Local News Now

Brush fire shuts down portion of U.S. 1 near NSB police station

Newspaper Section

Courtesy photo. A stretch of U.S. was closed for an hour this afternnon so firefighters could put out a brush fire just north of the police station.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A brush fire this afternoon consumed 1.5 acres on the east side of U.S. 1 just north of the New Smyrna Beach Police Department and forced a stretch of the roadway closed while firefighters battled the blaze.

Fire destroys $350K boat in New Smyrna Beach

Newspaper Section

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A $350,000 boat was destroyed by fire late Sunday at 100 Lincoln Avenue, the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department reported.

Firefighters were dispatched at 8:23 p.m. and arrived within four minutes. The large craft was suspended on a boatlift upon fire departments arrival with the fire visible in the rear area of the fiberglass boat, owned by Steve Dougherty.

Oak Hill man charged with raping woman when she was 9 years old

Newspaper Section

OAK HILL -- A 34-year-old Oak Hill man was arrested Monday night after a woman came forward over the weekend with allegations she was raped and sexually molested 16 years ago by the accused when she was 9 years old.

Oak Hill police Chief Guy Grasso said the victim came forward after all this time, telling Sgt. Robert Walker that the unwanted sexual activity by the then 18- to 20-year-old attacker between 1993 and 1994, was now causing problems in her marriage.

"She was very brave," Grasso said this afternoon. "A lot of this stuff goes on and a lot of it is unreported."

Blogger: U.S. Airways way to fly

I'll bet some of you were thinking when you saw the passengers being pulled from the wrecked U.S. Airways jet in the Hudson River that you would probably never fly again. I have a different viewpoint.

The day before the Hudson incident, I was talking to a friend who told me that she always flies Delta, but no flights were available so she recently came from Connecticut to Charlotte, N.C., where she would change planes for the final leg to Orlando via U.S.Airways.

18. Jill Biden campaigns in NSB for husband, Joe, and for Obama

Headline Surfer photo by Sera King / Jill Biden, wife of Vice President-elect Joe Biden campaigned for him and Barack Obama in New Smyrna Beach, just 11 days before the general election.

By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Jill Biden, wife of vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, urged nearly 300 Democratic supporters at the Woman's Club of New Smyrna Beach on Oct. 24 to take advantage of early voting before the expected Nov. 4 election-day crush.

NSB offers $417K to acquire the former Dunn Lumber property at West Canal and U.S. 1

Newspaper Section

NSBNEWS.net video by Sera King. The New Smyrna Beach City Commission offered $417,000 Tuesday night to purchase the former Dunn Lumber property at West Canal and U.S. 1, the key intersection that is seen as the gateway to the city's tourism route: Historic Canal Street and the Indian River to the east, along with tourist-trendy Flagler Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west, State Road 44 corridor shopping and rural charm.

Blogger: Fishing story a hard nut to swallow

Photo by Capt. Budd Neviaser. Cutline.Wilma Myers holds the first redfish she's ever caught as she stands next to Karl Root with his pompano.

Again we have been blessed with no reports of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, being detected in the samples collected from Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River lagoon, or the Banana River, thus far this month.

Check out our video of the inaugural NSB Seaside Balloon Fest

Newspaper Section

NSBNEWS.net photo by Sera King. Several thousand people showed up at dawn Saturday to watch the launchings of hot-air balloons. The crowd had ballooned to 10,000 the night before to watch the flame-testing required before flight. Please check out the previous story and photos for more highlights. The inaugural Seaside Balloon Fest was led by New Smyrna Beach Mayor Sally Mackay as a new year's celebration for the city and to spark tourism.

Pedestrian seriously injured in hit-and-run on NSB beachside

Newspaper Section

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A middle-aged man was seriously injured when he was struck by a motor vehicle that took off in the 4600 block of South Atlantic Avenue just before 9 p.m.

EVAC responded and the unidentified man in his 50s was airlifted by Volusia County Sheriff's helicopter to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

EVAC spokesman Mark O'Keefe described the pedestrian's injuries as "critical."

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the incident just outside the city limits of New Smyrna Beach.

Pipe break blamed for NSB sewer spill

Newspaper Section

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- About 400,000 gallons of raw sewage spewed into a wooded area Thursday morning near Sugar Mill Drive, but was contained to a low-lying area that stopped it from continuing into a nearby drainage ditch, county officials said.

The spill was blamed on a broken 30-inch pipe that has since been repaired, officials said. The same mainline was affected by a broken pipe off of Glencoe Road a year ago.

County officials said the spill does not pose any health risks because of its remote location and is being cleaned up.