By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Nineteen-year-old surfer dude Daniel True has earned his red badge of courage and he has a rather large shark bite wound on his right foot to prove it. That's no lie.

Don’t drink and drive when operating a motor vehicle of any kind. And that includes a boat, especially on this Labor Day weekend when many boaters will be out on the waterways of New Smyrna Beach and throughout Volusia County and off shore along the coastline.

I heard on television where Piers Morgan of CNN was doing a show questioning if the government and media went overboard in their evacuations, warnings and media hype preceding Hurricane Irene. Now that gets my goat.

The day before I'm due to leave town I get a frantic call from a woman about a cat.(An everyday occurrence for me) She said a neighbor moved and left behind this beautiful pure white cat with one blue eye and one green eye. As it turned out, that neighbor did no good for the poor feline.

Alleged battery occurred during house party with alcohol

A domestic violence arrest of Volusia County Deputy Michael W. Scott is detailed in a charging affidavit, which you can read by clicking the attachments below.

Deputy Kyle Bainbridge wrote in his report of the 11:27 p.m. Saturday incident that the wife said her husband's actions were not his usual behavior and she was scared for her life, stating: "I don't want to die tonight."

DELAND -- A 56-year-old off-duty Volusia County deputy was arrested overnight Saturday after pushing his wife of seven years to the ground because he believed she was flirting with a younger man during a party that included alcohol at their DeLand house, an arrest report obtained by NSBNews.net shows.

Big sendoff on the beach for Frederick 'Fico' Fernandez

 NSBNews.net photo / Friends pay their final respects Saturday on the beach for New Smyrna Beach High School teacher Frederick "Fico" Fernandez, killed in a surfing accident a week earlier in the surf. 

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Debra Fernandez and her three children were joined by more than a thousand friends in a memorial sendoff Saturday for her 55-year-old husband, Frederick "Fico" Fernandez, tragically killed in a freak surfing accident in the swollen waves of post-Hurricane Irene.

"He was a dedicated man who took care of us," she said. "He really lived and loved life to the fullest."

EDITOR'S NOTE: NSBNews.net will have a complete story on the service later today, including a half dozen videos and close to a hundred photos. 

Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR
Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, comes to the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 6 in Hampton, Ga.

Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
Jeff Gordon celebrates in Victory Lane holding up three fingers representing three wins in 2011 after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 6 in Hampton, Ga.

Jeff Gordon: Victory No. 85 Adds To Legend

Promise of temporary bridge appeases 250 New Smyrna Beach residents

 NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick / The 200-foot-span concrete bridge built 44 years ago over Turnbull Bay would cost $4 million to replace. The concrete bridge was closed last month because of structural deficiencies following an inspection. At a meeting Tuesday night at the Brannon Center, officials agreed on a temporary measure to ease the hardship on area residents.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Finances are tight at the city and county levels, but 250 residents packing the Brannon Center tonight were adamant that the expected two-year wait for a new $4 million Turnbull Bay Bridge and a 6-mile detour wwere not acceptable. After some heated discussion, officials agreed to pay $200,000 for a temporary span to go 3 feet above the corrupted bridge which could be in place in as little as three months. It's a big if, though, assuming the pylons are sound.