Related:

• Key community stories of 2007 included riverfront development, birth of quints
• Notable Tri-State deaths in 2007
• From Marilyn to hot dogs, it's been quite a year for entertainment
• Gallery: 2007 Entertainment and Features
• Gallery: 2007 Sports
• Gallery: 2007 News Events
• Must-see viewing was year in sports
• Massacre at Virginia Tech voted top national news story of 2007
• 2007 brought big changes to W.Va., from table games to a new slogan
• Duct tape bandit among weird news for Ky. in 2007

It was a year that began and ended in tragedy for the Tri-State.

In January 2007, nine people were killed in the Emmons Jr. apartment building fire in Huntington, while December brought the homicide of Marshall student Leah Hickman and the deaths of three Cabell Midland students in a car accident. In some ways, 2007 had more than its share of bad news, with another teen highway accident in the summer and a surprising increase in drug overdoses.

But the year was marked with important successes as well, including economic triumphs for Tri-State Airport and downtown Huntington and major projects at local hospitals, and big changes with area schools and government.

It was also a year filled with great sports memories from Huntington High's nationally ranked basketball team to the first-ever Marshall-WVU football game in Huntington, exciting moments in the arts and entertainment and touching stories for our community. Here's a look back at some of the most memorable stories from the Tri-State for 2007:

Tragedies

Emmons fire: A January fire at the Emmons Jr. apartment building killed nine people. It started about 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13. Flames raced through the building, destroying it and the neighboring Emmons Sr. apartment building.

Federal, state and local authorities investigated the fire several days, but no cause was determined.

The emergency response featured firefighters making heroic efforts to save lives. Some people could be seen hanging out the windows calling for help.

The victims were Joseph Szilvasi; Briar Harmon, 40; Mary Biss, 69; Ann F. Saleh and her 7-year-old son, Seth Justus; Beatrice Devore Yancey, 45; and siblings Ben Lucas, 19, Angel Lucas, 17, and Quentin Lucas, 14.

HHS grads accident: Huntington High School graduates Bobby Gleason and Chris Withers died after a car accident June 10 as they were returning from their senior trip to Panama City, Fla. The boys were riding through Alabama with friends Matt and Kevin Rowsey and Eddie Paul.

Withers died at the scene. Gleason spent five days in two hospitals, one in Alabama and then at St. Mary's Medical Center.

Cabell Midland accident: On the morning of Dec. 11, David and Christopher Adkins and Robert Sinclair were killed in a car accident on the way to school.

The vehicle, driven by David Adkins, crossed the center lane near the intersection of McComas and Gray's Branch roads, colliding with a school bus. A memorial was held the next day, with the visitation for all three boys at Wallace Funeral Home at the same time Friday, Dec. 14. The school held its own candlelight vigil Dec. 17.

Homicides: Police officers recorded six homicides in Cabell County. Two occurred in the county, while four others occurred in Huntington.

That total includes the death of Hickman, whose funeral was Saturday, Dec. 29, and the following incidents:

• On Feb. 26, police say two men participated in the death of Travis Huff, 26, of Glenwood. He was shot to death at a mobile home at 98 Broadmoor Drive. Police charged two men -- Charles Ray Blevins, 20, of Williamson, W.Va. and Donnie Ray Evans, 22, of McCarr, Ky. -- in connection with the death.
• On Oct. 3, police say a man shot and killed Jerry Eaves, 40, of Branchland, W.Va. The shooting happened about 7:50 p.m. at 5159 Heath Creek Road near Barboursville. Eaves' body was found in a driveway at the residence, with a single gunshot wound to the chest. Police charged Jonathan Gene Adkins, 23, in connection with the case.
• On Oct. 16, police say a man fatally stabbed Randy Lee Gue Jr., 36, of Huntington. The incident took place at Harris Riverfront Park. Police said Gue was hunting for a cigarette lighter when a dispute erupted. Police charged Dennis Ray Mills, 51, in connection with the death.
• On Nov. 11, police say a man shot to death Phillip Shaun Sirmons. A passer-by found his body behind the former Simms Elementary School, in an alley between the 1600 blocks of Doulton and 11th avenues. Investigators believe Sirmons was robbed and was involved in a game of dice before he died. Police charged Quinton Leroy Peterson, 25, of Columbus, Ohio, in connection with the death.
• On Nov. 26, police say a man fatally shot Michael Shane Sharp, 31, of Huntington. Police found the victim's body on the front porch of his girlfriend's apartment building, which was located in the 1100 block of 17th Street West. Police charged Carson S. Jeffers, 44, of Huntington in connection with the death.

