl Tristam, was actually an internal account using the district’s tax-exempt ID number. The account had been set up 18 years ago by a former Flagler Schools Superintendent Bill Delbrugge. The district had lost track of the account and thus was not annually auditing it as required.
On Tuesday, July 25, the board voted 4-0 to fund $78,880 to pay the salaries of the FYO’s contract employees and provide facilities for the program at Indian Trails Middle School. The program’s internal account, which had been previously thought to be an outside account, will fund the remaining $21,000 for the salaries.
The board approved contracts for part-time instructors Lacy San Antonio, Dr. Pamela Mireles and Jeremy Bartlett, who said they wanted to continue in their roles with the FYO. But the board will now have to
find replacements for Tristam as well as Artistic Director Joe Corporon and instructors Victor Rivera and Niki Mousikos, all of whom have also left.
Jack Lisenby, a former FYO member who graduated in June, urged the board during the meeting’s public comment period to get “everything lined up” for the program.
“There’s auditions and recruiting emails and instrumental rentals. So much needs to be done,” he said.
Earlier in the day, at the School Board’s workshop, Board Attorney Kristy Gavin presented a letter from attorney Mark K. Logan, of Tallahassee firm Sniffen and Spellman, concerning the funding of the FYO. Board member Willy Furry had asked for an outside opinion on the legality of the program’s structure.
Logan wrote that the firm’s review of the program “suggests that the operation and funding of the district’s program, in and of itself, does not present any operational issues other than the failure of the district’s FYO account to be subject to normal annual audit and review.”
Logan noted that the annual memorandum of understanding with the FYO “is something of an oddity,” considering the FYO is actually a district program.
“It appears that the district is entering into an MOU with itself,” Logan wrote.
The practice is questionable due to contractual concerns, he added.
“Apart from the MOU issue, we are comfortable as to how the program is currently constituted and operated given that all standard financial controls are in place as to the new FYO account and that the account is now subject to standard audit,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, the district is trying to gain control of the FYO’s website and has requested all of the account’s bank statements.
The board plans to discuss the law firm’s findings as well as the audit results at a workshop on Aug. 1.
Breaking ground: Ceremony ushers in Matanzas High expansion project
The centerpiece of the $22-million project is a 20,000-square-foot building that will house a construction lab, CTE classrooms and a secondfloor media center.
BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Shovelfuls of dirt were tossed in the air on Monday, July 24, marking the beginning of a $22-million expansion project at Matanzas High School.
Elected officials, district and school administrators, teachers and students all participated in the ceremonial groundbreaking at the Matanzas campus.
The centerpiece of the project is a two-story, 20,000-square-foot building that will house a construction lab, classrooms for other Career and Technical Education programs and a second-floor media center.
The current media center, which is next to the cafeteria, will be converted into additional cafeteria space.
The project will also include a preengineered metal building by the athletic fields to support the physical education and athletic programs and a new central energy plant.
The project is expected to be completed in 24 months. It is being financed by the district’s impact fees.
“We’ve talked about this for a long time, and seeing the work begin is exciting,” Flagler Schools Interim
Superintendent LaShakia Moore told the crowd in attendance. “This brings life to the renderings we’ve looked at over the past year.”
Moore noted that the Matanzas expansion is the largest and most expensive construction project the district has undertaken since the renovation of Buddy Taylor Middle and Wadsworth Elementary schools, in 2010.
“The whole project is so exciting,” Matanzas Principal Kristin Bozeman said after the groundbreaking ceremony. “The scope of it is really broad. When you think growth, you think, ‘OK, we need more classrooms,’ but there’s so much more that you need in a high school other than classrooms when you grow.”
The school had 1,500 students two years ago, and expects to have going to have 2,500 students three years from now, she said.
“So, you need bigger cafeteria space, you need a bigger media center space,” she said. “You need more classrooms, yes. You need more stor-
BETTER BACK TOGETHER
Family Reunification In
Our Community Daytona Beach, Fla. - There is a widespread myth that the child welfare system wants to separate children from their families. But the reality is that everyone involved works very hard to reunify families so they can live safely and happily together.
The non-profit organization Community Partnership for Children (CPC) leads the local child welfare system. Together with a network of community partners, CPC provides a comprehensive system of care for abused and neglected children in Flagler, Putnam, and Volusia Counties. CPC always strives to prevent abuse and neglect before they start. The organization employs prevention programs that connect at-risk families with the local resources they need to thrive. Strengthening families in this way allows children to avoid entering the formal foster care system.
When prevention is not possible, children are removed for their own safety following a judicial hearing. In these cases, the children are placed temporarily with relatives, kinship caregivers, or foster parents. The youth receive love, care, and services while their parents follow a case plan approved by the court.
The family’s case plan includes a variety of components designed to address the underlying factors that led to their children’s removal. CPC and its partners work closely with the parent to help them through the process. Meanwhile, the court continues to monitor the case, including a judicial review every six months.
“Compassion for those parents who have had their children removed is critical,” said Karin Flositz, CEO of Community
Partnership for Children. “Many people face great personal struggles like addiction or generational violence and deserve an opportunity to be supported and receive the help they need to overcome the challenges they have experienced.”
After the parents complete the case plan, the happy day arrives when children and families are reunified. Over 6,700 Florida children have been reunified with their families this past year. The final reunification represents a victory won by child welfare professionals, service providers, the judiciary, guardians ad litem, foster parents - and of course, the biological parents themselves.
There are many ways that everyone in our community can help strengthen families, from donating to abuse prevention efforts, to volunteering with CPC, to becoming a foster parent. More information is available at CommunityPartnershipforChildren. org.
age closets. You need more offices. They really thought through that in the design, and we’re really excited for everything that it’s going to bring in.”
Bozeman said she is especially excited about additional classrooms for the CTE programs. The construction lab will include a covered porch, ventilation hoods and a service area with an overhead door for deliveries.
“Right now, we have a workshop that’s the size of a classroom,” said carpentry teacher Andy Douglas. “With this new facility, we’ll be able to do things without bumping into each other. We’re going to have a gated area with an awning where we can build bigger projects, so they can work on bad weather days without having to be confined to the classroom.”
Douglas said he has talked to the Flagler Home Builders Association about a potential job placement program.
“This is going to give us the area that we’re actually going to need,
so that we can complete all these projects, and get (the students) jobready,” he said.
Like the construction lab, the new media center will be much larger than the current space.
“It’s going to provide a lot of space for collaboration,” Bozeman said. “It’s going to have some small-group learning spaces, conference room space, teacher workroom space.”
The construction site was cleared in the past month and has been cordoned off. Much of the area had been a parking lot. Most of the parking spaces will be restored when the project is completed, Bozeman said. The construction site cuts off a walking path.
“Everyone’s going to have to go (one) way now, but we will all just make room and be patient,” she said. “It’s temporary, and look at what we’re going to have to show for it in the end.”
SchenkelShultz Architecture designed the project, and HA Contracting Corp is the contractor.
“When you think growth, you think, ‘OK, we need more classrooms,’ but there’s so much more that you need in a high school other than classrooms when you grow.”
KRISTIN BOZEMAN, Matanzas prinicpal
COPS CORNER
JULY 6
STEAL OF A
DEAL 9:32 a.m. — First block of Lewisdale Place, Palm Coast Residential burglary. Someone stole a matching appliance set from an under-construction home in Palm Coast.
A matching Whirlpool stove and microwave, valued at $1,000, went missing from the work site over the Fourth of July holiday, according to an incident report.
The area superintendent told a Sheriff’s Office deputy that he’d last visited the property on June 29.
The deputy surveyed the property and found no sign of forced entry, and there were no cameras in the area for surveillance footage.
JULY 10
THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM
3:10 p.m. — 200 block of Interchange Boulevard, Ormond Beach Trespass. Someone stole a matching appliance set from an under-construction home in Palm Coast. A matching Whirlpool stove and microwave, valued at $1,000, went missing from the work site over the Fourth of July holiday, according to an incident report. The area superintendent told a Sheriff’s Office deputy that he’d last visited the property on June 29.
The deputy surveyed the property and found no
sign of forced entry, and there were no cameras in the area for surveillance footage.
JULY 20 UNDER THE INFLUENCE
3:57 a.m. — Intersection of New Britain Avenue and North Ridgewood Avenue DUI. A 24-year-old Ormond Beach man for drunk driving after he was found passed out in his parked pickup truck at an intersection.
The man was slumped over the wheel with the keys in the ignition when the reporting officer approached him, according to a police report.
The officer noted an “overwhelming smell of alcohol” coming from the pickup truck and noticed two cans of beer inside, both warm, the report states.
The officer proceeded to wake the man up, at which point he was asked to step out of his truck. The man needed assistance to do so,
JULY 21 HOSED OFF
6:27 p.m. — First block of Treetop Circle, Ormond Beach, Flagler County Battery. An Ormond Beach man was arrested on a battery charge after he allegedly sprayed a woman with a garden hose.
Sheriff’s Office deputies were originally called by the man’s wife, who said that a woman pointed a gun at the man, according to the man’s arrest report.
The man told deputies that the woman was on his property.
The woman — an arborist hired by the man’s neighbor — told deputies that she was surveying trees on the neighboring home’s property when the man came outside and sprayed her through the fence with water from a garden hose.
She yelled at him to stop, but he continued, the report said.
She began walking to her work truck, but the man approached her “in an aggressive manner,” screaming at her.
