Central Florida soldier killed in Afghanistan

Central Florida soldier killed in Afghanistan
BY MIAMI HERALD STAFF WRITER

A soldier from Central Florida who served in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Friday.

Army Spc. Dennis James Jr., 21 of Deltona, died Wednesday “from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device in Wardak province, Afghanistan,” the Defense Department said in a statement.

James had been a soldier for more than three years and had served in Afghanistan for more than 10 months, according to the Army’s Public Affairs office at Fort Drum, NY.
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Deltona soldier's pull-tab U.S. flag from Afghanistan wows veterans

Deltona soldier's pull-tab U.S. flag from Afghanistan wows veterans
Don Smith hopes flag can be used to raise money for Give Kids the World

By Gary Taylor, Orlando Sentinel
10:48 p.m. EDT, July 2, 2011

Don Smith considers himself a tough guy.

But as he sat in a hospital in Afghanistan in 2005 guarding military prisoners, he couldn't help but be touched by the children he saw.

"I saw a lot of little kids blown up or sick," he said.

He knows a little bit about kids who are going through a rough time.
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Deltona soldier's pull-tab U.S. flag from Afghanistan

Trinity coach has faced Vietnam, now cancer

Fight of His Life

Trinity coach has faced Vietnam, now cancer

By BUDDY SHACKLETTE
Staff Writer

DELTONA -- "He's been my best friend, my coach," Mikey Maples says with a cracking voice as his eyes well up with tears.

It's the kind of emotion that only a son, even at age 35, can feel for his father.

Mike Maples, Deltona Trinity's baseball coach, has been dad, coach and the example, among many other things, to sons Mikey and Bryan, along with countless other kids who have played for him over the last three decades.

But as the Trinity Christian Eagles (15-12) open the Class A state playoffs Tuesday, and begin what they hope is another trip to the Final Four, their coach is fighting for his life.

"That's been tough," said senior center fielder Cory Stafford. "Knowing (he's sick) it makes you want to work harder and go out there and play better because you want your coach to have a successful season, knowing that this could be his last season."

Maples, 61, is in this third season coaching the Eagles, but he's battled cancer for the past two decades.

The Vietnam veteran has undergone 85 skin cancer surgeries, had a kidney transplant 13 years ago and is undergoing radiation treatments five days a week on the left side of his face.

The cancers he has battled for the last 10 years are basal and squamous cell, and while this year has been his most trying thus far, he has not been diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

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Trinity coach has faced Vietnam, now cancer

Army, Volusia Sheriff investigate deaths of siblings in Deltona

Please pray for their family. Then pray we stop these needless deaths so more families do not suffer.

IMAGE COURTESY U.S. ARMY No need for suicide — This page is from the U.S. Army ACE (Peer) Suicide Intervention Program, developed in response to the increasing number of suicides among military personnel. Suicide is the apparent cause of death for Kristin and Jason Kouis of Deltona, who were both serving in the Army. To read the whole Army document, go online to the Fort Stewart-3rd Infantry Division chaplain's Web site.

Army, Volusia Sheriff investigate deaths of siblings in Deltona

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Mar 11, 2009 - 4:50:05pm

A national tragedy hit home March 8 when a brother and sister, both Army personnel, were laid to rest with full military honors in Deltona.

The 21- and 24-year-old are believed to have killed themselves, adding two more names to the record roll of Army suicides that is gaining attention and action across the nation.

The bodies of Kristin Kouis and her older brother, Jason Kouis, were found Feb. 27 in a vehicle parked on a power-line-access road behind homes on Trumbull Street in Deltona.

A hose ran from the vehicle's tailpipe into the rear passenger-side window, which was taped shut. The vehicle was still running.

Residents had noticed the silver car, saw people inside, and called 911.
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http://www.beacononlinenews.com/news/daily/1546

Remains found in Deltona Florida may be homeless veteran

Authorities think remains are those of homeless man
Willoughby Mariano Sentinel Staff Writer
November 8, 2008
VOLUSIA COUNTY - Volusia deputies tentatively identified human remains found in the Deltona area as those of a homeless man with health problems, officials said Friday. Carl Lynn Cappabianca, 58, left his DeLand home earlier this year after becoming estranged from his wife. He suffered from diabetes and other medical conditions, deputies said.

A ring bearing the U.S. Marines insignia was among items found at the scene, so investigators contacted authorities at the county's Veterans Services Division, who helped identify the remains.

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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/orl-homeless-remains-110808,0,6260640.story

Officials: Dad finds naked boy in daughter's room, hits him with pipe

Officials: Dad finds naked boy in daughter's room, hits him with pipe

By PATRICIO G. BALONA
Staff Writer
A Deltona father ended up in jail Thursday after finding his daughter's teenage boyfriend naked in the girl's bedroom and hitting him with a pipe, sheriff's officials said.

Raul Colon, 45, didn't even know his daughter had a boyfriend -- or that the youngster had been sneaking into the home for more than a year. So when he heard noises coming from his daughter's room early Thursday and saw a naked stranger standing on the girl's bed, he swung a metal pipe he had taken from the garage, hitting the 15-year-old, according to a Volusia County sheriff's report.

Colon was charged with aggravated battery on a child but was released from jail later Thursday on $10,000 bail, a booking officer said. No one answered the phone at Colon's residence Thursday for comment.

According to the report, Colon heard the noise in his daughter's room when he got up at 4 a.m. to let his dog out, as he does every morning.

Colon told deputies he chased Lucas Contreres through the kitchen, living room and through the front door and out into the street and called 9-1-1.
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