Patch Picks: Top Stories So Far in 2012

We’ve reached the halfway point of 2012 and what a busy six months in news it’s been.

Readers vote with their clicks, and police news always proves popular on Gloucester Township Patch. But in the past six months, it’s the more unusual criminal incidents, including the arrest of a township officer for drug charges and the stolen air conditioners at Gloucester Township’s Goddard School, that ranked among the most-read.

Here are the 10 most-read stories on Gloucester Township Patch for the first half of 2012:

10. Police Chief: 'I Am Angered' by Officer's Alleged On-Duty Drug Buy

After an officer among his ranks was arrested on drug charges (see #3), Gloucester Township’s police chief expressed his disappointment over the case. The officer “abused his position of trust by violating the very laws he swore to uphold and defend as a Gloucester Township Police officer,” Chief W. Harry Earle said. Originally published April 5

9. Township Rakes in Red-Light Camera Revenue

Drivers busting through red lights brought in a cool $2.5 million to Gloucester Township over an 18-month period. Readers took to the comments to debate the cameras—safety tool or sheer money-maker? FYI, Gloucester Township forced to shut down amid timing problems. Originally published Feb. 18

8.

Our eighth most-read story isn’t a story at all, but our standing Pics & Clips gallery. This is a place for readers to upload photos and videos from around town. Shameless plug: We love when you add more pictures, so share away. Don’t forget to fill out the caption info to tell us who is in the shot. Originally published April 8

7. VIDEO: Public Works Director, Resident Nearly Come to Blows During Council Meeting

It was a pretty quiet Gloucester Township Council meeting—until a resident and the public works director got into it over a comment about sports field trash cans. The video of the confrontation proved popular with readers. Originally published April 25

6. Prosecutor: Four Ounces of Cocaine Recovered from Sicklerville Home

A coordinated raid uncovered plenty of cocaine, heroin and some guns in March. Among those nabbed was a 26-year-old Sicklerville man, who was hit with cocaine and heroin charges and jailed on $300,000 bail. Originally published March 2

5. Report: Council Meeting Blowup Gets Public Works Director 2-Day Suspension

The fallout from the public works director’s fight with a resident was fairly swift: He was hit with a suspension from work, a move most of the voters in our unscientific poll deemed too lenient. Originally published April 30

4. Winning Mega Millions Ticket Sold in Sicklerville

Lotto fever was running high earlier this year when the Mega Millions reached historic highs. No one in New Jersey took the jackpot, but a Sicklerville shop did sell a $10,000 winner. Not a bad chunk of change. Originally published April 4

3. GTPD Officer Thomas Eden Jr. Charged with Drug, Weapon Offenses

A Gloucester Township patrolman was in uniform when he purchased prescription pills from a police informant. Police had received a tip that Eden was buying prescription drugs illegally, leading to the bust. Originally published April 4

2.

This story came from over our borders, but certainly grabbed readers’ attention. A Cherry Hill dad, frustrated that he wasn’t getting answers from the school district, took his YouTube video public. The video features audio clips of a teacher allegedly bullying an autistic boy. Originally published April 29

1. UPDATE: Goddard School Forced to Close When A/C Units Stolen

This one was a real bummer for the 90 kids sent home on a steaming hot day after thieves dismantled Goddard School’s air conditioning units. The school got the A/C back up after one day. Our parent company, AOL, picked up this story, helping to shoot it to the most-read story so far in 2012.

Thanks for reading Gloucester Patch and here’s to a newsy second half of 2012. If you ever have any story ideas or tips, please contact local editor Sean McCullen at sean.mccullen@patch.com—yours might be the next big story on Patch.