Palm Coast Observer 8-3-23

Photo by Brent

CITY WATCH

Applications open for Cultural Arts Grant program

The city of Palm Coast’s annual Cultural Arts Financial Assistance Grant program is taking applications for fiscal year 2024.

The program funds cultural arts programs and events within city limits by Flagler County-based nonprofits, a press release from the city said. Priority will be given to first-time applicants.

New this year, the grant has been updated into two tiers.

Tier one focuses on events that promote economic activity and overnight stays in Flagler County.

Tier two requires that the program present a cultural activity that is new to the community.

Both tiers require the event to educate the public about the characteristics of a defined cultural group and promote the arts through a variety of media.

Those interested should email the city’s Parks and Recreation staff assistant at KGAnderson@palmcoastgov. com no later than Aug. 25.

Applicants should indicate which tier they are applying for and include their organization’s name and the applicant’s name, phone number, and email address.

Council may restrict future franchise fee proposals Council considers forensic audit

For the third time, the Palm Coast City Council has rejected a proposal to add a city government fee to locals’ Florida Power & Light bills.

Any future consideration of such a fee, known as a franchise fee, may require a referendum vote.

The council killed the proposed FPL fee because FPL wouldn’t agree to the city’s terms.

The City Council wanted voters to be able to set the rate for the fee in a referendum during every general election. The money would pay for road maintenance.

Council member Theresa Carli Pontieri, who had made a motion on July 18 to approve the franchise fee agreement, made the referendum clause a condition of her motion.

But FPL rejected that proposal,

City Attorney Neysa Borkert said at the City Council’s Aug. 1 meeting, so Pontieri withdrew her motion entirely.

“I think it’s important to understand that we were considering this for repaving our roads,” Pontieri said. “We’ve endeavored to find other things in the budget ... to go into our streets improvement plan.”

Vice Mayor Ed Danko suggested requiring that any future franchise fee agreement be subject to a refer-

endum vote.

“It’s been three times that [folks] have packed City Hall and spoken out against franchise fees,” Danko said. “So, to me, it’s pretty obvious ... that the folks in Palm Coast want to find another way to save money.”

Borkert said it might be “virtually impossible” to bind future councils through a motion like that.

For example, she said, the city already has franchise fees that require annual renewal.

Danko decided to limit his motion to a franchise fee agreement with an electrical provider, but Borkert said that such a motion must be memorialized in a resolution or an ordinance.

The council unanimously agreed to instruct city staff to create a potential ordinance or resolution.

Mayor David Alfin said it must be well-defined. “Just to make sure the pieces are in place,” he said. “So we’re not ‘smokeand-mirroring’ the process.”

COUNCIL OKS ANNEXATION FOR CASCADES DEVELOPMENT

Palm Coast will annex a 330-acre future development called the Cascades, off Seminole Boulevard.

The City Council approved the

annexation 5-0 at a meeting Aug. 1.

The development is 3 miles south of State Road 100, on the north side of Seminole Boulevard near its intersection with U.S. 1.

The developer — Byrndog PCP, LLC — petitioned the city government to annex the property.

The land is in Palm Coast’s utility service area, and the city requires that properties in the service area be annexed into the city before the city provides utilities.

Senior Planner Phong Nguyen said the annexation met all statute requirements.

The annexation does not cost the city anything, Deputy Chief Development Officer Ray Tyner said.

The developer will pay for utility lines and internal roadways, and the city will receive tax revenue from the development, Tyner said.

“We make money,” Alfin said, “but it’s not costing, because the applicant is paying for [the development of the land].”

During the meeting’s public comment period, Palm Coast resident Celia Pugliese noted the land’s proximity to the Flagler County Executive Airport. The flight schools at the airport are already a noise nuisance for nearby residents, she said.

“We never had a problem before,” she said. “The problem is the flight schools for Palm Coast residents.”

She worried that adding another development would exacerbate the noise problem.

Alfin asked City Manager Denise Bevan to update the council on any recent changes to the airport’s operations.

The annexation petition requires a second vote at the next council meeting before it is finalized.

Once the city approves the annexation, the Cascades must submit the following applications: a Future Land Use Map amendment, a zoning amendment, a subdivision master plan or site plan and a plat plan.

The city’s Planning and Land Development Regulation Board and the City Council must review each application.

Planning Print Ads – U.S. & Canada

Responding to comments from residents, the Palm Coast City Council has asked city staff to explore the process of conducting a forensic audit.

Palm Coast resident Ken McDowell said during the public comment period at the council’s Aug. 1 meeting that he demanded a “full and comprehensive forensic audit through an outside, professional forensic auditing firm.”

“If there’s nothing to hide, then our city government should be in the sunshine,” McDowell said.

McDowell said the city has developed an “internal government.” He cited zoning and development decisions that he said did not follow the city’s master plan.

Several residents echoed his statements.

Council member Theresa Carli Pontieri asked city staff to create a presentation on what a forensic audit process would entail, including a timeline and potential cost.

The rest of the council supported her proposal. Palm Coast does conduct annual audits of the city’s accounts and budget.

Those audits are conducted at the end of the fiscal year by a third-party firm of the council’s choosing.

In 2022, the audit was conducted by the James Moore business consulting firm, which found that the city’s funds and accounts were accurately presented.

Council member Cathy Heighter said she was challenging herself and the rest of the council to resolve residents’ concerns.

“I think that it’s really important that we look into it and take these measures so that we can … [make] sure that the voices are heard from our community,” she said.

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you plan ahead, you can make your final wishes known and provide your loved ones with true peace of mind.

Planning ahead is simple. The benefits are immense.

Palm Coast City Councilman Ed Danko

SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

File photo by Sierra Williams

Helping our heroes

Ormond Beach resident’s nonprofit trains service dogs for veterans with PTSD

JARLEENE ALMENAS

EDITOR

SENIOR

After serving for eight years as an Army lieutenant, Ormond Beach resident Elisha Perkins struggled to return to civilian life.

But a service dog made all the difference, and now Perkins helps other veterans get canine assistants, too.

Perkins said there is no transition period after leaving the military: One day you’re in the Army. The next day, you’re not.

Before she got her service dog, Tobey, almost four years ago, Perkins was starting to “close the door on society,” she said.

“But at the same time, my wife wanted to adopt a child,” Perkins said. “And I knew that I needed to find a way outside that door. If not, I was going to be watching my family live their life.”

Experiencing how a canine improved her life inspired her to found Pop Smoke K9 for Veterans in January.

The nonprofit provides service dogs to veterans and first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries or a history of military sexual trauma.

The dogs help prevent veteran and first responder suicide by easing the transition to civilian life.

Veterans who enroll in Pop Smoke’s programs receive a dog and complete service dog training with their canine, according to a press release.

Training a new service dog can cost upward of $25,000. Pop Smoke offers these programs for veterans for free.

Veterans, if approved, can also bring their own dogs for training.

Perkins is the lead trainer.

“Service dogs help veterans live a more productive life and be a part of society,” Perkins said. “Then there’s the fellowship part, where a lot of veterans just really feel more comfortable speaking with other veterans.”

If Pop Smoke can be that place for veterans, she said, the nonprofit is fulfilling its mission.

‘WE SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE’

The group of veterans Pop Smoke serves is small.

Seven dogs are going through training now, including the newest addition: a puppy named Smoke who will become the brand ambassador, Perkins said.

The nonprofit’s name comes from the military expression “pop smoke,” which refers to throwing a smoke grenade to provide cover or signal that you need air extract.

Most of the veterans Pop Smoke aids served in the Army.

Then there’s first responder Jill Dempsey and her seeing-eye guide dog Enoch, who is also training to become Dempsey’s medical alert dog.

Thirty-five years ago, Dempsey worked as a 911 dispatcher for the Daytona Beach Police Department. Her medical needs have kept her from working for the last 35 years. But with Enoch’s help, Dempsey, of Palm Coast, is now a Citizen Observer Patrol dispatcher for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

“Because of my service dog, I am now able to leave the house again and ... be productive and do the things that I want to do,” Dempsey said. “I needed a dog specially trained for me.”

Army veteran Paul Lewis has an emotional support dog in training.

“He usually knows when my anxiety is coming up,” Lewis said. “He’ll just come up to me ... put his head in my lap, help me stay calm. Sometimes I don’t know when it’s coming.”

Service dogs can also retrieve veterans’ medications, help with memory-related tasks and turn on lights when veterans have night terrors from PTSD, according to the press release.

For Ormond Beach resident Paul Procto, speaking at Pop Smoke with other veterans brings relief, he said.

“When you’re around people that haven’t been there, haven’t done that, it’s a whole different conversation,” he said. “It’s like they don’t understand. ... We speak the same language — small community. But then all of us, being in the Army, or Air Force, or Navy or Marines, Coast Guard, whatever — it’s a whole other world.”

Procto and Perkins are neighbors, so Proctor has been part of Pop Smoke from the start.

A SAFE SPACE

Seven of every 100 veterans will have PTSD at some point in their life, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In a 2022 report, Veterans Affairs reported that the 2020 veteran suicide rate was 57.3% higher than the 2020 civilian suicide rate.

More than 6,000 veterans commit suicide each year, and those who have a traumatic brain injury are nearly twice as likely to die by suicide.

Part of the reason so many veterans die by suicide, Palm Coast resident Trudy Manen said, is that they lack support while transitioning to

BY THE NUMBERS

„ In 2020, there were 6,146 veteran suicide deaths — 343 fewer than in 2019.

„ From 2018 to 2020, age- and sex-adjusted suicide rates for veterans fell by 9.7%.

„ In 2020, suicide was the 13th leading cause of death among veterans. It was the second leading cause of death among veterans under age 45.

„ Suicide rates after separation from the military ranged from 34.8 per 100,000 (for veterans who separated in 2010) to 47.8 per 100,000 (for veterans who separated in 2019).

„ For veterans who separated from active military service in 2019, suicide rates over the following 12 months were highest among former Marines (58.3 per 100,000), followed by Army (52.7 per 100,000) and then Navy (34.4 per 100,000).

Source: U.S Department of Veterans Affairs 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.

civilian life.

“They don’t have a transition,” she said. “They don’t have a place where they can talk to each other.”

Her husband, Ed Manen, was exposed to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. He now has Parkinson’s disease.

His service dog, Molly, acts as a retriever for him: She brings him items he needs and opens automatic handicap doors, Trudy Manen said.

Pop Smoke is helping with Molly’s training. If you’re a veteran in need, Pop Smoke is a safe place, Trudy Manen added.

