Top 100 Stories

When it comes to making Christmas extra special for children, Florida East Coast Railway's top executive James Hertwig and his wife, Debbie, play the Santa couple, with whistle stops from Jacksonville to Miami, including stops in between to places like New Smyrna Beach, as shown here, covered by Headline Surfer, the 24/7 Internet newspaper, which has covered his visits for three years now.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- James Hertwig plays the train Santa delivering Toys for Tots once a year during the holiday season, but in everyday life, he's president and CEO of Florida East Coast Railway, the leadership position he's held since 2010, having brought 40 years of freight transportation experience to the post.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Six-year-old Nakya Jones is wise enough to know the real Santa Claus rides a sleigh when he comes to town. The so-called Santa she saw Saturday came to town in a train.

"I know he isn't the real one because that's not what Santa looks like and he doesn't have any reindeers," the New Smyrna Beach girl said, after sitting on Santa'a lap and receiving a small stuffed teddy bear, with her grandma taking pictures for the special occasion.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Walking the hard sands of New Smyrna Beach is a great way to burn those unwanted holiday calories and soak up the sun, especially this time of year, where surfers and swimmers alike enjoy the rolling waves.

The graphic pinpoints the scene of a deadly Deltona vehicle vs. pedestrian accident at a shopping plaza at 1200 Deltona Blvd.

DELTONA -- A boy had just finished helping his mother unload laundry from the family van when she instructed the 17-year-old to go park it. The problem was he was unlicensed and obviously inexperienced at driving.

He ended up running over an 84-year-old woman walking by. This tragic accident is the 90th of Headline Surfer's top 100 local stories of 2012.

Rosa Mangan, who just turned 84 on May 1, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 4 p.m. Saturday, July 28 accident in the unnamed shopping plaza at 1200 Deltona Blvd.

Headline Surfer photo by Serafina Frederick / A provision in New Smyrna Beach City Clerk Johnny Bledsoe's new contract, approved in July by the City Commission, provides five mothns of salary and benefits should be be fired without cause.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- City Clerk Johnny Bledsoe hit pay dirt last summer with a new contract calling for upwards of 20 weeks of severance if canned.

Bledsoe's salary is the 91st of the top 100 local stories of 2012.

Back in 2009, when Sally Mackay was mayor, a proposed raise increase for Bledsoe was scrapped because she said, "Now is not the time to be raising salaries with the budget coming up." 

Not only was the budget coming up, but so as election season, and Mackay had to deal with the likes of Bill Koleszar of Bouchelle Island.

Photo for Headline Surfer / Votran bus operator Janet Kisner was named the Florida Public Transit Association operator of the year.  Kisner, who has been with Votran for 25 years, also was recently awarded the National Safety Council's 2 Million Mile Safe Driver award. She is the first woman to achieve this status with Votran.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Votran bus operator Janet Kisner is the epitome of a safe driver. She's logged 2 million miles as a Votran bus driver to prove it and is the first female driver to accomplish the milestone.

Kisner's achievement makes her the 92nd of Headline Surfer's top 100 local stories of 2012.

Headline Surfer photo by Serafina Frederick / New Smyrna Beach City Commissioner Jason McGuirk is shown at far left on a city firetruck with Mayor Adam Barringer during the 2012 Christmas parade. McGuirk became a city commissioner-elect in June when no one else qualified for the position while he kept a law profile, something he continues to do to this day.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- In a domino effect, Jason McGuirk announced his candidacy in September 2011 as the heir-apparent to the zone 3 seat held by City Commissioner Jim Hathaway who had announced the month before hat he was going to run in the 2012 election for the dist. 3 seat on the Volusia County Council held by Joie Alexander who planned to retire.

Operator of bike remains critical; neither were wearing a helmet in collision with car

PORT ORANGE -- A 55-year-old woman thrown from the back of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in a collision with a car Friday at the intersection intersection of Clyde Morris Boulevard and Reed Canal Road was pronounced dead today at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, a Port Orange police official saiid.

Linda C. Johnson had been in critical condition where the operator of the motorcycle, 53-year-old husband, Stephen Monnet, remains. Neither wearing a helmet to protect their heads when they were ejected from the bike.

Latisha Anne Vester, 33, of Daytona Beach, who was an employee of Metra Electronics in Holly Hill,  was charged March 30 with falsely reporting a bomb threat where she worked.

HOLLY HILL -- An employee of Metra Electronics told investigators she called in a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of 300 co-workers because she "needed a break."

This is the 94th of Headline Surfer's Top 100 local stories of 2012.

The bomb threat was called in prior to the day shift and left with the human resources department, which in turn notified police and 300 people were evacuated at 9 a.m., including the caller, identified by police as 33-year-old Latisha Anne Vester, who worked in Metra Electronics' paint department.

Police Chief Mark Barker said Vester admitted making the call, saying she "needed a break" from work.