Volusia News Now

Volusia County petition drive organizer & Democrat Ellen Juliano to Attorney General Pam Bondi: 'Put that in your pipe and smoke it'

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's top court today signed off on the wording of a medical marijuana ballot question that asks Sunshine State voters voters to join nearly two dozen across the country in legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes.

The news was met with excitement by Deltona Democratic Party insider Ellen Juliano, herself a cancer survivor, and a key local organizer in the petition drive to get the medical marijuana ballot initiative drive, who had a personal message for the state attorney general: "Put that in pipe ands smoke it, Pam Bondi!"

OAK HILL, Fla. -- Folk musicians Jeni & Billy will bring the high lonesome harmonies of the Appalachian Mountains in a return visit to Volusia County's smallest incorporated city 13 months from their last stop here.

They will perform at noon Saturday, Feb. 8, at VIA Hall, 126 E. Halifax Ave., Oak Hill, at noon Saturday, Feb. 8. They will perform 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9,  at the Deltona Library.

Headline Surfer® graphic / The body of a man said to be known by police as homeless was found floating near the shore at Bethune Point Park Sunday afternoon as shown in this locator map.

DAYTONA BEACH -- A body found floating in the Halifax River on Sunday is that of a homeless man in his late 50s or early 60s, Daytona Beach cops said.

The body was discovered 3:13 p.m. at Bethune Point Park near the shoreline by a member of the Halifax Sailing Association, police said.

"Officers responded to the above location in regards to a body in the water," Daytona Beach police spokesman Jimmy Flynt said in a press release, adding the victim showed no signs of trauma and was believed to be in his latex 50s or early 60s.

Photo for Headline Surfer® / Stanley Rhodes Gainey, convicted drug dealer, is shown here in his Florida Department of Corrections profile.

DAYTONA BEACH -- It wasn't his drug dealing that put him in the slammer for the next decade as much as the piling up of the rap sheet.

So goes the story of Stanley Rhodes Gainey, sentenced Nov. 1 by Circuit Judge R. Michael Hutcheson to 10 years in prison as a "habitual felony offender.

Sheriff's spokesman: Mother told deputies she fell asleep and when she woke up her worst fear was realized

Headline Surfer® graphic / A 4-year-old boy drowned in the family's backyard pool Sunday afternoon on South Fairbairn Drive in Deltona as shown in this locator map.

DELTONA, Fla. -- A mother's worst fear was realized when she awoke from a nap and found her 4-year-old boy face down in the bottom of the family pool late this afternoon, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.

Deputies were dispatched to a home on South Fairbairn Drive after receiving a 9-1-1 call at 4:19 p.m. "The boy’s mother told the Sheriff’s Office that she fell asleep, and when she awoke and started looking for her son, she found him at the bottom of the pool," agency spokesman Gary Davidson told Headline Surfer®.

Sheriff's investigators did not release the name of the mother or the child.

Headline Surfer® graphic / An outdoor burn is in effect for all  unincorporated areas of Osceola County, effective Jan. 22 as demonstrated in this snapshot.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Unincorporated areas of Osceola County are under an outdoor burn ban due to lack of rainfall throughout the county that has sent its Keetch-Byram Drought Index over 500.

The ban, which took effect Jan. 22, is for all types of outside burning, including open fire pits, campfires, and yard debris. It be enforced by Osceola County Code Enforcement, Law Enforcement and Emergency Services personnel. Osceola County Fire Rescue will continue to monitor conditions to determine when the burn ban will be lifted.

Race red-flagged early on by horrific crash that sent two drivers to hospital

DAYTONA BEACH -- Joao Barbosa and the No. 5 Corvette DP took the checkered flag to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, red-flagged for 90 minutes early on by a horrific crash that sent two drivers to the hospital with serious injuries including one with a broken back.

Headline Surfer® graphic / At left is a snapshot of the live streaming grid by Fox Sports streaminglive track coverage of the Rolex 24 from Daytona International Speedway.

DAYTONA BEACH -- For those of you who can't be here at Daytona International Speedway for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, especially now in the closing hours, here's the link for streaming live video that gives you a unique perspective from inboards cameras in several race cars: http://stream.speedtv.com/rolex24.

Headline Surfer® graphic / Debra Annette Smith's badly decomposing body was found in an open field off of South Leisure World Drive near Barwick Road, as shown in this locator map. 

DEBARY -- A decomposed body found  in an open field in DeBary was identified as that of 48-year-old Debra Annette Smith, last seen alive eight days earlier in Nov. 8, when she left her home after getting into a minor verbal dispute with her partner, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.

DAYTONA BEACH -- With so many major media outlets covering the Rolex 24 at Daytona, especially with the horrific crash less than three hours into the race that sent two drivers to the hospital, it's Headline Surfer® right there in the thick of things as demonstrated in the online news directories.