DAYTONA WEST
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VOLUME 3, NO. 2
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• OCTOBER 2021
Mary McLeod Bethune’s statue unveiled in Daytona Beach OrmondBeachObserver.com
A good
North Peninsula State park could get new name
BOY
JARLEENE ALMENAS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The Volusia County Council unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday, Oct. 5, to support changing the name of North Peninsula State Park to honor a “true champion of conservation,” as described in a letter to the Florida Park Service. The request to rename the park to the “Reid B. Hughes State Park” was brought forward by former County Councilwoman Pat Northey and Clay Henderson, the executive director of Stetson University’s Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience. Hughes, a local businessman and longtime supporter of environmental efforts, died on July 3. Henderson wrote a letter to Eric Draper, the director of the Florida Park Service, detailing the contributions Hughes made over his lifetime to the three local state parks: Tomoka State Park, Bulow Creek State Park, and North Peninsula State Park, referred in the letter collectively as the “Tomoka Geo-Park.” Hughes became involved in conservation while working with Walter Boardman in the late 1970s as they worked to limit the Halifax Plantation development. Over the years, their advocacy led to the preservation of almost 6,000 acres for what would become the three state parks.
Ormond Beach Police hold retirement ceremony for K-9 Kane JARLEENE ALMENAS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A
t 5:26 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30, Ormond Beach Police K-9 Kane’s call sign, 10-K92, was said in farewell once over the radio. After eight years of serving on the police force and over 673 deployments, the 9-year-old German shepherd’s contributions to the department were celebrated in a retirement ceremony attended by fellow officers, law enforcement officials from other agencies, and members of the Lt. Michelle Willis showers Kane with love.
Photos by Jarleene Almenas
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Noah’s superpower
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Local boy with autism was among performers at the Ormond Beach Live music festival
Photo courtesy of Charles Griffin
Noah Arazashvili performs with his father, Joseph Arazashvili, during the third-annual Ormond Beach Live Original Music and Art Festival at Rockefeller Gardens on Saturday, Sept. 25.
JARLEENE ALMENAS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Where words fail, music speaks. The quote by Hans Christian Andersen rings true for 12-yearold Noah Arazashvili, of Daytona Beach, who performed his first 40-minute piano concert at The Casements during the thirdannual Ormond Beach Live Original Music and Art Festival on Saturday, Sept. 25. Noah began his performance with a 15-minute set on the side main stage at Rockefeller Gardens, and for his mother, Rachel Arazashvili, it marked a proud moment for not just Noah, but the whole autism community. “We’re raising him up to recognize his strengths and not focus on his weaknesses, and, as an advocate for autism, that’s what
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I encourage parents to do,” said Arazashvili, who is the executive director of Kidds are First, an Ormond Beach-based nonprofit. Noah, who goes by Noah A-Z on stage, began playing piano when he was 3, shortly after being diagnosed with autism. Though his speech was delayed, he found a way to communicate with his parents through the pre-programmed songs on his keyboard. Eventually, he learned to play the songs himself by memorizing the sequence of the keys that lit up as the songs played. His mother said it was his superpower. “He’d get on the keyboard and it was just like this light went on,” Arazashvili said. “It was his world and his element, and he would just play these songs.”
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DAYTONA WEST OBSERVER
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BOY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
community. K-9 Officer Justin Hyatt and Kane walked into the ceremony, held in the Police Department’s training room, to a crowd that overwhelmed the space; several people stood in the doorway during the ceremony. Police Chief Jesse Godfrey said this was his first K-9 retirement ceremony. It was arranged quickly, as Kane will soon lose his battle with terminal cancer. “Kane is retiring with honor, dignity and most importantly, in a com-
Courtesy of the city of Ormond Beach
Ormond Beach Police K-9 Officer Justin Hyatt presents Kane with his Kong toy.
