Top 100 Stories

Daytona Beach-area families: Have a plan for Ericka

Bottled ater important during hurricane / Headline Surfer®Diater kit ready for hurricane / Headline Surfer®Photos for Headline Surfer® /

Drinking water and a upply kit ith non-perihable food, flahlight ith batterie, fully charged electronic, etc are important to have in bracing for major weather issue like a tropical storm or hurricane.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- With Tropical Storm Erika setting her sights on Florida, Volusia County’s emergency management officials remind residents to update or develop their disaster plans so all family members know what to do and what to expect.

Voluia County pokeoman Pat Kuehn shared those steps with HeadlineSurfer.com and other media outlets.

Daytona Beach-area bracing for TS Ericka's arrival next week - could she become a hurricane or fizzle en route?

torm cloud hover over a deerted Daytona Beach on Thursday / Headline Surfer®Ericka locator over Carribran / Headline Surfer®Photo by Steve Biebs for HeadlineSurfer.com / 
Storm clouds envelop the World's Most Famous Beach® in Daytona late Thursday afternoon as shown here in advance of TS Ericka which is pounding Puerto Rico. Ericka is not expected to hit Florida until early next week.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Whether Tropical Storm Ericka grows into a full-blown hurricane or fizzles over the Carribean once she gets closer to Florida next week after finishing the pounding of Puerto Rico, officials here in Daytona Beach are not taking any chances.

In anticipation of Erika’s arrival, Volusia County plans a partial activation of its Emergency Operations Center Saturday morning to get the process started, spokeswoman Pat Kuehn told HeadlineSurfer.com.

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. 

48. Ormond Beach Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution honors Seabreeze HS senior

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®
Vania Bustamante of Seabreeze HS in Ormond Beach received an award from the Daughters of the American Revolution / Headline Surfer®Photo for Headline Surfer® /
Vania Bustamante of Seabreeze High School proudly holds her award from the Daughters of the American Revolution.

 ORMOND BEACH – The Captain James Ormond Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution recognized Seabreeze High School graduating senior Vania Bustamante in April with its "Good Citizen" award during a recent ceremony at the historic Anderson-Price Memorial Building.

The award recognizes Bustamante dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in her daily school and community life. She also received a $100 scholarship and an American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol on Veterans’ Day last year.

49. Internet newspaper barred from GOP dinner in Daytona

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®
 
Media outlet banned from GOP fundraier in Daytona in 2014 / Headline Surfer®

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Volusia County Republican Party Chairman Tony Ledbetter barred Headline Surfer® from the GOP Lincoln Dinner at the Daytona Beach Resort & Conference Center in Daytona Beach on Sept. 19, even though the the internet newspaper had an entry ticket paid for by then-Volusia County Council candidate Rich Gailey, whose candidacy was backed by the GOP.

Ex-SE Volusia ad authority director informs county in writing he believes two staffers were wrongfully terminated

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NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Carl Watson, the former executive director of the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority, sent an email to County Manager Jim Dinneen on Monday saying he believes two staffers who worked for him were wrongfully terminated after he resigned.

New Smyrna Beach cops: Woman charged with conpiracy to commit murder by allegedly hiring hit man

Pamela King Vanordale arrested on a conpiracy to commit murder charge by NSB cops / Headline Surfer®Photo for Headline Surfer® /
Pamela King Vanordale is shown in her jail booking mug shortly after her 11:57 a.m. Saturday arrest.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- A 50-year-old woman has been arrested on a felony charge of conspiracy to commit murder by allegedly trying to hire a hit man and intending to provide him with the weapon to fatally shoot the intended victim, New Smyrna Beach cops said.

Here is a synopis of what happened as described by New Smyrna Beach police in an emailed press release to HeadlineSurfer.com: On Aug. 21, the New Smyrna Beach Police Department was contacted by the Daytona Beach Police Department with information related to a conspiracy to commit murder. The investigation revealed that the suspect, Pamela Vanorsdale, contacted a male known to her and solicited him to murder another male with a firearm she intended to provide.

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.

WWE superstars John Cena, Seth Rollins, Nikki Bella & others to invade Orlando & Daytona

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retling ReWind Notebook / Headline Surfer®

Rankings: Top 50 wrestlers (10 divas) heading into Sunday's Summer Slam

wwe invade Daytona Beach's Ocean Center on Aug. 30 / Headline Surfer®Graphic for Headline Surfer® /
The WWE invades the Amway Arena in Orlando on Aug. 29, and the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach on Aug. 30.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Sunday's "Summer Slam" pay-per-view on the WWE Network has US title holder John Cena and WWE heavyweight champ Seth Rollins battling it out with the winner leaving with both belts in hand.

And that match-up could be repeated when the WWE invades the Amway Area in Orlando in six days or the Ocean Center a week from Sunday. The matches begin 7 p.m. Besides Cena and Rollins, other superstars announced on the cards include Divas champion Nikki Bella.

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.