10 Most Read Stories in July

Robert Chandler, a coach and teacher at Madison High School for three decades known for holding students to high standards and earning their respect, died after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

A funeral Mass was celebrated the following week and the service Chandler taught in his 30 years at the school.

A plan by the Morris County Park Commission to extend the Traction Line Recreation Trail, which runs from the Ford Mansion in Morristown along a New Jersey Transit line and ends at Danforth Road in Madison at Fairleigh Dickinson University, has detractors and supporters.

The proposal to extend the Traction Line Trail between Madison backyards and a rail line struck a nerve with neighboring residents who cited concerns about privacy, drainage and security. While the Borough Council unanimously opposed the Morris County Park Commission plan, the mayor and other residents were enthusiastic in their support.

Early disposition conferences that were scheduled for for three borough men charged with aggravated assault in connection with an altercation that left three other borough men seriously injured ended with the cases being held for a grand jury.

Madison will apply for a state grant to repair Green Avenue in the borough and make fixing the road a priority, the governing body agreed after listening to frustrated residents decry the "deplorable" and "decaying" state of the road and submitting a petition to have it fixed by June 1, 2013.

But officials said other capital projects, such as costly repairs that are expected to be needed for the sewer system, and even the makeup of the council after the election could affect what ultimately happens with the project.

Madison has appealed an arbitration award for a police union contract that is retroactive to 2010 because it says the raises awarded are not consistent with the pattern in other contracts.

A recent report put together by Drew University puts numbers to just how big the university's impact on the local economy is, estimating it at $5 million a year.

Among the figures in the study: if every student living on campus spends $15 a week with Madison merchants, that's $675,000 going to Madison businesses.

A Madison police officer assisted a resident who found a baby rabbit trapped in their pool skimmer, police said. The bunny went right into Sgt. John Keymer's hand when he reached over to assist the animal, and the bunny then hopped away when Keymer put it on the ground.

A Brooklyn man charged with shoplifting seven laser printer toner cartridges from the Madison Staples was arrested in New Hampshire after being out on bail on the Madison charges for about a week. He allegedly was part of an organized retail crime ring that stole more than $100,000 in printer ink from Staples stores in New Jersey and also hit stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire, authorities said.

A settlement has been finalized for a lawsuit filed by a retired Madison police patrolman against the borough and police chief, the municipal attorney said.