Former
and soonto-be Hall of Famer runs local
basketball academy for 27th year.
PAGE 8B
Sculpture tour coming this fall
Come fall, Ormond’s downtown will get an arts boost: Bronze sculptures by artist Seward Johnson.
The Ormond Beach Arts District is bringing 13 sculptures to town, having raised $52,000 for the effort, Board President Julia Truilo said. In May, the commission agreed to sponsor two sculptures within the tour, a cost of $8,000. The tour will run from Nov. 1, 2024, to May 1, 2025.
“This brings economic development to our city,” Commissioner Susan Persis said. “It is so exciting. It improves our beautification in our city and our quality of life, which is the cornerstone of Ormond MainStreet’s mission.”
Board members appointed
Three government boards have new Ormond members:
April Cole, Brownfield Advisory Board
Lindsey Pate, Leisure Services Advisory Board
Bill Navarra, Volusia Growth Management Commission Commissioner Travis Sargent was also selected as the voting delegate for the Florida League of Cities.
As the city of Ormond Beach continues to plan for next fiscal year’s budget, taxpayers should expect to see an increase on their upcoming property taxes.
On Tuesday, July 23, the Ormond Beach City Commission voted unanimously to set a tentative millage rate of 4.1610 — or $4.1610 per $1,000 in taxable property value.
The proposed rate is 3.87% higher than last year’s rate of 4.0060 mills and 12.82% above the rollback rate, or the rate that would generate the same amount of tax revenues as last year’s rate.
The average homesteaded resident with a taxable property value of $250,000 will see an increase of $62.21 on their tax bill, based on the proposed millage rate, according to the city’s presentation.
The first public hearing of the proposed tax rate will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4, and the final hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
So why the tax rate increase?
Prior to the vote at its meeting Tuesday, the commission held a workshop to discuss its $130.78 million budget, which is 8.87% higher than last year’s budget of $120.11 million.
Among the notable projects included in this year’s budget is the purchase of nine police vehicles; an enhanced fire hydrant inspection program and replacement of brush gear; the reconstruction of the Ormond Beach Sports Complex softball field; a new telephone communications system at City Hall to replace its current system that dates back to the ‘80s; the purchase of new playground equipment at Fire Station 91; and the reconstruction of the
fishing pier at Sanchez Park.
Initially, the city was proposing a millage rate of 3.9910 — which was .37% less than the current rate while being 8.14% above the rollback rate — but the commission opted to add 0.17 mills to the rate to help fund 12 new staff positions at the city.
Mayor Bill Partington said at the workshop that he hadn’t heard residents cite a need for more staffing, but Commissioner Harold Briley said he had — in police, fire and also Leisure Services.
“Some of our residents feel there’s a deterioration on our fields, they’re not being kept up properly,” Briley said.
Commissioner Lori Tolland said staffing levels are still below what they were in 2005. In 2005, the city employed 373 people; last year, it employed 365.
If a city department head sug -
gested a position was needed, she said she trusted in that.
The commission is also considering helping to fund the new school for the PACE Center for Girls; they asked staff to set $100,000 aside next year from reserves, with another $100,000 the following year.
Staff also asked the commission if they wished to fund a new “Championship Stadium” project for Seabreeze that may be pursued by the Volusia County School Board with leftover funds from the Tomoka Elementary rebuild, but commissioners said they needed more information before committing the suggested $1 million.
The School Board has not been a great partner with the city, Partington said.
“So I’m reluctant to vote on something with absolutely no hard facts or details,” Partington said.
“This expansion project raises the bar on patient care excellence in the region, and we could not be prouder to advance health care for the communities we are privileged to serve.”
David Weis, president and CEO of AdventHealth Daytona Beach. See Page 6A
No condos on tennis
In response to a poll that has been floating on social media — one that asks citizens if they'd prefer condos on the tennis courts by The Casements instead of the courts — City Commissioner Travis Sargent assured residents at the commission meeting Tuesday that this has never been in discussion.
The poll was posted by Zone 3 City Commission candidate Barbara Bonarrigo on her campaign Facebook page.
Sargent said that last June, the Leisure Services Advisory Board (on which Bonarrigo serves) unanimously voted to recommend the city pursue an ECHO grant to upgrade the lighting and build a standalone restroom the site.
The city has yet to formally apply for that ECHO grant, choosing to submit other Leisure Services projects instead.
"I want to assure the residents in Zone 2 and all of our community that I would never entertain selling that property — never," Sargent said.
PAC could reopen by end of the year The Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center — which closed in March after a fire — could reopen sometime in November or December of this year, City Manager Joyce Shanahan told the commission at its meeting on Tuesday. The fire at the PAC occurred less than a month after the city reopened the theater, following a $1.7 million renovation over 18 months of construction. Email Managing Editor Jarleene Almenas at Jarleene@observerlocalnews. com
Citizens For Ormond Beach held a candidates forum for local races on Wednesday, July 17. Here is who is running for mayor.
JARLEENE
ALMENAS MANAGING EDITOR
The Ormond Beach mayoral race won’t be on the primary elections ballot, but the community still got a chance to learn about candidates Susan Persis and Jason Leslie at the Citizens For Ormond Beach forum on Wednesday, July 17.
Held at the Ormond Beach Senior Center, the candidates forum also featured those running for Volusia County Council Chair, Volusia County School Board Member District 4 and Zone 3, all races which will be on the August ballot.
Persis is currently the Zone 3 representative on the Ormond Beach City Commission. She has been in office since 2018 and is a retired teacher, assistant principal and principal. Persis was reelected in 2020
and 2022 without opposition.
“I’m running for mayor of my hometown because I want to continue my lifelong passion to serve the public,” Persis said. “My six years on the commission — two years serving as deputy mayor — and my experience of working with people and creating win-win situations has prepared me well to be your mayor.”
Leslie is a local businessman with 20 years of entrepreneurship experience. He’s been visiting the Ormond Beach area for two decades and moved to town about six years ago. Leslie owns commercial property, which he rents, as well as has an e-commerce business.
“One of the reasons why I want to run for mayor is because some of the issues that we face here in this community are actually issues I faced in the community I came from,” Leslie said. “Back in 2012, I had four feet of water in my house due to Hurricane Sandy. I advocated for everybody in the community to try to help get back up to speed.”
PROBLEMS
Question: What do you believe is the primary problem in Ormond Beach
and what would you do to solve it?
Persis said two things come to mind: Traffic and homelessness. There is a traffic issue on Granada Boulevard, but it is a state road, she said. Currently, FDOT is narrowing the lanes in the downtown district to reduce speeding and increase safety. She attributed a lot of the traffic to the apartments that have been built around the city limits.
“I hate to say problems because Ormond Beach is running so well,” Persis said.
Leslie said the fuel farm proposed by Belvedere Terminals at 874 Hull Road is one of the biggest issues residents are concerned about.
“I know that’s in the county, but they still are concerned because they’re worried about the property values and some of the impacts that are involved with it,” Leslie said.
People are also worried about traffic and development, both issues he’s also concerned about, he added.
Question: What is your position on Home Rule and would you advocate to strengthen it?
Leslie said that communities should be allowed to govern their own backyards.
“So I would advocate to continue to keep Ormond Beach the way it is and not having our government in Tallahassee tell us what we should and shouldn’t do,” Leslie said.
Persis agreed and said that she believes locals know what they want and what is best for the city.
“And so to have someone in Tallahassee tell us what we can or can’t build, I have issue with that,” she said.
COMMUNICATION
Question: What would you do to improve communication between the city of Ormond Beach and the
residents? Persis said that communication has improved since the city hired a public information officer. The city’s website is also in the process of being updated. All of the commissioners and mayors are always available for residents to contact, she said.
“They know we can be reached at any time, and I’m very proud that, anytime there is an issue in the city, it gets completed quickly,” Persis said.
Talking to residents and being transparent is the answer, Leslie said. If he’s elected, he said he will hold town halls to have one-on-one conversations with citizens.
“Help and guide them to understand how local government works and what they can do ... and let their voices be heard and we can work together to seek resolve,” Leslie said.
FUEL FARM RELOCATION
Question: Does the allocation of $10 million of state funds for the relocation of Belvedere Terminals’ proposed fuel farm solve the problem?
Leslie said no and cited the fact that Belvedere Terminals has not been communicating with Volusia County staff, despite the allocation of state funds. When prompted by the moderator, Leslie said the solution would be to first speak with the company.
“We have to try to find a way to get communication out of them to find what is they need to fill the gap,” Leslie said.
Persis said the allocation for a relocation does solve the problem. The city has already refused to provide utilities to the unincorporated property and it has spent about $325,000 in legal funds fighting the project.
“This is a battle we had to fight,” Persis said. “Our citizens’ safety comes first.
Question: What do you propose to do to improve affordable housing in our community?
Persis said there is affordable housing, also known as workforce housing, in the community — but the waiting lists are long. Workforce housing is for veterans, seniors, retirees, and workers such as first responders and teachers.
“It’s expensive to buy a house, it’s expensive to rent an apartment,” Persis said. “So we do need to have places where they can go and afford to live on their own.”
Leslie said the people workforce housing needs to support are workers who cannot afford to live in the city they’re employed in.
“We can actually help the local business owners by getting them help and you can also help the people that want to help them by giving them a place to live,” he said.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Question: What actions would you take, if elected, to mitigate the effects of climate change and/or reduce our contribution to it?
Leslie said one has to work with a lot of different agencies — national and state — to make a difference, without “pointing fingers” regarding what each agency is supposed to be responsible for.
“We need to work with these agencies to make sure we mitigate all these problems,” Leslie said.
Part of the city budget goes to drainage projects and repairing the city’s drainage system to ensure Ormond Beach is prepared for storms, Persis said.
“The other thing that the city is doing is that we are going to construct another reuse reservoir to store reclaim water, so that will help also,” Persis said.
Citizens For Ormond Beach’s candidate forum on Wednesday, July 17, featured the four candidates who are running for Volusia County Council Chair in the Aug. 20 primary election.
