PALM COAST
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 6, NO. 34
FREE
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2015
Let’s talk survival For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we brought together four survivors to talk wigs, chemo and cramming in as much life as possible. PAGE 3
A song for Mondo WALK TO REMEMBER PAGE 21 COMING SOON?
Check out the restaurants that Buxton suggests could be a good fit for Palm Coast.
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Four shots ‘He kept pushing me mentally,’ Anna Pehota told 911 dispatchers, after she shot her husband. JONATHAN SIMMONS
Photos by Anastasia Pagello
Bill Aber, who was inspired to sing karaoke by Mondo, sings, “I Think I Love You” by the Partridge Family.
Friends gathered at Johnny D’s to celebrate the life of Karaoke DJ Mondo Henriques who died Sept. 24.
NEWS EDITOR
The Pehota house in the Hammock was always quiet, neighbors said. But it was chaos the afternoon of Sept. 23 as deputies ordered Anna Pehota, 75, out of the house and handcuffed her after she called 911 saying she’d shot her husband, John. Neighbors began to gather in the background, and the Pehotas’ Pomeranian dog, Elvis, slipped out of the home and began tearing across the street as deputies tried to catch it. Deputies let Pehota out of a patrol car, in handcuffs, so the dog would go to her. It was the last time Pehota would see the dog, or her home, before deputies took her to the county jail and charged her with second-degree murder in her husband’s death. “She slid down on the ground, and the dog went in her lap,” said neighbor Ruth Rupprecht, who took care of Elvis until the Pehotas’ children could take it. SEE ‘SHE HAS’ PAGE 4
ANASTASIA PAGELLO STAFF WRITER
The event was originally planned as a fundraiser to help offset the cost of cancer treatments, but instead became a celebration of his life. Friends and family of the late karaoke DJ, Mondo Henriques, filled Johnny D’s Bar and Grill on Thursday, Sept. 24. Henriques died from cancer on Saturday, Sept. 19. Realizing his life was coming to an end, Henriques made one last
request to his close friend, Johnny DeLellis, owner of Johnny D’s Bar and Grill, “I am feeling so bad, I do not want to bring people down,” Mondo Henriques said. “I do not want tears at the celebration, I want everyone to just have fun.” Henriques’ request was fulfilled with a long night of his friends singing and dancing to karaoke. Henriques, who was a DJ in Flagler County for 25 years, inspired many of the locals who frequent the bars to sing karaoke for the first time. “Mondo was my first karaoke
Peggy McBride shares a personal memory she shared with Mondo Henriques.
“Forgive quickly, kiss longer, enjoy life and Sallie Long takes a moment to collect herself after reading a poem dedicated to Mondo.
mentor who inspired me to sing karaoke and enjoy life,” Bill Aber said after he sang the song, “I Think I Love You,” by the Partridge Family, in honor of Henriques. Peggy McBride shared her favorite memory with Henriques: “We sang many duets together, but after one particular song, ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore,’ by Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand, Mondo reached over the table and gave me flowers. It was the best memory of many.”
never be afraid to sing out loud.” Words from Karaoke DJ Mondo Henriques, as remembered by a friend of 15 years, Jason Gilliam