The woman felt threatened and pulled her firearm from the truck, clipping it to her waistband behind her back, the report said.
The man went back inside and both parties called 911. Deputies arrested the man and took him to jail.
and was sweating an “abnormal amount,” according to the report.
He agreed to perform a series of field sobriety exercises in a nearby parking lot, but once there, he exposed himself to the officer and began to urinate.
The man was taken to jail.
Hearing Loss Linked to Smoking, Depression and Cardiovascular Disease
Did you know that hearing loss has been linked to several other health conditions such as cognitive impairment, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, arthritis, and cancer? This is why at Palm Coast Hearing Center we take a detailed case history before every hearing evaluation. Healthy hearing habits does not only include restricting noisy habits but also taking care of your body as a whole.
Did you quit smoking recently?
According to the Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, quitting or reducing smoking and avoiding passive exposure to tobacco smoke may prevent hearing loss. The study shows that passive exposure to tobacco smoke compared to non-smokers was associated with 28% elevated risk of hearing loss. If you’re trying to reduce your exposure to tobacco smoke keep up the good work. This is just another awesome benefit to
reducing exposure!!
Depression
A study conducted by Li and researchers at the NIH and NIDCD indicated a direct relationship
between the severity of hearing loss and the incidence of depression. People with hearing loss usually find communication difficult, which can lead to stress. Unfortunately, hearing loss in a majority of people goes undetected and untreated. Now that you know there is a significant association between hearing impairment and moderate to severe depression make sure to let your loved ones know it’s never a bad idea to get a baseline hearing test. You probably have a dentist and an optometrist, but do you have an audiologist?
Cardiovascular Disease
An interesting study by Friedland and colleagues showed that certain types of audiometric patterns were strongly correlated with cardiovascular disease. How can this
happen? Our ears are very sensitive to blood flow changes and if there is anything compromised in the cerebrovascular system it may also be affecting the inner ear’s vascular system! As a Doctor of Audiology I make sure to continue my education and remain aware of new and emerging research to help treat my patients the way I would want my family to be treated!
Hearing loss is not always a direct correlation to aging! Want to learn more about hearing loss? Go to www. newsmyrna hearingcenter. com/blog. If you have hearing loss, or you aren’t hearing well,
call and schedule an appointment to have a complete hearing evaluation.
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 locations to serve you in Ormond.
BRIEFS
Woman found dead in marsh
A Flagler Beach woman who went missing on July 18 was found dead in a marshy area near her home the next day.
Martha L. Company, 62, was reported missing by her daughter at 1:30 p.m. A search was conducted by Flagler Beach Police Department officers, Flagler County’s Fire Flight helicopter, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 Unit, Patrol Division, and Drone Team, according to an FBPD news release.
Company was found dead under thick underbrush in the marshy area off South 27th Street just after 8 a.m. July 19, the press release said.
There were no signs of foul play at Company’s home, and her car was still in the driveway. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death, the press release said.
“Clearly, this was not the outcome we’d hoped and prayed for in this case,” FBPD Chief Matt Doughney said. “The outpouring of sincere concern, prayers and post shares from citizens on social media was overwhelming, and we hope that continues as Ms. Company’s family and friends grieve the loss of Martha.”
Communications supervisor honored
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Communications Supervisor
Heather Robinson has been selected as the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials’ International Line Supervisor of the Year for 2023.
She will be honored during the grand opening at APCO 2023, APCO’s annual conference, which takes place Aug. 6-9 in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a press release from the FCSO.
Sheriff Rick Staly said the department is very proud of Robinson.
“This is a huge honor for Heather and the Sheriff’s Office to be recognized for her continued dedicated service to the citizens of Flagler County,” Staly said. “Our dispatchers are the heroes behind the headsets, and this award recognizes how welltrained and dedicated they are.”
Deputies pull gator from swale
Several Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies practiced their alligator wrangling skills when a Palm Coast resident called about a nuisance gator on July 21.
A resident in the R Section of Palm Coast called deputies about a 5-foot alligator
CRIME REPORT
Man gets life in prison for human trafficking
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Communications Supervisor Heather Robinson is the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International Line Supervisor of the Year for 2023.
A Volusia County man convicted of 11 felonies — including human trafficking, armed trafficking in fentanyl, aggravated battery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon — has been sentenced to life in prison plus 160 years. Derick Jones, 49, was sen-
tenced by Judge Raul Zambrano on July 13. He was also convicted of two misdemeanors, according to a press release.
During an investigation in December 2022, the Daytona Beach Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit identified three victims who said Jones confined them in hotel rooms and beat them if they didn’t commit prostitution. He beat one victim so severely that she is now blind.
Detectives searched a South Ridgewood Avenue hotel room where Jones was
staying. They found illegal drugs and evidence of human trafficking and prostitution.
“The victims will forever carry the physical, mental and emotional scars from the defendant’s vicious and cruel crimes,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said, according to the press release. “It is only fair that he spend the rest of his life in prison. We will not tolerate human traffickers, and we will seek maximum penalties for those who engage in such activities.”
FCSO deputies remove a young alligator from a resident’s swale. on their property in an area where children play, according to an FCSO Facebook post.
The gator was in a concrete culvert beneath the resident’s driveway.
Video of the incident (view video it at fb.watch/l_MuSiO_Fl) shows FCSO deputies pulling the animal out of the swale using a catch pole and jumping on the gator to contain it until a trapper arrived.
Photos courtesy of the FCSO
Sheriff Rick Staly presents a check of almost $26,000 from FCSO employees to the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches’ Executive Vice President Maria Knapp and Levy County Sheriff and FSYR Board Chair Bobby McCallom.
FCSO staff donate to youth ranches
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office employees have donated $25,645 to the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches in 2023.
Since 2017, FCSO employees have donated over $158,000 to the FSYR, according to a press release from the FCSO.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly presented the donation check to FSYR Executive Vice President Maria Knapp and Levy County Sheriff and FSYR Board Chair Bobby McCallom on July 24 during the Florida Sheriffs Association meeting.
“Our agency and I have supported the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches for many
years,” Staly said. “I am very proud of the men and women of FCSO, who not only support our children and youth locally, but donate to the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches as part of the Flagler Sheriff’s Children’s Charities.”
The FSYR, founded in 1957, works to improve the lives of at-risk children and is credited with helping more than 173,000 children and families, the press release said. Staly has served on the FSYR Board of Directors for the past six years and now serves as its immediate past chair.
Veterans nonprofit plans new artificial reefs in Volusia County
Kids 4 Vets, based in Sarasota, is seeking countywide support to build three artificial reef sites off Ponce Inlet.
JARLEENE ALMENASSENIOR EDITOR
A nonprofit organization benefitting veterans has received the Volusia County government’s permission to build its first private reef off Ponce Inlet.
Kids 4 Vets, based in Sarasota, is looking for countywide support to build three artificial reef sites to help rehabilitate the local marine ecosystem.
Artificial reefs are not new to Volusia. Since the 1980s, the county has maintained a program to build reefs out of concrete structures and steel ships on the seafloor along the coast, according to the county’s website.
Kids 4 Vets will be using Reef Balls, concrete-mix modules made of marine-safe materials designed to attract marine life.
Nikki Swain, chief financial officer of Kids 4 Vets, said Reef Balls — supplied by Reef Innovations, a part of the Reef Ball Foundation — have been placed in more than 62 countries around the world over the last 30 years.
“They’re incredibly stable once they’re placed in the water,” she said.
A GLOBAL IMPACT
The Reef Ball Foundation has worked on 6,500 artificial reef projects and deployed more than 600,000 Reef Balls. According to the Reef Ball Foundation, 54 billion kilograms (about 119 billion pounds, or 59.5
TO DONATE
million tons) of biomass will be added to the Earth’s oceans in the next 500 years due to these artificial reef systems.
Swain and Project Manager Tom Wade aim to raise $500,000 for what they have named the “Veterans Reef Project.”
The artificial reef sites will be built in stages, and a percentage of the donations will be set aside to help Volusia County veterans with service animals, mobility aids and outreach. Some of the donation money will also benefit local veterans nonprofits.
“It’s a long-term deal,” Wade said. “We’re not looking for it overnight.”
To raise awareness for their project, Swain and Wade have been visiting local tackle, dive, surf and beachside businesses to ask if they would display either a mini reef aquarium featuring a model Reef Ball or a frame containing a QR code.
Swain started Kids 4 Vets in 2014 to help homeless veterans find housing. The nonprofit holds an annual “Ride 4 Veterans” event during Bike Week, so Swain and Wade are familiar with Volusia County.
VETS FOR REEFS
How did a veterans organization get involved in a reef project? For Swain, a videographer, it started with TikTok.
About three years ago, she was raising money for Kids 4 Vets while going live on the social media platform, and one of the boat owners who places reefs in the Sarasota area noticed and offered to let the group ride along for a reef placement — if she would go live on TikTok.
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT REEFS?
ACCORDING TO THE UNITED NATIONS:
70% of the world’s coral reefs are considered threatened 20% have been destroyed with no hope for recovery
24% are under imminent risk of collapse
26% are at risk due to longterm threats such as climate change and pollution.
That’s how Swain and Wade started working for Eternal Reefs, an organization under the Reef Ball Foundation umbrella that places reefs made from a person’s cremated remains.
Those, of course, are more personal reef placements, Swain said.