JARLEENE ALMENAS
MANAGING EDITOR
Who will you choose to lead the Volusia County Council for the next four years?
Candidates running for chair debated local issues and worked to earn votes at the Citizens For Ormond Beach candidates forum held at the Ormond Beach Senior Center on Wednesday, July 17. Incumbent Jeff Brower and challengers Don Burnette, Deb Denys and Randy Dye will all be on the Aug. 20 ballot for the primary election. If no candidate wins 50% of the vote, plus one, at the primary, then the top two candidates will go into a run-off in the November general election.
Brower was elected chair in 2020. He has lived in Volusia County for the majority of his life and owns a landscape construction company and organic farm in Deleon Springs. Brower is a former Volusia County lifeguard and is chair of the Indian River Lagoon Council.
“I wanted to bring some responsibility to the way we grow,” Brower said. “I also was noticing that our tax system was out of control. Our property taxes go up every year and we have been successful in halting that. This year, the Volusia County Council is really close to giving you for the first time in recent history an actual tax reduction.”
Burnette is the current Port Orange mayor. He has served on the Port Orange City Council since 2010, holding the mayoral office since 2016. As Port Orange has term limits, his will conclude in December. Burnette is also a lifelong Volusia County resident, and works as a loan officer with The Mortgage Firm. He served two terms as president of the Volusia League of Cities and is a member of the Florida League of Cities board of directors.
“I’m very much invested that we have the quality community, the quality county that we all want — what we all deserve,” Burnette said.
Denys is a former Volusia County Councilwoman, having represented District 3 from 2012-2020, at which point she ran for County Council chair against Brower, who won the election. She is a real estate agent with Weichert Realtors and was appointed to the Florida Communities Trust by the governor.
“The selection for the County Council chair is about one issue: Leadership,” Denys said. “And that’s what you’re going to hopefully hear a lot from tonight — why leadership and why there’s been a void in the dais.”
Dye is a former race car driver who owns two car dealerships in Daytona Beach. He’s lived in Volusia County since 1982 and is involved with several community boards including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Volusia/ Flagler Counties, Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce’ and CEO Business Alliance of Team Volusia. He’s also the founder of 71 MVP, an organization that raises money for local charities.
“When you figure out that Volusia County has helped me able to — and my family and my children, my grandchildren — start to experience the American Dream, you have to
hope to be able to deliver that back to everybody else in Volusia County too,” Dye said.
Here is how these candidates answered CFOB’s questions.
PROBLEMS IN VOLUSIA
Question: What do you believe is the primary problem in Volusia County and what would you do to solve it?
Burnette said the biggest issue is managing growth. Volusia County issued 727 residential permits last year, he said — trailing behind the top issuer, Daytona Beach, at over 900 permits.
“So what are we doing with that?” Burnette said. “There’s an awful lot of tax revenue that’s coming from those dollars. What are we doing with those dollars?”
Denys said leadership is the biggest issue, and spoke about bringing more jobs to Volusia i the manufacturing and aerospace industries.
“I believe Volusia’s best days are yet ahead,” she said. “I truly believe that. I can see it.”
Dye said recent rapid growth put pressure on infrastructure, which needs to be improved. He also spoke about keeping local youth in the county for the future workforce, using his grandson as an example.
“I want him to grow up here,” he said. “I want him to go to school here. I want him to go to college and I want him to come back and have an opportunity ... to do the same thing I got to do.”
Brower said growth, water quality and taxes — all related to overdevelopment, he said.
“We have to deal with growth,” Brower said. “If we deal with that one thing, we will deal with water and taxes at the same time. ... We have to change our current development pattern because what we’re doing as far as coming in, clear-cutting property, draining the wetlands, paving it over, putting houses, flooding all the neighborhoods around it, is not working.”
THE BEACH Question: What are your priorities on how the beach is used?
Denys praised the council’s recent decision to charge non-residents to pay at off-beach parking lots starting 2025. As for having dogs on the beach, referencing the recent pilot program launched in Ormond last year, Denys said her area of the county would not want to see that
pilot program area expand. Restoring beach driving to the Main Street area in Daytona Beach? Denys said the federal take permit could be at stake.
“Right now, we have a beautiful beach,” Denys said. “I support the direction the council is going.”
Dye said the priority is to preserve the beach — keeping it safe and healthy. Today’s usage of the beach, he said, with its dog-friendly pilot program and beach driving areas, is the most diverse it’s been.
“I don’t really believe there’s any point in trying to change any of that,” Dye said.
Brower said the beach is the county’s main economic driver and that the current County Council has been proactive and successful in preserving the beach.
“We’re also going to remove the charge that you pay at next month’s County Council meeting for getting on the beach because you already pay for that in your property taxes,” Brower said. “You shouldn’t pay for it twice.”
Burnette said beach erosion is a problem the county is facing, and one that it has to work with the coastal cities to address. When it comes to the county’s new off-beach paid parking program, Burnette said he worried that would crowd the beach further as visitors will opt to park there instead for the same price. A rate adjustment for beach tolls will be needed.
“So we need to charge non-residents for off-beach parking, but we need to not incentivize them to go on the beach and use up our space,” Burnette said.
FUEL FARM RELOCATION
Question: Does the allocation of $10 million of state funds for the relocation of Belvedere Terminals’ proposed fuel farm solve the problem?
Dye said he would like to hope it resolves the issue, but the problem is that Belvedere Terminals is not responding to the county. The fuel farm should not be located in an area close to residents and recreational facilities, he said.
“It’s not good enough just to figure out how to move it from Ormond Beach,” Dye said. “It’s got to be something that – whatever it takes to move it away from people, period.”
Brower said he wished he could tell the public that Belvedere will relocate the project, but they have gone silent.
“Honestly, I don’t want it anywhere in Volusia County,” he said. “Belvedere has never built doggone thing. I don’t want them building a fuel storage facility in our county as a their first attempt.”
Burnette said the fuel terminal isn’t going away anytime soon. He said this was because there is a moratorium in place — however, the County Council voted 5-2 in February against the moratorium, which Brower corrected Burnette about later in the forum. Burnette said he appreciated the governor slated the funds but that there needs to be accountability for the lack of awareness of the project on the County Council, who discovered Belvedere Terminals’ proposal in August 2023.
“Do I hope the $10 million makes a difference? Yes, absolutely,” Burnette said. “Nobody knows though.” Denys said Belvedere Terminals has gone radio silent — but it is an election year. The issue has been mishandled since “Day One,” she said.
“$10 million to move it? I don’t know, they’ve got the railroad right there,” Denys said. “That is going to be up to them to decide, but again,
Citizens For Ormond Beach held a candidates forum for local races on Wednesday, July 17, ahead of the primary election. Here is who is running for Ormond Beach City Commission Zone 3.
JARLEENE ALMENAS
MANAGING EDITOR
Only one Ormond Beach City Commission race will be on the August ballot for the primary election — and that’s the race to represent Zone 3. On Wednesday, July 17, Citizens for Ormond Beach held a candidates forum at the Ormond Beach Senior Center featuring those running in the primary election for Volusia County Council Chair, Volusia County School Board Member District 4 and Zone 3. The Ormond Beach mayoral
candidates — although the race is not on the August ballot — also participated in the forum.
The Zone 3 race has three candidates: Kristin Deaton, Barbara Bonarrigo and Daniel Dragone. Due to a health issue, Dragone was absent at the forum.
Deaton is a sales manager with Guild Mortgage. She was born and raised in Ormond Beach and is a board member of the city’s Municipal Police Officers’ Pension Trust Board. She is also a vice president on the local Crime Stoppers board, and has served in nonprofit boards and helped with volunteer efforts in the past.
She said she wants to continue to give back to the community.
“As I raise my own family in the same small town that I grew up in, as well as operate my business in, I am more committed than ever to preserving and enhancing the qualities that make our community unique,”
Deaton said.
Bonarrigo is the recently retired CEO of CJ Manufacturing in Daytona Beach and has lived in Ormond Beach for over 20 years. She serves on three city advisory boards: the Board of Adjustments and Appeals, Human Resources Advisory Board and the Leisure Services Board. In 2020, she ran for the Volusia County Council District 4 seat, but lost to then-incumbent Heather Post.
Based on her community involvement, Bonarrigo said running for office was a natural progression.
“When I’m walking door-to-door, ... the people are telling me that the growth is here already,” Bonarrigo said. “They want infrastructure.”
The candidates were asked questions about the issues facing the city, including flooding, pedestrian safety and development. Here is what they had to say.
PROBLEMS IN ORMOND BEACH
Question: What do you believe is the primary problem in Ormond Beach and what would you do to solve it?
Deaton said it is the shortage of police officers, traffic and infrastructure and the redevelopment of
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the city’s gateways — I-95 and West Granada Boulevard, and I-95 and U.S. 1.
“First impressions of our community, they define us more than anything,” Deaton said.
Bonarrigo said the biggest problem people are concerned with is infrastructure, and mentioned a Tymber Creek Road extension as a possible future solution.
“That’s all they’re telling me, so that’s going to be also my priority — is what the people want,” Bonarrigo said.
TRAILS
Question: Where do you think there are opportunities to add trails for biking and walking?
Bonarrigo said the city has over 50 parks that can be improved with trails. As a representative on the Leisure Services, she said she has been an advocate for ensuring tennis courts stay open on the beachside, as the previous operator chose not to renew his lease. The tennis center now has a new operator and the Leisure Services board recommended the City Commission pursue a county ECHO grant to improve facilities.
“Now we can ensure that we will get a tennis club in the back and pickleball and healthy residents,” Bonarrigo said.
Deaton said there are a lot of opportunities for trails in Tomoka State Park, the Loop and Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park.
“We have a lot of opportunity to enhance those parks,” Deaton said.
FLOODING
Question: Stormwater issues such as flooding and water quality continue to be a concern in our communities. How do you begin to address the problems?
Deaton said local officials need to continue to work with the Legislature to see where there are opportunities for grant funds or incentives for projects. Besides that, local officials can’t do much else on their own, she said.
