From big stories to bizarre crimes, get a look at the year that was -- all in one spot.
It's the time of the season to take stock of the year that was and look forward to the year ahead.
Take one last look at the stories and photos that captivated us in 2015.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: YEAR IN REVIEW 2015
SPORTS
ENTERTAINMENT
Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.
Four North Hunterdon and Belvidere girls soccer players were selected as first-team all-stars this season by the Skyland Conference coaches.
Four North Hunterdon and Belvidere girls soccer players were selected as first-team all-stars this season by the Skyland Conference coaches.
Nina Bussanich, Sam Santamaria, Heather Tostevin and Madeline Wolf all represented North Hunterdon on the Skyland Conference All-Raritan Division first team.
Belvidere's Adrienne Amey, Blair Hoffmaster, Mackenzie Schanzlin and Allison Stahl all made the Skyland Conference All-Mountain Division first team.
Phillipsburg and Warren Hills each had three first-team all-stars.
The Stateliners' first-team selections on the Raritan Division team were Sydney Solimani, Erin Gardner and Emily Crosby-Piszczek.
The Blue Streaks had Kaeleigh Guth, Katelyn Lauziere and Kendall Koch on the All-Valley Division first team.
Voorhees' Sydney Ziemba and Delaware Valley's Ava Boethig also made the All-Valley Division first team.
Find the first and second all-star teams for all the Skyland Conference divisions below:
ALL-RARITAN DIVISION
First Team
Ally Grunstein, Watchung Hills
Nicole Parisi, Watchung Hills
Melanie Chuna, Watchung Hills
Nina Bussanich, North Hunterdon
Sam Santamaria, North Hunterdon
Heather Tostevin, North Hunterdon
Kim Chavkin, Franklin
Arriyonna Wright, Franklin
Sydney Solimani, Phillipsburg
Erin Gardner, Phillipsburg
Madeline Wolf, North Hunterdon
Emily Crosby, Phillipsburg
Breanna Cocuzzo, Montgomery
Second Team
Sarah Strehle, Watchung Hills
Emily Troisis, Montgomery
Helen Studer, Montgomery
Jordan Beneducci, North Hunterdon
Kristina Harrel, North Hunterdon
Rebecca Santana, North Hunterdon
Hayley Steinmetz, Phillipsburg
Summer Thompson, Franklin
Zaya Kuroda-Gauer, Franklin
Olivia Ripnyak, North Hunterdon
ALL-VALLEY DIVISION
First Team
Katie Mulkerin, Immaculata
Alexis Williams, Somerville
Christina Cernuto, Somerville
Marisa Adelman, Somerville
Avery Bolton, Bernards
Emily Maheras, Bernards
Kaeleigh Guth, Warren Hills
Katelyn Lauziere, Warren Hills
Ava Boethig, Delaware Valley
Sydney Ziemba, Voorhees
Cassandra O'Connor, Mount St. Mary
Nicole Sullivan, Bernards
Kendall Koch, Warren Hills
Second Team
Emma Bedell, Mount St. Mary
Alaina Parisella, Mount St. Mary
Haley Vavrek, Voorhees
Lexington Wolf, Voorhees
Elizabeth Bill, Delaware Valley
Ashley O'Toole, Delaware Valley
Rylie Howey, Warren Hills
Kylie Hibbett, Warren Hills
Olivia Markowski, Somerville
Delaney Koddenberg, Somerville
Kate Brito, Bernards
ALL-MOUNTAIN DIVISION
First Team
Adrienne Amey, Belvidere
Blair Hoffmaster, Belvidere
Mackenzie Schanzlin, Belvidere
Allison Stahl, Belvidere
Christine Mayorga, Bound Brook
Lauren Renna, Gill St. Bernard's
Mariana Munoz, Manville
Ashley Atubi, North Plainfield
Caitlin Gugliotta, North Plainfield
Sophie Thellman, Rutgers Prep
Arthie Vaidyanathan, Rutgers Prep
Abbi Garrison, South Hunterdon
Sabrina Perez, North Plainfield
Second Team
Sarah Casterline, Belvidere
Ashley Wiedemann, Belvidere
Alexandra Thiessen, Bound Brook
Ava Diggins, Gill St. Bernard's
Hayley Goldin, Gill St. Bernard's
Nataly Brito, Manville
Victoria Schuyler, Manville
Jasmine Chavez, North Plainfield
Rachel Wisniewski, Rutgers Prep
Charlotte Smith, South Hunterdon
Megan Tomaselli, Bound Brook
ALL-DELAWARE DIVISION
First Team
Erin Convery, Ridge
Chrissy Weyrauch, Ridge
Shannon Keefe, Ridge
Kristen Melebranche, Hillsborough
Carly Swetz, Hillsborough
Hayley Soriano, Bridgewater-Raritan
Jezlyn Jimenez, Bridgewater-Raritan
Maddie Temares, Pingry
Natalia Ramirez, Pingry
