Polk County paramedic wins fight for cancer disability benefits
A medical evaluation convinced the Florida Retirement System to approve “line-of-duty” disability retirement benefits for Polk County Fire Rescue paramedic Christina Lambert Pierson just 3 months after sharing her fight for cancer benefits with News 6.
Polk County firefighter diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer denied benefits
When Christina Pierson was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer on Oct. 3, 2018, she never imagined the county she served as a firefighter and paramedic for six years would deny her any financial assistance provided under the law because she was diagnosed too soon.
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Doc films about Demi Lovato, Tom Petty headline SXSW 2021
This combination photo shows Demi Lovato performing at the o2 in east London, on June 25, 2018, left, and Tom Petty performing during the Vegoose music festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 28, 2006. Documentaries about Lovato and Petty are among the films set to premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival this year. (AP Photo)Documentaries about Demi Lovato, Tom Petty, Selma Blair and Charli XCX are among the films set to premiere at next month's South by Southwest Film Festival. They held a makeshift virtual festival later that spring in collaboration with Amazon Prime Video, although some opted out. The Sundance Film Festival on Monday said that its virtual festival reached an audience about 2.7 times larger than its typical in-person gathering.
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Motorcyclist killed in crash in Pierson
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A 23-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a crash in Pierson on Wednesday. The Florida Highway Patrol said a motorcycle was heading southbound on U.S. 17 and a pickup truck was also heading southbound on U.S. 17. Investigators said another pickup truck was heading northbound on U.S. 17. FHP said the motorcyclist failed to see the pickup truck had stopped and the front of the bike hit the left rear of the pickup truck. Troopers said the motorcyclist died at the hospital and the crash remains under investigation.
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Man arrested after alleged knife fight at RV park, deputies say
A man was arrested after a fight involving a knife at an RV camp in Pierson on Saturday, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies took into custody 50-year-old Leonard Rushing, who was treated on the scene for a possible drug overdose and is facing domestic-violence related charges, deputies said. Rushing also has an active warrant out of Flagler County for violation of probation, deputies said. During a 911 call, deputies said a voice was heard screaming “I don’t want you to stab me to death.”Nobody was injured in the incident.