Bonarrigo, who said she wasn’t
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sure about the answer to the problem, said current building codes have contributed to flooding and that the city needs to improve its stormwater system.
COMMUNICATION
Question: What would you do to improve communication between the city of Ormond Beach and the residents?
Bonarrigo said she’s been working on that already by spending the last year speaking to citizens. If elected, she said she wants to continue to do that.
“I see something, I say something and together we can do good things so that we can fix it,” Bonarrigo said.
Deaton said it’s very important at the city level to communicate effectively. Social media is a tool for communication too, she added, and should continue to be utilized.
“We’ve been establishing good relationships, when it comes to the city, to the county, to the state representatives and that’s very important,” Deaton said.
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
Question: How would you make our roadways safer for pedestrians?
Deaton said the city needs more crosswalks as well as to address homelessness, as people may be scared to use sidewalks because of the transient issue.
“We need to work on ordinances,” she said. “There’s a lot of things that we can do here. ... The flashing pedestrian crossings would be great, like we have in downtown Ormond.”
Bonarrigo said she recently had a concerned resident express to her that a local crosswalk needed to be repainted, and so she called the city manager and the work was done within a week.
“Our roads have to be safe,” Bonarrigo said. “We have to look at the crosswalks and the stop signs and pedestrian signs and the bikes.”
TRANSPORTATION
Question: What would you do to alleviate the traffic on Granada Boulevard?
Bonarrigo said there are talks about widening Granada Boulevard from Williamson Boulevard to out West. As a resident who lives near Tymber Creek Road, she said there is a serious traffic problem coming with the development of Avalon Park and Tymber Creek Apartments.
“We also have to be ready for the Live Local Act,” Bonarrigo said, referencing the recent law that grants developers the right to build highdensity apartments without much local oversight if they commit to set aside at least 40% of units for affordable housing.
Deaton said Granada Boulevard is a state road and that she is not interested in removing the medians to widen the road, as that could pose more safety issues. When asked by the moderator if they would be interested in pursuing a Hand Avenue extension, both candidates said yes.
“I would need to see the cost,” Deaton said. “I’m a numbers person.”
Citizens For Ormond Beach’s candidate forum brought all three candidates running to represent District 4 on the School Board together to debate future of education.
JARLEENE ALMENAS
EDITOR
MANAGING
Voters will get their first chance to decide who will represent District 4 on the Volusia County Council come the Aug. 20 primary election.
Three candidates are currently vying for the seat: Incumbent School Board member Carl Persis and challengers Donna Brosemer and Sarah Marzilli. If no candidate wins 50% of the vote, plus one, at the primary, then the top two candidates will go into a run-off in the November general election. All three candidates participated in Citizens For
Ormond Beach’s candidate forum at the Ormond Beach Senior Center on Wednesday, July 17.
Persis has been representing District 4 on the School Board since 2016. He was reelected in 2020 with no opposition. A former teacher, he worked as a school principal for 27 years. He is a former Ormond Beach City Commissioner and mayor, and former Volusia County Council District 4 representative.
“There isn’t anything more important that children, because children are the future of our country,” Persis said.
Marzilli is the art teacher at Pine Trail Elementary School in Ormond Beach. She has been teaching for 15 years and grew up in a family with many educators.
“I have been working to make sure that everyone knows that my campaign is about transparency in our school district,” Marzilli said.
Brosemer is a former lobbyist with 30 years of experience working in public policy. She has served on higher education state boards, such as the Daytona State College board of trustees, and previously worked as a community relations specialist for Embrace Families, a foster care nonprofit.
“An educated population produces stable communities,” Brosemer said.
“After retiring from a 30-year career in public policy, I thought this was an opportunity for me to contribute, to add value, to Volusia County.”
Here is how these candidates answered CFOB’s questions.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Question: What do you think Volusia County School students should be taught about climate change?
Marzilli said the curriculum for students comes from the state.
“So whatever they deem is applicable to our students is what we are as educators instilled to have to teach in our classrooms,” she said.
Persis said students should be taught honestly about every subject.
“Whether it’s climate change or racial injustice, whatever it is — let’s be honest about it and teach them in
an intellectual way that is relative to their age,” Persis said. “There is a scientific consensus around the world that we are experiencing a climate change and that’s what student need to know about it.”
Brosemer said schools are not the place for the “buzzwords for each decade.”
“They should be taught science, but not necessarily from a political point of view,” Brosemer said. “Science is not determined by a consensus. It is constantly evolving and asking questions and making discoveries, and those are the things that students should be taught to look into and study and explore.”
BOOK CHALLENGES
Question: How would you as a board member ensure that the state law and established district policy are followed each and every time a book is subject to a challenge?
Persis said the School Board has to comply with the law, but the law is flawed.
“In a nutshell, one parent should not be able to dictate their values on everybody else in the whole district, and that’s what’s happening now,” Persis said.
Brosemer said there’s a contradiction now between the state law and the district’s policy, the latter of which she said was made as complicated as possible to discourage book challenges.
“The fact is that there have been obscenity laws on the books for long than I’ve been alive that restrict the materials that can be provided to minors,” Brosemer said. “There is a
long list of books that violate those restrictions. The district has an obligation to comply, not only with the new law that was passed, but also with the existing laws that were already on the books that apply to this literature.”
Marzilli said she believes the School Board has to follow the state laws that are mandated. New guidelines also dictate book challengers must be residents of the county in which school district they are asking for book reviews.
“I would want to make sure that any books that were previously brought up and questions are reviewed based off of who was the person bringing that book up for a possible concern,” she said.
SAFETY FOR WALKERS
Question: What would you do to make our schools safer for children who want to walk to school?
Brosemer said she was astonished at the recent Sugar Mill Elementary School incident where a child died after being struck by a car in the parent pickup loop. It’s hard for her to understand, she said, why nothing was done despite there being knowledge that there were traffic issues at that school.
“I would strongly support making sure that every school has a crossing guard at every point where students have to get into traffic,” she said.
Persis said the Sugar Mill Elementary School incident was horrible, and recalled the three deaths of students he experienced during his time as a principal. The district relies on crossing guards for safety, he said.
“We have great cooperation from law enforcement in every city, however, law enforcement — they do not have the personnel to guarantee that they can put people at every single school to direct traffic in the morning or afternoon,” Persis said.
Marzilli said the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is hiring crossing guards and that she would like to look at all the schools in the district to ensure they all have a crossing guard, and when possible, a law enforcement officer to direct traffic.
“We also need to make sure that we as schools are reaching out to our parents and community— when we’re dropping our students off, we need to make sure that we’re not on our cell phones when we’re driving,” Marzilli said.
Question: What would you do to hire the most qualified persons for instructional and support positions? Marzilli said recruiting for these positions has to do with wages. People leave VCS to teach in other districts that offer better pay and benefits, she said.
“Wages are very important when it comes to salaries for each individual, whether it be teachers or staff,” she said. “If we have competitive wages in our district, we’re going to encourage people to come to our district and stay here.”
Persis said there is a clear wage issue, ranking 50th in the country in average teacher salary. The state ranks 16th in starting teacher salaries — but veteran teachers find themselves not making much above their starting pay a decade later.
“We can’t attract veteran teachers from other states because they look at what they’re making,” he said. “... When they look to transfer here, they’re saying, ‘Oh no, I can’t take that kind of a pay cut.’”
Brosemer said it’s not just about the money. The classrooms are chaotic, she said, and teachers retire or leave the profession because they can’t handle the classroom conditions.
“We have a student code of conduct that we don’t appropriately enforce, and as long as we have chaotic classrooms and we hamstring our teachers so that they can’t remove disruptive students, then we are not going to be able to recruit good teachers for our classrooms,” she said.
CELL PHONES
Question: What would be your ideal cell phone policy in the classroom? Persis said ideally, students would
The project will add 104 inpatient beds and four operating rooms, as well as expand support services.
AdventHealth Daytona Beach has begun construction on its new $220 million expansion project that will add 104 inpatient beds, a press release announced Monday.
The project includes vertical expansions on two existing towers — a four-story addition to one tower and a onestory addition to the other — at the hospital, located at 301 Memorial Medical Parkway. In addition to the inpatient beds, the project will also add four new surgical suites and over 240,000 square feet to the facility.
“This major expansion project will increase the community’s access to worldclass, patient-centered, whole person care and enable us to better meet the health care needs of our growing patient population well into the future,” said David Weis, president and CEO of AdventHealth Daytona Beach and the East Volusia Market in the press release. “This expansion project raises the bar on patient care excellence in the region and we could not be prouder to advance health care for the communities we are privileged to serve.”
AdventHealth’s expansion project will add both intensive and progressive care beds, including an expanded cardiovascular intensive care unit and a dedicated neuroICU unit.
Support services will also be expanded — a bigger sterile processing department, a new and enlarged pharmacy, new laboratory department and expanded imaging modalities, including an additional CT and MRI.
Once complete, AdventHealth Daytona Beach will have 466 inpatient beds and span just under 1 million square feet, with 22 surgical suites.
“This is something we’ve been planning for quite some time now and we are so thrilled construction has begun on this massive expansion project,” said Dave Tkachuck, chief operating officer of AdventHealth Daytona Beach in the press release. “In recent months, we’ve experienced a high volume of patients seeking our care, which reflects the deep trust our patients place in our clinicians. This is an honor and privilege we take seriously, and we are proud the skill and expertise of our teams has been recognized
The expansion was announced in late April, shortly after the hospital celebrated the opening of its $45.7 million surgical center on the campus.
Cranes and heavy equipment were mobilized on site in June, the hospital stated,
and construction work is now underway over the existing cafeteria for the one-story tower expansion, which will house the new laboratory, surgical services, engineering and pharmacy.
The work for the addition of the four stories over the other tower will begin in the upcoming weeks, AdventHealth stated in its press release.
The hospital celebrated the project’s start with construc-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3A
the issue at the beginning was, is, leadership.”
REGROW THE LOOP
Question: Do you support extending the ReGrow the Loop program?
It was a unanimous yes from all candidates.
