Top 10 most looked at stories on KPIC.com in 2011
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore. -- 2011 was a busy year for KPIC News, and a record breaking year for KPIC.com, both in visitors and page views.
Unfortunately, the news that dominated the page views wasn't always good news.
From a murder trial verdict that stunned an entire county, to shootings and severe weather, KPIC.com was a place where thousands of people every day went to get the story.
Here is a look back at the stories you looked at the most in 2011:
#10 - Dog wrongly euthanized at Saving Grace, community steps up to help family
Earlier in December, a Blue Heeler named Sadie was euthanized at the animal shelter. The only problem: It was the wrong dog.
David and Tammi Ritz of Olalla were devastated to find out that Sadie was put down, as she was only
at the shelter for observation, and was to return home.
For Tammi, the pain from the error compounded when she learned she wouldn't be able to take Sadie's body for burial: The shelter had taken her dog's body to the dump.
After seeing the story, Melody Stutzman decided that she wanted to help the couple in their grieving process by finding them another puppy. The community stepped up to help.
Last Saturday, the Ritz family was given a new Blue Heeler puppy.
Coastal Farm & Home Supply donated a 40 pound bag of dog food for the Ritz's and a gift card from PetCo was also included.
The puppy, named Soki, is now at her new home on the farm west of Winston, and the Ritz family says they are overwhelmed at the support and generosity of the community.
#9 - Myrtle Creek man found shot dead on side of road
The body of Jeffery Scott Bension, 39, was discovered off of Louis Creek Road in southern Douglas County on October 3 by a passing hunter.
After a day-long investigation, Charles Henry Teal, 26, was arrested by police and charged with murder.
According to a probable cause affidavit, police say Teal told them that Bension disclosed he had terminal cancer and wanted to die. They said Bension spent several minutes trying to convince Teal to shoot him.
Police say this happened at the site where his body was found.
Detectives, in the court documents, said that Teal admitted to shooting him in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun, after Teal had removed his wallet and identification and put it in his shoe.
According to the affidavit, a witness told police that Bension had recently moved in with Teal.
Teal is currently being held in the Douglas County Jail without bail while he awaits trial.
#8 - Another shooting leaves Myrtle Creek man dead in apartment
Police were called to the Myrtle Terrace apartment complex on Simpson Lane on August 23, after Robert Brandon Young, 28, of Myrtle Creek, called 911 and reported that he had shot an intruder.
Police from several different agencies responded and found Brian Douglas Woodruff, 38, also of Myrtle Creek, dead in the apartment from apparent gunshot wounds.
Young told police he acted in self defense after Woodruff forced his way into the apartment and threatened him.
The Douglas County Major Crimes Team was called in to help the Myrtle Creek Police investigate what led up to the shooting.
Woodruff's son lived at the residence with the boy's mother.
Neighbors told KPIC News that they didn't hear anything until police started to arrive.
Many were shocked this could happen in their complex. "No, it's actually pretty quite here," said neighbor Roger Clary. "Nice people, but I wouldn't expect this to happen."
Police believe Woodruff was only in the apartment for a matter of minutes before he was shot.
The Douglas County Major Crimes Team and Myrtle Creek Police are awaiting some final forensic reports to come back from the crime lab before the case is turned over to a Grand Jury, who will then decide if the shooting was justified.
No charges have been filed.
#7 - KPIC.com Weather and traffic cams
Weather is always a big deal, and KPIC.com users visited the weather page a lot over the year.
Whether people were looking for the 7-Day forecast or wanted to find out about the latest ski report, _pid5031.jpg)
users turned to KPIC.com for the latest.
One of the most looked at things in the weather section were the traffic cams. People can check to see what the road looks like at the entrance to Diamond Lake, or just find out the traffic scenario on I-5 at Garden Valley.
People often turn to the weather section when big storms hit, like the snowstorm in February that essentially shut down the small town of Camas Valley, leaving it without power for days.
Fishermen who wanted to check the current river levels in the state, or people who just wanted to check the status of a flight did so often on KPIC.com.
The weather section also features a glossary of weather terms, making it a little easier to understand how weather works, and what some of the terms frequently used by weather forecasters mean.
#6 - Myrtle Creek teen killed in car crash on I-5
A 16-year-old girl died Wednesday, December 14, in a car crash on Interstate 5 south of Myrtle Creek.
The driver of the car, 17-year-old Paige Williams of Myrtle Creek, was taken by ambulance to Mercy
Medical Center. Williams is a student at South Umpqua High School.
Oregon State Police said the teens were southbound on I-5 just before 8 a.m., when the 1996 Honda Accord that Williams was driving left the roadway and overturned for unknown reasons.
