NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The Little Theatre of New Smyrna Beach is pleased to announce another season of WonderLand Children's Theatre, its youth theatre program. Held on six Wednesday afternoons, starting on Jan. 23, its mission is to encourage youngsters to participate in and learn about the performing arts.
EDGEWATER -- The numbers speak volumes as to the wrath of Monday's tornado on the Terra Mar Village Community with $1.7 million in damage to 90 homes. That's three times as many homes as Volusia County officials estimated shortly after the fast-moving storm that spawned what the National Weather Service in Melbourne said was EF1 tornado.
DEBARY -- SunRail crews will intermittently close the right lane of northbound US 17/92, south of Fort Florida Road, to install utilities under the roadway. Closures could occur any time, as needed, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday through 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Florida Department of Transportation urges you to obey railroad crossing signals and never cross at a closed crossing gate.
Should you have any questions or concerns, you can call the SunRail Construction Hotline at 1-855-RAIL-411 (1-855-724-5411).
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This dramatic raw video footage was shot by inshore fishing boat tour Capt. Drew Cavanaugh that he described Monday night as a tornado near Edgewater, where two dozen-plus manufactured homes were damaged.EDGEWATER -- County officials stopped short of calling it a tornado in favor of "significant wind event" that damaged at least 30 homes, a third of them sustaining moderate to heavy damage, early this evening in the Terra Mar subdivision off US. 1 just south of the Edgewater city limits.
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When it comes to making Christmas extra special for children, Florida East Coast Railway's top executive James Hertwig and his wife, Debbie, play the Santa couple, with whistle stops from Jacksonville to Miami, including stops in between to places like New Smyrna Beach, as shown here, covered by Headline Surfer, the 24/7 Internet newspaper, which has covered his visits for three years now.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- James Hertwig plays the train Santa delivering Toys for Tots once a year during the holiday season, but in everyday life, he's president and CEO of Florida East Coast Railway, the leadership position he's held since 2010, having brought 40 years of freight transportation experience to the post.
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NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Six-year-old Nakya Jones is wise enough to know the real Santa Claus rides a sleigh when he comes to town. The so-called Santa she saw Saturday came to town in a train.
"I know he isn't the real one because that's not what Santa looks like and he doesn't have any reindeers," the New Smyrna Beach girl said, after sitting on Santa'a lap and receiving a small stuffed teddy bear, with her grandma taking pictures for the special occasion.
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NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Walking the hard sands of New Smyrna Beach is a great way to burn those unwanted holiday calories and soak up the sun, especially this time of year, where surfers and swimmers alike enjoy the rolling waves.
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The graphic pinpoints the scene of a deadly Deltona vehicle vs. pedestrian accident at a shopping plaza at 1200 Deltona Blvd.DELTONA -- A boy had just finished helping his mother unload laundry from the family van when she instructed the 17-year-old to go park it. The problem was he was unlicensed and obviously inexperienced at driving.
He ended up running over an 84-year-old woman walking by. This tragic accident is the 90th of Headline Surfer's top 100 local stories of 2012.
Rosa Mangan, who just turned 84 on May 1, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 4 p.m. Saturday, July 28 accident in the unnamed shopping plaza at 1200 Deltona Blvd.
Headline Surfer photo by Serafina Frederick / A provision in New Smyrna Beach City Clerk Johnny Bledsoe's new contract, approved in July by the City Commission, provides five mothns of salary and benefits should be be fired without cause.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- City Clerk Johnny Bledsoe hit pay dirt last summer with a new contract calling for upwards of 20 weeks of severance if canned.
Bledsoe's salary is the 91st of the top 100 local stories of 2012.
Back in 2009, when Sally Mackay was mayor, a proposed raise increase for Bledsoe was scrapped because she said, "Now is not the time to be raising salaries with the budget coming up."
Not only was the budget coming up, but so as election season, and Mackay had to deal with the likes of Bill Koleszar of Bouchelle Island.
