"It's so wonderful seeing everyone -- so many people from the community." -- Kino Fernandez, 16, son of the late Frederick "Fico" Fernandez, at a paddle out memorial service on the beach Saturday attended by 2,000-plus.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Everyone made money in the failed Adventists-Bert Fish hospital merger. Everyone that is, except the taxpayers of Southeast Volusia.
New Smyrna Beach resident Shira Beth Wild led a citizen rally to get the power elite to take action Tuesday night on getting the closed Turnbull Bay Bridge re-opened sooner than later by being vocal with Volusia County Council Chairman Frank Bruno (in the middle here), State Rep. Dorothy Hukill and Mayor Adam Barringer.
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NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick / The 200-foot-span concrete bridge built 44 years ago over Turnbull Bay would cost $4 million to replace. The concrete bridge was closed last month because of structural deficiencies following an inspection. At a meeting Tuesday night at the Brannon Center, officials agreed on a temporary measure to ease the hardship on area residents.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Finances are tight at the city and county levels, but 250 residents packing the Brannon Center tonight were adamant that the expected two-year wait for a new $4 million Turnbull Bay Bridge and a 6-mile detour wwere not acceptable. After some heated discussion, officials agreed to pay $200,000 for a temporary span to go 3 feet above the corrupted bridge which could be in place in as little as three months. It's a big if, though, assuming the pylons are sound.
Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR
Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, comes to the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 6 in Hampton, Ga.
Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
Jeff Gordon celebrates in Victory Lane holding up three fingers representing three wins in 2011 after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 6 in Hampton, Ga.
Jeff Gordon: Victory No. 85 Adds To Legend
DAYTONA BREACH -- The final day of the Labor Day weekend turned tragic on the beach when a 40-year-old St. Petersburg trying to teach his kids how to swim drowned when they ventured out to far and he tried to swim to them, the Volusia County Beach Patrol reported.
Richard Kerr got caught in a rip current south orf Ormond Beach at the Boylston Avenue approach where there were no lifeguards posted and was swept under just after 4 p.m. Monday, Beach Patrol spokeswoman Capt. Tammy Morris said, adding he was apparently teaching his children how to swim when they drifted from him and when he went after them got caught up in the rip current. The children were able to get back to shore safely. The father was pulled from the water a quarter mile away by a lifeguard in the 2400 block of North Atlantic Avenue, but was pronounced dead at the hospital.
In all, lifeguards made 20 rescues throughout the day and treated 300 swimmers with vinegar for jelly fish stings.
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NSBNews.net photo / Friends pay their final respects Saturday on the beach for New Smyrna Beach High School teacher Frederick "Fico" Fernandez, killed in a surfing accident a week earlier in the surf. NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Debra Fernandez and her three children were joined by more than a thousand friends in a memorial sendoff Saturday for her 55-year-old husband, Frederick "Fico" Fernandez, tragically killed in a freak surfing accident in the swollen waves of post-Hurricane Irene.
"He was a dedicated man who took care of us," she said. "He really lived and loved life to the fullest."
EDITOR'S NOTE: NSBNews.net will have a complete story on the service later today, including a half dozen videos and close to a hundred photos.
A domestic violence arrest of Volusia County Deputy Michael W. Scott is detailed in a charging affidavit, which you can read by clicking the attachments below.
Deputy Kyle Bainbridge wrote in his report of the 11:27 p.m. Saturday incident that the wife said her husband's actions were not his usual behavior and she was scared for her life, stating: "I don't want to die tonight."
DELAND -- A 56-year-old off-duty Volusia County deputy was arrested overnight Saturday after pushing his wife of seven years to the ground because he believed she was flirting with a younger man during a party that included alcohol at their DeLand house, an arrest report obtained by NSBNews.net shows.
