What do you think were the top ten local stories of 2007?

The Michael Branham murder trial
Commercial development along US 27
The drought and the lake levels being so low
Stories about the growhouses

That’s four!

Sgt. Sotille

By far the most shocking and Top Story of 2007 is the senseless death of Sgt. Nicholas Sottile. In less than a month his family, friends, and the County will mourn the One year Anniversary of his death. Each day I drive to Lake Placid I see the Memorial that sits on a hill in his memory. That marble monument was placed there by loving friends that do not want to forget the Gentleman that Nick was. When I see the people there taking care of it I definately see wonderful human beings that keep his memories alive. Nick is still missed till this day by us all. May God be with those who still protect our highways and our streets. To those who wear a Badge you are our DAILY HEROS!

It appears that the continuing saga/ debacle of backing loans to developers on the pink elephant was the big story for 2007 and likely will be high on the list for 2008.

The top is the slughter of Sgt. Sottile.  Right behind that is the whole sub-prime lending mess. It was just anounced that our area suffered the largest drop in home values in the US. There are currently over 100 forclosed homes and over 200 pending forclosures in the county. I think that counts as local news