passion-filled environment surrounded by those who love him off- and on-duty,” Godfrey said. Kane was born on Feb. 28, 2012, and was brought to Ormond Beach from Germany after he was purchased. He began serving on the police force in January 2014, when he was assigned to now-Detective Thomas Garcia. Kane was reassigned to Hyatt in November 2016, and the two have been inseparable since. “There’s a special bond between the handler and a K-9, and this bond is unbreakable and it’s part of his family,” Godfrey said. KEEPING STREETS SAFE
While his favorite thing to do is “find drugs and get paid with his Kong toy,” a description that won a few chuckles from the crowd, when off-duty, Godfrey said Kane enjoys watching over his human baby siblings, playing fetch, and hanging out with his German shepherd brother Cooper. But when he and Hyatt were on duty, they got to work. Kane is trained in narcotic detection, and on May 13, he helped in the arrest of a 32-year-old Ormond Beach man who was charged with four felonies for being in possession of 48 grams of fentanyl, 18 grams of methamphetamine, and 3 grams of cocaine, after he was involved in a crash while driving under the influence. Once deployed, Kane circled the vehicle until he arrived to the front
passenger door, and the drugs were discovered in the passenger side center console area. Hyatt also found over $10,000 in cash in the vehicle’s glove box. That was one of Kane’s major cases, Godfrey said. Throughout his career, Kane assisted agencies including the Florida Highway Patrol, Holly Hill Police Department, Volusia Sheriff’s Office, Port Orange Police Department and Daytona Beach Police Department. In 2019, he was nominated for the Crimestoppers Officer of the Year award, and in 2020, was recognized as the “Most Improved K-9” at the 23rd-annual K9 Explosives and Drug Detection seminar. He’s a good boy, said Ormond Beach Police Capt. D.W. Smith. One of Smith’s roles is to sign all the K-9 logs detailing the narcotics and paraphernalia seized, and Kane’s contribution has been “tremendous” he said. “It’s a testament to how valuable Kane’s career has been and how much he truly protected the city of Ormond Beach,” Smith said. “He kept all of that out of our city.” TOUR OF DUTY IS COMPLETE
From a large bone gifted to him by City Commissioners Susan Persis and Rob Littleton, a commemorative plaque presented by City Manager Joyce Shanahan and a gift basket from Salzburg Animal Hospital, Kane was sent off honorably. Sworn law enforcement officers lined the hallways of the Ormond Beach Police Department as he and Hyatt exited the building to complete one final drug “bust.” Hyatt led Kane to a parked silver sedan, and Kane circled it until issuing his final alert: He sat
City Commissioners Susan Persis and Rob Littleton present Kane with a large bone, wrapped in a big red bow.
wvdown and stared intently at the rear passenger-side door. Hyatt rewarded him with his Kong toy, which Kane held in his mouth as officers said their goodbyes, stroking his head and showering him with hugs. Kane’s call sign, 10-K92, will be retired, to be forever dedicated to his service, said Smith, a revelation that moved Hyatt during the ceremony. At the conclusion, he helped Kane into his patrol vehicle and got in the front seat. Outside, officers turned on their radios, and heard Kane’s call sign one final time.
DAYTONA WEST
Observer
SAY GOODBYE TO VARICOSE VEINS!
“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.” Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944
Publisher / John Walsh, jwalsh@palmcoastobserver.com Executive Editor / Brian McMillan, bmcmillan@palmcoastobserver.com Associate Editor / Jarleene Almenas, jarleene@ormondbeachobserver.com Staff Writer / Brent Woronoff, brent@ palmcoastobserver.com Page Designers / Hailey McMillan, Jennifer Edwards Senior Account Manager / Susan Moore, susan@palmcoastobserver. com Office Coordinator / Bonnie Hamilton,
“Kane is retiring with honor, dignity and most importantly, in a compassion-filled environment surrounded by those who love him off and on duty.” JESSE GODFREY, police chief
“With your tour of duty complete, enjoy the rest of retirement will bring you,” the radio call announced. “10-K92 has logged off.”
bonnie@palmcoastobserver.com Operations Manager / Maureen Walsh, maureen@ palmcoastobserver.com Advertising Coordinator / Jessica Boone, jessica@palmcoastobserver.com Engagement Specialist / Kaesha Hagan, kaesha@palmcoastobserver.com Circulation Manager / David Brooks, david@horizonroad.com DELIVERY The Daytona West Observer is published on the second week of every month. If you have delivery questions, call Circulation Manager David Brooks, at 338-5080 or email david@horizonroad.com. TO ADVERTISE Call 386-447-9723. For Classifieds or Business Directory, call 386-492-2784 or email pcoclassifieds@palmcoastobserver.com. Palm Coast Observer, LLC P.O. Box 353850 Palm Coast, 32135
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DAYTONA WEST OBSERVER
But swimming 8 miles through strong currents, high surf and jellyfish blooms seemed too tall an order for a first attempt at a major open-water swim, so Ochipa recruited two other Seabreeze students and a recent graduate to form a four-person relay team. Ochipa, Faith Partington, Delaney Kimble and Collin Alexander completed the grueling “Swim for Alligator Lighthouse” on Sept. 11 in 6 hours and 48 minutes. The website, swimalligatorlight.com, describes the race as a “tropical open water swim not for the faint of heart ... you will encounter stunning (for some stinging) and beautiful marine life.” Proceeds of the annual event go to the nonprofit Friends of the Pool to provide scholarships for high school swimmers and to help preserve and restore the Alligator lighthouse and other aging lighthouses off the Florida Keys.
