Local News Now

'One of the longest days of my life'

Driving to the city on that day was pretty normal until I heard on the radio that a plane had wrecked into the World Trade Center. That was 8:45 a.m. and I didn't believe it and also the guy on the radio also didn't. As I drove the 75 miles to my destination by JFK Airport, I clinged to hear every word coming over the radio and just kept driving, which eventually I should have turned around, but I just went on my way.

Today, in remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach (FL-24), issued the following statement:

"As we remember the tragic events that took place nine years ago today, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of 9/11 and their families, our first responders and rescue workers, and to our brave men and women in uniform.

NSBNEWS.net video by Sera Frederick. Ralph and Beverly Plant invited NSBNEWS.net into their New Smyrna Beach home on the eve of the ninth anniversary of 9/11. Ralph, 78, and Beverly, 79, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in March, were in New York City during the 9/11 attacks. This is their story.

Courtesy photo.

Barbara Arteta, 63, of New Smyrna Beach, returning on an Amtrak train with her husband from a trip to New York, with an expected arrival in Sanford, was instead found dead Thursday on railroad tracks in southwestern Georgia  She disappeared overnight Wednesday with her purse and $1,000 in cash. Only her shoes were left behind.Now law enforcement officials are trying to figure if she was pushed out of a window found open.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The ride on an Amtrak train was New Smyrna Beach resident Barbara Arteta's first and last returning with her husband from a trip to New York to meet their newest grandchild. Her body was found alongside tracks Thursday in Jessup, Ga., near Savannah, even though the auto train hadn't stopped there, her death at this time labeled "suspicious" by authorities there.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Tara Jean Yunker, the 16-year-old New Smyrna Beach girl missing since Friday when she left her mother a note and ran off has been safely found, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office confirmed just after 9 p.m.

Courtesy photo / Volusia County. A Votran bus heads west on Canal Street in New Smyrna Beach in this photo. The county came up with a "flex" schedule to lessen the blow of some routes eliminated for greater New Smyrna Beach resulting from budget cuts.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Votran’s new flex service will hit the roads in Southeast Volusia beginning Oct. 4. To ensure riders are prepared for the new “call-first” curb-to-curb, flexible transportation service, staff is hosting a rider orientation open house 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Brannon Center.

EDGEWATER -- The Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce continues its "Lunch and Learn Series: Doing Business in Southeast Volusia" with a presentation Wednesday by Rick Fraser of the Center for Business Excellence.

The CBE is designed to be the premier organization for employment and training solutions to the businesses and workforce of Volusia and Flagler Counties.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The Cudas football team (1-0) travels to Ormond Beach Friday to play Seabreeze. The game starts at 7 p.m.

The Cudas opened the 2010 season last Friday with a 21-0 win on the road against Pine Ridge in Deltona. Pine Ridge never got its offense rolling when it counted, with two costly turnovers, including a fumble on the Cudas' goal line in the second half.

Courtesy photo.

Tara Jean Yunker, 16, of 2233 Juanita Drive, New Smyrna Beach, is missing and known to have abused prescription pills and alcohol, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's help in locating a 16-year-old girl who has been missing since Friday. Tara Jean Yunker is not believed to be endangered, but is known to have abused prescription pills and alcohol, an agency spokesman said.

Yunker was discovered missing 6 p.m. Friday when a note left by her at her home at 2233 Juanita Drive, New Smyrna Beach indicated that she had run away.

Courtesy photo/VCBJ mug.

John Maronto, 68, head coach of the Mainland High School football team and former head coach for New Smyrna Beach High School in the mid 1990s,  was charged with solicitation to commit prostitution, during a Labor Day weekend crackdown on prostitution by Daytona Beach police. According to an arrest charging affidavit released by police Monday, Maronto, also a gym teacher at Mainland, told the undercover cop while seated in his vehicle at the corner of International Speedway Boulevard and A1A just after midnight Saturday that he wanted "sex" and offered $50 to pay for it. He was among six men caught up in the police sting. He and three others were arrested on the prostitution charge and two others on related drug charges.

Please click the attachment to read the police report (Editor's Warning: subject matter not suitable for minors):

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The arrest of Mainland High School head football coach John Maronto on a charge of soliciting a prostitute over the Labor Day weekend, has not gone unnoticed by the candidates for the district 3 School Board seat .