Local News Now

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A motorist killed on the Fourth ogf July on Interstate 95 just south of State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach has been identified as a Port Orange man.

Jeffrey Lee Simmons, 52, was identified by the Florida Highway Patrol as the motorist killed on I-95, when he apparently overcorrected his steeering and rolled over his pick-up truck.

Simmons was not wearing his seatbelt and the rollover caused him to be ejected from the vehicle, the FHP reported. He was pronounced dead on the scene shortly after the 3 p.m. accident.

Courtesy photos. State Rep. Dorothy Hukill, R- Port Orange, announced this morning she is running for the 24th district seat in Congress held by first-term incumbent Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach.

PORT ORANGE – Saying first-term incumbent Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas "voted for trillions in new government spending with no way of paying it back," State Rep. Dorothy Hukill announced today that she has filed paperwork to be a candidate for the 24th district seat in Washington.

NSBNEWS.net video by Sera Frederick. Thousands enjoyed Edgewater's fireworks show for the Fourth of July. See our previous story for highlights and enjoy our video coverage.

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick and Sera Frederick. Lucky, a lab and beagle mix, turns his head away from the loud fireworks display that his owners Fred Furhmann and Vicki Edwards enjoy, along with several thousand others on along Riverside Drive (here in front of City Hall) and the adjoining side streets to U.S. 1 for what turned out to be a spectacular Fourth of July fireworks show.

EDGEWATER -- These are the dog days of summer where it's easier to just sit and pant than to get overly excited, especially for Lucky, a 12-year-old lab and beagle mix. He was well behaved among the thousands gathered under the cover of darkness until "Kaboom!" And Lucky moved to the back of his owner's chair.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- With a three-day holiday weekend here and a chance to celebrate Independence Day, Volusia County Fire Services is encouraging common sense fire safety.

I remember coming to America from Italy. It was 1931, 79 years ago and I was 6 years old I remember passing the Statue of Liberty and seeing people with tears in their eyes entering New York Harbor, embarking at Ellis Island.

My mom, my sister, and I hugged each other crying, so happy to be in America after waiting two years. We thanked God for our safe journey.

EDGEWATER -- The Southeast Volusia spotlight falls on Edgewater today with a series of patriotic events that conclude tonight with a spectacular fireworks show at George R. Kennedy Park on Riverside Drive, expected to draw thousands for the Fourth of July celebration.

NSBNEWS.net photo by Sera Frederick (left); Volusia Branch Jail booking mug (right). George Fred Heise, 77, of New Smyrna Beach, poses for the camera during the Kiwanis Club's fundraiser "Strike it Rich" earlier this year. Heise, a member of Kiwanis and former commissioner and chairman of the New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission in the early 1990s, was charged Wednesday night with prowling/loitering and resisting arrest without violence, accused of peeping at a neighbor while hiding in her bushes.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 35-year-old was struck on the head with a gun during a robbery attempt early Friday morning in the 500 block of Brooks Street, police said.

No injury information was released on the victim, Frederick Payne, who lives in the vicinity. A neighbor came to his aid during the 2 a.m. robbery attempt, when the victim was approached by a gunman who demanded his wallet. When the victim refused to hand it over, the gunman struck him in the head with the weapon before running off after the neighbor intervened, New Smyrna Beach police Sgt. Valerie Joyce said.

Laurel Artis Shaffer, 56, of New Smyrna Beach, a clinical researcher for the pharmaceutical industry, died Thursday, July 2, 2009.

Ambers Crum, no age given, of New Smyrna Beach, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II and is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ada, died Wednesday, July 1, 2009.

William Hall J., 53, of Edgewater, a native of San Antonio, died Monday, July 31, 2009.