Posts tagged Community
Flagler College awarded three state grants for 125th Anniversary celebration
Nov 13th
Historically, the Solarium served as an area where guests could gather for conversation, enjoy entertainment, or watch activities taking place in town or along the bay front. Rehabilitation of this room and the fourth floor will permit similar activities, as well as provide for an exceptional event venue. The Solarium remains as the last significant space to be restored in the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, and the room is quite different than any other.
The fundraising campaign began in 2009, and since that time the College has secured more than $1,500,000 from private sources for the project. In honor of their lead gift, the Solarium will be renamed to recognize historic preservation supporters and philanthropists Allen and Delores Lastinger.
All of the projects are expected to begin in fall of 2012.
Flagler College has chosen St. Augustine-based A.D. Davis Construction, which specializes in custom construction for commercial, residential, renovation and historic restoration, to complete the Solarium project.
Projects that were approved for funding are:
• $350,000 for restoration of the Solarium of the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a National Historic Landmark, additionally honoring the 100th anniversary of Henry Flagler’s completion of the Overseas Railway and his importance to the development of Florida;
• $50,000 through a #1 ranked Acquisition and Development grant for restoration of the Solarium; and
• $25,000 through a #1 ranked Community Education grant for the 125th Anniversary Exhibition project.
Hotel Ponce de Leon — Solarium
The twin towers of the Ponce flank a great dome topped by a copper lantern. These elements define the St. Augustine skyline and have done so since the time of the Hotel’s opening in 1888. They represent Florida’s first “boom” era; serve as landmarks for travelers on land and water; and are the featured architectural elements in many photos. In 1964, prior to St. Augustine’s 400th anniversary, the City established height limitations relative to these building elements: no building would be constructed taller than the towers on the Ponce. Those standards remain in place today, helping to make the St. Augustine skyline one of the most photographed in the nation and reflecting the city’s longstanding commitment to preservation of its cultural resources.
The grant projects have been financed in part with historic preservation grant assistance provided by the Bureau of Historic Preservation, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.
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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
Flagler College theater department presents ‘Six Degrees of Separation’
Oct 15th
The story centers on Ouisa Kittredge, a Fifth Avenue socialite and Flan, her purveyor of high-art husband. Their privileged world makes them easy prey for a con artist who mysteriously shows up at their front door-injured and bleeding-claiming to be Sidney Poitier’s son and a close college friend of their Ivy League children.
The Flagler production stars Caulene Hudson as Ouisa, Micah Laird as Flan and Nick Khan as Paul, the con-artist who charms his way into many upper-crust homes along the Upper East Side with his wit and insider knowledge.
“I think it’s a script that will leave the viewer thinking,” said director Britton Corry, of the play that premiered in 1990. “In this country, most of us are not what we might wish other to think we are, but even though we may see ourselves as being worlds apart from many people, there are only six degrees of separation.”
Show times for “Six Degrees of Separation” will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19-20 and 26-27 with 2 p.m. matinees Oct. 21 and 28. Tickets are $15 and are available from noon-5 p.m. at the auditorium box office or one hour prior to curtain.
Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College is at 14 Granada St. in St. Augustine. For more info, call (904) 826-8600.
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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
News from the City of St. Augustine
Oct 14th
Prevention message and this year’s theme, “Have 2 Ways Out,”
gets extra emphasis from St. Augustine Fire Department this month
For the last 90 years, the week in which October 9 falls has been designated as Fire Prevention Week, but for the St. Augustine Fire Department, what is nationally a week is locally a month. Taking advantage of the nation-wide emphasis on fire prevention in October each year, the St. Augustine Fire Department uses the themed month to educate the public on fire safety.
Much of that education takes place in the community’s elementary schools, pre-schools and daycare centers where fire personnel are greeted by an audience ready to listen and willing to learn. According to John Rayno, St. Augustine’s Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Chief, having firefighters visit schools is a very effective way to get information into the home.
“For instance, we spend time talking about the importance of not just having smoke alarms, but taking the time to test them. After one of our visits, I’m sure there are parents being asked to check smoke alarms by students we met that day, and that’s good,” said Rayno in an interview on WFCF’s weekly program, The Break Room. To hear the entire interview, visit www.breakroom.info.
This year’s Fire Prevention Week’s theme is “Have 2 Ways Out,” focusing on the need for escape plans to incorporate two exits for each room. Taking stock of available exits is essential to every escape plan, whether for home or business, and those plans need to be well known and practiced.
While the month of October has an emphasis on prevention education, fire department personnel are ready to bring tailor made programming to civic associations, businesses, living facilities, churches and anywhere else a group wants to know more about fire prevention.
For more information about National Fire Prevention Week visit www.fpw.org. For more information about the St. Augustine Fire Department’s fire prevention programs contact the department at 904.825.1098.
See also this related story:
http://www.staugustinegovernment.com/the-city/featured-stories-archive/FirePrev.cfm
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City plants 23 trees in just two days
Live oaks, red cedars and magnolias replace trees
removed following tree assessment program
If it is true that any day is made better by the planting of a tree then last week the City of St. Augustine gave the community some great days by planting over 20 new trees in just a two-day period.
Most of the plantings are replacement trees for those that had to be removed following receipt of the results of a tree assessment that identified 15 trees in the city right-of-way that were deemed to be so far decayed as to be unsafe, commonly referred to as hazard trees. The inventory was made possible by an Urban and Community Forestry grant provided through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services which provided $6,000 that was matched by the city. The funds made possible the long overdue inventory and assessment of over 500 trees in the city rights-of-way and parks within the historic areas of St. Augustine.
The new trees included live oaks that were planted along the most northern section of San Marco Ave. and Vickers Field, magnolias planted on Riberia St. next to Francis Field and red cedars along Flagler Blvd. and at the Visitors Information Center.
The Urban and Community Forestry grant was used to retain the services of an International Society of Arboriculture Board Certified Arborist to provide the initial tree inventory baseline data which provides the basis for the development of an urban forestry management program. That program specifies recommended management practices, provides guidance for the City Manager and maintenance supervisor in allocation of tree maintenance resources, and documents the inventory and required maintenance.
For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 904.825.1040.
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Avenida Menendez crosswalk installation
necessitates lane closure
Traffic reduced to one lane in each direction
The installation of crosswalks at two locations on Avenida Menendez will necessitate the reduction of traffic to two lanes, one for northbound traffic and one for southbound, in two locations on two different occasions in coming weeks. The crosswalks at Fort Alley and Cuna Street, currently delineated with stamped asphalt to simulate brick, will be replaced with historic, authentic brick.
To accommodate the extensive work, Avenida Menendez will be reduced to two lane, two way traffic for a period of four days lasting from mid-day Sunday through Wednesday evening. At no time will Avenida Menendez be closed, but traffic will be slowed through the area during the work. The work is scheduled for:
• Fort Alley crosswalk installation: mid-day Sunday, October 21 through the evening of Wednesday, October 24.
• Cuna Street crosswalk installation: mid-day Sunday, October 28 through the evening of Wednesday, October 31.
The crosswalk installation is the final element of an extensive project that began in early February of this year and includes extensive pedestrian improvements along south Castillo Drive that have included the installation of new street lights, widening of sidewalks, and improved signalization for both pedestrians and vehicles. Funding for the project was secured by Congressman John Mica who, during a visit to St. Augustine, noticed the challenges pedestrians had in the congested area lying between popular St. George Street and the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. He then set about seeking an appropriation to fund the changes needed to alleviate those challenges.
For more information, contact the Planning and Building Department at 904.825.1065.
Source: City of St. Augustine