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Purse snatchers batter woman

Newspaper Section

Courtesy photos/Jail mugs. John Kunze and Michael Krol have been charged in connection with the alleged purse snatching in New Smyrna Beach in which the victim was battered.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Two men were jailed after their arrests Friday night after a woman's purse was snatched during which she was battered, New Smyrna Beach police said.

NSB man sentenced to 5 years in prison for near fatal shooting last spring

Newspaper Section

Courtesy photos.Roy Deion Fudge Jr., has been sent to prison for five years for attempted murder in the May 17 shooting of Marcus Peterson, also of New Smyrna Beach.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Roy Deion Fudge Jr., has been sentenced to five years in prison for last May's near-fatal shooting of another New Smyrna Beach man.

Fudge pleaded no contest Dec. 2 to attempted murder and was subsequently sentenced that day by Circuit Judge Frank Marriott at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand.

Obituaries

Robert J. Smith, 69, Edgewater, a former machinist, died Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009.

Neil S, Banks, 90, of Edgewater, a former vice president in the banking industry, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2009.

Evelyn Pappas, 92, New Smyrna Beach, a homemaker, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2009.

David A. Stankevich, 67, of Edgewater, a field superintendent for Wharton-Smith, Inc., a major construction company, and an active member of the Anglers' Yacht Club, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2009.

Marriage Licenses (Volusia clerk of court records)

Dec. 9, 2009: Gothard G. Peterson Jr. and Susan C. Peterson, Edgewater; Cliff D. Baker, Oak Hill, and Heather N. Higginbotham, South Daytona; Pietro Capuano, New Smyrna Beach, and Cheryl A. Guarro, Edgewater.

Dec. 8, 2009: Herman J. Behr and Vanessa M. Pierce, Edgewater; Eric R. Stevens and Denielle H. Swann, Edgewater; Ryan A. Mabry and Brenda L. Rivera, Edgewater; Paul K. Nugent, New Smyrna Beach, and Valerie G. Johnson, Ocala.

Sheriff's Office: Man shot to death near DeLand

DELAND -- The search is on for a gunman who burst into a home near DeLand late Tuesday night and shot and killed a man, a Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.

The victim is believed to be 33-years-old, but his identity isn't being released until family members
are notified. Volusia County Sheriff's investigators don't believe the killing was random.

The shooting occurred at a home on Helen Drive. The Sheriff's Office received the initial call at 11:19 p.m. from a neighbor on Pearl Street who reported hearing yelling and multiple gunshots.

NSB City Commission holds off on new salary for Interim City Manager Pam Brangaccio

Newspaper Section

NSBNEWS.net video by Sera Frederick. City Commissioners held off on voting on a new contract for Interim City Manager Pam Brangaccio after Commissioner Jim Hathaway voiced concerns about the terms of the contract. Brangaccio is shown in the photo below. NSBNEWS.net has the entire proceedings on video here.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- At the beginning of tonight's City Commission meeting, Commissioner Judy Reiker commented pleasingly how everyone seemed to be "gellin'."

That was until the discussion about a new contract and lifting the label of "interim" for Interim City Manager Pam Brangaccio.

Blogger Capt. Budd Neviaser: The Osprey - a superb fisherman

Photo by William L. Newton/Darling NWR. This adult osprey is about to feast on fish.

Almost everyone being by the water has witnessed a brown bird with white markings on its belly hovering over the water, then swooping down to the water and then fly upwards again with a fish in its talons.