Too busy last week to stay up to date on all the news happening in and around North St. Louis County? Not to worry. Patch has your back.

In case you missed them, here were some of the top headlines from the two North County Patch sites—Florissant Patch and Hazelwood Patch—over the last few days:

• One person died following a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 270 in Hazelwood.
• A woman beat a man with a vacuum cleaner in Hazelwood.
• The Missouri Public Service Commission has approved a rate increase request by Ameren UE that will add $10 to the average bill. Laclede Gas is also asking the commission to let it raise rates on its customers.
• Hazelwood officials are consulting with area police departments on adopting a program called Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate in light of the Sandy Hook shooting.
• Convergys, which is based in Hazelwood, announced it will hire 2,500 full-time positions in the United States.
• The fiscal cliff looms for Americans. Patch looked into what it means for your 2013 paycheck.
• A Florissant man was helicoptered to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis with serious injuries following car accident near West Alton.
• The German Shepherd Dog Club of Greater St. Louis honored Hazelwood K-9 officer Onyxx.