Volusia News Now

Teen girl hasn't been seen or heard from since Saturday

ENTERPRISE, Fla. -- The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in finding 17-year-old runaway Charise Torres.

Charise took off on Saturday night from the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home in Enterprise and hasn't been seen or heard from since by her caregivers, authorities said.

"While she isn’t believed to be in any danger, Charise is on medication for a diagnosed medical condition," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson told Headline Surfer® on Tuesday. "Because of her condition, authorities are anxious to find Charise to make sure she’s O.K. and receives necessary medical care."

Sheriff's spokesman: Ankle monitoring device found in Burger King bathroom

DELTONA, Fla. -- The search has ended for an inmate who failed to return to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach after a court-authorized furlough to attend a funeral over the weekend.

Andrew Rodriguez, 27, was captured at 11:01 p.m. Monday after an anonymous call led Sheriff’s deputies to his whereabouts.

"Late Monday night, a tip received through Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida led deputies to the house on Evergreen Avenue," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson told Headline Surfer® this morning shortly after his capture.

"Just as deputies were heading into the house to search for Rodriguez, he bolted out of a side door and was quickly captured without offering resistance."

Incumbent has never lost an election & plans to keep that streak intact Nov. 4

DAYTONA BEACH -- At-large Councilwoman Joyce Cusack knew the so-called Waverly investigation was a farce -- a certifiable "witchhunt" -- from the onset pushed by the likes of her opponent, district 5 term-limited Councilwoman Patricia Northey.

Native son hoping to follow in late father's footsteps as municipal leader

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The time has come for an experienced community leader to take the reigns in New Smyrna Beach and right the ship that has run aground, especially in the last couple of years. That leader is none other than Jim Hathaway.

With that said, Headline Surfer® wholly endorses Hathaway for mayor of New Smyrna Beach in the Nov. 4 general elections over City Commissioner and former colleague Jack Grasty.

The taxpayers of the city by the sea have been hit with an increase in taxes for the new fiscal year that began Wednesday, following a tax increase last year as well. This is unacceptable in a city known for its charm that has a large bloc of seniors on fixed incomers and working class families struggling to put food on the table.

Headline Surfer® videos / The internet newspaper held public candidate debates in Oak Hill in June.

OAK HILL -- Kathy Bittle, a native of Oak Hill, who has been on the City Commission for eight years, is the endorsed candidate of Headline Surfer® in the Nov. 4 elections,  for two reasons: Her experience on the dais and her consistent community commitment away from City Hall, too.

Councilwoman gets into innuendo involving former Deltona city attorney & current School Board district 3 candidate George Trovato

DAYTONA BEACH -- In what has already become a public embarrassment for Volusia County described from the onset as a political "witch hunt" and a "money grab,"  the so-called “Waverly investigation” is catching even more unsuspecting victims. Take Volusia County District 3 School Board George Trovato, for example, courtesy of County Councilwoman Patricia Northey.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A Ponte Vedra man man was killed Friday evening after a wheel flew off a tractor-trailer and bounced across the median of Interstate 95 before crashing through his windshield and causing him to wreck, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Photo for Headline Surfer® /

ORMOND BEACH -- State Rep. Charles Dave Hood, Jr., former mayor of Ormond Beach, will be sworn in Friday as a circuit judge at the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center, l399 N. U.S. 1.

His "investiture" will begin at 3:30 p.m. with his colleagues on the bench sitting as a group as he takes the oath of office for the judgeship in the 7th Judicial Circuit.

ORMOND BEACH -- Bob Patterson will share the folklore and songs of Florida during a free performance from 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, at the Ormond Beach Regional Public Library, 30 S. Beach St.

Patterson is a professional singer, songwriter and storyteller with more than 40 years of experience performing at clubs and festivals across the nation.

He co-founded the Gamble Rogers Folk Festival and received the 2011 Mother Earth and Fellow Man Award in recognition for his gifts to folk culture.

Photos for Headline Surfer® /

DAYTONA BEACH -- Headline Surfer® will announce its endorsement Sunday for either Rich Gailey or Fred Lowry, Jr. for the Volusia County Council district 5 seat in the Nov. 4 elections.

The internet newspaper endorsed Gailey in the Aug. 26 primary, which he won, and gave a secondary endorsement to the third candidate in the race, Phil Giorno, a former County Council member and chair.

But that was then and this is now. Will Headline Surfer® switch gears and go with Lowry or stay with Gailey? An even bigger question is what will the Volusia County Republican Party do?