PHOTO- Daytona Beach Narcotics Anonymous / Alcoholics Anonymous Member, Sunrise Park Holly Hill Florida
The day was November 21st 2010 in Volusia County, Sunrise Park in Holly Hill Florida. The local community had rented the pavilion for a Thanksgiving celebration cookout. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and there were ribbons around the pavilion to notify others it had been reserved. Law abiding, local business owners and well respected long time residents were preparing to cook a turkey. Steve who had recently run for the position of Mayor of Holly Hill and had been a long time Boy Scout Master was there to cook the turkey.
At around 11:00 a.m., when The Daytona Beach Area Narcotics Anonymous members were starting to arrive for their Sunday meeting, many NA members were quite upset that the citizens of Holly Hill had actually rented the pavilion. Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous continually refuse to pay rent to secure the pavilion for their scheduled meetings. It was available to rent for those that chose to pay the City of Holly Hill the required fees to reserve it for November 21st 2010.
We were unprepared and shocked for what happened next. A tall biker guy named Terrence, actually walked into the center of the pavilion and started to flex his muscles as if he were Hulk Hogan. He said the words from a beatles song that went, ” Bang, Bang Maxwell silver hammer came down upon her head, Bang bang Maxwell silver hammer made sure she was dead ” while he continued to flex his muscles. Terrence then did a bow to those of us in the pavilion and said, ” I am feeling generous today and will allow you to live another day!”. Needless to say all of us were pretty shocked.
Pictures were taken of this man as he was leaving. He turned and flipped us the bird in a very menacing manner. He then went to his motorcycle and came BACK into the pavilion a 2nd time and told a local Holly Hill citizen, who was a court employee, that he could squash him like a bug. He took out his cell phone, got in our faces and started to take pictures of us. Then he walked over to the NA meeting that was taking place in another part of the park. The Holly Hill Police were called and 3 officers responded to the call. What a relief (we thought).
Little did we know that we would be revictimized again by the very police officers that were called to protect us. They started questioning us in a very hostile tone. Officer Thornton kept demanding to know why we were there. Puzzled by their hostile and odd behavior we kept explaining to her that we had rented the pavilion for a Thanksgiving cookout. We showed them the big Turkey that we were cooking as well. The police were asked by one of the victim’s “is there a problem with the citizens renting out the pavilion? ” Officer Thornton answered quickly, that she thought it was ” MALICIOUS” to rent the pavilion! This was one of many inappropriate and shocking comments coming from Officer Thornton and the other policeman. ( Formal complaints have been filed against Officer Thornton and The Holly Hill Police Department). Officer Angelo Alexogiannis stated that he used to work at The Stewart Marchman Rehab Center and sympathized with the NA members. They showed no concern or interest whatsoever for our safety, or in what had just happened. They exhibited a strong bias in favor of the NA group. They seemed to be joined at the hip. Later it started to make more sense as we learned of Officer Thornton’s own colorful background.
When we had identified the man who had harassed and threatened us, the police said that they knew who he was. They then went over to the large NA meeting taking place and talked and laughed with them a bit, including the member that threatened and harassed us. The officers came back and said to stay away from one another, and allowed this man to remain at the park! He was not arrested or trespassed from the park. One officer asked if their was anything else he could do. We asked if charges could be pressed for threatening us. They said no, there was nothing we could do. Could we fill out a report? No-we could not fill out a report.Then Officer Angelo Alexogiannis was asked if he would at least fill out a report stating what had happened. He promised he would indeed do that.
Well this initially put a damper on the festivities, we made the best out of it and enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. It was enjoyed by many from the local community.
The following week the police report was requested from the Holly Hill PD. There was a report # given and the incident call, but no actual report. We were later told by staff that the officer decided not to do a report after all! This was knowing that a report was requested and it had been promised. This appears to be an attempt to cover up the incident to protect the image of Daytona Narcotics Anonymous and the identity of Terrence, the long time NA member that harassed us.