Pop Smoke is about more than just providing a service dog, Perkins said.

“In a world that we don’t exactly trust anymore, and we don’t feel safe, to have just a little nugget inside that world, makes things a lot easier,” Perkins said.

To learn more, visit popsmokek9forveterans.org.

Jill Dempsey goes through training exercises with her service dog, Enoch.

Pop Smoke K9 for Veterans founder Elisha Perkins with K9 Tobey, Paul Lewis, Nadine Ruland, Jill Dempsey and K9 Enoch, Paul Proctor, Ed and Trudy Manen and K9 Molly

Elisha Perkins goes through training exercises with her service dog, Tobey.

Photos by Jarleene Almenas

‘He was one of those rare fellows who simply governed’

had been killed or were missing in action. He received the U.S. Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service.

BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Former Flagler County Commissioner Charlie Ericksen Jr. was a staunch Republican who didn’t care about party politics, according to those who worked with him and knew him well.

“He was one of those rare fellows who simply governed. He was not driven by political expediencies, which is a hard thing to do in our two-party system. That was his outstanding trait,” said Bob Updegrave, a former chairman of the Flagler County Republican Executive Committee.

Ericksen died at age 80 on Monday, July 31, in the Orlando area, where he had recently moved. He served two four-year terms as a county commissioner from 2012 to 2020.

Commissioner David Sullivan, announced Ericksen’s death at a commission workshop on July 31.

In a phone interview with the Observer on Aug. 1, Sullivan said Ericksen was a traditional Republican.

“He believed government wasn’t the answer to all problems, but he also felt it was important to follow the rules that was agreed to. He was very interested in doing the right thing and was representative of all the people,” Sullivan said.

Ericksen was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on Jan. 27, 1943. He graduated from the University of Connecticut, where he was a cadet in the Army ROTC program. As a first lieutenant, he served stateside during the Vietnam War, informing families that their loved ones

He worked in the insurance industry for 35 years before moving to Palm Coast in the early 2000s. He first ran for office in 2011, losing in the Palm Coast mayoral race to Jon Netts. In 2012, he defeated incumbent Alan Peterson by 138 votes in the Republican primary for the District 1 County Commission seat. There was no general election.

“It was a very close election,” Updegrave said. “I and a gang of others supported him. I believe almost every other Republican in Flagler County came to appreciate his service on the commission. He grew as a statesman on the job. He had the courage and the sensibility to govern despite the political ideological pressures of the day.”

‘HE REALLY LOVED THE COUNTY’

Ericksen was passionate about issues involving seniors, young people and the disadvantaged. He attended every graduation of the Flagler Drug Court; he chaired the Carver Center Governance Board. He served on the Circuit 7 Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, the Flagler County Department of Juvenile Justice Council, the School Planning Oversight Committee and the Transportation Disadvantaged Local Coordinating Board.

“He was involved in a lot of social services,” Sullivan said. “He was concerned about too much growth without preserving the environment. He really loved the county, and he liked being here. He was tough. He would stick to his guns. As county commissioners, we deal with a multitude of issues. He paid attention and was up to speed with what was going on.”

Former Commissioner George Hanns said Ericksen was always quick with a joke to lighten the mood

when discussions got tense.

“He was very good at being the voice of reason,” Hanns said. “He was one of the most reliable, honest, dedicated commissioners you’d want to work with.”

Flagler Republican insider Ed Fuller, who became a close friend of Ericksen’s, said the commissioner was a big supporter of the Flagler Youth Orchestra, never missing a performance.

“He got great delight in that,” Fuller said. “He just loved the kids. He believed in that program.”

Ericksen was an avid bicyclist who kept track of his mileage and loved to ride around and talk to residents. In 2014, his odometer displayed 24,902 miles, equal to the circumference of the Earth.

Sullivan said Ericksen is one of the

reasons there are so many bicycle paths in the county.

“He really supported those efforts,” Sullivan said.

Ericksen began having health problems in early 2015, starting with surgeries to alleviate bleeding on the brain and a gallbladder removal. Less than a month later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Fuller would drive him to his radiation treatments.

“When he was ill, I never heard him complain,” Fuller said. “It was never about his maladies. He had a real sense of purpose. He was always looking for solutions. He didn’t have time for people who didn’t want to help make things better. He’s the kind of guy they make movies out of. He was always trying to do the right thing.”

Despite his health issues, Erick-

sen won reelection in 2016 with over 54% of the vote.

“Charlie didn’t run campaigns,” Updegrave said. “His reelection campaign consisted of two boxes of business cards that said ‘Reelect Charlie Ericksen.’ He didn’t operate campaigns. He didn’t have to. By the time he stood for reelection, everyone knew him.”

County Commissioner Greg Hansen stayed in touch with Ericksen until he moved.

“He was a real pleasure to serve with because he was a real gentleman,” Hansen said. “He was so thoughtful and caring. He’s all you can ask in a commissioner. He did his homework. He was always ready for the meetings, which takes a lot. We’re going to miss him.”

LIGHT GALORE

Flagler County Commissioner Charlie Ericksen in August 2016

Former Flagler County Commissioner Charley Ericksen dies at 80.

“He was very good at being the voice of reason. He was one of the most reliable, honest, dedicated commissioners you'd want to work with."

GEORGE HANNS, former Flagler County commissioner

School Board approves

$1.88M agreement with FCSO

The district will be responsible for funding an additional deputy for the alternative school program.

BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The School Resource Deputy and Crossing Guard Program will cost Flagler Schools nearly $1.2 million for the upcoming school year.

The School Board approved an interlocal agreement for the program with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office at its July 25 meeting.

The school district and the FCSO will continue to share the cost of 10 school resource deputies plus a sergeant and a commander. But Flagler Schools will have to pay the entire cost of a new SRD position for the Rise Up alternative school program, Coordinator of District Safety Tom Wooleyhan said.

Wooleyhan said the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools recommended the district add an SRD to serve the alternative program, even though it is located on the Flagler Palm Coast High School campus. FPC has two other SRDs on campus.

The district will have to pay the full cost of the additional SRD because the position is not in the FCSO’s budget as approved by the County Commission.

The additional deputy will also serve as an SRD for the district’s summer programs, Wooleyhan said.

The added SRD will cost the district $142,548 in salary, benefits, equipment and operating costs, according to a district document detailing the interlocal agreement.

The SRD Program will cost the district $918,948, not including overtime. The Crossing Guard Program will cost the district another $127,337 for a total of $1,188,833 for the 202324 school year.

The FCSO provides the district

STATE BRIEFS

Black lawmakers seek changes to education standards

Members of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus are asking state education officials to revise new African-American history standards that were approved last week.

The standards have drawn criticism from the White House and prompted a defense from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The state Board of Education gave the new standards, designed to guide lessons from kindergarten through high school, the green light on July 19.

with crossing guards for Belle Terre Elementary/Indian Trails Middle School (four), Buddy Taylor Middle/ Wadsworth Elementary (three) and one each for Bunnell Elementary and Rymfire Elementary. The district pays 100% of the cost for the crossing guards.

The district is also responsible for SRD overtime, such as covering after-school activities, and paying for a replacement when an SRD is absent and the position can’t be filled by the sergeant or commander.

The exception is a vacancy because of an operational requirement, such as being called away for hurricane duty. In that case, the FCSO will provide a deputy at no cost to the district, according to the agreement.

Board member Sally Hunt, concerned about the budget, questioned why the district would have to pay the full cost if a replacement SRD is needed.

She said she wasn’t in favor of the agreement because the replacement cost wasn’t being shared, but she added that she would vote for it because of the program’s necessity.

“We have to do this,” said board member Christy Chong. “We already voted down the guardian program, and safety’s non-negotiable.”

The board voted 4-0 in favor of the agreement.

The wide-ranging guidelines require instruction for students in early grades about important historical figures, for example. Instruction for older students would include things such as lessons on African Americans’ contributions to things such as science, poetry, politics and literature.

But criticism of the standards focuses largely on part of the middleschool standards that would require instruction to include “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

Rep. Dianne Hart, D-Tampa, who is chairwoman of the Legislative Black Caucus, released a statement Friday that accompanied a letter urging DeSantis and state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz to revise the standards.

“Our request is simple; stop playing partisan politics with the futures of Florida’s children. To say that the enslaved Americans of our past somehow benefited from their violent exploiters without acknowledging the millions that never knew the freedom of autonomy over their own bodies, lives, and futures is shameful and disgusting,” Hart said.

Meanwhile, DeSantis has defended the standards while traveling as he campaigns for president. In a video clip posted on Twitter by First Lady Casey DeSantis, the governor said the standards “makes it very

clear about the injustices of slavery in vivid detail.” DeSantis also has disputed Vice President Kamala Harris’ criticisms of the standards.

Harris visited Jacksonville last week, where she said “extremist socalled leaders” in Florida are pushing “propaganda to our children.”

Diaz also has defended the standards. In a letter to school district superintendents, Diaz said that “we are not turning our backs on the great work of the African American History workgroup,” which helped craft the standards.

“We will implement these standards swiftly, transparently, and honestly,” Diaz wrote.

— THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Education officials approve conservative content for schools

State education officials have approved content from the conservative nonprofit PragerU to be shown in Florida schools, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education has confirmed.

A news release sent July 24 on behalf of PragerU, which produces video content featuring prominent conservative figures, said that its PragerU Kids content would be introduced “in schools across America” as an educational resource.

“Florida was the first state to officially approve PragerU’s new K-12 curriculum,” an initial version of the release said.

A revised version of the release issued later said that Florida approved

PragerU “as an educational vendor.”

Cassandra Palelis, deputy director of communications for the state education department, told The News Service of Florida that the PragerU content has been approved for use as supplemental teaching materials.

“The Florida Department of Education reviewed PragerU Kids and determined the material aligns to Florida’s revised civics and government standards. PragerU Kids is no different than many other resources, which can be used as supplemental materials in Florida schools at district discretion,” Palelis said in an email.

However, she added that PragerU Kids “did not submit a bid to be included in the 2022-23 instructional materials adoption for social studies.”

PragerU was founded in 2011 by conservative radio host Dennis Prager. The PragerU Kids content features videos that cover topics such as historical events and figures, religious and Biblical stories, and America’s system of government.

PragerU’s website bills it as “the leading network with educational, entertaining, pro-American kids shows for every grade.”

The site has a link asking people to sign a petition to get PragerU content into the country’s schools.

