Local News Now

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick. New Smyrna Beach officials hosted a regional summit Thursday night at the Brannon Center with sister cities Edgewater, Oak Hill and Port Orange to discuss possible consolidation of services, enhancing partnerships and marketing opportunities with NSB's athletic complex and economic development. Above left are Mayors Allen Green of Port Orange, Adam Barringer of NSB and Michael Thomas of Edgewater. Seated behind them is Realtor Ellen Darden of NSB. Seated in the upper right photo are Volusia County Councilman Jack Hayman and NSB City Commissioner Jack Grasty.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Mayor Adam Barringer understands there is strength in numbers. Which is why he hosted a summit Thursday at the Brannon Center with officials from neighboring cities of Edgewater, Oak Hill and Port Orange.

DELAND --New Smyrna Beach Middle School took home first place in a recent Black History Brain Bowl at Stetson University.

Members of the middle school team were Breon Clark, Anthony Little, Jalen Merrick and Devon Robinson. They were coached by Florida Crooms.

OAK HILL -- Police Sgt. Mike Ihnken has been cleared of an accusation that he stole a dead man's wallet containing $55, the State Attorney's Office announced.

A review of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation determined there was "insufficient evidence to charge or convict Sgt. Ihnken with any crime," said Assistant State Attorney spokesman Chris Kelly.

NSBNEWS.net. The New Smyrna Beach City Commission opts to spend $7,500 for an updated appraisal of the neatly 2-acre parcel at 2 North Causeway on the Intracoastal Waterway that the Angler's Club has occupied since 1942 under provisions of a 99-year lease that in the past two years has been called into question by several vocal residents. The commission entertained an offer from the Anglers to purchase the property outright for $795,000, which would end the lease agreement. The commission, however, pressed by Angler critics, held off Tuesday night in favor of obtaining an updated appraisal. The city maintains the lease is valid, but an outside attorney hired by the commission last year said the lease was not valid. The city and the Anglers have been in talks since in an effort to avoid potential costly litigation for both sides.

NSBNEWS.net photo by Henry Frederick. Diane Young was promoted Monday from interim to perrmanent police chief of the Oak Hill Police Department.

OAK HILL -- Diane Young can proudly call herself chief of police of the Oak Hill police force.

That's because the Oak Hill City Commission voted 3-2 Monday to remove the "interim" from her title and name her perrmanent police chief, replacing Guy Grasso, who has a long-term disability injury from an auto accident on duty.

NSBNEWS.net video by Sera Frederick. This video of the Jan. 12 City Commission meeting shows Bouchelle Island resident Bill Koleszar pressing the elected body for action on the Anglers Club lease. Koleszar is among a small group of political insiders who insist the Anglers' 99-year lease with the city is void. The city and the Anglers are negotiating a sale that may come up for a vote Tuesday night. The 6:30 p.m. meeting is at City Hall Commission Chambers, 205 Sams Ave.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A protracted battle among political insiders as to whether the city's longstanding lease with the Anglers Club of New Smyrna Beach for prime riverfront acreage on the North Causeway is invalid could be resolved Tuesday, if a proposed sale is approved by the City Commission.

NSBNEWS.net photo and video by Sera Frederick. Members of the "Outlaws" motorcycle gang head north on Atlantic Avenue from Daytona Beach toward Ormond Beach in this photo shot in traffic late Saturday night. The video shows the scene on Main Street in Daytona Beach, ground zero for Bike Week, as captured in this video during a drive-through on Saturday night. As a special treat, NSBNEWS.net sets the video to the music of Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild" and The Band's "The Weight," from the soundtrack to the movie Easy Rider.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Bike Week 2010 is over. So, too, are the lives of four bikers.

The decadence and excitement that is Bike Week was on display in its purest form Saturday night on Main Street where loud bikes, loud music, loud people and loud lights were the order of the night.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A man charged with being disorderly after being picked up on Flagler Avenue overnight was transported to Halifax Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation after trying to hang himself in a holding cell, police said.

NSBNEWS.net videos by Sera Frederick. Throughout the course of the late afternoon and the overnight hours Thursday, some 10,000 bikers partied at Pub 44 for the State Road 44 bar's signature Bike Week event, the vaunted "Bike Bash," which included not only the destruction of a vintage Japanese motorcycle, in this case a rusty 1976 Honda 360, but live performances by two classic rock bands, West Palm Beach-based L3-16 and New Smyrna Beach's own "Scared Straight."

WARNING: There is some raw language in the second video.

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick and Sera Frederick.

At far left, Pub 44 bartender Kelly West, 40, is proud of her assets. In the middle, a Honda is sacrificed with flames. At right, Pub 44 General Manager Kevin Hannah chats with waitress Cassie Welander, 19.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Sex, fire and rock and roll. What more could you ask for after a turnout of 10,000 partying bikers? Not a thing as far as Pub 44 General Manager Kevin Hannah was concerned and all smiles as the night wore on.