Luciana Zullo, Hunterdon Central
Brie Pavol, Hunterdon Central
Sarah Hazard, Hunterdon Central
Samantha Carney, Ridge
Second Team
Julia Lindsey, Ridge
Ally Friedman, Ridge
Lauren Mazich, Hillsborough
Kate Swetz, Hillsborough
Abby Ousouljoglou, Bridgewater-Raritan
Samantha Orecchio, Bridgewater-Raritan
Julia Rotatori, Pingry
Sarah Moseson, Pingry
Mackenzie Mullins, Hunterdon Central
Shaye Seyffart, Hunterdon Central
Bristol Pizzuto, Hunterdon Central
Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
Courtney Morriswas named third-place winner for her "Worker Bees" proposal in the Michael L. Karapetian'97 Entrepreneurship Symposium.
Courtney Morris, of Bangor, was named third-place winner for her "Worker Bees" proposal in the Michael L. Karapetian'97 Entrepreneurship Symposium at Moravian College.
The symposium brought together students, alumni and community members in a forum to explore and discuss the entrepreneurial spirit.
Morris' concept is to create a smart device for children where they are assigned and tracked for completion of chores. Once chores are completed, children are rewarded in points redeemable for experiences at local businesses that they can partake of with their parents, emphasizing the importance of families spending quality time together, while also supporting the local community.
***
Kaitlyn Leonard, of Hampton, was nominated by faculty at Harding University as a 2015-16 Who's Who finalist. Leonard is a nursing major at the Searcy, Ark., university.
***
Ryan Johnson, of Moore Township, was named to the dean's list at Lebanon Valley College. Ryan is a 2015 graduate of Bethlehem Catholic High School.
***
Brooke E. Kocsis, of Phillipsburg, and Anthony A. Sagrestano, of Easton, were named to the dean's list at SUNY Oswego.
***
Warren County Community College is offering a basic EMT course that meets the requirements of the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration's Emergency Medical Technician-Basic: National Standard Curriculum.
Classes will be held for several weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. starting Jan. 12 (through May 19) at the WCCC Phillipsburg Education Center, 445 Marshall St. The cost of the class is $750 plus the textbook costs. For more information visit the website or call 908-689-7613.
The WCCC Continuing Education Department also is launching a new program in February that is intended to help CNA's and EMT's obtain future employment as an ER Technician in an acute care setting. The course starts on Feb. 2 and continues through March 23 during varying daytime hours.
Rehearsals for the spring concert begin this month for the adult group, and next month for the children's chorus.
Rehearsals for the Spring 2016 season of Warren County Community Singers begin 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12, at the First Presbyterian Church of Washington, 40 Church Street, Washington. Registration begins at 7 p.m. The music fee is $55.
WCCS is a nonaudition group open to singers high school age and older. The group sponsors the Children's Chorus of Warren County for children age 8 and up with unchanged voices. Registration for the Children's Chorus begins Feb. 1, and continues every Tuesday in February. The fee for children's music is $25 with adjustments made for more than one child in a family.
The annual Springfest of Song will be held on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1.
WCCS present two concerts per year, in the spring and the first weekend of December. For information, contact, Marilou Tshudy at 908-887-8887.
Anthony Veneziano erupted for 29 points for the Blue Streaks.
Anthony Veneziano erupted for 29 points Wednesday afternoon to pace Warren Hills Regional High School's boys basketball team to a 54-41 win over Newton in the title game of the Madison Dodgers Holiday Tournament.
Johnny Bamford added eight points for the Blue Streaks, who improved to 4-0.
Samir Wheeler scored 14 points to lead Newton (4-1).