“PragerU is trying to help America’s students — but the left (which has hijacked and controlled the education system, including teachers unions) is doing everything in its power to label us as ‘far right,’ deplatform us, and keep PragerU out of schools,” the website said. — THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

“We have to do this. We already voted down the guardian program, and safety’s nonnegotiable.”

CHRISTY CHONG

COPS CORNER

JULY 20

CLEANING HOUSE

1 p.m. — First block of Unique Court, Flagler County Burglary. A Palm Coast man was arrested after he entered a duplex he was recently evicted from and tried to steal a Bluetooth speaker and vape pen.

A woman hired by the property owner to clean the duplex told a responding Sheriff’s Office deputy that she left the home to run to the store, and when she returned, the man was leaving a unit with her Bluetooth speaker and vape pen, according to his arrest report.

She said the man told her he was taking the items as collateral, but then he returned them to her when she told him to.

The man then got on his bicycle and left, the report said. The property owner told the deputy that the man fit the description of a tenant who had been evicted on July 14.

The deputy contacted the tenant, who admitted to trying to take the items.

JULY 22

SHOPPING PROBLEMS

4 p.m. — 1700 block of West International Speedway Boulevard, Daytona Beach

Trespassing, battery. A woman who had been trespassed from the Volusia Mall was arrested after she refused to leave, then hit a Sheriff’s Office deputy and a security officer, according to her arrest report.

Mall security had called Sheriff’s Office deputies when the woman refused to leave the mall. An arriving deputy told her that she had been trespassed from the property. When she still refused to leave, the deputy arrested her. When a deputy and security officer tried to load her into a patrol car, the woman kicked the deputy in the face, knee and ankle and hit the security officer in the head, face, neck and arm. She also caused about $1,000 in damage to the door of the patrol car.

DELIVERING TROUBLE

4:55 p.m. — 100 block of South 4th Street, Flagler Beach

Petit theft. A Maryland woman was arrested after a police officer pulled her over for driving with a stolen tag.

The woman initially told the officer that she was from Maryland and had no idea why a Florida tag was on her Ford Fusion, according to her arrest report.

Later, she confessed to stealing the tag from a car in Port Orange because she could not afford to register her own, but needed to use her car to deliver food

through a food delivery app.

JULY 28

NO SOLICITING

4:24 p.m. — 2800 block Monaghan Drive, Ormond Beach Criminal mischief, battery.

An Ormond Beach man, 62, was arrested after he allegedly broke the rear window of a salesman’s car.

The victim told a deputy that he leaves pamphlets on residents’ doors but does not bother the homeowners, according to the suspect’s arrest report.

He said he had just left a pamphlet at the man’s home when the man ran out of the home and began yelling.

The salesman returned to his car when the man began throwing rocks at him. When the salesman drove by the home to leave the neighborhood, the man’s wife was standing outside.

The salesman pulled over to apologize for disturbing them, but the man ran out of the home again, this time carrying a pair of grill tongs. The man reached into the car and grabbed the salesman by the collar, so the salesman punched him.

As the salesman began to drive away, the man smashed the tongs against the car’s rear window, which shattered. The man was arrested and taken to jail.

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.

CRIME REPORT

Man convicted of raping child

A Palm Coast man who was arrested in May 2021 on child molestation charges was found guilty by a Flagler County jury on July 28 after a four-day trial.

Monserrate Teron, 59, was found guilty of two counts of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age and lewd or lascivious molestation on a person less than 12 years of age, according to a press release from the Seventh Circuit State Attorney’s Office. Teron had been arrested after his then-9-year-old victim came forward about the abuse.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, and Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark tried the case for the state, the press release said.

BRIEFS

Old Salt Park to reopen Aug. 5

Old Salt Park will reopen on Aug. 5, two weeks ahead of schedule.

The park was closed for the first part of the scheduled Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency dune project.

The work will be relocated to Jungle Hut Park, which will close on Aug. 3 for the next stage of the project, according to a Flagler County press release.

Jungle Hut Park will have limited beach access through Wednesday, Aug. 2, but will be fully closed on Aug. 3 until sometime in late September.

The project will then move north to Marineland and the Matanzas Shores communities.

“This is really very good news for the residents and communities along the coast as the peak of hurricane

Flagler County Circuit Judge Terence Perkins presided over the case and will pronounce a sentence at a later date.

Deputies close two drug houses

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office closed down two drug houses on July 25.

The FCSO Special Investigations Unit and SWAT Team simultaneously served two narcotics-related search warrants at 25 Wood Ash Lane Palm Coast and 500 N. Central Ave. in Flagler Beach, an FCSO press release said.

The FCSO teams seized drug paraphernalia and 28 grams of drugs from the two houses.

At the Wood Ash Lane home, the FCSO seized 4.43 grams of fentanyl, 12.8 grams of meth and 2.5 grams of

season is upon us,” County Engineer Faith Alkhatib said. “We appreciate how patient everyone has been during this critical work.” Beachgoers are asked to use caution, as heavy equipment and dump trucks will be working in the area, the press release said.

Teen injured in crash on I-95

A 17-year-old Palm Coast driver sustained serious injuries after crashing into a semitrailer on Interstate 95 on July 26.

The semitrailer driver, a 71-year-old South Carolina man, sustained minor injuries.

The crash happened at 8:30 p.m. in the northbound lanes near mile marker 283, according to an incident report from the Florida Highway Patrol.

The 17-year-old was driving a sedan in the left lane, and the 71-year-old was driving the semitrailer in the middle lane.

TRIBUTES

Sarah McCrae “Sally” Capo 1943-2023

ORMOND BEACH —

Sarah McCrae “Sally” Capo. 80, of Ormond Beach, Fla., died Thursday, July 13, after a brief illness.

Sally was born in Greenock, Scotland, Feb. 27, 1943. She came to the United States as a teenager and worked in Princeton, N.J.

In New Jersey, she met and married her husband, Robert “Bob” Capo. They celebrated 54 years of marriage on June 7.

The couple left New Jersey in 1993 and went to Scotland where they operated a bed and breakfast inn for several years.

They eventually settled back in the States, in Ormond Beach, where they have lived for more than 25 years.

Sally had a generous and loving spirit, and she was a great cook and baker. She enjoyed preparing meals and baking sweet treats for her friends and neighbors.

Sally is survived by her husband, Bob, a stepson, John Law of Satellite Beach, and a Scottish family of nieces and nephews.

Sally wanted to be cremated and her ashes will be sent to Scotland.

She did not want a funeral, but friends said they plan to gather soon for a celebration of her life.

oxycodone.

Deputies seized 8.5 grams of meth from the Central Avenue home.

The search warrants stemmed from several SIU undercover operations, the press release said.

FCSO deputies arrested two men, one from each house, on drug possession and intent-to-sell charges.

“There is no way to know how many lives were saved by getting this poison off the street,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said, according to the press release. “If you are selling drugs in Flagler County, we will find you, close down your drug business and give you a new home in the Green Roof Inn.”

Woman crashes into police cars

A drunk 29-year-old Palm Coast woman crashed into several marked police cars that were conducting a traffic

The sedan passed the semitrailer and crossed the other lanes to take Exit 284, but ran onto the right shoulder and hit the guardrail.

The sedan then veered back into traffic, striking the side of the semitrailer’s cab and returning to the right shoulder, where the sedan’s front bumper hit a concrete barrier.

The semitrailer ran off the road onto the left shoulder, hitting the guardrail and overturning on the left shoulder, blocking the left and middle southbound lanes.

Man dies after rear-ending semitrailer

A 43-year-old Palm Coast man died after rear-ending a semitrailer on Interstate 95 on July 26.

The crash happened in the northbound lanes near mile marker 282 at 10:25 p.m.

The semitrailer stopped in the right lane because of con-

stop on July 29, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The crash happened at 2:29 a.m. on the shoulder of State Road 100 east of Connecticut Avenue, where a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office SUV and two Flagler Beach Police Department vehicles had pulled over for the traffic stop, according to an FHP report and a Facebook post by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman failed to move over for the police cars and sideswiped the left front of the FCSO SUV, then hit the left side of an FBPD pickup truck. The impact sent the pickup truck into the rear of the other FBPD SUV. An FBPD officer was inside the SUV when it was hit. The officer was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, the FHP report said. The Palm Coast woman was arrested on DUI and property damage charges.

gestion from another crash with a different semitrailer at mile marker 283, according to an incident report from the Florida Highway Patrol. The Palm Coast man failed to stop for the semitrailer and crashed into it. He died at the scene, the report said.

Cyclist hit, killed while crossing S.R. 100

A 50-year-old Palm Coast man was killed when he was hit by a sedan while riding his bike across State Road 100. The man was crossing S.R. 100 west of Commerce Parkway at 9 p.m. on Monday, July 31. The sedan, which had the right of way, was going west on S.R. 100 when it hit the man, according to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol. He died at the scene of the crash.

Maynard Howell, 91 of Palm Coast, returned home to the Lord July 30, 2023. Maynard was born in Fort Motte, South Carolina to Oliver and Elizabeth Howell on September 22, 1931.

Maynard joined the Marines and was very proud to be a part of them. He worked as a Motorman for the New York City Transit along with operating his own landscaping business in New Jersey. Maynard and his loving wife, Louise, had their dream house built on Flagler Beach and enjoyed many years there.

Maynard is survived by his wife, Louise Howell, his sons Gregory (Donna) Howell, and Scott (Tracey) Howell, his 5 grandchildren, his 2 great grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, and many other family and friends.

There will be a visitation at Craig-Flagler Palms Funeral Home Thursday,

Maynard and his loving wife, Louise, had their dream house built on Flagler Beach and enjoyed many years there.

August 3, 2023 from 5-8pm and a Funeral Service at First AME Church of Palm Coast on Friday, August 4, 2023 at 11 am with a Burial to follow at Flagler Memorial Gardens.

Maynard was a hardworking, wonderful man who will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

Arrangements are made in the trust and care of CraigFlagler Palms Funeral Home.

SERVICE: Friday, August 4, 11AM First AME Church of Palm Coast

Maynard Howell 1931-2023

Bunnell Elementary principal takes district role

Marcus Sanfilippo will become coordinator of special projects.

Donelle Evensen will be the new principal.

BRENT WORONOFF

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Flagler Schools’ 2023 Principal of the Year Marcus Sanfilippo and Assistant Principal of the Year Donelle Evensen will both have new roles when the 2023-24 school year begins on Aug. 10.

Sanfilippo, the principal at Bunnell Elementary School, will move to the district office as coordinator of special projects. Evensen, an assistant principal at Bunnell Elementary, will become the school’s

“I have made some great friends at Bunnell Elementary School over the past seven years. But I am excited to take what I’ve learned here and have the chance to touch all our schools in the district.”

new principal.