The car came to rest on its top in a field next to the freeway.
Both teens were wearing seatbelts, and road conditions were dry at the time of the crash.
Lt. Doug Ladd of the Oregon State Police said on Friday that the accident is still under investigation.
#5 - You! As in, your pictures and videos submitted to YouNews
The fifth most looked at story on KPIC.com in 2011 was all you!
Users submitted photos throughout the year, some of which were features on our TV newscasts.
Whether it was pics of your favorite pet or views of the beautiful scenery in Douglas County, YouNews reporters gave people an inside look at what you, the user, wanted to see.
YouNews hosted several contests throughout the year, like the Wild Weather Contest, the Cutest Kid Contest, as well as a Holiday Contest that just wrapped up.
In the Holiday contest, a pair of Doxies won over the voters, and KPIC gave the local winner a year-long membership to Wildlife Safari.
When news broke, YouNews reporters broke out the cameras and got some great pictures, like the one of a tanker dropping retardant on a fire near Myrtle Creek.
#4 - Police shoot and kill armed man in downtown Myrtle Creek
Police shot and killed an armed suspect back on October 12 in downtown Myrtle Creek.
After shooting Vincent Allen Lytsell, 51, of Myrtle Creek, in the Village Realty parking lot, police say that John Charles Bocock, 58, also of Myrtle Creek, walked to the area of First and Oak Streets, where he was confronted by Myrtle Creek Police.
Officers opened fire on Bocock after they say the man pointed a gun at officers, and when he was down, attempted to administer medical aid including
CPR until medics arrived.
He was transported to Mercy Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The incident started after police say Bocock was distraught over the divorce papers he had signed with his estranged wife the day before.
The officers involved were put on paid administrative leave, as is standard in all officer involved shootings.
The Douglas County Major Crimes Team investigated the shooting.
The Grand Jury met over two days and has concluded that the police officers use of deadly force against Bocock was justified.
#3 - Drownings claim several lives in Douglas County waterways
A total of six people lost their lives in Douglas County waters in 2011, after drowning in various rivers and reserviors throughout the area.
The tragedies started in late May, when Joshua Alexander, 27, drowned in the North Umpqua River. 
Officials said Alexander, who was from Idleyld Park, was swimming with his family when he decided to float down river on an air mattress. Once it hit some rapids, the mattress flipped over, sending Alexander into the water. He was not wearing a life jacket.
His body was finally recovered in late June.
On June 19, Drake Wallace, 18, went swimming in the Umpqua River with some friends and disappeared at about 4:30 p.m. near Umpqua, about 11 miles northwest of Roseburg. He was presumed drowned.
Wallace was a 2010 graduate of Roseburg High School.
His body was found by a fisherman a week later about four miles downstream from where he went under, near the Umpqua Landing boat ramp.
The day after Wallace was found,
Derrick Sean Rape, 26, of Yoncalla, was swimming in the Umpqua with his family near the 12000 block of Highway 38 just outside of Elkton on Sunday, when he tried to cross the river.
Douglas County Sheriff's deputies were called to the scene at about 1:40 p.m., after a 911 call came in saying that Rape was in the water near the Yellow Creek boat ramp calling for help.
Investigators at the scene learned that Rape had been with his family in shallow water, when at about 1:30 p.m., he decided to swim across the river.
Police say he got about halfway, when he decided he couldn't make it, and started to float down the river, calling for help. He eventually floated out of sight of the people who were with him.
Rape was not wearing a life jacket. His body was found about 150 yards downstream from where he was swimming less than two hours later.
In mid-July, Jeffrey Place, 16, of Riddle, became the fourth victim of the year when he went under the water in Cow Creek and lost his life. Place was wading in the shallow water of Cow Creek with his 7-year-old cousin when the two boys apparently stepped into a deep hole.
The father of the 7-year-old, Larry Lostroh, 49, of Riddle was watching the boys from the bank and dove into the water to help them.
Lostroh was able to get his son to shore. He returned to the water to look for Place but could not find him. Members of the South County Swift Water Rescue team located Place about 50 yards downstream.
No life jacket and alcohol were factors in the fifth drowning in Douglas County according to police. Michael Parker, 43, of Hillsboro, Ore., drowned in the Ben Irving Reservior in early August, after police
said the man, "boasted about being able to swim across the lake."
Divers searched for Parker's body for days, but were unable to find him.
His sister, Wendy Schober of Beaverton, said Parker was a good swimmer, but they all knew he would have a tough time swimming across the lake, which is about a quarter of a mile.
"He told my kids that he would bet them a nickel if he could cross, and he tried to cross," said Schober.
Schober said her step-father went after him, but was about 30 feet away when he went under.
