March 27 – 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).

A crash Tuesday night in St. Augustine left a 78-year-old woman dead, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Nancy Dunn died after the crash on U.S. 1 at Datil Pepper Road. FHP says Dunn was attempting to make a left turn onto U.S. 1 when she pulled out in front of another car and collided. Three in the other car – a 22 year-old woman and two children under 2 — were taken to Flagler Hospital. The woman had minor injuries and neither child was injured.

Two dozen plus Flagler County Sheriff’s Office employees will have to wait for a final hearing before a workers compensation claims judge. The hearing regarding claims filed relating to alleged health issues tied to the Sheriff’s Office Operations Center in Bunnell was postponed today. A new date hasn’t been set, but must happen before July 31.

If you saw smoke in south Putnam County Tuesday chances are it was related to a 300-acre prescribed burn. The burn was on private property north of Fruitland near Beulah Church Road and Kitner Road. Putnam County Fire Rescue, Emergency Management and Sheriff’s Office were on site. In a separate incident, Crescent City Fire Department responded to a small grass fire on Clear Lake Road.

A 37-year-old Melrose woman is in Putnam County jail without bond facing multiple charges. Jennifer Dawn Lewis, formerly of Starke, led Putnam County deputies on a high speed chase shortly after midnight Tuesday before she was caught after crossing into Marion County. Lewis was reported being wanted for a home invasion robbery in Columbia County, involved in a hit-and-run in Clay County and as a person of interest in an armed burglary in Putnam. Putnam deputies were tipped off she was in Florahome headed for Interlachen Lake Estates. She was stopped in the area of Silver Lake Drive and Fowler Street, but after being pulled over she put the vehicle in reverse and attempted to hit a patrol car. A high speed chase followed along County Road 315 and ended in Marion. She faces a variety of charges including several related to drugs and more change may be filed.

St. Johns County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the death of a woman found by the roadside on State Road 13. The body was discovered Tuesday evening near the RiverTown Community, according to a Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Cause of death is unclear. Foul play is not suspected.

A grant from CVS means people in Melrose will be able to get Vial of Life packets. The Melrose Fire Rescue station on Cypress Street has the vials available. They contain medical information and documents that are posted on a refrigerator where fire-rescue personnel can easily find them. Seniors and people with disabilities or a chronic illness can get the vials free from the station.

Putnam County School District is seeking parental input for the Title 1 Parent & Family Survey. The information allows the school district to judge how well the program serves children and parents and guardians. You can get the survey on individual school websites. Deadline is April 12. More than 300 responses have been received so far.

At the Putnam County Fair tonight sees the judging for the steer show and Thursday heifers will be judged. The steer and swine sale is Friday at the fairgrounds in East Palatka. County youth raise the animals throughout the year and show at the fair. Kudos were being handed out to swine judge Paul Wiggins from Georgia for his work Wednesday night. As he explained early on t”he show is not all about the animals, it’s all about the kids.”

This is Marcia Lane, your roving reporter.