July 23 – 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).

Putnam County students return to school August 12 and local businesses are seeking ways to help teachers have needed supplies. A School Supplies for Teaches drive is on with drop off locations at all four Beck Group dealerships in Palatka as well as the Palatka Daily News. You can also drop off items at WPLK/WIYD. Supplies for teachers, who often help supply students, include everything from dry erase markers to copy paper to ear buds.

Buc-ee’s, the Texas-size gas station company out of Texas, probably won’t open in St. Johns County before 2021, say company officials. The station is to include a 53,000-square foot convenience store and 104 gas pumps and will go near the intersection of International Golf Parkway and World Commerce Parkway on 14 acres. According to Channel 4, the company is still developing plans.

Flagler County officials have developed a plan to allow the Sheriff’s Office to take over more of the county courthouse at least until a new operations center is built for law enforcement. County Clerk Tom Bexley who had already found 8,000 square feet for the Sheriff’s Office, has agreed to another 5,000 square feet going to the office. Temporary walls will go up on the first floor that will keep the clerk’s staff and the sheriff’s staff and confidential documents and transactions separate.  The move also will mean moving equipment, records and staff.

A Jacksonville woman who left two children in a parked car in Palatka is in jail on two counts of child neglect. Frankhiria Taylor, 22, was shopping at the Palatka Mall when she said one of her children began misbehaving and she took both out to the car. Taylor told police she was only gone a few minutes; video showed she left them 13 minutes. Police were waiting for her and first responders said while the two children were okay they had an excessive amount of sweat on their faces. A store employee and another witness told police they saw Taylor beating her son in the store. Taylor was allowed to have someone pick up the children before she was taken to jail where she remained Monday on a $5,000 bond.

Flagler County and the U.S. Corps of Engineers hold a ceremonial signing of a beach renourishment plan for 2.6 miles of Flagler Beach today. The plan includes a 10-foot dune and beach extension. Cost, to be split between the county and the Corps, is projected at $100 million over 50 years.

A Palatka woman is in jail on a $15,000 bond for aggravated battery after she allegedly stabbed someone in the head after an argument. The two were arguing on a street corner outside their home when Patricia Turner, 46, reportedly attacked the other with a sharp object, according to the Palatka Police Department. Turner was released from prison last year and has served time for convictions in Putnam and St. Lucie counties.

Thunderstorms Monday brought some relief from sweltering heat and more storms are expected today. In Palatka two rain showers brought about 1.3/4 inches of rain Monday. The showers come just in time for “Hot Enough for Ya Day”. That’s now being celebrated annually, says East Palatkan Judy Bailey. Today the heat index is expected to be 100 degrees, which is actually cooler than it has been.

This is Marcia Lane, your roving reporter.

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