In Volusia County, Kids 4 Vets hopes to support education about clean water initiatives as well as install artificial reefs.
“Everyone needs to realize how important the water is,” Wade said. “You go boating and you take for granted what’s under the water, how it affects the entire ecosystem.”
HELPING MOTHER NATURE
Kids 4 Vets also hopes to eventually install reef systems in the Halifax River, but that requires riverfront property owners’ permission.
Reef Balls can be placed in mangroves, under docks and in other areas of the river shoreline to support oyster restoration, which will help filter the water in the river, Swain said.
People, Wade said, can make a difference in clean water.
“Nature does not build this stuff as fast as we can to help the environment,” Wade said.
“We can do a lot more to help Mother Nature along in the process,” Swain added.
To donate to the Veterans Reef Project, visit kids4vets.org. Live on the river and want to find out more about Reef Balls? Contact Swain and Wade at floridareefproject@ gmail.com.
Make way for the legends! Registration is open for Senior Games. Adults over 50 can compete in thirteen events, including tennis, pickleball, bowling, surfing, and more. To register visit palmcoast.gov/seniorgames.
Planning Board approves 275 townhomes
SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
A community of 275 townhomes may be built on a 40-acre parcel at the southeast corner of Citation Boulevard and Belle Terre Boulevard.
Palm Coast’s Planning Board voted unanimously at a July 19 meeting to approve the developer’s request to change the parcel’s zoning designation from “general commercial” to “master planned development,” or MPD.
The development, called Belle Terre Estates, would include 1.75 acres of general commercial use and a 1.19acre public dog park.
City Planner Bill Hoover told the board that the developer would deed the dog park to the city after construction in return for park impact fee credits for the cost of building the park.
“This is an outstanding location, in their minds, for a dog park,” Deputy Chief Development Officer Ray Tyner said. “We have a great need for it. We only have one up in the northern section.”
The townhomes would be two stories and either 19 or 22 feet wide by 90 feet deep. They would be low-maintenance properties ideal for retirees and new families, according to the applicant’s representative.
Each townhome will have a one- or two-car garage, plus a driveway that fits two cars. While the board approved the rezoning request, it also
asked the developers to find ways to add parking to accommodate residents’ guests on busy occasions like holidays.
“There’s really not guest parking throughout the complex,” Board member Suzanne Nicholson said.
City codes don’t require a certain amount of guest parking, Tyner and Hoover said, but the board can recommend that the developer explore options. The rezoning request also requires approval from the Palm Coast City Council.
The Planning Board also unanimously approved an alteration to the Marina Village MPD.
Marina Village, at Colbert Lane and Rogers Road, contains eight tracts. Tract 1 is located on the west side of Colbert Lane, and Tracts 2-8
are on the east, on the north side of Rogers Road.
The tracts would contain single and multi-family residential areas, a marina off the Matanzas River, and commercial areas — shops, restaurants and possibly a hotel. The marina would have 80 wet slips and 200 dry boat storage spaces.
The alteration would affect Tracts 2-8. It would reduce the commercial area from 160,500 square feet to 103,00, increase the number of residential units from 663 to 1085, reduce the building height from 95 feet to 60 and reduce the size of the townhomes to 2,000 square feet from 2,500, while increasing their allowable height from 35 feet to 45 feet.
The MPD alteration also requires the City Council’s approval.
STATE BRIEF
DeSantis eyes beer company
Pointing to concerns about a hit to Florida’s pension fund, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to know if the state can take legal action against beer company AB InBev, which has been embroiled in a controversy involving transgender social-media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
DeSantis on July 20 directed State Board of Administration Interim Director Lamar Taylor to examine how AB InBev’s conduct has affected the value of state holdings in the company. The board oversees money in the Florida Retirement System and other state funds.
“It appears to me that AB InBev may have breached legal duties owed to its shareholders, and that a shareholder action may be both appropriate and necessary,” DeSantis wrote in a letter to Taylor.
The letter came as AB InBev continues to face conservative backlash over a promotional effort with Mulvaney. The backlash began when Anheuser-Busch, which is part of AB InBev, sent Mulvaney a special can of Bud Light that included a message on the top of the can that said, “Cheers to 365 Days of Being a Woman.”
As of February, the State Board of Administration handled $235 billion in assets, including $180.4 billion in the Florida Retirement System pension plan. Included in the holdings were at least 682,000 shares in AB InBev, values at roughly $46 million. AB InBev stock price was $58.73 on June 21. That was up from $54.41 a year ago, but down from $66.73 at the start of April. In May, Bud Light lost its top spot in the U.S. beer market.
The property at the southeast corner of Citation and Belle Terre Boulevards will also include a dog park and businesses.Image from city Planning Board meetings documents The location of the proposed Belle Terre Estates master planned development
“This is an outstanding location, in their minds, for a dog park. We have a great need for it. We only have one up in the northern section.”
RAY TYNER, deputy chief development officer
BIZ BUZZ
CHILDREN’S BUSINESS FAIR CREATED
A new Children’s Business Fair was held at the Hammock Community Center on July 15.
Maria Delgado of Culinary Wellness, in partnership with Acton Academy, sponsored and hosted the inaugural event, according to a news release.
This fair offered children a chance to showcase their products and services.
“We wanted to support our young entrepreneurs in our community, and organizing this event provided them that opportunity,” Delgado said, according to the release. “I’m so proud of each and every kid vendor that participated in this one-day marketplace and thankful to everyone that came out to support them.”
Children as young as 6 were responsible for setup, sales and interacting with customers.
Eleven kid vendor tables offered items including handmade jewelry, baked goods, plants, henna tattoos, car detailing, paracord bracelets and artwork.
“Today’s youth are tomorrow’s business innovators and leaders, and we look forward to hosting this event every year,” Delgado said.
Each participant received a gift, and real estate agent Donna Dorst treated them to a surprise lunch.
Delgado, Palm Coast City
Council member Theresa Carli Pontieri, and Parties by Dani CEO Danilja Martin De Howell presented certificates for “Most Business Potential,” “Most Original Idea” and “Best Presentation at the Children’s Business Fair.”
ATTORNEY JOINS
SELIS LAW FIRM
Attorney Jemma Takx has joined Selis Law Firm in Ormond Beach.
Takx, an estate planning at-
torney licensed in Florida, graduated from the FSU College of Law in 2020. She previously worked in the United Kingdom’s Houses of Parliament for a London-based constituency, according to a press release.
She started her legal career working as a Children’s Legal Services attorney through Florida’s Department of Children and Families before joining the Selis Law Firm.
COLDWELL BANKER SCHMIDT EXPANDS
The Schmidt Family of Companies — the parent company to Coldwell Banker Premier Properties — announced on July 20 that it is expanding in Florida with a new sales office in Flagler County.
The company will acquire the office, located at the Hammock Beach Resort, from Coldwell Banker Realty in Florida, according to a press release.
The office has approximately 40 independent real estate agents and will operate under Coldwell Banker Premier Properties in conjunction with the existing Coldwell Banker Palm Coast office further west, which is also under Coldwell Banker Premier Properties.
The Schmidt Family of Companies has more than 90 Coldwell Banker offices across Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Michigan and Ohio.
“We continue to be in a growth mode. Today’s announcement is another positive sign and shows how bullish we
are on the region’s future,” said Mike Schmidt, chairman and CEO of the Schmidt Family of Companies.
FLAGLER UNEMPLOYMENT RISES SLIGHTLY
Flagler County’s unemployment rate increased slightly to 3.6% in June 2023, up from 3.3% in May 2023, according to a Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce news release citing data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
“As predicted, Flagler County experienced significant hiring last month, which shows our local economy continues to grow,” chamber President and CEO Greg Blosé said, according to the news release. “We also eclipsed 51,000 total Flagler residents employed. Just four months ago, Flagler passed 50,000 residents employed. Looking back on the past 12 months (June 2022), 2,356 more residents are working.”
The number of employed Flagler County residents (working in this county or another county) increased by 499, from 50,523 in May to 51,022 in June 2023, according to the news release.
The number of unemployed job-seeking residents rose by 188, from 1,733 in May to 1,921 in June 2023. The Flagler County labor force grew by 687, reaching 52,943 in June 2023. For information about the chamber, go to PCFChamber. com.
Make yourself at home
The path to driving solo
In that early, jump-scare stage, I would cringe every time we drove by a mailbox.
My son, Grant, taught me how to drive.
“You have to hold down the R button to drift,” he said to me about a year ago, as we played Mario Kart on the Nintendo Switch.
“I’m doing that, but it’s still not working,” I said, a note of middleaged exasperation in my voice.
He responded patiently: “You have to hold it down the whole time you want to drift.”
I remember the good old days, when the kids were smaller and we raced the easiest level: the oval track. Sure there were a few banana peels on the pavement, but nothing I couldn’t handle, and no need to drift. Now, as my children have gotten older and more capable, and the games more advanced, I was being subjected to horrible tracks like Rainbow Road, which is like riding a bucking bronco in space.
“This is dumb,” I said, as I was struck by a spinning turtle shell of shame, and I fell off the track once again, ensuring my last-place finish.
YOUR TOWN
VERIZON TO DISTRIBUTE SCHOOL BACKPACKS
The Palm Coast Verizon retailer at 5290 E. State Road 100, Suite 104, will distribute free school backpacks on Sunday, July 30, beginning at 1 p.m.
