Arrival of the new year means it's time to stop and reflect upon the local news stories that helped make 2012 yet another interesting year for our community.

We celebrated milestones, like saving the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf. We came together to help our neighbors in times of need by lending a helping hand to Stantonsburg residents whose homes were damaged during a tornado and by buying extra items at the grocery store to help fight chronic hunger. We shared our opinions, pro and con, about what types of industries and jobs are needed in our community.

Online readers of The Wilson Times cast their votes for what they think is the top local news story of 2012. Voting started in mid December and ended Dec. 26.

A total of 581 votes were distributed among 17 different stories.

Click here to view the complete final voting results.