Top 10 stories for Woodbridge in 2007 1. In the Jan. 10 issue "Executive order meant to streamline township offices" - Mayor John E. McCormac issued his first executive order of the year to streamline Woodbridge government and consolidate services at the Township Council's reorganization meeting on Jan. 2. The executive order outlined the reorganization and created the departments of Recreation and Resident Services and the Office of Media and Public Communications, while restructuring several existing departments to better deliver services and programs. McCormac said the administration could do a better job of providing needed services and programs to township residents, after he thoroughly reviewed town hall operations, management and the existing departmental structure. 2. In the Feb. 7 issue - "Ficarra tapped to replace Ehrlich" - the Towns hip Council unanimously voted for Gregg Ficarra, 51, of Woodbridge, to replace Councilwoman Caroline Ehrlich, who announced her resignation at the Nov. 21 Township Council meeting after serving the township for almost 11 years. Ficarra was sworn in on Jan. 16. Ficarra said he was excited and glad the council and the Democratic Party had confidence in him and gave him a chance to represent Woodbridge. 3. In the Feb. 28 issue - Gregg Ficarra "Local cop gets 17 years for sexual assault" - Douglas Karlson, 47, an 18-year member of the Woodbridge Police Department, was sentenced to up to 17 years in prison on Feb. 23 in Middlesex County for taking hundreds of suggestive photographs of a 15-year-old Colonia girl and, in a separate case, for sexually assaulting his stepson, 26, beginning when the boy was 14 years old. Both the two cases were tried in conjunction with each other. In July 2006, a jury found Karlson guilty of official misconduct and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child by taking hundreds of suggestive photographs of a 15-year-old girl in the Colonia section of Woodbridge between Oct. 1, 2004, and May 10, 2005. In December 2006, a jury found Karlson guilty of aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault in the second degree upon his stepson between June 26, 1994, and June 25, 1996. 4. In the March 7 issue - "Twp. 'going green' with purchase of 12 hybrids" - township officials announced their purchase of 12 hybrid 2007 Ford Escape vehicles to supplement the township's fleet. The hybrids cost $25,576 each and are estimated by the manufacturer to get over 36 miles per gallon. In 2006, underMayor Frank G. Pelzman's administration, the township purchased a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid vehicle as part of a five-month test program to compare the performance and economy of a hybrid vehicle and standard gasolinepowered SUV. The tests resulted in the vehicle clocking 3,455 miles using 132 gallons of fuel with an average of 26 miles per gallon. 5. In the March 28 issue - Melanie McGuire "Resident recalls a century of the good life - Mary Storms celebrated her centennial birthday on March 30 while reminiscing about her days growing up in the "Big Apple." Storms, who now resides at the Roosevelt Care Center in Edison, lived on her own at the Finn Tower, which is one of the senior housing facilities in Woodbridge, since 1992. Storms' daughter Carole Favilla of Colonia said her mother moved to the senior facility when she was 92 years old and still put a pot on the stove. Storms is still active by attending various classes at the nursing home, which includes art and exercise classes. She has a love for painting and has her own artwork up on her wall in her room. 6. In the April 25 issue - "Melanie McGuire found guilty of murder" - after 13 hours and 57 minutes of deliberation, the ninewoman, three-man jury in New Brunswick found Melanie McGuire, the 34-year-old former fertility clinic nurse, guilty in the first degree for killing her husband, William McGuire, and later dismembering his body in their Woodbridge Center Plaza Apartment in 2004. The trial lasted approximately seven weeks. On July 19, state Superior Court Judge Frederick P. DeVesa, sitting in New Brunswick, set 8 the maximum sentence on McGuire of 30 years to life in prison for count one for the first-degree murder charge. Defense attorneys for McGuire have filed an appeal. 7. In the July 18 issue - "McCormac, Smith break ground for synthetic turf" - 9 township officials along with school officials broke ground on the first new state-of-the-art, multipurpose synthetic turf field at Woodbridge High School. Township officials said the installation of the $880,000 synthetic field is the first modern field to be constructed in the township. The new synthetic field utilized revenue generated from the Pro- Logis warehouse construction project, which Mayor John E. McCormac announced in January. The Woodbridge High School football team played their second game on the new field in September. 8. In the Sept. 12 issue - "Seniors keep young at their own Olympic games" - Male and female seniors from all over, 50 years of age and older, descended upon Woodbridge Township for the 2007 Senior Olympic Games on Sept. 7, 8 and 9. The games were held on the fields and facilities in and around the township, which included the YMCA at the Woodbridge Community Center, The Club at Woodbridge, the John F. Kennedy Memorial High School track and fields, county and municipal parks, and private venue facilities that included bowling centers and nearby golf courses. The township hosted the games for the first time and looks to continue hosting the games. 9. In the Oct. 25 issue - "All bets are on for Woodbridge OTW" - the first off-track wagering OTW] facility named Favorites atWoodbridge, Lafayette Street in Fords, is the first New Jersey State-owned and -operated luxury OTW facility, which opened on Oct. 17 just in time for the Breeder's Cup. The posh teletheater offers horseracing fans luxury box-style seating with a flat-panel television at each of its 205 stations. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority partnered with restaurateur Timothy McLoone to offer the McLoone's at Favorites restaurant inside the OTW facility. 10. In the Dec. 26 issue - "Woodbridge opens new animal shelter" - just hours shy of the winter solstice,Mayor John E. McCormac announced the opening of the first public animal shelter and pet adoption center at the former pumping station at 195 Woodbridge Ave. in the Sewaren section of the township on Dec. 21. In June, McCormac said his goal from the start was to "not let the animals spend another winter" in the current 30-by-40-foot shelter in Sewaren that sits near old tank farms and a defunct arsenic-producing plant. The mayor also announced that the township has entered into an agreement with the city of South Amboy to provide kennel services for lost and abandoned animals located in South Amboy. - Kathy Chang