Oct. 7 – Roving reporter

Posted on October 7, 2019 by PluggedInto in Flagler, MARCIA LANE, YOUR ROVING REPORTER, Putnam, St. Johns // 0 Comments

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).

Palatka City Commissioners had to vote several times Friday before they chose William Shanahan as the new city manager during a special meeting. Shanahan currently is manager of York County, S.C. Mayor Terrill Hill said the exact date when Shanahan will come to Palatka still has to be worked out. Meanwhile, interim city manager Lee Garner will continue overseeing the city. Garner was in the running for the job at the behest of Hill and many thought he would be the man selected out of five candidates. The special meeting at 3:45 p.m. Friday was called so that citizens could have input according to Hill, although that wasn’t advertised.

The newly reorganized Palatka Recreation and Cultural Resources department for the city of Palatka holds an open house today from 4 to 7 p.m. at the City Hall annex next to City Hall on Second Street. Head Eddie Cutwright will give an overview of plans for the program that includes the local PAL program run through the Palatka Police Department.

If you suffered Hurricane Dorian related damage, help is available in Flagler County where erosion damage occurred. Disaster assistance applications are available through the Residential Mitigation Retrofit Program and the SHIP Disaster Assistance Program. Application period ends Friday, Oct. 18. To schedule an application appointment, call Devrie Paradowski at 386-586-2324, option 5.

A 19-year-old Jacksonville woman died Friday night in a crash in Ponte Vedra Beach, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Alondra Janira Lugo was studying criminal justice at Edward Waters College and was headed home from her job at McDonald’s when the wreck occurred. FHP says she was northbound on A1A near Corona Road around 11:40 p.m. when she lost control of her Nissan and crashed into a tree. She died at the scene. Her passenger, Jensy Ramos Vigil, 19, of Jacksonville was taken to Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

In Putnam County Sunday a head-on collision on State Road 20 at 12:30 p.m. left the road shut down for several hours. Florida Highway Patrol worked the accident at 20 and Galilee Shore Drive in West Putnam. Details are pending.

Beginning Tuesday access to and from U.S. 17 at Butler Drive in Putnam County will be closed temporarily. The closing is tied in with the widening project of U.S. 17 from Horse Landing Road to the north approach of Dunn’s Creek Bridge. Butler Drive will reopen once the new northbound lanes of 17 north of the bridge are full reconstructed. The $36.5 million widening project began in February 2018 and is expected be completed by GLF Construction by summer 2021, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.

This is Marcia Lane, your roving reporter.