By Tiffanie Reynolds
Staff Writer

Even as the United States was reported as the worst industrialized country for infant deaths, recent efforts in Osceola County have started to see those numbers drop locally.

By Fallan Patterson
For the News-Gazette

Just in time for her 27th birthday and Mother’s Day, Shannon Franklin found her biological mother.

With few clues, particularly a sonogram where her biological mother’s name was barely visible through someone’s attempt to scratch it out with pen, Franklin, of St. Cloud, was hopeful someone would end her quest but never thought it would happen so quickly.

The St. Cloud Police Department’s Investigative Services Division conducted Operation Summer Sweep on Friday in an attempt to combat illegal narcotic activity within the city limits.

Firefighters with Kissimmee's Station 11 stand at attention as the funeral procession for Lt. Bill Manning passed by Tuesday afternoon.

By Ken Jackson

Staff Writer

Lt. William Arthur “Bill” Manning was “a firefighter’s firefighter,” and will be missed, Acting Kissimmee Fire Chief Jeremy Donovan said.

And not just by Kissimmee Fire Department Station 11, for which he served for nearly 12 years. That was made clear today by the appearance of two dozen other fire departments and rescue squads who sent representatives to honor him and his unit following his funeral service at the Silver Spurs Arena.

The city of Kissimmee Fire Department has announced arrangements for fallen firefighter Lt. William Manning.

The Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating a crash from Sunday on eastbound Cypress Parkway that left the driver and passenger dead.