October 2020

Our Elected Officials……….3 Mayor Derrick: Hazardous waste collection Zone 1 Trager: Items of note for Daytona Beach Sheriff Chitwood: Scam alert

A Native Remembers: Stories of surfing scars ..... ...5 Save Our Neighborhoods: SON Update ……………….6 From the Chief of Police…..7 Living in Lockdown (a local reflects)……………..……….8

This newsletter will be the last newsletter until after the general election on November 3rd. That is not to say the election process will be over in November, but we can only hope.

October is one of the best times of year here in Daytona Beach, with many days of cooler, drier weather and lots of sunshine (unless we are dealing with a hurricane). In the past, our beautiful October weather has been interrupted by the roar of Biketoberfest. This weekend event seems to have grown to a week or more! But I can’t blame the bikers for wanting to show off their bikes and enjoy long rides all over Volusia County. I’m not sure anyone knows what we will experience this year.

This election, we will be missing out on providing coffee and donuts to voters at Schnebly. We got up at 6 a.m. to buy dozens of doughnuts. Then, Nancy had to start one pot of coffee after another. We always counted on Paul Zimmerman to arrive early to put up our banner and help set up tables. Seeing so many of our friends and neighbors made all the work worth it. We were a well-oiled machine after enough practice!

Because we cannot guarantee your safety and because we

love our residents and friends, Bellaire Community Group meetings are suspended for the foreseeable future. We’ll

continue to keep you informed of events that affect us.

Stay healthy! Follow the

recommendations of public health professionals and the Centers for Disease Control,

and know that when this passes, as it will, BCG will be

so very glad to see you.

Bella

ire Com

munity Group

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That old saying is true: you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Now, we want to just get back to the old normal.

If you are helping deliver the BCG newsletters, thank you. If you want to help our Community Group, support our advertisers. They make this newsletter possible and most have been long-term supporters. When you do business with any of our sponsors, thank them for supporting the Bellaire Community Group.

Please stay safe and healthy so we can all enjoy a good meal together again with informative speakers like we have for the last 14 years!

Thanks for the journey. Steve Koenig

Bellaire Community Group

2000 N. Halifax

Daytona Beach, FL 32118

2020 Officers Chair

Steve Koenig Office: 386.257.6700 Cell: 386.795.0023

steve@koenigrealty.com

Vice Chair Paul Zimmerman, Founder

386.316.6259 ptzimm@bellsouth.net

Treasurer and

Marketing Manager Nancy Koenig 386.679.3363

nancy@koenigrealty.com

Contributors Paul Zimmerman Weegie Kuendig

Craig Capri Ruth Trager

Mike Chitwood Derrick Henry Steve Koenig

Vol 14, Issue 10: October 2020

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Our Elected Officials

Derrick Henry, Mayor of Daytona Beach

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

It’s that time again to safely dispose of your old bottles, cans, bags and buckets of potentially dangerous chemicals. The City of Daytona Beach will host a Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the city’s Public Works facility, 950 Bellevue Avenue in Daytona Beach. Residents will not be charged when they drop off materials, but they will be asked to provide proof of residency at the site.

Bring items such as:

▪ paint and paint thinners, ▪ solvents, ▪ pesticides, ▪ fertilizers, ▪ household chemicals, ▪ batteries, ▪ pool chemicals, ▪ anti-freeze, ▪ car wax, ▪ light bulbs ▪ propane tanks

Because of their potential to contaminate our environment or water supply, these types of materials should never be included with your regular household garbage. Improper disposal may lead to surface and groundwater contamination. In addition, improperly stored chemicals can be a fire hazard and may endanger children and household pets.

The city will ensure that the collected materials are disposed of properly. Materials not accepted include fuel, gas cans, used motor oil and tires. Last year, nearly 100 residents dropped off hazardous items including 1,765 cans of paint, 300 pounds of assorted types of batteries, 680 pounds of paint-related solvents, 520 pounds of pest control liquids and 200 pounds of household cleaning liquids. If you have any questions about the drop-off program, please call 671-8670.

Ruth Trager, Zone 1 City Commissioner

Hi, Friends and Neighbors! It really seems impossible that it is October already! I have always heard

that this is called "the SILLY SEASON" because of the elections and I suppose that it is never more

true than this year. New revelations just seem to be coming one after the other. Of course, this has already been a year like no other.

