It's hard to believe it's already been a year since Berkeley Patch made its debut on Dec. 9, 2010.

We pledged back then to be your online news source and community gathering place for all things Berkeley. And that pledge hasn't changed. We hope you think we've succeeded. It's been quite a ride so far!

We've been there at Township Council meetings, school board meetings, football games, the 9/11 memorial and breaking news stories. We've written about the good, the bad and the ugly.

And while political and crime stories get their share of hits on the site, so do the stories about the people of Berkeley Township. Tom and JoAnn Meehan of Holiday Heights shared their poignant story of losing their daughter Colleen in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They also helped bring a piece of Twin Towers steel to Berkeley.

We followed the Moore family of Moore's Farm Market in Bayville, as they struggled with the loss of several family members in just a few years. We interviewed George, Scott and Mildred Moore for the Berkeley Patch's debut business story last December. They pledged then to keep the business going. Just six months later, George was gone too. Here's hoping that Scott, the youngest sibling, can keep the nearly 60-year-old business going for many years to come.

Berkeley Township had some other losses too. Don Marshall, longtime commander of the Berkeley V.F.W. Post 9503, died suddenly. So did former Berkeley Township Police Capt. David W. Hardie, and Bayville resident Peter W. "Route 9 Pete" Coppola. Eighteen-year-old Ryan Worrall drowned in Barnegat Bay, just two days after his graduation from Central Regional High School.

It's been my privilege to cover this town and the people who live here. I love this town. I've lived in Bayville for 21 years. It's my home.

All of the more than 800 Patch sites around the country are "hyperlocal." That means devoted primarily to one town. And we at Berkeley Patch are devoted to Berkeley Township.

Thank you for your support, your news tips, e-mails and your comments. Keep them coming!

Here's our choices for the Top Ten stories from the Berkeley Patch's debut year. Feel free to agree or disagree.

1. Amato, Republicans Sweep General Election

Longtime Democratic Mayor Jason J. Varano and Republican Township Councilman Carmen F. Amato Jr. both pledged to run positive campaigns after the June primary election. And they kept things fairly civil for a long time, until the last few weeks of the election, when things turned nasty.

In the end, Carmen Amato won a narrow victory, with just 248 votes more than Varano, who was seeking his fourth term. The big surprise in the 2011 general election was the Republicans' decisive wins for the three at-large Township Council seats. John Bacchione, Thomas Grosse and Robert Ray all won their first terms by wide margins over their Democratic challengers.

Expect some changes in Town Hall over the coming months. Longtime Township Administrator Leonard W. Roeber could see the writing on the wall. He will resign effective Dec. 31. Township Attorney Patrick Sheehan is also out. And chances are  will be also. Professional staff changes are routine when a new administration comes in.

Jason Varano was only 26 when he was appointed mayor after former Democratic Mayor Bill Zimmermann Jr. died suddenly in 1999. Varano, now 39, will have to adjust to a non-political life, at least for now.

2. He's Gone, He's Back!

Berkeley schools Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari returned to the district in April, after a two-year absence. A previous school board declined to renew his contract back in 2008, a move Vicari claims was political. He left the district back in 2009, when his contract expired. But the political make-up of the supposedly non-political school board changed and some board members convinced him to come back. Vicari offered to work for free, but state law requires that certified school administrators be paid a minimum salary of $18,500. 

But he won't be here much longer. Vicari lashed out at the politics in town and told the board to start looking for a new superintendent. He intends to step down before the April school board elections.

3. Weinlein Out, DiMichele In

It was no secret over the past year that longtime John C. Weinlein III planned to retire. When he announced in July he would step down, Varano moved quickly to tap Karin T. DiMichele as the township's next police chief in early August. The Republican majority of the Township Council moved just as quickly to adopt an ordinance that would require more input from the council when it's time to select the next police chief. DiMichele - who scored first on the chief's test not only in the township but in the state - had a swift baptism on the job. In her first month she coped with an earthquake and a hurricane.