To our complete surprise there were 2 incidents that day at the park. One had a report and the other did not. Both of them shocked us. Where local citizens were threatened there was no report, only a short statement in the incident log stating that the incident was caused by the victim who was threatened and called the police! Also, even though the police stated they knew who the perpetrator was and spoke to him, they did not put his name in the incident log. It’s a good thing citizens were wise enough to get the licence plate of the man,and were able to identify him, Terrence T. This was another rude awaking as to how the police were protecting the NA members, and what a cozy relationship they had with them. We knew then, that the Holly Hill PD and Chief Mark Barker were not going to protect the citizens and local business owners from the harassment and threats by NA members.
Then there was the 2nd report. A woman named Danielle went to the police station later in the afternoon on the day of the incident and filed a report stating that a woman was following her 8 year old daughter around the park with a video camera! At the time it was was not known, but it became clear in the following months that Danielle was the treasurer for the entire Daytona Area Narcotics Anonymous. No where in the report did she state any connection to the earlier incident or that she was affiliated with NA.This was a false report filed by Danielle. This is a crime. She said in her report that the person who she accused of filming her daughter was the lady who owned the store across the street. The owner of the store across the street just happened to be the same person that called the police on Terrence the NA member, and was part of the Thanksgiving party at the pavilion. The owner of the store did not own a video camera. No pictures were taken of her daughter, and certainly the owner was not following a child around taking pictures! This was an obvious attempt by Danielle to start her initial process of setting up the convenience store owner for retaliation. Diabolical indeed! Mark Barker went along with it hook line and sinker. This was the beginning of Danielle making multiple false accusations when calling police against the owner, along with lying to the the commissioners at a City Hall meeting, stating we were dumping cigarette butts on the ground, and blaming it on NA members was just one of the outlandish claims.
Citizens asked to fill out a report that November 21st day, we were denied this right. Yet Danielle was able to waltz into the police department later and file a false police report, which was very oddly written. Neither the police or Danielle were too worried about it, as no one ever came to talk to the owner of the store who was accused of following a child in the park and videotaping her. You would think that a concerned mother would ask the person themselves why they were taking pictures of their daughter, if it actually happened. Of course that was another lie. Danielle is not the mother of the child she was referring to to but her Aunt. She is the daughter of her brother who has a lengthy criminal background.
We soon realized the depth that Holly Hill PD would go to protect NA / AA members. NA members were fabricating stories and lying about the events of that day. Then Narcotics Anonymous World Services in California said that their policy was to do nothing about criminal matters by their own members. We then knew the extent of what we were up against. NAWS advice was to just call the police and that this was a police matter and has nothing to do with them. Well that was, and still is a joke as time would continue to demonstrate the bias of the Holly Hill PD. We knew then that a grass roots effort had to be initiated to expose this fiasco.
Photo of Daytona NA Member Terrence coming back into the pavilion a second time and threatening to squash a citizen like a bug.
What the hell is wrong with these members? NA and AA are supposed to pay there own way and not mooch off the government and bother locals. They are not following their very own traditions. They need to leave these Holly Hill Parks and stop disgracing the Daytona AA and Daytona NA name. They are being selfish.
I see this story all over the web now, it has become well known all because of a few very sick members who do not care about the rest of us in the program.
TWO YEARS AFTER THE ” RUDE AWAKENING” AND CITIZENS ARE STILL BEING THREATENED BY AA/NA MEMBERS IN HOLLY HILL FL. PARKS. MUCH HAS BEEN LEARNED OVER TIME ABOUT THE DANGEROUS AND SERIOUS NON- ACCOUNTABLE CULTURE OF THESE “ANONYMOUS ORGANIZATIONS. THE ARTICLES IN THE ARCHIVES OF THIS SITE ARE FULL OF FACTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD THAT TESTIFY TO THIS GROWING AWARENESS.