I hope everyone is keeping safe!! Because of the COVID, many of us are just "hunkering down," as they say, and staying safe. I miss you all. The kids are back in school ,but it seems that the COVID has just started to rev up again, and some colleges are closing again or, hopefully, just pausing. Names for the hurricanes are down to the Greek alphabet (we have used all of the regular names.) This is only the second time that I ever remember this happening. And we have another 2 or so months to go.

I, for one, will greatly miss Biketoberfest and seeing old friends returning this year; and my heart wanted to open as usual, but my head told me that if we ever want to get back to normal, we have to sacrifice and do the difficult thing and not expose our residents to the virus coming from outside. As of this writing we have lost over 211,000 of our neighbors and friends. This is way too many!!

The truly awful thing about this virus is that so many survivors will have after-effects or complications for many years, if not always. It is so difficult sometimes to have to do the right thing and, of course, definitely not the popular thing.

It is that time of year again to get that dreaded flu shot. More important this year than ever. I look forward to the Holidays this year even though we will have to make some

new traditions because many families will have to be together only in spirit - or on the telephone, or smart phone, or computer - thank goodness for modern technology!!! I recently spoke with a friend from up North and she gave me a new tip which I am passing on to you. Get one of those plastic face shields and wear it with your mask and you will have double protection. Some people are acting right now as if they do not need to wear a mask (which we do to not only protect ourselves but others around us). This seems an excellent tip to me. It is better to prevent COVID than to try to cure it. I do not want any of you or yours to get this terrible disease!!

I usually end this letter with a wish to see all of you at the next Bellaire Community Group meeting, but we can check back on our memories and be together in spirit!!

Best Wishes, Ruth

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood

Most of us just want to help. When we see others going through a tragedy or a disaster, we look for ways to lend a hand. Often, that involves sending our hard-earned money to someone who needs it, either through a charity or an online fundraiser like GoFundMe. There are so many good causes and organizations out there that need our help.

But there are plenty of scams, too, so I just want to remind you of the importance of doing your research before donating. A good resource you might not know about is Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s “Consumer Alerts” page at myfloridalegal.com/ConsumerAlert

.

The same con artists targeting people in Volusia County are scamming people all over the state, so the

Attorney General’s Office is a good place to get an idea of what’s circulating out there. You can also contact AG Moody’s office at 866-9NO-SCAM. The charity scams rely on your kindness and generosity. But there are so many other ways they will come after you, too.

Recently, we’ve seen phone scams related to COVID-19, the U.S. Census, the lottery and the federal stimulus program, not to mention the common ones like fake tech support and fake law enforcement officers calling to threaten you with arrest if you don’t send money. Recently we have seen scammers using real names of Volusia Sheriff’s Office personnel to extort money. One of our senior citizens in Daytona Beach fell for it. That’s why I keep trying to get the word out any way I can.

These days, it's not a bad idea to just let a call go to voicemail if you don’t recognize the number and you aren’t expecting a call. The Volusia County residents I talk to every day are good-hearted, hard-working people who just want to do the right thing. Unfortunately, those qualities along with a little lack of awareness or temporary lapse in judgment can make anyone a prime scam victim. This year we’ve been called on to help our families, friends and neighbors more than ever in the face of trying circumstances here and across the country. I encourage everyone to help each other, because that’s what’s going to get us through these trying times. Just please protect yourself, and help us put the scam artists out of business in Volusia County. Sheriff Mike Chitwood

Printed in Daytona Beach at

735 N. Ridgewood Ave. • Daytona Beach(386) 252-6571

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A Native Remembers By Paul Zimmerman

I have been surfing for 57 years. Wow, did I just write that? In those years, I have surfed on longboards, short boards, back to long boards, and now I surf a stand-up paddle board (SUP). I

surfed back before the surfboard was tethered (a leash) to the surfer. In the early 1960s, surfboards were mostly 9 to 10 ½ feet long, They were fiber glass with 10 oz cloth which really soaked up the resin and made them really heavy--about 25 pounds. I have a couple of SUPS in my garage that weigh between 20 and 25 pounds. Today’s short board is glassed with either 4 or 6 ounce fiberglass and weighs as little as 6 or 7 pounds. Obviously, it is a lot easier to whip around a 7-pound surfboard than it is a 25 pound surfboard. Short boards are quicker, more maneuverable, and allow the surfer to get in out of tighter situations on waves. The reason I’m surfing a SUP now has to do with that 57 years. SUP surfing has its advantages over short boards for old guys, because after a while, age and injuries accumulate-- and taking off on a wave from a standing position is a lot easier on the back, neck, chest, and knees than prone paddling into a wave. Just like any sport when you adjust equipment, there is a trade to be made. In this case the trade is less maneuverability for less pain AND to still be out there instead of sitting on the beach mind surfing…it is a very good trade. Now, the weight of a surfboard and pain has a relationship. Obviously a 25-pound surfboard being thrown around by a wave is gonna do more damage than a 6 pound board would do. Don’t get me wrong, both are going to hurt, but the 25 pounder is gonna leave a mark...sometimes a serious mark. That is why surfing back in the early 60s had the added component of danger in trying to

