Hi Hometown News Readers,

Another hectic week for all of us, though I hope many of you were able to enjoy a long holiday weekend. It's a time when we're all still watching for wildfires and being reminded that hurricane season is upon us. It's hard to balance both, but we hope for the best while preparing for the worst. Ah, life in Florida.

We start with water woes in Ormond Beach. Early in the week, the city declared an emergency after a water main break forced citizens in three communities to boil their drinking water. Levels were so low that contaminants could get into the system. Several factors are at work here: the main break itself, a very dry few months with no appreciable rainfall and much water needed on hand to fight brushfires in the area. However, it happened after a scathing review of the city-run water treatment plant by the Volusia County Health Department.

We spoke with DOH representatives who say maintenance at the facility is sorely lacking. They spoke of degradation of equipment and a lack of proper procedures that could ultimately lead to fines, even a plant shutdown.

Health department officials repeatedly told WESH 2 the water is safe to drink. However, they do not rule out the possibility that the violations, if continue unchecked, could ultimately threaten the safety of the water supply.

City commissioner Bill Partingon told WESH 2 that he and his family are on bottled water until further notice. City officials say funding that wasn't there several years ago to make upgrades to the plant is in place now, and they cite a growing demand for water in a growing city. Leaders say some repairs have already been made and more are under way. They tell us they are not taking the criticism lightly.

And speaking of water, parts of the Justice Center in Daytona Beach are closed for business after a leak damaged offices on the first and second floors. The leak went unnoticed for a full weekend, sending the damage estimate skyrocketing to approximately $400,000 to make repairs. More than 40 employees have temporarily relocated while the building is dried out. There was damage to carpet, drywall, furniture and computer equipment. Some felony records were also damaged and, though authorities can't rule out that any high profile cases were part of that, they do say files for the upcoming Deltona mass murder trial have no water damage.

Port Orange police say a teenager getting ready to graduate high school started the day by robbing a McDonald's restaurant at gunpoint.

Janey Fordham, 18, turned herself in after a few days on the run. She is accused of taking off with several thousand dollars after terrorizing employees at the restaurant. Officers say she had help from one of the employees. Phillip Conage, 20, was arrested and charged as a principle. Here's the twist, Fordham, who attended Mainland High School, took part in graduation just hours after she committed the crime, police say.

The Volusia Teachers Organization says for the first time, it ended the school year without a new contract in place. Dozens of teachers protested outside school board headquarters as the last meeting of the traditional school year was held. The teachers' union is asking for a 12 percent salary increase. They got 6 percent last contract. This year, the district is offering 4-and-a-half percent, which is where negotiations have stalled.

The Volusia County School Board has a tough new stance in place regarding students who bring toy guns to school. It is now considered a major offense to bring a fake gun or replica to school. School resource deputies say it is difficult, if not impossible, to tell the difference in a panic situation, and they won't risk innocent people's lives. Deputies say toys are a distraction at school under any circumstances. Under the new policy, the district can expel students who bring these fake guns to school.

A project to protect motorists along Interstate 4 by installing guardrails is on the fast track. The guardrails are intended to protect drivers in possible crossover accidents and the Department of Transportation is putting the rails in along I-4 in Volusia County, east of State Road 44 near New Smyrna Beach all the way to Daytona Beach. There are a few areas where trees prevent the median barriers, but the rest of the stretch will be railed. This is a $3.5 million project designed to prevent drivers from crossing the interstate. Work began March 2 and should be completed sometime this month.

Battle-weary Volusia County councilman Bill Long says he's not running for re-election this year. Long's decision comes after a difficult few weeks in which he was arrested and accused of domestic violence after an alleged assault on his ex-partner. He apologized to the County Council and now tells WESH 2 News he regrets that his personal problems are overshadowing the County Council's work. Long of Debary, who represents District 5, says he will stay on and complete his term. We've learned that former county councilwoman and political activist Pat Northey is throwing her hat in the ring for Long's seat.

Several notes out of Daytona Beach, where a new leader took the helm of the Police Department Tuesday. Chief Michael Chitwood, most recently out of Shawnee, Okla., where he was chief as well, was sworn in Tuesday at City Hall. He brings with him 18 years of experience, many spent in Philadelphia. Chitwood has experience with special events, which will serve him well locally, and is said to put himself in the field with other officers regularly. Chitwood joins a department with 238 sworn officers and 50 civilian employees, a department that many say is in need of strong leadership right now.

