Most-Read Stories of 2011

This year was a busy one for Temecula.

A quarry planned near Temecula was denied, a mosque that drew hundreds of people to City Hall -- both in support and opposition -- was approved, hundreds of students marched in protest at Chaparral High to oppose the termination of a football coach.

And none of those were this year's most-read stories.

Temecula Patch's web metrics show a hodgepodge group of stories with little in common with each other were the most widely read in 2011. Here's the rundown.

1: Temecula teen eliminated from "The Voice"

A Temecula teen slew audiences on NBC's "The Voice," but alas, she was eliminated. At least she won first place on Temecula Patch's most-read stories list. To read the story, .

2: Water park at Lake Skinner opens

When "Splash Zone" at Lake Skinner opened, Temecula Patch's staff members was pretty excited -- especially the ones with young kids. But nobody expected that readers would keep accessing the story months after it was published, making it the year's second most-read story. To read it,

3: Teacher allegedly has sex with teen student

A teacher was arrested on suspicion of having sex with a former student in his car in a dark parking lot in Murrieta. Police stumbled on the act while checking out a totally unrelated alarm going off in a nearby business. Nobody knows whether he was guilty or not until a jury renders a verdict, but we can say it has all the elements of a good drama, making it the third most-read story of 2011. Read it by

4: Power outage blacks out Temecula

A power outage wreaked havoc on Temecula earlier this month. People were evacuated from the mall, hundreds of people were stuck in the in the middle of watching a ballet, and -- perhaps worst of all -- many were unable to turn on their computers to read Temecula Patch! Thousands of people nonetheless logged on and read the story, giving it fourth place for the year. Read it by .

5: Pat and Oscars closes
Pizza and pasta fans lamented the closure of Pat and Oscars when its parent company went into bankruptcy. It opened less than a month later, but not before thousands logged on and read the story, bringing it to fifth place. to read it.

6: Suspect crashes, stabs the other motorist, hides in nearby garage, stabs self

This story was too weird not to love. A 300-pound man allegedly got into a crash, jumped out of his car, tried to stab the other driver, and then sprinted away from the scene. He allegedly forced his way into the garage of a random house nearby and stabbed himself in the neck with a cordless drill before the homeowner and a few buddies held him down until police arrived. His shenanigans landed him in our sixth most-read story, which is

7: Craig's List ad leads to drug bust

Everybody loves a good dumb-criminal story, and this was one of the year's best. A man allegedly posted an ad on Craig's List looking to sell some methamphetamine. When a cop saw the ad, set up a fake drug deal and arrested him, the story found its way onto the Huffington Post and shot up to number seven on our list. Read the story, .

8: Massacre victim ran a salon in Old Town

A man who was killed in a shooting massacre in a Seal Beach salon once owned a shop in Old Town. He must have been well-loved, because the story about what happened to him was the eighth most-read story of the year. To read it,

9: Suicide in Old Town

A teacher from Fallbrook sat down in a rocking chair in front of the old Temecula Hotel across the street from the children's museum and shot himself in the head. Readers expressed shock and disbelief in the comment stream, and logged on by the thousands, making it the ninth most-read story in Temecula. Read it by .

10: Marine killed in motorcycle crash

One Temecula resident survived military life and, according to one commenter, he even survived running numerous marathons, but his life was snuffed out in a mundane crash on Interstate 15. Commenters lamented the passing of a loyal servant of our country on the story, which made tenth place in 2011. To read the story,