FORT PIERCE — A Georgia man accused of walking naked along a beach about 100 yards from two children and their parents faces an exposure charge, according to a recently released arrest affidavit.

Kevin Francis Gallagher, 61, reportedly was spotted Tuesday afternoon by a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s deputy in a patrol boat. He also had a gun in a bag.

The deputy sighted Gallagher, of Snellville, Ga., about 100 yards north of where two children and their parents were swimming. The incident occurred in the 5500 block of South Ocean Drive.

“There was also a couple that told me they were walking down the beach towards the suspect and had to turn around and walk the opposite direction because the suspect was standing at the water edge,” the affidavit states.

Arrested on a misdemeanor charge of exposure of sexual organs, Gallagher was handcuffed and a gun was found in his carry bag.

The affidavit does not specify why Gallagher, listed as unemployed, was walking naked.

By Will Greenlee, TCPalm.com

When the Martin County Commission fired Duncan Ballantyne from his $147,250 a year job as county administrator on St. Patrick’s Day, a pot of gold awaited the seasoned bureaucrat.

For starters, Ballantyne remained on the county payroll for a month after he cleaned out his office because he was entitled to a 30-day notice of his termination.

Since his official last day on April 23, Ballantyne has collected a total of $84,451 as a result of the severance package he negotiated when he was hired in the fall of 2005, county records show. And his initial severance period doesn’t end until Aug. 23.

Ballantyne’s severance package is not unusual for local government managers and attorneys on the Treasure Coast. In fact, 13 local government managers and attorneys in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties are entitled to severance pay for six months, or longer, if they are fired without cause. (more…)

John Christopher Woods is hoping his photos and additional information about his birth parents he has been able to extract from the Florida Department of Children and Families will trigger memories in someone on the Treasure Coast, maybe even his mother or siblings.

Woods, born Jan. 16, 1961, at Martin Memorial Hospital, said he feels he is creeping closer to identifying and perhaps meeting his birth mother, but her name and location are still elusive. His mother was 24 when she gave birth to him and then gave him up for adoption. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — A 20-year-old Port St. Lucie man has been arrested for allegedly pouring peroxide in the face of his pregnant girlfriend.

Port St. Lucie police reported they received a call from Joshua K. Perry’s girlfriend at 8:48 p.m. Saturday.

The woman, three months pregnant, claimed that she told Perry not to leave the Rio Mar Drive house they have shared for four months. According to police records, Perry responded by grabbing the woman by the hair and throwing her onto the couch.
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The $50 copay for his Plavix prescription was more than Leon Graybill could afford, even before he was laid off.

As of Saturday, Graybill and the other 299 people laid off Feb. 10 from Piper Aircraft Inc. are without employer-based health insurance. They join the growing ranks of unemployed people struggling to pay for individual health insurance — or more often, daring to go without insurance so they can pay to keep a roof over their heads and food on their table.

Graybill is a 55-year-old stroke and heart attack survivor with a bum knee. His wife is a 53-year-old per diem nurse, meaning she doesn’t get benefits. She is diabetic and needs some dental work.

“With all of that hanging around, insurance is crucial,” Graybill said.

But it also might be unaffordable.

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