It was a crazy and tragic year for Durango with a postal worker spitting his feces on an officer, a plane crash near Silverton that killed four people and various lawsuits. Here's a look at the year with a list of the most-read online stories and what Herald staff thought stuck out.

JORDYN DAHL, Herald Staff Writer

Most-read online

1. “Postal worker suspect in assault on police officer”

Paul Andrew Kausalik, a Durango post office employee, was accused of spitting his feces on a police officer after being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving on Feb. 12.

Kausalik was pulled over on County Road 251 for turning without using a turn signal. The officer, Chad Langley, detected alcohol, and a breath test indicated Kausalik was almost three times over the legal driving limit in Colorado.

He was taken into custody and asked to use the restroom at the police station, where Langley found him asleep twice. As Kausalik exited the restroom, Langley asked him what was in his mouth. He saw feces on Kausalik's hands.

“I took a step back and began turning my head as he violently spit the contents of his mouth toward my face,” Langley wrote in the affidavit. “I felt the matter strike the left side of my face and head.”

Kausalik ultimately received 60 days in jail and 80 hours of public service.

2. “Hwy. 160 crash kills 3”

A head-on car crash on U.S. Highway 160 between Hesperus and Mancos Hill killed three people and injured two others March 22.

A Colorado Springs family's 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser was struck when David James Hooper, a retired Farmington police officer traveling westbound in a 2011 Chevy pickup, crossed the double-yellow line, colliding head-on with the family.

Both vehicles caught fire and burned.

Robert “Bobby” McDonald and his son, Jaden, 10, were killed in the crash along with Hooper. Bobby's wife, Leslie Wachter McDonald, and another son, Kellen, 12, suffered burns over much of their bodies.

Hooper, 51, had been arrested five months before the accident on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription drugs. Family and friends said he took painkillers persistently for a back injury.

Prescription pills “pretty much consumed him,” said Kathy Hooper, his ex-wife in Farmington.

3. “A ‘royal' wedding, Western-style”

Heir of the Ralph Lauren fashion empire, David Lauren, 39, wed Lauren Bush, a member of the Bush political dynasty, a few miles from the Ouray County Fairgrounds over Labor Day weekend in a lavish, Western-style ceremony.

Ralph Lauren owns the Double RL Ranch, where the ceremony took place, and bought all the guests rodeo tickets. They sat in the weather-beaten grandstand bleachers under a metal awning, Ouray Fairgrounds Manager Susan Long said.

“We don't have box seats, but we'll hang a rope around their seats so they're all together. Mr. Lauren hired vans to transport them from the ranch to the fairgrounds,” Long said. “He and his wife, Ricky, come to the rodeo every year.”

4. “2 bodies recovered from plane crash”

A single-engine plane smashed into the San Juan Mountains north of Silverton on Dec. 3, killing all four passengers.

Durango resident Steve Osborne, 59, was the pilot of the Socata TB-21. He was accompanied by his wife, Jan (Measles) Osborne, and two of her co-workers at Alpine Bank, Gena Rych and Tyler Black.

The group left about noon from Animas Air Park in Durango en route to Aspen for a holiday party.

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot was at 20,000 feet with poor visibility about 12 miles southeast of Telluride shortly before the plane crashed in a rugged, heavily forested area 11,000 feet above sea level.

5. “Get out your mittens”

An unseasonal storm traveling through Southwest Colorado in early October draped a thick blanket of snow over the high country and confounded mountain travelers.

The system also brought below-freezing temperatures that sounded the death knell for most backyard gardens.

6. “Police, zombie marchers clash Halloween night”

An unsanctioned zombie march, which has become an annual event on Halloween night, turned into a faceoff between marchers and police this year and led to 22 arrests.

Police in riot gear used pepper spray and paint markers – munitions that blot individuals with paint so officers can arrest them later – to subdue the marchers.

Most of the arrests were for failing to disperse, obstructing a road, disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer – all misdemeanors. One person was arrested on suspicion of felony assault on a police officer.

A group later attended a City Council meeting to complain about the police officers' actions. Police Chief Jim Spratlen defended his officers and said “domestic terrorism is real.”

7. Bayfield man survives plunge off Red Mountain Pass

Eric Petranek, 29, plunged 330 feet but escaped the fiery crash with second-degree burns on his back and hands.

He was driving from Durango to Montrose to help his grandmother with home repairs on April 4 when Jim Amrine, who was driving behind him, saw Petranek's vehicle disappear off a cliff.

It was windy and snowing, and the road was snowpacked and icy.

8. Historic buildings burn in Silverton

Two historic buildings that housed the Pride of the West saloon and Adelaide's Antiques burned April 6 in Silverton.

Silverton Brewery, which is connected to the antique shop, also sustained smoke and water damage. The fire started in the back of the saloon's kitchen and no one was injured. The fire raged for about five hours, and a column of smoke could be seen over the mountain town for several hours. Firefighters used about half the town's water supply to fight the blaze.

9. 3 men killed in Highway 151 rollover

A single-vehicle crash killed three Ignacio residents Aug. 6. on Colorado Highway 151, about four miles east of Ignacio.

The victims were identified as Joshua L. Jones, 19; William G. Jacobsen, 18; and Paul W. Dutchie, 21.

Jones was driving a 1971 black Chevrolet pickup with tires that were 14 years old and sun-cracked. Jones was driving an estimated 82 mph in a 65 mph zone. A cooler was carrying alcoholic beverages and the contents were strewn about the crash site. None of the three were wearing seat belts.

10. Durango police chief, captain resign

Durango Police Chief David Felice resigned from the department on May 13 after serving as chief for three years. One of his senior officers, Capt. Micki Browning, also resigned around the same time.

City Manager Ron LeBlanc wouldn't say if there was any connection between the two resignations.

