On today’s front, we wrapped up our annual countdown of the top local news stories of 2007. Selecting and ranking these stories has never been more difficult. This was the fifth year I’ve been involved with this project at the R&L, and I can’t remember a year with more tragic news stories.
Aside from the 10 homicides in the Statesville area, there were numerous fatal car accidents that took people away from their loved ones far too soon. Covering these stories is a difficult undertaking for our staff of professional journalists, who do their best to respect the privacy of the grieving families while also reporting the news of the day.
There was plenty of news involving the Statesville City Council and Iredell County Commission in 2007, and I don’t believe we missed a public meeting. The council’s dynamics changed with the retirement of long-time public servant Pete Peterson. Near the end of the year, veteran Commissioner Sara Haire Tice announced she would not seek another term in 2008. The long hours Peterson and Tice put in during the past two decades would be difficult to quantify, as would their contributions to this great county.
The ongoing drought was big news throughout the year and will no doubt continue to be a major story in 2008. Due to the vision of our elected city officials and their staff, we’re fortunate to live in a city rich in water resources. Let’s hope that continues.
This spring, our staff had fun — as many of you did — following the filming of “Leatherheads” in downtown Statesville. Like everyone — except the locals who were fortunate enough to land a role as an extra — we had limited access to the stars. But we managed to snag a few photos of actors George Clooney and Renee Zellweger between shoots on Center Street.
We also began producing news and information in ways we had only dreamed about. Under the leadership of Web content producer Jessica Norman, we began posting video to www.statesville.com, including our 5@5 Webcast and the weekly sports show. We’re also distributing more news via text messages to cell phones and e-mail. All of these efforts will intensify in the coming weeks and months.
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The opinion page was as vibrant as ever in 2007. We printed letters from more than 550 readers. Thanks to all of you who took time to weigh on the important issues of the day. Your views matter, and we’re proud to host a debate every day.
There was plenty to write about. The most popular topics were the city council’s attempt to ban panhandling, the county commission’s decision to allow a biodiesel plant to be built in a rural neighborhood and residents’ pleas for a traffic signal at the intersection of the new U.S. Highway 70 and Triplett Road, where three people were killed in a pair of tragic accidents in October.
Our most prolific letter writers in 2007 were Paul Lowe, Thomas Palmer and Neal Grose, each of whom had 14 letters published. It’s a safe bet that all three will be regular contributors in 2008 once the presidential election kicks into high gear.
Former governors James Holshouser and Jim Hunt and Rep. Virginia Foxx also contributed their views.
On a sad note, this page lost the voice of a long-time writer — and one of my favorite people — when World War II veteran Charlie Benbow passed away.
As always, thanks to all of you for reading the R&L.
Mike Fuhrman
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