Revisiting the year’s big stories
As 2016 turns into 2017, we share our annual Year in Review with you — a quick journey through the headlines of the past year. Actually, you may find three Year in Review offerings in this issue of the paper. For those who receive the Lassen County Times, our Year in Review will be published in the A section. The Westwood PinePress Year in Review will be included in the B section of both the Times and the PinePress. And finally, a sports Year in Review will be included in the C section of both the Times and the PinePress.
For those of us who work at the newspaper, gathering, writing and presenting the news, each week brings a new and seemingly never-ending set of deadlines that come one after another.
But as we prepare the Year in Review, a flood of memories come along with the headlines and offer us a bit of perspective. Hopefully the same is true for our readers. For some, we may not have picked the biggest headlines of the year, and for that oversight we apologize. Obviously we can’t return to every story published over the entire year.
Some of the stories are heartbreaking and sad. Others are uplifting and happy. So it is with the news. Some stories drive us to despair while others let us fly. It comes with the territory.
Some stories that seem minor at the time seem to take on greater significance with the passage of time. For example, early in January we ran a story about a rancher who reported seeing five wolves feeding on a calf carcass I Siskiyou County. Now that a breeding pair of wolves travels around Western Lassen County, the wolves have become a much bigger story.
The conflict over the proposed state of Jefferson caused residents to take sides on the controversial movement. In the end, Lassen County voters rejected the movement.
Of course, the fine and performing arts play a big role in Lassen County life, and some of those events are included here.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 2381 hosted a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day celebration, and hopefully this event will grow to be held annually as we recognized the veterans who fought that unpopular war in Southeast Asia. The Soaring Eagle Chapter of the Blue Star Mothers also participated in several Angel Flights that took veterans to their war memorials in Washington, D.C.
The closure of a recycling center in Susanville generated several headlines, including one story about a local grocer who complained to state legislators about the possible repercussions.
Ah, and medical marijuana became a topic of many news stories as the year progressed as were the stories about the new swimming pool that should be open this spring.
So as we again wish our friends, neighbors, readers and advertisers a very Happy New Year, we hope you’ll enjoy a journey down memory lane as we present our Year in Review.