One backpack per child present will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis. The backpacks will contain school supplies such as pencils, paper, a pencil box, folders, a ruler and glue.
The School Rocks Backpack Giveaway is sponsored nationally by
I got my revenge, though, on the real road, because around that time, Grant got his learner’s permit.
“Stop,” I said one morning, as he rolled into the roundabout at U.S. 1 and Matanzas Woods Parkway just in front of a truck. “Stop,” I said again. “STOP!”
“I was stopping,” he said.
“No, no, no, no, no,” I said. “You have to stop EXACTLY when I say so.”
“I thought I had room.”
Other times, in that early, jumpscare stage, I would cringe every
Round Room LLC, which operates 1,248 Verizon retail stores, according to a press release. This is the 11th year of the backpack giveaway.
More than 1,000 Verizon retail stores will be donating 120,000 backpacks and supplies, according to the release.
ASTRONOMY CLUB EXHIBIT FEATURED AT LIBRARY
A display created by the Astronomy Club of Palm Coast will be featured at the Flagler County Public Library’s Palm Coast branch through the end of August.
The display showcases recent images from the James Webb Space Telescope, a collection of meteorites, models of satellites
time we drove by a mailbox.
“Wait!” I would say as Grant pulled into our driveway too close to the edge of the concrete, the wheels of the car seemingly dangling over the edge of the culvert pipe.
As the weeks went by, and Grant dutifully tracked his driving all the way up to the requisite 50 hours, he got better and better. I stopped feeling nervous and instead felt confident that he would be safe when the time came that he would get his license.
The day of his test finally arrived,
and we drove together to the Department of Motor Vehicles. He passed without any trouble, and as we waited in line for his photo to be taken, I took a long look at him: He was still 16 years old, anxious to be an adult and, in most important ways, already as capable and mature as any adult. He would soon be in the club of licensed drivers, the same club of which I was a member, my equal.
I realized that my time with Grant is limited. Two days after he got his license, he turned 17. This will be his senior year in high school. Possibly, we will live under the same roof only 400 or so more nights, before he drives away to his next rites of passage.
As I reflect on that morning in the roundabout, when I had yelled at him to stop, I felt that I was justified in my desire to convey urgency — mistakes as a driver can be deadly. Still, perhaps I can learn something from the patience he showed me when I was trying to learn how to drift. Perhaps I can be less competitive and more supportive.
The other night, as a family activity, we played Mario Kart again, and I have to say, I am actually a good drifter now, deftly scooting around curves, getting that bonus boost just about every time I aim for it. I even finish in first place every so often, eliciting looks of mock amazement from my children.
I found myself looking up from the couch at Grant that night, to comment on the amusing irony of how Grant had taught me to drive a Mario Kart at the same time that I had taught Grant to drive a real car. But he wasn’t home. He was out with friends, driving solo.
PALM
“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”
Publisher John Walsh, jwalsh@observerlocalnews.com
Managing Editor Jonathan Simmons, jonathan@observerlocalnews.com
Senior Editor Jarleene Almenas, jarleene@observerlocalnews.com
Associate Editor Brent Woronoff, brent@observerlocalnews.com
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
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Locally Owned / Publishers of The Palm Coast Observer Palm Coast Observer, LLC P.O. Box 353850 Palm Coast, 32135
A story on Page 5B of the July 20 edition misstated the last name of a counselor at Odyssey Adventure Club’s Surf and Springs camp: His name is Scott Crooke. Additionally, counselor Jan-Michael Scott’s first name was misstated, and he has been teaching for 13 years, including three at Old Kings Elementary.
VETERAN OF THE WEEK
and telescopes, and historical and scientific information about space exploration.
“We try to inform people about what’s going on [in space],” said Fred Pellmann, who helped found the club in 2005. Education has always been a key goal of the club, Pellmann said.
Club members Lee Bentzley and Ralph Treder, who has a Ph.D. in physics, are NASA solar system ambassadors, visiting local elementary
PETS UP FOR ADOPTION
The Flagler Humane Society, at 1 Shelter Drive on U.S. 1 in Palm Coast, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Adoption fees vary based on the animal, and the shelter has both dogs and cats up for adoption.
Anyone who is interested in adopting or has questions about the process can contact the Flagler Humane Society at 386-445-1814 or apply online at flaglerhumanesociety.org.
Max is a loving 3-year-old boy with a goofy personality. He has been at the shelter since March.
The Remey Wealth Advisory Group
Ringo is a 4-year-old male cat. Ringo has been at the shelter since April.
Photo by Sierra Williams
school fifth graders to teach them about astronomy.
Ambassadors are volunteers who help share the science and excitement of space exploration, according to NASA’s ambassador website.
The club usually meets once a month at the Palm Coast library.
Bob Daniels
Branch of military: Marine Corps
Dates of Service: 1962-1984
Chop Chop is a 14-year-old male Siberian husky mix. He has been at the shelter since July 12.
Rank/occupation: Senior Marine Unit Leader Hometown: Newark, New Jersey Bob Daniels, a resident of Palm Coast and 100%-disabled veteran, served with distinction in the United States Marine Corps from July 24, 1962, to Aug. 1, 1984. He retired as a sergeant major. Daniels was involved in the fierce fighting in Vietnam in 1968. He was awarded the following awards: Navy Commendation with Combat V Medal, Navy Achievement Medal with Star, Presidential Unit Citation, National Defense Medal, Good Conduct Medal with 5 Stars, Navy Unit Citation Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Medal, and Vietnam Campaign Medal. He also received the Gold and Siver Marksmanship Badges for “Best Marine Squad in the Marine Corps.” After retiring from the Marines, he started an IT firm called MILVETS, a CVE-certified ServiceDisabled Veteran-Owned Small Business with the motto, “Timely Production of Quality Work.”
–RALPH LIGHTFOOT
YOUR NEIGHBORS
Problem SOLVED
Thirty-nine Flagler Schools
students competed in Future Problem Solvers international competition.
SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
Thirty-nine Flagler County students competed at the Future Problem Solvers international competition for the 2022-2023 school year.
The competition took place in Amherst, Massachusetts, from June 7–11.
Four local projects won awards in their divisions, and two of those won grand champion or best overall in their division: a project by Matanzas High School’s Ben Kopach, who competed in the senior division of Community Problem Solving as an individual; and a project by Rymfire Elementary School’s Project Helpers team, competing in the junior division of Community Problem Solving.
Kopach’s project collated locally available jobs and connected them with high school students looking for work. Kopach also arranged time after school for kids to practice for
TEAM AND STUDENT COMPETITORS
FLAGLER PALM COAST HIGH
SCHOOL
Global Issue Writing Team: Jake
Blumengarten, Hailey Tucker, Jack
Mikutel and Ella Oshri
Scenario Writing Individual: Liam Lafferty
MATANZAS HIGH SCHOOL
Community Problem Solving, Team
(Project SCREAM): Ava Muldoon, Lily Lisowski, Megan Rhee, Olivia Chochev and Lorraine Wilson
Community Problem Solving, Individual (Project Help Wanted): Ben
Kopach
MAGIC GIPS
Writer: Amy Leonardi
INDIAN TRAILS MIDDLE SCHOOL
Community Problem Solving, Team
(Project MESS): Tony Pacilli, Ryan
Castro, Sean Barnes, Mason Gamble, Tristan Norman and William Wells
Community Problem Solving, Team
(Project Tuned In): Wesley Kopach, Kendall Willis, Garrett Tucker, Paris Milton, Alex Berenblit, Isaiah Jack, Ellah Cherry and Kashvi Sagar
Scenario Performance, Individual:
Holden Carleton
MAGIC GIPS
Writers: Grace Brocksmith, Sam D’Ascheberg, Karolyn Whitney and Wyatt Davis
interviews and learn how to apply for jobs.
This was Kopach’s eighth year in Future Problem Solvers and his fourth consecutive year winning grand champion.
Future Problem Solvers has also invited him back next year as a student evaluator.
“I was just [doing FPS] to help out the community,” said Kopach, who graduated in June. “So being an evaluator continues that, and I can still help out the community while helping these other kids who want to accomplish what I can accomplish.”
Amy Kopach, a Flagler Future Problem Solvers board member and a coach at Indian Trails Middle School, said the Rymfire Elementary team’s project focused on helping the school’s teachers by freeing up their time so they can focus on teaching.
“The problem they found that was going on at their school was that teachers are just so overwhelmed and so busy with all this extra stuff that teachers have to do,” she said.
Indian Trails Middle School teacher and coach Beth Blumengarten said it was especially rewarding watching the students figure out their own solutions to the problems. The middle school’s Project MESS placed third in its division.
RYMFIRE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Community Problem Solving, Team (Project Helpers): Katelyn Castello, Aaliyah Auriemma, Eli Christlieb, Roman Lopkovich, Cameron Short, Lilliana Raad and Anabella Glasco
MAGIC GIPS
Writer: Tanner McKinney
TEAM AND STUDENT AWARD RECIPIENTS
Grand Champions, Junior Division: Rymfire Elementary School’s
Community Problem Solving Team
Helpers: Katelyn Castello, Aaliyah
Auriemma, Eli Christlieb, Roman Lopkovich, Cameron Short, Lilliana Raad and Anabella Glasco
3rd Place, Middle Division: Indian Trails Middle School’s Community
Problem Solving, Team MESS: Tony Pacilli, Ryan Castro, Sean Barnes, Mason Gamble, Tristan Norman and William Wells
1st Place, Middle Division: Matanzas High School’s MAGIC GIPS
Writer, Amy Leonardi
Grand Champion, Senior Division: Matanzas High School’s Community Problem Solving Individual Project Help Wanted, Ben Kopach.