  Milton death: A grand jury indicted Danny Vaughan, 36, of Milton. It charged Vaughan with voluntary manslaughter in connection with the Sept. 5 beating death of Ricky Williams. The incident happened at a Mason Street apartment building.

  Deanna L. Crawford case: A May grand jury indicted four men in connection with the August 2002 strangulation death of Deanna L. Crawford. Passers-by found the 21-year-old's body Aug. 8, 2002, in a remote area of Hickory Ridge Road in Salt Rock.

  Those charged were Brian Emerson Dement, 26, of Huntington; Nathaniel Todd Barnett, 24, of Salt Rock; Phillip Scott Barnett, 27, of Barboursville; and Justin Keith Black, 24, of Salt Rock.

  Dement pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The other cases are still pending.

  Grayson, Ky., fire: A May 9 fire killed a Cabell Huntington Hospital nurse and her two children. The fire happened along Canoe Run Road in Hitchins, Ky., near Grayson.

  Police identified the victims as Jennifer Hall Ison and her two children, Shannah Ison, 10, and Marissa Ison, 3.

  Robert L. Drown of Kenova was charged with three counts of murder and single counts of first-degree arson, first-degree rape and first-degree burglary.

  Heroin deaths: A deadly series of suspected heroin overdoses claimed at least 10 lives in Cabell County. Eight of the deaths happened since late September.

  No criminal charges were filed in connection with any of the deaths, but police were investigating each case.

  The victims were Scott "Scooter" Dillon, 32, of Huntington; Teddy Lee Mays, 46, of Branchland; Patrick L. Byars, 42, of Huntington; Adam Tyler Johnson, 22, of Huntington; George Shore, 54, of Huntington; William Payton Jones, 31, of Hamlin, W.Va.; Sheila Jeanine Sanders Brumfield, 45, of Huntington; Daniel Matthew Wagoner, 34, of Proctorville, Ohio; Christopher Michael Dishman, 25, of Huntington; and Tara M. Rose, 21, of Huntington.

  Ratcliff Place fire: Tri-State Eyecare, Duffield & Lovejoy law firm and Huntington Quarterly magazine were left homeless and lost thousands of dollars in equipment, product and keepsakes when Ratcliff Place caught fire the evening of Jan. 10. Fire officials said the blaze was likely caused by a cigarette butt carried to the roof by a bird.

  Drs. William and Chris Ratcliff, who own the building at the corner of 10th Street and 5th Avenue, have moved their practice into Huntington Bank at 919 5th Ave. Huntington Quarterly publisher Jack Houvouras began working from home after the fire, and Duffield & Lovejoy moved to 522 9th St.

  The Ratcliff brothers had put thousands of dollars into renovating the building 15 years ago to assist in downtown development. They'd like to rebuild Ratcliff Place, but are looking for businesses to buy portions of the building as commercial condos to help them with the cost.

  Economic development

  Tri-State Airport: Tri-State Airport made several strides in 2007.

  Allegiant Air announced that it was adding service to Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa in addition to its Orlando service, giving the airport flights to five destinations for the first time in nearly a decade.

  The airport is on pace to exceed 60,000 passenger boardings, which would be its highest number since 1999. In all of 2006, there were only 39,412 boardings.

  In addition to boosting service, airport officials announced a 500-foot runway extension project and began plans for a parking garage.

  Downtown development: Pullman Square saw the addition of retail and restaurants, and began construction on a new bank.