“It’s a great program,” Brower said. “It’s working well and I would like it to go countywide.”
Burnette said the county needs to be acquiring as much land for preservation as possible.
“Land preservation is something that’s important so that we can have balance,” Burnette said.
Denys said a strong leader also works to leverage dollars for land preservation and acquisition efforts.
“Let’s grow it but let’s not use dollar-for-dollar and save our green,” she said.
Dye said the county needs to make sure that the Loop is protected for generations to come and the program is efficient.
“How can we make sure we
leverage it? How can we make sure that it goes on forever?”
Dye said.
COUNTY BUDGET
Question: What are your budgetary priorities?
If elected, Burnette said he’d like to look at improving the county’s ambulance transport system, which he said has “been clearly broken for 10 years.” The city of Port Orange has its own ambulance and it answers calls in Ormond Beach to Orange City.
“We know everything doesn’t cost what it did a few years ago,” Burnette said. “We know things are going to cost a little bit more. How we apply those dollars that makes sense is just as important.”
Denys said the council’s move to proceed with some partial rollback millage rates was “excellent,” but that the county is still burdened by issues like SunRail. So, she was in favor of the council’s decision to increase the General Fund property tax rate by 0.0855 mills to bring in $5 million more in tax revenue for roads.
“That is a great first step,” she said.
Dye said he is a fiscal conservative person. The county’s $1.2 billion budget is a lot of money, and he’d like to
ensure it’s being used for what the people want.
“I think we’ve got to go back to the core responsibilities of government, fulfill the basic fundamental responsibilities,” Dye said.
Brower said one of his priorities for the budget has always been to reduce property taxes. Though the council voted 4-3 to seek an increase to the General Fund millage rate, Brower said they will “win that battle.” He also mentioned wage increases for law enforcement officers and improving work environments for firefighters and EMS.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Question: What do you propose to do to improve affordable housing in our community?
Denys mentioned the addition of 80 units of affordable housing for seniors in New Smyrna Beach as an example that such projects are achievable. She also mentioned the Live Local Act and its impact on Home Rule.
“If you don’t like it, you can’t go to your city council, you can’t go to your county council,” she said.
Dye said housing is driven by the market. The more people that move to the area and need housing, the higher
tion firm Robins & Morton and architect HuntonBrady with a recent tree planting: A
which
“signifies AdventHealth Daytona Beach’s deep roots and more than 40 years of service in the community,” the press
the price for housing goes.
Affordable housing is critical, but he doesn’t believe it’s solely a government problem.
“Public-private partnerships are probably the way that I would try to solve the problem,” Dye said.
Brower said the council and county staff have been working to instate a good affordable housing program. The county does have land that can be used for affordable housing, he added.
“We don’t have to wait for any other government to zone small houses and affordable houses in areas where they’ve never been left before and we will create a whole new, incremental development industry with new jobs by doing that,” Brower said.
Burnette said they are looking at the impacts of a national problem at the local level. There are a lot of programs to help the most destitute, but there are a lot of workers that can’t afford housing, he said.
“We need to get people to own their homes,” Burnette said. “Renting is a vicious cycle. The more government assistance we give to renting, the more we’re going to have to give it down the road. Rents never go down. Rents never go away.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5A
not have cell phones, but parents want to be able to contact their child.
“It is a distraction, to say the least,” Persis said. “If we could not have cell phones, that would be great.”
Brosemer said parents that want to communicate with their child could provide them with flip phones or beepers.
It’s the smartphones that are the problem, she said.
“I agree that they should not be in any classroom at any time, but there may be a middle ground for those parents who want to be able to communicate with their kids,” she said.
Marzilli said there is a cell phone policy in place and she wants to make sure it’s being followed consistently. Cell phones are not always a bad thing, she added.
“We do live in a very technology influence world,” Marzilli said. “We want to make sure that students know that there is a time and a place for the cell phone.”
ESE EDUCATION
Question: What are your
intentions for disabled students who are currently required to take assessments at grade level?
Brosemer said ESE is a complicated issue and the issue needs to be addressed at the individual student level.
“I think we need to fundamentally look at the mission of the school district, and that is education,” Brosemer said.
“When we bring in a variety of disabilities that need to be addressed, I think we need to be honest with ourselves and our policies of what’s appropriate to be expected.”
Marzilli said she would like the district to ensure the ESE students are being challenged at a level appropriate for them.
“I would like to see our district make sure that we’re working with the ESE community as well as in Tallahassee to make sure that these tests that are mandated have rule in place for ESE situations,” Marzilli said.
Persis said ESE students have to have an IEP — Individual Education Plan – which dictates how the child can be taught and assessed.
“There’s no one-size fits all,” Persis said. “It’s called an Individual Education Plan and whatever is in that plan, that’s how the child must be assessed.”
Ahouse on 1.36 acres on the beachside at 31 Amsden Road was the top real estate transaction for May 29 to June 5 in Ormond Beach and Ormond-by-the-Sea. The home sold on June 5 for $1,275,000. Built in 2012, the house is a 3/3.5 and has 3,209 square feet. It last sold in 2003 for $175,000.
GRANT MCMILLAN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Condos
The condo at 3000 Ocean Shore Blvd., Unit 12, sold on June 3 for $317,500. Built in 2001, the condo is a 2/2 and has 1,329 square feet. It last sold in 2019 for $235,000.
ORMOND BEACH
Ormond Terrace
The house at 76 Sanchez Ave. sold on May 31 for $442,000. Built in 1978, the house is a 3/3 and has one fireplace, a pool and 2,053 square feet. It last sold in 2010 for $70,000.
The house at 705 N. Ridgewood Ave. sold on June 3 for $270,000. Built in 1975, the house is a 2/2 and has a pool and 1,675 square feet. It last sold in 2018 for $99,400.
Hunters Ridge
The house at 44 Huntington Place sold on June 5 for $384,900. Built in 2021, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,891 square feet.
DSC is a collegiate Purple Star campus
Daytona State College has been designated as a Purple Star Campus by the Florida Department of Education for the college’s commitment and support of veterans and their families, a press release recently announced.
More than 1,000 veterans and their family members take classes at Daytona State’s seven campuses.
“Our veterans and their families have made great sacrifices in service to our country, and they are an incredible addition to our student body,” DSC President Dr. Tom LoBasso said.
“Speaking as a veteran myself, I’m proud of all we do to help everyone who seeks to better themselves and their families through education.”
The Purple Star School of Distinction program, established by the Florida Legislature, recognizes institutions that demonstrate a com-
The Trails The house at 35 Timberline Trail sold on June 4 for $297,500. Built in 1980, the house is a 3/3 and has 1,788 square feet. It last sold in 2020 for $210,000.
River Oaks The house at 289 River Vale Lane sold on June 3 for $395,000. Built in 2015, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,818 square feet. It last sold in 2019 for $285,000.
Tomoka Estates The house at 973 Shockney Drive sold on June 4 for $869,000. Built in 1997, the house is a 3/3.5 and has a pool, a dock and 2,672 square feet. It last sold in 2020 for $587,000.
Spring Meadows
The house at 20 Spring Meadows Drive sold on May 31 for $442,000. Built in 1999, the house is a 5/3 and has 2,395 square feet. It last sold in 2016 for $277,000.
mitment to support military students and families as they transition to the college environment.
DSC has also been recognized as a 2024 Gold-Level Military Friendly School, a 2024 Military Spouse Friendly School, and U.S. News & World Report has recognized Daytona State as being 18th in the nation for offering the best online bachelor’s program for veterans.
Biketoberfest to be held Oct. 17-20
Motorcycle enthusiasts will soon gather in the Daytona Beach area and Volusia County for the 32nd annual Biketoberfest rally, to be held Oct. 17-20.
“From the iconic Main Street and Daytona International Speedway to Destination Daytona, Midtown and the Ormond Beach Scenic Loop, riders will find a diverse selection of experiences to make long-lasting memories,” said Lori Campbell Baker, executive director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, in a press
Golf Manor
The house at 752 Orchard Ave. sold on May 31 for $312,500. Built in 1956, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,350 square feet. It last sold in 2017 for $168,000.
Breakaway Trails
The house at 76 Shadow Creek Way sold on May 31 for $561,500. Built in 1988, the house is a 4/2.5 and has one fireplace and 2,680 square feet.
Chelsea Place The house at 478 Chelsea Place Ave. sold on May 31 for $612,500. Built in 2005, the house is a 3/2.5 and has 2,846 square feet. It last sold in 2020 for $399,000.
Brendale Heights
The house at 89 Fairway Drive sold on May 31 for $544,500. Built in 1968, the house is a 4/3 and has 2,041 square feet. It last sold in 1984 for $87,500.
ORMOND-BY-THE-SEA
Silk Oaks
The house at 32 Morning Star Ave. sold on May 31 for $565,000. Built in 1964, the house is a 3/2 and has a pool, heated spa, a shed and 2,149 square feet. It last sold in 2015 for $260,000.
Sunny Shores
The house at 3 Tropical Drive sold on May 31 for $390,000. Built in 1956, the house is a 3/2 and has 1,232 square feet. It last sold in 2021 for $415,000.
John Adams, of Adams, Cameron & Co. Realtors, contributed to this report.
release."We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable visit within the destination.”
The Official Biketoberfest Welcome Center will be located at Daytona International Speedway’s Fall Cycle Scene display area at 1801 W. International Speedway Blvd.
The Daytona Beach Area CVB’s inaugural Harley Dream Giveaway, which began during last year’s Biketoberfest, also continues through Sept. 3. Participants may purchase tickets to win two HarleyDavidson motorcycles: the 2023 Harley-Davidson Road Glide ST and a 2023 HarleyDavidson Sportster S, both of which are being provided at cost from Teddy Morse’s Daytona Harley-Davidson. In addition, the prize package will include a new custom double trailer provided by The Ultimate Trailers, $12,500 for taxes, and accommodations for Biketoberfest 2024 at the Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach. Bikers can enter to win the giveaway with a minimum $3 tax-deductible donation to Dream Giveaway’s charities. Visit Biketoberfest.org.
