MANDARIN, FL – Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 14-8 held annual elections on Tuesday, November 1 at the Florida Tackle and Gun Club on San Jose Boulevard.  Whit Vick was re-elected to the office of Flotilla Commander and Kevin Koehl was elected to the office of Vice Commander.  Their terms begin January 1, 2012.

Vick joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary in 1998 in Georgia and transferred to the Mandarin Flotilla in 2008. Vick also serves as the Operations Officer for the Flotilla.  He is qualified as an Auxiliary Coxswain and volunteers his boat as an Auxiliary Facility conducting safety patrols for the Coast Guard on the St. Johns River.

Koehl joined the Auxiliary in 2010 and also serves as Public Affairs Officer for the Flotilla.

With Hurricane Season well under way, and the recent activity in the Tropics, State Officials in Florida warn Residents and Visitors of the dangers of swimming in the Atlantic Ocean with strong Rip Currents.

Rip Currents can be 200 to 2,500 feet long but are normally no wider than 30 feet, and can not easily be seen. The current can move more than 5 miles per hour and knock someone off their feet in less than a foot of water.

Rip Currents account for about 80% of beach rescues, and many times people trying to help become victims themselves.

As the tropics churn in the waters of the Atlantic, surf is expected to pick up, and create powerful, dangerous Rip Currents along the coast through Friday.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A Pedro Menendez football player is in the hospital after he suffered an injury at practice Tuesday evening.

According to St. Johns Fire and Rescue, the player was airlifted to Shands Jacksonville at about 5:15 p.m as a trauma alert patient.

The teen had tingling in his spine and neck after taking a bad hit, Athletic Director Terry Sapp said, and coaches called 911 as a precaution.  It was not a life-threatening situation, Sapp furthered.

The player, Sapp explained, could still move his hands and feet and was mobile.