Putnam County is looking at more jobs in the next few years. Seminole Electric Cooperative CEO Lisa Johnson confirmed Thursday the company is scheduled to begin construction on a new natural gas-fired plant at the Palatka facility in early 2020. Construction on the $727 million project should be finished in 2023 with 200 workers per month needed for the project. Johnson spoke at a Putnam Chamber of Commerce get-together at the Larimer Arts Center.
A 19-year-old Interlachen man is in jail without bond after a possible school shooting threat. It’s not a new situation for Baylee Crowe who on May 9 of last school year was arrested after posting on Snapchat a photo of himself with a machine gun and the question “No school tomorrow?” For that he was arrested. After being unable to post a $25,000 bail the then-Interlachen High School senior was allowed out but required to wear an ankle monitor and have no contact with Interlachen High students. On Tuesday he approached Interlachen High students at a bus stop and reportedly spoke of coming back and shooting up the school. On Wednesday the students reported the remarks to school officials and Crowe had his bond revoked and was back in jail. Additional charges may be filed.
A Jacksonville Beach man involved in a wreck, kidnapping and high-speed police chase Wednesday in St. Johns County has died. Matthew Bennett, 35, was facing a variety of charges including kidnapping a woman who stopped to help him after a wreck on J. Turner Butler Boulevard. When stopped in St. Johns County for erratic driving, Bennett was bleeding from a gash from the earlier wreck. The woman escaped the car and he fought with deputies, stealing the unmarked vehicle of an off-duty lieutenant who had stopped to help. A high-speed chase ensued with Bennett stopped on Interstate 95 near the State Road 206 exit. He was taken to the hospital where he died Thursday.
Putnam County Sheriff’s detectives are following up on a report of a man attacked around 5:30 a.m. Thursday in the area of State Road 26 and Centre Street in Melrose. The victim said an unknown man in a white vehicle attacked him, then fled.
This Saturday the Palatka Art League presents a Saxy Art Show from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Tilghman House at 324 River Street in Palatka. Arts and crafts will be on display and for sale. Ice cream and drinks may be purchased. Admission is free with live music by Quintessential Saxophones.
You can enjoy breakfast Saturday morning at both Interlachen United Methodist Church and St. James United Methodist Church in Palatka. St. James also offers the chance to learn how to play pickleball.
Saturday evening Bert Hodge American Legion Post 45 holds a spaghetti dinner at their Osceola Street post in Palatka. Junior members are overseeing a bake sale.
Today the Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas Research Reserve celebrates its 20th year. Events are going on at the Visitor Center in Ponte Vedra Beach and Princess Place Preserve in Palm Coast. Also being celebrated today, two new residents at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Farm. The duo, a pair of sloths, will be part of a new exhibit.
On Saturday in St. Augustine the 12th annual commemoration of the end of the Second Seminole War will be held at the National Cemetery. Activities begin at 9:30 a.m. at St. Francis Barracks with the ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Put on by the West Point Society of North Florida, the parade and ceremony will honor former National Guard Historian Greg Moore. Moore was the guiding light for many years and will be featured on the sixth coin in the series. He designed the first. The Second Seminole War was officially declared over in 1842 and the remains of 1,400 men killed in the war are buried beneath three pyramids at the cemetery.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
