A look at the top stories of 2012

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - We're counting down to 2013 with a look back at 2012. Here are the top stories that had everyone talking.

It was a big year for Purdue as Governor Mitch Daniels was announced as the University's 12th president. Daniels will start his new position on Jan. 15 on a performance-based salary with a base pay of $420,000.
    
Purdue also made big moves in its athletic department with the firing of Head Football Coach Danny Hope and the hiring of Darrell Hazell.

Several fatalities occurred throughout the year. In April, William Harrison of West Lafayette was killed when construction crews were trying to fill a pool with concrete. The embankment caved in and Harrison, who was a worker on the project, was found under the cement truck.
    
In August, a teenager died after she was involved in an ATV crash. Fourteen-year-old Maya Getz was remembered by classmates and the William Henry Harrison High School community.
    
On Halloween, another crash occurred. Three members of the Fox family from Attica were pronounced dead when their van was hit by a combine on State Road 25 in Tippecanoe County.   
    
In November, a construction worker lost his life while working on the Hoosier Heartland Highway. Arthur Kerns was pronounced dead when his body was found buried after a hillside caved in.
    
Most recently, a Dayton woman died after her house caught fire. She was identified as 63-year-old Dorothy Sollers.

Three soldiers from our area made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting for our country. Frankfort High School graduate Jamie Jarboe was struck by a sniper bullet in Afghanistan in 2011 that left him paralyzed from the chest down. He died in March of this year from his injuries.

In May, Lance Corporal Joshua Witsman of Covington was killed in the line of duty during his second tour in Afghanistan.
    
In September, Sergeant Kyle Osborn also died in Afghanistan from wounds after insurgents attacked his unit with guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

One of our most-talked about top stories happened this summer when animals at a shelter were forced to fight. Paws 'n' Claws in Attica was broken into and and the persons responsible made two dogs fight resulting in the death of two kittens.

Those are some of the top stories that made headlines in 2012.