dodge a un-tethered 25 pound surfboard as it came towards you after one of your buddies wiped out trying to impress you with his drop knee turn. Back then, the way we avoided being hit directly with a loose board was to hold on to our boards and roll over so that we were under water and we would use our boards to protect us from the loose board that was trying to kill us. It worked most of the time, but I have a crooked nose and a scar on its bridge from one of the times it didn’t. Back then one of the worst things you could do was to lose your board. Not only did it mean a swim to the beach, it also meant being seriously ridiculed by your fellow surfers. You tried everything you could to never let go of your board. About three weeks ago, I added to my surf injury catalog and I have to say it was an impressive entry. We had some storms passing by and some pretty big swells were rolling in. The wind had laid down and conditions were almost glassy. I rushed home from work, grabbed my 9’4” SUP (about 22 lbs), and excitedly headed to Hartford to catch a few waves before dark. There were 2 or 3 guys sitting on the outside already and wanted to join them as quick as I could. There was a good-sized shore break that I was going to have to get through before I could get to the outside break. I quickly strapped my leash on and started paddling out. On a SUP, negotiating a good-sized shore break takes luck and determination. If luck is on your side, you will get a lull in the waves so you can paddle right out standing up; if not, you end up in the water with that 22 lb board trying to push it through the waves.

Well, I wasn’t lucky that day. I ran into a big set of waves, fell, and was in the water pushing my board through the face of the wave then diving down as the wave crashed. There were three waves in this set and I successfully negotiated the first two without being driven back to the beach. On the third one, I did exactly what I did on the first two, and what I have done hundreds of times before. I

shoved the nose of my board up the face of the wave and dove to the bottom--only this time I didn’t dive fast enough or deep enough. The fin on my board hit my right foot. The fin is pretty sharp but to see what it did to my foot, you would have thought it was a fillet knife. I felt it hit me but had no idea how bad the damages was until I stood up and started to paddle to the outside. I looked down and could see the skeleton of my foot. It didn’t hurt a bit at first, but after a visit to the emergency room to get it stitched up, it let me know it wasn’t happy. I was on crutches and a knee scooter for two weeks. Today is my first day without a crutch and I get the stitches out on Thursday.

Fall is the best time for waves here so I will be ready for the next swell…57 years, just getting started. ‘til next time, Paul

Save Our Neighborhoods Dear all,

Weegie Kuendig’s “Save Our Neighborhoods” article will not appear this month. We appreciate your good thoughts going in her direction.

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7 loved it up there. The house sat on a hill with a circular driveway that went all the way around the house. The driveway was lined with multicolored hydrangeas. On one side of the house, there were two big maples, and we would sit in Adirondack chairs under the shade of those two trees and enjoy the cool mountain breeze. The house is still standing, and when I am up there, I always go by and pause for a few minutes to remember what it was like back then. Thank God for memories. Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all the mothers in the neighborhood.

‘til next time,

Paul

Save Our Neighborhoods Dear Bellaire Friends and Neighbors:

While many of our residents are observing some form of quarantining, I can report that our

city and county governments are still quietly conducting a lot of business. I seem to have to dig harder for information on most issues. Lots of questions just go unaddressed. Plans for the Countywide Space Industry Overlay and Avalon Park in our city come to mind. They have some things in common: namely the destruction of our wetlands from Oak Hill to Ormond through Daytona Beach, the overburdening and degradation of our water supply, the infrastructure requirements both will require, and the ruination of many elements of our quality of life.