“I am a hands-off type of coach,” Blumengarten said. “The part I take away as a coach is to see them, see where they can fall apart, but put it back together and help others at the same time.”
Flagler Schools also had its first student compete in the scenario performance component competition. Then-seventh grader Holden Carleton won grand champion at the state level and made it into the top six in his division at international — a division that includes seventh through ninth grades, Blumengarten said.
“I think that’s pretty incredible, to place into finals,” Blumengarten said. “And he has such a good attitude about it.”
LOCAL EVENTS
Center, 305 Palm Coast Parkway NE, Palm Coast
Details: Join the city of Palm Coast’s Parks and Recreation Department for a Family Art Night program. This month’s activity consists of crafting and decorating desk organizers made of recycled materials. Visit palmcoast.gov/Events/
SATURDAY, JULY 29
FREE KIDS’ FISHING
CLINIC
When: 9 a,m. to noon
Where: Herschel King Park, 100 Grady Prather Jr. Cove, Palm Coast
ers on this 5K fun walk. Meet at the library. Registration begins at 6:30 pm. and walk at 7 p.m. Come exercise and then socialize with some ice cream after the walk.
FLORIDA
When: 5:30 p.m. Where: Ormond Beach Regional Public Library, 30 S. Beach St., Ormond Beach Details: Preview the work being done by Dream Green Volusia to support land conservation efforts. The Volusia Wildlife Corridor is a subset of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Visit dreamgreenvolusia.com.
FRIDAY, JULY 28
FAMILY ART NIGHT
When: 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Where: Palm Coast Community
Where: The Casements, 25 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach
Details: See the Traces of Gold band perform hits the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and beyond. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and celebrate summertime with the city of Ormond Beach’s Department of Leisure Services. Free.
‘HONK! JR.’
When: 7 p.m. Friday, July 28; 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, July 29
Where: Flagler Playhouse, 301 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell
Details: See this production put on by the Flagler Playhouse’s Summer Camp for Kids. The play tells the story of “Ugly,” who looks different from his duckling brothers and sisters. Tickets cost $10. Visitflaglerplayhouse.com.
Details: Flagler Sportfish ing Club and Kids4Reel are sponsoring this free kids’ fishing clinic for ages 5-13. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. There will be multiple stations to learn knot tying, cast net throwing, rod casting and more. A free rod/reel will be gifted to the first 150 kids who complete all of the stations.
THE SUMMER OF 1969: CULTURAL EXHIBITION
OPENING CEREMONY
When: 2 p.m.
Where: African American Cultural Center Museum of Florida, 4422 N.
U.S. 1, Palm Coast
Details: The African American Cultural Society is presenting “The Summer of 1969,” a student-produced, intergenerational exhibition created by AACS intern Savannah Aziza Ryan. The opening reception will include live entertainment by Dante’s Divas of R&B, spoken word artists and more. Visit aacspalmcoast.org.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 3
HAPPY WANDERERS
ORMOND BEACH FUN
WALK
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Ormond Beach Regional Public Library, 30 S. Beach St., Ormond
Beach Details: Join the Happy Wander-
FRIDAY, AUG. 4
MURDER MYSTERY
DINNER SHOW
When: 6 p.m.
Where: VFW Post 8696, 47 Old Kings Road North, Palm Coast
Details: Help raise funds for displaced and foster children in Flagler County by attending this pirate-themed dinner and show hosted by the Seawolf Privateers. There will be a silent auction, games of chance, a cash bar and more. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. Visit seawolfprivateers.org/fundraisers.
MOVIES ON THE HALIFAX
When: 8:30 p.m.
Where: Rockefeller Gardens, 26 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach
Details: Bring a chair or blanket and enjoy a showing of “Princess Diaries,” rated PG. Movies are weathersensitive. Call 386-676-3216 for rainout information.
ONGOING 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
Details: Attend upbeat classes presented by Synergy
Senior Fitness and taught by Senior Fitness Specialist Artie Gardella. Classes are ongoing. Insur-
ances 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 has the following shows on display: “Unfolding the Universe: The James Webb Space Telescope” and “Caribbean Indigenous Resistance” (through Aug. 6).
Ormond MainStreet hosts 6th annual Christmas in July event
More businesses participated this year than in any previous year.
ALEXIS MILLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Ormond MainStreet hosted its sixth annual Christmas in July event on July 22, drawing record-breaking business participation.
The event supports an “eat local, shop local” mentality in the community through sales at local restaurants, cafes and shops, plus kids’ activities such as face painting, scavenger hunts and photos with Santa Clause.
“I hear stories from families that have just moved here, and they would tell me that the event is the first thing that made them feel a part of the community, and that makes me proud,” said Becky Parker, Executive
Director at Ormond MainStreet.
“It feels good that everyone wants to come together in support of our businesses.” Ormond MainStreet expands the event every year. Parker put out a survey last year to the businesses that participated. She
said she received great feedback: Due to a dip in sales during the summer months, local shops begin to look forward to the event because it helps bring in customers.
“Some of the retailers reported that it’s one of their top three busiest days of the year,” Parker said. The Ormond MainStreet district starts at Orchard Street on Granada
Boulevard and ends at State Road A1A.
Along that stretch, 47 businesses participated in the event this year — more than in any previous year. This year featured two craft markets, at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens and at the Anderson Price Memorial building.
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Generation next
Mainland varsity football players coached Pop Warner youth football players at the Derbyshire Sports Complex on Wednesday, July 19.
MICHELE MEYERS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It was Pop Warner Day at the Derbyshire Sports Complex on Wednesday, July 19. The Mainland High varsity football players were ready. They stormed the field with equipment in hand and set up multiple drill stations to coach the Daytona Beach Pop Warner football players.
Thomas Roland is in his 31st year as the Pop Warner commissioner. He attributes his lengthy tenure in the position to his love for kids and lifelong involvement with sports.
Unlike his son, Mainland graduate and football coach Travis Roland, he graduated from Seabreeze High School, where he was a running back and cornerback for the team.
“I do this because I love kids,” he
said. “Everything I’ve done in my life has been working with kids, most of the time.”
Thomas Roland coached most of the Mainland varsity players when they went through the Pop Warner program. If they did not play football in the program, they usually had a brother, cousin or even an uncle who did.
“It’s a wonderful thing to see Mainland giving back to the program that they came from to help these kids out,” he said. “You see how the kids are so happy out there because now they have high school guys teaching them. I want them to take a positive attitude away from this and see what these kids (Mainland players) went through. If they do the right thing, do their school work — academics first — they can take this sport and go a long way, if you put your mind to it.”
This was Arthur Westbrook’s 15th year coaching with Daytona Beach Pop Warner football. He is going on his 13th year as a running backs coach for Mainland, where he teaches algebra and geometry.
“This is where it starts, right here,” he said. “When you build a house, you have to have a foundation. So it starts here with the youth. We want to teach them the fundamentals and just the little things. Once they get over to us, if they come to us, to Mainland High School, at least they have the foundation and the fundamentals.”
Approximately 125 players rang-
ing in age from 6 to 15 arrived at the Pop Warner Day prac tice where Mainland players coached the kids through a warmup and football-oriented drills. Westbrook said it’s all about the repeti tions — not only for the 6- and 7-year-olds, but for the older players as well.
“If you’re doing the same thing every day, it becomes muscle memory,” he said. “If you do something every day, five days a week, it just becomes natural to you every single day in practice.”
Mainland Athletic Director Terrence Anthony helped his players run the quarterback drills. He hopes the kids see the older players have returned to encourage and support them like high school players did for them in their days with Pop Warner.
“‘Buc pride never dies’ resonates in this community,” he said.
Westbrook said he stays involved because he loves kids.
“The reason why I have this smile on my face is because it’s not about the money; it’s not about the fame or glory of winning the state championship,” Westbrook said. “The best thing to me is seeing the smiles on these kids’ faces, and just a kid saying, ‘Thank you.’ Like a young kid coming up and saying, ‘Coach Westbrook, thank you.’ That’s it. Makes my day.”
“The reason why I have this smile on my face is because it’s not about the money; it’s not about the fame or glory of winning the state championship. The best thing to me is seeing the smiles on these kids’ faces, and just a kid saying, ‘Thank you.”
ARTHUR WESTBROOK, Mainland football coach
Alexandra Gazzoli wins Florida amateur title Kaden Golder to run, wrestle at Iowa Central
finishing third as a freshman and second as a sophomore.
BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR
After winning the biggest golf tournament of her young career, Alexandra Gazzoli told an interviewer that the accomplishment hadn’t sunk in yet.
The Palm Coast teen prevailed in a playoff to win the Florida State Golf Association’s Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship on July 9 at TPC Treviso Bay in Naples.
“I’d say this is the biggest event I’ve won,” she said last week after having had time to reflect on her triumph. “I’m grateful I got the opportunity to play in it, be in the final group and be in a playoff.”
Gazzoli, 17 and a student with Florida Virtual School, has committed to play golf for Florida State University next year. She plays golf for Matanzas High and won the Class 2A state girls high school championship last November after
In the Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship, the rising senior defeated Oklahoma State University golfer Jacqui Putrino on the second playoff hole after both golfers shot a 2-under 214 over three rounds on July 7-9.
