Local News Now

Headline Surfer photo by Sera King / Jill Biden, wife of Vice President-elect Joe Biden campaigned for him and Barack Obama in New Smyrna Beach, just 11 days before the general election.

By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Jill Biden, wife of vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, urged nearly 300 Democratic supporters at the Woman's Club of New Smyrna Beach on Oct. 24 to take advantage of early voting before the expected Nov. 4 election-day crush.

NSBNEWS.net video by Sera King. The New Smyrna Beach City Commission offered $417,000 Tuesday night to purchase the former Dunn Lumber property at West Canal and U.S. 1, the key intersection that is seen as the gateway to the city's tourism route: Historic Canal Street and the Indian River to the east, along with tourist-trendy Flagler Avenue and the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west, State Road 44 corridor shopping and rural charm.

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.

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.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A middle-aged man was seriously injured when he was struck by a motor vehicle that took off in the 4600 block of South Atlantic Avenue just before 9 p.m.

EVAC responded and the unidentified man in his 50s was airlifted by Volusia County Sheriff's helicopter to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

EVAC spokesman Mark O'Keefe described the pedestrian's injuries as "critical."

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the incident just outside the city limits of New Smyrna Beach.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- About 400,000 gallons of raw sewage spewed into a wooded area Thursday morning near Sugar Mill Drive, but was contained to a low-lying area that stopped it from continuing into a nearby drainage ditch, county officials said.

The spill was blamed on a broken 30-inch pipe that has since been repaired, officials said. The same mainline was affected by a broken pipe off of Glencoe Road a year ago.

County officials said the spill does not pose any health risks because of its remote location and is being cleaned up.

Robert James Engelkamp, 83, of New Smyrna Beach, a retired postal supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service in Cincinnati, died Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2008.

Shelly Jo Johnson, 38, of Edgewater, a homemaker, died Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2008.

Betty Landrove, of New Smyrna Beach, who worked data processing in the health care industry, died Thursday, Jan. 6, 2008.

Marjorie McDowall Morris, 93, of New Smyrna Beach, a former office secretary for Avon Tube Corp., in Rochester, Mich., died Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2008.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Harpist and vocalist Melody Long Anglin will perform at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library at 2 p.m. Saturday. The concert is free and open to the public.

A renowned harpist, Anglin recently won a first place award in WESH-TV’s “Best Music in Central Florida” contest. She received a master’s degree in musical performance at the University of Tulsa and plays a variety of music styles, including classical, jazz, pop, therapeutic, sacred and Celtic harp.

This “Live in the Library” performance is sponsored by the Friends ofthe New Smyrna Beach Regional Library.