Politics & Government

Year in Review: 2012

A look at the top stories that made headlines in 2012.

2012 was a busy year in Doylestown. A gunman held legions of police at bay in Doylestown Township on Father's Day, a Doylestown great-grandmother testified in the lawsuit against the state's controversial voter ID law and Hurricane Sandy closed school for a week and left most of Bucks County without power for days.

Here's a look at some of the top stories that made headlines on Doylestown Patch in 2012:

  • Gunman Surrenders After 10-Hour Armed Standoff in Doylestown

An off-duty cop holed up in his estranged wife's Doylestown Township home on Father's Day and held authorities off for hours, while shooting at police. Richard Klementovich eventually surrendered and remains in the Bucks County Prison awaiting trial in 2013.

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Naked, screaming and bloody from injuries sustained after he jumped out a second-story window, a Buckingham native and CB East graduate was arrested in September in northern Pennsylvania after attacking a woman and gnawing on her head. Richard Cimino Jr., 20, faces multiple charges in connection with the attack, which occurred in the town of Hawley, population 1,200.

  • Girl Killed in Thanksgiving Eve Crash in Doylestown

The Doylestown community was left reeling after 9-year-old Holly Huynh, a student at Groveland Elementary, was killed in a high-speed crash on the Rt. 611 Bypass on the night before Thanksgiving. Drew Bodden, the driver of the car that struck the car Huynh was in, has been charged with third-degree murder in connection with the crash. Prosecutors say he was rocketing up the bypass at at least 142 miles an hour when he hit the car driven by Holly's grandmother, Suzanne Berry, who also was severely injured in the crash.

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  • Teens Cited for Drawing Chalk Pictures

Connor Logan, 18, and his 17-year-old buddy drew a whale and some sea turtles on a Doylestown street with chalk at midnight, a stunt that ended with citations for criminal mischief. The police dropped the charges after a public backlash.

  • Student Found Dead At Delaware Valley College

The small college community mourned the sudden death of a bright, promising young woman who loved animals. Gabrielle Hillman, 21, was found dead in her dorm room on the Del Val campus by her roommate on Oct. 8. Authorities said her death was not due to foul play or suicide; the Bucks County Coroner's office was awaiting test results and still has not issued a public ruling on the cause of Hillman's death.

  • Blogging Teacher May Be Out of a Job

Few people were surprised when the Central Bucks School District moved to fire CB East English teacher Natalie Munroe, whose negative comments on her blog about her students, their parents and even her colleagues set off a national firestorm in 2011. Though reinstated to the classroom for a year, Munroe was eventually fired after the school district claimed she had received unsatisfactory ratings during performance reviews. Munroe has sued the district over her termination.

  • Demonstrators Crash Romney Appearance [VIDEO]

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney planned a stop in Bucks County, but when busloads of protesters showed up at the designated spot, Romney cancelled the stop.

  • Crash Kills Doylestown-Area Man

Friends and family mourned the loss of Justin Pray, 28, who was killed when his car crashed into a utility pole on Rt. 413 on Nov. 30. 

  • Doylestown Great-Grandmother to Continue Fight Against Voter ID Law

Joyce Block, 90, testified as part of the lawsuit against Pennsylvania's controversial Voter ID law. A judge put implementation of the law on hold before the presidential election.

  • PHOTOS: Hurricane Sandy in Central Bucks County

Hurricane Sandy toppled trees across Central Bucks, leaving a swath of destruction in her wake. At the height of the aftermath, hundreds of thousands of people across the county were without power. Central Bucks schools ended up being closed for a full week; even after power was restored to all district buildings, buses couldn't get through their routes because of all the downed trees.


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