“All I can say is that they have both resigned,” he said in a previous interview with the Herald.

Felice cited personal reasons for his departure.

“It's personal. I've got issues in my life,” he said. “I'm going through a divorce, and my parents in Colorado Springs have health problems.”

Durango police Capt. Jim Spratlen was selected to replace Felice as chief of police and approved by City Council on June 7.

Herald staff's list

1. “2 bodies recovered from plane crash”

A single-engine plane smashed into the San Juan Mountains north of Silverton on Dec. 3, killing all four passengers.

Durango resident Steve Osborne, 59, was the pilot of the Socata TB-21. He was accompanied by his wife, Jan (Measles) Osborne, and two of her co-workers at Alpine Bank, Gena Rych and Tyler Black. The group left about noon from Animas Air Park in Durango en route to Aspen for a holiday party.

2. “Hwy. 160 crash kills 3”

A head-on car crash on U.S. Highway 160 between Hesperus and Mancos Hill killed three people and injured two others March 22.

A Colorado Springs family's 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser was struck when David James Hooper, a retired Farmington police officer traveling westbound in a 2011 Chevy pickup, crossed the double-yellow line, colliding head-on with the family.

Both vehicles caught fire and burned.

Robert “Bobby” McDonald and his son, Jaden, 10, were killed in the crash along with Hooper. Bobby's wife, Leslie Wachter McDonald, and another son, Kellen, 12, suffered burns over much of their bodies.

Hooper, 51, had been arrested five months before the accident on suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription drugs.

3. Ongoing coverage of Mercury Village/Durango Mall lawsuit

Credit-card payment processing company Mercury Payment Systems has been in a yearlong dispute over a new corporate home with the Durango Mall, which worries traffic from the development would create “safety hazards.”

Matt Taylor, chief executive officer for Mercury, has called the mall's demands unreasonable and said they had nothing to do with safety.

Mall owners sued the developer, JRLT, a limited liability company, and the city of Durango, but dropped the suit in December. Still, the future of the proposed Mercury Village remains unclear.

4. Ongoing coverage of Ted Garcia murder

The case against Joseph Dernoga, 37, for allegedly murdering brother-in-law Ted Garcia, manager of Francisco's Restaurante y Cantina, has taken many turns this last year.

Garcia, 47, was found dead of a gunshot wound from a rifle in his home west of Durango on July 24, 2010.

Dernoga, who lived in the basement of the house, called to report the death. Garcia was married to Suzanne Garcia, who is Dernoga's sister.

Suzanne Garcia, who was out of town at the time of the shooting, has defended her brother. But in early December, she was arrested on eight counts of felony perjury in connection with her testimony before a grand jury in the case. She was arrested again Dec. 22 on suspicion of tampering with a witness, among other charges.

5. “Students ‘baled' out of school”

Durango High School seniors' prank of spreading 30 bales of hay throughout the school ended up closing the school for four days.

The hay bales, which were broken into loose piles, caused air-quality concerns and tests showed mold spore counts inside the school were more than four times the recommended limit.

The total cost for cleaning and air-quality tests was close to $200,000.

The group of students responsible for the prank came forward and was required to complete a range of actions, including issuing apologies and completing volunteer service. They were allowed to graduate on time and were not required to pay for the cleanup.

6. “Police, zombie marchers clash Halloween night”

An unsanctioned zombie march, which has become an annual event on Halloween night, turned into a faceoff between marchers and police this year and led to 22 arrests.

Police in riot gear used pepper spray and paint markers – munitions that blot individuals with paint so officers can arrest them later – to subdue the marchers. A group later attended a City Council meeting to complain about the police officers actions.

7. “Neighbors in Need: POVERTY IN DURANGO”

In January, the Herald published a five-day series investigating the growing number of local families falling into poverty in La Plata County, and the social support systems and assistance programs available to them.

Several local families were featured in the series, which looked at how middle-class families are increasingly turning to local poverty support systems seeking assistance for the first time. The families represented a new face of poverty in the county, our neighbors.

8. “Health warning issued”

A leak on the west bank of the Animas River just north of the Durango Skate Park caused an estimated 300,000 gallons of raw sewage to flow into the river and prompt health officials to issue a warning against contact with the water.

The leak was reported to the city on July 15 after a kayaker spotted raw sewage pouring from a sewer structure. A Public Works crew was unable to repair the leak and left without notifying Public Works Director Jack Rogers.

Rogers said he first learned of the leak when the Herald contacted him July 17 seeking information about the spill. The next day, Rogers was on scene with an excavator and trucks pumping sewage into tanks. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was notified July 18 and repairs stopped the sewage flow that afternoon.

But warning signs cautioning people to avoid contact with the water didn't go up until July 19. Many criticized the way the city handled the situation, and City Manager Ron LeBlanc admitted the city has no written emergency-response plan for sewage spills.

“Our system failed; our communications failed,” LeBlanc said.

9. “COMMISSION ENDS COMP-PLAN EFFORTS”

La Plata County commissioners and their appointed volunteer planning board voted in 2011 to dump a proposed comprehensive plan that would guide development for the next 20 years. The decision was made after the process of editing and approving the plan became engulfed in controversy.

More than two years of work, 150 community meetings and $700,000 was spent on developing the proposed comprehensive plan. The process also ended with the resignation of the county's top planning official, Erick Aune.

10. “Gooooooooaaaaaaal!”

The Fort Lewis College men's soccer team won its third national title when it traveled to Pensacola, Fla., in early December for the NCAA Tournament.

Senior defender Berekk Blackwell sealed a win for the team when he headed a corner kick from Joey Madigan into the goal just 91 seconds into overtime in the final game against Lynn University.

Blackwell had only scored three times in his career before his header.

“It feels like a dream,” he told the Herald.