Hopatcong High School honored its top fall athletes Tuesday night, doling out Most Valuable Player and Most Improved Player awards in each sport. Click through Patch's photo gallery to see the winners. Want to congratulate the athletes? Tell us in the comments.

Lions and tigers and ... machete-weilding ghouls? Oh, my. Dozens of Hopatcong children dressed up in their scariest—or cutest—duds Sunday afternoon and marched in the borough's Halloween parade. Sponsored by the Hopatcong Business Association, which saw Sabrett's offering free hot dogs, kids and families walked from Hudson Maxim school to a Modick Park filled with bounce houses, funnel cakes and hyper kids. Here's our top costumes from Sunday's parade. Don't forget to add your own photos to our collection. Just click "Manage your photos & videos."

Fall back! Or should we say fall is back! Friday was the first day of autumn, and with it came rain. And more rain. But there were bright spots, too. Bright, colorful spots on leaves. Beautiful views of the lake. Greens, golds, browns. Just about anything you could associate with fall, it was in Hopatcong. Enjoy our photo gallery. And feel free to email your first-day-of-fall photos to brendan@patch.com or upload them directly to this article. Show us what you've got!

Hopatcong's cross country squads are still rounding into shape. And while that was apparent during Tuesday's tri-meet against Wallkill Valley and Newton, the Chiefs showed plenty of strength. Check out the photos above. And click here for a full report.

You don't have to give kids a reason to have fun. But they'll always take it. That was the case Saturday as Hopatcong's Girl Scouts hosted Kids Fun Fest at the Hopatcong Senior Citizens Center. It had the atmosphere of the best birthday parties—face-painting, a bounce house, cookies. And who doesn't like a good celebration? Click though our photo gallery of the event.

Were you among the hundreds at Sunday's ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11? Did you snap a photo with Hopatcong's new monument dedicated to those lost in the attacks? Send your photos to brendan@patch.com and we'll add them to this post as soon as possible. Or just add them to this post via the "Manage your photos & videos" button. Hey, you never know, you might have captured something we missed.

Storms can know out electricity, flood roads, break trees. But they can't take away our cell phones and cameras. That was true this weekend as Hopatcong residents—many without power and still reeling from the winds and rain—hit the streets and documented Hurricane Irene's damage to the borough. All the ripped trees, all the bodies of water, all the destruction. Hopatcong residents turned into citizen journalists and captured the moment. A few days ago, we ran our first batch of reader-submitted photos. Click here to see them. Here's one more, and probably final, batch. Thanks to everyone for …

Early Sunday night the winds calmed, rain slowed and Hopatcong began settling back into its quiet. Except things were different. Thick, heavy trees were strewn across roads. Streets were flooded. More than 1,000 homes were without electricity. As the coming days fade into nights and Irene becomes a memory, how will it be remembered? By the photos and the memories of the destruction it left behind. Click through our gallery for photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in Hopatcong.

Did Hurricane Irene disappoint? You be the judge. Here's a collection of user-submitted photos and pictures Hopatcong Patch editor Brendan Kuty took with his iPhone 4 early Sunday morning. They tell the story of a storm that knocked out power for at least 2,500 Hopatcong residents, Jersey Central Power & Light said, and closed roads and downed trees. Did you capture any awesome or scary storm shots? Email photos to brendan@patch.com and we'll get them up right away. Or upload them to this story.

The score didn't matter. Neither did the statistics. Just the hits. And the feel. Hopatcong hosted Hackettstown and Hawthorne in a tri-scrimmage Tuesday morning. The Chiefs' first and second teams did battle with their opponents, giving Hopatcong players their first tastes of game action since last season. Got anything to say to the Chiefs? Tell us in the comments.