  Deneene Chafin, who first opened Inspired, an accessories store at Pullman, also opened Runway Couture and Heels, selling fashions and shoes. Chico's, another women's retailer, opened last month, and the ownership of Empire Books & Music changed hands.

  Benny's Cheesesteak opened at Pullman this year, as well as Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries. Uno Chicago Grill reopened this year under new ownership, and Moe's Southwestern Grill closed last January and reopened this month after a new franchise owner and Metropolitan Partners had difficulty coming to a lease agreement.

  Pullman also is planning on a Community Trust Bank at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 10th Street, and a Franky D's Italian Chop House across from Max & Erma's on the upper floors.

  The increase in activity has spurred growth throughout downtown. Among the new retailers are Pet Palace, Funky Friends, Downtown Depot and Saad's Spirit's on the Plaza. Marshall Community and Technical College's Cooking & Culinary Institute opened across 3rd Avenue from Pullman Square. Meanwhile, downtown housing is in the works, including 9th Street Flats, which are going into the old Keen Jewelers building on 9th Street, and condos in the St. James building. Dr. Joseph Touma and Gary Pommerenck, owner of Love's Hardware, have discussed plans to build loft-style apartments downtown as well.

  As all this has been going on, the city of Huntington has been working on a project along 3rd Avenue to improve sidewalks and lighting and add angled parking. The Huntington-Ironton Empowerment Zone has been working with downtown property owners to give them the tools to set up a business improvement district, which would mean an extra tax for the property owners in exchange for better security, cleaning and maintenance services downtown.

  PRC: PRC came to Huntington this year, filling the old Arch Coal building off Route 152 after it was vacated in 2006 by Applied Card Systems. PRC's arrival brought hundreds of jobs with it.

  It hired the first 700 employees for its Huntington location in the early part of 2007, and was looking to hire an additional 300 people over the summer. The 25-year-old company is based in Florida. PRC manages customer relations for several companies, but the local office manages a single client.

  Cabell Huntington Hospital: After two years of construction, Cabell Huntington Hospital unveiled its North Tower in mid-November. The addition brings more than 200 patient rooms, a new emergency room and trauma center, an intensive care unit and soon-to-be opened labor and delivery and pediatric ICU floors.

  The project cost $85 million, but includes larger rooms, nurse team stations and better patient amenities. It's the single largest non-government building project in the history of Huntington.

  St. Mary's Medical Center: St. Mary's Medical Center unveiled its CyberKnife Center in November.

  According to Dr. Vera Rose, president of oncology services at St. Mary's, "It's a very precise way to give radiation therapy, so it doesn't damage surrounding tissue." Patients receive fewer, stronger and more directed doses of radiation during their treatments.

  St. Mary's also dedicated its newly renovated Regional Cancer Center.

  The Herald-Dispatch: After 36 years with one of the nation's largest media companies, The Herald-Dispatch returned to local ownership in September, when Huntington-based Champion Industries purchased the newspaper and its subsidiary, River Cities Printing, for $77 million.

  In May, the Gannett Co. sold The Herald-Dispatch and three other newspapers to GateHouse Media, which soon announced plans to sell the Huntington paper to Champion.

  Marshall University

  Orthopedic residency program: The Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University announced in August that a new orthopedic residency program is coming to Marshall to train surgeons to work with the musculoskeletal system.

  Spearheaded by Dr. Ali Oliashirazi, head of the orthopedics department at Marshall, the program will begin in June 2008 with its first six residents. It's expected to benefit the community by bringing some of the nation's top residents to West Virginia, where they will learn the most advanced procedures. It means better care for local patients and greater esteem nationally for the orthopedics department at Marshall. Almost 400 applicants applied for one of the six openings for the first year of the program.

  Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Sciences Center: Although some medical students took classes at the center in late 2006, January marked the first month that Marshall University's Biotech Center was open to the gamut of students it's intended to benefit -- undergraduate and graduate students from the College of Science, as well as students from the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Faculty and researchers moved in this year as well, giving them a chance to work in a centralized location. Until then, some had been working on campus and others about 8 miles down U.S. 60 at the medical school's Spring Valley facility.

