Top 100 Stories

DAYTONA BEACH -- John Wes Townley started on the pole and finished in Gatorade Victory Lane Saturday capturing the 50th annual Lucas Oil 200 presented by MAVTV American Real at Daytona International Speedway.

The race marked Townley's eighth start at the "World Center of Racing," and his first career pole and win in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. His previous best finish in the series also came at DIS when he finished third in 2010.

DAYTONA BEACH -- A freeze warning goes into effect for Lake and Volusia Counties for early Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne.

The freeze warning is expected to begin at 4 a.m. and end at 9 a.m. Sunday, with overnight wind chill factor in the 20s. A freeze watch will also be in effect overnight Sunday and into Monday morning. Steady northwest winds behind the front will continue to push very cold air southward tonight.

Headline Surfer photos by Henry Frederick / Nicole and Mike Kirkland of Edgewater with their 1-year-old son, Nolan, dressed as a shark, take in the annual New Smyrna Beach Halloween Parade.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Nolan Kirkland of Edgewater didn't win any trophies for his costume at the 2012 Halloween Parade, but his costume certainly was an eyecatcher. The 1-year-old Edgewater baby was dressed as a shark.

And how appropriate considering New Smyrna Beach's South Jetty is known for its shark bites among the surfing crowd.

The Halloween parade comes in at No. 59 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 stories of 2012.

Paul Rooy, 56, shown here at left, was a pilot and patent attorney with his law office in Daytona Beach. He died Wednesday in a plane crash at the age of 56.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A pilot was killed when his single-engine airplane crashed shortly after take-off this afternoon from New Smyrna Beach Airport, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.

"The Cessna 337 had taken off from the airport when it went down sometime later in an open field near the city’s sports complex," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "The tower manager at the airport called in the crash at 1:13 p.m. The plane broke apart upon impact, killing the pilot. No one else was on board, and no one on the ground was injured."

EDGEWATER -- Yes, in the past few years here in the United States we have had many school shootings most recent Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 20 kindergarten children and six adults were killed' We ask why.

Why is this violent act keep happening? Either the shooter is mentally ill or looking for revenge, or comes from a broken home, poor upbringing lacking love, and discipline and respect.

EDGEWATER -- Odd how people are all up in arms about the Boy Scouts maybe changing their policy and letting in scouts and leaders who are gay. Are they naïve enough to believe that gays have never been in any scout groups in the past?

Top cop returns to work Tuesday

Anytime you ever try to effect change in a culture, you get get something like that," Police Chief Dave Arcieri said of an accusation that was unfounded, Police Chief Dave Arcieri said opf an unfoundedaccusation that led to him bewing placed on administrative leave on Jan. 3

Photo copyright Headline Surfer

EDGEWATER -- The nearly six-week supension of Edgewater Police Chief Dave Arcieri has been lifted and he'll be back to work Tuesday.

Arcieri was suspended Jan. 3 on charges that have yet to be revealed, which rsulted ina media blitz when someone internally tipped off select medis outlets, resulting in TV crews camped outside city hall the first couple of days.

ORMOND BEACH -- The body of a man with "obvious signs of trauma" was found early this morning outside a residence at 788 Buena Vista Ave. and is being treated as a suspicious death, Ormond Beach police said.