2011 Top Stories

The CVS pharmacy on Howland Boulevard in Deltona was the target July 22 of a cross-dressing robber with a green wig, black lipstick and a handbag.

DELTONA -- A cross-dressing thief claiming to have a bomb failed in an attempt to rob a Deltona drug store of its prescription pills after the pharmacist refused to give him what he craved in July.

The would-be-robber ran from the CVS pharmacy, 2187 Howland Blvd., empty-handed just before 6 a.m. and managed to get away just prior to the arrival of responding Volusia County Sheriff's deputies. The bizarre robbery attempt comes in as No. 82 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2012.

A man perished in a July 29 fire that destroyed his DeBary home at 54 W. Highbanks Road as shown in this locator map.

DEBARY -- The body of a man was found in the charred remains of his home in late July, a Volusia County Volusia County Sheriff's spokesman said.

The fire fatality comes in 81st in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2012.

"(The fire) was reported at 9:19 Sunday morning, after a passerby spotted flames coming from the windows of the home," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said," of the July 29 blaze. Volusia County and Orange City firefighters began dousing the flames at about 9:25 a.m. and then entered the residence.

Snoopy is reunited with 77-year-old Bob Johnson of Deltona on Jan. 20, 2012, after his release from quarantine in a biting incident involving a leashed dog that broke free from its owner and attacked him. But because Snoopy was involved in a bite incident five years ago and declared a dangerous dog, he lost his freedom for nearly a month.

DELTONA -- Snoopy the pit bull made a lot of friends on Facebook during his nearly month-long quarantine for nipping at another dog -- more than 24,000 of them -- and in late January, he was sprung from doggie jail to his Deltona owner.

Snoopy's situation is No. 83 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2012.

Snoopy had been under lock and key at the Halifax Humane Society in Daytona Beach since Dec. 27, 2011, when he pit a Jack Russell that was leashed broke free from its owner and attacked him. But Snoopy was taken into custody because he was declared a dangerous dog five years ago after biting another dog in his neighborhood. He could have faced being put down and that caused quite a stir in cyberspace.

Scene of deadly crash is shown here at left, involving a Lamborghini.

ORMOND BEACH -- A 24-year-old man was killed Feb. 12, after he lost control of a 2006 Lamborghini while driving at speeds of up to 150 mph, crossed the median and struck a steel pole in the 200 block of north US 1, resulting in the vehicle bursting into flames with him pinned inside, Ormond Beach police said.

A passenger, 40-year-old Vanessa Bain, escaped with minor injuries in the 3:44 a.m. accident. Police did not indicate if she or the young man or someone else was the owner of the high-priced sports car. The tragedy comes in at No. 84 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2012.

Monte Henkenberns blew a .132 in a breathalyzer test, more than three times the legal threshold of .08 for drunken driving, when he was arrested April 15.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- When Monte Andrew Henkenberns was pulled over on an early Sunday in April in the 500 block of South Peninsula Avenue, it marked the fourth time he'd been arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.

Photos for Headline Surfer / A mail truck caught fire in Edgewater as shown here, but the carrier saved the mail inside.

EDGEWATER -- The post office motto states: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." It doesn't say anything about the mail truck catching fire.

That is exactly what occurred in the 1400 block of Willow Oak Drive in the Florida Shores subdivision when a U.S. Postal Service carrier's mail truck caught fire last March while he was making his appointed rounds. It comes in as No. 86 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 stories of 2012.

Headline Surfer photo by Henry Frederick / Althea Philord, shown here at New Smyrna Beach City Hall commission chambers, is head of the city's nationally-recognized finance department.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The City of New Smyrna Beach Finance Department earned national recognition in June for meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting from the Government Finance Officers Association in Chicago.

"We have received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the current year's budget," said Finance Director Althea Philord. "It is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting."

The recognition for Philord and her staff comes in at No. 87 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2012.

The locator map shows where an elderly Ormond Beach fisherman drowned.

DELAND -- An 81-year-old Ormond Beach man fell into the Norris Dead River, a tributary of the St. Johns River, at the Highland Park Fish Camp and drowned on Feb. 2, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

The tragic death of Richard Bass comes in as No. 88 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2012.

A witness called 9-1-1 at 7:07 a.m. to report that Richard Bass had fallen off a dock and disappeared into the water.

Deputies and rescue personnel from Volusia County Fire Services arrived on scene and helped search for the victim who was found at approximately 7:57 a.m.

The elderly man was then transported by EVAC Ambulance to Florida Hospital DeLand where he was pronounced dead at 8:28 a.m.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Fire Chief Dave McCallister was honored by the Volusia League of Cities' Distinguished Service Award for 2012.

This awards were presented to outstanding individuals who have made their community, and Volusia County as a whole, a better place to live. The recipients were honored at a Volusia League of Cities banquet May 24, at the Smyrna Yacht Club in New Smyrna Beach.

Blaine O'Neal Award of Excellence, the top overall award, went to Port Orange City Manager Kenneth Parker.

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.