To the
lighthouse Four Seabreeze High School friends conquered the grueling 8-mile open-water ‘Swim for Alligator Lighthouse’
BRENT WORONOFF STAFF WRITER
T
he Alligator Reef Lighthouse always had a special attraction for Seabreeze High School senior Brody Ochipa. On trips with his family to the Florida Keys, he would snorkel around the reef off Islamorada and look up at the 19th-century lighthouse. When he learned that there was an 8-mile ocean water swim race out to the lighthouse and back, he was intrigued. “I thought it would be pretty cool if I could swim all the way out there,” Ochipa said.
on club and high school teams. Alexander, 18, now a student at Daytona State College, swam for Seabreeze last year. Kimble, 15, and Ochipa, 18, are current Sandcrab swimmers. Partington, 18, is a former swimmer for the Daytona Beach Speed team. Both Ochipa and Partington have celebrated their 18th birthdays since the race. RESPECT FOR NATURE
At the start, conditions were calm and clear, the water temperature was 87 degrees, Ochipa said. Partington swam the first leg in 39 minutes, which was a very good time, Ochipa said. Kimble took the second leg, and, with the current getting stronger, she went over the 45-minute limit the four had placed on themselves. “I did (the third leg) in 35 minutes,” Ochipa said. “And I realized the current was a lot stronger, the waves were picking up and the PREPARING FOR THE BIG DAY wind was picking up.” Ochipa and his team trained at Alexander was right on pace 6:30 a.m., five days a week, at on the final leg going out, Ochipa the Ormond Beach YMCA. They said, but a swarm of moon jellyraised $825 through a pancake fish came in with the tide as Ochibreakfast fundraiser at Rosie’s pa was getting out of the water. Café, inside Dunn’s Attic, and “Collin was three-fourths other donations to help pay for done when he got stung really their entry fees ($180 apiece), bad,” Ochipa said. “They came in kayak rentals and other expenses. like walls almost. With a wave, a They rented a tandem kayak good one hit him in the chest. We and a single kayak with one per- pulled him out and put vinegar on son always in the water through- the sting.” out the swim. Their goal was to Partington took over and swam swim 1-mile legs, with each of around the lighthouse. As the them swimming 1 of the 4 miles to current and wind strengthened, the lighthouse and 1 of the 4 miles it not only got harder to swim but back. They are all strong swim- harder to paddle the kayaks. The mers with extensive experience buoys marking the course were
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OCTOBER 2021
being blown southward. “We ended up probably a half mile south of where we should have been,” Ochipa said. “We were close to one of the deepwater channels. I jumped in and swam north to get us back on course. All four swimmers swam a portion of the return trip with Partington swimming the last mile. “The second half of the race was brutal,” Ochipa said. “We kept getting pushed by the wind. Every time you paddled, you’d get blown farther south. If you stopped to give the swimmer water you’d get blown more to the south.” Ochipa said the race was more challenging than they anticipated, but they were extremely happy with the result. “Our only goal was to finish,” he said. “We wanted to complete it as a team. It was a fun bonding experience that I don’t think anyone will ever forget. Faith and Delaney got to swim with baby sea turtles. It just gave us a new perspective and new respect for Mother Nature. “It was pretty cool to say that as kids we were able to complete this race.”
“Collin was three-fourths done when he got stung really bad. (The jellyfish) came in like walls.” BRODY OCHIPA
Courtesy photos
The locals in the kayaks get ready for the start of the race.
Delaney Kimble, 15, Brody Ochipa, 18, Faith Partington, 18, and Collin Alexander, 18, pose after finishing the Swim for Alligator Lighthouse at Islamorada.
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