Volusia News Now

HOLLY HILL, Fla. -- At 55 and out of the marriage scene for a decade now, the last thing political consultant Maureen France wanted to deal with was the hassle of a wedding, especially with family and friends in two separate locates more than 600 miles apart. So she and her longtime beau eloped.

LAKE HELEN, Fla. -- Adults can make dreamscape paintings at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, at the Lake Helen Public Library, 221 N. Euclid Ave.

"The budding artists will use dyed inks to create individualized paintings on tiles and nonabsorbent paper," Pat Kuehn, Volusia County information specialist, told Headline Surfer. "Each painting will develop according to the way the inks are applied, blended and spread. No two will be the same."

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. --While saying she cannot tell the sheriff what to do since they are both elected leaders, Volusia County Councilwoman Billie Wheeler nonetheless condemned "how he has treated Headline Surfer" and that she emphatically supports and recognizes the online news outlet as "the press."

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Stewart-Marchman-Act Foundation raised nearly $140,000 at its annual Dinner Celebration and Auction featuring NASCAR driver Austin Dillon at the Daytona 500 Club at Daytona International Speedway, event organizers said.

This year's big draw was Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. The funds raised came through sponsorships, live auction sales and tickets for prizes.

YouTube download / Headline Surfer video / The National Weather Service says the storm that blew through Salisbury, Maryland, on Monday was most likely a tornado. Local reports say trees were split, cars were overturned, and homes and buildings were damaged. No serious injuries were reported. (Aug. 8)

SALISBURY, Md. -- The Weather Channel reported cars were overturned and trees and utility poles were downed Monday after a likely tornado touched down in Salisbury, Maryland, according to officials. The storm hit around 1:40 p.m., leaving a heavy concentration of damage near Salisbury University and along South Salisbury Boulevard, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

While looking at some of the damage, Salisbury Mayor Jake Day remarked, "it's not good here." 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Members of the Volusia County Council, along with other dignitaries and business leaders, will celebrate the grand opening of TeleTech during a ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. at 260 Jimmy Ann Drive.

TeleTech is a customer experience provider headquartered in Colorado, with more than 48,000 employees worldwide. The company was recruited to the area by Team Volusia Economic Development Corp., over competitive locations in Mobile, Alabama and three cities in Texas.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- County Manager Jim Dinneen has given rookie Sheriff Mike Chitwood lots of goodies since he took office on Jan. 1: In fact, Daytona's former top cop was able to reward his bright young gal-pal campaign manager, Janelle Homan, with a plumb job as a PR specialist shooting videos and feel-good pics with a salary of $54,000 a year. That's a whopping 20 grand more than what a starting deputy would make if Chitwood were to actually hire one.  

OAK HILL, Fla. -- Lightning was the apparent cause of a Saturday afternoon fire that had rolling bright orange flames shooting 20 feet into the air from the roof before everything just caved in as firefighters kept the blaze contained to the Maytown Road Home, which was destroyed.