Best of 2012: Top 10 Stories from Wrentham

For a supposedly quiet town like Wrentham, the area had plenty of big events in 2012 from the KP Marching Band winning a national championship to a controversy surrounding hanging American flags. As the year comes to an end, Patch takes a look at 10 of the biggest stories of the year from around Wrentham.

1. The Garden Lane Flag Controversy

All that was needed to start the year's biggest controversy in Wrentham was a letter from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development telling residents of Garden Lane they could not hang the American flag from the exterior of their apartments.

The letter caused outrage in Wrentham and beyond as the department was forced to reverse their decision the next morning.

Later in the day, State Representative Dan Winslow passed out flags to residents of the complex that proudly displayed them outside their homes. 

A protest of the initial ban by the Wrentham Republican Town Committee also took place on July 13 as a reminder that the town was paying attention if something similar were to happen.

2. The Wrentham 9/11 Memorial is Revealed

After Foxborough and Plainville got their own 9/11 Memorials, 15 year old Troy Neubrecker wondered why Wrentham couldn’t have their own memorial.

3. Wrentham Connected to the New England Compounding Center Meningitis Outbreak

One of the biggest stories out of Massachusetts in 2012 found a link to the area when it was discovered that NECC co-owner Barry Cadden lives in Wrentham. 

Shortly after the outbreak, the Caddens tried to escape the public eye. A drive by his house after the outbreak showed a barricade blocking anyone from entering the driveway to his house and Cadden himself refused to talk even in front of a congressional committee on the outbreak.

4. Jake Layman Rules the Basketball Court 

In a time where most Division 1 basketball prospects are choosing to play for private and prep schools, Jake Layman chose to stay at King Philip for his senior year of high school.

During his final season at KP, Layman helped the Warriors pack the small 600 person gym at King Philip High School as the school enjoy an excitment never experienced by Warrior fans.

After high school, Layman was picked to play for the gold medal winning Team USA at the FIBA Americas U18 Tournament in Brazil. 

5. Wrentham Selectmen Say No to the Foxborough Casino

While it would not have been in Wrentham, a casino across from Gillette Stadium inFoxborough would of effected Wrentham. With fears of dealing with the overflow of the effects of a casino and with the exit to Route 1 from 

With Foxborough electing two anti-casino candidates to their Board of Selectmen in May, the Wynn Group was forced to suspend plans for the casino and Wrentham had little to worry about.

6. Midnight Madness Almost Ends

After months of requests by the Planning Board and Wrentham Police Chief James Anderson for security cameras at Wrentham Village Premium Outlets, the board put the mall on notice when they arranged for a public hearing to discuss taking away the special permits that allows Wrentham Village Premium Outlets to hold Midnight Madness.

After nearly three hours of discussions, the board decided to allow Midnight Madness to take place as long as the mall installed 10 cameras that could be accessed by the Wrentham Police.

With the cameras installed by Black Friday, Midnight Madness went off with minimal issues.

7. Fraud at Wrentham Co-op Bank

In November, though 143 fraudulent transfer of funds.

 to the charges and if approved will be given one year of probation, six months of which would be served under house arrest, a $3,000 fine, and restitution of $112,385.

8. Plainville Child Makes it on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Every year Jimmy Kimmel asks parents to do one thing for Halloween: Tell your kids that you ate all their candy and send them the video of the reaction. While many kids screamed and cried,

With the video obtaining over 23 million hits on YouTube, little Ryan Weihrauch became the darling of late night TV for just a little bit.

9. King Philip March Band Wins National Championship

It’s no secret that the music program at King Philip High School is good, but the community learned just how good they were when they

With a score of 97.075, the Pride & the Passion also won captions for Best Music, Best Percussion and Best Effect. The band also won the US Bands Division 4 New England States competition in Bridgeport, CT on November 3 winning all captions.

10. Military Exercises in Plainville Keep Residents up in Wrentham

On one night in August, residents in Wrentham and Plainville left wondering why they were hearing explosions and low flying helicopters as late as 11:30 p.m. The noises were the result of a military exercise that was taking place at the Old Wood School in Plainville.

Originally expected to end by 10:00 p.m., mechanical difficulties with some of the helicopters pushed the exercise well past the initial end time and late into the night.

leaving many wondering what was preventing them from going to sleep.

Honorable Mention: King Philip Junior wins Miss Massachusetts Teen

Is there a story not here you think should be listed? Tell us in the comments!