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DAYTONA BEACH -- The jokes about cops and donuts has not included coffee or tea, until a Daytona Beach cop got fired in July after allegations he was trying to use his influence as a police officer to get the piping-hot liquids from the Starbucks at the Ocean Walk Shoppes on Atlantic Avenue.

Lt. Major Garvin, a 15-year veteran was fired after an internal affairs report found he was intimidating Starbucks employees into giving him freebies often during his shifts on the beachside.

Photo by Roland Via. Holly Hill Public Safety Director resigned his post in December to become chief of police in Port St. Lucie.

HOLLY HILL -- Don Shinnamon, public safety director for Holly Hill, resigned in December after he was offered and accepted the position of chief of police in Port St. Lucie.

Shinnamon had been with Holly Hill since 2001, and was formerly top cop in Gainesville.

ORMOND BEACH -- Pedro Lemos resigned his position as an Ormond Beach cop in December amid an internal affairs investigation into allegations he interfered with Holly Hill police giving his girlfriend a ticket.

DELAND -- Below-average rainfall over the last few months has fire officials in Volusia County on alert for possible brush fires and encouraging citizens to practice fire safety, said Shelley Szafraniec, county spokeswoman.

Officials warn the torrential rain from Tropical Storm Fay a few months ago only offset the drought the area was already experiencing.

Photo by Capt. Budd Neviaser. Cutline.Wilma Myers holds the first redfish she's ever caught as she stands next to Karl Root with his pompano.

Again we have been blessed with no reports of Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, being detected in the samples collected from Mosquito Lagoon, Indian River lagoon, or the Banana River, thus far this month.

DELAND -- Staff from the Volusia County Personnel Division will meet with representatives of the International Association of Firefighters union, which represent county firefighters, from 1:30 - 5 p.m. today, to discuss collective bargaining negotiations.

The meetings will be in the second floor conference room of the Volusia County Personnel Division, 230 N. Woodland Blvd., Suite 262, DeLand.

NSBNEWS.net photo by Sera King. Several thousand people showed up at dawn Saturday to watch the launchings of hot-air balloons. The crowd had ballooned to 10,000 the night before to watch the flame-testing required before flight. Please check out the previous story and photos for more highlights. The inaugural Seaside Balloon Fest was led by New Smyrna Beach Mayor Sally Mackay as a new year's celebration for the city and to spark tourism.

PONCE INLET -- An appeals prosecutor shot a home invader in the stomach the night of Aug. 26 after he was warned several times to leave the home, according to a police report.
Kenneth Nunnelley the lead prosecutor for appeals to the Florida Supreme Court in the 7th judicial circuit, pointed a 9 mm handgun at Roman Nowak who had pushed his way into the home while he was there with his wife and children about 10:30p.m. that night.

DELTONA -- A 27-year-old woman was arrested during the early morning hours on a misdemeanor battery charge of biting her husband's penis, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office reported.
Delou Bowers told responding deputies that after he and his wife, Charris returned home from a bar they began to have oral sex during which she bit down on the tip of his penis, forcing him to punch her in the face to unclench her jaw. He said his wife then let go and tried to hit him before he pushed her down and called for help, according to the Sheriff's report.

DAYTONA -- This was a Christmas Volusia County Jail inmate Lempira Noman won't soon forget after he was jumped by two other inmates and a likeness of a human penis was tattooed on his right shoulder, according to officials there.

Norman was attacked by the others after he refused to join a club they were forming and after they tackled him and threw a blanket over his head and threatened to beat him unless he agreed to a tattoo with a capital and lower case b. Instead, a penis was drawn without his knowledge.