A few initial thoughts on the Avalon Park Development : The developers are seeking a Planned Development Agreement - where they can ask for ,and are usually granted, all kinds of exemptions from our LDC and Comp Plan . These exemptions to our now almost useless rules of how we are to grow figuratively and aesthetically get passed easily by our resident Planning Board and our Commission. They have submitted hundreds of pages of documents to our Planning Department already. They paid the required

fees to do so while our citizens were trying to figure out how to stay safe. Cobb Cole is once again leading this development charge. If you know how to use etrackit to follow this process, please do so. It will require many of us to go through it. All the documents are online on the city website. Some are already in the review process and moving along rapidly. It is called DEV 2020- 020. Avalon Park.

This all should make our heads spin, but we residents, already here, need to keep up or we will be run over - almost literally. I don't think we should be required to have legal degrees to make heads or tails over the Land Development Code or the Comp Plan but it is going to take that, I fear. And the city knows it, the developer knows it, and their attorneys know it. I am asking for all hands on deck on this one. 10,000 new homes and apartments, retail, commercial space, etc . right beside their competition of Margaritaville and Mosaic - not to mention all the already established communities of LPGA and others.

Just one more subject I will mention at this point: have you realized how the Ormond Beach City Commission is making a big, public statement to the VC School Board to keep Osceola Elementary in their city? Can't blame them. They get what it will mean. That would mean taking Ortona away from Daytona Beach. I hope our City Commissioners will be as impassioned as our neighboring Commission. Ortona is vital to the well being of our community -- especially if we want to attract families here and keep our economy going. Please email our Commission and the School Board and tell them we need Ortona.

Once again, thanks for the opportunity to express my views. And stay safe.

Weegie Kuendig 386-254-5141

From the Desk of the Police Chief

From Chief Craig Capri

Things are getting back to normal in Daytona Beach, even during a pandemic.

Later on this month (October 15-18), Biketoberfest will kick into gear, while the brand-new Trucktoberfest event will roll out the following

weekend. Despite the city commission not issuing

event permits due to the Coronavirus, we’re expecting big crowds on both those weekends, especially on beachside.

It’s hard to tell how big the crowds will be at this point since it seems very likely that some people who normally come won’t because of COVID-19. Regardless, we’ve been in close contact with the event organizers to make sure things run smoothly with minimum interruption for everyone, including our residents.

As always, we’ll be paying special attention to beachside neighborhoods so that eventgoers aren’t using those side roads to avoid traffic on the main roads like Atlantic Avenue.

Large gatherings like these will likely make many people nervous, especially with their potential to become super spreader events. That’s why I recommend you continue to follow CDC guidelines whenever possible in order to keep yourself and

your loved ones safe from COVID-19. That includes social distancing as much as you can, washing hands and wearing facemasks.

That’s the same message I’m giving to all those who wear the Daytona Beach Police Department badge, especially those working during Biketoberfest and Trucktoberfest. Their safety and the safety of the families and loved ones is a priority and we won’t be sending them into large crowds unless it’s necessary.

You can never be too careful in these kinds of situations. If the President of the United States can get this virus, so can you. Until we have a cure or a vaccine in place, please do what you feel you must to keep yourself and those you love safe. For those who choose to take part in these events, we hope you have a good time and that you take the proper precautions to make sure you’re not spreading COVID-19.

This virus is no joke and it’s my hope that everyone takes this as serious as it needs to be, especially going into the fall months and the traditional start to the flu season.

Sincerely,

Chief Craig Capri P.S.: Our next “Ask The Chief” show is at 3 p.m. on October 21 (Wednesday). Tune in to WNDB (93.5 FM / 1150 AM / NewsDaytonaBeach.com / WNDB app). Feel free to call Marc Bernier and myself during the show with any questions or concerns at (386) 239-0033.

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Living in Lockdown Did we all think this would be over by now? I

sure did. I think we ALL thought that if everyone got on board, we’d have this virus licked pretty darn fast. American ingenuity! American determination! Manifest destiny! Hoo-rah! But one of my students, leaving my office in a daze of shock in mid-March as we were abruptly shutting down, had it right. She said, without an ounce of irony in her voice, “Well, have a good apocalypse.”

Over a normal seven-month period in Florida, I’d pick up a sinus headache or two during storms, suffer from some mild allergies (the pine pollen was fierce this year!), get a head cold. Maybe a sore throat. None of these have ever mattered to me in the slightest except as a reason to love and hate Florida. I actually use them as jokes and warnings to new residents: when my sister and her family moved here, I told them that one thing you MUST bring with you during hurricane evacuation is sinus decongestants. (Also plenty of wine. But really, don’t forget decongestants.)

