Crime, normally not a hot topic in Floyd County, became a hot issue locally in 2008 with the first murder in many years, a fatal shooting of a neighbor by the county’s animal control officer, a massive, multi-state manhunt by a local fugitive and criminal charges filed against a former Commonwealth’s Attorney.

But the year brought good news as well with the Floyd County High School girls’ varsity basketball team, led by the high-scoring Britney Avancina (right) capturing a state championship and the varsity football team coming ever so close.

So, from a purely subjective point of view, here is what we saw as the top stories in Floyd County over the past year:

1. Murder and drugs: Joshua Hairston, an 18-year-old Collinsville resident, told police he went to the Check home of Sean Michael Neumann on June 5 to buy drugs but said Neumann threatened him with a knife and he emptied his 357 Magnum at the man. The 39-year-old Neumann died from four gunshot wounds. A Floyd County grand jury indicted Hairston on capital murder charges and the young man faces trial early next year.
2. Tragic death. A month before the death of Neumann, Animal Control Officer Garland "Bucky" Nester found one of his cows had wandered off the property and tried to coax the recalcitrant animal back on his land. When that failed, an Nester reportedly pulled out his weapon and fired at the cow. One of the bullets struck neighbor Paul Belcher, who was coming to help Nester with the cow. Belcher died from the gunshot wound and a Floyd County grand jury later indicted Nester on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless use of a firearms. The county fired Nester and the former animal control officer, who once taught firearms safety to county residents, faces a jury trial in February.
3. A former prosecutor on the wrong side of the law: Former Commonwealth’s Attorney Gordon E. Hannett Jr. stirred a lot of controversy during his one elected term as county prosecutor. He took Circuit Judge Ray W. Grubbs to court for appointing a replacement prosecutor when Hannett was called to active duty in Iraq with his Army reserve unit but the State Supreme Court rejected his complaint and backed the judge. He came under fire for plea bargains which let drug dealers and sexual offenders avoid jail time. He lost every jury trial as a prosecutor and then lost his bid for re-election in the GOP primary. Now Hannett faces six criminal charges for petty larceny and computer crimes for what State Police investigators say was removal of equipment, programs and data from county-owned computers before he left office. He is scheduled to appear in court on January 15.
4. On the run: Steven Dale Branscome, grandson of former county sheriff George Branscome, became Virginia’s most-wanted fugitive in March and April after he shot a State Trooper following a chase into West Virginia. More than 400 police officers from around the Commonwealth descended on Floyd County to help in the chase, setting up roadblocks, speeding down winding country roads in armored personnel carriers and patrolling the steets of Floyd with assault weapons and full battle attire. Locals knew Branscome was long gone but the cops kept the heat on in Floyd County until Branscome was captured just outside Texarkana, Texas. He was on his way to Mexico.
5. Third time was a charm: The lady Buffs varsity basketball team traveled to Richmond for the third straight year in March to try and win the state championship. They lost out the previous year in the final and the year before in the semi-finals. But the third time was a charm as the team overpowered Lancaster 64-50 to take the crown.

That’s the top 5. Other major stories of the year included the boys’ varsity football team’s 13-1 season to make it to the state final; the changing face of Floyd, which saw the closing of Lemon’s Jewelry, the retirement of longtime furniture retailer Vernon Baker and the efforts to revitalize the downtown area. Floyd County residents bucked the national trend and voted mostly for Republican presidential nominee John McCain while Democratic winner Barack Obama carried Virginia and the country.  The economic woes that gripped the nation came home as well with an increasing number of Floyd Countians facing a future without paychecks or economic stability.

Our best wishes for a Happy New Year as we head into 2009.

A short video from last Friday night’s Jamboree at the Floyd Country Store. What makes this video special is that it was filmed not with a standard video camera but with Canon’s remarkable 5D Mark II digital SLR that combines a 21.1 megapixel sensor for still photography with high definition video. Both the video and [...]

A solitary dancer enjoys the music during the Sunday afternoon jam session at the Floyd Country Store. Musicians gather and jam each Sunday from 2 – 5 p.m.

The wrapping paper from Christmas Day is still on the floor but the news about how bad the season was has already hit the news.

Reports The Wall Street Journal:

Price-slashing failed to rescue a bleak holiday season for beleaguered retailers, as sales plunged across most categories on shrinking consumer spending, according to new data released Thursday.

Despite a flurry of last-minute shoppers lured by the deep discounts, total retail sales, excluding automobiles, fell over the year-earlier period by 5.5% in November and 8% in December through Christmas Eve, according to MasterCard Inc.’s SpendingPulse unit.

When gasoline sales are excluded, the fall in overall retail sales is more modest: a 2.5% drop in November and a 4% decline in December. A 40% drop in gasoline prices over the year-earlier period contributed to the sharp decline in total sales.

But considering individual sectors, "This will go down as the one of the worst holiday sales seasons on record," said Mary Delk, a director in the retail practice at consulting firm Deloitte LLP. "Retailers went from ‘Ho-ho’ to ‘Uh-oh’ to ‘Oh-no.’"

The holiday retail-sales decline was much worse than the already-dire picture painted by industry forecasts, which had predicted sales ranging from a 1% drop to a more optimistic increase of 2.2%.

Like many others, we cut back on Christmas spending but still enjoyed a good family Christmas. It should never be the size of the gift or the amount it cost. What matters is the thought behind the gift.

Still, many retailers who depend on holiday sales face an uncertain future as we head into the new year. Estimates from economists say at least 62,000 businesses will close next year.

Some say the current economic crisis threatens more than just the economy. It puts the American Dream at risk and may force Americans to rethink their entire way of life.

Disturbing things to considere as we head into the New Year.

According to the Knight Citizens News Network, web sites like this one represent a big part of the future of community journalism. I’m flattered that they chose to feature Blue Ridge Muse as part of their "learning modules" but I’m not sure how a 61-year-old ink-stained newspaperman ended up as an example of the "new media."

God knows the print media that has been a major part of so much of my adult life is fading away. The Journal Register Company is shutting down several of its weekly newspapers, effective immediately.  The Tribune Co., owner of The Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, is in bankruptcy.  In Detroit, the newspapers cut their home delivery to just three days a week. Some newspapers have closed down their print operations and now deliver news only on the Internet.

A Pew Research Center study during the 2008 Presidential campaign revealed that most Americans get their political news from television and the Internet.

For someone who still writes for a newspaper, this is a bitter pill. But I also publish a political news web site that has been on the Web since 1994 and have far more readers there than the combined circulations of all the newspapers I’ve worked for during the last 43 years.

The times, they are a-changing.