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Gas Prices — Gas prices in Owensboro were consistently above the state average, and well above nearby cities such as Henderson, particularly earlier in the year. By May, gas was selling in Owensboro at a record $3.19 a gallon and was still hovering around $3 at Thanksgiving.
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Higher Ed Changes — In January, Sister Vivian Bowles announced she was stepping down as president of Brescia University after 12 years, and the Rev. Larry Hostetter was later named president. In April, Paula Gastenveld took over as president of Owensboro Community & Technical College, replacing Jacqueline Addington, who retired after 10 years in the post. And In August, Marilyn Brookman retired as executive director of Western Kentucky University’s Owensboro campus. Joesph Etienne was named interim director.
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Merger Hits Roadblock — In January, the Owensboro City Commission unanimously passed an ordinance to for a charter commission to create a plan as to how city and county governments would merge. But Daviess Fiscal Court refused to consider a similar ordinance, which was needed to move the process forward.
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New City Commission — Three new members joined the Owensboro City Commission as Cathy Armour, David Johnson and Al Mattingly Jr. took office. The new commission touted their personal and political bonds and the importance of the city’s elected government being unified.
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OMHS/U of L Partnership — In February, Owensboro Medical Health System and the University of Louisville announced a partnership that would put researchers in hospital labs to move forward with work on cancer drugs and plant-made pharmaceuticals.
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Redistricting — In February, the Daviess County Board of Education voted to buy 20 acres on U.S. 431 for an elementary school that will replace Utica Elementary School. The move led to a plan to redistrict a few hundred students, which was met with opposition from numerous parents whose children would be affected by the move.
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Tech Center Funding — The General Assembly ended its 2007 session without restoring funding to projects vetoed by Gov. Ernie Fletcher in 2006, including the second phase of the advanced technology center at Owensboro Community & Technical College.
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Flights Grounded — In early March, RegionsAir canceled all flights until further notice, a move that left Owensboro without commercial air service for most of the year. Big Sky Airlines eventually won the contract to serve Owensboro and begin offering flights as a Delta connector in November.
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TIF Debate — In July, the Owensboro City Commission committed its support to a $300-plus million, 185-acre tax increment financing district proposed by Gulfstream Enterprises LLC. The move led to a lawsuit being filed by a group of local residents to block the project, and as of November, the state has yet to schedule a hearing to consider Owensboro’s TIF application.
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Wyndall’s Says Good-Bye — In March, Wyndall’s Enterprises announced it would close its $5 million flagship Foodland store on Kentucky 54. And in July, Houchens Industries announced it would buy the final three Foodland stores in the Wyndall’s chain founded by Wyndall Smith in 1938, bringing and end to Owensboro’s last locally owned grocery chain.
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Riverfront Development Starts — Owensboro officially began work on a new boat ramp and scenic overlook at English Park, which marked the start of an expansive redevelopment of the riverfront.
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Hard Freeze — April began what would be a difficult year for area farmers. Apple, peach and blueberry crops across the region were destroyed by a one-two weather punch that actually began when unseasonably warm temperatures arrived in March. The early spring heat caused fruit trees and bushes to flower, leaving them susceptible to the Easter week Arctic blast.
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Big E Troubles — A Minnesota company filed a motion in Daviess Circuit Court asking the court to foreclose on the Executive Inn Rivermont, saying the hotel had failed to pay on an $11 million loan made in 2005. By August, the two sides reached a compromise, and the motion was withdrawn.
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New Hospital — Owensboro Medical Health System announced it will build a $500 million hospital at the Pleasant Valley Industrial Center on the city’s east side, shooting for a November 2011 opening.
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WKU-Owensboro — Daviess Fiscal Court purchased land along U.S. 231 to build an Owensboro campus for Western Kentucky University. By November, an agreement was in place to construct the campus.
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Veterans Hospital — The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Owensboro was given final approval for a Community Based Outpatient Clinic, ending years of local efforts to obtain a VA clinic.
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Ice Arena — In May, the City Commission voted to move forward with building a new ice rink between the Sportscenter and the Kentucky National Guard Armory on West Parrish Avenue. The vote came after months of debate over selecting a site.
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Mystery Festival — The first International Mystery Writers Festival launched an effort to position Owensboro as a hub for getting new mystery writing projects off the ground. Organizers and participants called it a great success and next year’s festival is expected to expand.
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Recovery Center — After months of legal challenges, ground was broken on the Owensboro Regional Recovery Center, which will be one of 10 facilities in the Recovery Kentucky initiative. It will house up to 100 men and will be run by Lighthouse Recovery Services Inc.
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OHS Renovation — Owensboro Public Schools unveiled renovation plans for Owensboro High School, expected to cost around $22 million. The plans would add a two-story gymnasium and an art wing to the high school, among other improvements.
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Big Run Mine — Armstrong Coal Co. announced it will re-open the Big Run mine in Centertown next year, creating about 900 jobs with a starting pay of $19 an hour. It spurred hopes in area counties that the coal industry would once again be a driving force in local economies.
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Biodiesel — State and federal officials came to Owensboro Grain in August to unveil the company’s $22 million biodiesel plant, which is expected to produce 50 million gallons of biodiesel annually.
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Interstate Spurs — The U.S. House of Representatives approved a provision to designate the Audubon and Natcher parkways as “future interstate spurs.” The plans call for the Natcher to become a connector of Interstate 66 and the Audubon would be a connector with Interstate 69.
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Biotechnology — In the span of a month, Owensboro-based Kentucky BioProcessing announced plans to work with Arizona State University and Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. in developing HIV vaccines for Third World countries, and a collaboration with Mapp to develop low-cost drugs to treat a major cause of colitis and antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
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Energy Incentives — A five-day special legislative session led to the passage of a bill that will provide incentives to energy companies looking to locate in Kentucky. Later in the year, Peabody energy announced it would build a $3 billion plant to covert coal to synthetic natural gas, and Muhlenberg and Ohio counties are two of the final five possible sites.
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New Library — After more than six years of planning and 16 months of construction, the new Daviess County Public Library opened at 2020 Frederica St.
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Racial Tensions — Residents near East Byers Avenue awoke on a September morning to find cards with a message from the Ku Klux Klan. Days later, a Owensboro High School student was suspended after allegedly making a threat in the hallway, and a local pastor and a student who witnessed the incident expressed concern about how the situation was handled. Soon after, racial slurs were found written in a bathroom at Apollo High School. All of this led to a youth forum at Fourth Street Baptist Church, where nearly 100 students, parents, school officials and community leaders attended.
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Murder/Suicide — Jerry Willoughby shot and killed his 6-year-old grandson Christopher Willoughby and his wife, Sharon Willoughby, at their Keenland Parkway home before turning the gun on himself. Police had no motive in the killings.
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Tornados — Tornados struck downtown and in West Louisville, causing severe damage but resulting in only a handful of injuries and no deaths.
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Drought — Through the first 10 months of the year, this region, and Kentucky as a whole, suffered from severe dry conditions. Weather officials said it was one of the three worst droughts Kentucky has seen in the last 30 years.
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Rules: Stories must be chosen from the list above. Only complete entries that include the heading of all 10 stories ranked in order from one to ten will be counted. Only one voting entry per person. Votes must be received no later than December 16th.