HeadlineSurfer.com Top 100 Local Stories of 2014

45. FHP: Two Orange County toddlers struck & killed in separate motor vehicle incidents

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®
3-year-old girl killed in possible hit-and-run crash at Orange County apt complex / Headline Surfer®Photo for Headline Surfer® /
Troopers reconstruct a hit-and-run scenario on the hood of a patrol vehicle at the Grandview Pointe Apartments in Orlando where a 3-year-old girl was struck by a car, according to her mother. The toddler died at the hospital. A 1-year-old boy was killed in an unrelated mishap 12 hours later involving an SUV backing out of a driveway on nearby Mosshart Lane.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tragedy struck two Orange County families, each of whom suffered the death of a toddler just 12 hours apart -- a 3-year-old girl run over in a hit-and-run on Sept. 4, 2014, a Friday night, and a 1-year-old boy struck and killed the following Saturday morning by his mother's boyfriend backing out of the driveway, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

46. Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson & Orlando radio personality Leslye Gayle marry in DeLand

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®
Sheriff Ben Johnon & Magic 107.7 radio peronality Leslye Gayle were married Sept 13, 2014, in DeLand, Fla. / Headline Surfer®Photo for Headline Surfer® /
Newlyweds Leslye Gayle and Ben Johnson at Lake Beresford.

DELAND, Fla. -- It started with a date riding on a motorcycle and culminated in marriage for radio personality Leslye Gayle and Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson as the two exchanged nuptials on Sept. 13, 2014.

"I've known Ben for a long time working in the news business and had interviewed him many times, but it wasn't until he was a guest on my show 6 1/2 years ago and I was newly divorced did we start dating," Gayle, co-host of the Magic Morning Show on Magic 107.7 FM for 14 years, and prior to that a news anchor at WKMG Local 6, told HeadlineSurfer.com. “Our first date was a motorcycle ride in and around DeLand and we’ve been together ever since!”

47. Orange County deputies investigate death of 9-month-old baby at resort near Disney

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®
Lake Tiki Village / Child dies / Headline Surfer®Headline Surfer® graphic /
The locator map shows Lake Tiki Village, the scene of a 9-1-1 call by a family member of an unresponsive baby who Orange County deputies say died on an August morning while the family was visiting from Louisiana.

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. -- A Louisiana family's visit to Walt Disney World was supposed to be magical. Instead, it turned into a nightmare:  Orange County Sheriff's deputies found a 9-month-old baby found unresponsive on Aug. 23, a Saturday, when they responded to a 9-1-1 call from a family member at the Lake Tiki Village resort six miles away from Walt Disney World. 

50. FDLE investigates man's hanging in Edgewater PD cell

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®
Ricky Walls hanged himelf in Edgewater PD cell in 2014 / Headline Surfer®Photo for Headline Surfer® /
Ricky Walls was arrested on charges of threatening his family with a knife when he was taken into custody by Edgewater police on Nov. 18. He is shown in his booking mug shortly before he hanged himself in a cell.

EDGEWATER, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement a called in to investigate why Edgewater cops did not take away the belt worn by a 51-year-old man who used it to hang himself while in their custody in November.

Rickey Walls was arrested just after 1 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, after threatening family members with a knife in his Edgewater home, according to an Edgewater PD report. He was being held in a holding cell pending transport to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach when he apparently hanged himself with his own belt.

51. Port Orange Councilman Don Burnette enjoys UCF's Fiesta Bowl win

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®
Port Orange City Councilman Don Burnetteat the Fiesta Bowl / Headline Surfer®
UCF Knights win Fiesta Bowl / Headline Surfer®Photos for Headline Surfer® /
Don Burnette, shown at far left, is all smiles at the University of Phoenix, who along with his wife and several friends, flew out to Arizona to watch the UCF Knights win big in their first BCS Bowl, 52-42 over the Baylor Bears in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

PORT ORANGE, Fla. -- What a way for Port Orange City Councilman Don Burnette to kick off 2014.

Burnette was still celebrating his UCF Knights' big win over the Baylor Bears in the New Year's Day Fiesta Bowl hours after the game. Then again, he was two time zones away from home, knowing he'd feel the jet lag when he returned home to Port Orange.

54. Four Persian cats die in DeLand-area house fire; married couple left homeless

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®
House fire in DeLand in 2014 kills four cats / Headline Surfer®DeLand house fire kills 4 cats in 2014 / Headline Surfer®Photos for Headline Surfer® /
Volusia County firefighters put out a house fire on Nov. 28, 2014, in the 2400 block of East New York Avenue.

DELAND, Fla. -- A DeLand-area house fire in late November left a married couple out shopping at the time homeless and the smoke inside killed their four Persian cats.

96. WKMG TV news anchor Lauren Rowe steps out of media spotlight to shock of Orlando-area fans

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 / Headline Surfer®

Lauren Rowe leavers WKMGORLANDO, Fla. -- It was an unexpected shocker as reported April 24, by Orlando Sentinel TV columnist Hal Boedecker, with the headline: "Lauren Rowe leaves WKMG effective immediately."

A decade ago, she was known as Lauren Perkins, but has long since married and with two children, she had an intense on-air schedule as the featured anchor on the WKMG channel 6 newscasts.

97. Daddy's little girl & 61,000 kids return to school in Volusia County

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 / Headline Surfer®

New Smyrna Beach siblings attend Burns Sci-Tech in Oak Hill

Ray Catheline with daughter Olivia of NSB on 1st day of school / Headline Surfer®Misty Burris Catheline of NSB with daughter Olivia 1st day of school / Headline Surfer®NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Daddy's little girl returned to school in August along with about 61,000 other Volusia County students.

It was the day of school for Ray Catheline's little princess, Olivia, who entered kindergarten at the Buns Sci-Tech Charter School in Oak Hill. Big brother, Nicholas entered second grade.

98. Ex-Flagler Ave kingpin Robert Lott serves as bouncer as taps flow for Rotary fundraiser

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 / Headline Surfer®
Boozefest at Rotary fundraiser in NSB / Headline Surfer®Robert Lott boozes it up at Rotary fundraiser in New Smyrna Beach / Headline Surfer®Headline Surfer® photos /
Robert Lott sucks down a beer while manning the door at the Brannon Center Aug. 28, at the Brannon Center for Rotarians holding a fundraiser where alcohol was the big draw.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Robert Lott was still wearing the same ratty clothes, though he went out of his way to show off his new plastic shoes when the internet newspaper showed up to take photos in August of the "Cheeseburger in Paradise" fundraiser at the Brannon Center. 

99. Gov. Rick Scott appoints James Edwards of Altamonte Springs to Daytona appeals court

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott in November appointed private attorney James A. Edwards of Altamonte Springs to a seat on the 5th District Court of Appeal, filling a position that was created by the Florida Legislature earlier this year.