Parker's body was finally recovered after the caretaker at the reservoir called the Sheriff's Office to notify them that the body had surfaced on September 2.
A Eugene woman became the sixth drowning victim in Douglas County this year.
Douglas County Sheriff's deputies said Genevieve Moreno, 34, of Eugene, was swimming in the Umpqua River with friends and went through the rapids across from the Elkton City Park in Elkton on September 4.
Deputies said Moreno was not wearing a life vest and a friend saw her struggling in the water. The friend swam across the rapids to get to her.
They were able to pull her from the water and CPR efforts went on for almost an hour, but they could not revive the woman.
Friends of Moreno say she was a fixture at fitness gyms, but police say no matter how good of shape you are in, you should always wear a life jacket.
#2 - Dale Hill found Not Guilty in the murder of Stephanie Condon
In a court verdict on April 1 that shocked the entire county, Dale Hill was found Not Guilty in the murder of Stephanie Condon.
Hill broke down and cried as the jury of 5 men and 7 women charged with deciding his guilt or innocence in the 1998 kidnapping and murder filed back into the courtroom after deliberating for less than a day.
Stephanie's parents Marty and Christine started crying after the verdict was read. Christine doubled over, holding her stomach. The two were whisked away to the district attorney's office and did not speak to the media.
After nearly four weeks of testimony and arguments, the jury took less than a day to find Hill not guilty on all counts. The judge said on each count that the jury split: 10 said not guilty; two said guilty.
The verdict came a little over two years after a hiker found Condon's remains off a forest road near Glide, Ore.
>>>Timeline of the Stephanie Condon case
The discovery sparked a series of events that led to Hill's arrest and indictment in the teen's death.
Hill had long been a suspect in the case and had declared his innocence in a jailhouse interview.
At trial, his attorney argued that the suspicions had ruined Hill's life, drove him to the brink of suicide - and led investigators away from the real culprit.
Prosecutors admitted from the outset of the trial that the case against Hill was circumstantial - but that all of the evidence, plus Hill's changing story over the years, indicated he was guilty of the crime.
As Hill walked out of the Douglas County Jail a free man, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin and 
district attorney Rick Wesenberg held a press conference to express extreme disappointment from both law enforcement and the prosecution about outcome of the case.
"Knowing what I know, seeing what I've seen as a result of this investigation, and how it's unfolded over a period of 10 years or more, there's just no doubt in my mind that he's guilty," said Hanlin.
Wesenberg told members of the media, "The sheriff's office investigated multiple suspects, cleared multiple suspects. We know who murdered Stephanie Condon."
Hanlin added, "Our suspect got away with murder. Bottom line."
Defense attorneys declined KPIC News requests for an interview, along with members of Hill's family.
Condon's parents came to the KPIC studios a few days later to give their statement to the media.
Marty Condon, alongside his wife, spoke about the case for the first time. Their message was simple: "I want to be perfectly clear: I do not want anything to happen to Hill. Absolutely do not," Marty Condon said. "I don't want people to build their frustrations, you know, I don't want nothing to happen. I want him to live with this for the rest of his life. And I want to help him. I want to help him have a miserable life."
Condon said that, while they disagree with the verdict, they weren't surprised.
"Obviously we're very disappointed in that verdict. I don't blame the jury, they had a tough job," Marty said. "They didn't make the leap in their thought process, but I don't blame them. Under the rules, I probably would have voted not guilty myself."
"He killed our daughter, no doubt in our minds," said Condon. "He temporarily got away with it. I believe that we can prove that by a preponderance of evidence in a civil court."
"I didn't know how the system was supposed to work and now I have a taste for it," he said. "I'm not particularly fond of it."
People all over Douglas County were in shock after the verdict was handed down and Hill walked away, escorted by family members and his attorneys.
#1 - Photo Gallery: March windstorm wreaks havoc on Douglas County
On March 13, 2011, a windstorm blew through Douglas County that not only did millions of dollars in damage, but spawned the most looked at story of the year.
A photo gallery of the storm damage was viewed more on KPIC.com than any other story this year.
The windstorm was captured on film by not only KPIC News, but YouNews reporters as well.
The storm tore up the roof on Jacoby Auditorium at UCC, knocked down trees on top of houses and did thousands of dollars in damage to vehicles.
Thousands of customers lost power, some for days, as electric company crews scrambled to clean up downed power lines.
Police and fire crews responded to hundreds of calls for people trapped in homes, stranded on roadways and people in need of medical help.
Insurance companies were flooded with calls from customers reporting damage to vehicles and homes.
Although nobody was killed in the windstorm, a few people were injured on top of all the other damage.
