Despite Sheriff Mike Chitwood's incessant vitriol and vulgar attacks, longtime county manager Jim Dinneen & majority of elected council members have Volusia headed in the right direction

By HENRY FREDERICK
Headline Surfer
Column: People, Places & Things

DELAND, Fla. -- Despite the acrimony of the past two weeks since the series of well-played front page stories in the Daytona Beach News-Journal on the so-called crisis at the county morgue with bodies stacking up, Sheriff Mike Chitwood has used these past 14 days to loudly beat the drum for the heasd of longtime County Manager Jim Dinneen on a silver platter for he is the one Chitwood has been going after since his first few weeks in office.

That's because Chitwood feels it is beneath him to have to have to go to the county manager for expenditures not already provided for in an annual spending plan.

Not once did Chitwood ever complain or campaign for a change in the county charter that would give him complete autonomy from the county manager and elected council as a constitutional sheriff as opposed to an elected department head just like Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis, Assessor ??? and Clerk of the County Cout Laura Roth, all for starting together in 2016 on four year terms.

And here's the ironic thing about the sensational stories splashed across the top of the front page, beginning May 16, with this banner headline: Volusia medical examiner quits after 1 month.

These were the opening lines: The sudden resignation of Volusia County’s chief medical examiner — after only one month on the job — caught County Council members by surprise and raised questions from the sheriff about the county’s management of that department. S\ara Zydowicz, who was hired in March and officially started in April, submitted a letter Tuesday afternoon announcing that she’s resigning on June 1. Aside from a short note thanking County Manager Jim Dinneen for the opportunity, she offered no reason for her departure.