More than three decades after the Stocking Stranglings, Carlton Gary continues to be the big news in Columbus.

A year ago, Gary was less than six hours from execution for his conviction in the Columbus Stocking Strangling deaths.

Today, his attorneys may seek a new trial.

Gary tops the stories of 2010 selected by reporters and editors of the Ledger-Enquirer.

Gary wasn’t the only old story on the Top 10 list.

The arrest of a suspect in the 18-year-old murder mystery of former school superintendent Jim Burns also made the list.

Here is the rundown:

1. Carlton Gary DNA testing

Gary was sentenced to death in 1986 on charges of strangling three elderly women in the late 1970s. But DNA results released Dec. 13 raised concerns about his conviction.

The results showed Gary’s semen was not found in one of the women he was convicted of killing.

A sample for the second victim was inconclusive and a sample for the third was not tested.

To complicate the matter, Gary’s DNA was found in the body of a woman he was not convicted of killing.

Gary was not tried for all seven murders police believed he committed, but prosecutors referred to a pattern during the trial.

2. Tomlinson elected first female mayor

A successful Columbus trial attorney who grew up in Atlanta became the first female mayor in the city’s history.

Teresa Tomlinson campaigned for more than a year for the city’s top elected office. It took a runoff, but she emerged from a four-candidate field that included Councilor Wayne Anthony, youth minister Zeph Baker and political activist Paul Olson.

After beating Baker in the Nov. 30 runoff, Tomlinson pointed to the broad coalition gathered at her victory celebration. “We have today changed the face of politics in Columbus, Georgia,” she told them.

Tomlinson will be sworn in on Jan. 3.

3. Parks and Recreation saga

It started as a simple internal audit of the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, completed on May 17.

By mid-August, Director Tony Adams and Herman Porter, a Parks and Rec employee involved with the youth basketball team, had been arrested and accused of misappropriation of more than $200,000 in city money.

Adams was fired in September for lying to his bosses about Nike contracts. Porter remains suspended without pay.

William Fox, the director of the Atlanta nonprofit organization that held the Nike contracts, has also been arrested and charged.

All three men are fighting the felony charges in court.

4. Arrest in the Jim Burns cold case

It was one of the most intriguing murder mysteries in Columbus’ history.

Muscogee County School Superintendent Jim Burns was stabbed to death in his downtown home on Oct. 19. 1992.

Kareem Lane, a 17-year-old Shaw High student at the time of Burns’ death, was arrested in May and charged with Burns’ murder after a DNA test of cells found on the knife matched Lane.

Lane was questioned by police and released the day of the homicide.

He went on to graduate from Shaw in 1993 and later served in the Marine Corps. When arrested May 3, he was living in Pell City, Ala., and working in an auto parts plant.

5. September homicide spree

In five days, four Columbus residents became homicide victims.

On Sept. 3, Brian Alexander Brown, 33, was shot to death in the Johnston Mill Lofts. The death was drug related, police said.

Later that day, Levy Lamont Daniel, 17, was shot in a domestic dispute and found dead near Booker T. Washington Apartments.

On Sept. 5, Gerald Hatchett was shot to death in the East Highland neighborhood in another drug-related death, police said.

On Sept. 7, Christian disc jockey Heath Jackson was shot and killed when he found a burglar in his Carter Avenue home.

Arrests were made in all the homicides.

6. Fort Benning troops come home

After more than a year of deployment, Fort Benning’s 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat team returned home in October.

It was the brigade’s fourth deployment to Iraq.

“We achieved our mission and added to the history of not only this brigade, but the Marne Division,” brigade commander Col. Pete Jones said.

The brigade’s mission spanned across five provinces: Babil, Najaf, Diwaniyah, Karbala and Wasit. The unit worked with Iraqi security forces and provided provincial reconstruction support.

7. Jeremy Williams, family get revamped home

It was the feel good story of the year when “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” swarmed Pine Mountain Valley to help a high school football coach fighting for his life.

Greenville High School football coach Jeremy Williams has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The incurable, fatal condition affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

The popular ABC television show featured the Williams family in May.

In February, crews from the show built a new approximately 4,000-square-foot house for the Williams family. They also renovated the football field house at Greenville High.

Hundreds of Chattahoochee Valley residents participated in the project.

8. Church van wreck claims lives

On Oct. 3, a 1987 Dodge 15-passenger van carrying 19 members of Tabernacle of Prayer and Deliverance of Columbus was headed to Florida for a revival when the right rear tire blew and it went out of control just south of Blakely, Ga.

Only the driver was wearing a seat belt, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

Four passengers were killed -- the pastor, Ronmyka D. Williams, 35; his daughter, Jasmin Shelly, 13; Cameron Freeman, 19; and Jennifer Walton, 20.

The remaining 15 were injured and ranged in age from 11 months to adults in their 40s.

Before the night was over, 10 helicopters from as far away as Mobile, Ala., had airlifted victims to at least six hospitals from Tallahassee to Birmingham.

9. Alabama wins championship, Auburn poised to do same

It started in January when the Crimson Tide won the BCS National Championship in the Rose Bowl. It was a storybook season for Alabama, its coach Nick Saban and Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram.

Not to be outdone, Auburn is one win away from matching the feat. The undefeated Tigers will play Oregon in the BCS title game Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz. Coach Gene Chizik’s team features Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

Auburn’s run has been filled with more controversy than Alabama. At midseason, questions about Newton’s eligibility arose. His father, Cecil Newton, has been accused to soliciting money for Newton to sign with Mississippi State.

10. Mescon gets no-confidence vote

Columbus State University President Tim Mescon had a bumpy ride when some on the faculty revolted over his leadership and management styles.

In April, Mescon, who had been at the university 21 months at the time, had 62 percent of the voting faculty express no confidence. Provost Inessa Levi received a 77 percent no-confidence vote.

More than 86 percent of the faculty -- or 253 full-time faculty members -- voted.

Less than a month after the vote, the Georgia Board of Regents, which governs CSU, renewed Mescon’s contract.

Levi resigned as provost on Sept. 16, but remained on the faculty.