Much like 2016, the biggest local stories of 2017 were varied, running the gamut from positive news about incoming businesses and improvements to infrastructure to crime, environmental concerns, loss of historic buildings, and acrimonious legal disputes and debates over the best use of public funds.

Here are The Vidette’s picks for the top 10 stories of 2017:

1 Roundabout

Discussion of a proposed roundabout for the intersection of the westbound off-ramp of Highway 12 at State Route 107 and a potential rest area stirred passions in Montesano over the course of the past year. Proponents of the roundabout say it would eliminate driver confusion and traffic congestion while a rest area would encourage drivers to stop and spend money in town.

By the end of the year, the rest stop idea had been essentially abandoned. During a November open house four different roundabout variations were still under consideration with designs ranging from about $300,000 in cost to about $1.5 million. Public feedback based on comment cards expressed mixed support for the various designs while a sizable minority said nothing should be done at the intersection.

Moreover, confusion reigned in regard to who was in charge of the open house and the project in general. DOT officials described the project as city-led with the DOT serving only as a major stakeholder, while city officials claimed the state held the lead on the project.

2 Monte Treatment Plant

The Vidette reported in late November that the Legislature’s failure to pass a capital budget during the 2017 session is holding up a plan by the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority and the City of Montesano to put $5 million allocated in the budget toward a plan to combat soil erosion on the Wynoochee River that involves the use of “river jacks” as part of its first phase. The man-made jacks are designed to slow erosion and redirect river waters by collecting and trapping sediment.

Montesano’s waste water treatment plant is threatened by the Wynoochee River which has eroded the river bank along the facility and is now touching the facility’s northwest corner. The situation has been deemed an “ecological disaster in the making.” The river could potentially create an island of the treatment plant as it continues to erode the soil around the facility. In a worst case scenario, however, the treatment planted could be breached, potentially spilling untreated waste into the river and impacting a number of communities along the Chehalis River.

3 McCleary Treatment Facility

After considerable deliberation and debate, the McCleary City Council approved zoning revisions in late July to allow residential treatment facilities for a six-month period. The decision was made to avoid potential violation of federal law and was based on the recommendations of a hearing examiner brought in after Great Rivers Behavioral Health Organization (BHO) filed suit against the city in May. In the fall of 2016, BHO announced they had received grant funding to repurpose the old Mark Reed Hospital into a residential treatment facility.

Residential treatment facilities offer inpatient services to people suffering from severe mental health or addiction issues. Concerned residents have argued that the facility may bring dangerous people or criminals into the city and create a larger workload for the already thin city police department. Organizers of the facility argue that few incidents have required the assistance of local law enforcement at similar facilities elsewhere and the facility is needed in the region.

4 New Transfer Station Concerns

The new Waste Connections solid waste transfer station planned for construction on a private road off North Clemons Road will replace the current facility west of Central Park near Lake Aberdeen. The current facility presents environmental and safety concerns, according to Waste Connections, a company that provides waste collection, disposal, recycling and transfer services.

The plan has not gone without controversy, however, especially in regard to a related traffic light planned for installation on Highway 12, which, when triggered, will give a red light to highway traffic. Critics of the plan have said the traffic study was not comprehensive enough and there was no opportunity for public input. Others have expressed opposition to the general location of the new transfer station.

“It’s not fair to the community and the hundreds of thousands of people who are going to be inconvenienced driving State Route 12. None of it is right,” area resident Randy Gibson was quoted as saying during a special meeting on the project held by the county commissioners in April.

5 ACLU Suit

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington filed suit against Grays Harbor County on March 14 in a case that revolved around the alleged mistreatment of an unnamed 16-year-old at the county juvenile detention center. The youth was allegedly repeatedly placed in solitary confinement, subjected to filthy conditions, and denied food while at the detention facility.

The case was settled in November with the county agreeing to make its juvenile detention policy consistent with the rules of the state juvenile prison system. However, at the time of the settlement Superior Court Judge David Edwards described the ACLU’s characterization that there is longstanding problems with the way the county handles juvenile offenders as “false.” Edwards added that the county facility’s guidelines surrounding solitary confinement were already more strict than those of the state.

