Top Stories of
2010

 

by: Bobby McDonald

The year 2010 began with everyone debating what to even call the year "Two thousand and ten?" "Twenty-ten?" It was undecided and the year had to "wear" on us, before we became comfortable with a moniker...but most of us decided on "two thousand and ten!"

And, it was a year of "all about weather"..... the year, here in Hopkins County, began with a continuation of one of the wettest winters that we'd experienced in some time, and who would have guessed that by the end of the year, we'd be looking for rain and talking about a "burn ban" throughout the county, due to dry weather!

The year began with the Hatti earthquake, in January, that killed an estimated 220,000 people, and weather continued to make "front-page headlines" with the ash from Iceland's volcano, Eyjafallajull, in the spring, shutting down airlines, and thwarting travel to Europe. But, "Mother Nature" wasn't through with us yet, as the Indonesian volcano "Merap" lifted its head in October and the Earthquake in Chile killed another 1,000 people. Meanwhile, later in the year, a Chinese earthquake killed a number of people, extreme heat in Russian reached over 111 degrees in the summer,  and Typhoon "Meg" devastated the Phillipines with over 200 mph winds and huge damages. The California mudslides, replaced wildfires and brought flooding an silt in its path, as well as a number of snowstorms in the heartland of America, that reached record proportions.

Here in Hopkins County, we had one of the heaviest and most beautiful snowstorms in February, that threatened to "halt" the Chamber of Commerce Banquet, but its beauty proved to be a "boon" for attendance.

The Gulf Oil Spill made "B.P." a household word and took five months to plug, threatening aquatic and wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. Billions of dollars were lost by commercial fisherman and tourist trade on the Gulf Coast. And, we'll all be "picking up the tab" for the clean-up, at the gas pump for years to come!

Coal miners in West Virginia lost their lives in a mine explosion, early in the year. However, a miraculous rescue of 33 trapped miners in Chile had the entire world focused on them, as they were kept alive and all 33 were successfully raised to safety, following a record time spent underground.

 

 

 

 

As in every year, the entertainment industry loses some of our favorite personalities, but seemed like in 2010, there was an unheralded number...Sausage maker, entertainer, and Plainview, Texas native, Jimmy Dean, passed away in June 2010. "Bonnie Blue Butler" the daughter of Rhett and Scarlet in the 1939classic, Gone With the Wind, portrayed by Cammie King, passed away as the last surviving member of the cast. Peter Graves of Mission Impossible fame, passed away in March and the buckskin clad, Fess Parker, who played both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone in a number of movies, also passed away in March 2010.

Most of us had to read J.D. Salinger's literary classic Catcher in the Rye, either in high school or college, and the author passed away at age 91, in January 2010. Eddie Fisher, Dixie Carter, Tony Curtis, Gary Coleman, and Dennis Hopper, all passed away in 2010, as did our favorite sitcom stars Leave it to Beaver Mom, Barbara Billingsley and Happy Days Pop, Tom Bosley.

Childhood television personality, Art Linkletter, passed away in May 2010, and Dynasty's John Forsythe passed away in April 2010.

And, if you were a teenager in the 1970's you were saddened by the passing of Love Story's author, Erich Segal, and fondly remembered the lines..."love means never having to say you're sorry!"

But, on a much brighter note, Dallas Cowboy's Quarterback, Tony Romo, proposed to his "beauty queen," Candice Crawford, on December 16, 2010, and The Royal Couple, Prince William has asked Kate Middleton to be his bride, in April 2011.

2010 was an election year, so thus, much of the year was spent hearing a number of advertisements relating to politics, and in a complete party reversal, the November elections swayed  in the way of the Republicans, who had been abandoned in the 2008 elections by the Democrats, when they took the lead. About all one can say is, that neither party can "fix the problems in Washington in short-order" and most of us don't expect things to change much in the next two years!

Obama-Care continues to be a contentious segment of the national scene, with no one for sure, exactly what it means, and the way that it will affect each of us individually.

And, another contentious national issue is Airport Security, which has "tightened" in the past two months, requiring more searches and longer lines for travelers. Will this make us safer in the coming year?

Like any other year, 2010 had its highs and lows, with major events happening around the world, and here at home. Enjoy some of the local headlines for 2010 were:

 

 

 

 

Weather

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People and Events

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, this is the way we were
in 2010......

 

Watch for Top Sports Stories
of 2010 Next Week!!!

 

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