Gene Pfeiffer looked at the room filled with food and friends and contemplated his answer. "The men do it for the fellowship, the church, and the community," said Pfeiffer, president of the men's club at Hopatcong's West Side United Methodist Church. Saturday night's bbq pulled in about 120 people—a little less than last year. But Pfeiffer wasn't down. The four-year president was glad that some of the proceeds would go back to the church. Check our photo gallery above to see if any of your friends enjoyed the occasion. And if you were wondering, Patch was at last year's bbq, too!. Click here …

Who knew fundraising could taste so good? Several area restuarants pitched in Sunday to help raise money for St. Jude's in Hopatcong at the first Lake Area Culinary Event. They cooked meals, served food and mingled with participants for an afternoon that left most people loosening their belts and falling into food comas. With singer Leticia in the background, several restaurants chipped in: Castaways KaBob's Lakeside Grill Pavinici's Italian Grill O'Sullivans Woodport Inn of Lake Hopatcong Ron's Landmark of Netcong Salt Gastro Pub of Byram Shakey Jake's of Stanhope The Little Cake Bakehouse …

Another one's in the books. Hopatcong's summer recreation program ended Friday. Children and counselors spent their last hours together keeping active and having fun at Tulsa Trail school. Check out Patch's photos from the last day.

They huffed. They puffed. And they blew their ... boats down the raingutter. Hopatcong Cub Scouts Pack 88 hosted a raingutter regatta on Sunday at the Northwood firehouse. Justin Wilhelm took home the top spot, with Dominic Nicotra grabbing second, Brian Dome finishing third and Jake Boehm landing fourth. In the sibling races, Amanda Curujo won first place, Kayla Engle finished second and Gregory Smith nailed third. The children raced 7-inch wooden boats down 10-inch raingutters. Did you watch the races? Feel free to upload your own photos to Patch to share with Hopatcong. Just click "mangage…

Music, food and fun. Oh, and football, too. That's what it was all about at Saturday's Chris Anderson Field of Dreams Music Festival behind Fire Co. No. 3. Hundreds came out to raise money for the Hopatcong Warriors youth football program and to remember a fallen Hopatcong resident. Anderson, who died almost four years ago, was the program's president. He was also a Hopatcong Little League board member. He was 43.   The fourth annual Chris Anderson Field of Dreams Music Festival to help raise money for the Hopatcong Warriors Football program. 

History arrived in Hopatcong on Thursday. Police, firefighters and borough representatives traveled to John F. Kennedy Airport in the early morning. They returned with two steel beams from the World Trade Center. The beams, which will highlight the borough's 9/11 monument, were unveiled before more than 50 people at borough hall. Patch will have video and stories on the event throughout the night and on Friday. Click through our photos above.

The Rockaway AMC Theater drew some attention on Thursday night, opening night for the last of the Harry Potter series that began 10 years ago. The theater was surrounded on both sides by devoted fans who wanted to get to the final on-screen performance. The crowd was generally youthful with college kids who remembered reading their first Harry Potter book in early grammar school or watching their first movie when they were 8 years old. Everyone had a favorite movie, but each person Patch spoke to had seen all of the eight movies. Many people came in the costume of their favorite character.

Hopatcong's ambulance squad won Sunday's Hopatcong Days softball championship, dropping the Boy Scouts parents, 11-3, in the finals. The Boy Scouts beat the fire department, 20-12, in the opening round. Rosters Ambulance squad Dan Rodriguez, James Tuttle, Brian Williver, Kevin Sorensen, Rich Gathen, Casey Lakicevic, Jim Sorensen, Sal DeVivo, Tim Maginnis, Donna Stone, and Shaun Poland. Boy Scouts parents Marshall Speizer, Rich Romaine, Erin Amato, Mike Nicotra, John Wilhem, Matt Mood, Dave Barnish, Phil Engle, Mark Frato, Tom Lupo, and Frank Cuputo. In the second game, John Young, Don Fraze, …

Contestants gathered at the Hopatcong High auditorium on Friday night for the annual Miss Hopatcong competition. Four age groups competed for titles including, Mini Miss Hopatcong (5-7 years old); Little Miss Hopatcong (8-12 years old); Jr. Miss Hopatcong (13-17 years old); and Miss Hopatcong (18-21 years old).  

Saturday's Hopatcong Days celebration began with a parade down Maxim Drive. After the parade, hundreds headed to Modick and Maxim Glen Parks to continue the celebration, which included a dunk tank, balloon animals, face-painting, a hot dog-eating contest, a magic show and lots and lots of vendors. Were you there? See Video: Hopatcong Pride on Parade, War Veterans Remembered on Hopatcong Day, and Photos: Did We Meet You At Hopatcong Day? for more from the big day. And if you've got your own pictures from Hopatcong Day, send them along to louis@patch.com—we'd love to use them on the site!