Parts of the Lehigh Valley region were under a dense fog advisory Wednesday night ahead of a cool-down to start 2016, the National Weather Service says.
Parts of the Lehigh Valley region are again under a dense fog advisory ahead of a cool-down to start 2016, the National Weather Service says.
The advisory is in place until 6 a.m. Thursday for an area encompassing Northampton and Warren counties, especially near and north of Interstate 80, according to the weather service.
Visibility may drop below a quarter-mile at times, with some relief expected briefly from rain forecast to move through the area Wednesday evening.
"But then it probably will drop below one quarter-mile again toward 3 a.m., after the rain ends," the advisory reads, adding that drivers are urged to slow down and allow extra time to reach their destination.
Dense fog advisory means commuters must be careful
Thursday through the first weekend of 2016, the weather service is forecasting the Lehigh Valley to dry out after several days of rain with highs near 45 Thursday, 40 on New Year's Day, 38 Saturday and 40 Sunday. The normal high this time of year is 37, with a low of 21. Low temperatures forecast for coming days are around 29 Thursday night, 26 Friday night, 28 Saturday night and 25 Sunday night.
A ridge of pressure building in the Pacific Northwest is forecast to buckle the easterly flow of air across the United States, the weather service says.
"As a result, colder air within a northwesterly flow takes takes hold of our area through the weekend into early next week," a weather service forecast discussion states.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Thousands upon thousands of superb snapshots are sitting in photo albums throughout the state just waiting for their chance to be in a gallery; send them in!
In the past year, we've posted 51 galleries of vintage photos from New Jersey.
The topics have ranged from motorcycling to Memorial Day, from festivals to foods. We've looked at supermarkets and street scenes, diners and mansions, weddings and graduations.Over the past few years, we've collected more than 10,000 photos on topics like these, all taken in New Jersey before 1986. But there's something missing. We'd like to see photos you've taken.
There's no doubt that some of the very best photos we've posted in these galleries have come from Instamatics, Poloroids and Canons held and aimed by our readers. Over the years, readers have submitted never-before-published photos of John F. Kennedy, Rin Tin Tin and Frankie Valli as well as wonderful pictures of everyday slices of life.
MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey
Here's a gallery of the photos from this past year's galleries that we, in our humble opinions, felt were the cream of the crop. I'm certain that thousands upon thousands of equally superb snapshots are sitting in photo albums throughout the state just waiting for their chance to be in a gallery. You know the topics we do; in 2016, continue to show us what you've got!
Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.
Many of the top teams from last year are off to good starts so far this season.
The boys swimming/diving season is a few weeks old and some teams are starting to flex their muscles in the pool.
Many of the top teams from last year are off to good starts so far this season.
Click through the gallery at the top of this post for the season's first top 10 rankings.
Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
Jersey Central Power & Light says that by Thursday afternoon, it had power restored to all 74 customers affected by the morning accident on Route 519.
A pickup truck took out a utility pole Thursday morning in Warren County, knocking out power to 74 customers, according to Jersey Central Power & Light.
It was reported about 7:45 a.m. in the 500 block of Hope-Johnsonburg Road (Route 519) in Frelinghuysen Township, near the border with Hope Township.
The driver was alone in the truck and uninjured, according to reports from the scene.
New Jersey State Police at Hope responded but had no information available as of Thursday afternoon on the crash. The Hope Volunteer Fire Department responded, as well, and the Warren County Hazardous Materials Team also was dispatched due to a leak of fluid from an electrical transformer that was atop the pole, reports from the scene indicated.
New Year's Eve 2015: Where to celebrate in the Lehigh Valley
JCP&L restored power to customers in groups, due to the nature of repairs, spokesman Ron Morano said. Most were back on by 10:30 a.m., with the remainder seeing service restored just before 3 p.m., he said.
Freelance photographer Robert Halberstadt contributed to this report.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
An SUV hit 2 utility poles; the driver wasn't badly hurt.
An SUV struck and damaged two utility poles early Friday morning on Route 57 in Washington Township, shutting the two-lane highway between Brass Castle and Little Philadelphia roads.
The driver of the eastbound Saturn Vue was not badly hurt and declined care at the scene.
The crash happened about 6 a.m. at Pleasant Valley Road.
A traffic diversion team was being brought in.
JCP&L did not report a power outage; it appeared the poles carried phone lines.
