When a Largo Woman's Car Was Sinking, a Hero Responded

Dan Isabelle is credited with pulling a Largo woman to safety after her car crashed into a pond last week.

Editor's note: This story originally ran in September 2012. We're putting it in the spotlight again to highlight the accomplishments one person can make.   On the afternoon of Sept. 14, Dan Isabelle, 46, of Palm Harbor, and his son Daniel Jr., 13, encountered a sinking car. They were driving south on Belcher road in Dunedin, headed to the Westfield Countryside Mall, when they saw a car plunge into a nearby pond. "There was a car up in the air and plunging right into the water and a huge splash. I was like, 'Oh, my God!' " said Dan Isabelle, who thinks the 1992 Honda Accord traveled airborne for about 10 to 15 feet. Isabelle parked his truck and threw his phone to his son and said, "Call 911!" He went into the water fully clothed, not even …

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Legendary Florida Highwaymen to Visit Area

Two of the legendary Florida Highwaymen — Isaac Knight and R. A. “Roy” McLendon —are visiting Dunedin's Stirling Art Studios & Gallery on Jan. 19 to talk to the public about their paintings.

Two of Florida's living art legends are visiting Dunedin while their work is on public display. The work on display includes the collection of Don Ball of Largo. Isaac Knight and R. A. “Roy” McLendon, two of the legendary Florida Highwaymen, are set to visit Stirling Art Studios & Gallery in Dunedin on Saturday, Jan. 19. Knight and McLendon were part of a group of 26 self-taught black landscape artists who made a living selling paintings door to door in the Fort Pierce area during the mid-1950s to '80s.  Both artists are available to share stories and talk about their paintings from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Their work is among several pieces on display in a combined exhibit "On The Road: Highwaymen from Three Collectors" featuring the collections…

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Toronto Blue Jays Pick Up Seminole High Grad Wilson From Los Angeles Angels

The Toronto Blue Jays announced Monday that they're picking up catcher and Dunedin native Bobby Wilson from the Los Angeles Angels off of waivers.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced Monday that they picked up catcher Bobby Wilson from the Los Angeles Angels.  Wilson, 29, is a Seminole High School graduate and Dunedin native drafted by the Angels in 2002. He made his Major League Baseball debut with the Angels in 2008 and spent the past two years as the organization's No. 2 catcher, according to the Los Angeles Times.  "I don't know what to think of it, but it's time to move forward," he told Mike DiGiovanna, a reporter for the Times. Wilson appeared in 75 games for the Angels last season, according to news release from the Blue Jays. Last season, he hit .211 with five doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs and threw out 25 percent of would-be base stealers, or 15 out of 60. The right-…

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Deputies Continue Search for Hit and Run Vehicle Door-By-Door

The investigation to find the suspect's vehicle in a Seminole hit and run, which left a Dunedin woman seriously hurt, continued Friday afternoon.

Deputies Search for Hit and Run Vehicle Door-By-Door

The investigation to find the suspect's vehicle in a Seminole hit and run, which left a Dunedin woman seriously hurt, continued Friday afternoon.

Detectives continued to search Oct. 12 for a suspect's vehicle around the Seminole neighborhood where a Dunedin woman was injured in a hit and run Wednesday afternoon. Barbara Gaymore, 76, of Dunedin, was walking with a blue suitcase on Wednesday on Starkey Road just north of Park Boulevard in Seminole near the Perkins Restaurant, said Pinellas County Sheriff spokeswoman Cecelia Barreda. Gaymore was "seriously hurt" with mutiple fractures and a head injury, Barreda said. On Friday afternoon, detectives from the Major Accident Investigation Team canvassed the neighborhood east of Starkey Road, near where a school crossing guard saw the suspect vehicle turn, Barreda said. The detectives planned to go door-to-door with a flyer, which showed …

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Largo Teen Idol Ousted From 'The Voice'

Teen singer Nathalie Hernandez of Dunedin didn't advance on NBC's reality singing competition.