Investigation surrounding the suit led to disciplinary action directed against two juvenile facility administrators. One of the two, then director Gerald Murphy, was ultimately dismissed from employment for failure to follow the terms of his probation.

6 Fish Passage

Commuters along State Route 8 will see the portion of the highway running near McCleary impacted over the next year or so as work that began in April 2017 continues to remove fish barriers on Wildcat Creek. So far the project has caused traffic delays and reduced travel by two lanes.

The project is necessary in order to comply with a 2013 federal injunction that requires the state to correct fish barriers in water resource inventory areas. The project replaces narrow culverts that become impassable to fish during high water events such as floods, heavy rains, and excessive snow melt due to the development of a “velocity barrier.”

Total project cost is anticipated to be about $17 million. Upon completion, the culverts will have been replaced by a bridge providing a naturalistic habitat for fish more conducive to their movement along the creek.

7 Illegal Pot Grow Network

Many area residents were shocked to find their communities at the center of a major illegal marijuana grow operation involving grow sites extending across three counties.

A mix of local, state, and federal authorities began breaking up the grows, which typically involved private residences purchased with cash, in an operation that began the morning of Nov. 28 and was overseen by the Grays Harbor Drug Task Force.

A slew of initial arrests were made of Chinese nationals suspected of being responsible for the grows, though many were later released without charge when it was determined that they had been led into employment under false pretenses. The remaining suspects speak several Chinese dialects, and the language barriers involved have brought confusion to courtrooms and stretched available translation resources.

Trial dates for those alleged to have overseen and operated the grows are scheduled to begin early this year.

8 Overstock.com

Popular online retailer Overstock.com provided a much-needed boost in the area’s economy when it opened a new call center at the Satsop Business Park with an initial 150 employees hired, most locally. A high-profile ribbon cutting ceremony featuring Gov. Jay Inslee was held on May 10.

More good news was reported in August, when in response to what it deemed excellent customer service provided by its Satsop employees and the overwhelmingly positive reception from the local community, the company doubled its footprint at Satsop Business Park by leasing the entire 43,000 square foot Flex Tech Building. The company also simultaneously announced the hire of an additional 150 employees, bringing the total to 300.

“Our Elma-based associates are performing well and providing excellent customer care, and the response from the community has been everything we could have hoped for thus far,” Overstock.com senior vice-president Carter Lee said in August.

9 Oakville Hardware Fire

On July 4, a spectacular fire blamed on stray fireworks destroyed the old Oakville hardware store dating from the 1800s. Two other adjacent buildings were destroyed in the blaze as well, though there were no injuries.

“All three buildings were very old and tinder-dry,” Grays Harbor Fire District Chief Bill Rodocker commented at the time of the fire.

A bottle rocket that was reported to have landed on the roof of the hardware store was believed to have ignited the roof before the fire spread to the buildings located directly to the east and west.

The old Oakville hardware store had changed hands multiple times over the years, but for the most part had remained a hardware store throughout its history. The store, however, had been shuttered for about 10 years at the time of the fire. Its first owner was H. W. Paul.

Zachary Carsten, the owner at the time of the fire, had recently remodeled the building’s upstairs into an apartment.

10 Solar Eclipse

On Aug. 21, people throughout the Harbor area lined streets, parking lots and sidewalks in an effort to get the best view possible of the partial eclipse. Those wishing to view a total eclipse of the sun had to travel to Oregon, though the level of obscuration in Grays Harbor County was determined to be about 96 percent, according to observers.

Popular viewing spots included the Grays Harbor Community Hospital parking lot and the hill above Bayview Estates in Ocean Shores. The Aberdeen Timberland Library passed out 160 pairs of specialized glasses in order to help people safely view the eclipse as part of the library’s Eclipse and Eclairs event.

“As the moon covered more of the sun, the temperature dropped slightly and the ambient light dimmed to a level that seemed about like it would be shortly before sunset,” The Vidette reported in witnessing the eclipse.

The next opportunity to view a total eclipse won’t be until April 8, 2024, with the path of that eclipse traveling along the eastern part of the country from Texas to Maine.