Ormond Beach Observer

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ORMOND BEACH

YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

NEIGHBORHOOD

SPORTS

Kids make memory boxes at art camp.

Let’s move! NFL Play 60 camp inspires kids to be active.

PAGE 11

OUR TOWN

THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2014

NEWS

Residents near Arts District ask, ‘Where’s the art? PAGE 3

PAGE 9

where the sidewalk ends By Wayne Grant | News Editor

Road ‘nightmares’ near completion in Ormond Residents: Why doesn’t widening extend north?

Emily Blackwood

Martha Whiting and her dog, Tiffy, show off their matching pink locks.

+ Woman dyes hair pink after beating breast cancer There’s no missing Martha Whiting and her pup, Tiffy. The 80-year-old volunteer at Family Renew Community Thrift Store in Ormond Beach rocks matching pink hair with Tiffy. She decided to make the drastic change after beating breast cancer seven years ago. “My husband loves it,” Whiting said. “He kept telling me to do the dog too for months, and I finally did it.” Whiting and her husband have been married for 50 years.

Wayne Grant

The widened Tymber Creek Road is very close to existing houses.

Two construction projects have been testing the patience of Ormond Beach area drivers, but the end of the bumpy road is in sight for both. Granada Boulevard should be smooth by the end of June to midJuly, depending on weather, and Tymber Creek, scene of traffic

backups since January, 2013, should be done by late August. “It’s been a nightmare for a lot of people,” said area resident Cristina Syfert about the Tymber Creek project. “There have been a lot of accidents. It’ll be great when it’s done.” The $6.1 million Tymber Creek Road widen-

ing project goes from Granada Boulevard north to Peruvian Lane. “It’s crazy not to go to Airport Road,” said area resident Gerry Corrigan. “There’s no common sense to it. There’s a school in both directions on Airport Road.”

SEE ROADS / PAGE 4

PAPER TRAIL

Chip and Sue Howden created the “Weird Animals” exotic set at the Vacation Bible School at St. James Episcopal Church. See Page 11 for more coverage. Photo by Wayne Grant

Courtesy photo

Tom Silvey won first place with “Engine 493.”

+ The Casements Camera Club announces winners The Casements Camera Club announced the winners of its second-annual Spring Exhibit. The photos can be seen at the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center until June 27. Winners include 1st Place: “Engine 493,” by Tom Silvey; 2nd Place: “Up and Over,” by Tom Silvey; 3rd Place: “Waiting for Lobster Season,” by Paul Johnson Best of Show: “Yavapai Point,” by Jamie Boyle People’s Choice Award: “Mickey’s Fun Wheel,” by Angela Bean For more, see ormondbeachobserver.com.

REMEMBERING ERIC JR. By Emily Blackwood | Staff Writer

Twin dies in childbirth The DeVrieses expected twins, but only one came home. When Eric and Melissa DeVriese found out they were going to have twins, they were excited, surprised and overwhelmed. “We always hoped for children,” Melissa DeVriese said. “Twins are always high risk, and I’m a little older, so that raises the possibility of issues. We were heavily monitored. We went through a lot of screening and a lot of exams, and nothing ever

indicated there was a problem. While cord accidents are the primary cause of still births, in twins that’s seldom a problem. According to the two doctors that I was seeing, in their combined 52 years of experience, they had never lost a baby to a twisted cord this late in a pregnancy.” It wasn’t until Melissa DeVriese went into preterm labor May 17, that the problem surfaced: One of the twins, Eric

Jr., had a cord twisted and turned over during childbirth. He did not survive. “There was nothing wrong with him; he was a perfectly normal baby,” Melissa DeVriese said. “It was just that his cord got twisted, and that’s what led to his demise. It was something that just wasn’t detected, even with all the sonograms and tests. No one had picked up on it.” Still, the DeVrieseses

Courtesy image

Eric Devriese introduces his 2-year-old daughter, Annamarie, to her new brother, Henry.

aren’t bitter. “The incredibly lucky part is that Eric Jr. passed while we were already in the hospital for pre-term labor,” Me-

SEE TWIN / PAGE 4

JUDGMENT By Wayne Grant | News Editor

Man convicted in 2012 murder The 18-year-old defendant said the victim was his ‘sugar daddy.’ It took a Volusia County jury one hour on June 12 to find 18-year-old Dillon O’Donnell guilty of grand theft and first-degree murder in the death of William B. Davis III, according to a statement from the State Attorney’s Office. The murder occurred April 6, 2012, at 788 Buena Vista Way. O’Donnell stabbed the victim several times with a knife and repeatedly hit him with a cement lion lawn ornament, the evidence showed. The defendant then fled in the victim’s vehicle. Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson sentenced the defendant to life in prison for first-degree murder and five years in prison for grand theft, to run concurrently with the life sentence. Police were called to the scene at 12:40 a.m., after the victim’s aunt found his body lying in the yard. She also saw someone running from the scene. Davis lived in an upstairs apartment. Police found a bloody knife and a bloody statue of a lion in the yard. The investigators found a connection to O’Donnell by checking Davis’ cell phone records. He was the last person to text the victim. Police also found O’Donnell listed in a dating application on Davis’ phone. The victim’s car was found at an apartment in Holly Hill, where O’Donnell was residing. One of the roommates told police that on June 4, he was hanging out with O’Donnell on the front porch. O’Donnell said Davis owed him money, and he

SEE MURDER / PAGE 4

INDEX Biz Buzz............. 5, 7 Blackwood.............. 6

Calendar............... 12 Classifieds ........... 14

Cops Corner.............8 Diversions............. 13

McMillan................ 6 Real Estate........... 12

Vol. 2, No. 41 One section


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