Largo Teen Idol Nathalie Hernandez's time on reality singing competition "The Voice" has come to an end. The 15-year-old Dunedin High student lost in Tuesday night's "battle round" competition against a 24-year-old singer named Aquile on the NBC show. The two, who were both members of the team led by celebrity judge Christina Aguilera, sang a duet of the James Morrison song "You Give Me Something." (Watch: Hernandez performs in the battle round competition) The other judges said they were amazed by Hernandez's performance and poise. "Imagine being 15 years old and being on that stage singing in a battle round against Aquile with cameras and lights and us four sitting here," country crooner Blake Shelton said. "It's amazing, you're so good …

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Sheriff Seeks Community's Assistance in Identifying Driver in Hit-and-Run

A Dunedin pedestrian was hit and seriously injured in Seminole Wednesday afternoon, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office needs the public's help locating a truck, which reportedly hit a Dunedin woman in Seminole Wednesday. Authorities released Thursday morning an image of the truck from a PSTA bus camera that was in the area at the time of the crash. The vehicle is described as a white, small late model pick-up truck. The truck may have a chrome rear bumper and may be an American-made vehicle. Deputies say the vehicle may possibly be a white Ford Ranger with an extended cab. The truck is believed to have front right side damage, according to a news release. Barbara Gaymore, 76, of Dunedin was walking with a blue suitcase on Wednesday on Starkey Road just north of Park Boulevard in Seminole. Deputies say the blue suitcase …

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Largo Teen Idol Wows Judges on NBC's 'The Voice'

Nathalie Hernandez won over the celebrity judges and joined Christina Aguilera's team as she advanced on the reality singing competition Tuesday night.

Former Largo Teen Idol winner Nathalie Hernandez wowed the celebrity judges on NBC's "The Voice" on Monday night, earning a spot on Christina Aguilera's team in the reality singing competition. Hernandez was the first competitor to perform during blind auditions in Monday's episode, and after belting out the first few notes of Taylor Swift's "White Horse," she had Aguilera and fellow celebrity judge Blake Shelton hitting their buzzers and turning around their chairs to signify they wanted the 15-year-old singer to join their teams. The Dunedin teen also won over judge Adam Levine but eventually opted to become one of 15 singers on Aguilera's team, who will advance to the show's next round. "You seem like a natural storyteller," Aguilera …

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Good Samaritan Rescues Largo Woman Who Crashed Into Pond

The 20-year-old driver was pulled out of her car window to safety Thursday before the vehicle sunk into a retention pond at the corner of Belcher Road and Solon Avenue in Dunedin.

A good Samaritan rescued a Largo woman after her car crashed and sank into a retention pond Thursday in Dunedin, deputies said. The driver, 20-year-old Bailey Hartman, was driving south on Belcher Road around 4:45 p.m. Thursday when she was apparently cut off by an unidentified vehicle that made a U-turn in front of her, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office reports. Hartman swerved to avoid a collision but lost control of her 1992 Honda Accord, crashing into a pond at the corner of Belcher and Solon Avenue. Palm Harbor resident Joseph Daniel Isabelle, 46, who was driving by and witnessed the crash, immediately pulled over, took off his shirt, set aside his cell phone and jumped into the water, deputies said. Isabelle helped Hartman escape …

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Pinellas-Based Telemarketing Scam Was Far Reaching

How did a Largo woman and others in Florida and Ohio allegedly bilk elderly people across the country out of millions of dollars?

A recent Tampa Bay Times story outlines a far-reaching telemarketing scam that was based out of a Dunedin home and allegedly stole millions of dollars from elderly people across the country. Ted Thomas and his wife, Kara, are accused of operating the scam out of their Ridgecrest Drive home. The Times details how neighbors' suspicions were aroused when Ted Thomas reportedly once dropped a briefcase full of stacks of cash in the driveway. Thomas, 32, is among 18 people in Florida and Ohio accused of operating three companies that targeted property owners of inexpensive, vacant land throughout the U.S. Telemarketers led property owners to believe that their land was worth up to 15 times its assessed value, according to the Ohio Attorney …

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