2011 in Review: The Year's Top Stories Part 1

In this final week of 2011, West Hartford Patch is looking back at the stories that were read most often during the year.

The first full year of West Hartford Patch has been a busy one, with over 2,500 articles published on topics that included crime, sports, schools, business, elections, and crazy weather.

These stories touched everyone’s lives in different ways and left impressions that won’t soon be forgotten.

Over the next four days, we will take a look back at some of the most read and most talked about stories of 2011.

Here's the first installment. We'd love to hear what you consider the top stories of the year.

A look back at this article certaintly proves that sometimes a picture is worth more than words. The morning after the devastating October 29 snowstorm, most of us awoke (if we managed to sleep at all through the sound of cracking limbs), to a town without power, and a scene that will not soon be forgotten. Most of us couldn't travel very far from our homes due to roads blocked by a tangle of wires and tree limbs, but these photos taken the "morning after" provide a glimpse of surreal scenes that were repeated all over town.

This year made history for being the wettest year on record, and some of the rain that fell did so very quickly – in torrential storms that overwhelmed the town's drainage system and flooded roads and basements all over town. The rain the morning of Sept. 8 caught many by surprise, as roads turned into lakes and a short trip to school turned into a marathon for many students.

Year-after-year, the Warshauers of 115 N. Main St. have been putting together one of the most innovative Halloween displays in town. The scoop on this year's display, a Civil War battle scene with a modern message, was one of the most popular stories of 2011.

This tribute to 10-year-old West Hartford resident Connor Sorensen, who died tragically on June 30 in a tubing accident on the White River in Vermont, included a touching letter from Connor's baseball coach, Matt Celio.

In a week that was already highlighted by an unprecedented storm and power outage, and a fatal house fire as well as another devastating fire, the news of Suzete Berrincha murder was horrifying. Berrincha was stabbed several times Thursday afternoon at her home at 60 Westphal St., allegedly by her former boyfriend, . Grant made a brief appearance in court in early December, and is still being held on $2 million bond.

Click on the links to read the original story.