A missing girl was found murdered and a little boy died at the hands of his own mother, breaking many hearts.

Public worker unions, Tea Party activists and supporters of Occupy Wall Street rallied for their respective causes. And in the Legislature, bitter battles raged over the state budget, union rights, gun rights and parental rights.

These top news stories and more made 2011 an interesting year in New Hampshire.

More than 700 citizen-soldiers came home safely from the Kuwait desert after helping bring an end to the war in Iraq, while other troops continued to deploy to Afghanistan.

The controversial Northern Pass power project galvanized North Country landowners in opposition, and millions of white plastic disks that escaped Hooksett's sewage treatment plant in March washed up on beaches from Rhode Island to Maine.

Heavy snows delighted skiers but confounded school officials and drivers. During a blinding snow squall shortly after noon on Jan. 8, drivers rounding a bend on Interstate 93 in Canterbury found themselves in the middle of a 40-vehicle pileup resembling “a wall of cars,'' according to one person involved. At least 10 people were injured.

The remnants of Hurricane Irene in August closed roads and bridges, particularly in the Upper Valley and White Mountains, and a freak Halloween blizzard left hundreds of thousands of New Hampshire residents without power across the state.

Those top news stories and more made 2011 an interesting year in New Hampshire.

Of vetoes and overrides

As the year began, Gov. John Lynch was inaugurated for a historic fourth term. Republicans, coming into the new session with veto-proof supermajorities in both houses, set out to implement their priorities.

In its first official act of the year, the House voted to allow its members to carry firearms on the House floor for the first time in more than 25 years.

With the stagnant economy causing state revenues to plummet, the Legislature made deep budget cuts, changed retirement benefits for state workers and cut Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals by $250 million over two years, prompting hospitals to sue the state and lay off hundreds of employees.

Lynch vetoed 13 bills, including an expansion of deadly force, repeal of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), parental notification for minors seeking abortions and a measure requiring photo identification to vote.

Lawmakers voted to override Lynch's vetoes of bills regarding parental notification and deadly force. But they failed to override his vetoes of the voter ID bill, the RGGI repeal and a bill requiring school districts to develop alternative teaching materials if parents find any material objectionable.

And by a 13-vote margin, the House sustained Lynch's veto of a so-called right-to-work bill, which had galvanized opposition rallies by union members statewide. House Speaker William O'Brien has vowed to bring back the issue in the 2012 session.

In September, Lynch announced he would not seek reelection next year.

Of political significance

The Republican Party had its own internal battles, as well, in 2011. New Hampshire Tea Party Coalition founder Jack Kimball was elected party chairman in January, but stepped down on Sept. 1 after a move to oust him seemed likely to succeed.

And House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt outraged some by calling Catholic Bishop John McCormack a “pedophile pimp” after the bishop spoke publicly against the proposed budget cuts because of their potential effects on the most vulnerable. Bettencourt apologized, and the two men later met privately to defuse the controversy.

Meanwhile, as the Republican presidential primary heated up, the state embraced its traditional significance. After a handful of other states tried, in what has become a quadrennial exercise, to steal some of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation spotlight, Secretary of State William Gardner won the waiting game, eventually setting the primary date for Jan. 10.

And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich won the coveted endorsement of the New Hampshire Union Leader even as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has a summer home in Wolfeboro, remained on top in polls here as the year ended.

Economic ups and downs

The economy continued to send mixed signals in 2011. The number of food stamp recipients went up; the unemployment rate dropped.

Lowe's closed three New Hampshire stores, laying off 279 employees.

But Congress approved funding to open the new federal prison in Berlin, which is expected to create 320 to 340 job openings, 200 of which are projected to be filled from the local population. There will be jobs for corrections officers, nurses, teachers, electricians and food service workers.

Crime and punishment

There were 23 homicides in New Hampshire in 2011, and the deaths of two children hit particularly hard.

The discovery of a little boy's body in the woods off a dirt road in South Berwick, Maine, on May 14 set off a nationwide search to identify the child. The sorrow only deepened four days later when his mother was arrested for his murder. Julianne McCrery pleaded guilty on Nov. 6.

And for a full week last July, the state and nation were riveted by the search for missing 11-year-old Celina Cass of West Stewartstown. The discovery of Celina's blanket-wrapped body in the Connecticut River not far from her home on Aug. 1 dashed the hopes of her would-be rescuers. No one has been charged in her homicide.

And in March, 12-year-old Jaimie Cates joined her father, David, in a courtroom to watch a judge sentence to life in prison the man who nearly killed her and murdered her mother. A jury rejected Christopher Gribble's insanity defense and found him guilty of first-degree murder.

The case prompted lawmakers to expand the death penalty statute to include murder during home invasion.

Residents marked the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on America with public ceremonies and heartfelt personal accounts of how the tragedy affected them. They embodied the message: We will never forget.

Incidents of bullying and underage drinking were reported and dealt with by school officials and local police. In October, a large crowd attended a memorial service for a Lebanon High School junior who police believed took her own life. The police investigation included inquiries into whether harassment or bullying at Lebanon High School may have played a role in her death.

In June, a striking woman turned heads when she walked onto the lot of Holloway Mercedes-Benz in Greenland. Unfortunately, the reputed Russian blonde and two men she was with ultimately scammed the dealership out of an $88,000 car. On Nov. 4, a trio of masked robbers methodically smashed display cases and fled with thousands of dollars in merchandise from Kay Jewelers at the Tanger Outlets in Tilton. “We'll be back...,'' to break into one case that didn't crack during the heist, they promised.

