May 2 – 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 two-and-half-year-old boy drowned this morning in the Melrose area. Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said the boy was reported missing around 8:15 a.m. after last being seen at 7:30. Deputies were dispatched

and the boy was found in a nearby lake off Seminole Ridge Road. Efforts to resuscitate were unsuccessful

National Day of Prayer is being held around the nation. Congress created the event in 1952 and President Harry Truman signed it in to law. This morning Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly hosted an event at Hilton Garden Inn. In Palatka a ceremony is scheduled at noon at the Gazebo at the Putnam County Courthouse.

Putnam County students are in the news. Tonight at 7 p.m. listen to WIYD 1260 AM or 104.9 FM to hear the Palatka High School Girls Softball Team battle Santa Fe High School in Alachua County for the district championship. At 7:30 p.m. it’s opening night for high school students from around Putnam County as Disney’s Newsies takes to the stage at the C.L. Overturf Jr. Sixth Grade Center. Jim Pignato is directing the musical that’s this weekend and next. Tickets are available at Ralph’s House of Flowers.

St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information on a drive-by shooting on Scheider Way in West Augustine just after midnight Tuesday. Multiple shots hit a couch in the house and narrowly missed a nine-year-old girl. Several other children also were in the house, according to the grandmother.

Two motorcycle accidents in Flagler County Wednesday left two cyclists with head injuries. Florida Highway Patrol reported the first accident on I-95 happened around 6:50 a.m. when a 2015 Suzuki motorcycle heading south rear-ended a Volkswagen bus. Motorcyclist Daniel Castilloveiti, 34, who lives in Palm Coast, was seriously injured. He was wearing a helmet but it cracked. He was taken to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach. Shortly after 2:30 p.m. another motorcyclist-vehicle crash led to a second seriously injured motorcyclist. That accident happened outside of Matanzas High School.

Four of St. Johns County’s seven high schools have made the list of 100 best public high schools in Florida. The annual rankings are put out by U.S. News & World Report.

The 66th annual Mug Race is set for Saturday although for the second year captains registered will be leaving out of the Crystal Cove area north of Palatka. For years the race left off the city dock making for a spectacular view. Rudder Club of Jacksonville hosts the event and the Palatka Yacht Club is a sponsor. The race was founded by four Palatka area residents sailing back from a race to Jacksonville. Prize for the first race was a drinking mug. Gene O’Connor is the only remaining sailor from the original quartet.

This is Marcia Lane, your roving reporter.