Here is an eyewitness account of local community members being threatened by an anonymous member in SUNRISE PARK, HOLLY HILL, FLORIDA. If you read this article you can understand our concerns, especially since even the local police seem to want to keep this all covered up to protect their image!
They took over our Park so they can chain smoke cigarettes and get a free ride, ignoring their 7th tradition about paying their way. They show no concern for what the local children are exposed to!
You can read more on, “THE RUDE AWAKENING,” and AA/NA PHOTOS IN PUBLIC PARKS AND CHILDREN’S PLAYGROUNDS !
Rommel Scalf quit less than a year ago after it was exposed that he used excessive force multiple times with a taser gun. For Chief Mark Barker to insinuate that his department only receives ‘glowing accolades” of gratitude and affection from residents is remarkable. He is not counting the stack of complaints from the victims of Rommel Scalf and other Holly Hill Police Officers. There have been complaints of lack of action and harassment from police officers in reference to Daytona Beach Narcotics Anonymous And Volusia County Intergroup Alcoholics Anonymous abuses.
History of Rommel Scalf’s Taser abuses-
http://nadaytona.org/2011/10/26/rommel-scalf-quits-holly-hill-pd-after-string-of-taser-abuses/
Chief Mark Barker thinks it is perfectly fine for Narcotics Anonymous members like dangerous career criminal Brandon Boruty, to be in the park near the the children playing in the playground.Kids get to hear their horrid tales of woe at court ordered NA meetings in Holly Hill Parks. Brandon Boruty was charged with attempted rape, false imprisonment and possession of paraphernalia.
Yep just another mandated NA member trying to get his act together…..
Of course some of them are trying to get their act together, but many are not. The problem lies with the ones who are not.
http://nadaytona.org/2011/09/22/na-daytona-member-just-released-from-prison-charged-with-attempted-rape/
I dont think Janet Hawkins from Daytona Beach Fl would agree with Chief Mark Barker, or the people who have written numerous complaints of excessive force by his department. Here is an article about her run in with previous Holly Hill Officer Rommel Scalf last year.
http://nadaytona.org/2011/10/24/holly-hill-has-complaints-of-excessive-forc/
Hey I dont think Judge Will is too impressed either with the Holly Hilly Police Department! He really slams them in this article.
Judge Joseph Will is not the only one shocked by the behavior of our local police department.
‘Judge Joseph Will says he was shocked by the behavior of the Holly Hill Police Department in the handling of the arrest of a former Daytona Beach police officer. However, he refused to dismiss charges against Janet Hawkins, sentencing her to 12 months’ probation for resisting arrest without violence. The sentence was for an encounter Hawkins had with two officers of the Holly Hill police force two years ago.’
rest of story
http://nadaytona.org/2011/10/28/judge-joseph-will-shocked-by-behavior-of-holly-hill-pd/
Chief Barkers response to my email:
I assure you your concerns are unwarranted. The Holly Hill Police Department provides quality law enforcement services to our community in a fair and impartial manner while protecting the constitutional rights and quality of life for citizens, visitors, and commercial interests.
In 2011, our department was named “Agency of the Year” by the Victims Services Coalition of the Seventh Judicial Circuit to recognize the outstanding work of our officers and staff in providing professional services to victims of crime.
In addition, I receive routine reports from the State Attorney’s Office regarding the extraordinary performance of our personnel and the quality of their work in successfully prosecuting criminal violations.
From the vantage point of nearly 30-years of service to the citizens of Holly Hill, I can also assure you that public confidence in our agency has never been higher. On an almost daily basis I receive glowing accolades and personal expressions of gratitude and affection from residents for the individual and collective acts of our officers.
Policing is a difficult and often dangerous profession which requires a commitment and dedication beyond one’s own self-interests. The officers and staff of the Holly Hill Police Department live up to that high standard of public service every day. I am extremely proud of each of them, and of our agency’s tradition of excellence.
Thank you for taking the time to write and share your opinion.
