Ten Most Read Stories of 2011

It's been a busy year in River Edge and Oradell so with 2011 coming to a close in a week, we decided to look back at some of the most popular stories over the past 12 months.

January was a rough month for the when they lost of a heart attack. Pellettere died just outside ' building on Continental Avenue after missing his fellow volunteers to respond to a call. Fellow firefighters and ambulance squads came from as close as Westwood and New Milford and as far as Jersey City and Moonachie to .

Even though the borough of Oradell held its reorganization meeting in January to swear in new council members, a whole month passed before the issue of appointing a new borough attorney was resolved. was appointed to replace Oradell resident Andrew Oddo. The decision by the council led to former filing a lawsuit and notice to show cause in Bergen County Superior Court based on the timing of the appointment. The resolution to approve Giblin's appointment was later to conform with state guidlines and subsequently by Bergen County Superior Court Judge Joseph Conte.

By March, the River Edge council introduced a   which was balanced under a 2% state mandated levy cap by . At the same time homeowners were hit with a $234 increase so that the borough could pay off approximately $482,000 in the deferral of pension payment early and avoid $300,000 of interest following the state's 15 year maturity schedule.

April was a tough month for the River Edge Board of Education who watched their $13.1 million budget  by 1,790 (against) to 1,482 (in favor) votes. At the same time, voters also to change the funding formula by an overall tally 3,515 to 2,498.

The defeated school budget dragged into May when residents spoke out at a and requesting that the budget not be cut as it maintained all services and was under the 2% state mandated levy cap. The governing body later agreed to .

June brought around commencement ceremoies for students from  at Felician College in Lodi and .

Then in July, , 44, of Elizabeth Street in River Edge was arrested on charges she sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy. She was charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, both second-degree crimes

August brought to the two boroughs and throughout town and some flooding near the Hackensack Water Works in Oradell and the Van Steuben Arms apartments in River Edge.

While many were returning to school in September, the watched as Chief Tom Cariddi took a pending an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. Cariddi was supposedly involved in a domestic violence incident but due to the nature of the investigation, no information has been released to the public.

Leading up election season, mayoral and council candidates in River Edge attended a  at . The hour-long debate included topics such as the River Dell funding fight with Oradell, the use of  for DPW salaries, the , the continuing increase in taxes and revitalizing the downtown area.

Voters in River Edge came out in November to push for change on the governing body and in a in town went to Sandy Moscaritolo by a slim margin of 50 votes. Moscaritolo garnered 1,340 votes over incumbent Mayor Margaret Watkins with 1,290. Joining Moscaritolo on the dais in 2012 will be Democrat council-elects Kathleeny Murphy and Thomas Papaleo.

December brought the end of high school football with a pair of losses: while .