No arrests have been made in either case.

Ongoing issues

Arson fires plagued the city of Manchester all year, with no arrests by year's-end. In Concord, supporters rallied around the Friendly Kitchen after the long-serving food pantry, described as “the heart and soul of Concord,” was destroyed by fire on April 30. And just days apart, 15 dogs and two cats died in a fire at a kennel in Pembroke and more than a dozen farm animals died in a Hooksett barn fire in May.

Through Friday, 17 people had died in fires, according to the state Fire Marshal's Office. And 88 people had been killed in motor vehicle crashes, a 33 percent drop from the same period the previous year, according to the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Officer-involved shootings made headlines, as well. The Attorney General's Office ruled that fatal shootings by police in Hillsborough, Concord, Manchester, Winchester and Pelham were justified. But the spike in such incidents led some to call for increased training for police, particularly when dealing with individuals with mental illness.

Refugees became a flashpoint in Manchester, where Mayor Ted Gatsas asked the federal government for a moratorium on new refugees to the state's largest city, contending the city's services were stretched too thin to care for current refugees. After the Department of State in November announced plans to send an additional 200 refugees in 2012 — a decrease from the 300 that had been anticipated — Gatsas asked the Executive Council not to accept federal funding for refugee services. The Executive Council tabled the issue for two weeks, then voted to accept $485,000 for services in mid-December.

The Executive Council also commuted the prison sentence of Ward Bird, after Gov. Lynch blocked a council vote to grant a full pardon for the Moultonborough man. Bird's mandatory three- to six-year sentence for threatening a neighbor with a firearm prompted a firestorm of opposition and changes to state gun laws.

In April, Tea Partiers rallied in Concord at a “Tax Freedom Day” protest in April. Thousands of people, including hundreds of state workers, turned out to protest proposed budget cuts to mental health and elderly services, substance abuse programs, education and other social programs and proposed changes to bargaining rights for public workers.

And as fall came, the Occupy Wall Street protests in Manhattan sparked similar groups in several New Hampshire cities, including Manchester, Concord, Dover, Nashua and Keene.

Military news

After Navy SEALS killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 1st, Natalie Healy of Exeter called his death “sweet justice.” Her son, Navy SEAL Daniel Healy, 36, died on June 28, 2005, when his helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan on a mission to rescue fellow SEALS who were under attack.

In a battle over patriotic displays, the wife of a service member serving in Afghanistan fought an order by her condo association that she remove a U.S. flag she was flying outside her Gilford condo, and the resulting controversy led to passage of a bill protecting the rights of homeowners who want to fly Old Glory.

New Hampshire sons and daughters continued to fight in the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, even as the year-end deadline approached for complete withdrawal from Iraq.

In late summer, more than 700 members of the New Hampshire Army National Guard's 197th Fires Brigade came home safely from Kuwait, where they played a historic role in support of the end of the Iraq war.

Tragically, just weeks after his return home, Maj. James Dennehy, the brigade's JAG officer, died from what his family said was a pulmonary embolism apparently caused by the long airplane ride home from Kuwait.

A funeral Mass for Dennehy, the 47-year-old father of 12 and a devout Catholic, was celebrated at St. Joseph Cathedral in Manchester.

Good news, too

Not all the news in 2011 was bad, or controversial. Bike Week in Laconia pleased motorcycle enthusiasts while bringing in some money to the region. The city spent about $114,000 for police, fire and public works this year and collected about $165,000 in revenues from licensing fees and rentals.

On the Fourth of July, 25 youngsters became new U.S. citizens in a ceremony at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats' baseball stadium in Manchester, which had been renamed Northeast Delta Dental Stadium earlier in the year. In August, a national record 1,959 pints of blood were donated during the 28th annual Gail Singer Memorial Blood Drive at the Radisson Hotel and Expo Center in Manchester.

New Hampshire fans celebrated as the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 39 years.

Our own Chris Carpenter — a Raymond native, Trinity High of Manchester graduate and Bedford resident — pitched his St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-2 win over the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the World Series on Oct. 28.

And Red Sox Nation North welcomed news that Ben Cherington, a 37-year-old Plainfield native, was named the team's new general manager.

Eleven-year-old Colton Bullard of Rye won the Good Sport Award from Little League International, chosen from among its 2.5 million young players worldwide.

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats won the Eastern League championship — a fitting ending to a season that included the team hosting the league's All-Star Game in Manchester. And the Manchester Monarchs returned to the American Hockey League playoffs, losing to eventual Calder Cup champion Binghamton.

In March, the University of New Hampshire fell just shy of reaching hockey's Frozen Four, losing, 2-1, to Notre Dame in the NCAA Northeast Regional final at Verizon Wireless Arena. And in December, the Wildcats lost their Football Championship Series playoff game at Montana State, as a potentially game-tying extra point was deflected wide on the game's final play.

Conservationists and nature lovers of all sorts celebrated the 100th anniversary of passage of the Weeks Act, the federal law that led to the creation of 52 national forests, including the 800,000-acre White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.

Roman Catholics welcomed a new spiritual leader, Peter Anthony Libasci, 60, who was installed as the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Manchester at St. Joseph Cathedral on Dec. 8.

Manchester native Adam Sandler got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 1.