Armed Robbery in St. Augustine
Aug 1st
Detectives with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Robbery/Homicide Section are investigating an Armed Robbery that occurred in the 1700 block of U.S. 1 South (Marshalls) shortly after 5:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
The suspect, who was described as a black male in his mid to late 20’s, approx 5′ 03” to 5′ 06” tall and between 125 and 135lbs, demanded money from clerks working at the store. According to eyewitnesses, the suspect had a black handgun in his waistband and left the store heading Northbound on foot carrying a Crown Royal bag with an undisclosed amount of money. He was further described as wearing blue jeans, a bright yellow shirt with a white undershirt, oversized eyeglasses, and a black hat.
A Sheriff’s Office K-9 tracked the suspect to the rear of the store where the scent ended. Investigators believe it is possible a vehicle may have been waiting on the suspect in the area behind Marshalls. Anyone who may have been in the area or may have any information related to this crime is asked to contact Detective Tolbert with the Robbery/Homicide Section or Crime Stoppers.
Source: St. Johns County Sheriffs Office
Abare Elected As Head of ICUF Council of Presidents
Aug 1st
Flagler College president William T. Abare, Jr., Ed.D., has been elected as the chairman of the Council of Presidents of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be elected chairman of the Council of Presidents of ICUF, an association that includes 31 private, not-for-profit, educational institutions all based in Florida and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools,” said Abare. “My highest priority will be to ensure that the State Legislature continues to support the ICUF institutions by funding the Florida Resident Access Grant.”
As chairman, Abare will have the responsibility of chairing the meetings of the Council of Presidents; appointing standing committees of the COP; working with the President of ICUF in developing agendas for all COP meetings and the annual retreat of the COP; representing ICUF institutions at state, regional and national meetings; and advocating to the Florida Legislature on behalf of ICUF institutions state funding for student financial aid programs.
“Bill Abare is a recognized higher education leader in Florida and he always places the need for quality access for Florida’s students in the forefront of education policy discussions,” said Dr. Ed Moore, president of ICUF. “His fellow ICUF presidents choose Bill to lead our organization based on his talent, his passion and his heart. The ICUF organization is pleased he will be our chair during these interesting times in Florida.”
ICUF institutions serve more than 150,000 students at over 140 sites around Florida.
Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 24 majors, 29 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly feature Flagler as a college that offers quality education at a relatively low cost; tuition is $23,690, including room and board. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for the historic beauty of its campus. The main building is Ponce de Leon Hall, built in 1887 as a luxury resort by Henry Flagler, who co-founded the Standard Oil Company with John D. Rockefeller. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.
Source: Flagler College
Certified Local Government training scheduled in conjunction with state preservation meeting
Aug 1st
Even though St. Augustine is synonymous with historic preservation, hosting the state’s most prestigious historic preservationists is nonetheless a very special event.
For the second time in just six years, the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation will hold its annual meeting in St. Augustine. Set for the week of May 13, 2013, the conference will be preceded by a Certified Local Government training workshop made possible by a grant to the City of St. Augustine from the Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation.
The CLG workshops follow guidelines set by the Bureau and have been held in various locations across the state to educate and train historic preservation commissions and their related professionals that deal with identifying and regulating historic and archaeological resources.
St. Augustine received its Certified Local Government in 1986, the initial year of the program in Florida, because of its strong historic and archaeological preservation ordinance. City staff and the Historic Architectural Review Board are responsible for carrying out the CLG responsibilities.
Over the years, the city has been the beneficiary of numerous grants available to it because of it being a CLG, grants that haves supported the research necessary to inventory thousands of historic resources and develop nominations for seven National Register Historic Districts.
The training workshop will cover a variety of topics that include basic operations of a CLG as well as regional issues and challenges facing historic preservation commissions.
Following the training workshop, the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation will hold its annual conference. When St. Augustine last hosted the conference in 2006 it drew over 500 attendees, a record for the organization.
Topics range from historic building technologies and management plans, archaeological preservation and interpretation, and cemetery and landscape preservation using the culturally diverse resources of St. Augustine and St. Johns County for tours, venues, and interactive opportunities.
Both the CLG training workshop and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation annual conference are certain to draw the most knowledgeable preservation professionals from across the state and region as well as several national figures in the field from both the public and private sectors. And certainly, there is no more appropriate setting for historic preservation professionals to meet than in St. Augustine.
For more information, contact Jenny Wolfe, Historic Preservation and Special Projects Planner, at 904.209.4326.
