Top 100 Local Stories of 2014

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PORT ORANGE, Fla. -- Larry McKinney, ex-president and CEO of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, withdrew from the November 2014 runoff for a seat on the Port Orange City Council, even though he finished second among four candidates in the August primary.

McKinney's surprise exit just three weeks before the runoff allowed primary winner Scott Stiltner to the district 4 seat on the Port Orange City Council.

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 ORMOND BEACH – The Captain James Ormond Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution recognized Seabreeze High School graduating senior Vania Bustamante in April with its "Good Citizen" award during a recent ceremony at the historic Anderson-Price Memorial Building.

The award recognizes Bustamante dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in her daily school and community life. She also received a $100 scholarship and an American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol on Veterans’ Day last year.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Volusia County Republican Party Chairman Tony Ledbetter barred Headline Surfer® from the GOP Lincoln Dinner at the Daytona Beach Resort & Conference Center in Daytona Beach on Sept. 19, even though the the internet newspaper had an entry ticket paid for by then-Volusia County Council candidate Rich Gailey, whose candidacy was backed by the GOP.

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DELAND, Fla. -- There's nothing worse for a child than Christmas without a present. Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson and his deputies won't let a single child go without a toy of some kind for the holidays anywhere in this county of half a million residents when made aware of such despair.

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OVIEDO -- Gov. Rick Scott appointed Oviedo resident Richard Hanas to a vacant seat on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission back in June.

Hanas, 65, senior vice president of A. Duda & Sons Inc., filled a vacant seat for a term that ends Aug. 1, 2017.

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DELAND, Fla. -- The way Pat Johnson saw it, the Daytona Beach News-Journal's incessant use of a black and white photo of him in casual dress was indicative of the negative image the print newspaper was creating to protect the interests of the entrenched incumbent, Bob Apgar, in the weeks leading up to the Aug. 26 primary.

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ORMOND BEACH -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office's Major Case Unit has said definitively that the early Easter Sunday morning shooing death of a 55-year-old man in Ormond-by-the-Sea was by his own hand and not accidentally by his wife as she told a neighbor.

The clarification into the death at 7 Seabreeze Drive after receiving a call at 2:52 a.m. about a shooting that had happened. When they arrived on scene, deputies discovered he had been shot to death.

Photos for Headline Surfer® / Janet Spurgeon is transported to Bert Fish Medical Center with minor injuries after backing her car into the medical building at 600 Palmetto Ave. A patient inside was killed and two others injured.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Police remain baffled as to why a 78-year-old woman backed her Chevy Malibu 40 feet into a medical buildingthe afternoon of Feb. 5, killing one man and injuring two others.

"It's bizarre," then-police spokesman Sgt. Eugene Griffith told Headline Surfer®. "We're still trying to determine exactly what happened. Apparently, she hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, but it remains under investigation as to why."

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DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. -- Traffic homicide investigators to this day aren't sure why a St. Augustine motorist was driving at speeds of up to 110 mph on April 25, when he crashed his Toyota hatchback leading to a fiery explosion and his death.

The driver crossed into the northbound lanes, struck a curb and became airborne -- then collided with a light pole 13 feet above ground. This led to a fiery explosion with the driver inside.

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ORANGE CITY, Fla. -- A 70-year-old pro-life supporter from Deltona was reportedly kicked out of the Planet Fitness in Orange City twice for wearing T-shirts with anti-abortion messages that drew complaints from several other patrons, according to a story published in November by WFTV in Orlando.

Among the slogans on the T-shirts worn by Mike Amoroso and deemed offensive by some at the workout facility: "Abortion Stops a Beating Heart" and "Pray to End Abortion."