Interim Superintendent LaShakia Moore announced both moves on Friday, July 28, in a press release.

Sanfilippo takes over a district position that has been unfilled for a few years, said Jason Wheeler, the district’s coordinator of communications. Sanfilippo will serve as a liaison between a variety of instructional departments, school leaders and the community, the press release said.

“Marcus has been a mentor and valued colleague to so many people within Flagler Schools that it just makes sense for us to tap into his knowledge and have him share it with all our campuses,” Moore said.

Sanfilippo has been the principal at BES since 2016.

“I have made some great friends at Bunnell Elementary School over the past seven years. But I am excited to take what I’ve learned here and have the chance to touch all our schools in the district,” he said.

Wheeler said both moves must be approved by the School Board. But staffing changes are normally on the board’s consent agenda, and approval is usually a formality.

Evensen, who was also the district’s Teacher of the Year

Back to School Blessing

in 2019 when she taught at Rymfire Elementary School, has been an assistant principal at BES for four years.

“I am humbled,” she said.

“The last four years here have been a growing experience for me. We have accomplished so much as a team. I’m excited to be able to stay here, and I’m excited to see a lot of plans we’ve started to put into place here at Bunnell come to fruition for our students, families and staff.”

Moore said Evensen had been a candidate previously

Flagler Beach approves new city manager salary, contract

Dale Martin began working on July 29.

SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

The Flagler Beach City Commission unanimously approved a contract with incoming City Manager Dale Martin on July 27. Martin began his tenure on July 29, replacing Interim City Manager Mike Abels.

ment in February to step in as interim city manager.

Commission Vice Chair Rick Belhumeur presented Abels with a plaque for his service to the city. Abels said he couldn’t have done the job without the support of city staff and the commission’s dedication to the city’s future.

for a principal opening.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Donelle and watching her grow as an educator and a leader,” Moore said. “She was a very strong candidate for a previous open principalship in our district, so I am confident she is ready to take on the role of principal at BES.”

Sanfilippo and Evensen will work through a transition period before the start of the school year, according to the press release.

The contract with Martin runs for three years and may be renewed annually after that. Martin will begin with a salary of $156,000, to increase to $165,000 beginning Oct. 1, according to the contract.

Martin was unanimously chosen as the new city manager on July 14. The city manager search was conducted through the executive recruiting firm Colin Baenziger & Associates.

Martin, a U.S. Army veteran from Michigan, has 25 years of local government experience. He was the city manager of Fernandina Beach for the last seven years, until March 2023.

The July 27 meeting was Abels’ last commission meeting. Abels came out of retire-

“You have a very, very dedicated city staff that has helped me in everything I’ve done,” Abels said to the commissioners. “... [And] I think the citizens of Flagler Beach can be very proud of you and the futuristic vision that you’re bringing to the city.”

All of the commission and several residents thanked Abels for his help in the last few months. Commission Chair Eric Cooley said the city was a “hot mess” when Abels started in February, but the interim city manager’s arrival had an “instant” effect.

“There was no big pivot,” Cooley said. “It was just like, the seas calmed and then everything just clicked. It was seamless.”

Mayor Suzie Johnston told Abels he reset the tone for the commission and the city.

“You’ve set a high bar for Dale,” she said.

August 6th at 9:30 am

at Palm Coast United Methodist Church, 5200 Belle Terre Pkwy.

We will be praying over the students, teachers, and staff of our schools for the upcoming school year.

Courtesy photo from Flagler Schools

Donelle Evensen, left, will be the new principal at Bunnell Elementary School, while current Principal Marcus Sanfilippo, right, will become the district’s coordinator of special projects.

MARCUS SANFILIPPO

60 stormwater projects proposed

around $40 million over the next five to 10 years.

SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

Flagler County is finishing its new stormwater master plan, and a consulting firm has identified 60 longterm projects to improve the county’s infrastructure and water quality and prevent flooding.

Flagler County hired Geosyntec Consultants in December 2021 to analyze data, review local codes and seek public input to identify problem areas.

“This is a way to organize things going forward for the county,” Geosyntec consultant Mark Ellard said at a special Flagler County Commission workshop on July 31.

The final public meeting for the stormwater master plan was held later that evening.

The stormwater master plan draft also created a potential five- to 10-year implementation plan that includes the top 20 projects, Ellard said.

Those projects focus on unincorporated areas, and the top four address flooding.

Ellard said completing the top 20 projects could cost

Almost half of top 20 projects were in the Daytona North area. Other projects are also in that area, but lower on the list, according to a map Ellard showed during his presentation.

“There’s a lot of flooded development there ... and a lot of water quality concerns over there,” he said.

In Florida — including Flagler County — most contaminants in water are nutrients, though some areas also have problems with metals or bacteria, or with dissolved oxygen levels, Ellard said.

A cost-benefit analysis determined project rankings, Ellard said. Public input was also considered.

The master plan involves creating an inventory map of the county’s infrastructure, including areas that do not fall under the Flagler County government’s jurisdiction.

Ellard noted that stormwater “does not stop at jurisdictional lines.”

“A lot of focus in this master plan is in county areas,” Ellard said. “There’s quite a bit of inventory in a lot of areas that will benefit the county as a whole.”

A stormwater master plan can also help the county prepare for rising sea levels and

storm surge, Ellard said. Some projects would modernize and retrofit existing infrastructure for resiliency.

“In the last few decades, the art of stormwater management has moved forward quite a bit,” he said.

Ellard said Geosyntec has also identified potential grants through the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Department of Environmental Protections and St. Johns River Water Management District.

Commissioner Donald O’Brien said that since the master plan will be finished in a few months, the board might consider adding some of the projects to upcoming state legislative requests.

“All five of us [commissioners] live in Palm Coast,” O’Brien said. “We all deal with and see the impact of an older stormwater system in the city.”

Commissioner David Sullivan, who lives in the Grand Haven community, cited Grand Haven as an example of stormwater management done right.

“It can be done,” he said. “But it’s a big job.”

The draft stormwater master plan has been submitted to county staff for review. The Flagler County Commission will review the final draft in September or October.

We can’t tell you what the future holds, but we can help you prepare for it.

A new stormwater master plan will be finished in September or October.

YOUR TOWN

STUFF BUS FILLING SCHOOL CLOSETS WITH SUPPLIES

The Flagler County Education Foundation has been stuffing schools’ supply closets through its Stuff Bus Program.

STUFF is an acronym — Supplying Things U Find Fundamental. The Stuff Bus has been collecting school supplies and essential clothing at supply drives around the county.

The Ed Foundation will have a table set up for drop-offs at the Back to School Jam, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 5 at the Flagler Palm Coast High gym.

Shoes, socks and underwear are especially needed.

The wish list also includes notebooks, paper, pens and pencils, crayons, scissors, toiletry items and jeans.

Each school has a Stuff Bus closet

Courtesy photo

The Flagler County Education Foundation’s Stuff Bus collects supplies for students and teachers for back-toschool and throughout the school year.

BIZ BUZZ

THE TO-DO DUDES EXPANDING TO ORMOND BEACH

The To-Do-Dudes is expanding to Ormond Beach. The company sends college and high school students to clients who need help with household chores such as moving and lifting, raking and weeding, laying down mulch and rocks and washing windows.

The company now also has a techfocused department that provides computer and smart device assistance.

Erik Libby, a graduate of Stetson University, started the company after graduating from Matanzas High in 2020. The To-Do-Dudes serves Palm Coast and Flagler County but has also performed service calls in Ormond

with a coordinator. Lauren WalshRami at FPC is the program’s main coordinator. Rymfire Elementary School has the main closet, with students from the TRAIL Transition Program pack-

Beach.

Now it is planning to start an Ormond branch in early September, with about 10 team members.

“Our customers in Ormond have been so persistent, asking us, ‘When are you going to expand to Ormond Beach?’” Libby said. “The demographics are similar, with a lot of seniors and busy professionals who use our services.”

The Ormond market is also attractive because of the number of college students in the area, he said.

“We are looking to connect with students from Embry-Riddle, Daytona State and Bethune-Cookman, and of course the high schools in the area as well,” Libby said. “We will strive to continue putting our students first as we move into this new area.”

For more information, visit thetododudes.com/services.

ing orders and making sure all the supplies are in stock, said the Ed Foundation’s Stephanie Ellis, who leads the program. Ellis and Maryiotti Johnson, the foundation’s assistant director of

PETS UP FOR ADOPTION

Bojack Dogman is a 4-year-old male weighing around 50 pounds.

finance and operations, spoke about the program during a recent School Board meeting spotlight.

The Stuff Bus will continue to collect supplies throughout the school year for students and teachers in need, Johnson said.

For more information, call Ellis at 386-437-7526, Ext. 1128.

SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL RAISES OVER $13,000 FOR CHARITIES

Local organizers for the Palm Coast Songwriters Festival raised $3,000 at the May event to provide free books to Flagler County children.

The Early Learning Coalition of Flagler and Volusia Counties — a local affiliate of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library — partners with Flagler County community champions to send a book each month to Flagler County children, from newborns to 5-year-olds, who are registered for the program, according to a press release from the Songwriters Festival.

Dolly Parton’s nonprofit provides free books to children across the United States and internationally.

The festival also raised $5,000 for the Daytona State College Foundation, which supports students in the Mike Curb School of Music at DSC; and $5,700 for the Gold Star Mentors Foundation, which provides guitars and introductory guitar lessons to children and young adults who are grieving the death of a military loved one.

The Gold Star Mentors funds were raised through the auction of an autographed guitar with the signatures of artists Vince Gill, David Lee Murphy, Darryl Worley and Deana Carter.

VETERAN OF THE WEEK

Two-year-old Oden is a male cat who has been at the shelter since April.

Anthony Militano

Gretchen is a 10-yearold female calico.

Sky is a 1-year-old female, weighing around 50 pounds.

 Branch of military: U.S. Navy

 Dates of service: 1967-1970

 Rank/occupation: EN2/Engine

Mechanic

 Hometown: Antioch, Illinois

Anthony Militano is a Vietnam War

Serfdom,”

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

Circulation Coordinator, Draven Owens, dowens@observerlocalnews.com

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the City of McHenry Police Department. Not one to sit still, Militano worked for the Navy Exchange at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois for six years before moving to Palm Coast with his wife Sharon in 2006. Militano then worked for the state of Florida driver’s license office in Daytona Beach. He is now fully retired, enjoying Florida and making visits to friends and family back in Illinois. Militano is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Fraternal Order of Police.

