Remembering 2010

It's the end of the year and that means I'm in a reflective mood about 2010.

Locally, the violent crime -- even in Youngstown -- seemed to abate, as Warren recorded just four homicides and has not had one since May. Youngstown has had 21 homicides, and while not an improvement, the level of violence has been lower than normal, but the quantity has been newsworthy.

It's either a new low in depravity or a heightened awareness by the media -- probably a combination of both, starting in January when a woman was gunned down after Mass in the parking lot of a South Side church in broad daylight; the murder of a real estate agent at an East Side home after she was lured there on the pretext of buying a house and was strangled, robbed and burned; and the murder of another elderly woman and the wounding of her husband on the South Side where the suspects mistook the man's car for a rival.

The big theme in Warren is the lack of officers on the street because of the city's budget crunch, which has led to a sometimes obscene amount of break ins and burglaries. The property crimes are way up. Whoever inherits the mayor's office on Mahoning Avenue N.W. has to come up with some way to put more cops on the street without raising taxes any more, or pretty soon there will be no one left to protect.

To me, here's some of the top memories/stories of 2010 that I saw.

-- Blood in the parking lot. I still remember the large puddle of blood and the bullet holes in nearby homes following a late night January shootout and murder in a Washington Street N.E. parking lot in Warren. Tennants in the building were worried about who would clean it up. No arrests have been made in the case.

-- The Oakhill Imbroligio. While I did not cover this story personally much this year, I was there when the whole furor erupted when Mahoning County decided to stick it to the Cafaros and I can not help but follow the resulting grand jury investigation with interest. The resulting trial next year could be one of biggest ever.

-- The decision, Warren style. Mike O'Brien's decision not to run for a third term was surprising. I know some would say who would want to tackle the city's problems, but politicians have a huge ego and don't really see it that way. To see how the race to succeed him plays out will be one of the top stories of 2011. -- The waning of Traficant. Hopefully his dreadful showing in the year's elections will be enough to convince him to leave us alone. But something tells me he will be beating the drum loudly for his casino project next year.

-- Two orphaned boys. The sons of Christopher Weston, killed in a robbery early this month, have been on mind since the day I went to interview family members and ended up interviewing them. There was something haunting about the younger son, Stephen, 8, that will stay with me a long time. Quite frankly, I cut my interview short and left because I could not get past the feeling I was intruding, no matter how nice they were to me.

-- Three Good Men. The deaths of three U.S. Marine recruits in a horrific March 31 crash on state Route 5 & 82 on their way to sign enlistment papers for the Marines and the injuries sustained by a fourth was one of the top stories of the year. I saw just about every form of emotion there is within the days following the accident. The trial of the driver charged in the accident will be another closely watched event in 2011.

-- Our readers. Doing this job you can not please everybody, but that is more than made up for by the generoisty of the people who read our paper. I can not begin to describe how many times we've had a story in the paper about someone down on their luck or going through a horrible time and I get calls from people or emails asking how they can help. And almost 100 percent of the time they want no publicity. It just goes to show the people here. It is touching and one of the best parts of my job.

That is it for today. Merry Christmas to everyone and God's blessings on you all for 2011. As I have done it before, I leave it to Luke to close it out.

``There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, `Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.' At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises: `Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.' As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. 'Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.' They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed. Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!' Luke 2:8-20 (The Message)