JULY 9
BASHED WITH A BACKPACK
10:25 a.m. — 100 block of Division Avenue, Ormond Beach Burglary with assault or battery. Police arrested a 26-year-old Holly Hill woman after she threw a backpack and a single piece of paper at a driver in a local community center parking lot.
The victim reported to police that she was backing out of a parking spot after dropping her child off at the community center when the woman drove up behind her in her own vehicle. To avoid her, the victim said she drove back into the the spot.
The woman then followed her, the victim reported in the police report, yelling through her rolled-down window. She then got out and opened the passenger door of the victim’s vehicle and picked up an empty backpack and single sheet of paper, which she threw at the victim, striking her.
The woman told police that the victim had blocked her in the parking lot, causing her to drive on the curb to get around her, and that the victim left the parking lot and circled back in front of her at a stop sign inside the same lot. The woman believed the victim was intentionally blocking her in, the report states. She told police that’s when she threw the backpack and paper at the victim.
The woman was taken to jail.
JULY 13
ACIDIC TOMATOES
10:39 a.m. — Ormond Beach Burglary. A 24-year-old Ormond Beach man was arrested after he broke into a car, poured tomato sauce all over himself and entered a resident’s backyard.
According to the man’s
arrest report, the resident heard the man trying to enter through his back door.
The resident, with a gun in his hand, exited through a different door to reach his backyard, where he questioned the man why he was in his backyard. The man asked him not to shoot and said “he had acid in his eyes” before running off.
The resident then went to his car, which was parked in his driveway, and discovered the man had taken tomato juice and laundry detergent out of the back of the car and poured it all over himself.
The man had left the empty tomato juice bottles in the driveway, and a nearly empty detergent bottle in his backyard, according to the police report.
The man’s shirt was recovered with one of the bottles of tomato juice; his sandals were in the resident’s garage.
The car also had tomato juice on the driver’s side and “there was a thick trail of detergent in the backyard leading into the garage,” the report states.
The man additionally tried to take the resident’s broken canoe into the channel connected to the home. Police found him soaked in water and covered in tomato juice and detergent.
He was taken to jail.
JULY 18
GASSED UP
3:03 p.m. — Boulder Rock Drive, Flagler County Petit theft, drug possession.
A South Carolina man with a history of theft charges was arrested after he told a Sheriff’s Office deputy to search his pickup truck while the
suspect continued to pump gas.
The deputy had pulled into a gas station behind the suspect after a run of the truck’s plates came up as stolen, according to an arrest report.
The suspect told the deputy he could find the registration and title to the car in the glove compartment and gave the deputy permission to search while the suspect pumped gas.
The deputy found no paperwork in the glove compartment and the suspect did not have a license on him, just a Georgia state ID.
As the suspect was placed under arrest, he told the deputy he had two glass pipes in his pocket, each with burn residue from CBD, the report said.
JULY 21
A FRIEND IN NEED
9:28 a.m. — South State Street and Highway U.S. 1, Bunnell Marijuana possession. A man pulled over for the tint of his car’s windows was arrested on marijuana possession charges after trying to hide two bags of marijuana in his pants.
The marijuana actually belonged to the man’s friend, who was in the car’s passenger seat. When a Sheriff’s Office deputy signaled for the driver to pull over, the passenger “panicked” and tossed the driver two 5-7-gram bags of marijuana to hold, according to an arrest report.
The driver immediately stuffed the bags down his pants, the report said. When the deputy pulled both me out of the car because he smelled marijuana from a visible, burning blunt, the passenger told the deputy about the two bags his friend was holding for him. He tried to claim all the marijuana, the report said, but both men were still charged with possession.
Donna Brosemer, a candidate running for School Board, writes that all workforces are founded on the K-12 system.
Looking for a good doctor to operate on your prostate? Get rid of your cataracts? Cure your cancer?
Someone to fix your A/C? Renovate your kitchen? Set up your Wi-Fi?
Let’s hope whoever you hire, first learned to read, write, and calculate. In other words, let’s hope they learned their basics in K-12. My kids are grown, and my grandkids don’t live here. Some think seniors don’t have to care about K-12 because their families are done with it. Are they?
Boeing is bringing 400 new jobs to Volusia County, via EmbryRiddle. Those who transfer here will want good schools for their kids. Boeing and others will expect the county to offer an educated workforce. What else will they expect?
Multiple studies show that when residents are educated, crime goes
down. When neighborhoods are safe, property values rise. For many of us, our homes are our biggest investment. When the value rises, we are more financially secure, with more equity and a higher net worth.Higher property values draw higher tax revenues. Those revenues improve infrastructure and public safety.An educated community provides a higher level of all services – health care, retail, entertainment, recreation, professional services.Social service demands are lower when residents are educated. We already pay for this. The largest proportion of our property taxes goes to the Volusia County School District. The district has the largest budget in the county, in excess of $1.2 billion. The above benefits are the return on our investment. Or not.
The Daytona Chamber’s 2023 Leadership class chose our education system as their year-long project. Specifically, they aim to bring public attention to our very low third-grade reading proficiency rates. The business community clearly sees the relationship between education and the county’s economic stability.
The school district itself is an economic engine. It employs nearly 8,000. It contracts with a wide variety of vendors — food, transportation, and a myriad of support services.
The district boasts a graduation rate — our future workforce — approaching 100%. At the same time, math and reading proficiency
rates at all grade levels still hover around 50%, so how do we reconcile those numbers? How much remediation do colleges need to provide to our K-12 graduates, and what about those who don’t attend college? Are their basic skills strong enough to give them a good employment foundation?
The reasons for low proficiencies are many, and there is no easy fix:
Classrooms are chaotic because discipline is not sufficiently enforced. It is not sufficiently enforced because discipline referrals are linked to school grades and funding so instead, ineffective theories such as restorative justice, which is just conversation without consequences, are used to avoid actual discipline. Teachers tell me they spend the majority of their class time just trying to control the class. That short-changes every other student, and cheats them out of the time they need to spend learning.
Chronic absenteeism is high — whether it’s because parents don’t get their kids up in time, or at all, or leave the care of young children to older siblings – and kids can’t learn if they don’t attend.
Teachers are burdened with testing, not only by the state, but by the additional dozen or more tests the district has added. There is little time to teach, when the results of every test may make or break a school grade.
Social service needs are high. Some students are homeless. Some are already dealing with sub-
Make yourself at home
OMAM seeks instructors for classes, workshops
The Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens is seeking artists with teaching experience to lead adult and/or youth classes, workshops, and discussions, according to the museum’s newsletter. Contact Kristin Heron, senior curator of exhibitions, at KHeron@ormondartmuseum.org.
Comic Tim Hawkins to perform at Calvary Christian Center
Stand-up comedian Tim Hawkins will perform at Calvary Christian Center in Ormond Beach on Aug. 23. Over the last 30 years, Hawkins has gone from performing at open mic nights at regional comedy clubs to headlining 90-minute sets nationwide and performing 100 times per year, according to his bio. The Missouri native got his start on YouTube where he posted anecdotes about homeschooling, marriage and rea life mishaps, including song parodies such as “Cletus, Take The Reel.” The “clean” joke comic has released eight full-length comedy DVDs and five albums.
The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $15.25. Visit https://bit. ly/4cIjsKO.
New Ormond-by-theSea Lions Club officers installed for 2024-2025
The Ormond-by-the-Sea Lions Club installed its new officers for the 2024-2025 year at an installation ceremony held June 28 at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery.
The officers were installed by Volu-
It was family game night recently, and we went back to an easy favorite: Phase 10.
At least, it’s easy for me.
“How do you keep winning in a game of chance?” my wife, Hailey, asked, as I put my cards down first yet again, winning the round.
Of course, her question was a thinly veiled accusation of cheating. Rather than get indignant, I decided to gloat.
“It’s only called ‘a game of chance’ if you’re losing,” I said. “I
sia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. To thank him, the Lions Club donated $100 to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Foundation and presented him with a large basket of snacks to take back for his deputies, according to a press release.
The new officers are:
President Aleta Dick
First Vice President Kathleen Trutschel
Second Vice President Jean Cerullo
Secretary Bobbie Cheh
Treasurer Greg Evans
Membership Chair Mary Yochum
Directors Katie Hamlin, Marcia Pizzimenti and Melinda Uebel
Lion Tamer Frank WhiteTail
Twister Anne Thompson. Lions Club members were also presented with awards for their volunteerism. The awardees were:
Diabetes Awareness Foundation Life Membership: Carol Snyder, Richard Snyder, Lance Zeimetz, Jean Cerullo and Maureen Hamilton
Multiple District 35 Diabetic Retinopathy Foundation Life Membership: Melinda Uebel, Patsy Franklin and Ann Thompson
Florida Lions Eye Foundation for the Blind Life Memberships: Kathleen Trutschel (Grand Lion), Aleta Dick (3rd level) and Vince Colona (1st level)
Youth Exchange Scholarship Trust Fund Life Membership: Kathleen Trutschel
Project Right to Sight Life Membership: Marcia Pizzimenti
Lions World Vision Institute Dan Carver Fellowship Award: Bobbie Cheh
Janet King Memorial Award (Lion of the Year): Katie Hamlin
Melvin Jones Fellowship Award: Dianne Zeimetz.
Mark Anthony Hill exhibit at Art Spotlight
The Art Spotlight show in August is an exhibition of Jamaican-born artist
stance abuse in themselves or in their parents. Some live in violent households. Some are in and out of the juvenile justice system. Mental health needs are growing. Social media and social service needs all contribute to the high demand for counseling and intervention. These issues affect a teacher’s ability to teach the class, but teachers are neither social service workers nor mental health counselors. They need a strong referral network of providers who can address these issues, which will in turn allow students the ability to focus on their studies. The district has staff who are responsible for making those connections and referrals, but are often unaware of community assets that are available to them.
