Local News Now

A moment of silence was observed Tuesday at the start of the New Smyrna Beach City Commission in honor of Ed Cooper who died Jan. 23. He was 85.

The recognition was asked of the more than 200 residents in attendance in the DeBerry Room at the Utilities Commission building on Canal Street by Mayor Sally Mackay who described Cooper as an exemplary citizen.

Cooper died at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, his wife, Vivian Cooper, said Saturday.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Police are looking for a young white man in a blue-hooded sweatshirt who robbed the Winn-Dixie store pharmacy of Oxycodone pills at 9:45 p.m. Saturday.

The man entered the store at 1835 State Road 44, walked over to the pharmacy and handed the pharmacist a note and said he had a gun on him.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Kelly Conway, a teacher at New Smyrna Beach High School known throughout Southeast Volusia as the coach of the Show Dolls dance team, was named Volusia County Teacher of the Year tonight at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The National Weather Service in Melbourne has issued a winter weather message for Central Florida, including the greater Daytona Beach area, which includes Southeast Volusia:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
236 PM EST FRI JAN 30 2009

Courtesy photo. William Henry Quick, 18, of 2846 Sunset Drive, New Smyrna Beach, is charged with 19 counts of breaking into unlocked motor vehicles.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Police issued a public alert this afternoon for motorists to lock their parked vehicles in the wake of the arrest of a suspected car burglar two days earlier.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Robert Lott, president of the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce, board member of Bert Fish Medical Center and owner of the Observer weekly newspaper, will be the guest speaker of the the Republican Club of Southeast Volusia County on Feb. 12.

The 11:15 a.m.Monday, Feb. 12 meeting will be at Smyrna Yacht Club, 1201 S. Riverside Dr., New Smyrna Beach. A buffet lunch will be served at 11:45 a.m.

Here are the final results of the NSBNEWS.net Insta Poll which asked: Should the New Smyrna Beach City Commission approve a 2 percent raise for police officers?

Yes, they serve a vital function and deserve raises:.45%

No, the economy is bad - city should hold down costs: 55%

There were 38 votes cast during the four days that preceded Tuesday night's unanimous vote by the New Smyrna Beach City Commission to give 44 police officers a 2-percent raise for the current fiscal year that began Oct. 1, the same amount given to other municipal employees.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- An overflow crowd of well over 200 residents saw the City Commission unanimously approve 2 percent wage increases for police officers and a vote to spend $20,000 to investigate the legalities of the city's "sweetheart" lease with the Angler's Yacht Club for use of city-owned property.

We'll have complete stories along with video presentations of the Tuesday night meeting, which had a fair amount of fireworks.