Well, after all this time in lockdown, watching the infection numbers go down only to go back up, I’m sure I’m not the only one who sometimes wakes up with a cough and thinks in a panic, “Oh my god, is this it??” In the last week or so, I’ve been terribly exhausted, with what I am sure is an allergy-induced sinus infection, but for the first few days of it, I made myself even more tired by charting my symptoms and consulting Dr Google. You know, just in case. “Fever? No, good. Exhaustion? Absolutely, but is this normal exhaustion? (Whatever that is.) Headache? Check. Difficulty breathing? Well, no, not reeaalllly….it’s just this little throat cough… I’m sure it’s allergies,”…and then I’d start all over again.

And what about when they announced, maybe in April, that one of the critical warning signs was a dramatic drop in oxygen levels, which could happen even without feeling faint or having trouble breathing. WHAT??? No symptoms, just suddenly your lips turned blue? Whoa. I was so horrified by that news that I went online to scour the world for an oximeter, one of those little plastic jobbies they put on your finger at the

doctor’s office to measure your blood oxygen levels. They were (not surprisingly) hard to find and it took nearly a month before I got my hands on one. My levels were fine, but I comforted myself for a few weeks by randomly checking. Just in case.

For a scary few days in July, I did have a fever. The “take notice!” fever was 102.4. Mine hovered at 102 for three days, eight hours, and 15 minutes. (You should not be surprised at my specificity.) And then it vanished, so I knew I was fine. (Or did I have it?? And if I had it, can I get it again? Will it be WORSE??) Of course, just a week or two ago, I went in to get my flu shot, and the pharmacist did that distanced temperature check and it registered my temperature as 95. So it turns out that a normal temperature can fluctuate. Also that those temperature scanners aren’t terribly accurate. Which I already knew, but I got some good anxious moments out of it.

My real fear now is that we’re getting so accustomed to the general weirdness that we’ll start to make stupid mistakes. You know, walking into Publix without a mask and then silently (or not) cursing to yourself as you trot right back to your car. Or absentmindedly taking your mask off to sneeze on your sleeve …and probably on the cashier who at this angle would get a direct hit, plexiglass notwithstanding. I’d rather make those kinds of stupid mistakes than some of the ones I’ve seen—have y’all seen the picture of the woman who deliberately cut the center out of her mask so that she could breathe more easily while wearing it? I sympathize, because she did have a very long nose for her face. Still, we have Darwin awards for a reason.

One more month in lockdown has passed. I’m still wearing a mask. Still physically distancing. Still not eating inside a restaurant. I hope y’all are doing all that too…just in case.

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A1A Condos: Steve and Nancy Koenig Auburn, Cornell, & Bucknell: Larry & Clara Keller Bel Aire & Driftwood: Jamie Love & David Hermann Boylston (east end): Frank Stein Boylston (west end): Marc Reside Brookline: Donna Hiatt Chaffee Place: Sherry & Bill Phillips Cobblestone Village: John McGuinness Columbus: Tammy Schreck Euclid: Janice & Mike Felisko Flagstone: Lisa Barr Golf: Lisa Gall N. Grandview: Winter Potter-ONeal Hartford: Chris Brown Jacaranda and Chipeway: George Burden Manhattan: Sheryl Cola Morningside: Ted & Cindy Beers N. Oleander: Dan Stockman

Nautilus and Flushing: Carrie Sutton N. Peninsula (North end): Judy Schroder N. Peninsula (South end): Lawrie Davidson Plaza: Stacy Prestwood Seabreeze High School Area: Paul Zimmerman Seaview: Katelyn Thomas Stanford: Netta Weiner Williams: Megan O’Neill Waverly: Margaret Fathi and Jules Lemos Woodland: Don Hietala and Kim Medina Zelda: Elly & Rachael Petersen Pelican , N Halifax: Nancy Koenig & Nikolai Hargreaves

Special thanks to our other volunteers: Frank Stein,

and Reba Peters. A special thanks to Hannah King for her clerical expertise!

Thanks for the Journey!

A St

C

J

Z

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The following streets do not have someone assigned to deliver newslettersto: Pelican AvenueWe also need people who can fill-in when our regular volunteers are not available. You can deliver to a street other than the street on which you live.If you could help deliver newsletters once a month please contact Nancy at386-257-6700 or Nancy@KoenigRealty.comThe time investment is less than 1 hour monthly. Please volunteer to helpour community group. Many hands make light work!

Thank You!

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