4. Revaluation Repercussions

Revaluation. It's not a four-letter word. But it might as well have been one in Berkeley Township in 2011. It was the first full year residents felt the impact of the 2010 revaluation, the township's first in 20 years. Property assessments soared on the oceanfront and bayfront sections and dropped in some sections of the mainland, particularly the senior communities. The reval spawned the creation of the Berkeley Township Taxpayers Coalition. BTTC members hammered Varano and the Township Council over the way Certified Valuations Inc. performed the procedure. The council voted to hire several outside consultants to review the accuracy of the revaluations, determine if it was performed properly and if the contract was violated. Stay tuned.

5. School Budget Wars and Woes

Taxpayers here carried on a time-honored tradition and voted down budgets in both the Central Regional and Berkeley Township districts.  The Central Regional budget went down by 106 votes. Voters nixed the Berkeley Township School District budget, even though there was no increase in the amount to be raised by taxation. The defeats lead to layoffs and program cuts. It also lead to vituperative exchanges between some Central board members and Seaside Park officials, who orginally demanded $3 million be cut from the defeated budget. In the end, the Central Regional board voted "with disgust" to approve $859,000 in cuts. 

6. An inexplicable tragedy in Pine Beach

The call to police came shortly before the Pine Beach Elementary School opened on Feb. 2. A car had slammed into the east brick wall of the elementary school. Inside the 2011 Hyundai Accent were the driver, 20-year-old Matthew Budesa, son of Councilman Robert Budesa, Kimberly Van Gorden, 20, and Matthew Witzgall, 21. They all died at the scene. None of the three wore seat belts. There were no skid marks. The impact of the crash tore a 6 by 6 foot hole in the brick wall of the school's media center. The accident shocked this close-knit, small town on the Toms River and left unanswered questions that still persist.

7. A Drowning on Barnegat Bay

Two recent Central Regional High School graduates took a canoe out in the early morning darkness on June 10 and slipped into the waters of Barnegat Bay. Something happened out there that night and only Trevor Murphy made it back to shore. Eighteen-year-old Ryan Worrall did not. An off-duty State Police officer on a Jet-Ski found his body floating in the water off Amherst Beach at 5 p.m. that afternoon. Murphy apparently never notified authorities that anything had happened. State Police charged him with leaving the scene of a fatal boat accident and failure to report a boating accident. Murphy pleaded not guilty to the charges this fall. He goes on trial on Dec. 14 in Berkeley Township Municipal Court.

8. Major improvements at Central Regional High School, thanks to narrow approval of January referendum

The $5.2 million Central Regional referendum squeaked through by only 18 votes, but it was enough to make major repairs aging sections of the 98-acre high school campus on Forest Hills Parkway. Roofs on the oldest sections of what Superintendent Triantafillos "Tom" Parlanpanides calls "the biggest ranch house in Ocean County" were completed. The original single-pane windows were replaced. The campus was hooked up to city water, the school drop-off was reconfigured and cracked parking lots and pavement were repaired. 

9. Central goes solar: "Dr. P." gets five more years

Central Regional went solar in the fall, when three arrays of more than 6,000 land-based panels started producing between 80 to 90 percent of the district's electricity needs. The $10 million project cost the district nothing and was part of a power purchase agreement with BlueSky Power. The Central Regional school board also unanimously approved a new five-year contrat for the popular Parlapanides.

10. Snowbound

Resident and the township Public Works Department reeled from a bombardment of snowstorms between December and February. The Dec. 26 storm meet the meteorological requirements for a blizzard, with heavy snow, high winds, massive drifts and frigid temperatures. Between 25 to 30 inches fell, depending on where you lived in the township. Motorists who didn't head the state of emergency warning soon became bogged down and simply abandoned their cars.

Do you agree with our Top Ten choices? Let us know if the comments section.