Local News Now

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 .

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick.

New Smyrna Beach Firefighters volunteer their time during the Labor Day weekend to help raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association with their boot drive,  for donations as shown in these photos shot Saturday on S.R. 44, with eastbound traffic coming off the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge and onto the South Causeway and the beach.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Despite the hot mid-day sun, several New Smyrna Beach firefighters stood tall Saturday as they held out their traditional "boot" to raise money for the annual Labor Day weekend Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The Green Crab September 3, 2010 The green crab, Carcinus maenas, is a common littoral (of or along the shore) crab and an invasive species, listed among the 100 “world’s worst alien invasive species.” It is native to the north-east Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea, but has colonized similar habitats in Australia, South America, South Arica and both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America.

DELAND -- Stetson University has again been recognized for its academic excellence by being included in the 2011 revised and updated edition of The Fiske Guide to Colleges, which is in bookstore shelves.

Stetson is one of eight Florida colleges and universities and more than 300 nationwide included in this year's guide. Publishers of the Fiske Guide say they include "the country's best and most interesting colleges and universities." An overview for each school is given, covering subjects including student body, academics, social life and financial aid.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Two surfers were bitten by sharks Friday morning near the South Jetty, bringing to four the number of such attacks so far this year, the Volusia County Beach Patrol confirmed.

Courtesy photos / NSBPD

If you recognize the men in each of these surveillance photos, then you are asked to please call the New Smyrna Beach police at 424-2248. They are wanted by police in the Aug. 3 beating and robbery of a city man.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A 41-year-old city man was beaten and robbed early last month resulting in treatment at Bert Fish Medical Center for head injuries and police are asking the public's help in capturing his three attackers whose images were captured on surveillance video from a local business.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach (FL-24), will continue her "Congress on Your Corner" program Saturday morning at the New Smyrna Beach Farmers' Market, 110 Canal St.

"Congress on Your Corner" is Kosmas' community outreach program developed to help her stay in touch with constituents throughout Florida's 24th Congressional District. She will be at the Farmers' Market from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The crew from Lane Construction began the most challenging aspect of the 2010 Daytona Repave on Thursday morning - putting new asphalt on the steep 31-degree high banks of Daytona International Speedway. Workers paved the drainage layer in Turns 3 and 4, the first of four layers that will make up the 2.5-mile tri-oval.