NEED HELP WITH VETERAN SERVICES?

For information about benefits and support organizations for veterans, call 386-313-4014.

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

The To-Do Dudes team

Courtesy photo

Veteran who served aboard the USS Tutuila and USS Ponchatoula. He was trained as an engine mechanic and additionally in survival, evasion, resistance and escape techniques, as well as with various weapons. Militano earned the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Vietnam Campaign Medal for his honorable service. Upon returning home, he became a police officer and worked for a number of departments in Illinois. He started with the Fox Lake Police Department, and 29 years later retired from

Photo courtesy of the Songwriters Festival

Family Services Director Kim Kania with the Early Learning Coalition of Flagler and Volusia, the Dolly Parton Imagination Libray affiliate; Garry Lubi, co-founder and president of the Palm Coast Songwriters Festival; Kelly Wright, the winner of the autographed guitar

YOUR NEIGHBORS

Turtle Power

Turtle Patrol volunteers check empty nests for surviving baby sea turtles.

SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

Lori Ottlein placed her towel on the sand, tugging it into place next to the small depression at the top of the sea turtle nest in Flagler Beach.

“We wait three days after they’ve hatched,” she said, “to give them time to get out on their own.”

Ottlein is a volunteer with the Volusia/Flagler Turtle Patrol, and has been for 25 years. Every year during the sea turtles’ nesting season — from May 1 to Oct. 31 — Ottlein is out on the beach, checking for new nests and monitoring the others for signs that the baby sea turtles have hatched.

Once the eggs have hatched, a volunteer checks the nest for any baby sea turtles that didn’t make it out with their siblings. The volunteer, like Ottlein, gets down in the sand and gently begins clearing the sand away until they come across the eggs.

Sometimes not all of the hatchlings make it out of the nest, Ottlein said. The baby turtles climb up the stacked eggs like a ladder to leave

the nest. Eventually, the stacked eggs become empty eggshells and fall over, trapping some hatchlings inside.

Turtle patrol volunteers rescue any remaining living hatchlings and count the eggs for data, she said. Only about one in 1,000 sea turtle hatchlings survive into adulthood, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

On Sunday, July 30, Ottlein cleaned out two nests herself: one at 7:30 a.m. and the other at 6 p.m. While the 6 p.m. loggerhead nest didn’t contain any live hatchlings, the loggerhead nest from that morning — near a dune walkover by North 15th Street in Flagler Beach — contained nine hatchlings, sitting in the bottom among the empty shells.

Harrison Wheelan and Taylor Speglevin were walking their two dogs, Buster and Foxy, when they came across Ottlein releasing the rescued baby turtles.

July 30 happened to be Wheelan’s birthday, and he said the release was a great surprise.

“I saw them, but I was like, ‘Nah, there’s no way,’” he said. “That’s wild.”

The Turtle Patrol offers a program that lets people adopt a sea turtle nest for $50, according to the patrol’s website.

Adopters receive an adoption cer-

tificate and educational packets and are notified when their adopted nest is cleaned.

For Lina Williams, the experience is always special, even though she’s been adopting sea turtle nests for almost 11 years straight.

“I just stepped back and looked,” she said. “I’m just blown away that after 11 years, I can still feel in awe of the experience.”

Williams said she began adopting nests when her daughter, Chloe, was 4. This year, Williams brought her 4-year-old son Wade and 15-yearold Chloe and invited families from her kids’ homeschool co-op to a turtle nest cleaning.

Williams said she’s the co-op’s field trip coordinator, and thought it would be a great opportunity to teach kids — and parents — outside of textbooks.

Around 50 people showed up, she said, and almost none had ever experienced anything like it before.

“Every child there was in complete awe,” Williams said. Ottlein was their volunteer for the cleaning, and whenever she pulled

out a living baby turtle, all the kids cheered, Williams said. The best part, she said, was getting to see so many others experience the nest cleaning for the first time.

“This was definitely the best year for me,” she said. “Without a doubt, I’m going to keep inviting other families.”

Turtle Patrol volunteer Lori Ottlein cleans out a loggerhead nest, looking for any remaining hatchlings.

Harrison Wheelan and Taylor Speglevin, with their dogs Buster and Foxy, watch the rescued sea turtles crawl into the surf.

A baby loggerhead sea turtle crawls into the surf.

Photos by Sierra Williams

Nine baby sea turtles were found in a loggerhead nest on July 30.

FRIDAY, AUG. 11

a Doctor Who Specializes

FRIDAY, AUG. 4

BIKE AND BACKPACK

GIVEAWAY

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: 237 Boulder Rock Drive, Palm Coast

Details: The Council Society will hold a bike and backpack giveaway at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 237 Boulder Rock Drive.

MURDER MYSTERY DINNER

When: 6 p.m.

Where: VFW Post 8696, 47 Old Kings Road N., Palm Coast

Details: Help raise funds for displaced and foster children by attending this 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 blanket and enjoy “Princess Diaries,” rated PG. Call 386-676-3216 for rainout information.

FIREBRINGER

When: 7:30-9:30 p.m. Aug. 4 and 5

Where: City Repertory Theatre, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite B207, Palm Coast

Details: Step into a prehistoric world where an unlikely tribe of underdogs defies expectations when one of their own stumbles upon the gamechanging discovery of fire.

SATURDAY, AUG. 5 UNITED WAY STUFF

THE BUS

When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 5-6

Where: Tangar Outlets, 1100 Cornerstone Blvd., Daytona Beach

Details: The Community Foundation and United Way

of Volusia-Flagler Counties are hosting their third annual Stuff the Bus. To learn more or see the supply list, visit unitedwayvfc.org/stuffthebus.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 9

GUIDED KAYAK TOUR

When: 9-11 a.m.

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

Details: Reservations required. A $45 donation includes rental of a single or tandem kayak or canoe, or donate $20 and bring your own. Cash, exact change or check only. Park entry fee is separate. Call the park at 386-517-2086.

PROBUS CLUB MEETING

When: 11 a.m. to noon

Where: Social Club of Palm Coast, 51 N. Old Kings Road

Details: This month’s Probus Club speaker is Kathy Reichard-Ellavsky, president of the Palm Coast Historical Society, who will discuss the origin and future of Palm Coast. All are welcome to attend. Contact Larry Wright at: palmcoastprobusclub@gmail. com or 386-597-3055.

FLORIDA HUMANITIES

SPEAKERS SERIES: ‘FLORIDA SOUL’

When: 6-8 p.m.

Where: African American Cultural Center & Museum, 4422

N. U.S. 1, Palm Coast

Details: Speaker John Capouya, author and professor, will share historical facts about Florida’s contribution to the world of music.

THURSDAY, AUG. 10

AUGUST TIGER BAY CLUB

MEETING

When: 12-2 p.m.

Where: Halifax River Yacht Club, 331 South Beach Street, Daytona Beach

Details: The Tiger Bay Club welcomes Congressman Michael Waltz as its speaker on Aug. 10. Guests welcome with registration. Register at tigerbayclubvolulsia.org.

MOVIES IN THE PARK: ‘MEN IN BLACK’

When: 8:30 p.m.

Where: Palm Coast Arts Foundation, 1500 Central Ave., Palm Coast

Details: This month’s feature is “Men in Black” (PG-13). Call 386-986-2323 or visit palmcoastgov.com/movies.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 12

ANGEL HALL STATE FARM

BACK TO SCHOOL EVENT

When: 11-2 p.m.

Where: 800 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast

Details: Angel Hall State Farm Office is offering free snow cones and kids’ school supplies, while supplies last.

GAMBLE JAM

When: 2-4 p.m.

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

Details: Acoustical instruments of all types welcome. Meet other musicians, practice or just have fun listening. Free with paid park entry.

SUMMER JAZZ FEST

When: 3-6 p.m.

Where: Daytona State College Amphitheater, 3000 Palm Coast Parkway SE, Palm Coast

Details: Keep cool at the North East Florida Jazz Association’s Summer Jazz Fest. Tickets are $25 and available at Chez Jacqueline in Palm Coast, 386-447-1650, or at nefja.org.

FLORIDA HUMANITIES

SPEAKERS SERIES: ‘RESPECT’

When: 6-8 p.m.

Where: African American Cultural Center & Museum, 4422 N. U.S. 1, Palm Coast

Details: Speaker John Capouya will present “Respect: Soul Music and the Civil Rights Movement in Florida,” and a special screening of the award-winning documentary “Summer of Soul.”

OUT OF THE BLUE

As a traveler, Ormond Beach

artist Christine Broussard enjoys sketching and painting on site. It’s a great way to “take the pulse of a country and express it on paper,” she said in a statement to the Observer. Those quick art pieces later become inspiration for her larger works.

“Drawing and painting is a way to express life with selected subjects,” said Broussard, originally from France. “Pens, brushes, and paint with a travel journal are the tools of the explorer.”

Broussard’s work is on display at the Expressions Art Gallery at Grand Living Realty at 2298 Colbert Lane in Palm Coast through Sept. 2.

The exhibition, titled “The World Unveiled Through Brushstrokes,” deals with themes of learning about different cultures and capturing moments through art. It also includes work by Ormond resident Grace Senior Morandi.

–JARLEENE ALMENAS

Don’t

SPORTS Back in the fold

football game since Oct. 13, 2022. The following week he dislocated his shoulder in practice. He tried to avoid surgery by immobilizing his shoulder.

KEY DATES

July 31: Preseason practice began

BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Jordan Mills came to football practice straight from his doctor’s appointment. Less than six months after undergoing surgery to repair ligaments in his right shoulder, the Matanzas defensive back/wide receiver was medically cleared, just in time for the Pirates’ first preseason practice on Monday, July 31.

“He’s a leader for our football team, and the kids look up to him,” coach Matt Forrest said. “So it’s good to have him back.”

Mills was cleared for full contact, although teams are not allowed to practice in pads until Aug. 5.

“I have a (shoulder) brace coming in to help with stability that will connect to my pads,” the rising senior said. “I had a different shorter brace, but this one’s better. It’s more secure.”

Mills, who has received several Division I offers, has not played in a

He missed the rest of the season but resumed wrestling on Jan. 7 and won 14 consecutive matches until dislocating the shoulder again in the 170-pound championship match at the Flagler Rotary tournament on Jan. 27. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on Feb. 9.

In seven games last season, Mills rushed for 160 yards, caught 18 passes, had 44 tackles and two interceptions on defense and ran back kickoffs and punts.

