PTOO June 2020

Page 1

PORT ORANGE

Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

COVID SURVIVORS 2-3 FREE • JUNE 2020

VOLUME 3, NO. 10

It’s not too late to complete your census form

BILLIE WHEELER VOLUSIA COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 2 REPRESENTATIVE

Did you know that you can help Volusia County and our 16 municipalities unlock millions of dollars in federal funding? It’s easy. All you have to do is complete your 2020 census questionnaire. It will only take about 10 minutes, and you can do it in one of three ways: n Go to my2020Census.gov n Call 844-330-2020 n Mail your paper census form The Census Bureau has extended the deadline to Aug. 14, but why wait? If you complete your census form now, you will prevent a knock on the door this summer. And nobody wants a knock on the door these days. So far, 59% of Volusia County households have responded. Now, that sounds rather low, but we are above the state and national rates, so that’s good news. But we can do better than that! So what is the census, and why are we putting so much effort into it? Every 10 years, the U.S. government conducts a count of the entire population to determine how Congressional representation will be apportioned and how much funding to allocate for more than 130 federal programs.

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SEE CENSUS PAGE 4

Four minutes

People complete four minutes of silence during the Memorial Day ceremony on Monday, May 25.

Veterans gather on the beach to pay their respects on Memorial Day

JARLEENE ALMENAS ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Members of multiple local veteran organizations gathered at the beach at Tom Renick Park in Ormond-by-the-Sea on Monday, May 25, to ensure that fallen soldiers were not forgotten this Memorial Day, despite annual remembrance events having been canceled due to COVID-19. The “Four the Fallen” event, organized by U.S. Army veteran Scott Sheldon, of Vet Hub Local, featured four minutes of silence to remember and mourn those who died while serving in the armed

a really neat experience to do it on the beach with our American flags.’” And so, people held up flags on the beach on the overcast Monday morning. A veteran performed taps, and names of fallen service members were spoken aloud. “We kept everything simple,” Sheldon said. “It really is about the fallen.” Vet Hub Local was started by Sheldon as a way to unite local veteran organizations and inform the community about resources and events. For more information, visit vethublocal.com

July graduations planned JARLEENE ALMENAS ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Local Postal Customer

forces. Groups like Ormond Strong, the Vietnam Veterans Chapter 1048 and the American Legion were in attendance, along with family and friends. When Sheldon heard Memorial Day events were being canceled due to the pandemic, he knew he had to find a way to still pay tribute to fallen soldiers. He couldn’t let a Memorial Day go by without doing so. “To me, it just was not right that we should cancel these events,” Sheldon said. “We’re here to celebrate those who gave their life, and I thought, ‘You know, it’d be

All Volusia County high school graduations will be held in July at the Ocean Center. Volusia County Schools Superintendent Scott Fritz made the announcement during a virtual School Board meeting May 12. Graduates will receive two or three tickets for their family to attend the ceremony. It will also be livestreamed. Fritz said that he and VCS staff met with student government association officers and with principals. The consensus was that the majority of students wanted a traditional graduation.

Flagler Schools’ ceremonies will be held at the Daytona International Speedway, with students riding across the finish line to receive their diplomas. But with 10 high schools in Volusia, a Speedway graduation is not feasible, said School Board member Ruben Colon. University High School in Orange City has a graduating class of about 700 students. If each of them took a minute to ride around the track, the ceremony would last over 11 hours. Colon said he had considered a traditional graduation at the Speedway, but in July, the weather for families could be “miserable.” School Board member Carl Per-

Photo by Jarleene Almenas

sis expressed caution moving forward with the in-person graduation ceremonies. “I’d be real careful about feeling any pressure to do this event inside anywhere,” Persis said. “Let’s just be prudent.” Additionally, VCS is hoping to give seniors a chance to experience another milestone: prom. During June 12-27, VCS is hoping to host free “senior celebrations” at each high school — if social distancing guidelines are lifted. “I will tell you that our principals and our staff are really trying to make this as memorable and as special for our children as they can,” Fritz said. “ ... Our seniors have been through a lot.”

ALTERNATE GRADUATION DATES REHEARSALS 12:30 p.m., Monday, July 6: Mainland High School 3:30 p.m., Monday, July 6 Seabreeze High School CEREMONIES 4:30 p.m., Thursday, July 9: Mainland High School 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jully 9: Seabreeze High School


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