Township police are investigating.
Freelance photographer Rich Maxwell contributed to this report.
Pickup knocks out power in Frelinghuysen, Hope townships area
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
From a boxer to a hip-hop mogul to a former first lady, all have owned luxurious dwellings in the Garden State.
Follow Inside Jersey on Twitter. Find Inside Jersey on Facebook and Google+
The Nazareth resident who wrestles for Blair Academy's second team won the 113-pound weight class.
Mike Madara may currently be wrestling for Blair Academy’s ‘second’ or ‘B’ team, but there’s absolutely nothing remotely second-class about the Nazareth resident’s skills, technique or approach on the mat, as he proved at the Tony Iaisello/Christmas City Wrestling Tournament at Bethlehem Catholic Wednesday.
Madara, a Buccaneer freshman, defeated highly-touted Golden Hawk freshman Ryan Anderson 3-1 in the 113-pound final.
That was a singularly impressive feat for three reasons.
One, Madara was making his hometown debut had an understandable case of jitters.
“I was a little bit nervous; I didn’t wrestle a great first match here,” said Madara, who is a day student at the Blairstown school. “But Coach (Blair assistant coach C. Willy) Mello told me: ‘I know this your hometown and there are a lot of people you know. But just wrestle the way you are capable of, the way I know you can.’ That settled me down.”
Second, remember, Madara is on Blair’s second team while Anderson is a starter for a top-10 nationally-ranked team. Now, of course, Blair is Blair, a national power for decades, and ranked No. 2 as a team by Intermat, so that the Bucs have depth is not news. But to have a wrestler of Madara’s ability as a backup, wow.
“Our (varsity) 113-pounder is one of my best friends the school, Chris Cannon,” Madara said. “In the beginning of the season I was cutting too much weight trying to wrestle at 106 and I lost my wrestleoff in the last 10 seconds, a soft match. Then (Blair head coach) Brian Antonelli gave me some really good advice: he thought I’d wrestle better at 113. I feel strong and fast at 113, and we’re all working with each other to get better. The kids are our room have me trained so well.”
And third, Madara won in absolutely thrilling fashion in a last-second scramble that scared even him, and wrestlers don’t scare easy.
“When I got in that scramble I thought I was done,” Madara said.
The electrying scramble that ended in the decisive takedown by Madara came after what had been 5 minutes and 30 seconds of pretty dull wrestling with few shots and little action.
But Madara’s shot, expertly countered by Anderson, resulted in a dazzling athletic ballet, the kind of action that, if regularly featured in matches, would fill gyms and more.
The two freshmen flew around the mat like winged-footed gods, and Anderson appeared to have a takedown at least once before Madara popped behind for the winning score with just a few ticks left on the clock.
“I knew what had to be done, and I knew I already had that stall call.” Madara said. “With what I see in our room I am used to that kind of action.”
Madara may get people used to watching him perform that way.
“It’s awesome to be a Tony Iasiello champion and to beat a Becahi kid to do it,” Madara said. “It was fun to have it that way, in Becahi’s gym and the crowd really loud. It was a great feeling. It was an awesome tournament, really fun.”
As is being at Blair.
“There is no place I would rather be,” Madara said. “The professors there are great. It’s not easy. There’s a lot of work to be done but you find a way to get it done. I am getting a great education which is the main reason for going to school. And the wrestling coaches are the best.”
But Madara hasn’t left his Pennsylvania roots behind entirely.
“I like everybody at Nazareth,” he said, “(Blue Eagle freshman 106-pounder) Sean Pierson have been friends since we started wrestling. I do follow Nazareth wrestling a little bit. I saw they had a great tournament (at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic).”
Just like Mike Madara did at Bethlehem Catholic, just down the road.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
Northampton, Warren and Hunterdon county authorities say they are looking for three individuals.
Northampton County authorities seek Kniki Williams - fugitive of the week
Warren County authorities seek Davina Bowler - fugitive of the week
Hunterdon County authorities seek Louis Zayas Jr. - fugitive of the week
Sarnoski, a Republican from Lopatcong Township, joined the freeholders' board in January 2011.
Warren County freeholders held their annual reorganization meeting Saturday at the Warren County Courthouse in Belvidere.
Freeholder Jason J. Sarnoski was named the board's director for 2016. Sarnoski, a Republican from Lopatcong Township, joined the freeholders' board in January 2011.