The bottom line is that public school districts affect us all, regardless of our age, family status, or economic situation. Our public safety, employment base, infrastructure, social services, healthcare, entertainment, recreation — everything starts with the foundational education provided by the K-12 system. A healthy education system creates a healthy community from youth up. Our responsibility is to support it — for ourselves, our neighbors, and our future generations. It starts with a stronger school board. We need that now, more than ever.
Donna Brosemer is a candidate running for Volusia County School Board District 4. A former lobbyist, Brosemer has 30 years of experience
avoid getting sick.
Luke grinned.
consider it a game of skill.”
I was conveniently ignored.
In a game with four children around the ottoman, distractions were plentiful. When it wasn’t his turn, for example, 6-year-old Luke was showing off his loose tooth. It was so loose that it quivered when he inhaled. It was so loose that he would twirl it ostentatiously, in an attempt to gross us out.
“Yeah,” said his 9-year-old sister, Kennedy, “you need to pull that.” She looked away, apparently to
Mark Anthony Hill and his unique blend of African and 20th century European cubism art. Hill’s opening reception will be Aug. 3, from 3-7 p.m. at the Art Spotlight, located at 67 W. Granada Blvd. The show will run through Aug. 31. Born in Montego-Bay, Jamaica, Mark Anthony Hill also excelled as an athlete. In 1998, he was recruited to join the famous Jamaican bobsled team, which the movie “Cool Runnings” was about.
It’s always difficult to strike a balance between enjoying the family moments and trying to keep everyone on task so that the game will actually end and we can all go to bed.
The biggest culprit was 15-yearold Ellie, who was often in no hurry to play her cards.
“It’s your turn, Ellie,” was a common refrain. But with that smile on her face, it was hard to find any fault. She was reveling in the moment, eating some ice cream, enjoying some family togetherness.
“You’re not supposed to put one
working in public policy and has served on higher education state boards.
See the Observer’s election guide at https://shorturl.at/b6OCC.
set down,” Hailey told Grant, who recently turned 18 and is often unavailable to play games like this. He didn’t know the rules of Phase 10, so Hailey had to correct him.
“You’re supposed to wait until you have two sets before you put them down,” Hailey continued. I smiled. Couldn’t help it, for some reason. I was beaming.
“What?” Hailey asked, assuming that my smile indicated I was mocking her for being a stickler on the rules. But I wasn’t mocking. “I’m just enjoying sitting next to you,” I said to her. I promise.
In 2008, Hill settled in Florida to do what he loves, paint. Hill has said that his experience as a bobsledding pilot, during which he was responsible for walking and memorizing every curve and every bank of the serpentine tracks in advance of competitions, still informs the energy and spatial expression in his paintings. Art Spotlight is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and other days by appointment.
Ocean Art Gallery to host exhibit made from thousands of map pins
Ocean Art Gallery will celebrate 12 years in business during the First Saturday Ormond Art Walk on Aug. 3 by featuring “Pins, Patterns and Finding Piece,” an industry-first 11-piece fine art exhibit crafted from hundreds of thousands of map pins.
Daytona contemporary pop artist John Darovitz’s unconventional approach to art combines his passion
for Pointillism with a limited color palette of map pins to create photorealistic images. Thousands of blue, red, yellow and white map pins are individually hand-placed in patterns by Darovitz on a black background. When viewed from a distance, the pin colors blend to create a compelling image with texture and dimension.
The show, on display through Sept. 2, contains more than 320,000 map pins. One series titled “Influencers” features art created in the likeness of five celebrities that have openly suffered from mental illness: Taylor Swift, Elvis, Prince, Bruno Mars and Eminem. The second series titled “Coastal Life.”
“As a lifelong art enthusiast and business owner, I have never come across a style that is so intricate and precise,” said Frank Gromling, owner of Ocean Art Gallery. Darovitz’s art is a byproduct of his therapy to combat struggles with his own mental illnesses. Visit www.oagart.com and www. artbydarovitz.com.
Session 2 of Ormond Beach’s Enviro Camp is well underway, with campers learning all about the “Wide World” this week.
On Tuesday, July 23, campers spent the morning fishing in Central Park before performing a craft activity and hearing from the DeLand Garden Club.
Session 2 of the city-run summer camp is dedicated to children 7-9 years old. The camp, according to the city website, follows a detailed environmental academic lesson plan. The camp is based out of the Environmental Discovery Center at 301 Division Ave.
–JARLEENE ALMENAS
Children let imagination be their guide during the Ormond Memorial Art Museum “Imaginarium” summer art camp.
On Tuesday, July 23, campers began sculpting and plastering an imaginary character. The campers created creatures such as pig-unicorn hybrids, “scary” monsters and robot crocodiles.
The camp, which was open to children 6-11 years old, allowed participants to design a map of their own enchanted world and explore storytelling, according to OMAM.
Visit ormondartmuseum.org.
–JARLEENE ALMENAS
THURSDAY, JULY 25
PALM COAST
CONCERT SERIES
When: 6-8 p.m.
Where: The Stage, 1500 Central Ave., Palm Coast
Details: See the Southern Chaos band bring coun-
try and rock to The Stage. There will be food trucks and vendors. Bring your own lawn chair or towel to sit on.
FRIDAY, JULY 26
SUMMER CLASSES FOR KIDS
When: 12-2 p.m.
Where: Art Among the Flowers, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite A114, Palm Coast Details: Art Among the Flowers is offering classes
for children ages 7-16. Class include a tour of the flower shop, exploring and learning about the different plants and flowers, and then hands-on learning a different technique with a professional instructor. Children also get to take their creations home. This class will teach them to design a live succulent garden in a decorative container. Class costs $25. Visit artamongtheflowers.com.
SUMMER SOUNDS
When: 6-8 p.m.
Where: The Casements, 25 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach
Details: See Stealing Vanity perform a free concert in the north lawn of The Casements. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket.
‘42ND STREET’
When: 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, July 26 and 27; 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 28
Where: Davidson Theatre at the News Journal Center, 221 N. Beach St., Daytona Beach Details: Halifax Repertory Theatre presents, “42nd Street,” a high-energy tapfilled show that transports audiences to the 1930s in New York City. Tickets cost $30 for adults; $25 for seniors and students. Visit halifaxrep.com.
SATURDAY, JULY 27
CHRISTMAS IN JULY
When: All day (Santa to be
out between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Where: Downtown Ormond Beach
Details: Ormond MainStreet is hosting Christmas in July, featuring over 40 local businesses and restaurants. There will be an Elf on a Shelf scavenger hunt, appearances by Mr. and Mrs. Claus, promotions and letters to Santa at Rod’s Carpet, Tile & Wood. Visit ormondbeachmainstreet.com/christmasinjuly.
THURSDAY, AUG. 1
RALLY FOR WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
When: 4-5 p.m.
Where: Northwest corner of Belle Terre Parkway and Pine Lake Parkway, Palm Coast Details: Members and friends of the Atlantic Coast Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State will gather to rally for women’s reproductive rights. Rally is open to the public. All are welcome. Email atlantic-
coastau@gmail.com or call 804-914-4460.
FRIDAY, AUG. 2
MOVIES ON THE HALIFAX
When: 8:30 p.m.
Where: Rockefeller Gardens, 26 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach
Details: Bring a chair or blanket and enjoy a showing of “The Bad Guys,” rated G. Movies are weather-sensitive. Call 386-676-3216 for rainout information.
SATURDAY, AUG. 3
ORMOND ART WALK
When: 3-7 p.m.
Where: Ormond Beach MainStreet Arts District, 128 W. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach
Details: Join Ocean Art Gallery, Frame of Mind, Art Spotlight, The Studio by Artist Angel Lowden, the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and more on the first Saturday of each month for art events.
Kenneth John Klinkenberg November 20,1935-July 8,2024
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has transformed various sectors, including healthcare, where they are revolutionizing the design and functionality of hearing aids. These intelligent technologies enhance the ability of hearing aids to provide clearer, more personalized auditory experiences for hearing impaired patients.
Integration of AI and ML
AI and ML have taken digital hearing aid technology to new heights by enabling devices to learn from your specific behavior and the environments you are in most. These technologies allow hearing aids to provide better hearing via a more tailored hearing experience. Here’s how:
1. Sound Classification and Adaptation: Modern hearing aids equipped with AI can classify different sound environments, such as quiet rooms, noisy streets, or crowded restaurants. ML algorithms analyze sound patterns and adjust the amplification and noise reduction settings in real time, ensuring optimal hearing in various situations.
2. Personalization: Premium AI-driven hearing aids can learn your preferences over time. For instance, if you consistently adjust the volume certain environments, the hearing aid can automatically make these adjustments for you in the future. This personalized approach minimiz-
es the need for manual adjustments and enhances your comfort and satisfaction.
3. Speech Enhancement: One of the critical challenges for hearing aid users is distinguishing speech in noisy environments. In fact, this is the number one complaint of hearing aid users. AI and ML algorithms can focus on enhancing speech signals while decreasing background noise. Some advanced models use deep learning to improve the clarity of speech further, making conversations more intelligible even in challenging listening situations.
4. Feedback Management: Feedback, the annoying whistling sound that can occur in hearing aids, is a common issue. AI technology helps predict and suppress feedback before it becomes audible, ensuring a more pleasant listening experience.
5. Connectivity and Data Integration: Modern hearing aids can connect to smartphones and other devices, enabling seamless streaming of audio.
Kenneth was born in Jamaica, Queens, and grew up in Staten Island, New York. He joined the army in 1954. After boot camp at Fort Dix, Ken was transferred to Fort Eustis in Newport News, VA. He became a PFC and served in the Transportation Corps, helping the USAF provide supplies to the DEW Line in Canada for SAC. After the Army, he served in the reserves from 1956-1962.
After the Army, he worked as an auditor for Bankers Trust, at their headquarters on Wall Street. It was there that he met Antoinette (Ann), his future wife.
In 1960, Ken became a police officer for the New York City Police Department. In 1966, he was promoted to detective. He worked for the NYPD for 33 years.
In 1994, Ken and Ann retired to Palm Coast from Staten Island, NY. He served on the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans local board and was involved in various organizations in Flagler County such as the Kiwanis Club, Masons, and Shriners. He was also a longtime member of the Elks Club.
