News

December 25, 2009

Year in review

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
Andrew M. Seder on Facebook   |   @TLAndrewSeder on Twitter

Happenings within the Catholic Church were newsworthy. They included the bishop of the Diocese of Scranton stepping down, but not before he oversaw the closing of numerous schools and churches throughout the Wyoming Valley. '

Elementary and secondary schools not overseen by the diocese also were in the headlines for a variety of reasons from swine flu-caused closures to teacher contracts being signed after years of strikes and failed negotiations. The year also saw the end of a state-run school for the deaf in Scranton. Higher education news of note included the opening of the region’s first medical and architectural schools and the progression toward the area’s first law school, at Wilkes University.

The death of a Luzerne County native while performing his duties as a state trooper was among the tragedies of 2009. Numerous fires, 18 homicides and other misfortunes caused heartache for many.
 

There was good news in 2009, including the start of a $14 million renovation of Coal Street Park and the completion of the $23 million River Common project, both in Wilkes-Barre. News also was good for some property owners who challenged their reassessment values and won. More than 2,000 county property owners challenged their new property assessments with reductions totaling more than $40 million.

For the complete look back at 2009, please see Saturday's Times Leader. 
 

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