Sincerely,
Mark D. Barker
Chief of Police
Typical Chief Mark Barker speak. Here is an article where he is quoted as saying that people involved in a murder last year in Holly Hill were “all bad guys”. He talks out of both sides of his mouth. Well everyone of them had criminal records and drug arrests. The same profile of people mandated to AA/NA that end up in our parks threatening citizens with violence. The citizens concerns are unwarranted he says? He has not changed one bit. Even with formal complaints filed against his police officers and the department, he says there is no problem. What about all the citizens who have complained to the police department and to all of the commissioners about problems in our parks? There have been newspaper articles, radio interviews, special Holly Hill City Hall Meetings, and it is now a topic worldwide on multiple websites. Yet Chief Mark Barker continues his same mantra.
http://nadaytona.org/2011/09/21/holly-hill-florida-drug-related-shooting-3-injured-1-dead/
Well there you have it, another fine political speech from police chief Mark Barker to assure a citizen of Holly Hill that their “concerns are unwarranted.”
Don’t you feel better now?
I know that there are some very good Holly Hill police officers and detectives and they certainly deserve recognition for their work!
That being said, as usual this “classic Mark Barker speech” however seems to go just a bit too far into a place that may best be described as DENIAL or “LA LA LAND.”
This, all too typical, shameless self-promotional speech by our police chief,once again comes off a bit extreme in my opinion.
In his mind he is at the head of a department in which “public confidence has never been higher.”One that apparently stands as the shining Police Department on a hill, setting the example for all other departments to strive for!
O. K., Is it just me or does anybody else hear the theme from the Twilight Zone?
Well it is kind of scary when you think about it!
Has he read the crime stats for this year?
Bearing that in mind, GOOD LUCK in trying to get any acknowledgment concerning suggestions that his department may possibly not be handling something properly!
The e-mail responses that others have received are equally full of denial and defensive self-promotion.
People have brought obvious cases to his attention with corresponding circumstances and facts to back up their concerns.
When one person asked in an e-mail if the chief “cared enough to honestly look at the facts” in order to find out if it could be possible that he may be misinformed, resulting in a clear threat to public safety, his response was not to respond.
Yeah buddy I feel much better now! We are talking about Holly Hill PD here right? I would be asking if this is for real but I’ve heard him talk before. Someone is telling him about their concern’s and he says, “I assure you your concerns are unwarranted.” Then he goes on and on about the Holly Hill Police Department being so great!
Now follow me on this one. In one short e-mail he says that his, “quality law enforcement service,” is “fair and impartial while protecting the constitutional rights and quality of life for our citizens, visitors and commercial interests.” Then he’s telling us that this “Agency of the Year is outstanding in providing professional services, with routine reports of extraordinary performance and quality work in successfully prosecuting criminals and that he assures us that public confidence in the Holly Hill PD has never been higher.
Now this one I have to quote in full!
“On almost a daily basis I receive glowing accolades and personal expressions of gratitude and affection from residents for the individual and collective acts of our officers.”
If that wasn’t enough bragging, wait there’s more!
Chief Barker is extremely proud of every officer for living up to the high standard of public service every day of commitment and dedication to the Holly Hill PD’s ” Tradition Of Excellence” that goes beyond one’s self- interests!
How can you argue with that?
I agree with the other comment. There’s definitely some good ones and I guess they all have their good moments but come on! Who does he think he’s fooling? When I read that stuff I feel like I’m choking on cotton candy!
Check out this local website,The Holly Hill Free Press,that discusses current problems with Holly Hill PD abuses and our City Commissioners.
This man has made complaints as well to the Holly Hill PD to no avail.
Time for some replacements!
Monday, 09 January 2012 05:59
You turn on the television and everyone is talking about jobs. It seems that it is all you hear. Yet, our city council doesn’t care about jobs, or about people, or about your wallet. Frankly I’m not sure what they care about.
