2011 Top Stories

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.

Photo for Headline Surfer / Votran bus operator Janet Kisner was named the Florida Public Transit Association operator of the year.  Kisner, who has been with Votran for 25 years, also was recently awarded the National Safety Council's 2 Million Mile Safe Driver award. She is the first woman to achieve this status with Votran.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Votran bus operator Janet Kisner is the epitome of a safe driver. She's logged 2 million miles as a Votran bus driver to prove it and is the first female driver to accomplish the milestone.

Kisner's achievement makes her the 92nd of Headline Surfer's top 100 local stories of 2012.

Headline Surfer photo by Serafina Frederick / New Smyrna Beach City Commissioner Jason McGuirk is shown at far left on a city firetruck with Mayor Adam Barringer during the 2012 Christmas parade. McGuirk became a city commissioner-elect in June when no one else qualified for the position while he kept a law profile, something he continues to do to this day.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- In a domino effect, Jason McGuirk announced his candidacy in September 2011 as the heir-apparent to the zone 3 seat held by City Commissioner Jim Hathaway who had announced the month before hat he was going to run in the 2012 election for the dist. 3 seat on the Volusia County Council held by Joie Alexander who planned to retire.

Latisha Anne Vester, 33, of Daytona Beach, who was an employee of Metra Electronics in Holly Hill,  was charged March 30 with falsely reporting a bomb threat where she worked.

HOLLY HILL -- An employee of Metra Electronics told investigators she called in a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of 300 co-workers because she "needed a break."

This is the 94th of Headline Surfer's Top 100 local stories of 2012.

The bomb threat was called in prior to the day shift and left with the human resources department, which in turn notified police and 300 people were evacuated at 9 a.m., including the caller, identified by police as 33-year-old Latisha Anne Vester, who worked in Metra Electronics' paint department.

Police Chief Mark Barker said Vester admitted making the call, saying she "needed a break" from work.

NSBNews.net photos by Henry Frederick / Oak Hill Commissioner Doug Gibson stands in front of the Volusia County Sheriff's Air-One helicopter behind City Hall during a VCSO open house on Feb. 1

OAK HILL -- Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson played host to some 100 residents during an open house in February on the city hall grounds to commemorate six months of law enforcement service to the small city since its police force was disbanded six months earlier.

John's open house in Oak Hill comes in 95th among Headline Surfer's Top 100 Local Stories of 2012.

Councilman Joseph Perrone knows firsthand that every vote counts, especially in a small town like Ponce Inlet as affirmed by a manual ballot recount Friday.

PONCE INLET -- Two races from the August primary went unchanged after recounts.

Ponce Inlet Town Councilman Joseph Perrone won re-election over Joe Villanella by one vote, the confirmed three days after the Aug. 14 primary, unchanged from the initial count, giving him the win, 609 to 608.

In another race requiring a recount, Shannon McLeish of Ormond Beach held onto her 27-voter margin over third-place finisher Jay Young for the right to go against Volusia County Council Council dist 4 primary primary winner Doug Daniels in the Nov. 6 runoff. Daniels, however, would win that final race.

EDGEWATER, Fla. -- Local gal Tia McDonald, who has travelled quite a bit in her young modeling career, including a spot in an MTV music video shoot, was recently in Australia, where she took part in the making of a book, "Fairy Tale -- Once Upon a Time, Act 1," by Somsay Toumngeun, including being on the cover and the inspiration for one of the characters.

EDGEWATER, Fla. -- By a mere dozen votes, Gene Emter was elected to the Edgewater City Council in a Feb. 28 special election. Only 7 percent of the city's nearly 13,600 registered voters cast votes in the special election.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Rolex 24 ended up being a cake walk the Chip Ganassi racing teams which finished 1-2 in the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.