  The university hopes that the collaboration, along with the cutting edge technology at the center, will give Marshall an edge in the world of biotech, strengthening the students, the university and the local economy.

  Research on cancer, cystic fibrosis and cardiovascular disease and other medical conditions are under way at the center. Last year, Marshall officially announced the launching of a new biotechnology business, Progenesis Technologies. Progenesis produces a biopolymer that could be used to preserve water in garden soil, to clean up radioactive material from bombs, or to slow the release of medication, such as insulin for diabetics, into the body.

  The company was founded by Dr. Hongwei Yu, a microbial geneticist and associate professor of microbiology at Marshall, and Dr. Richard Niles, a professor and chairman of biochemistry and microbiology. Niles also is senior associate dean for Research and Graduate Education.

  Progenesis is licensed and moved into the Chemical Alliance Zone, an incubator in Charleston.

  Construction: Marshall University moved plenty of dirt in 2007, starting construction on a new softball field, two new dorms, a recreation facility and an engineering building.

  The university also launched a new fundraising campaign to try and speed up funding for the engineering lab and softball field, and to raise money for a new building to house the Marshall Foundation and alumni relations staff.

  Schools

  Consolidation: The Cammack elementary and middle school campus officially closed at the conclusion of the 2006-07 school year to make way for partial demolition and a major addition that will eventually house Southside Elementary and Huntington Middle, the two new schools that came as the product of consolidation. When Cammack shut down, the elementary students moved to Miller Elementary and became Southside. The middle school students headed to West Middle and became Huntington Middle.

  The new campus is scheduled to be completed in time for the start of the 2009-10 school year.

  Ohio schools: It took longer than South Point Superintendent Ken Cook wanted, but students, teachers and administrators finally got into the new South Point High School and the adjacent South Point Middle School before the end of the calendar year. School officials had hoped to get into the new schools in October, but construction delays pushed the opening of the new schools back to Dec. 17.

  The school district is about half done with a $40 million school construction project. The school system spent about $22 million on the high school and middle school and will spend the rest on two new elementary schools at South Point and Burlington.

  Meanwhile, construction started earlier this year on a new Ironton Elementary School and Ironton Middle School as part of a $48 million school building project in North Ironton. A new high school also will be built around the entrance to the 85-year-old school on South 7th Street.

  Government

  Huntington government: Home rule and health insurance costs were the top stories at Huntington City Hall in 2007.

  The Legislature in March approved a bill allowing up to five yet-to-be-named cities to participate in a five-year home rule pilot program.

  The city is one of a handful of cities that has submitted plans to a state panel that will decide by June 30 which ones get to participate. The city's plan includes four proposals: creating a land bank; changing state law to allow cities to capture fire insurance claim proceeds; having more powers to collect delinquent fees; and overhauling the city's tax structure by implementing a sales tax and/or occupation tax and repealing the $2-a-week user fee and reducing the business and occupation tax.

  As for health insurance costs, they are projected to cost $6.3 million this year, or $800,000 more than what was budgeted. The City Council had to pull money from several sources to make up the difference.

  It has since adopted a resolution requesting that health insurance costs for the 2008-2009 budget year be capped at $5.5 million, which sets up a negotiating showdown between Mayor David Felinton and the city's three employee unions. All three union contracts expire in 2008.

  Housing issues: Huntington's abandoned housing problem was brought to the forefront this year when several of them caught fire.

  There currently are more than 50 homes on the city's Unsafe Building Commission's demolition list, though the city only has funding to tear down about 20 a year.

  In the meantime, an additional 500 homes have been categorized as substandard, or in need of significant repairs, since 2003.

  In addition to the home rule proposals of creating a land bank and changing state law to allow cities to collect fire insurance claim proceeds, city officials attempted to address the problem this year by adopting ordinances that require property owners to board up abandoned property and pay an annual fee if they neglect it.

