DeLand

Courtesy graphic / Rain could be the biggest weapon deployed by firefighters today in quelling the local wild fires, including the biggest -- the Maytown Road Fire that straddles Oak Hill and Osteen with 2,397 acres burned since June 13. That fire is 90 percent contained. Click on the attachment below to see the spate of wild fires across the Sunshine State.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The Volusia County Council has extended the declaration of local emergency for seven days.

OAK HILL -- Firefighters from Division of Forestry, Volusia County Fire Services and additional task force teams of city firefighters are working six active fires throughout the county this morning, including a 35-acre fire in Oak Hill near Volco and Beacon Light roads.

Crews remained on scene overnight, with mop up operations expected to continue at all locations throughout the day today, Volusia County spokeswoman Joanne Megley said, adding, of the Oak Hill fire in particular, "There were a number of homes threatened, but no evacuations were ordered."

DELAND -- Division of Forestry crews have contained the brush fire at Clark Bay Road and East International Speedway Boulevard in DeLand. The fire, reported at 6:25 p.m. Sunday, topped out at 15 acres.

Eight new brush fires were reported in Volusia County on Sunday and all are contained, Volusia County spokeswoman Pat Kuehn said. 

Courtesy photo / Circuit Judge returns for a second stint as chief judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit that includes Volusia, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties.

DELAND -- Circuit Judge William A. Parsons will lead the Seventh Judicial Circuit as chief judge beginning July 1. Elected by the 42 circuit and county court judges in Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties, Parsons will have administrative supervision over all courts in the 7th Judicial circuit which includes Volusia, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties, during his two-year term.

Courtesy photo / Thick smoke billows from a wild fire off a muddy dirt road in DeLand near Daytona Park Estates subdivision where a dozen homes were briefly evacuated earlier in the week.

DELAND -- With growing concern about the extreme dry conditions, the spate of wild fires and a forecast that calls for less than normal rainfall, Volusia County Fire Chief Joseph Pozzo has been authorized to enact a fireworks ban that begins Monday in the unincorporated areas of Volusia County and the cities of Lake Helen, Oak Hill and Pierson, which are part of the county’s unified fire district.

PIERSON -- Firefighters from four agencies continued to make progress Sunday on three brush fires that started in West Volusia the day before.

The Pierson fire, near the intersection Bell Fountaine Avenue and Carruthers Lane, grew to 243 acres and is 80 percent contained. Volusia County Fire Services was assisted by the Firewalkers, a multi-agency team of firefighters who specialize in brush fires, in this rural fire.

Courtesy photo / Stetson student Jason Sauter and his girlfriend, Nancy Vidarte, will report on the Royal wedding for CNN.

DELAND -- Stetson University student Jason Sauter isn't necessarily a big fan of the Royal Wedding, but his girlfriend is, and he won a CNN contest to cover it. And she's going with him.

Check out the full story as reported by the Orlando Sentinel. Click the attachment here: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-stetson-student-covers-royal-weddi20110420,0,2592632.story 

NSBNews.net, also known as VolusiaNews.net, provides Volusia County 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage, 100% free with breaking news, news of record and investigative reports from New Smyrna Beach, FL, for a 21st-century digital world. 

DELAND -- A 53-year-old DeLand motorist was killed Friday when she drove her brand new Nissan into the path of a cement mixer on U.S. 92 at Old Daytona Road near DeLand, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Patricia Poeth, who was trapped in her crushed car, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 8 a.m. accident, the highway patrol said.

VolusiaNews.net and NSBNews.net provide Volusia County with 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage for a 21st-century world. 

DELAND -- It's easy, anonymous and could put up to $1,000 in someone's pocket. It's the crime-fighting Crime Stoppers program, and officials investigating a pipe bomb explosion early Sunday morning near DeLand are hoping that someone with information about the incident will call the tip line and claim a reward.

DeLand, Fla. -- Robert Huth Jr., an experienced business and finance administrator who currently serves as executive vice president at Middlebury College in Vermont, has been named vice president for business and chief financial officer at Stetson University.