{"id":59311,"date":"2015-01-01T06:45:37","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T14:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=59311"},"modified":"2019-02-07T14:24:55","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T22:24:55","slug":"inspiring-stories-of-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2015\/01\/01\/inspiring-stories-of-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspiring stories of 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Inspire<\/a><\/p>\n

The pillowcase rapist\u2019s release to Lake Los Angeles<\/a>, the infamous \u201cgang candidate<\/a>\u201d campaign hit mailer, and a murder conviction<\/a> for a killing by dogs were three high-profile stories that put the Antelope Valley in the national news for all the wrong reasons in 2014.<\/p>\n

Take a look at some local residents whose personal accomplishments grabbed headlines outside the Antelope Valley in 2014 — for all the right reasons.\u00a0<\/em> In the process, they helped to raise the Valley\u2019s profile on a national stage.<\/p>\n

\"Highland<\/a>
Highland High School graduate DeShawn Shead became a Super Bowl Champion as a member of the Seattle Seahawks in February 2014. A month later, Shead was presented with a proclamation declaring March 6 as \u201cDeShawn Shead Day\u201d in Palmdale. [Read the story here.<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Air<\/a>
Air Force Senior Airman and Lancaster school teacher Veronica Lemus was named the 2014 Dickies American Hero of the Year. The Dickies American Hero of the Year campaign shines a spotlight on military members and their families, who continually make personal sacrifices for the betterment of our country. Lemus won $25,000. [Read the story here<\/a>.]<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Erin<\/a>
Erin Campbell, the general manager of Nadia Cakes in Palmdale, won the Holiday Baking Championship on the Food Network in Dec. 2014, taking home $50,000 in winnings as the network\u2019s first champion from the Antelope Valley. [Read the story here<\/a>.]<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"In<\/a>
In September 2014, this photo of 2-year-old Jordyn was chosen from more than 2,000 photo submissions from around the country for a special video presentation on a jumbo screen in the heart of Times Square. The video highlighted the Lancaster toddler and other children, teens and adults with Down syndrome as part\u00a0 of an effort to promote their achievements and acceptance. The story was our most-viewed positive news story in 2014. [Read it here<\/a>.]<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Capt.<\/a>
Capt. Eric Koenig of Edwards Air Force Base, a dentist by day and writer by night, saw his goals become reality on Veterans Day 2014, when Paramount Pictures purchased his screenplay. Koenig\u2019s \u201cMatriarch\u201d could be on the big screen within the next few years. [Read the story her<\/a>e.] (U.S. Air Force photo by Rebecca Amber)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Maj.<\/a>
Maj. Kevin Van Stone made the local news in March 2014, when he surprised his son at Meadowlark Elementary in Acton after a long deployment. He made national news about four months later, when he won $100,000 during The Price is Right game show\u2019s Fourth of July \u201cSalute to the Troops.\u201d [Read the story here<\/a>.]<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"In<\/a>
In September 2014, the Lancaster JetHawks captured the 2014 California League championship. The victory marked the second title in the franchise\u2019s 19-year history and the first since the team\u2019s first crown in 2012. [Read the story here<\/a>.] (Photo courtesy Jethawks)<\/figcaption><\/figure>–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pillowcase rapist\u2019s release to Lake Los Angeles, the infamous \u201cgang candidate\u201d campaign hit mailer, and a murder conviction for a killing by dogs were three high-profile stories that put the Antelope Valley in the national news for all the wrong reasons in 2014. Take a look at some local residents whose personal accomplishments grabbed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":59324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1492],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}