March 25 – Marcia Lane, roving reporter

This news bulletin is brought to you in conjunction with NATKIM Radio. Listen to WPLK (800 AM), WIYD (1260 AM) and WPLK FM (98.3 FM).

Schools in Putnam and St. Johns counties are back in session after a week of spring break. Putnam students will be out again on Friday for a teacher planning day.

A dozen people have applied for the seat on the St. Augustine Beach City Commission. Deadline was Friday for nominees to file for the seat left vacant by the resignation of Rich O’Brien on March 5. The remaining four commissioners are expected to make a selection from the applicants at their April 1 meeting. Whoever is chosen will be in office at least until the November 2020 elections.

The Cathedral Parish Festival will be looking for a new location if the Catholic Diocese goes through with plans to put in an 800-seat open-air amphitheater at the Mission Nombre de Dios on San Marco Avenue in St. Augustine. The Diocese still needs a land use change for the city before they can go forward with their plans. The Diocese also is talking about building a parking garage on the site which includes the location where Pedro Menendez held the first Mass in North America after he landed in 1565. The mission director says they are exploring options regarding the festival, which is the major fund-raiser for Cathedral Parish School, and once they’ve made a decision, they’ll let the public know.

FFA members Teà Startz and Kallie Johnson are doing double duty. Both will be showing animals at the Putnam County Fair this week. Over the weekend the two sophomores from Palatka High School took part in the fair pageant with Teà the new Junior Teen Miss Putnam County Fair and Kallie the new Teen Miss Putnam County Fair.

The Flagler County Commission rejected a proposal by a developer who wanted to put a subdivision onto 12 acres at Jungle Hut Road and State Road A1A. Ken Altee of Altee Development Group sought a Planned Unit Development designation in order to put in a 54-home subdivision. PUDs allow for higher density development and up to 87 houses could have gone in. Altee was seeking to change minimum lot size from 75 feet width to 50 feet. Planning Director Adam Mengle had recommended going forward with the plan.

Busy weekend for law enforcement. On Friday Night a Hawthorne man was caught in Interlachen apparently have driven there in stolen a car after failing to complete requirements of a felony conviction sentencing in Gainesville. Kelvin Quentin Scott Wright Jr., 25, was taken into custody at an Interlachen residence and told deputies he had an outstanding warrant and that the car was stolen. When Putnam deputies searched the vehicle they found handguns and drugs. Both fire arms were reported stolen from Putnam — one in 2014, the other in January of this year. Wright was booked into the Putnam jail on a bond of $33,004. Palatka Police report the capture of a man wanted on sexual battery charges relating to a minor. Bond was $1 million, according to the police Facebook site. Stanley Lutrelle Hunter was located and arrested at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach Sunday after Palatka Police contacted the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, which made the arrest. Law enforcement is still seeking John Brooks Shemia Smith who is wanted on four felony warrants. Over the weekend Putnam officers were looking for Smith who is described as dangerous. A mug shot shows him with a distinctive hairstyle featuring five braids sticking out from his head.

 

And a note of sympathy for Betsy Driggers, Palatka’s city clerk and acting city manager. She fell and broke her leg, just in time for her birthday.

This is Marcia Lane, your roving reporter.