Oak Hill

Headline Surfer video and photos by Henry Frederick / Families and friends celebrate the annual Riverfest on Saturday at Mary DeWees Park in Oak Hill.

OAK HILL -- There is no greater symbols of family and friends than the laughter of children at play under the rays of the Florida sun, grandparents and such sitting in folding chairs in the comfort of the shade provided by stately trees and the parents of young ones alternating between fishing out some change for cotton candy and checking their electronic gizmos for messages or news alerts.

By Douglas Gibson

OAK HILL -- Anytime children are killed, and especially when their lives are taken by a deranged individual using a gun like what happened with the massacre in Connecticut, we feel outrage, we feel the pain and we want this to never happen again. But we know all too well it's going to be repeated again and again like we saw with Columbine and others.

This guest blog was written exclusively for Headline Surfer

OAK HILL -- Let's hope that the new year will bring us joy and happiness.

We need to strive not to make the same mistakes as we did last year: You know, eat to much, drink to much, and argue about small meaningless things.

We need to look forward to making changes that will influence our lives in a positive way. Take our beautiful city and its water front. We need to once again look to the lagoon as our source of revenue, as it once was. The opportunity is there we just need to explore our options and make plans in this new year to do so.

OAK HILL -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office took a report of burglary at 106 West Loop involving the break-in of a shed on the property sometime between Oct. 13 and Wednesday when th report was made.

The property owner didn't have an accounting as to whether anything was actually taken, a Sheriff's deputy noted.

OAK HILL -- A 5-acre brush fire was extinguished tonight after an alert motorist on Interstate 95 alerted authorities with a 9-1-1 call.

"The passerby who was southbound on I-95 near Maytown Road saw smoke and a glow," Volusia County Sheriff's Sgt. Ted Richard said of the 9:48 p.m. Sunday fire.

Firefighters from the county, Edgewater and the state Forestry Service responded and put the fire out. Traffic on I-95 was not impeded.

OAK HILL -- This little city, famous for Mosquito Lagoon and more recently the demise of its police force, has a connection to Super Bowl lore. It's the winter home of Miami Dolphins great Larry Csonka.

By LINDA C. HYATT

OAK HILL -- The New Year is a time to reflect on actions of the past and corrections in the future. I don't make resolutions because I always break them by February, but I am looking forward to positive happenings in Oak Hill in 2012.

We have obtained a grant that will provide needed repairs to homes in the city and in turn will provide jobs for contractors and workers in the building industry. We are listed in Florida Trails and Scenic Byways, which should intice hikers and bikers to pass through our city and maybe spend a little money here.

DELTONA -- A 21-month-old toddler drowned in a small backyard swimming pool early Monday evening in Deltona, a Volusia County spokesman said. The little girl became the eighth child under 4 to die so far this year in Volusia County as a result of a pool drowning.

Sheriff’s deputies and rescue crews with the Deltona Fire Department and EVAC ambulance were dispatched to a residence on Apricot Drive at 7:39 p.m. That’s where a family member brought the unresponsive child -- Rocio Vazquez Naranjo -- seeking help.

"The child’s mother, father and an older sibling were home at the time and didn’t realize that the little girl had wandered off," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "The family searched their home and found Rocio in the pool. They pulled the girl out of the water and brought her down the street to a house where the resident knew CPR."

That resident tried to revive the child until paramedics arrived a few minutes later to take over, Davidson said, but they were unable to revive her en route to Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City.

"Medical personnel were unable to resuscitate her," the Sheriff's spokesman said. "She was pronounced dead at 8:30 p.m. The incident is under investigation by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office."

OAK HILL -- There are no working sergeants left under the command of embattled Police Chief Diane Young, the latest abruptly resigning over the weekend citing work-related stress from the "constant scandals and rumors" in the department.

The first to go was Sgt. Mike Ihnken, first demoted and then fired outright in March. Two days later, Sgt. Manuel Perez was suspended with pay. The third to go was Sgt. Brian Riley who resigned Saturday.

His departure means Oak Hill has no sergeants and only Young as a supervisor. Between suspensions, and the recent resignation of a new officer as well as a third cop unable to work due to injury, Oak Hill has only three able-bodied cops and Young available to patrol the city 24/7.

NSBNews.net was denied Riley's letter of resignation by Chief Young and City Clerk/Administrator Laura Goodearly with stone-walling throughout the day Monday, which continued well into the 6 p.m. City Commission meeting.