Pearl River Patch opens 2013 with a look back at 2012, specifically the stories that drew the most readers over the past year.
The top 10 are listed in reverse order. They include tragedy and vandalism, but also a dream wedding and pizza.
10) Orangetown Police Arrest Two PRHS Students for Vandalism of School (June 13)
Two Pearl River High School students were arrested in relation to the vandalism of the high school June 8.
9) Poll: Best Pizza in Nanuet and Pearl River (Feb. 20)
This poll just to narrow down to the top six pizza places in Pearl River and Nanuet got 1,597 votes. Raffaele's Pizzeria in Pearl River eventually won.
8) Voting Begins For Dream Wedding Contest Today (Jan. 20)
The story of Kevin Houston and Eileen Bellew taking part in a contest to win a dream wedding in Hawaii made the list twice, including this reminder that Jan. 20 was the first day of voting. We even had 638 people respond to a poll asking readers if they were going to vote for Houston and Bellew. Only 16 responded with a no.
7) Teen Dies In Fall From Palisades Cliff In Fort Lee (June 9)
Rescuers found a 16-year-old boy from Fort Lee who fell off a cliff in Palisades Interstate Park near the George Washington Bridge, but he had already died from injuries suffered in the fall.
6) (Jan. 17)
This was the first mention of Bellew and Houston participating in Live's Hawaiian Dream Wedding Giveaway, a story which captured the attention of the Pearl River community. The couple would go on to win the contest.
5) Pearl River Student Thomas Scognamiglio Passes Away (Oct. 17)
Pearl River High School junior Thomas Scognamiglio, 16, died after a long battle with Osteosarcoma, a cancerous bone tumor.
4) (April 17)
Police officers from four agencies were called in to break up a brawl involving more than 100 students at Dominican College.
3) Pearl River Man Killed By Tree; Family Injured (Oct. 29)
The second tragic death to strike Pearl River in October, retired police officer Jeff Chanin was killed when a tree fell on his home.
2) Pearl River Superintendent Addresses Issues Related to Connecticut Shooting (Dec. 16)
Pearl River School District Superintendent Dr. John Morgano sent a letter out to the community a day after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.
1) (Nov. 17)
James Schroeter, 24, of Pearl River was arrested for making harrassing phone calls to two synagogues and Rockland County's Jewish Community Center.