Some dicy moments for police in Daytona Beach when two narcotics officers just happened on an alleged drug deal. Investigators say one of two suspects took off in a car and came at one of the officers, who fired two shots at the retreating vehicle. The suspect ditched the car at a Holly Hill apartment complex after a 30-minute chase, nearly slamming into a woman passing by and almost running into one apartment unit. Police say the suspect had a minor leg injury, though they don't think he was hit by a bullet. He faces a host of charges, including assault on a police officer and fleeing and eluding. The detective who discharged his weapon is on administrative leave, which is standard when shots are fired, pending an internal investigation.

Meanwhile, few developments in the search for a serial killer in Daytona Beach, and police say as time passes without another murder, they're seeing at-risk women taking risks again. Three women have been murdered in the city, one per month from December through February, all of them shot by a serial killer the women voluntarily got into a car with. The murders made headlines for weeks, but with no new victims since Feb. 24, investigators say they are seeing more women making themselves potential targets. Authorities say though they have identified three to four persons of interest, no arrests have been made, which means a killer could still be walking the streets and stalking women.

Memorial Day Weekend was a huge success along the beaches of Volusia County, particularly along New Smyrna Beach, which is open to traffic again after nearly two years. New Smyrna Beach was badly damaged by storms in 2004 and 2005. The county just finished a $14 million beach renourishment project that elevated and widened the beach, allowing people to walk and drive there again. In all, Volusia County beaches lost four feet in elevation, nearly all the dunes and half the approaches to the storms. Mother Nature has done some of her own healing, with the help of workers who took months to replenish the sand.

A homecoming of sorts this past week when Big Bertha went back to the sea. It took four construction workers to get her in the car from the beach where they found her lying injured months ago, and even more people were needed to carry the loggerhead turtle to the shoreline after she gained 32 pounds. The sick sea creature was nursed back to health at the Volusia County Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet. After two months, Bertha was too big for her tank and well enough to go home.

As summer storms return, so do the dangers of lightning. Recently, a woman carrying her 2-year-old son in her arms was hit by lightning while crossing the street in Debary. The bolt hit 34-year-old Terri Hoag, but since her son wasn't touching the ground he was largely spared injury. Emergency crews say the lightning strike stopped Hoag's heart, but wonderful neighbors worked to give her CPR until they got a pulse. At last check, Mrs. Hoag was doing much better and her young son is just fine, thank goodness.

Speaking of heroes, WESH 2 spent time with the spokesman for the Department of Forestry recently, a man who literally followed his name into his work, Timber Weller, 43, and yes, Timber is his given name. No history of forestry in the family, Timber says his mom just thought it was different and Timber has truly lived up to it. He nearly died for it. In 1993, Timber was deep in the woods of Putnam County using a tractor to cut a fire line when the blaze, moving at 55 mph, overtook him. He held his breath so the fire wouldn't sear his lungs, but Tiimber was burned over 70 percent of his body and given less than a 1 percent chance of survival. Alone in the woods, Timber drove himself out, the pain lost to shock and the fact that most nerve endings in his body were destroyed. A painful year-and-a-half of surgeries and physical therapy followed. Much of his body is skin-grafted, so he doesn't sweat and has to be careful outdoors in the hot Florida summer.

Yet when the spokesman/education position opened, Timber knew it was designed for him. He says his scars are not a point of pride; they are battle scars that he's not ashamed of. He says no one ever doubts he knows just what he's talking about when it comes to wildfire. A remarkable, kind, gentle man, Timber is tops in his field.

Finally, an opportunity to see an exhibit of biblical proportions in Daytona Beach. Parts of the Dead Sea scrolls and a 2,600-year-old Hebrew writing on papyrus are just part of the world's largest exhibit on the history of the Bible. "Ink and Blood" contains more than 100 artifacts and includes a working replica of the Gutenberg press. The exhibit also addresses many of the claims found in "the Da Vinci Code." You can catch the exhibit now through Sept. 24 at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Claire Metz is the WESH 2 News bureau chief for Volusia and Flagler counties.