DAYTONA WEST
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
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VOLUME 2, NO. 7
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Vacation rental issue tabled
‘A musical outreach’ The Trae Pierce and the T-Stones band is partnering with Kids Rock the Nation. JARLEENE ALMENAS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A total of 73 people signed up to speak about the ordinance. JARLEENE ALMENAS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The saga on vacation rentals continues. The Volusia County Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday, March 2, to wait and see what happens with House Bill 219 — which if passed would preempt local regulation of vacation rentals — before making a decision on the county’s existing ordinance. Council Chair Jeff Brower voted not to table. In the meantime, the county will work on putting together a committee made up of people representing all sides of the issue, to be elected to serve by council members. The temporary suspension on code enforcement actions against short-term rentals is also remaining in place, a result of a 5-2 vote. Councilmen Ben Johnson and Fred Lowry voted against, worried that a longer cease of enforcement action on the county’s behalf could risk the integrity of their ordinance. “I want to settle this thing, but I want to settle it one time, for all, for the best good of everyone,” Johnson said. According to county data presented by Clay Ervin, county director of growth and resource management, there have been 860 complaints made regarding the existence of a short-term rental in a zone in which they are not allowed. Of those, 347 notices of violation were issued by the county, and 86 cases referred to
Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Local musician Trae Pierce and Anthony Wild, of Kids Rock the Nation, show off the bass guitar that will be raffled this Saturday.
The Trae Pierce and the T-Stones band finds inspiration through a variety of music styles. They’re a little country, a little rock, with some pop and hip-hop vibes, all a result of their diverse backgrounds. The band is composed of four-time Grammy Award-winning bassist Trae Pierce, his son and lead singer Rae, drummer Felix Molina and guitarist Grant Chase Jones, and their new single, “Be Anything,” is a union of what makes each of the band members different. “It was long time for us to figure out a song that could capture all of us where we were all satisfied,” said Pierce. Their music video was also recorded in parts of Ormond Beach. The band is hosting a single release party at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at Beachside Tarven, located at 690 E. Third Ave. in New Smyrna Beach, where they will also raffle one of Pierce’s bass guitars, signed by all members of the band, with proceeds
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What lies beneath Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Mound 6, the largest discovered to date, stands at about 14 feet in height.
he Tomoka Mound and Midden Complex provides a lens to the past. Tucked away in a section of the park currently not accessible to the public, surrounded by historic Oaks and sturdy red bay trees, the 12 mounds that make up the complex have given researchers a glimpse into what life was like for the Timucua people that once inhabited this area. Easily missed unless you know what you’re looking for, the mounds are more than just hidden hills in the brush. Since the 1880s, the mystery of these mounds has sparked interest. First came a man named A.E. Douglass, who arrived in Florida with the interest of collecting Native American antiquities in 1882. After excavating three mounds, he ended up finding 10 bannerstones buried in one of the largest of the mounds, known now by its number: 6. After Douglass, John Griffin and Hale Smith excavated Mound 2 in 1946, discovering evidence of human remains. From that point on, these mounds became associated with ceremonial burials. Then in 1979, two more men — Randolph
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“It was really the first time people had been taken back there to see the mounds. Many of them lived in this area and didn’t even know about the mounds, and it just was super.” PHILIP RAND
Daniel and Jay Haviser — worked to identify more mounds within the park. They found six more. These ancient mounds date back up to 5,000 years ago, and are some of the largest and most intact of their kind in the state of Florida. And as of Nov. 27, 2020, they form part of the National Register of Historic Places. It’s an accomplishment, said Philip Rand, park manager for the Tomoka Basin State Parks. “That’s a career milestone,” he said. “It’s something you’ll always be proud of.” ANCIENT HISTORY
Thanks to the Tomoka Archaeology project, started in 2013 by Dr. Jon Endonino, an associate professor of the Anthropology SEE MOUNDS PAGE 2