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DELAND -- Fares for Votran's I-4 Express service, route 200, will go to $3.50, effective Jan. 12, said Michelle Coats, Volusia County spokeswoman.

With the fare increase, Votran is offering for the first time a monthly pass option for $80 Votran operates the I-4 express service, route 200, in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation and LYNX, the transit system that serves Central Florida. The Volusia County Council approved the increase at its meeting Dec. 18. The fare for the I-4 Express Bus hasn’t increased since it began 10 years ago.

NSBNEWS.net photo by Sera King. Cutline:

DAYTONA BEACH -- The “World Famous” Lipizzaner Stallions will take center stage at the Ocean Center for shows at 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28.

The dancing white horses will demonstrate the movements of classical dressage, including the leaps and maneuvers known as the "airs above the ground," said Pat Kuehn, a Volusia County spokeswoman.

The stallions are making their 39th anniversary tour with new music, choreography and routines. The shows will include a presentation set to big band music and feature Spanish Andalusians, predecessors of the Lipizzans.

We swore we’d never do it again! It’s too much trouble! It’s a lot of work!

But there we were again gathering the junk we have collected over these past 10 years since our last yard sale.

What were we thinking?

Unfortunately, we are collectors of "stuff," the preferred verbiage for junk.

Getting rid of stuff is almost impossible for us since “we just might need it one day,”or so we delude ourselves into thinking.

Stuff piles higher and higher in our two houses taking space and collecting dust until we finally decide that something has to be done and soon.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- The Bush administration's Christmas gift to America is a package of disaster. 

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The St. Johns River Water Management District has voted today to purchase 1,402 acres for $3.9 million, approximately three miles north of the Brevard County border, the agency said in a press release.

the property is part of the Indian River Lagoon Blueway Florida Forever Project adjacent to the District's Turnbull Hammock Conservation Area. The property includes 1,213 acres of contiguous land and 189 acres of non-contiguous lots to the southeast.

Bank of America surveillance photo provided by New Smyrna Beach Police Department for NSBNEWS.net. Cutline: This man participated in a scheme to skim money from the ATM at the Bank of America Brach on State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach. If you know who he is, please contact Detective Tony Ford with the New Smyrna Beach Police Department at (386) 424-2240.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Bank of America has informed the New Smyrna Beach Police Department that sometime during the weekend of November 15-16, an organized gang compromised several bank ATM/Debit machines throughout the State of Florida, including the branch in New Smyrna Beach located at 1880 State Road 44, police said this afternoon.

DELTONA -- An armed home invasion in Deltona resulted in several shots being fired early Sunday morning and several arrests being made, Volusia Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught reported.

Sheriff’s deputies found the suspect vehicle in a matter of minutes, wrecked the vehicle about six miles south of the robbery scene. Shortly thereafter deputies arrested three suspects charging them with the home invasion.

Taken into custody were:

DELAND -- Looking for a designated driver this New Year’s Eve? Hop on Votran’s New Year’s Eve trolley service, says Michelle Coats, a Volusia County spokeswoman.

For $3, a party-goer can travel safely all night along S.R. A1A on New Year’s Eve. The unlimited service runs from 7 p.m. Dec. 31 to just after 1 a.m. New Year’s Day. Trolleys, in addition to regular night service, will run every 20 minutes.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Whether you’re trying to navigate the Internet or still looking for the computer's on/off switch, the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library has beginner computer classes that can help you find your way, says Pak Kuehn, a Volusia County spokeswoman.

Among the courses:

# Computer Basics will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14. This class is for people with little or no computer experience who want to learn about the components of a computer and get acquainted with terminology. Participants will explore some of the functions and features of the Windows operating system.