On the first playoff hole, the leaders each shot 5 for par on No. 18. Gazzoli then clinched the championship with a 4 for par on No. 1, while Putrino missed her par putt. Gazzoli’s celebration was low-key.
“I’m not someone to get super excited,” she said.
She shot 68-74-72 and led or shared the lead after each round. She had nine birdies in the tournament, including five on the first day, when she took a 2-shot lead.
Gazzoli and Putrino traded the lead four times on the final day. Gazzoli went up by two strokes after Putrino had a double bogey on 14 and a bogey on 15. But Putrino birdied the next two holes to force another tie, and both golfers parred No. 18 to force the playoff.
“I think I played well over the three days,” Gazzoli said. “But I definitely have some
things I can improve on. That definitely gives me some confidence, because I didn’t play my best and I still did well.”
After winning the tournament, Gazzoli took a rare day off.
“Maybe the next morning (it sunk in),” she said. “My dad wasn’t able to talk to me (during play), so we talked about my rounds. I took that day off, and the next day I went back to practicing, and we worked on things I needed to work on.”
Her dad, Robert Gazzoli, played golf for Flagler Palm Coast High School and taught Alexandra’s two older brothers how to play. Alexandra tagged along and eventually became the star golfer in the family.
“She kind of grew up with a golf club in her hands since she was 2,” said Sheila Gazzoli, Alexandra’s mom. “It takes a special person to love the grind of practice, and she took to it at a very young age. She just enjoyed practicing on the range for hours. She grew up on golf courses, pretty much.”
When Alexandra Gazzoli is not playing in a tournament, she usually can be found practicing at Hammock Dunes Club.
“I’m on the course every day unless I’m sick or it’s a holiday or I’m super tired,” she said. “Otherwise it’s every day.”
Gazzoli said she is ready to move on from junior golf to college and amateur play. But first she has one more high school season, which she hopes to cap off by defending her state title. The past two years, she competed at state as an individual. This year, she’d like to play with her Pirates’ teammates again.
“It’s my last year, and I’m hoping we can make it as a team,” she said. “That will be a lot of fun.”
BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Kaden Golder’s senior wrestling season did not end the way he envisioned.
The Ormond Beach resident transferred from Mainland High School to Matanzas for his senior year to be in a more competitive environment.
The move paid off. Golder went 36-5, won the Flagler Rotary tournament and headed into the postseason with just one loss in his 113-pound weight class.
“He was a guy we were looking at putting in the state finals,” Pirates coach T.J. Gillin said. “At Flagler Rotary, he ran into some tough kids and went through them fast. He was steamrolling through 113.”
Golder won district, but he barely missed weight at regional, and his season — and high school career — was suddenly over.
Golder had wanted to wrestle and run cross country in college. Now he wasn’t sure.
“It was a heartbreaker for him,” Gillin said of the unexpected ending. “But it gave him motivation to get back on the mat and compete.”
On Friday, July 28, Golder will leave for Iowa Central Community College, where he will wrestle and run cross country. Iowa Central wrestling coach Luke Moffitt told Golder that the team’s 125-pound spot is open and should be his if he can make weight and show commitment.
“After (missing weight at regional), for a couple of weeks
I didn’t know what I wanted to do anymore,” Golder said. “I just laid in bed. Then I started going to all different practices in the area, going to different tournaments, bumping up to different weight classes.”
Since the season ended, he’s wrestled anywhere and everywhere, Gillin said.
“He’s been wrestling every weekend he can find an event, in state, out of state,” Gillin said. “He hopped on some dual teams; he’s wrestled up to 138 and down to 126. He’s put in a lot of work. He’s one of those guys who wants to go out on his own terms.”
When Golder informed Gillin that he applied and was accepted at Iowa Central, so close to fall semester, Gillin said he and the other Matanzas coaches were surprised.
“He was kind of on the fence about whether he wanted to go away to school this year,” Gillin said.
Golder has a friend, Jamey Bruner of New Smyrna Beach, who is on Iowa Central’s wrestling team. Bruner’s brothers told Golder about the school.
“I was trying to apply
everywhere. I thought I wanted to go to The Citadel, but they took a little too long to respond,” Golder said. “The Citadel and Iowa Central both accepted me, but I was certain if I went to The Citadel I would have been a walk-on, and I wouldn’t have a spot.”
At Iowa Central Community College, Golder will also have the opportunity to continue his fledgling cross country career. He has been wrestling for seven or eight years, and he began running cross country at the beginning of his junior year, he said.
“I just love running in the woods, in the environment,” he said. “I’d like to continue that as long as I can. My first year, my PR was in the 19:20s. My PR (last season) was 17:24. I’m not the fastest kid, but I’m going to keep getting better, hopefully.”
Golder said he currently weighs 132 pounds. The 125-pound weight class is the lightest in college wrestling. He knows the spot won’t be handed to him. After seeing his state medal hopes disappear, he plans to make the most of this opportunity.
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Puzzle One Clue: D equals C Puzzle Two Clue: C equals F Puzzle Three Clue: R equals P
Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.
Putrino.
The former Matanzas and Mainland athlete is bouncing back after a tough end to his senior wrestling season.Courtesy photo by the Florida State Golf Association Alexandra Gazzoli won the Florida State Golf Association’s Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship on in Naples.
REAL ESTATE
House in Ocean Ridge tops sales list in Flagler County
Ahouse in Ocean Ridge was the top real estate transaction for June 8-14 in Palm Coast and Flagler County.
Christopher Pugh and Beth Hamilton, as trustees, sold 10 Ocean Ridge Blvd. S. to Scott and Jennifer Delaney, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, for $1,650,000. Built in 2005, the house is a 4/4.5 and has a pool, an elevator, an electric fireplace and 3,681 square feet of space. It sold in 2021 for $895,000.
ALEXIS MILLER
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Condos Timothy Ratigan, as a trustee, sold 104 Surfview Drive, Unit 2107, to Michael Deaton, of Atlanta, Georgia, for $399,000. Built in 1992, the condo is a 2/2 and has 1,158 square feet. It sold in 2007 for $370,000.
Michael and Carol North, of Palm Coast, sold 60 Surfview Drive, Unit 112, to Tessa Marie Gebert, Laura Thomas Gebert and Glenn Alan Gebert, of Palm Coast, for $560,400. Built in 2004, the condo is a 3/2.5 and has 1,640 square feet. It sold in 2015 for $275,000.
Michael and Belinda Larison, of Palm Coast, sold 500 Cinnamon Beach Way, Unit 455, to Shirley Brown Goss and Edward Goss, of Cumming, Georgia, for $999,000. Built in 2005, the condo is a 3/3 and has 2,003 square feet. It sold in 2017 for $575,000.
Elias and Shirley Kishek, of Jacksonville, sold 60 Surfview Drive, Unit 302, to Joel Ricky Fowler and Sandra Fowler, of Canton, Georgia, for $610,000. Built in 2004, the condo is a 3/2 and has 1,455 square feet. It sold in 2004 for $425,000.
Karen Peterson, as trustee, sold 31 Sherbury Court to Debra Mercurio, of Bellport, New York, for $250,000. Built in 1984, the condo is a 3/2 and has 1,338 square feet. It sold in 2002 for $85,000.
Lori Wild, of Palm Coast, sold 60 Surfview Drive, Unit 219, to George and Margaret Keenan, as trustees, for $620,000. Built in 2004, the condo is a 3/2.5 and has 1,640 square feet. It sold in 2015 for $283,000.
BUNNELL
Grand Reserve and Golf Club D.R. Horton Inc., of St. Johns, sold 26 Grand View Drive to John Trenton Shealy and Brandi Shealy, of Bunnell, for $377,990. Built in 2022, the house is a 4/2.5 and has 2,492 square feet.
FLAGLER BEACH
Morningside Sandy Lee DiGiulio, of Williston, North Dakota, sold 2328 South
Daytona Ave. to Renaldo Elvey, of Lauderdale Lakes, for $270,000. Built in 1958, the house is a 3/2 and has a fireplace and 1,296 square feet. It sold in 1992 for $64,000.
PALM COAST
Belle Terre
Mary Rosenstengel, of Bunnell, sold 47 Barkley Lane to Joao Olivera, of Palm Coast, for $330,000. Built in 2004, the house is a 4/2 and has 1,735 square feet.
Hammock Beach
Marlene Solomon-Lodge, as a trustee, sold 661 Mahogany Run to Ronald Fake and Joanne Eva Helen Fake, of Palm Coast, for $735,000. Built in 2022, the house is a 3/3 and has 2,350 square feet. It sold in 2022 for $593,000.
Michael and Monica Lipomi, of Palm Coast, sold 73 Ocean Oaks Lane to Clifford Hoffman Jr. and Laraine Hoffman, as trustees, for $1,540,000. Built in 2006, the house is a 3/3 and has a pool, a hot tub, a fireplace, an outdoor kitchen and 3,586 square feet. It sold in 2021 for $1,167,500.
Indian Trails
Dorothy Margaret Kelly, of Palm Coast, sold 8 Butterfield Place to Christine Hammond, of New Hampton, New York, for $348,500. Built in 1996, the house is a 3/2 and has a pool and 1,224 square feet. It sold in 2015 for $117,500.
