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Courtesy photo / The scene from a Florida Department of Transportation camera on Interstate 95 south of  New Smyrna Beach shows thick smoke billowing from a massive forest fire in nearby Brevard County that forced the closure of the highway Monday.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Driving could be hazardous on Interstate 95 in Southeast Volusia from a massive forest fire in nearby Brevard County that forced the Florida Highway Patrol to intermittently closed down a 24-mile stretch of the interstate Monday because of poor visibility resulting from smoke.

NSBNews.Net provides Volusia County with 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage for a 21st-century world. This website can also be accessed through VolusiaNews.Net

DELAND -- Elijah Eckhardt, the 2-year-old boy resuscitated by paramedics after being pulled from his grandparents' pool last night by his 10-year-old brother died this morning at an Orlando hospital, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.

"Medical personnel were able to resuscitate Elijah, but he was on life support and in critical condition at the time he was airlifted Saturday night to Florida Hospital in Orlando," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "He was pronounced dead at 10:46 a.m. Sunday morning at the hospital."

NSBNews.Net provides Volusia County with 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage for a 21st-century world. This website can also be accessed through VolusiaNews.Net

PIERSON -- A 25-year-old DeLand man was killed when he crashed his Ford Taurus into a motor coach early Saturday doing 100 mph-plus and cutting his car in half, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

NSBNews.Net provides Volusia County with 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage for a 21st-century world. This website can also be accessed through VolusiaNews.Net

DELAND -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to 1133 Glenwood Road near DeLand at about 5 p.m. on Saturday, after the child was found in his grandparents' swimming pool.

I am in a quandary about the current Wisconsin union battles with their state government. I can see both sides of the issue and they each have their points. The unions don’t want to release their hold on what few participants they have left these days; the people don’t want or need more to be lost from their paychecks. The state budget is lacking so what should happen now?

Bad attitude? Most probability. But after a while you just have to say how much is enough. OK, let me beat the dead horse. So much has been written about the debacle with the American Music Festival and Daytona State College College, you're probably sick of reading about it and most bloggers are sick of writing about it. But allow me one more time.

NSBNews.Net provides Volusia County with 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage for a 21st-century world. This website can also be accessed through VolusiaNews.Net

SOUTH DAYTONA ─ Residents are invited to help shape South Daytona’s future at a Sustainability Open House March 4.

Drop by the Piggotte Community Center between the hours of 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., a Friday, to learn about the city’s Sustainability Action Plan through an educational and interactive forum. Help protect South Daytona’s environmental and ecological future by becoming involved now.

NSBNews.Net provides Volusia County with 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage for a 21st-century world. This website can also be accessed through VolusiaNews.Net

NSBNews.Net provides Volusia County with 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage for a 21st-century world. This website can also be accessed through VolusiaNews.Net

NEWS FLASH

NSBNews.Net photo / Circuit Judge Richard Graham had earlier ruled the merger btween Bert Fish and Advenist Health Systems violated Florida's Sunshine laws.

DAYTONA BEACH -- In a stunning verdict, Circuit Judge Richard Graham this afternoon ruled against Bert Fish hospital's merger with the Adventist Health Systems.

The Adventists had argued a "cure" or redo of a series of private meetings done over in public was sufficient to overcome the earlier action, but the Bert Fish Foundation disagreed, leading to the lawsuit.

NSBNews.Net provides Volusia County with 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage for a 21st-century world. This website can also be accessed through VolusiaNews.Net

Photo and story by contributing writer Dale Smith for NSBNews.Net / Circuit Judge Richard Graham has been presiding over the merger lawsuit trial sought by the Bert Fish Foundation against the Southeast Volusia Hospital Board's partnership with Adventist Health Systems, also known as Florida Hospital.

DAYTONA BEACH – Circuit Court Judge Richard Graham could rule today on the lawsuit filed against the Bert Fish Medical Center and Adventist Health Systems by the Bert Fish Foundation.