Top 100 Stories

Daytona Beach cops: Body of homeless man found floating in Halifax River result of drowning

Wendell Speaker, homeless of Daytona Beach, victim of drowning in Halifax River / Headline Surfer®Photo for Headline Surfer® /
Wendell Robb Spiker, 42, was a homeless man whose body was found in the Halifax River, the apparent victim of an accidental drowning. How he ended up in the river is unknown, but foul play was not suspected, Daytona Beach police said.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- At 2:36 p.m. Friday a 9-1-1 call led cops to a body floating 20 feet off shore from 905 S. Peninsula Drive between the International Speedway and Silver Beach bridges.

The body of the white man was recovered from the Halifax River by a Daytona Beach Fire Department paramedic team in one of its rescue boats. Burt in this case, it was a recovery.

Coming New Year's Day: Mount Rushmore of Daytona: Bruno, Doran, Cusack & Johnson

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HeadlineSurfer.com Hall of Fame / Headline Surfer®

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- On New Year's Day, the award-winning 24/7 internet internet newspaper will recognize four public servants it believes truly represents the the absolute best of the best of greater Daytona Beach -- our Mount Rushmore so to speak. And on Jan. 1,  Frank Bruno, Ted Doran, Joyce Cusack and Melody McSorley Johnson will be presented as such as this digital media outlet begins rolling out the 101 entrants in its inaugural Class of 2016 HeadlneSurfer.com Hall of Fame.

Stetson University's Brianti Saunders nets record 40 Points in Hatters' win

Breaks single-game scoring record that stood for 29 years & spanning 842 games

DELAND, Fla. -- Brianti Saunders was not going to be denied as she knocked down her first eight shots en route to a 40-point performance Sunday at home in a 79-57 trouncing of Georgia Southern in the first day of the 2015 Hatter Classic.

 

Deltona's John Masiarczyk & Orange City's Tom Laputka among 10 mayors endorsing Adam Barringer for Congress

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SW Volusia a key battleground in re-drawn 6th congressional district in 2016

6th Congressional candidate Adam Barringer is endorsed bt Deltona & Orange City mayors / Headline Surfer®St Johns Bridge between Sanford and Deltona, FL / Headline Surfer®Photos for Headline Surfer /
First in a Series: Now that the 6th Congressional District's borders have been clarified, the battleground is clearly Volusia County, where frontrunner and former New Smyrna Beach Mayor Adam Barringer has won the endorsements of 10 of the 16 county's mayors. The district includes Volusia, Flagler & Lake counties and a port of St. Johns County. Volusia, the district includes, Flagler, Lake & part of St. Johns County. 

DELTONA, Fla. -- Though it is the furthest of Volusia County's cities away from the curling waves and hard sands of the World's Most Famous Beach®, the City of Deltona nonetheless is the largest of the 16 incorporated municipalities in Volusia County in terms of population.

Teresa Rand elected 2016 chair of Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce

Teresa Rand, incoming chair of the Daytona Chamber / Headline Surfer®Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce / Headline Surfer®Photo for Headline Surfer® /
Teresa Rand, president & CEO of the Volusia Flagler Family YMCA named chair of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce for 2016.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce has elected its officers for 2016, with a businesswoman as the new face of the organization.

With unanimous support from the nominating committee and board, Teresa Rand, president & CEO of the Volusia Flagler Family YMCA was elected chair for 2016.

As the head of the YMCA, Rand brings a great deal of community knowledge and leadership to the Chamber.

“Teresa has been an active member of the Board for several years including leadership roles in the Membership Division and the Community Development Division," current Chair Chris Bowler said. "In addition, she participated in the Strategic Planning process for the Chamber this past year.”

GOP 6th Congressional candidate Adam Barringer says locals fearful of ISIS infiltrating Syrian migrants

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Adam Barringer of NSB for Congress / Headline Surfer®
YouTube video download / Department of Homeland Security expresses concern about ISIS blending in with Syrian refugees entering the US, something that 6th Congressional candidate Adam Barringer worries about, too.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- There are real fears of an ISIS infiltration of refugees in the US and any number of countries, which President Obama's Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has acknowledged.

Amber Alert: 17-year-old Orange County girl missing; may be headed to Jacksonville

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Amber Alert issued for missing Orange County girl, 17 / Headline Surfer®

ORLANDO -- An Amber Alert was issued this morning for a 17-year-old Orange County girl first reported missing on Monday and last seen in the 2700 block of Lake Stanley Road in Orlando.

She has long dark hair, but may have cut it and she may be headed up to Jacksonville. If you spot her, based on the description in the image above, please call 9-1-1.

29. Main Street draw bridge in Daytona closed for 1 1/2 weeks in 2014 for repairs

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®
Main Street Bridge in Daytona leads to Bike Week ground zero / Headline Surfer®

Problems with Main Street drawbridgew in Daytona in 2014 / Headline Surfer®DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The 50-year-old Main Street drawbridge in Daytona, was finally opened reopened mid-afternoon Nov. 5 after being closed for 1 1/2 weeks due to repairs.

Thankfully, it didn't have to be closed earlier in October when the four-day fall motortycle rally, Biketoberfest, was in full swing.

30. Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy, who had a seasonal home in NSB, dies in 2014 at age 93

Top 100 Local Stories of 2014 in Central Florida / Headline Surfer®

S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, who died in 2014, had a seasonal home in New Smyrna Beach, Fla / Headline Surfer®     Cows were the slogan in the Chick-fil-A commercials encouraing people to eat chicken instead / Headline Surfer®NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- S. Truett Cathy, a billionaiure several times over who saw himself asa simple man, would often say, "I cook chicken for a living.”

The founder of Chick-fil-A, who owned a seasonal home in New Smyrna Beach outside of the gated Sugar Mill golf course community, died Sept. 8, 2014, at his home in Clayton County, Ga., a Chick-fil-A spokesman confirmed. He was 93.

Strong likelihood Daytona Beach convict, 26, could spend life behind bars for shooting man in face in soured drug deal

Alliston George found guilty of shooting another Daytona Beach man in a drug deal gone bad / Headline Surfer®Thomas Lawrence of Daytona Beach was shot in the face after a soured drug deal / Headline Surfer®Photos for Headline Surfer® /
Alliston George, shown at far left, already a three-time convicted felon, could be looking at life behind bars for shooting fellow Daytona Beach resident Thomas Lawrence, shown in the inset, in the face back in 2014. Both men are known to Daytona Beach cops in the drug trade.

DAYTONA BEACH – At the age of 26, Alliston George of Daytona Beach could very well spend the rest of his life behind bars for shooting another man in the face with a .38 semi-automatic handgun the afternoon of Oct. 23, 2014, after an apparent soured drug deal.

A jury on Friday found George guilty of Attempted first degree murder with a firearm, which subjects him to Florida's 10-20-life statute, whenever a gun is discharged causing injury, which requires a 25-year-to-life sentence to be imposed. That he's looking at spending the rest of his life behind bars perhaps was a fata com-pleat for this three-time convicted felon.