PALM COAST
Observer
VOLLEYBALL RALLIES FOR THE CAUSE 18-19
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 6, NO 37
FREE
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2015
BAND MATTERS Tuba or not tuba? With two middle school programs feeding two high school programs, band is big in Flagler County, and it’s getting bigger. How does it impact students, families, schools? SEE PAGES 2-3
CHARTER CHAT
Belle Terre pool’s future: membership of 400, or it closes
HELP WHERE YOU ARE
Readers have their own opinions about whether Palm Coast needs a Charter review.
LETTERS: PAGE 6
Council rejects Charter review proposal No council members backed Steven Nobile’s motion to establish a review committee. JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
Palm Coast will not create a committee to review its city Charter. City Councilman Steve Nobile, who has for months pressed for a citizen committee-led Charter review with little support from his fellow council members, brought the matter to a vote at the council’s Tuesday, Oct. 20 meeting. No one seconded his motion, nor an alternate motion by Councilwoman Heidi Shipley that the council itself review the Charter. Both motions died for lack of a second. Councilman Jason DeLorenzo seconded Nobile’s motion briefly only in order to explain why he wouldn’t back it, rescinding his second after he’d said what he wanted to say. “I find myself conflicted because the actual Charter review, and the civic part of a Charter review, I actually find to be a good idea,” DeLorenzo said. “But I still cannot get over the fact SEE CHARTER PAGE 12
The Advisory Committee is confident it can sell an additional 290 memberships by deadline. JACQUE ESTES STAFF WRITER
Epic Church members Roth Britton, Kale Britton, Matt Morgan and Desiree Spehar put their faith into action, holding a service project in 15 locations around Flagler County as part of their annual initiative. PAGE 21
REMEMBERING KYMORA People who never knew the family have shown support; it has made a difference. JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
Jonathan Simmons
Kymora’s mother, Ciana Matthews, holds up Kymora’s last school photo.
Dozens of condolence cards, written in the wavering, blocky print of elementary-school-age hands, cover the table and mantle at the home of Ciana Matthews, whose 7-year-old daughter Kymora Christian was killed when a car struck her Oct. 7 as she waited for her school bus. Reading the cards from Kymora’s schoolmates, Matthews says, brings her some relief, as does watching the videos Kymora liked to take of herself with her iPad — singing, dancing, or narrating pretend play with her dolls. SEE ‘THIS IS WHERE’ PAGE 11
“Kymora was just a very happy kid. ... She always had a smile on her face, and she just brought joy.” Ciana Matthews
School Board member Andy Dance predicted at the meeting Tuesday, Oct. 20: “Not everybody is going to leave happy tonight.” The subject was the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Club, and the chairs in the board room were filled with different groups, each with their own agenda but all with the same goal: to keep the pool open. The School Board voted 3-2 to reduce hours to 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and close on Sunday, effective Monday, Nov. 2. The motion also put a deadline of Jan. 19, 2016, for the Belle Terre Swim and Racquet Advisory Committee to sign up 400 paid members. As of the meeting, the committee had 110 memberships, all renewals. “By the Jan. 19 decision date, we have the money, and it’s in our pocket, and we are not funding it from somewhere else, or we shut it down,” board member Sue Dickinson said. Superintendent Jacob Oliva’s initial proposal gave the Advisory Committee until March to reach the 400 membership benchmark, something that did not sit well with some board members who believe the process has dragged on long enough. Board members Dickinson, Trevor Tucker and Janet McDonald were not in favor of extending the final decision SEE COMMITTEE PAGE 4