Our parks are a mess. Police are getting out of control and I hear at every turn that people are more afraid of them than the criminals (and after an experience with them myself, I have to agree) and our proposed new ordinances make it a crime to rent a storage building the size you need, and force you to spend hard earned money to rent two of them that you don’t. It seems that at every turn the council looks to it;s own interests and the special interests of it’s friends (do you really think it’s coincidence that the new storage building ordinance favors one supplier over others?) and not to the interests of the residents of Holly Hill. We’ve tried, HARD to stop this kind of nonsense and those of us that voted for Mayor Johnson feel let down and betrayed over what he’s done so far.
I have yet to hear the discussion on the no chase policy that is allowing Holly Hill to quickly become the car stealing capital of Florida… oh, you didn’t know about that? Because it is so easy to get away with it, Holly Hill has had 38 cars stolen from January to June last year – From June to December that number had jumped to 91! Residents lost nearly a HUNDRED CARS in a four square mile city last year! The total for the year before was 65. Why the increase? Partially because of the no-chase policy. After all, if you knew for a fact that if you steal a car from a gas station while someone is pumping gas, and a police officer sees you do it, he will not chase you, then why NOT do it? Criminals get away, and tell others about it.
The City Manager knows of some of the police abuses, and knowingly violated the FDLE Ethics rules. But I’ve not heard that discussion at the City Council meeting.
Police concerned by citizens – concerns of abuse of power, excessive ticketing, police misconduct – are ignored.
Complete article=
http://hollyhillfreepress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=1&Itemid=4
the Holly Hill PD chiefs email is:
mbarker@hollyhillfl.org
then of course there is the Florida AG’s office and the Florida Depart of Investigation pr troopers office to oversee an investigation.
Kc1964, thanks for Chief Mark Barkers e-mail address. But he is part of the problem. His officers take his lead. They get the okay from him on how to treat citizens the way Holly Hill PD does. If his philosophy was different, the police force would be different. Because there are AA and NA members in the police department, and they work with people in AA and NA as informants, his force protects them. They make sure to never expose their identity in a police report. This actually goes against proper police protocol. Many e-mails and complaints have been filed, and in his typical fashion, discounts them and changes nothing. He blames the victims. Citizens that have clean records their entire lives, that are respected people in the community, he demonizes and believes what convicted felons and illegal drug users tell him.
Actually he is fully aware of the criminal element that is mandated to AA/NA. He has been on the force for nearly 30 years. He likes to play dumb. But he knows killers, rapists, prostitutes, robbers are in and out of the prison system and routinely go to AA/NA to try to stay out of jail. He knows the dark side of AA/NA better than most!
In fact the police get very upset when they risk their lives to arrest thugs, just to see them out on the street again. There has actually been in increase of police deaths in Florida. Yet Chief Mark Barker will try and portray the same people he knows are dangerous, as just innocent people trying to do the right thing. Even with multiple complaints from citizens and reported death threats and harassment from AA / NA members, he appears to work with them to set up the victims to look like the law abiding citizens are at fault. It seems like AA/NA members have information about Chief Mark Barker and the police department that he does not want to get out. Plus AA / NA members are giving them good information as informants.
The children’s welfare and those of local citizens are ignored for Holly Hill’PD’s gain.
We need to stay informed about who comes to these meetings. Granted they need help. We want them to get help. There needs to guidelines in place and not have drug treatment be a free for all. The story below tells of the incredible violence by addicts on meth. Moms killing their children on meth. Keep in mind that for NA the only thing they require to be a member is a desire to quit. People come to these meetings strung out on drugs and even deal drugs at some meetings. Many are unstable dangerous individuals. For our government and AA /NA to turn our parks and playgrounds into an arm for parolees to fulfill their probation department requirements is unacceptable and deplorable. They are throwing are children and families under the bus. It is time the people in power do the right thing, and turn this ship around in the right direction.