Lehigh Woods
47 Research & Services LLC, of Crestview, sold 12 Renn Lane to Ryan and Caitlyn Hull, of Palm Coast, for $320,000. Built in 2003, the house is a 3/2 and has 2,059 square feet. It sold in 2013 for $82,500.
Marina Del Palma
Richard Taylor Jr., as trustee, sold
32 Del Palma Drive to Marcus and Nancy Droker, of Ormond Beach, for $850,000. Built in 2023, the house is a 4/4.5 and has a boat dock, a fireplace and 2,559 square feet.
Palm Harbor Kenneth Mcgoey and Judith Ann Pollins, of Palm Coast, sold 14
Clarendon Court North to Jose and Isabel Dominguez, of Miami, for $750,000. Built in 1997, the house is a 3/2.5 and has a pool, a hot tub, a boat dock, a boat house and 2,379 square feet. It sold in 2013 for $360,000.
Michael Patrick Orman, of DeLand, sold 16 Cool Water Court to Robert and Tracey Raynett, of Palm Coast, for $565,000. Built in 1998, the house is a 3/2 and has a boat dock and 1,579 square feet. It sold in 2017 for $329,900.
Lawrence Edward Beighle, as trustee, sold 3 Cole Court to Maria Frometa, of Palm Coast, for $475,000. Built in 1978, the house is a 4/2 and has a fireplace and 2,926 square feet.
Pine Lakes Walter Twyman and Sharon Marie Twyman, of Palm Coast, sold 245 Westhampton Drive to James Haggerty, of Palm Coast, for $490,000. Built in 1996, the house is a 3/2 and has a pool and 1,954 square feet. It sold in 2011 for $160,000.
Brite Legacy LLC, of Orlando, sold 16 Wheeldon Lane to Larry and Kathleen Tindell, of Palm Coast, for $450,000. Built in 2023, the house is a 4/3 and has 2,306 square feet.
Seminole Woods Seagate Homes, LLC, of Palm Coast, sold 42 Sea Breeze Trail to Michael and Bonita McAuliffe, of Palm Coast, for $362,900. Built in 2023, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,832 square feet.
Adams Homes of Northwest Florida Inc., of Pensacola, sold 58 Undershire Path to Meriem El Mouki and Prashantkumar Kantilal Patel, of Atlantic Beach, for $403,900. Built in 2022, the house is a 4/3 and has 2,117 square feet.
Toby Tobin, of gotoby.com, contrib-
Boat lover’s paradise awaits at this 5 Bed/6 Bath Modern Mediterranean Ormond home on the Halifax intracoastal waterway. Over 300 ft of dock space with covered pilings, 2 boat lifts, & a double jet ski lift. NEW A/C ‘s, water heaters & downstairs washer & dryer. You cannot beat this location. MLS#1111559 $4,500,000 Call Chandler Hodge 386-299-9218.
WESTPORT RESERVE
This recently built residence is a true gem, offering a perfect blend of comfort, style, and convenience. Situated on a corner lot, this property boasts a range of desirable features that will make you fall in love at first sight. Step inside this spacious 4-bed, 2-bath home, and be greeted by an inviting open floor plan.
MLS#1111316 $460,000 Call Brady Van Hook 386-956-1740.
SUGAR MILL PLANTATION
This stunning property boasts an impressive square footage, with 4 spacious bedrooms and 4 bathrooms that are perfect for relaxation and comfort. As you step out onto the large balconies on two floors, you’ll be greeted by breathtaking views. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to own this stunning and luxurious condo.
MLS#1110780 $590,000
Call Syed Hussain 386-383-7272.
Beautiful, meticulously maintained 4 BR, 3 BA, 3 Car Garage home! This solid concrete block custom built house boasts 12 foot ceilings once you walk through the front entrance. Living room with fireplace for cooler winter months overlooks the screened in lanai and a large private backyard with ample room for a pool! MLS#1111701 $787,000 Call Kara Dixon 386-453-9107.
Beautifully maintained and remodeled 2/2/2 pool home just steps to the beach. Brand new kitchen with wood cabinets, soft close doors and easy pull-outs. Pool has been resurfaced, converted to salt water, and is heated. Large back yard patio and pool patio that all is covered with a non-slip coating.
$550,000 Call Kelly Melvin 386-283-8109.
MLS#1111625
Located on a corner lot, this is a recently updated 3 bed/2 bath/2 car garage. The home features new luxury vinyl flooring throughout. Stainless steel appliances, wood cabinets. Bathrooms have been updated with new marble tile. High impact widows throughout, backyard enclosed with vinyl fencing, newer roof. MLS#1111116 $350,000 Call Mary Maholias 813-601-9531.
PUBLIC NOTICES
Additional Public Notices may be accessed on ObserverLocalNews.com and the statewide legal notice website, FloridaPublicNotices.com
FLAGLER COUNTY LEGAL NOTICES
of the Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.). The proposed project is not exempt from air permitting requirements and an air permit is required to perform the proposed work. The Permitting Authority responsible for making a permit determination for this project is the Northeast District Office. The Permitting Authority’s physical address is: 8800 Baymeadows Way West, Suite 100, Jacksonville Florida 32256. The Permitting Authority’s mailing address is: 8800 Baymeadows Way West, Suite 100, Jacksonville Florida 32256. The Permitting Authority’s telephone number is (904) 256-1700. Project File: A complete project file is available for public inspection during the normal business hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (except legal holidays), at the physical address indicated above for the Permitting Authority. The complete project file includes the Draft Permit, the Technical Evaluation and Preliminary Determination, the application and information submitted by the applicant (exclusive of confidential records under Section 403.111, F.S.). Interested persons may contact the Permitting Authority’s project engineer for additional information at the address and phone number listed above. In addition, electronic copies of these documents are available on the following web site: https://fldep.dep.state.fl.us/air/emission/apds/default.asp.
Notice of Intent to Issue Air Permit: The Permitting Authority gives notice of its intent to issue an air construction permit to the applicant for the project described above. The applicant has provided reasonable assurance that operation of proposed equipment will not adversely impact air quality and that the project will comply with all appropriate provisions of Chapters 62-4, 62-204, 62-210, 62-212, 62-296 and 62-297, F.A.C. The Permitting Authority will issue a Final Permit in accordance with the conditions of the proposed Draft Permit unless a timely petition for an administrative hearing is filed under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S. or unless public comment received in accordance with this notice results in a different decision or a significant change of terms or conditions.
Comments: The Permitting Authority will accept written comments concerning the proposed Draft Permit for a period of 14 days from the date of publication of the Public Notice.
Written comments must be received by the Permitting Authority by close of business (5:00 p.m.) on or before the end of this 14-day period. If written comments received result in a significant change to the Draft Permit, the Permitting Authority shall revise the Draft Permit and require, if applicable, another Public Notice. All comments filed will be made available for public inspection.
Petitions: A person whose substantial interests are affected by the proposed permitting decision may petition for an administrative hearing in accordance with Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S. Petitions filed by any persons other than those entitled to written notice under Section 120.60(3), F.S., must be filed within 14 days of publication of the Public Notice or receipt of a written notice, whichever occurs first. Under Section 120.60(3), F.S., however, any person who asked the Permitting Authority for notice of agency action may file a petition within 14 days of receipt of that notice, regardless of the date of publication. A petitioner shall mail a copy of the petition to the applicant at the address indicated above, at the time of filing. A petition for administrative hearing must contain the information set forth below and must be filed (received) with the Agency Clerk in the Office of General Counsel, 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, MS 35, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, Agency_Clerk@dep.state.fl.us, before the deadline. The failure of any person to file a petition within the appropriate time period shall constitute a waiver of that person’s right to request an administrative determination (hearing) under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S., or to intervene in this proceeding and participate as a party to it. Any subsequent intervention (in a proceeding initiated by another party) will be only at the approval of the presiding officer upon the filing of a motion in compliance with Rule 28-106.205, F.A.C.
A petition that disputes the material facts on which the Permitting Authority’s action is based must contain the following information:
(a) The name and address of each agency affected and each agency’s file or identification number, if known;
(b) The name, address, any email address, telephone number and any facsimile number of the petitioner; the name, address any email address, telephone number, and any facsimile number of the petitioner’s representative, if any, which shall be the address for service purposes during the course of the proceeding; and an explanation of how the petitioner’s substantial interests will be affected by the agency determination; (c) A statement of when and how each petitioner received notice of the agency action or proposed decision; (d) A statement of all disputed issues of material fact. If there are none, the petition must so state; (e) A concise statement of the ultimate facts alleged, including the specific facts the petitioner contends warrant reversal or modification of the agency’s proposed action; (f) A statement of the specific rules or statutes the petitioner contends require reversal or modification of the agency’s proposed action including an explanation of how the alleged facts relate to the specific rules or statutes; and, (g) A statement of the relief sought by the petitioner, stating precisely the action the petitioner wishes the agency to take with respect to the agency’s proposed action. A petition that does not dispute the material facts upon which the Permitting Authority’s action is based shall state that no such facts are in dispute and otherwise shall contain the same information as set forth above, as required by Rule 28-106.301, F.A.C.
Because the administrative hearing process is designed to formulate final agency action, the filing of a petition means that the Permitting Authority’s final action may be different from the position taken by it in this Public Notice of Intent to Issue Air Permit. Persons whose substantial interests will be affected by any such final decision of the Permitting Authority on the application have the right to petition to become a party to the proceeding, in accordance with the requirements set forth above.