State Sen. Michael Doherty swore in Sarnoski as freeholder director.
Doherty also swore in Freeholder Edward J. Smith, who won a second term in November's general election. Smith is a Republican from Franklin Township.
Freeholder Richard D. Gardner will serve as the freeholders' deputy director. A Republican from Franklin Township, he is in his fifth three-year term.
Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.
With 2016 upon us, get to know the local New Jersey swimming teams that will be competing the next few months.
With 2016 upon us, get to know the local New Jersey swimming teams that will be competing the next few months.
Read the teams' snapshots by clicking the links below:
Belvidere | Hackettstown | North Hunterdon | Phillipsburg | Voorhees girls | Warren Hills boys
Related: Get to know the Lehigh Valley swimming/diving teams
Josh Folck may be reached at jfolck@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshFolck. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
Flurries could be in the air after 1 p.m. Monday in the Easton area, weather forecasters say,
While temperatures could reach a high of 44 degrees Sunday, weather forecasters say the warmer air will not last very long.
The National Weather Service says temperatures overnight Sunday into Monday will drop down to the 20s. The daytime high temperature for Monday will be in the low 30s in the Easton area, but Accuweather is predicting it will feel really like 16 degrees.
Scattered flurries are predicted after 1 p.m. Monday.
Temperatures Monday evening are expected to dip even further.
Monday evening is expected to have a low around 9 degrees with north wind 9 to 15 mph, according to Accuweather.
Both the National Weather Service and Accuweather predict sunny skies Tuesday with a high near 30 degrees.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Family members were ordered to evacuate a Mountain Road home while the Warren County Hazardous Materials Team was brought in to investigate, Pohatcong Police Chief Jeffrey S. Greenemeir said.
Pohatcong Township police are investigating a suspected meth lab at a Mountain Road home.
Officers at 5:06 p.m. Saturday were dispatched to the home in the 100 block of Mountain Road for a report of a domestic incident.
Pohatcong Police Chief Jeffrey S. Greenemeir said once officers arrived at the scene, there was a strong odor of chemicals and police suspected methamnetamine was being manufactured inside the house.
Family members were then ordered to evacuate the home while the Warren County Hazardous Materials Team was brought in to investigate. Greenemeir said various equipment typically used to make meth was contaminated and seized, however, police did not find actual narcotics.
There was not enough evidence at the time to make any arrests, the chief said.
Pohatcong Township police continue to investigate the incident.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Information on contacting the shelters and rescues caring for these animals is available with each photo by clicking on the caption button.
This week's gallery of pets in need of adoption is made up of dogs and cats from all over northern and central New Jersey.
If you're interested in giving a home to any of these animals, information on contacting the shelters and rescues caring for them is available with each photo by clicking on the caption button.
More pets in need of adoption can be viewed here and here.
Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.
Bethlehem Catholic remains No. 1 but some shakeups occur below.
The first wrestling team rankings for the calendar year show Bethlehem Catholic still standing at the No. 1 spot.
But Nazareth’s impressive tournament performances have given the Blue Eagles a boost up the ladder.
And another “blue” team – Warren Hills – makes its entry into the rankings.
With some big matches ahead Wednesday, with four ranked teams wrestling each other, these rankings could look very different next week.
Scroll through the gallery above for the full rankings.
RELATED: Nazareth’s Sammy Sasso is the Wrestler of the Week.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.
The woman wrote unauthorized checks and made unauthorized credit card transfers, police say.
A Passaic County woman stole more than $83,000 between December 2013 and November 2015 from the dental office where she worked in Hackettstown, police report.
Angelica Rodriguez, of Totowa, New Jersey, wrote unauthorized checks and made unauthorized credit card transactions to her personal account valued at a total of $83,477.12 while she worked at Skylands Dental, 117 Grand Ave., town police said.
No patient accounts, files or personal information were impacted, police said.
Hackettstown man hands officers ID, evidence, police say
The crime was reported Dec. 4 and, after an investigation, Rodriguez was charged Dec. 21 with theft and posted 10 percent of $50,000 bail, police said. She has a pending court date, police added.
She was also wanted on a $1,000 criminal warrant out of Paterson Municipal Court, police said.
A listed phone number wasn't available for Rodriguez.
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
