DeBary

Ex-County Chair Phil Giorno worth consideration

Headline Surfer® photo / Rich Gailey, candidate for Volusia County Council district 5, is endorsed by Headline Surfer® with fellow candidate Phil Giorno of Deltona recognized as an alternate endorsement by the award-wining 24/7 internet newspaper.

DELTONA -- The maturation Rich Gailey has shown since his initial run two years ago against an entrenched incumbent has been truly amazing.

And Gailey's hard work on the campaign trail brings hope for the folks of Deltona, DeBary, Enterprise and Osteen in reversing what has been an abysmal two years under term-limited incumbent in Patricia Northey.

And this endorsement is as much about the past as it is the future. Gailey is that future and his presence on the county dais is desperately needed now.

DEBARY -- Lisa Gailey understands and fully supports her husband in his quest to win elective office and represent the interests of Volusia County's forgotten area.

Photo for Headline Surfer® / Rich Gailey, candidate for County Council District 5 seat representing DeBary, Deltona and Enterprise, is shown here at the recent Memorial Day tribute at Memorial Gardens in Deltona, with his wife, Lisa; their son, Ricky, and daughter, Jackie. Among the fallen the Gailey family paid respect to were Gailey's father-in-law, Nate Feldman, who enlisted in the Army and served in Korea. He died two years ago.

DELTONA -- While there are many issues on the home front to be concerned about, Rich Gailey, candidate for the Volusia County Council district 5 seat representing DeBary, Deltona and Enterprise, is troubled by the recent swap of prisoners of war between the US and the Taliban.

What Gailey has trouble with in the swap of five high-level Taliban enemy combatants who were being held at Guantanamo Bay by the US for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan is the American intelligence information showing the American soldier was a deserter.

Photos for Headline Surfer® / Large crowds boad SunRail in DeBary while fares are free. As of Monday, fares will no longer be free to board SunRail. And VOTRAN buses, as shown in the inset, end free shuttle rides today from Deltona to DeBary.

DeBARY -- The free VOTRAN shuttles bringing passengers from Gemini Springs Park and the Deltona Plaza to the DeBary SunRail station end today, Volusia County officials announced in a press release.

On Monday, SunRail will begin collecting paid fares for all boarding passengers.

Debra Annette Smith was planning to walk to Sanford

Headline Surfer® graphic / Debra Annette Smith's badly decomposing body was found in an open field off of South Leisure World Drive near Barwick Road, as shown in this locator map. The ME's Office won't have details on the 48-year-old DeBary woman's cause of death until toxicology reports come back in a few weeks.

DEBARY -- A decomposed body found Wednesday in an open field in DeBary Wednesday morning has been identified as that of 48-year-old Debra Annette Smith, last seen alive Nov. 8, when she left her home after getting into a minor verbal dispute with her partner, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.

Expect more thunderstorms over the next 18 hours before sunny skies return Tuesday to greater Daytona Beach, according to the National Weather Service. The weather as shown at left is as of Sunday night.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The National Weather Service has issued an urban and small stream flood advisory for the Volusia County cities of New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, Orange City, Lake Helen and Deltona until 9 p.m.

The advisory was issued at 6:58 p.m. from the National Weather Service in Melboune, following a fast-moving thunderstorm.

The South Jetty, as shown in this locator map, is in the northern most part of New Smyrna Beach where surfers and sharks share the waters.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 21-year-old surfer from DeBary paddling in the waves in the South Jetty, suffered the first shark bite this year season, Volusia County Beach Patrol Capt. Tammy Marris said earlier today.

The surfer, whose name was not immediately available, was bitten 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Marris said, adding he suffered a minor cut to his hand.

Volusia County had eight shark bites last year, most of them near the South Jetty, where sharks as long as 5 feet, are drawn to bait fish that swirl in the swollen surf.

DEBARY -- The Ladies Networking Luncheon is scheduled 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, April 26, at the DeBary Golf & Country Club, 300 Plantation Club Drive.

The cost for the buffet-style-luncheon is $15 per person. To RSVP go to WestVolusiaRegionalChamber.org and for more information, please call Linda Butler at 386-532-1287.

Preliminary investigation: Speeding may have been a factor in fatality

The map shows the location of the 12:30 p.m. Tuesday Deltona fatality.

DELTONA -- A 20-year-old DeBary man became Volusia County's first highway fatality of the new year when he lost control of his motorcyle on DeBary Avenue near the intersection of Providence Boulevard and struck a stop sign before crashing the bike, a Sheriff's spokesman said.

DEBARY -- SunRail crews will intermittently close the right lane of northbound US 17/92, south of Fort Florida Road, to install utilities under the roadway. Closures could occur any time, as needed, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday through 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Florida Department of Transportation urges you to obey railroad crossing signals and never cross at a closed crossing gate.

Should you have any questions or concerns, you can call the SunRail Construction Hotline at 1-855-RAIL-411 (1-855-724-5411).