He wasn’t expected to be back on the field until just before the start of the season, but he’s been ahead of schedule throughout his rehab.

“They didn’t want to rush me,” he said. “The doctors did a real good job of keeping me on schedule, keeping me from doing too much, and my coaches helped me make sure I was doing the right things in the weight room and not doing too much on the field to make sure that I would be ready for the season for when it actually matters.”

The fear, he said, was that he’d dive for a ball, and the shoulder would pop out again. But the new brace should help prevent that, he said.

“I was missing (football), during the spring,” Mills said. “I was just sitting on the sidelines, watching (practice). It’s amazing to be back out here with the team and just seeing how everybody fits in the pieces and just feeling that team chemistry we still have. I’m playing with a lot of my childhood friends again, guys like (tight end) Daniel DeFalco, and Sho’Marion Gaines, who wasn’t here last year.”

DeFalco, who was with the Pirates as a freshman, returns for his senior season. Gaines, a dynamic defensive back and running back, played in Texas last year.

“We have some new transfers coming in, some guys returning back to the team that we didn’t have last year and some injured guys that are healthy now,” Mills said. “A lot of guys I played with my freshman year are back as seniors.”

Mills, Gaines and Cole Hash all started as freshmen in Forrest’s first season as the Pirates’ coach three years ago. They’ve all been valuable on both sides of the ball. The differ-

Aug. 5: First day of pads and full contact.

Aug 18: Kickoff Classics: Matanzas at Mainland; Atlantic Coast at Flagler Palm Coast

Aug. 25: Season openers: Matanzas at Groveland South Lake; FPC at Live Oak Suwannee

Sept 15: Potato Bowl: FPC at Matanzas

ence this season, Forrest said, is the depth behind them.

“Our program’s come a long way in three years,” Forrest said. “We’ve got 101 guys on the roster. We’ve got a program now. In years past we haven’t had much depth. I’m watching us out here now on the first day of practice, and I’m seeing guys that are second teamers that could be starters. In the past, there was such a drop off from our first team to our second team.

“A lot of guys are going to (play) offense and defense, but they’re not going to be on the field the entire game,” Forrest said. “We can now move some guys around and spell guys. That’s a luxury we haven’t had in the past.”

Although Mills hasn’t always been able to participate, he has been with the team throughout the offseason other than when he traveled overseas this summer — to Tonga with his father, Abe Mills, on a humanitarian trip where they helped build a house for a family; and on a trip last month with his parents to Israel and Jordan.

“He’s been in the weight room all summer,” Forrest said. “Except when he went on his trip to Jerusalem, he’s been here. He’s been with the team, showing up every morning at six a.m., ready to rock and roll.”

Mills had plenty of company.

“I feel like this year we’re more committed as a team,” he said. “Last year, we were committed, but this year I feel like we’re more of a brotherhood, more connected. I just feel like we’re all close knit, and the younger guys, they’ve had time to develop now. I feel like everybody’s ready to have a good season.”

“We’ve got 101 guys on the roster. We’ve got a program now. In years past, we haven't had much depth. I'm watching us out here now on the first day of practice, and I'm seeing guys that are second teamers that could be starters. In the past, there was such a drop-off from our first team to our second team.”

Mills joins his Pirates teammates on the first day of football practice.

Running back Zach Furey carries the ball during a drill.

Quarterback Jackson Lundahl throws a pass.

Coach Shavon Patton talks to Cole Hash.

Photos by Brent Woronoff

“I was missing (football) during the spring. I was just sitting on the sidelines, watching (practice). It’s amazing to be back out here with the team.”

JORDAN MILLS

MATT FORREST, COACH

SIDE LINES

Travis Boone to coach Matanzas girls team

Before accepting an offer from Matanzas High School to be the Pirates’ new head girls basketball coach, Travis Boone had a conversation with his daughter — rising senior Taylor Boone.

Travis asked her point blank: “How would you feel if I became your high school head coach?”

Taylor laughed.

“She said, ‘How would this be different from all the years I’ve been playing basketball?’” Travis said.

Palm Coast Senior Games

The city of Palm Coast is gearing up for the 2023 Senior Games. The Games, which begin on Sept. 15, is open to participants ages 50 and up.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Two Matanzas wrestlers win double gold

Four Matanzas High School girls wrestlers flew out to West Des Moines, Iowa, last weekend to compete in the AAU Junior Olympics.

Christina Borgmann (125 pounds) and Kendall Bibla (145 pounds) each took home gold medals by winning their weight classes in the individual bracket tournament.

Tiana Fries won silver, finishing second at 130 pounds. Brielle Bibla finished third at 135 pounds.

Brielle Bibla’s only loss was to 135-pound champ Mackenzie Pratt in the semifinals. It was Brielle’s last tournament before heading to the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina, where she will continue her wrestling career.

In the team dual competition, Borgmann, Kendall Bibla and Tiana Fries all took home gold medals by going undefeated in their dual matches. Brielle Bibla won silver in the dual competition.

The four Pirates competed for Team Florida, which placed fifth in dual competition, losing just one match in pool competition and then going 3-0 in the next round.

Travis Boone had been an assistant coach with the Pirates the past two years. After head coach Brittany Marts resigned over the summer for personal reasons, Boone was offered the job. With his daughter’s blessing, he accepted.

“I have had the opportunity to watch him coach over the past two seasons, and it is evident that he is passionate about the same things we preach: the person, the student and the player,” Matanzas athletic director Jordan Butler said. “He understands and embraces the core values of our code, and we are excited for him to get started.”

Boone is not a teacher at the school, or any school in Flagler County. He works for Edward Jones in IT quality assurance. He has been an AAU coach for 17 years, 12 in St. Louis and the past five in Palm Coast for the Flagler Hurricanes.

“This is one of my life’s ministries, and I am honored to serve the Palm Coast community in this capacity,”

Boone said.

He moved to Palm Coast five years ago with his wife of 21 years and their three children. His son, Travis Boone Jr., is a rising sophomore at Matanzas and plays on the Pirates’ boys JV basketball team. Boone’s youngest daughter, Lauryn, is a rising eighth grader who prefers volleyball.

The 6-foot-4 Boone played college basketball from 1999 to 2004 at Maryville University in St. Louis.

He takes over a team that won just one game last season.

He said the main thing he wants his players to understand is that it’s OK to make mistakes.

“It’s about building from your mistakes, to be courageous enough

to go out there and play as hard and be as dedicated to the sport as possible,” he said. “The key to me is effort. I would like my players to give me 100% effort. I could never be mad, win or lose, if they gave me 100% effort. I want them to spend a lot of time in the gym, because I’m a gym rat. I love being in the gym.”

FPC PROMOTES SOFTBALL

ASSISTANT

Flagler Palm Coast is in the process of hiring new coaches for the girls and boys basketball teams. New athletic director Scott Drabczyk did make his first coaching hire over the summer, naming Brooklynn Jimeson the Bulldogs’ new softball coach. Jimeson served as an assistant coach last season for the Bulldogs,

who went 13-5 and reached the playoffs for the first time in six years.

Prior to FPC, Jimeson was the head softball coach at Fountain Lake High School in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

A graduate of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Jimeson was a four-year letter winner for the Reddies as a middle infielder.

This year’s events include mainstays — golf, pickleball and tennis — with the addition of several new events: billiards, bowling, horseshoes, shuffleboard, bocce, basketball free throw, bag toss, darts, surfing and a 5K road race.

“It goes without saying that the Senior Games is something that our Parks and Recreation staff look forward to just as much as our participants each year,” James Hirst, the city’s director of Parks and Recreation, said in a press release. “Having the ability to bring these new events into the fold this year means that more of our residents will be able to get involved, bring out their competitive spirit and see what makes this event truly special.”

The Senior Games will run from Sept. 15 to Oct. 8 at various locations throughout Palm Coast. Qualifying participants from each event will have the opportunity to participate in the Florida Senior Games in Pasco County in December. For more information, or to register for an event, visit palmcoast.gov/seniorgames.

SENIOR GAMES SCHEDULE

„ Tennis: Sept. 15-17, 8 a.m.4 p.m., Palm Coast Tennis Center

„ Billiards: Sept.19 , 2-6 p.m.,

Cue Note Billiards

„ Bowling: Sept. 21, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Palm Coast Lanes

„ Pickleball: Sept. 22-24, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Holland Park

„ Golf: Sept. 23, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Palm Harbor Golf Club

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69 *Complimentary mealtime gesture

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75 Adorable toddler

77 Girl Scout cookie that’s also the name of an island country

80 “Over Vitebsk” painter Chagall

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Puzzle One Clue: L equals F Puzzle Two Clue: R equals B Puzzle Three Clue: V equals K

ALGEBRA EXAM by Michael Wiesenberg and Jeff Chen, edited by Jeff Chen

By Luis Campos

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

BRENT WORONOFF

Courtesy photo

Travis Boone takes over the Pirates’ girls basketball program.

“The key to me is effort. I would like my players to give me 100% effort. I could never be mad, win or lose, if they gave me 100% effort.”

TRAVIS BOONE

Hall of Fame jockey is an ace on the golf course too

Bill Boland, 90, shot a holein-one at Palm Harbor and nearly repeated the feat four days later.

Days after he made a hole-in-one at Palm Harbor Golf Club, Bill Boland missed another on the same hole by

about 10 inches.

Boland knows what it’s like to win and then come up just short. The 90-year-old is a Hall of Fame jockey who won the Kentucky Derby in 1950 at age 16 and almost went on to win the Triple Crown that year aboard the colt, Middleground.

Boland is the youngest jockey to win a Kentucky Derby since before 1900. An apprentice rider at the time, Boland also won the Belmont Stakes. But he finished second in the

Preakness Stakes, the Triple Crown’s middle race, to fellow Hall of Famer Eddie Arcaro riding Hill Prince.

“It was bad luck,” Boland recalled of the Preakness race — a memory he’s been asked to replay over and over during the past 73 years. “A horse took me to the outside fence, and the winner got through to the inside. He opened up a five-length lead.”

Middleground got within a couple of lengths of Hill Prince, but the early

bump to the outside took too much out of him, Boland said, and Hill Prince wound up winning by five lengths.

Boland, a Texas native, retired from riding in 1969, trained thoroughbred for another 19 years and then became a racing official for 10 years. He and his wife, Sandy, retired to Palm Coast in 1998.

He’s been golfing “on and off” for 40 years, he said.

