Lake Helen News

More than 70 organizations that provide everything from theater to HIV education and independent-living assistance for blind people in Volusia County are tentatively slated to receive about $2.8 million in county grant money in the coming budget year.

BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN Watermelon - Young folks chow down at the watermelon-eating contest at the 2008 Lake Helen July Fourth celebration.

Next fall, Florida voters will decide if they want the power to approve or deny changes to their communities' comprehensive land-use plans.

Princes, princesses, Puss in Boots, Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White and other fairytale characters cross paths in "Once Upon a Fairytale," a new production staged by and for children at Shoestring Theatre.

June 19, 2009 Pat Kuehn, APR Community Information Specialist Lake Helen Public Library's summer programs focus on creativity Children can get creative at the Lake Helen Public Library with a variety of programs this summer.

Richard Taylor's diabetes makes walking difficult for the 55-year-old. That's why he wants residents to be able to "cart" their way around the Indian Harbor Estates subdivision -- despite having no golf course in sight.

BEACON PHOTO/BARB SHEPHERD Ready to listen a ' The DeLand City Commission, pictured here during a recent regular meeting, is inviting the public to a special meeting at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, June 10.

An apparent City Commission oversight has left some Lake Helen residents asking what happened.

BEACON PHOTO/AL EVERSON Welcome a ' Former Mayor John Masiarczyk welcomes Larry DeMatteo to the museum.

West Volusia's community newspaper of DeLand, Orange City, Deltona, Enterprise, DeBary, Lake Helen, DeLeon Springs, Glenwood, Pierson, Cassadaga, Seville and Barberville in Florida.

For almost a century, residents here have celebrated Independence Day in Blake Park.

April is certainly not the cruelest month in little old Lake Helen. Its landmark Victorian b&b, Clauser's, is offering free Tuesdays if you check in for a Monday or Wednesday night at regular rates.

Volusia County Fire Services Director James Tauber has lifted the outdoor burn ban for the unincorporated areas of the county, as well as the cities of DeBary, Pierson, Oak Hill and Lake Helen.

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD Going over the numbers - " At a public meeting at DeLand High School May 13, DeLand City Commissioner Leigh Matusick, left, and Saralee Morrissey, site-acquisition director for Volusia Schools, go over possible boundaries for DeLand and Orange City high schools.

Authorities knew the suicidal man an Orange City officer was dispatched to check on was armed, but had no idea of the arsenal he possessed until after the officer was shot.

By DEBORAH CIRCELLI DAYTONA BEACH -- Food shelves at the Salvation Army have been bare and the choices of food limited as more families seek help to put food on the table.

More than 60 firefighters and other public safety personnel continue to fight the fire threatening Lake Harney Woods subdivision in southern Volusia County.

Spring began with disappointment for members of the West Volusia Saddle Club. Betty O'Laughlin, who manages the publicly-owned Lake Helen Equestrian Center arena, announced to the City Commission in March that Equifest, the city's annual horse show and family festival, was canceled.

Cuts -- to positions, overtime hours or elsewhere -- could be in the offing for the fire department that serves unincorporated Volusia County and some cities.

A DeLand woman was beaten and robbed by a man she dated for two weeks and another man, sheriff deputies said.