Top 100 SE Volusia County Stories of 2009

Originally posted Thu, 2009-05-14 21:28

NSBNEWS. video and photo by Sera Frederick. Danny Veltri is shown on two large screens outside Flip Flops as hundreds cheer inside and outside the beachside restaurant for the winner of FOX reality TV's "Hell's Kitchen.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Danny Veltri proved tonight before a nationwide telvision audience he could stand the heat in the ultimate kitchen -- FOX reality TV's "Hell's Kitchen -- winning the national recognition as top chef and $250,000 richer.

Originally posted Fri, 2009-12-04 23:05

NSBNEWS.net file photo by Sera Frederick. The 2009 football season is over for the New Smyrna Beach 'Cudas who were no match for powerhouse Dwyer High School Panthers of Palm Beach Gardens, with a 42-6 loss tonight on the road in the Class 4A state quarterfinals. Cudas senior quarterback A.J. Granger, at right, had a rough night getting intercepted by Florida High School Player of the Year Matt Elam early in the first quarter. The Cudas' scoring was limited to six points the third quarter. Dwyer, now 12-1, moves on while the season comes to an abrupt end for the Cudas who finish with an 8-5 record.

Originally posted Tue, 2009-12-08 00:55

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick. Rezoning for the proposed Hampton Inn & Suites on Flagler Avenue was approved Monday night by the Planning Board with the lone dissenting vote cast by Marie Bushey, in the far left photo. Planning Board Chairman Thomas Wheeler, pictured with Bushey, voted with the majority for the hotel. David Swentor, principal in Premiere Development, the developer of the hotel, is shown in the near left photo. Behind him are Linda DeBorde, chairwoman of the Community Redevelopment Agency and Steve Dennis, executive director of the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce, the latter two supporters of Swentor's project.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Even with two new members on the Planning Board, approval for the proposed 112-room Hampton Inn & Suites on Flagler Avenue and backing into Florida Avenue was never in doubt Monday night.

Originally posted Wed, 2009-09-30 03:29

Courtesy photo. County Councilman Jack Hayman is seeking a state audit of New Smyrna Beach's CRA funding.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- County Councilman Jack Heyman wants a state audit of the city's Community Redevelopment Agency, questioning the need of an expanding administration and pointing to the purchase of a nearly $9,000 artificial Christmas tree for Canal Street. as an example of irregularities in spending. New Smyrna Beach leaders say they welcome the oversight.

Originally posted Wed, 2009-12-09 03:21

To view recording click here: http://wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/archives/flash/09-1416.php

Courtesy photo. County Judge Mary Jane Henderson will stand before the Florida Supreme Court to be "reprimanded" for helping a career criminal manage his money and living situation. The proceedings start at 9 a.m. today and can be seen be clicking the link here.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Volusia County Judge Mary Jane Henderson of New Smyrna Beach will appear before the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee this morning to be "reprimanded" for trying to help a career criminal by managing money and getting a rental for him. The proceedings begin at 9 a.m. and will be broadcast live on the Florida Supreme Court's Web site, which can be accessed through a link on NSBNEWS.net.

Editor's Note: Nearly a year has passed since the City Commission voted to spend $417,000 to purchase the former Dunn Lumber, yet nothing to date has been done to improve the site. The arsenic-tainted soil even has not been remediated and the deteriorated building stands vacant, recently vandalized with someone breaking a large plate-glass window facing U.S. 1 that is now covered over with plywood.

NSBNEWS.net video by Sera King. The City Commission voted in January to authorize the Community Redevelopment Agency to spend $417,000 to purchase the former Dunn Lumber property at the intersection of West Canal Street and U.S. 1.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The City Commission offered $417,000 Tuesday night to purchase the former Dunn Lumber property at West Canal and U.S. 1, the key intersection that is seen as the gateway to the city's tourism route: Historic Canal Street and the Indian River to the east, along with tourist-trendy Flagler Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west, State Road 44 corridor shopping and rural charm.

Editor's note: The day after this story was posted in NSBNews.net, the tree was taken down and the interim city manager issued a statement explaining it was put up as a "dry run." Weeks later when the tree was put up, the lights on it malfunctioned several times.

Originally posted Tue, 2009-09-15 20:48

NSBNEWS.net video and photos by Sera Frederick. Between four and six city workers spent all day Tuesday putting up the $9,000 artificial Christmas tree purchased with tax dollars by the Community Redevelopment Agency at the eastern-most end of Canal Street just a couple feet from the riverbank. The tree went up less than a week after the City Commission voted unanimously to tentatively go with the rolled-back rate of $3.7 per $1,000 to finance the $21 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which meant no raises for city employees, the elimination of five open police officer positions and severe cutbacks in capital improvements. Yet the Community Redevelopment Agency was allowed to spend $9,000 this spring to purchase the artificial tree, which has become a lightning rod in this primary election about spending priorities.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The city's $9,000 artificial Christmas tree was erected Tuesday by four to six municipal employees during an all-day affair, though they didn't quite get the job done by the time darkness set in.

Posted Thu, 2009-07-30 20:43

Courtesy photo (far left). Bruce Rossmeyer, shown here in a studio shoot, was killed Thursday while riding his Harley on a Wyoming roadway on his way to the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota.

NSBNEWS.net photo by Sera Frederick. Bruce Rossmeyer's New Smyrna Harley-Davidson on State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach as shown in this photo taken 11 p.m. Thursday. He owned the Harley dealership in his namesake on Beach Street in Daytona Beach as well as Destination Daytona off Interstate 95 near Ormond Beach.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Bruce Rossmeyer, owner of the New Smyrna Beach Harley-Davidson dealership, among myriad bike shops he owned, died today on his Harley when he tried to pass a pick-up truck pulling a camper that was turning left on a Wyoming highway while on his way to the Stugis motorcycle rally in South Dakota. He was 66.

Originally posted Sat, 2009-07-25 03:30

Courtesy photos/NSB Police Department mugshots.

New Smyrna Beach police reported Friday that Jana Calisse Grant, 47, of 1811 Rendy Road, and owner of Rivendell Salon at 515 Canal St., was arrested on felony charges of failing to stop and remain at an accident involving death and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in the Nov. 1, 2008, death of Glenn Scott Grant, 42, of Port Orange, struck and killed on the North Causeway at 12:30 a.m. According to the police charging affidavit, Grant not only failed to stop and render aid or report the accident, but initially lied to police, saying she struck a deer, before admitting she knew from media reports what she had done and failed to come forward, instead going to a car wash to have the victim's blood washed off her damaged Chevy Silverado pick-up truck. Grant also admitted to police that she drank wine that Halloween night at a party, which was corroborated by a friend and that she confided to yet another friend that very morning what had happened and he encouraged her to get a lawyer. The police charging affidavit states Grant was previously convicted of leaving the scene of an accident.

Editor's Note: Some of the details of the crime scene in this story may be graphic for some readers.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Glenn Scott Gagnon, 42, died on the side of the roadway on the North Causeway just after 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 1. The vehicle that struck him never stopped.

Editor's Note: Carol Hargy changed her mind and was rehired two days later (see follow-up story below).

Posted Mon, 2009-11-23 15:27

NSBNEWS.net photos by Sera Frederick. Mark Rakowski, (far left photo) development services director, is out of a job, and Carol Hargy, (near left photo) personnel services director, has tendered her resignation for a job in Jacksonville.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Two major players in city administration are leaving the employ at City Hall: Carol Hargy, personnel director, is leaving voluntarily, but Mark Rakowski, the development services director, is out of a job involuntarily.