As 2011 comes to a close, Brookfield Patch is looking back at the year's biggest local stories and conversation starters, month by month. Here’s a recap from July:

• See all Brookfield Patch Year in Review stories

East Beats Central in Come-From-Behind Thriller for State Baseball Berth

Brookfield East's 7-6 win over cross-town rival Central, sends the Spartans back to the state tournament for the first time since 1987.

Man's Fatal Overdose Prompts Warnings of Heroin Rise

A 22-year-old Brookfield man's fatal drug overdose — possibly from heroin — has law enforcement and drug counselors warning parents that prescription drug and heroin use is on the rise. The man's family struggled to get him help, with some success but he kept getting succumbing to his addictions.

Addiction experts said youth need stronger tools to avoid drug use in the first place. They shared these concrete ideas to help parents protect their children from drug abuse.

Photo Gallery: Life's a Parade

Brookfield's Fourth of July parade and ice cream social provided some mid-summer, sun-soaked family fun. 

Divided School Board Approves Open Enrollment Seats

The politics of capping the percentage of students who live outside of Elmbrook's district clashed with the pathos of parents and children who asked that siblings of existing open enrollment students not be blocked from the schoolhouse door.

Ultimately, the School Board voted 4-3 to enroll all 16 wait-listed siblings of existing open enrollment students. But the vote was contentious, and two of the four who supported it said Elmbrook should work to curb its non-resident enrollment and focus on educating children who live within its borders of Brookfield, Elm Grove and a sliver of New Berlin.

North Face Store Gives Brookfield Square a Facelift

Brookfield Square got a little extra exterior flair with the addition of a new North Face store along Moorland Road. The outdoor clothing, equipment and footwear retailer is the first Milwaukee-area location for the retailer. 

County Clerk's Snafu Nearly a $1 Million Mistake

Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus' office misplaced a crucial letter from Waste Management Inc. regarding the expansion of a landfill in Menomonee Falls. The letter, requesting the county board join a local committee that would have oversight of the expansion, would also allow the county to receive $1 million from WM over the next decade. 

Neighbors Wary of Imperial Park Development

Concerns about crime, traffic and flooding on a 5-acre development brought out citizens with a petition to stop the project. 

Ald. Lisa Mellone Resigns to Apply for City Clerk Post 

Veteran 7th district lawmaker Lisa Mellone stepped down to apply for the city clerk's job after Clerk Kristine Schmidt announced her Aug. 19 retirement. 

Cyclists Pushed it to the Limit in Heat

Brookfield played host to the International Cycling Classic, with pro and am cyclists speeding around a Calhoun Road, Civic Plaza course.

WRC's Miniature Courts on Forefront of Tennis Movement

Western Racquet Club in Elm Grove unveiled the first courts in the state built solely for the United States Tennis Association’s 10 Under Tennis initiative. The four courts are 36 feet long, less than half the size of a regular court, and apply only to players 8 and under.