Ponce Inlet

Volusia County Council dist. 4 candidate retains 2nd-place finish for November runoff

Courtesy photo / Councilman Joseph Perrone knows firsthand that every vote counts, especially in a small town like Ponce Inlet as affirmed by a manual ballot recount Friday.

DELAND -- Two races from Tuesday's primary went unchanged after recounts Friday.

Ponce Inlet Town Councilman Joseph Perrone won re-election over Joe Villanella by one vote in a recount Friday confirmed, unchanged from Tuesday's primary giving him the win, 609 to 608.

In another race requiring a recount, Shannon McLeish of Ormond Beach held onto her 27-voter margin over third-place finisher Jay Young for the right to go against Volusia County Council Council dist 4 primary primary winner Doug Daniels in the Nov. 6 runoff.

DAYTONA BEACH -- In the race for seat 2 on the Volusia County Council, former Ponce Inlet Mayor Nancy Epps' fundraising shows she's the David to incumbent Josh Wagner's Goliath. In a field of three, she only has to score one of the top two spots in the primary to force a November showdown.

That is, unless any of three wins the primary outright with 50 percent plus one. And with an incumbent, that's asking for a lot, including for the current office holder.

Epps likes her chances to force a November showdown just like she did four years ago. 

PONCE INLET -- State Rep, Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, will be among a contingent of dignitaries on hand to commemorate the Memorial Day Holiday with the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse veterarans memorial as a backdrop in Davies Lighthouse Park, 4931 S. Peninsula Drive. 

The 11 a.m. Sunday, May 29, ceremony includes a flyover by the Spruce Creek Gaggle, remarks from Ponce Inlet Mayor Gary Smith and guest speaker Mihael White, director of veterans services for Volusia County. The Spruce Creek High School Trumpeteers will play "Taps" and there are a host of other related activities.

Headline Surfer / NSBNews.net photo by Sera Frederick /

PONCE INLET -- The business agent for the Teamsters Local 385 said he's optimistic a new contract will be hammered out between the union and the town for the small police force.

"We're going to request negotiations sometime in June," said Robert Walker, who has been the union's business agent the better part of 15 months. "I met the new chief in April and we had a good discussion. I feel good about getting a new contract in place for the officers."

Grade: A

Ponce Inlet’s Marine Science Center is nearing a decade of assistance to stranded turtles, injured seabirds and marine mammals. A new study of the exotic invader the Lion fish will shed light on where this predator came from and what we can do to rein it in before it decimates our coastal waters.

Media coverage of birth certificate issue

Grade: F

PONCE INLET, Fla. -- Police Chief Wayne Lurcock died in his home early this morning, the victim of a heart attack. He was 60 years old.

PONCE INLET -- Anytime I move into a new home, I know to expect the unexpected. That said, despite home inspections, something is bound to go wrong the day I move in. Within the first week, the refrigerator went on the blink and the air conditioner compressor was not far behind.

Did you know that each city in our county and some individual cites pay upwards of $90 in your taxes per feral cat to put them to sleep? We pay to kill cats...and dogs! That does not include police and animal control time and work. And not just the feral ones. The feral ones just get the needle sooner.

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PONCE INLET -- Town residents are welcomed to bring their addressed, but unstamped Christmas cards to the Community Center to be exchanged with other Ponce Inlet citizens. There is an exchange box that has alphabetized slots in which to place them and for you to look for your own cards from friends.