Not anymore.
Nowadays, she shovels something different, cleaning up after dogs, horses and other critters for Scoopin’ Doo, a one-woman animal waste removal company that she recently launched in Volusia and Flagler counties.
“I like being outside and moving around,” said Diefendorf, 26, unloading the tools of her trade a plastic bucket, rake and pan from the bed of her GMC Sierra pickup truck at a client’s home this week. “A lot of people tell me that their back yards smell a lot better when I’m done.”
So how does someone decide to scoop animal waste for a living? Well, here’s the poop:
In an uptick that tourism officials are touting as a turning point in the fight to rebound from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, bed-tax collections in Volusia County jumped 70% year-over-year in March compared with the same month a year ago.
“It’s people finally saying, ‘We’ve got to get out,’” said Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County. “April will be the same,” Davis predicted.
The March collection figure is the largest increase for that month for at least the past 10 years, said Michael Jones, operations manager for the Volusia County’s Treasury and Billing department.
Hoops player takes game to new heights despite missing arm
KTVT
DALLAS (KTVT) Kellen Buffington is the organizer one of the biggest AAU tournaments the North Texas area has seen in a while, with 189 teams from all over the nation having come to play.
In addition, his job is to evaluate the talent for some of the biggest programs in the country. Kellen Buffington says, “Ultimately it’s a lot of work and if you’re not one of the top 25 to 50 players in the country… we need to identify you and spread the word to these coaches about who you are as a player and a person, so they can make a decision about whether they want to recruit you and invest in you.”
PRO BASEBALL
Brosseau breaks up Manaea s no-hitter: Sean Manaea s bid to throw MLB s second no-hitter of the night and fifth of the season on Friday was broken up by Mike Brosseau. The Oakland southpaw had thrown seven no-hit innings before the Tampa Bay hitter, who specializes against left-handed pitching, laced a double to lead off the eighth inning. Brosseau came in to score and tie the game 1-1 on Mike Zunino s hit. The former Andrean teammates add the latest chapter to their storied careers. ESPN reporter Jeff Passan told The Times he hadn t heard of a hitter breaking up a pitcher s no-hitter, having both attended the same high school, but Passan pondered it potentially could have happened early in a game previously. Oakland went on to win the game 2-1 on a walk-off home run by Seth Brown. Manaea went 7 1/3 innings, giving up two hits, one earned run, one walk and striking out 10. Brosseau was 1 for 3 with the double and run scored.
DAYTONA BEACH Amid the unprecedented tourism impact of the coronavirus pandemic worldwide, Volusia County attracted 7.2 million visitors in 2020, a 28% decline from the 10 million recorded for pre-pandemic 2019.
The county’s visitor total, announced at an event to mark National Travel & Tourism Week on Friday at Hard Rock Hotel, is the lowest since 2010, according to Evelyn Fine, president of Mid-Florida Marketing & Research.
Yet, considering the catastrophic downturn in a global travel industry that essentially shut-down for much of the past year, the resilience of the county’s tourism industry was celebrated on Friday.
Volusia County Council member Danny Robins read a proclamation that recognized the industry for attracting visitors that spent $3.4 billion in 2020 to account for 35-40% of the county’s sales tax revenue, as well as generating employment for roughly 31,700 workers with a collective payroll of $51.5 million.