Ponce Inlet

Headline Surfer snapshot graphic / For unforseen emergencies, the town of Ponce Inlet has turned to 'Code Red' to alert citizens and merchants.

PONCE INLET -- The municipality has instituted a rapid emergency notification service called CodeRED, which distributes emergency messages via telephone to targeted areas or the entire town at a rate of 1,000 calls per minute, according to a press release on Ponce Inlet's website.

Kathy Williams finishes 2nd in a crowded field to force Jan. 15 runoff

Ida Wright, shown  at far left, is in the driver's seat in her quest to fill the open dist. 2 seat on the Volusia County School Board, but she has one more test to pass in order to make the grade: a Jan. 15 runoff with second place finisher Kathy Williams, shown in the inset. Her husband, Al Williams, was chairman of the school board before his passing in October.

DAYTONA BEACH -- With a mere 6 percent of the 66,166 registered voters taking part in the electoral process, Tuesday's primary turnout for the dist. 2 school board seat could go down as among the lowest in modern times with only 3,390 bothering to vote.

Still, every vote cast matters and that's what put Daytona Beach resident and Bethune-Cookmn University educator Ida Duncan Wright on top with 1,538 of those votes or 38.84 percent. Kathy Williams finished second with 1,023 votes or 25.83 percent to force a runoff election because Wright didn't quite reach the 50 percent-plus 1 threshold to win it outright.

Headline Surfer photo by Henry Frederick / Former Ponce Inlet Mayor Nancy Epps, shown here, is challenging first-term dist. 2 Volusia County Council member Joshua Wagner in the Nov. 6 general elections.  

PORT ORANGE -- Challenger Nancy Epps and incumbent dist. 2 Volusia County Council member Joshua Wagner have each committed to participating in a public debate sponsored by Headline Surfer leading up to the Nov. 6 general elections.

Epps, who finished second to Wagner in the Aug. 14 primary in a three-way contest to force the run-off said she's looking forward to debating the issues.

OCALA -- When Frank Bruno takes to the podium at the Ocean Center on Monday, he'll have trekked across five Central Florida counties in just a matter of days in his dual role as the face of Volusia County government and as Democratic candidate for the newly redrawn dist. 8 seat in the State Senate.

Volusia County Council dist. 4 candidate retains 2nd-place finish for November runoff

Courtesy photo / Councilman Joseph Perrone knows firsthand that every vote counts, especially in a small town like Ponce Inlet as affirmed by a manual ballot recount Friday.

DELAND -- Two races from Tuesday's primary went unchanged after recounts Friday.

Ponce Inlet Town Councilman Joseph Perrone won re-election over Joe Villanella by one vote in a recount Friday confirmed, unchanged from Tuesday's primary giving him the win, 609 to 608.

In another race requiring a recount, Shannon McLeish of Ormond Beach held onto her 27-voter margin over third-place finisher Jay Young for the right to go against Volusia County Council Council dist 4 primary primary winner Doug Daniels in the Nov. 6 runoff.

DAYTONA BEACH -- In the race for seat 2 on the Volusia County Council, former Ponce Inlet Mayor Nancy Epps' fundraising shows she's the David to incumbent Josh Wagner's Goliath. In a field of three, she only has to score one of the top two spots in the primary to force a November showdown.

That is, unless any of three wins the primary outright with 50 percent plus one. And with an incumbent, that's asking for a lot, including for the current office holder.

Epps likes her chances to force a November showdown just like she did four years ago. 

PONCE INLET -- State Rep, Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, will be among a contingent of dignitaries on hand to commemorate the Memorial Day Holiday with the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse veterarans memorial as a backdrop in Davies Lighthouse Park, 4931 S. Peninsula Drive. 

The 11 a.m. Sunday, May 29, ceremony includes a flyover by the Spruce Creek Gaggle, remarks from Ponce Inlet Mayor Gary Smith and guest speaker Mihael White, director of veterans services for Volusia County. The Spruce Creek High School Trumpeteers will play "Taps" and there are a host of other related activities.

Headline Surfer / NSBNews.net photo by Sera Frederick /

PONCE INLET -- The business agent for the Teamsters Local 385 said he's optimistic a new contract will be hammered out between the union and the town for the small police force.

"We're going to request negotiations sometime in June," said Robert Walker, who has been the union's business agent the better part of 15 months. "I met the new chief in April and we had a good discussion. I feel good about getting a new contract in place for the officers."