Extension of Time: Under Rule 62-110.106(4), F.A.C., a person whose substantial interests are affected by the Department’s action may also request an extension of time to file a petition for an administrative hearing. The Department may, for good cause shown, grant the request for an extension of time. Requests for extension of time must be filed with the Office of General Counsel of the Department at 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, Mail Station 35, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, or via electronic correspondence at Agency_Clerk@dep.state.fl.us, before the deadline for filing a petition for an administrative hearing. A timely request for extension of time shall toll the running of the time period for filing a petition until the request is acted upon. Mediation: Mediation is not available in this proceeding.
July 27, 2023
23-00187F
FIRST INSERTION NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION File No. 2023-CP-000332 Division 48 IN RE: ESTATE OF CHRISTINE GLORIA SIKORA Deceased. The administration of the estate of Christine Gloria Sikora, deceased, whose date of death was March 21, 2023, is pending in the Circuit Court for Flagler County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 1769 E Moody Blvd, Bunnell, FL 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 THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR THIRTY (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 THREE (3) MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN SECTION 733.702 OF THE FLORIDA PROBATE CODE WILL BE FOREVER
193. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Service at 711, for assistance in contacting the District Manager’s office.
A person who decides to appeal any decision made at the meeting, with respect to any matter considered at the meeting, is advised that a record of the proceedings is needed 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 the appeal is to be based.
Grand Haven Community Development District
David McInnes, District Manager (321) 263-0132, Ext. 193
July 27, 2023 23-00183F
FIRST INSERTION
Imagine School Town Center today announced an amendment to its policy for serving meals to students under the National School Lunch / School Breakfast Programs for the 2023-2024 school year. All students will be served lunch and breakfast at no charge at the following sites:
Imagine School Town Center 775 Town Center Blvd Palm Coast, FL 32164
For additional information please contact:
Imagine School Town Center Bea Cordova, NSLP Director Bea.Cordova@Imagineschooltowncenter.org
386-586-0100,
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: How to File a Complaint, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
2. fax: (202) 690-7442; or
FIRST INSERTION ACTION FOR A DIVORCE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF ORANGE Index No. EF008136-2021 AMENDED SUMMONS WITH NOTICE Taylor Glackin Plaintiff, - againstAlana Sara Eve Defendant. To the Defendant: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED AND REQUIRED TO RESPOND TO THIS SUMMONS and to the requests for relief made by the Plaintiff by serving a written Notice of Appearance on the Plaintiff’s attorney, at the address stated below. If this Summons with Notice was served upon you within the State of New York by personal delivery, you must respond WITHIN 20 DAYS after service, exclusive of the day of service. If this Summons with Notice was not personally delivered to you within the State of New York you must respond WITHIN 30 DAYS after service is complete in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
THE NATURE OF THIS ACTION IS TO OBTAIN A JUDGMENT OF DIVORCE, DISSOLVING THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLAINTIFF AND DEFENDANT. THIS ACTION FOR DIVORCE IS BASED UPON THE FOLLOWING GROUND OR GROUNDS:
The relationship between Plaintiff and Defendant has broken down irretrievably for a period of at least six months, pursuant to Domestic Relations Law Section 170(7).
THE RELIEF SOUGHT BY THE PLAINTIFF IN THIS ACTION IS A JUDGMENT DIVORCING THE PARTIES AND DISSOLVING THE MARITAL RELATIONSHIP WHICH HAS HERETOFORE EXISTED.
PLAINTIFF ALSO REQUESTS THAT SUCH JUDGMENT GRANT THE FOLLOWING ITEMS OF ADDITIONAL AND ANCILLARY RELIEF: Awarding Plaintiff such relief as to the court may seem just and proper, together with the costs and disbursements of this action.
Pursuant to Domestic Relations Law § 255, effective October 9, 2009, notice is hereby given that once the judgment of divorce is signed, a party hereto may or may not be eligible to be covered under the other party’s health insurance plan, depending on the terms of the plan.
IN THE EVENT THAT YOU FAIL TO APPEAR OR ANSWER, JUDGMENT WILL BE TAKEN AGAINST YOU, by default, for the relief demanded in this Summons with Notice.
I am not seeking maintenance as the payee spouse, as described in the Notice of Guideline Maintenance (the “Notice”).
Dated: 07/14/2023
Yours
de Moya & Associates, PC 163 South Main Street New City, NY 10956
(845) 639-4600 July 27; Aug. 3, 10, 2023 23-00102G
FIRST INSERTION NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA IN AND FOR FLAGLER COUNTY GENERAL JURISDICTION DIVISION CASE NO. 18-2021-CA-000358 US BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR VRMTG ASSET TRUST, Plaintiff, vs. JOHN CHRISTOPHER SCHMITT AKA JOHN C. SCHMITT, et al., Defendant. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Summary Final Judgment of Foreclosure entered December 21, 2022 in Civil Case No. 18-2021-CA-000358 of the Circuit Court of the SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT in and for Flagler County, Bunnell, Florida, wherein US BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR VRMTG ASSET TRUST is Plaintiff and JOHN CHRISTOPHER SCHMITT AKA JOHN C. SCHMITT, et al., are Defendants, the Flagler County Clerk of Court, TOM W. BEXLEY, will sell to the highest and best bidder for cash online via https://flagler. realforeclose.com/index.cfm in accordance with Chapter 45, Florida Statutes on the 25th day of August, 2023 at 11:00 AM on the following described property as set forth in said Summary Final Judgment, to-wit: Lot 4, Block 6, Palm Coast, Map of
3. email: program.intake@usda.gov.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider
July 27, 2023 23-00186F
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.
Dr. Palm Coast Fl 32164 on or before Sept 9, 2023, and file the original with the clerk of this Court at 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
FIRST INSERTION
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned intends to sell the personal property described below to enforce a lien imposed on said property under The Florida Self Storage Facility Act Statutes
DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER ADOPTION OF ASSESSMENT ROLL PURSUANT TO SECTION 197.3632(4) (b), FLORIDA STATUTES, BY GRAND HAVEN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT
The Grand Haven Community Development District (“District”) Board of Supervisors (“Board”) will hold a public hearing on August 17, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. in the Grand Haven Room at the Grand Haven Village Center, located at 2001 Waterside Parkway, Palm Coast, Florida 32137, to consider the adoption of the budgets of the District for Fiscal Year 2023/2024, which include an assessment roll, the imposition of 2023-2024 Operations and Maintenance Assessments (“Assessments”) on benefitted lands within the District, a depiction of which lands is shown below, and to provide for the levy, collection and enforcement of the Assessments.
The purpose of the public hearing is to receive public comments on the proposed adoption of the District’s Fiscal Year 2023/2024 proposed budget and the proposed levy of its annual recurring non-ad valorem special assessments for operation and maintenance to fund the items described in the proposed budget (the “Assessments”).
The table below presents the proposed schedule of the O&M Assessments. Amounts are preliminary and subject to change at the meeting and in any future year.
INSERTION Notice Under Fictitious Name Law According to Florida Statute Number 865.09
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the Fictitious Name of FredDelicious Desserts located at 21 Farmbrook Ln in the City of Palm Coast, Flagler County, FL 32137 intends to register the said name with the Division of Corporations of the Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.
Dated this 19th day of July, 2023.
Freddie P. Epps, Jr. July 27, 2023 23-00179F
SUBSEQUENT INSERTIONS
The O&M Assessments (in addition to debt assessments, if any) will appear on November 2023 Flagler County property tax bill. Amount shown includes all applicable collection costs. Property owner is eligible for a discount of up to 4% if paid early. The Flagler County Tax Collector will collect the assessments for all lots and parcels within the District. Failure to pay the District’s assessments will cause a tax certificate to be issued against the property which may result in a loss of title. All affected property owners have the right to appear at the public hearing and to file written objections with the District within 20 days of publication of this notice.
If anyone chooses to appeal any decision of the Board with respect to any matter considered at the hearing, such person will need a record of the proceedings and should ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made accordingly, which includes the testimony and evidence upon which such appeal is to be based. The public hearing may be continued to a date and time certain that will be announced at the hearing.
Any person requiring special accommodations at this meeting because of a disability or physical impairment should contact the District Office at (321) 263-0132 at least two calendar days prior to the meeting.
David McInnes
District Manager Grand Haven Community Development District
22-00184F
July 27, 2023
SUBSEQUENT INSERTIONS
dated the 29th day of January, 2003 Last Known Residence: Unknown YOU ARE NOTIFIED that an action to foreclose a mortgage on the following property in FLAGLER County, Florida: LOT 16, BLOCK 15, OF PALM COAST, MAP OF COUNTRY CLUB COVE, SECTION 4, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF, AS RECORDED IN MAP BOOK 6, PAGES 9-13, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED BY INSTRUMENT RECORDED IN OFFICIAL RECORD BOOK 35, AT PAGE 528, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA has been filed against you and you are required to serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, to it on ALDRIDGE PITE, LLP, Plaintiff’s attorney, at 5300 West Atlantic Avenue Suite 303 Delray Beach, FL 33484 , on or before 30 day from the first publication, and file the original with the clerk of this court either before service on Plaintiff’s attorney
VOLUSIA
County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is 1769 E. Moody Boulevard, Building 1, 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 PUBLI-
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