- April 18, 2024
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The Flagler County Sheriff’s office will hold National Night Out, a free drug- and crime-prevention awareness event,at 5-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Veterans Park in Flagler Beach, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.
The annual event features demonstrations by the Sheriff’s Office. There will be Halloween treats, safety information, games, face painting, bounce houses, food and beverages, entertainment and more.
Information wi be available about about a variety of Flagler County youth organizations through the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Police Athletic League.
The Sheriff’s Office plans to have its Mobile Command unit, SWAT unit and other units on hand for display.
The Sheriff’s Office PAL is an independent nonprofit corporation committed to “Cops Helping Kids.’’
The Flagler Beach Police Department is honored to have this event in Veterans Park, Capt. Matt Doughney said.
“We’ll be focusing our efforts on safety related to firearms, bicycles and skateboards,” he said in the news release. “We’ll be handing out free gun locks, free bicycle helmets, free bicycle lights and free skateboard helmets. The goal is to make our city safe for everyone.”
Several other local agencies plan to participate, including:
“National Night Out is a great night for the community to come out for fun as well as being reminded about crime prevention,” Sheriff James L. Manfre said in the news release. “It’s good for everyone.”
Flagler County’s public safety computer equipment and software upgrades are complete, and the system is operating smoothly, according to a Flagler County government news release.
“This is a big sigh of relief for us,” Jarrod Shupe, Flagler County’s director of information technology, said in the news release. “We redeveloped and rebuilt everything with a redundant server system and we’ve replaced all the switches.”
The previous system had one CAD server. It now has three CAD servers and a total of eight virtual servers to help avoid a system overload.
“Jarrod and everyone in his department did a great job configuring the CAD servers to eliminate potential problems,” County Administrator Craig Coffey said in the news release. “He came up with a great system – a great solution.”
Flagler County commissioners voted in December 2015 to “fast-track” upgrading hardware at both the Sheriff’s Office and the county, which cost about $500,000 making the total expenditure for the improvements $1.2 million.
“It was very important for us to get this taken care of right away,” Commission Chairwoman Barbara Revels said in the news release. “We want to ensure that we are doing everything we can to keep our residents safe.”
Flagler County is offering the Career Online High School program to adults, 19 and older, who want to earn a career certificate and a high school diploma, according to a Flagler County government news release.
“We are very excited about being able to offer this program here in Flagler County,” Library Director Holly Albanese said in the news release. “We are able to do this through a partnership with Gale, part of Cengage Learning. We have 15 scholarships to offer for the year.”
Career Online High School is a private high school diploma and career certification program. It was created by the state of Florida and is administered by Smart Horizons Career Online Education.
It is accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement, which means that schools like Daytona State College and the University of Florida will accept a diploma from Career Online High School.
A high school diploma from an accredited school may also provide a professional benefit for those already in the workforce without one.
“This is a great program for people who have a high school certificate of completion, because they will earn an actual diploma when they finish the program,” Flagler County Commissioner George Hanns said in the news release.
It is recommended that applicants have attended ninth grade, but that is not mandatory.
“Someone would have to be pretty motivated, though, if they haven’t had any high school,” Albanese said in the news release. “Students are only allowed 18 months to complete the program.”
Applicants must have a Flagler County Public Library Card. Those who have already earned a GED equivalency or a high school diploma do not qualify.
“It doesn’t matter where they started high school; it could have been out of state,” Albanese said in the news release. “The number of classes required to complete the program depends on how many credits transfer in to the program.”
There is an online assessment and interviews at the library as part of the admissions process. Those accepted into the program can earn one of eight career certifications including: childcare and education; certified protection officer (security); office management; certified transportation services; homeland security; general career preparation; retail customer service skills; and, food service and customer service skills.
“Students will actually complete this step before they start the high school curriculum,” Albanese said in the news release. “They will create a career portfolio and have this extra certificate to boost their resume.”
Coursework is web-based. Students are not required to purchase textbooks. Materials can be accessed from either a laptop or desktop computers. Tablets, iPads and smartphones are not supported.
“We will make special accommodations for students who need to use library computers,” Albanese said in the news release. “Tutors, called academic coaches, are available and they are state certified.”
Additionally, the Flagler County Public Library offers an online service called “Learn Now,” to help all students with their coursework.
“We are pleased to be able to provide this opportunity to our residents who would like to attend college,” Joe Mayer, who is both the director of Community Services and Human Resources for Flagler County, said in the news release. “This program can help set apart those workers who are unable to attend college from other applicants.”
