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Courtesy photo. Gov. Charlie Crist presents his monthly which in this installment deals with increasing student learning and quality education opportunities.
ORLANDO – Governor Charlie Crist today signed Florida’s overall application for $1.1 billion of the $4.35 billion federal dollars available through the Race to the Top competition while visiting Mollie E. Ray Elementary School in Orlando.
ORANGE CITY -- Volusia County Sheriff's investigators are searching for a vehicle missing from the home of an Orange City woman found dead Tuesday afternoon.
The 51-year-old victim, identified as Rabbitt Burns, was found dead Tuesday afternoon inside her home on West Fern Drive just south of Orange City.
Concerned co-workers who came to the victim's home to check on her well-being peered through a window and saw the woman on the ground, Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said.
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DELAND -- The Volusia County Environmental, Cultural, Historical, and Outdoor Recreation (ECHO) advisory committee will meet from 3 - 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, in the Volusia County Council chambers of the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center, 123 W.Indiana Ave.
The committee will review and consider the eligibility of the following applicants for the 2010 grant cycle:
- City of New Smyrna Beach, Cross Volusia Trail: $281,853;
- City of Port Orange, Russell Landing: $100,000;
- Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Mosquito Lagoon Marine Enhancement Center: $600,000;
PONCE INLET -- Town police Detective Max Binz said the already overworked force has had to adjust to yet another responsibility in dealing with the recession: keeping an eye on more than two dozen foreclosed homes.
"It's something we've had to deal with, especially in the past year," said Binz, a 12-year veteran and the department's lone detective.
"That's an extra patrol we have to do, but everyone has had to tighten their belts and we're no different," Binz said. "Still Ponce Inlet remains a great place to live where residents pay more because of the quality of life."
PONCE INLET -- Gary Comfort favors conversion of the town's desire to convert the remaining half its residences from septic to the more costly sewer service hook-up with nearby Port Orange, especially as a benefit for the environment, but like all causes, it comes down to money.
DELAND -- Volusia County’s Public Works Department will host a community workshop to address progress on the Spring-to-Spring Trail being constructed along Grand Avenue in the Glenwood area north of DeLand. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, at the Glenwood Presbyterian Church, 3190 Grand Ave., Glenwood.
The meeting will include an open house at 6 p.m. and a presentation at 6:30 p.m. followed by questions and answers at 6:30 p.m.
PONCE INLET -- With the ocean, river and lagoon water temperatures dropping along the
United States Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Volusia County Marine Science Center (MSC) rehabilitation specialists are experiencing an influx of threatened and endangered sea turtles that become paralyzed by the cold. An increase in cold-affected sea birds is under way as well.
The MSC is part of a "stranding network" of facilities that accept and rehabilitate stranded sea turtles and seabirds.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne has issued an urgent weather alert for Volusia and Lake Counties for early Tuesday:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
414 AM EST TUE JAN 5 2010
COUNTY SPECIFIC MESSAGE:
/O.CON.KMLB.WC.W.0001.000000T0000Z-100105T1400Z/
INLAND VOLUSIA-NORTHERN LAKE-COASTAL VOLUSIA-SOUTHERN LAKE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DE LAND...LEESBURG...DAYTONA BEACH...
CLERMONT
414 AM EST TUE JAN 5 2010
...WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST THIS
MORNING...
DELAND -- December was a good month for the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia and the Rotary
Club of DeLand.
The DeLand noon-time club had a goal to collect 500 pounds of food for the Neighborhood Center.
Food Drive Chairman Maureen France said she was pleased that the club "exceeded its goal" by collecting 515 pounds of food for the needs of the people of DeLand."
Rotarians France, Howard Fisher and club president Dave Brannon delivered the food to Neighborhood Center Senior Coordinator Chris Brassard on Saturday.
DELEON SPRINGS -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is investigating after a pedestrian who apparently walked into the path of an oncoming Amtrak train was struck and killed Friday night.
The collision occurred at around 8:30 p.m., between Lemon Street and Mud Lake Road.
The victim is adult man whose identity is not yet known.
The northbound train was en-route to New York, with approximately 164 passengers on board. The train stopped after the collision, which was reported to the Sheriff's Office by CSX Transportation at 8:36 p.m.
