Nine On Your Side's - Nine Biggest News Stories of 2011

GREENVILLE, N.C. - We review the nine biggest news stories of 2011 starting with the most recent and working our way backwards.

Starting with the most recent in December, we begin with President Obama's visit to Fort Bragg, heralding the end of the Iraq war, meaning troops from Fort Bragg and our own Camp Lejeune were coming home and families reunited all across the east. 

A lockdown at East Carolina University in November kept a community on edge.  Rumors flooded social media sites with stories of a gunman and hostages.  Police finally called it all a big misunderstanding.  The gun was really just an umbrella.  The gunman: an innocent student.

Few hurricanes made landfall in 2011, but the one that did made sure we'll never forget it.  Hurricane Irene brought violent storm surges of more than 10 feet in August.  115 mile per hour wind gusts devastated homes.  Our news team stayed on air for countless hours as the slow moving category one hurricane proved to be the climax of 2011's weather events.

The hot dry summer brought with it even hotter wildfires all across the east.  Firefighters fought through thick smoke and flames in Dare and Pender counties while communities contemplated evacuation.  The embers smoldered for weeks as investigators ultimately found lightning to be the cause of both wildfires that burned close to 80,000 acres.      

June proved to be the climax for crime in Kinston, marred with multiple homicides.  The city erupted after the shooting death of Nash County Deputy Warren Lewis while he was serving a warrant as a U.S. Marshall.  Nine on Your Side was live at the scene and pushed police and city officials to dedicate their full attention to gang violence.

In May, James Richardson saw his day in court.  He was charged with the drive by shooting death of two people in Greenville.  The high profile trial quickly became controversial after a juror claimed he was coerced into his guilty decision.  Richardson supporters protested his conviction.

April brought with it the most devastating tornadoes eastern North Carolina has seen in decades.  Both northern and southern counties saw homes wiped off their foundation by 17 tornadoes.  11 People were killed and the Greene County middle school was heavily damaged.  

In one of Nine on Your Side's biggest projects to date, we sent reporter Chris Brown to Afghanistan.  He followed our Marines as they battled on the front lines of a still ongoing war.  The images he sent home proved to be haunting.

Finally we come to January and February at the beginning of 20-11.  10 snow storms blanked eastern North Carolina with more than eight inches of snow.  It was a chilly introduction to a year of extremes.