AI plays a role in optimizing these connections, ensuring that sound quality remains high. Additionally, data collected from these devices can be used to improve the performance of hearing aids further. For example, usage patterns and environmental data can be analyzed to refine algorithms and enhance overall functionality.
The future of AI and ML in hearing aids looks promising. Ongoing advancements in these technologies are expected to lead to even more sophisticated and user-friendly devices. Here are some anticipated developments:
1. Enhanced Natural Language Processing: Future hearing aids may incorporate advanced natural language processing (NLP) capabilities, allowing them to understand and respond to voice commands more accurately. This could make interaction with the devices more intuitive.
Ken was happily married to Ann for 64 years, has three daughters, four grandchildren, 1 step-grandson and twin great-grandsons. A memorial service will be held at Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran Church at 10 AM on Friday, July 26. A gathering to share memories and support the family will be held at the Elks Club immediately following the service. All are welcome.
2. Augmented Reality (AR) Integration: AR technology could be integrated with hearing aids to provide visual cues that complement auditory information. For example, AR glasses could display subtitles for conversations or highlight the source of sounds, providing a richer sensory experience.
3. Health Monitoring: Hearing aids could evolve into multifunctional health monitoring devices. Equipped with sensors, they could track vital signs, detect falls, and monitor physical activity, providing valuable health data to users and healthcare providers.
AI and ML technologies are transforming hearing aids from simple sound amplifiers into intelligent, adaptive devices that significantly improve the quality of life for individuals with hearing
loss. By continuously learning and adapting to your needs and environments, these advanced hearing aids offer a level of personalization and convenience that was unimaginable just a few years ago. As these technologies continue to evolve, we can expect even more innovative solutions that will further enhance the auditory experiences of users worldwide. Now keep in mind, not all hearing devices have this advanced technology- talk to your audiologist and see if this technology could help you! At Palm Coast and Ormond Hearing Centers, our mission is to provide the best quality hearing care possible, educate the community and help all patients make informed decisions so they can get the care they need and deserve. Want to learn more about hearing health? Visit our website at palmcoasthearingcenter.com and click the “About” button, then “Helpful Articles”. You can also schedule an appointment online. We also have a second location to serve you in Ormond Beach at www. ormondhearingcenter.com, or you can call us at 386-283-4932.
World War II veteran Al Smith celebrates his 101st birthday
On Thursday, July 18, World War II veteran Al Smith celebrated his 101st birthday at his Palm Coast home.
Fr. Manny Lopez and a group of Fourth Degree Sir Knights of Columbus from Assembly 2810 at Santa Maria Del Mar Catholic Church in Flagler Beach brought him a special cake, made by Sir Knight Frank Consentino. He also received a special congratulatory proclamation from U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz. White House congratulations are forthcoming.
During WWII, Smith was in the U.S. Army Air Corps stationed on the island of Ie Shima, just off Okinawa, where he directed fighter plane missions. Ie Shima is the island where famous war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed. Among the celebrants at Smith’s party was WWII U.S. Navy veteran Pat Martellucci, 98, who introduced Smith to his wife Greta when they were 85 and 86, respectively. Greta, who is 100 years old, was part of the
WWII U.S. Navy WAVES, or Women
Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service.
She was recently transferred to a local assisted living facility, but was looking forward to a piece of that chocolate cake.
Al and Greta’s daughter-in-law, Midge Franco Woodward, hosted the Knights.
Flagler Cares and One Voice for Volusia announce that the two organizations have merged into one corporate structure under Flagler Cares.
Flagler Cares will remain committed to providing a social safety net, behavioral health and outpatient counseling and prevention services for Flagler County. One Voice for Volusia is doing business as the Substance Use Prevention Coalition as a neutral community facilitator in Volusia County addressing risk factors and building protections to prevent youth substance use. By joining forces, the two organizations will preserve what makes each organization unique but also enhance their ability to serve. Both communities, Flagler and Volusia, will benefit from the increased resources and cost savings, allowing for an even greater impact.
“This corporate merger represents the logical next step since the two organizations formed a formal partnership four years ago,” said Flagler Cares Chief Executive Officer Carrie Baird. “It is unique and important that a Flagler-focused organization is leading this regional approach as it is quite often the other way around.”
Kristy Amburgey, chief executive officer of One Voice for Volusia, said, “Collaboration is a core value for One Voice for Volusia, and the previous partnership and now merger solidifies our relationship to better serve both counties in innovative and coordinated ways. I truly see a bright future for Flagler Cares d/b/a One Voice for Volusia as we work with even more wonderful community providers and collaborators.”
One-stop Help Night set for July
31Flagler Cares will host its next quarterly Help Night on Wednesday, July 31, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Flagler County Village Community Room, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite B304, Palm Coast.
Help Night is organized and hosted by Flagler Cares and other community partners as a one-stop help event. Representatives from Flagler County Human Services, Early Learning Coalition, EasterSeals, Family Life Center, Florida Legal Services, Lions Club and many other organizations will be available to provide information and resources.
The event is open to the public, free to attend, and will offer assistance with obtaining various services including autism screenings, phones (low-income qualification), fair housing legal consultations, Marketplace navigation, childcare
services, SNAP and Medicaid application assistance, behavioral health services and much more.
Flagler Cares is a non-profit agency focused on creating a vital, expansive social safety net that addresses virtually all the health and social needs of our community.
For more information about this event, call 386-319-9483 ext. 0, or email help@flaglercares.org.
Flagler
announces new community partner
Flagler Cares, a one-stop health and social care organization, welcomed Re-Nu Mental Wellness Center to the Flagler County Village in Palm Coast, on July 1, as a community partner.
Re-Nu Mental Wellness Center, formerly known as Palm Coast Counseling, was recently sold to Dr. De-Shaunah Dixon, who also owns Wellness Centers in Pompano Beach and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Re-Nu provides comprehensive psychotherapy and mental health medication management for individuals of all ages. Re-Nu currently accepts all major insurances including Cigna, Aetna, Optum, TRICARE and Blue Cross Blue Shield FL/SC.
Current and new patients will be seen in-person at the Flagler County Village, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite B302. Telehealth services are also available.
“I am thrilled to have Re-Nu Mental Wellness Center partner with Flagler Cares at the Flagler County Village,” said Jeannette Simmons, Flagler Cares’ chief clinical officer.
“This presents a tremendous opportunity for my team and I to deliver comprehensive mental health services to Palm Coast and its neighboring communities.”
Ormond Beach’s Martin Luther King
Jr. Committee is working to ensure 400 of the city’s children are ready for the first day of school.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3, the committee will be hosting the first Carrying Hope Back 2 School event at the South Ormond Neighborhood Center. To be presented by Access Senior Resources
August 14, 2024 Winners announced Monday, August 15, 2024
and Consulting, the event will feature a free backpack giveaway for residents, educational sessions, games and food catered by Gordon Food Service.
The event was proposed by Tina Carlyle, chair of the MLK committee and owner of ASRC, who said she was looking to increase outreach efforts in her own community.
“I want to start really giving more to my Ormond Beach community — letting them know that there are people out here that care,” she said.
Then, she met Njeria Bell, an Ormond Beach resident who started her own backpack giveaway during the COVID-19 pandemic. That first year, she gave away 50 backpacks equipped with school supplies. Last year, she distributed 100 backpacks.
“There was just families and so many people that were just having a hard time,” Bell said. “I just had this idea of ‘No Child Left Behind.’ I just started buying items out of my own pocket and getting donations from people that I knew.”
Bell also distributed backpacks to children who were sick with COVID-19 during the pandemic, dropping them off on their doorsteps.
“There was this one kid — I can still remember, he was just ecstatic,” Bell said. “He wanted a Spider-Man book bag and wasn’t really more about the supplies. It was just about the book bag.”
So when Carlyle asked Bell if she would like to join forces for the upcoming back-to-school event, Bell agreed. She said she looks forward to see a giveaway of 400 backpacks.
“I’m excited to do that much because I was never able to reach that goal,” she said.
At the event, the educational sessions will touch on topics such as safety, health and hygiene. There will also be information on resources that are available to help local families with meals, tutoring and other needs.
Being an advanced practice registered nurse, the education piece is important to Carlyle. She wants the kids to “carry hope” this year.
“We’re just putting this together because we want our kids to be able to go to school this year, and moving forward, with a little bit less anxiety,” Carlyle said. “A little bit something more to look forward to.”
MORE CHAIRS IN THE SUNROOM
Palm Coast’s William B. Brant — artist, teacher and Navy veteran — was born in 1932 and enjoyed a long career in art and education. He died of cancer in October 2023, just days shy of his 91st birthday.
“My work is becoming more and more about
how few elements it takes to make a good painting,” Brant wrote on his website. “I wish to minimize the subject matter to emphasize the power of space and color. As a young man, I put it all in. As an older man, I’m taking it out, reducing the work to its basic elements. I want my paintings to have their primary voice through color.”
Brant earned art degrees from the Massachusetts College of Art and then from Syracuse University. He was professor emeritus from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, 1999, and taught art to all ages, including in Flagler County, where he lived with his wife for many years.
–OBSERVER STAFF
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Vince Carter achieves Hall of Fame selection in the 27th year running his youth basketball academy.
MICHELE MEYERS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
NBA legend Vince Carter grabbed the microphone as he walked onto the Mainland High School basketball court on Wednesday, July 17. He proceeded to lead over 130 kids in a few rounds of jumping jacks and a warmup before separating them into age groups on the second day of the Vince Carter Youth Basketball Academy, which ran from July 16-19.
“Doing this for 27 years (means) this is just supposed to happen,” he said. “It’s a part of my yearly life and schedule. It’s a part of what I know and what I do. In the beginning, it was that we were putting on a camp to do something good for the city. Now, it’s what we do annually in the community. We want to give these kids the opportunity to accomplish
the goals that they want to accomplish or realize the goal that they want or find the lifestyle that they want or find who they want to be.”
