2011 Top Stories

ORANGE CITY, Fla. -- There was only one contested race in Orange City in the November elections and even it wasn't much of a contest as incumbent O. William "Bill" Crippen romped over Vernon Stafford to retain his at-large seat with nearly 67 percent of the votes cast.

Election night totals showed Crippen with 1,890 votes or 66.93 percent to Stafford's 934 or 33.07 percent of the total.

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES, Fla. -- The discovery of a beached whale in October was a story with a sad ending, but certainly a part of nature.

The discovery of a 10-foot sperm whale in the 2600 block of South Atlantic Avenue on the shore around noon on Saturday Oct. 11, drew dozens of onlookers, said Beach Safety spokeswoman Tamra Marris. The whale was not euthanized as some media outlets reported, but died on its own just before rescuers arrived. 

Photos for Headline Surfer® /

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- A house fire near New Smyrna Beach during the early morning hours of Nov. 6, claimed the life of a 44-year-old man, identified a short time lster that day as Danny Henry, who lived there with his brother.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – An Ormond Beach man convicted of three felonies stemming from a July 26, 2012, Interstate 95 crash that killed two people was sentenced in November to 16 years in prison.

Louis Prinzo, IV, 24, was convicted of two counts of DUI causing death, one count of DUI causing serious bodily injury, and one count of misdemeanor driving under the influence.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Rhys Millen took the checkered flag in the inaugural Red Bull Global Rallycross at Daytona International Speedway, in August, but there wasn't much of a crowd to cheer to cheer him on. In fact, the mighty Speedway, which holds upwards of 150,000 was lucky if there were a few hundred spectators.

Headline Surfer®  graphic /

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Dawson Porter made the catch of his life and he has the photo to prove it, courtesy of his father, Buzzy Porter, who initially posted the jaw-dropping image on Facebook in October.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- It was an unexpected shocker as reported April 24, by Orlando Sentinel TV columnist Hal Boedecker, with the headline: "Lauren Rowe leaves WKMG effective immediately."

A decade ago, she was known as Lauren Perkins, but has long since married and with two children, she had an intense on-air schedule as the featured anchor on the WKMG channel 6 newscasts.