  ATV deaths: The West Virginia Legislature defeated two bills this year regulating use of all-terrain vehicles. One would have required new fees and a registration process for owning an ATV, while the other would have banned ATVs from all paved roads and prohibit passengers unless the vehicle was designed for more than one rider.

  The discussion came after 54 people died on ATVs in West Virginia in 2006. As of last week, 44 people had died on ATVs this year.

  Homeless: Citing complaints from visitors, city officials this summer tore down "Tent City," a homeless tent encampment along the riverbank at Harris Riverfront Park.

  Homeless advocates followed by pushing their Housing First initiative, which focuses on finding housing for the chronically homeless. One of those projects -- the Heistad House, a six-unit apartment building on 7th Avenue -- opened this summer.

  Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, also came to Huntington in September to discuss the best strategies for ending chronic homelessness.

  Gerry Krueger: Gerry Krueger retired in October after serving for 22 years as president of the Cabell-Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau. A month later he signed a one-year contract with the CVB to serve as a consultant. The contract will pay him $20,160. The CVB's board of directors is now conducting a nationwide search for a new president.

  Jail lawsuit: The state Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a circuit court decision that will force Cabell County to pay its unpaid jail bills. The final tally could reach $1.8 million.

  The ruling followed a lengthy dispute between the states' counties and its Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority. The counties argue they do not have enough money to keep inmates in jail and effectively operate local government.

  The high court recognized the burden, but found its "judicial hands to be tied" when considering Cabell's debt.

  The court called on the state Legislature to provide some relief to the counties. It also ordered the jail authority to explain the way it charges counties in a new legislative rule.

  Law enforcement and courts

  New police chief: William "Skip" Holbrook Jr. was sworn in as Huntington police chief in June. He replaced retiring police chief Gene Baumgardner.

  Under Holbrook, the Police Department solved three of four homicides that occurred in 2007. It also focused on drug enforcement, reducing prostitution in the city and eradicating the homeless problem at Harris Riverfront Park.

  Duct-tape bandit: Ashland resident Kasey G. Kazee gained national attention in August when police arrested him in connection with a robbery at Shamrock Liquors in Ashland.

  Ashland police said a man entered the store Aug. 10. The thief's head was wrapped in duct tape to conceal his identity.

  Prostitution: Huntington officials cracked down on prostitution this summer. The effort included a combination of law enforcement and new city legislation.

  The enforcement effort included two raids that nabbed 25 women. A subsequent raid focused on arresting men who solicit prostitutes.

  In October, the City Council adopted an ordinance that outlaws prostitution loitering. It criminalized someone staying in a public place and acting like they are soliciting or supporting prostitution.

  Metal thefts: Area police departments continued responding to reports of metal theft in the area. Investigators said the theft of metals, such as copper, is tied to an increase in value at local scrap yards.

  The Legislature passed a bill in August to battle the problem. The new law severely penalizes scrap metal purchasers for accepting stolen material and not properly keeping files on scrap metal purchases.

  Notable convictions: These are some notable convictions that occurred this year:

• Tonya Sloan pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while co-defendant Anthony Milam pleaded guilty accessory after the fact. Both were charged in connection with the Dec. 15, 2005, death of Hevin Dakota Jenkins, 2. Sloan was sentenced to 40 years in prison, while Milam received one year in jail with credit for time served.
• A May jury convicted Tanya Harden of killing her husband, Danuel L. Harden. He died Sept. 5, 2004, at the couple's home in Culloden. She received life in prison with mercy.
• A March jury convicted Levon Flournoy of killing his girlfriend, Victoria West. She died Aug. 20, 2005. Her body was found on a porch at 1716 Crestmont Drive. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

AP Video

File photo/The Herald-Dispatch

Huntington firefighters battled a blaze at Ratcliff Place on the corner of 5th Avenue and 10th Street on Jan. 10, 2007. The fire broke out in the rear of the building around 7 p.m. Drs. William and Chris Ratcliff, who own the building, would like to rebuild but are looking for businesses to buy portions of the building as commercial condos to help them with the cost.

Purchase this photo