News

Man explains why he led people into closed fort

Submitted by Jessica Clark, Reporter

Tuesday, October 8th, 2013, 4:09pm

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- "I did something special," Eric Masurier said.

Masurier is from France, but he now lives in Clermont, Florida. Monday he was visiting St. Augustine, and he wanted to go to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. However, he found the fort was closed due to the government shutdown.

"I said, 'Why could I not get into the fort when you pay taxes?'"

The closed sign on the gate at the fort did not stop him.

"I said to people, 'Let's jump the gate!' And I went, I jumped the gate, and people followed me," Masurier said. "I think American people love the thing when someone's doing something...of following!"

According to Kim Mayo with the National Park Service, 13 adults and two children went into the fort Monday afternoon.

They got all the way inside, almost to the upper level, she said.

Masurier's friend took a photo of the people on the bridge in the fort that is closed-off due to the shutdown.

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Submitted by Jessica Clark, Reporter

Monday, October 7th, 2013, 7:38pm

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Brian Beach's family has had the St. Augustine Marina store since 1955 in Vilano Beach. It's just north of the St. Augustine Inlet. His family relies on captains being able to come in and out of the inlet with ease.

"If we don't have the boats coming in and out of here, we don't have any business," Beach said Monday.

This month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is dredging the St. Augustine Inlet to make it a deeper channel for easier navigation.

Project manager Shelley Trulock with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the inlet was as shallow as nine feet in some places.

"It's rough," Beach said, "It makes it really rough getting in and out."

If anyone knows about the boats that access the inlet, it's Sam Adukiewicz. He's the Harbormaster at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina in downtown St. Augustine.

"As any boater knows, it's always good to have a wide waterway and a deep waterway," Adukiewicz said.

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Submitted by FirstCoastNews Web Staff

Thursday, October 3rd, 2013, 8:49pm

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- St. Johns County Fire Rescue responded Thursday night to a kitchen fire at a home in King & Bear subdivision.

According to a release from SJCFR, the people and pets in the home had already evacuated the home in the 4900 block of Boat Landing Drive when firefighters arrived.

The kitchen fire was quickly put out and there was moderate fire damage to the kitchen and smoke damage throughout the house.

No people or pets were injured, according to the release.

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Submitted by Jessica Clark, Reporter

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013, 5:45pm

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- While the federal government is shutdown, county offices are still open. One of those still open is the St. Johns County Veterans Service Office in St. Augustine.

Gloria White stopped by the office Wednesday to file a claim for her husband for V.A. health and pension benefits.

"He was in the naval reserves," she said.

As she left she said, "The only thing they told me that they have no idea if the government shutdown will have an impact or not. So we'll just have to wait and see."

"I don't think it will have a major impact on the veterans as of to date. It may be long term if it continues to go on," Joseph McDermott said. He is the St. Johns County Veterans Service Officer.

In the last two days of the partial government shutdown he has received questions from vets about getting their checks.

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Submitted by FirstCoastNews Web Staff

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013, 4:21pm

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- A Florida Highway Patrol trooper found something no dog should ever eat inside of a dog food bag Wednesday -- around 30 pounds of marijuana.

The bag was found inside a truck on Interstate 95 around 10 a.m. in St. Johns County.

After stopping the Ford pickup truck for having illegally tinted windows, the trooper became suspicious and asked to search the vehicle. The driver, Roger Aguilera, consented.

During the search, the trooper smelled marijuana and noticed a large box in the rear passenger compartment. Inside the box was a large dog food bag containing 30-1.1 pound bricks of high-grade marijuana, according to FHP.

The stash carries an estimated value of $120,000.

Aguilera, 44, admitted to transporting the marijuana from Miami to Jacksonville to make money, according to FHP.

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Submitted by Jessica Clark, Reporter

Tuesday, October 1st, 2013, 8:14pm

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- While on vacation from Kentucky and Colorado, the extended Martin family learned the government had indeed shut down overnight.

That threw a wrench into their plans for St. Augustine

"We came out to the fort today," Martin explained, "and we got about 15 minutes outside and then realized that it was probably closed today."

The Castillo de San Marcos and all of the 58 national parks are closed because of the government shutdown.

"It stinks. I mean this is not hard work," Martin added.

He and his family and all other travelers will be able to fly though.

TSA agents will still screen you at the airport and air traffic control towers are operating.

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Submitted by FirstCoastNews Web Staff

Sunday, September 29th, 2013, 9:58pm

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- The clock is ticking for congress to agree on a budget deal that will keep the government running. The deadline is midnight on Monday and several federal programs, including National Parks, could be affected.

Records from the National Park Service show National Parks in Florida helped generate 608 million dollars in tourism during 2011. Over 10 million people visited parks last year and this Tuesday tourists could be turned away if congress can't agree on a spending deal.

"I just think the government should get their act together and work in unison. I just think there's a lot of wasted money everywhere and its ridiculous that we have to shut something down like this," said Russell Manning.

Manning is from Gainesville but says he escapes to St. Augustine every chance he gets. The Castillo De San Marcos was the destination for a fun Sunday with his family.

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