Headline Surfer photo by Henry Frederick / New Smyrna Beach is a tourism paradise as shown by this recent photo. These chairs are waiting for you... 
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.
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."
DAYTONA BEACH -- I've been swamped the last few days working on some special investigative pojects that should open some eyes to some serious issues that have serious impact on Volusia County's economic, business, cultural and fiscal health now and well into the future.
Unless we start getting serious about the issues before us, things will get worse before they get better.
DAYTONA BEACH -- The public is invited to a workshop about the City of Daytona Beach's wayfinding signage program, 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21 in City Hall, 301 S. Ridgewood Ave.
The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the master plan process and receive the public's comments regarding purpose, benefits and schedule of the program, city spokeswoman Susan Cerbone said.
"The workshop will provide attendees the opportunity to give comments for the three-phased project which will create a plan to guide vehicular and pedestrian traffic to venues of interest within the city and create distinct signage," Cerbone said. "City commissioners in August 2012 approved an agreement not to exceed $120,000 with Lassiter Transportation Group to produce a wayfinding master plan."
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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.
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.
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 -- 2012 was a banner year for the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, which just celebrated its 93rd annual meeting with more than 650 guests attending at the Hilton Daytona Beach Resort.
Photos by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR / Headline Surfer DAYTONA BEACH -- Kevin Harvick made his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet as wide as he could in the final laps, holding off repeated challenges for the lead on his way to victory Saturday night in The Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway.
On the last lap, Harvick blocked both Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart to win his third career Sprint Unlimited, NASCAR's fan-favorite non-points event that featured the debut of the Gen-6 race car. Harvick's previous Sprint Unlimited wins came in 2009 and 2010.