The camp was launched in the summer of 1995 by Mainland’s then head basketball coach Charles Brinkerhoff the year Carter led the team to a state championship. Carter then traded his Buc Pride for Tar Heels at the University of North Carolina.
“I knew that as long as I was going to be in coaching that I was going to have a summer camp,” Brinkerhoff said.
“It was also part of that Buc Pride thing and it was part of the idea that I wanted to be in that gym and build that vertical team. I called it the Charles Brinkerhoff Basketball Academy starring Vince Carter for the next two years before it officially became his but it was always Vince’s camp.”
In 1998, Carter was a firstround draft pick which began a 22-season career spanning four decades and a bounty of accolades. On April 6, the prestigious recognitions continued during the NCAA Final Four in Phoenix when it was announced that Carter was selected a member of the Class of 2024 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The following month, the Brooklyn Nets surprised him by showing him a video recap of his game-winning 3-pointer to help lift the Nets against his former team, the Toronto Raptors. It continued with additional footage of his No. 15 jersey being retired and hung in the rafters alongside former teammate Jason Kidd’s No. 5 jersey.
“I’ll say, because of all the cool things that have happened back-to-back, it has been unbelievable,” Carter
said. “The honor of having my jersey retired with the Nets and to go to the Hall of Fame — it’s 100% surreal. It’s been an up and down emotional roller coaster, for the good, of course. I’m just living in the moment.”
Carter said just when he had embraced the news of being inducted into the Hall of Fame and having his jersey retired, he learned he would grace the cover of the video game NBA 2K25 Hall of Fame edition. Fans congratulated him about the cover when he played in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in July.
“Now, I’m trying to deal with those (accolades) then I find out I’m on the cover of the video game NBA 2K” he said. “I don’t play video games like that, but I understand how important it is to the young generation being that I do basketball camps. It’s cool to do something like that while I have a college daughter (Kai Carter) who gets to hear “yo, your dad’s on the cover of a video game.’”
Kai worked at her dad’s academy as a camp assistant. Carter prides himself on always running the camp with family, Mainland coaches, former players and campers who have aged out of the academy.
Carter’s mother Michelle has been the camp director since 1997 while aunts Errolyn Aaron and Jennifer Cooper ran the education station. Carter’s former seventh grade English teacher, Ann Smith, is his mom’s assistant and handles the administrative details. His wife Sondi has a master’s degree in applied exercise physiology and nutrition and lent her expertise as a certified trainer.
Among the 132 new and returning campers were Carter’s son Vince Jr. and daughter Vayle. Many basketball enthusiasts return yearly to garner some expertise from Carter. North Carolina resident Bryson Green, 13, has been coming for the past three years — a birthday gift from his grandparents. It was Mainland girls basketball player Shilah-rayn Lord’s first time joining the camp.
“When I look at him (Vince Carter), he gives me light,” she said. “He definitely makes me want to go harder. The key word was vision yesterday. He was telling us to keep pushing. You don’t have to be the best but you have to prove that you’re the best.”
Camp coach Abby Steele started attending the camp when she was 7 years old and began coaching when she aged out at 18. At 30 years
“The honor of having my jersey retired with the Nets and to go to the Hall of Fame — it’s 100% surreal. It’s been an up and down emotional roller coaster, for the good, of course. I’m just living in the moment.”
VINCE CARTER, Class of 2024 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer
old, Steele recently made the decision to go back to school. She has applied to 14 different physician assistant programs throughout the United States. Whether she returns to coach at the camp depends on which program she choses and the future academy schedules.
“I think they have become a second family,” she said. “I don’t ever remember a summer without them and without this camp. Education-wise, career-wise and character-wise, to say the least, I wouldn’t be who I am today or where I am today without this camp.”
It was Brinkerhoff’s first year back in the fold at the academy. He was one of the academy’s basketball skills coaches along with Mainland head basketball coach Joe Giddens, Mainland coach Jeff Harris and former Mainland basketball players Cornelius James and Yavis Perry.
Brinkerhoff was Carter’s American history teacher during at Mainland. He was the assistant basketball coach under head coach Dick Toth during Carter’s freshman year and the head coach through his senior year.
He retired Carter’s, Giddens’ and Antoine “T.T.” Toliver’s jerseys immediately after each of them graduated from Mainland. All three were part of the 1995 championship team with Giddens and Toli-
ver returning to take the state championship again in 1996.
Brinkerhoff said it was wonderful that the Nets retired Carter’s jersey.
“I think Vince had some of his greatest years with the Nets,” he said. “Had the chemistry been a little different, I think they might have been able to make some runs at the championship. Jason Kidd was so complimentary when Vince was selected for the Hall of Fame. As a teammate, he really supported what Vince did.”
Carter said “Coach Brink” set the baseline for him and Giddens when they were young.
“We all understand the common goal and that’s to help develop these kids — it’s not about anything else,” he said. “If you teach these kids how to be good kids, how to go about getting their business and working hard instead of wanting a handout, they come back with ‘I don’t want a handout — let me do it myself.’
It’s going to be tough, but if you don’t know how to do it, it can go the other way.”
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Springfield Symphony Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Oct. 13.
FPC’s Christina Borgmann placed sixth at elite national freestyle tournament in Fargo, North Dakota.
BRENT WORONOFF
ASSOCIATE
Christina Borgmann and Mariah Mills have proven they are among the top high school girls wrestlers in the nation. Now they’ll get the chance to show what they can do on the international stage. They both have been invited to wrestle for Team USA in the International School Sports Federation’s World School Sports Games in Manama, Bahrain this October.
On July 13-14, the two rising seniors competed in the 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U Nationals at Fargo, North Dakota, the world’s largest freestyle high school wrestling tournament with nearly 7,000 wrestlers competing.
Borgmann placed sixth in the Junior Women 130-pound class, achieving All-American honors. The Flagler Palm Coast High School wrestler won six of eight matches in the tournament, advancing to the consolation semifinals. Borgmann entered the bracket as the No. 9 seed. Advancing as far she did was quite an accomplishment, FPC coach David Bossardet said.
“This is the tournament you want to win if you’re a high school athlete,” Bossardet said. “It’s the biggest and toughest tournament there is for high school kids.”
Borgmann was one of four FPC girls wrestlers who com-
peted in the tournament. Joslyn Johnson, Alexa Calidonio and Alisha Vilar were the others. Bossardet did not make the trip to Fargo, instead staying home to lead Flagler Wrestling Club practices.
“Christina texted me five minutes after her last match,” Bossardet said. “She said she wasn’t satisfied. She wants to win every tournament. That’s what I like about her. I’m proud of the way she competed.”
Mills, who lives in Ormond Beach and competed at Matanzas High the past three seasons, went 4-2 in the Junior Women 115-pound class. She defeated three state champions in her bracket, but was disappointed with her final result.
Mills, however, is currently wrestling without a club team. She does not have much experience in freestyle wrestling and entered the tournament unseeded but defeated three seeded wrestlers. She trained as a guest with a variety of teams and coaches to prepare for the tournament.
“She’s been practicing so hard, going to different places, and it really showed,” said her father, Abe Mills. She wrestled on the beach
with former Matanzas coach Mike Fries and some of her former teammates. She traveled to Orlando, DeLand and FPC. Bossardet said Mills has been a positive addition to the FPC wrestling room when she’s there.
“When she’s around, she makes everyone better,” he said.
She went to practices at Lake Highland Prep in Orlando; drove with her mom to Venice, Florida, and back in one day for a practice; trained for a week at Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School in Pennsylvania. She was also invited to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes clinic where she trained with Jordan Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champ in freestyle wrestling.
“It’s a sad situation that she didn’t have a home (base),” said Rachel Mills, Mariah’s mother. “But she didn’t sulk. She just took matters in her own hands. God opened so many doors for her. It’s pretty miraculous to see how many people reached out to her and helped her. She’s so resilient and just kept at it.”
Mariah Mills is now raising money for her trip to Bahrain. The fee for travel and competition is $2,800 and she is halfway there, according to her Facebook post.
Donations are accpeted on Venmo (@Abe-Mills), Cash App ($theabemills) and PayPal (@AbdullahMills).
Mills and FPC’s four wrestlers all competed with Team Florida at Fargo.
FPC’s Johnson went 3-2 in the Fargo tournament, while Calidonio and Vilar were each 2-2.
The North Carolina A&T junior was selected with the second pick in the ninth round of the Major League draft.
BRENT WORONOFF ASSOCIATE EDITOR
One thing that could be counted on during Canyon Brown’s high school and college baseball career is that if his team was playing a game, Brown would be stationed behind the plate.
The catcher hopes that trend will continue as he embarks on his professional baseball career.
The 2021 Seabreeze High School graduate was selected by the Kansas Royals with the second pick in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball Draft on July 15.
Brown was the 257th pick overall, which has a pick value signing bonus of $200,600. He signed on July 21 and flew to Arizona to begin his pro baseball career.
Brown was Seabreeze’s starting catcher for four years and then started all three years behind the plate for North Carolina A&T State University.
“He started every single game for us,” Seabreeze baseball coach Jeff Lemon said. “I could never take him out of the lineup. He had the work ethic and determination to be the guy. We would ask him, ‘Do you want to take a day off and be the (designated hitter)?’ He’d say, ‘No, I need to
enticed MLB scouts. The Aggies’ junior threw out 27 of 57 runners attempting to steal a base this season, and he had a strong performance at the MLB Draft Combine, showcasing a strong arm and superior catching skills.
Lemon said Brown was like a coach on the field for the Sandcrabs, calling almost all of the pitches since his freshman season.
“When he was in high school, myself or our pitching coach called maybe 10 pitches,” Lemon said.
been his offensive skills, but he’s improved his hitting throughout his college career, batting .310 with a .414 onbase percentage and a .492 slugging percentage this season. When Brown was being recruited in high school, Lemon said college coaches asked him if he thought Brown could hit on the Division I level.
“His catching and throwing ability were already one of the best in the country,” Lemon said. “After his freshman year at North Carolina A&T you