Horrific murder no surprise in meth capital of US
By TRACIE CONE and GOSIA WOZNIACKA
Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — When a 23-year-old Fresno woman fatally shot her two toddlers and a cousin, critically wounded her husband then turned the gun on herself last Sunday, investigators immediately suspected methamphetamine abuse in what otherwise was inexplicable carnage. It turned out the mother had videotaped herself smoking meth hours before the shooting.
In family photos, the children are adorable, the mother pretty. They lived in a large apartment complex near a freeway with neatly clipped lawns and mature trees. The father was recently laid off from a packing house job.
“When you get this type of tragedy, it’s not a surprise that drugs were involved,” said Lt. Mark Salazar, the Fresno Police Department’s homicide commander. “Meth has been a factor in other violent crimes.”
A Bakersfield mother was sentenced Tuesday for stabbing her newborn while in a meth rage. An Oklahoma woman drowned her baby in a washing machine in November. A New Mexico woman claiming to be God stabbed her son with a screwdriver last month, saying, “God wants him dead.”
“Once people who are on meth become psychotic, they are very dangerous,” said Dr. Alex Stalcup, who treated Haight Ashbury heroin users in the 1960s, but now researches meth and works with addicts in the San Francisco Bay Area suburbs. “They’re completely bonkers; they’re nuts. We’re talking about very extreme alterations of normal brain function. Once someone becomes triggered to violence, there aren’t any limits or boundaries.”
http://ap.news-journalonline.com/dynamic/stories/U/US_METH_BOOM_VIOLENCE?SITE=FLDAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
I’m glad to see that people in our community are coming out and sharing their personal accounts of harassment and threats by Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous members. I know that this has been a frightening ordeal for these people. I’m glad they have a place for their voices be heard!
Every reasonable effort was attempted to respectfully, confidentially resolve this. After months of trying everything possible, this community would come to realize that there was no resolving any of this!
The ongoing harassment and threats to citizens, by NA/AA members who exhibited a dangerously enabled and emboldened sense of feeling “above the law”, were further encouraged by the blind eye that the Holly Hill Police Department turned to it all.
Since our lives have been threatened and we get no help from local law enforcement, the community is left with no other choice but to go deeper and research this issue. Research reveals that there is an outrageously dangerous disregard for public safety or accountability, worldwide, in regard to these organizations that the courts are mandating repeat offenders to. One only has to review the facts to see for themselves. The facts are plain!
A year later and still nothing from the City of Holly Hill. Only more police calls and continued harassment and vulgar language etc from out of control AA /NA meetings. With 12 steppers on the commission and in the police department we have been ignored. Also AA and NA works with the police department as informants.
Holly Hill looks at park meeting procedures
AUDREY PARENTE – STAFF WRITER
January 10, 2011; Page 01C
HOLLY HILL — HOLLY HILL – Children romping on playground equipment at Sunrise Park giggled and shouted in the dark recently, under the watchful eyes of their aunt, Beth Thomason.
On the same night a woman’s low voice nearby murmured about her drug problem. She sat at a picnic table with a camp lantern glowing on nearly 20 adult faces, many under hoodies and knit caps in the cold. Thomason said she knew it was a self-help group, because she once attended similar meetings in support of a relative. No incidents occurred Friday at Sunrise. But recent conflicts over park use by large groups caused citizens to request commissioners look at stronger regulations for the city’s parks.
Park rules and policies will be discussed at a public workshop 5 p.m. Tuesday in City Commission Chambers.
According to a flier on a City Hall table, anonymous self-help groups meet daily at Sunrise and other parks all over Volusia and Flagler counties.
In Holly Hill, park reservations by large groups aren’t required, but an option to assure a spot is available for $25, said Acting City Manager Mark Barker. “Any group has a right to assemble in a park for a lawful purpose,” Barker said.
An individual at Friday night’s meeting, who didn’t want a name used because the group prefers anonymity, said the number of people at a meeting varies and many who attend are required to be there by drug court.
