DAYTONA BEACH -- Two brothers were arrested on homicide charges in connection with the Dec. 19 fatal shooting of a man in the back on Whitney Street, Daytona Beach police reported.
Channing Kendrick Black, 21, is charged with second-degree murder, and hois older brother, Matthew Howard Black, 40, both of Lockhart Street, was charged as a principle to second-degree murder, police said.
EDGEWATER -- Dorothy "Dot" Carlson, a leading environenmental voice from Edgewater who spoke out not only on city, but county and state environmental concerns such as keeping development in check and protection of wild animals, died Oct. 6, of lung cancer. She was 59.
DELAND -- Even though Volusia School Board Chairwoman Judy Conte was against it saying it "sends the wrong message," Superintendent of Schools Margaret Smith gave herself a 2 percent pay cut Sept. 30, to bring her base salary down to $171,665, a drop of $3,506.
DELAND -- Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen presented the Volusia County Council with a $634.7 million proposed budget July 10, to fund the operations of county government for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, insisting cutting taxes would hurt services.
DELTONA -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office on June 5 arrested Robert Benjo of Deltona on a charge of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his 76-year-old wife.
The 82-yer-old husband was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach, where he was being held without bond.
Sheriff's investigators have recovered the .22-caliber handgun they believe the Robert Benjo used to shoot his wife, Peggy Benjo.
PORT ORANGE -- Family Days had all the makings for Horror Night on Oct. 4, when a woman on a carousel ride called the Crazy Bus, was left dangling with her other arm clutched around her child, the result of the ride suddenly starting up as patrons were getting of it.
Port Orange Fire Department spokeswoman Tonya Gilardi said Sherri Pinkerton of Ormond Beach started to lose her grip and was forced to drop her pre-school child to rescuers 35 feet below.
The mother was then helped off the ride by a Port Orange firefighter after a city worker retrieved a ladder.
DELTONA -- One of the killers in the Deltona Xbox murders lost an appeal to get off death row with the majority of the Supreme Court Justices describing the six killings as "especially brutal" and that this particular convict, Jerome Hunter, was a willing participant.
"The murders were especially brutal, with all of the victims having been beaten to death with baseball bats," the justices wrote in a 46-page opinion in September.
It was the first such appeal heard for one of the so-called Xbox murderers, the four men involved in the the Aug. 6, 204, bloodbath that started with an argument over a missing video-game system taken from a Deltona residence where Troy Victorino had been staying as a squatter.
DELAND -- The Friends of the Library will have a book sale in the DeLand Area Public Library auditorium from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9; and 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10.
Customers may preview the books and purchase them for a slightly higher price from 5:30 - 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8.
The sale will include hardcover books, paperbacks and a large collection of cookbooks and gardening books.
Wilfred Glasbrenner, 75, of New Smyrna Beach, a retired master cabinet maker died Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008.
Richard "Puffer" Green Jr., 79, of Edgewater, a former linesman for a utilities company, died Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008.
Jean Myers, 85, of New Smyrna Beach, died Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008.
Ronald North Sr., 69, of Edgewater, a firefighter for the Turnbull Volunteer Fire Company in New Smyrna Beach, died Monday, Dec. 29, 2008.
DELTONA -- A 45-year-old man died in a single vehicle crash with a utility pole Saturday night in Deltona, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office reported.
Kristopher Jones of Deltona was killed when his Toyota four-door crashed into a pole at 10 p.m. at the intersection of Elkcam Boulevard and East Barlington Drive.
Sheriff's deputies arriving on scene found the vehicle still running and in gear wedged against the utility pole.
Jones was found dead in the driver's seat. There were no passengers.