When asked what his handi -

cap is, he quipped, “playing golf.” He plays in a Monday morning group and a Friday morning group at Palm Harbor.

On Monday, July 24, Boland hit a hole-in-one on the par-3 No. 17 hole. Playing from the gold tee (153 yards), he aced the hole, using a 5-utility club.

Boland nearly repeated the feat on Friday, July 28, barely missing. That would have been the third hole-inone in his lifetime. He said he also had an ace at Cypress Knoll about 10 years ago on the old No. 18.

In addition to playing golf, Boland helps raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. He and Sandy recently returned from Las Vegas, where he and 13 other Hall of Fame jockeys, along with seven paraplegic former jockeys, signed autographs, raising $450,000 for the fund in one day.

The Bolands have been married for 72 years. Sandy was not a horse racing fan, but her parents loved the racetrack, she said. Her mother listened to the 1950 Kentucky Derby on the radio and rooted for Boland to win the race.

“She was dancing around. She was excited that this little kid won,” Sandy said.

Sandy lived on Long Island, New York, and her parents took her to the Belmont Stakes that year.

“I took a picture of him and Eddie Arcaro, not knowing either one of them,” she said.

Shortly after that, she was bowling with friends one day, and there he was.

“He offered to take me home,” she said. “Then he was over every night. He loved my mother’s cooking.”

They were married in 1951. She was 19, and he had just turned 18.

“My husband is wonderful. He’s been kind, successful, he’s just great,” Sandy said.

Boland shot 80 on the day of his hole-in-one at Palm Harbor, he said. His racing career is long behind him, but he is as competitive as ever on the golf course.

“I’m still young,” he said.

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HOMES ARE SELLING FAST! WE NEED MORE LISTINGS TO

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BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Photo by Brent Woronoff

Bill Boland poses with some of the members of his Monday group at Palm Harbor Golf Club. Seated: Tom Monroe. Standing from left, Bill Hagenberg, Boland, Roger Proudfood and Walter Twyman.

REAL ESTATE

House in Hammock Dunes tops sales list in Flagler

Ahouse in Hammock Dunes was the top real estate transaction for June 15-21 in Palm Coast and Flagler County. Daniel and Susan MacFarlan, of Palm Coast, sold 66 Island Estates Parkway to Daniel and Jamie Lievrouw, of Palm Coast, for $2,650,000. Built in 1999, the house is a 4/5 and has a pool, a hot tub, a fireplace, an outside kitchen, a boat house, a boat lift and 5,165 square feet of space. It sold in 2005 for $1,843,000.

ALEXIS MILLER

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Condos Scott and Beverly Wright, of Flagler Beach, sold 2001 Palm Drive, Unit F103, to Judith Marques, of Flagler Beach, for $327,500. Built in 2004, the condo is a 3/2 and has 1,598 square feet. It sold in 2017 for $200,000.

Joseph and Samantha Cowan, of Palm Coast, sold 3600 South Ocean Shore Blvd., Unit 822, to Jeffrey Hanna, of Flagler Beach, for $430,500. Built in 1984, the condo is a 2/2 and has 1,344 square feet. It sold in 2020 for $256,500.

BUNNELL

Grand Reserve and Golf Club

D.R. Horton, Inc. of St. Johns, sold 778 Grand Reserve Drive to Crystal and Dylan Fox, of Bunnell, for $369,900. Built in 2022, the house is a 4/2.5 and has 2,492 square feet.

D.R. Horton, Inc. of St. Johns, sold 768 Grand Reserve Drive to Mario Tabares and Olinde Branch, of Bunnell, for $364,900. Built in 2022, the house is a 4/2.5 and has 2,492 square feet.

St. Johns Development Ryan Rice Industries LLC, of St. Augustine, sold 516 East Country Road 90 to Luis Cruz and Nidia Torres Vargas, of Palm Coast, for $78,000. Built in 1990, the house is a 1/1 and has 1,636 square feet. It sold in 2023 for $50,000.

FLAGLER BEACH

for $40,000.

Pebble Beach Lois and Craig Ludwick, of Overland Park, Kansas, sold 39 Pebble Beach Circle to Rosario Lopez and Haylee Palmer, of Flagler Beach, for $300,000. Built in 1993, the house is a 2/2 and has 1,300 square feet. It sold in 2012 for $130,000.

PALM COAST

Belle Terre Caspian Performance Group LLC, of Orlando, sold 35 Praver Lane to Larry Donald Johnson and Deanna Johnson, of Palm Coast, for $379,200. Built in 2023, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,555 square feet.

and 2,420 square feet. It sold in 2021 for $431,900.

Palm Harbor Steve Thomas, as a trustee, of Palm Coast, sold 39 Fischer Lane to Peter Inglis, of Lenoir City, Tennessee, for $300,000. Built in 1995, the house is a 4/2 and has 1,528 square feet. It sold in 2023 for $231,000.

Stephanie Swann, of Milton, Georgia, sold 400 Cinnamon Beach Way, Unit 365, to Timothy Feeney and Catherine Feeney, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, for $910,000. Built in 2005, the condo is a 3/3 and has 2,003 square feet. It sold in 2021 for $600,700.

Michael and Patricia Tucci, of Palm Coast, sold 114 Club House Drive, Unit 103, to Frank Patrick Glowczewskie and Marilyn Glowczewskie, of Palm Coast, for $492,000. Built in 2004, the condo is a 2/2 and has 2,297 square feet. It sold in 2016 for $231,500.

Fuquay Michael Carver, of Flagler Beach, sold 1504 South Ocean Shore Blvd. to Ryan and Veronica Stober, of Centerville, Iowa, for $1,550,000. Built in 2019, the house is a 3/3.5 and has a mother-in-law suite and 3,144 square feet.

Morningside Bonnie Gruber and Lennon Walotsky, of Flagler Beach, sold 2313 South Daytona Ave. to Michael and Liliane Merrill, of Flagler Beach, for $560,000. Built in 2000, the house is a 3/2 and has a pool and 1,940 square feet. It sold in 2000

Cypress Knoll Bryant Bradford Washburn, as a trustee, of Palm Coast, sold 15 Edgemont Drive to Randy Lee Burkett and Joann Elizabeth Burkett, of Palm Coast, for $312,000. Built in 2003, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,513 square feet. It sold in 2008 for $168,000.

Grand Haven Lyubov and Alexander Zalmanoff, of Louisville, Kentucky, sold 28 North Village Parkway to Brittany Craig, Alexander Craig and Kristine Glinter-Stedman, of Palm Coast, for $799,000. Built in 2005, the house is a 6/5.5 and has a pool, a hot tub, an outdoor kitchen and 3,759 square feet. It sold in 2010 for $369,000.

Indian Trails

Seagate Homes, LLC, of Palm Coast, sold 34 Barring Place to Ganna Lebedeva, of Palm Coast, for $407,000. Built in 2023, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,832 square feet.

Matanzas Lakes

Seagate Homes, LLC, of Palm Coast, sold 21 Tideway Trail to Elvira Pinto, of Palm Coast, for $397,600. Built in 2023, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,905 square feet

Matanzas Woods

Michael and Melissa Morrison, of Palm Coast, sold 13 Lee Drive to Jacob and Lesley Molina, of Palm Coast, for $480,000. Built in 2006, the house is a 4/2.5 and has a pool

Lev and Tatyana Frunker, of Palm Coast, sold 77 Ferndale Lane to Roy Jones and Charlene Marie Jones, of Palm Coast, for $550,000. Built in 1996, the house is a 4/3 and has a pool, a hot tub and 2,400 square feet. It sold in 1998 for $107,500.

Pine Lakes Ryan Rice Industries, LLC, of St. Augustine, sold 4 White Haven Lane to Murray Glenn Savary and Brianne Savary, of Palm Coast, for $320,000. Built in 2002, the house is a 4/2 and has 1,730 square feet. It sold in 2023 for $190,000.

Plantation Bay Ronald Keeler, of Palm Coast, sold 9 Jasmine Run to Theresa Marie Berrios, of Palm Coast, for $305,000. Built in 1986, the house is a 2/2.5 and has 1,948 square feet. It sold in 2016 for $177,000.

WL Residential Land LLC, of Daytona Beach, sold 511 Stirling Bridge Drive to Ricardo Hernandez and Mari Liz Diaz Ocasio, of Ormond Beach, for $679,000. Built in 2023, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,979 square feet.

Sawmill Creek Adams Homes of Northwest Florida, Inc., of Pensacola, sold 106 Rivertown Road to Lola and Edward Bartholomew, of Palm Coast, for $345,900. Built in 2023, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,780 square feet.

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

FIRST INSERTION

NOTICE OF ACTIONCONSTRUCTIVE SERVICE IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA GENERAL JURISDICTION DIVISION CASE NO. 2023 CA 000567 BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A. AS TRUSTEE FOR MORTGAGE ASSETS MANAGEMENT SERIES I TRUST, Plaintiff, vs. THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, BENEFICIARIES, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES AND ALL OTHERS WHO MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST IN THE ESTATE OF SHIRLEY MORRIS, DECEASED, et. al. Defendant(s), TO: THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, BENEFICIARIES, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES AND ALL OTHERS WHO MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST IN THE ESTATE OF SHIRLEY MORRIS, DECEASED, whose residence is unknown if he/she/they be living; and if he/she/they be dead, the unknown defendants who may be spouses, heirs, devisees, grantees, assignees, lienors, creditors, trustees, and all parties claiming an interest by, through, under or against the Defendants, who are not known to be dead or alive, and all parties having or claiming to have any right, title or interest in the property described in the mortgage being foreclosed herein.

TO: MICHAEL K. MORRIS, whose residence is unknown and all parties having or claiming to have any right, title

or interest in the property described in the mortgage being foreclosed herein.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that an action to foreclose a mortgage on the following property: LOT 6, BLOCK 32, OF PALM COAST, MAP OF PINE GROVE, SECTION 28, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF, RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 9, PAGE(S) 51-66, 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 counsel for Plaintiff, whose address is 6409 Congress Ave., Suite 100, Boca Raton, Florida 33487 on or before/(30 days from Date of First Publication of this Notice) and file the original with the clerk of this court either before service on Plaintiff’s attorney or immediately thereafter; otherwise a default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint or petition filed herein.