Commissioner Rick Glass said he’s anticipating help from the city attorney at the workshop. “I have had many, many people call, and I just got off the phone with a citizen who was talking about it,” Glass said. “They want (sign-up) procedures put in place for parties – basic policies like other cities have, where parties of 20 or 25 people have to pull a permit.” Park regulations for municipalities at municode.com show other cities, including Ormond Beach and Edgewater, regulate many issues from conduct and park hours to penalties. Barker said “right now, to control certain behaviors,” other regulations are used – not park specific – such as laws covering alcoholic beverages, firearms and public safety issues.
Commissioner Liz Towsley Patton said the issue has been discussed before – not at length. “We will look at all sides and decide,” she said. “I am open to that, but, do I think we need to shut parks off to groups or go through a certain process? No.” Commissioner Donnie Moore said: “As it stands right now . . . I do see some issues, and we can work on that.” Moore said requiring reservations by large groups might be considered, but he also hopes to designate playgrounds as nonsmoking areas. Commissioner Roy Johnson said he aims to find “what is best for everybody,” but not “restrict people from using the park.” A local business operator across from the park believes the city should regulate park use. “I am in a little store where people stop to get their whatnots, and they say what’s on their mind. I have heard grumblings,” said Mr. Sanderford. He spends seven weekdays operating Holly Hill River Mart, and said local residents complain about meeting groups monopolizing the park and the parking. The complaints resulted in a petition asking city lawmakers to look at the issue, he said.
Former mayoral candidate Steve Smith presented the petition. Barker said an unsigned copy of the petition is on record. Smith said his trouble at the park began while running for mayor. He reserved the pavilion once a week for 10 weeks, having cookouts and campaigning, but encountered harassment and disagreeable persons in a group meeting at the park pavilion with no reservation, he said. “The city should limit (the number of) times,” of use by large groups, Smith said, and all groups “should be submitting some remittance to the city for the maintenance of the park.”
Smith also had a solution.
“The thing that is missing is, we don’t have a leisure services or parks director, so there is nothing scheduled.” Organized activities would help, he said.
http://nadaytona.org/2011/09/22/holly-hill-florida-looks-at-naaa-meeting-procedures-in-the-parks/
It has been a year since the citizens have begged for relief from large groups over taking the parks, including AA /NA meetings from the new commissioners and the police department. Yet they have failed to follow through with revamping Holly Hill’s Park Policy. Since last January there continues to be harassment from Alcoholics Anonymous Volusia County Intergroup sponsored by Bruce and Ed, and Daytona NA members that continue to meet at the parks.
Daytona News Journal HOLLY HILL — Police escorted two individuals pointing fingers and raising voices at each other out of a workshop on the issue of regulating public parks on Tuesday. The incident prompted Commissioner John Penny to remind the citizens attending the workshop the commission was “setting park policy irregardless of any individual group,” and that behavior and discussion should remain professional. In a rare move, the commission allowed the public to speak during the workshop, which is not the usual procedure.
Among 37 citizens who attended, some spoke their minds about wanting further and stronger regulations to include requiring any larger groups to reserve space and pay a fee for using the park, among other things. Steve Smith suggested having an educated and trained park director would help resolve some of the problems. Mr. Sanderford presented a petition with 88 signatures of citizens wanting stronger regulations. He operates a shop across from Sunrise Park.
A few individuals hinted at the value of self-help groups using the park often, and one person even said the groups using Sunrise Park on weekends had relocated. Not until the commission closed public discussion did the crux of the issue surface clearly. “This has turned into a battle of two worlds, and I don’t think we should be in the middle,” said Commissioner Liz Towsley Patton. “There’s no secret we are here because of the NA (Narcotics Anonymous) and AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings at the park. I don’t think we are here to micromanage public parks.”
Complete article-
http://nadaytona.org/2011/09/22/emotions-run-high-at-holly-hill-fl-meeting-discussing-naaa-park-meetings/