DAYTONA BEACH -- NASCAR is pulling out all the stops for the fans at Daytona International Speedway prior to tonight's Coke Zero 400 race from Daytona International Speedway.
Todd Warshaw/Getty Images / DIS / Headline Surfer / Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, poses with the pole award after finishing the fastest during qualifying Friday for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.DAYTONA BEACH – Toyota dominated Friday’s Coke Zero 400 qualifying with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch take the pole and teammate Matt Kenseth joining him up front on the outside for tonight's 160-lap, 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
Photo for Headline Surfer / Donna Jane Bennett, mayor of Oak Hill from 1992-'99, died 10 years after her tenure as mayor.
OAK HILL -- Though she was mayor of Oak Hill for the better part of the 1990s, not much has been chronicled the on the relatively short life of former Mayor Donna Jane Bennett, who died unexpectedly in 2009. She was 57.
Bennett's passing comes in at No. 494 in Headline Surfer's Top 500 countdown as part off its 5th anniversary coverage.
Family and friends paid their final respects to the life-long Oak Hill resident in a May 19 service at the First Baptist Church, with the Rev. Emerson Bolton, Sr., officiating.
Bennett died three days earlier at Florida Hospital Ormond Memorial. The circumstances that led to her passing were kept private.
Photo for Headline Surfer / Gov. Rick Scott reflects on meaning of holiday.
NAPLES -- Gov. Rick Scott released the following statement Wednesday from Naples on the eve of the nation's independence celebration: “Ann and I join all Floridians in celebrating our freedom as Americans and remembering our country’s great heritage this 4th of July holiday."
Scott continued: "As we spend Independence Day with our family, we are reminded of those who cannot do the same because they have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. This week, we honor those who have served in the past and are serving our country at home and abroad today."
Photo for Headline Surfer / At left is a poster announcing a contest seeking a new name for the City of Oak Hill with prizes for winning entries.OAK HILL -- The poster says it all: Wanted! Motto for the City of Oak Hill.
"Obviously, we want to promote our city," Oak Hill Mayor Douglas Gibson told Headline Surfer, echoing the verbiage in the Old West wanted poster.
As he rightfully pointed out, Orlando has a great motto: The City Beautiful. And Daytona's is known around the globe: "The World's Most Famous Beach."
So why not Oak Hill?
"We have endless possibilities for a bright future for our city," said Gibson, elected in November. "A motto would be great."
Headline Surfer videos and photos / A black bear climbed up a tree in downtown New Smyrna Beach just before sunrise Saturday and didn't come down until after sunset. Headline Surfer has exclusive video.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The city by the sea is known for its shark bites and 'Cudas football, but black bears? One just happened to hang out in a tree at the corner of Magnolia and Canal streets all day Saturday until sunset when it climbed back down and scampered away.
DELAND -- A 5-year-old boy drowned in a backyard swimming pool while he and his family were visiting their grandmother Friday evening near DeLand, said a spokesman for the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the tragic incident.
Deputies were dispatched to 2535 Cherangela Court after receiving a 9-1-1 call from there about 7 p.m. Friday.
Headline Surfer photos by Henry Frederick / These birds were seen recently in a small pond fountain across from the Edgewater City Hall.EDGEWATER -- A gathering of exotic birds took a swim on a warm summer's day in a small pond foutain across fthe street from the Edgewater City Hall on Riverside Drive.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Fifteen minutes after the City of Edgewater lights up the night sky on the Fourth of July with a spectacular fireworks show, the city of New Smyrna Beach will do the same. The fireworks shows in both cities will conclude the Souhtheast Volusia Advertising Authority's inaugual New Smyrna beachweeks.
Headline Surfer photos by Henry Frederick / The Intracoastal Waterway at Riverside Park and the Brannon Center in scenic New Smyrna Beach is the setting for Fishstock 2013.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Here's a look back at one of the more popular New Smyrna Beachweeks events, Fishstock.
Held May 23-26, it was the first of 10 New Smyrna Beachweeks events that culminates with fireworks shows on July 4 in New Smyrna Beach from the same locale and in Edgewater.