THIS NOTICE SHALL BE PUBLISHED ONCE A WEEK FOR TWO (2) CONSECUTIVE WEEKS. WITNESS my hand and the seal of this Court at County, Florida, this day of 7/25/2023. Tom Bexley CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT (SEAL) BY: /s/ Margarita Ruiz DEPUTY CLERK ROBERTSON, ANSCHUTZ, AND SCHNEID, PL ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF 6409 Congress Ave., Suite 100 Boca Raton, FL 33487

PRIMARY EMAIL: flmail@raslg.com 23-109518 August 3, 10, 2023 23-00111G

FIRST INSERTION NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION File No. 2023-CP-000154 Division 48 IN RE: ESTATE OF DONNIE A. WILLIAMS a/k/a DONNIE JO WILLIAMS, Deceased.

The administration of the ancillary estate of DONNIE A. WILLIAMS, deceased, whose date of death was August 19, 2022, is pending in the Circuit Court for Flagler County, Florida, Probate Division, the address of which is Kim C. Hammond Justice Center, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Building 1, 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 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM.

All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS

other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE

FIRST INSERTION

NOTICE OF ACTIONCONSTRUCTIVE SERVICE IN THE COUNTY COURT, SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR FLAGLER COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: 2023-SC-000212

KAILEY FOSTER, Plaintiff v. BUNNELL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LLC; STEPHEN WOODIN SR; STEPHEN WOODIN SR, Defendants

To: Stephen Woodin, Sr. dba SLS Foundation Trust at 200 N. Railroad St., Bunnell, FL 32110; Stephen Woodin, Sr. dba Safety Services dba Mazuma Assets at 200 N Railroad St., Bunnell, FL 32110. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to an Order dated July 25, 2023, entered in Small Claims Civil Case No.: 2023-SC000212 in the County Court of the Seventh Judicial Circuit in and for Flagler County, Florida, which case involves legal, equitable, and declaratory relief related to unreturned security deposit. Copies of all court documents in this case, including the original summons, are available at the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office.

You are required to appear in person or by attorney at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center, 1769 E. Moody Blvd., Bldg. #1, in Courtroom 403, located in BUNNELL, FLORIDA, on 9/15/2023 at 2:30PM for a PRETRIAL before a judge of this court. If you fail to appear, a default may be entered against you for the relief demanded in the petition. The case will not be tried at that time. Do not bring witnesses. Appear in person or by attorney. A written Motion or Answer to the court by any party shall not excuse the personal appearance of a party or its attorney in the Pretrial Conference. The date and time of the pretrial conference cannot be rescheduled without good cause and prior court approval.

RIGHT TO VENUE. The law gives the

person or company who has sued you the right to file in any one of several places as listed below. However, if you have been sued in any place other than one of these places, you, as the defendant(s), have the right to request that the case be moved to a proper location or venue. A proper location or venue may be one of the fol-

lowing:

(1) Where the contract was entered into; (2) If the suit is on an unsecured promissory note, where the note is signed or where the maker resides;

(3) If the suit is to recover property or to foreclose a lien, where the property is located; (4) Where the event giving rise to the suit occurred;

(5) Where any one or more of the defendants sued reside; (6) Any location agreed to in a contract; (7)

In an action for money due, if there is no agreement as to where suit may be filed, where payment is to be made. If you, as defendant(s), believe the plaintiff has not sued in one of these correct places, you must appear on your court date and orally request a transfer, or you may file a written request for transfer in affidavit form (sworn to under oath) with the court seven (7) days prior to your first court date and send a copy to the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney, if any.

If you are a person with a disability who needs an accommodation to participate in this proceeding, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact Court Administration, 125 E. Orange Ave., Ste. 300, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, (386) 257-6096, at least 7 days before your scheduled court appearance, or immediately upon receiving this notification if the time before the appearance is less than 7 days; if you are hearing or voice impaired, call 711.

DATED this 28 of JULY 2023. (SEAL) /s/ Sydney Willer Clerk of Court Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 2023 23-00113G

FIRST INSERTION RADIANCE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE ADOPTION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2023/2024 BUDGET; NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE IMPOSITION OF OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS, ADOPTION OF AN ASSESSMENT ROLL, AND THE LEVY, COLLECTION, AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE SAME; AND NOTICE OF REGULAR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING. Upcoming Public Hearings, and Regular Meeting

The Board of Supervisors (“Board”) for the Radiance Community Development District (“District”) will hold the following two public hearings and a regular meeting on August 28, 2023 at 11:00 a.m., at the Hilton Garden Inn – 55 Town Center Blvd., Palm Coast, Florida 32614.

The first public hearing is being held pursuant to Chapter 190, Florida Statutes, to receive public comment and objections on the District’s proposed budget (“Proposed Budget”) for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2023 and ending September 30, 2024 (“Fiscal Year 2023/2024”). The second public hearing is being held pursuant to Chapters 190, 197, and/or 170, Florida Statutes, to consider the imposition of operations and maintenance special assessments (“O&M Assessments”) upon the lands located within the District, to fund the Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2023/2024; to consider the adoption of an assessment roll; and, to provide for the levy, collection, and enforcement of assessments. At the conclusion of the hearings, the Board will, by resolution, adopt a budget and levy O&M Assessments as finally approved by the Board. A Board meeting of the District will also be held where the Board may consider any other District business.

Description of Assessments

The District imposes O&M Assessments on benefitted property within the District for the purpose of funding the District’s general administrative, operations, and maintenance budget. A geographic depiction of the property potentially subject to the proposed O&M Assessments is identified in the map attached hereto. The table below shows the schedule of the proposed O&M Assessments, which are subject to change at the hearing:

OF THE SAME; AND NOTICE OF REGULAR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ MEETING.

Upcoming Public Hearings, and Regular Meeting

The Board of Supervisors (“Board”) for the Seminole Palms Community Development District (“District”) will hold the following two public hearings and a regular meeting on August 28, 2023 at 11:00 a.m., at the Hilton Garden Inn – 55 Town Center Blvd., Palm Coast, Florida 32614.

The first public hearing is being held pursuant to Chapter 190, Florida Statutes, to receive public comment and objections on the District’s proposed budget (“Proposed Budget”) for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2023 and ending September 30, 2024 (“Fiscal Year 2023/2024”). The second public hearing is being held pursuant to Chapters 190, 197, and/or 170, Florida Statutes, to consider the imposition of operations and maintenance special assessments (“O&M Assessments”) upon the lands located within the District, to fund the Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2023/2024; to consider the adoption of an assessment roll; and, to provide for the levy, collection, and enforcement of assessments. At the conclusion of the hearings, the Board will, by resolution, adopt a budget and levy O&M Assessments as finally approved by the Board. A Board meeting of the District will also be held where the Board may consider any other District business.

Description of Assessments

The District imposes O&M Assessments on benefitted property within the District for the purpose of funding the District’s general administrative, operations, and maintenance budget. A geographic depiction of the property potentially subject to the proposed O&M Assessments is identified in the map attached hereto. The table below shows the schedule of the proposed O&M Assessments, which are subject to change at the hearing:

The O&M Assessments may be collected on the County tax roll or by direct bill from the District’s Manager. The O&M Assessments will only be imposed on lots sold to third parties, including lots sold during the Fiscal Year 2023/2024, and any portion of the District’s Proposed Budget not funded by the O&M Assessments will be funded by a developer funding agreement. Note that the O&M Assessments are in addition to any debt service assessments, if any, previously levied by the District and due to be collected for Fiscal Year 2023/2024.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO PAY YOUR ASSESSMENT BECAUSE FAILURE TO PAY WILL CAUSE A TAX CERTIFICATE TO BE ISSUED AGAINST THE PROPERTY WHICH MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF TITLE, OR FOR DIRECT BILLED ASSESSMENTS, MAY RESULT IN A FORECLOSURE ACTION, WHICH ALSO MAY RESULT IN A LOSS OF TITLE. Additional Provisions

The public hearings and meeting are open to the public and will be conducted in accordance with Florida law. A copy of the Proposed Budget and assessment roll, and the agenda, for the hearings and meeting may be obtained by contacting DPFG Management & Consulting LLC, 250 International Parkway, Suite 208, Lake Mary, Florida 32746, 321-263-0132 (“District Manager’s Office”). The public hearings and meeting may be continued to a date, time, and place to be specified on the record. There may be occasions when staff or board members may participate by speaker telephone. Any person requiring special accommodations because of a disability or physical impairment should contact the District Manager’s Office at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1, or 1-800-955-8771 (TTY) / 1-800-955-8770 (Voice), for aid in contacting the District Manager’s Office.

Please note that all affected property owners have the right to appear and comment at the public hearings and meeting, and may also file written objections with the District Manager’s Office within twenty (20) days of issuance of this notice. Each person who decides to appeal any decision made by the Board with respect to any matter considered at the

The O&M Assessments may be collected on the County tax roll or by direct bill from the District’s Manager. The O&M Assessments will only be imposed on lots sold to third parties, including lots sold during the Fiscal Year 2023/2024, and any portion of the District’s Proposed Budget not funded by the O&M Assessments will be funded by a developer funding agreement. Note that the O&M Assessments are in addition to any debt service assessments, if any, previously levied by the District and due to be collected for Fiscal Year 2023/2024. IT IS IMPORTANT TO PAY YOUR ASSESSMENT BECAUSE FAILURE TO PAY WILL CAUSE A TAX CERTIFICATE TO BE ISSUED AGAINST THE PROPERTY WHICH MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF TITLE, OR FOR DIRECT BILLED ASSESSMENTS, MAY RESULT IN A FORECLOSURE ACTION, WHICH ALSO MAY RESULT IN A LOSS OF TITLE. Additional Provisions

The public hearings and meeting are open to the public and will be conducted in accordance with Florida law. A copy of the Proposed Budget and assessment roll, and the agenda, for the hearings and meeting may be obtained by contacting DPFG Management & Consulting LLC, 250 International Parkway, Suite 208, Lake Mary, Florida 32746, 321-263-0132 (“District Manager’s Office”). The public hearings and meeting may be continued to a date, time, and place to be specified on the record. There may be occasions when staff or board members may participate by speaker telephone. Any person requiring special accommodations because of a disability or physical impairment should contact the District Manager’s Office at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the Florida Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1, or 1-800-955-8771 (TTY) / 1-800-955-8770 (Voice), for aid in contacting the District Manager’s Office.

Please note that all affected property owners have the right to appear and comment at the public hearings and meeting, and may also file written objections with the District Manager’s Office within twenty (20) days of issuance of this notice. Each person who decides to appeal any decision made by the Board with respect to any matter considered at the public hearings or meeting is advised that person will need a record of proceedings and that accordingly, the person may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, including the testimony and evidence upon which such appeal is to be based. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the District Manager’s Office

District Manager

August 3, 2023

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