BRUNO SWORN IN AS FIRST COUNTY CHAIR – Frank Bruno Thursday took the oath of office as the first voter-elected chair of the Volusia County Council. As part of the January 6 meeting, Bruno delivered a “vision for the future” address. New County Council members Art Giles and Carl Persis also took their oath of office. Member Joie Alexander was chosen as this year’s Vice-chair.

HURRICANE PROPERTY TAX RELIEF AVAILABLE FOR QUALIFIED HOMEOWNERS -- Volusia residents whose permanent home was uninhabitable for 60 days or more due to hurricane damage may qualify for partial property tax refunds. And persons who purchased a replacement for a hurricane-destroyed mobile home may be eligible for a partial sales tax reimbursement. Please call Volusia County Property Appraiser Morgan Gilreath to find out if you qualify. There is a time limit to make application. For more information please go on-line to Volusia County Government’s website and access the Property Appraiser’s page. The URL is volusia.org/property.

ROOT PLANS OFFICE PARK -- Root Real Estate Corp. has closed on the $1-million purchase of 4.5 acres on the east side of Clyde Morris Boulevard, approximately 1,800 feet north of its intersection with LPGA Boulevard in Daytona Beach. The seller was Consolidated Tomoka Land Company. The Daytona Beach City Commission recently approved a development agreement for the construction of Lakeside North Executive Centre -- a two-building, 32,000-square-foot complex for multi-tenant offices and professional uses. The project is slated for completion in late summer.

COLD AND FLU SEASON SICK CALLS ADD UP FOR EMPLOYERS -- A recent survey by Impulse Research found that seven in 10 adults took at least one day off from work during the last cold and flu season. The absenteeism figures break down like this: 29 percent took no days off; 32 percent took one - two days off; 27 percent took three - five days, and 11 percent took six or more days off.

AND THE PATTERN OF SICK KIDS MATCHES THEIR PARENTS – An interesting corollary to the above shows up in statistics published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The Center’s study shows that approximately 27 percent of school-aged children miss no days of school due to sickness or injury. But 54 percent miss one - five days; 11 percent miss six - 10 days, and 6 percent miss 11 or more days. An analysis of sick leave patterns shows that children and their working parents are in synch when it comes to missing work days or missing school days.

ORMOND BEACH CONSIDERS LENGTHENING RUNWAY -- Ormond Beach is moving forward with a study of the impact of lengthening one of its 3,700-foot runways by 1,540 feet to accommodate a wider range of corporate aircraft.

SCHOOL BOARD PONDERS SCHOOL IMPACT FEE HIKE --The Volusia County School Board will consider a consultant's recommendation that school impact fees on new residential construction increase to $5,284 to accommodate the rapidly growing student population in Volusia County which is projected to exceed 90,000 students by 2020.

TOURISM PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN THE ECONOMY OF VOLUSIA COUNTY -- A program on the role of tourism in our community and changes in the industry after last year’s hurricanes is available for fraternal, civic and professional organizations. If you seek a speaker for your group, please contact Lori Campbell Baker at the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau 386/255-0415 to schedule a presentation.

FED $$ AVAILABLE TO VOLUSIA AGENCIES – Area nonprofit agencies can apply for federal funding awarded through the Federal Emergency Food and Shelter program. The funding will be used to supplement emergency food and shelter programs. For more information, please contact the United Way at 386/253-0563. Applications are due by January 28.

NEWS ITEMS WANTED! – Please send business news items to: Dave Byron, Volusia County Community Information, 123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand, FL 32720-4612, by fax at 386/822-5072 or by e-mail at dbyron@co.volusia.fl.us.