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FPU contractors injured restoring power to island

News Staff
Friday, October 23, 2020
Two Florida Public Utilities contractors were injured late Monday afternoon while working to restore power to Amelia Island, with one receiving third-degree burns, according to media reports. The accident left the island’s more than 30,000 residents in the dark for more than three hours.
Construction has already begun on the Myrtle Creek bridge and is expected to last for months with a similar project also planned for Simpson Creek bridge, pictured, both on Heckscher Drive. BETH JONES/NEWS-LEADER

Construction has already begun on the Myrtle Creek bridge and is expected to last for months with a similar project also planned for Simpson Creek bridge, pictured, both on Heckscher Drive. BETH JONES/NEWS-LEADER

Heckscher Drive bridge construction causing delays

News Staff
Friday, October 23, 2020
While people driving over the Myrtle Creek bridge can expect delays for the next seven or eight months, cyclists will be better able to navigate that portion of the Timucuan Trail after the Florida Department of Transportation installs a bike lane on the bridge, as well as one on the Simpson Creek...
The Fernandina Beach Planning Advisory Board will undertake a rewrite of the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code in 2021 and provided this flowchart to city commissioners during a meeting on Tuesday. CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH

The Fernandina Beach Planning Advisory Board will undertake a rewrite of the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code in 2021 and provided this flowchart to city commissioners during a meeting on Tuesday. CITY OF FERNANDINA BEACH

PAB chair discusses document rewrites with City Commission

News Staff
Friday, October 23, 2020
At its regular meeting Tuesday, the Fernandina Beach City Commission heard an annual report from Genece Minshew, chair of the Planning Advisory Board, the city’s local planning agency responsible for zoning and Future Land Use Map amendments, Comprehensive Plan amendments, Land Development Code...
American Legion Post 54 and the city of Fernandina Beach will host the annual Veterans Day Parade at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7. Line up will begin at 10 a.m. in Veterans Park at South 11th Street and Atlantic Avenue. To register to participate in the parade, contact Chris Watrous at wat88@yahoo.com or (740) 253-3437. Do not call the American Legion to register. FILE PHOTO

American Legion Post 54 and the city of Fernandina Beach will host the annual Veterans Day Parade at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7. Line up will begin at 10 a.m. in Veterans Park at South 11th Street and Atlantic Avenue. To register to participate in the parade, contact Chris Watrous at wat88@yahoo.com or (740) 253-3437. Do not call the American Legion to register. FILE PHOTO

City reconsidering end-of-year special events

News Staff
Friday, October 23, 2020
A Veterans Day parade, Christmas parade, lighting of the community Christmas tree and New Year’s Eve Shrimp Drop on the Amelia River waterfront are traditions in the city of Fernandina Beach, but will those events take place during a pandemic?
Sabrina and Joey Helms chose to honor their son’s legacy by organizing a charity golf tournament to benefit the Collin Helms Memorial Scholarship Fund, which will award scholarship money to Fernandina Beach High School baseball players. BETH JONES/NEWS-LEADER

Sabrina and Joey Helms chose to honor their son’s legacy by organizing a charity golf tournament to benefit the Collin Helms Memorial Scholarship Fund, which will award scholarship money to Fernandina Beach High School baseball players. BETH JONES/NEWS-LEADER

Helms tourney set for Monday

News Staff
Friday, October 23, 2020
This year has been trying for most, but for the Helms family of Fernandina Beach, 2020 has been heartbreaking. Joey and Sabrina Helms lost their 17-year-old son this year. Collin was a 17-year-old junior at Fernandina Beach High School when the pandemic started.
Logo of the Nassau County Sheriff's Office

Logo of the Nassau County Sheriff's Office

Deputy kills man in Callahan

News Staff
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Amanda Ream / Community Newspapers Inc. A second officer-involved fatality in less than two weeks occurred Friday. This time, the person shot was a man allegedly wielding a knife during a domestic dispute in Callahan.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration publicized a vast database on Long Term Bridge Performance – LTBP – for bridges across the country, in every state and county, including Nassau. The database goes back two decades, in some cases, on each of the bridges in reference to the condition rating and evaluation; structure type and materials; inspection; load rating; and traffic and roadway data. Federal Highway Administration

Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration publicized a vast database on Long Term Bridge Performance – LTBP – for bridges across the country, in every state and county, including Nassau. The database goes back two decades, in some cases, on each of the bridges in reference to the condition rating and evaluation; structure type and materials; inspection; load rating; and traffic and roadway data. Federal Highway Administration

The bridges of Nassau County

News Staff
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Bridges and their physical condition matter, and safe and efficient travel over them should be taken for granted. But according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, “More than one third (37 percent) of U.S. bridges – nearly 231,000 spans – need repair work.
A smiling Kimberly Kessler talked to Judge James Daniel via Zoom videoconferencing at a hearing Thursday, asking him for a new lawyer. Daniel denied the request and also declared Kessler mentally competent to stand trial. Kessler is accused of murdering Joleen Cummings. Jury selection for the trial could start next May. Photo courtesy Nassau County Sheriff's Office

A smiling Kimberly Kessler talked to Judge James Daniel via Zoom videoconferencing at a hearing Thursday, asking him for a new lawyer. Daniel denied the request and also declared Kessler mentally competent to stand trial. Kessler is accused of murdering Joleen Cummings. Jury selection for the trial could start next May. Photo courtesy Nassau County Sheriff's Office

Kessler found competent to stand trial

News Staff
Friday, October 16, 2020
Judge James Daniel has decided Kimberly Kessler is still mentally competent to stand trial for the murder of Joleen Cummings. At a hearing held Thursday morning, Daniel refused to appoint a new attorney for her and set a date for jury selection.
There are a total of 15 judges on the Florida First District Court of Appeals, six of whom are on the Nov. 3 ballot because their current term ends Jan, 5, 2021. Voters will decide whether these six judges should be retained past that date. Photos from Florida First District Court of Appeals

There are a total of 15 judges on the Florida First District Court of Appeals, six of whom are on the Nov. 3 ballot because their current term ends Jan, 5, 2021. Voters will decide whether these six judges should be retained past that date. Photos from Florida First District Court of Appeals

Who are the appeals court judges on the ballot?

News Staff
Friday, October 16, 2020
There are a total of 15 judges on the Florida First District Court of Appeals, six of whom are on the Nov. 3 ballot because their current term ends Jan, 5, 2021. Voters will decide whether these six judges should be retained past that date. From The Florida Bar (floridabar.