Dec. 31—After a couple of years of headlines dominated by COVID-19, 2022 felt very much like business as usual for Pulaski County while skimming the year's pages to sort out its top stories.

Politics. New developments. Sad farewells. And as always, Hal Rogers.

But this year's versions of those tried-and-true topics felt bigger than in most years. Something locals had been fighting to see happen for decades to help revitalize downtown Somerset finally went from dreams to reality. Somerset got its own gubernatorial candidate, a four-year college, and lost two important parts of its landscape.

Oh. And Rogers has been in the U.S. House of Representatives longer than anyone else currently there.

It was a big year for Pulaski County, a year of change both good and bad. To be sure: Life here after 2022 will never be the same.

Here are the top 10 stories of 2022, as voted on by the editorial staff of the Commonwealth Journal:

1. Openings ...In 1994, the Virginia Cinema closed its doors as a movie theater. In 2022, they were reopened to the public as an event space. In the years in between, numerous parties made efforts to restore the old theater to no avail, but after the City of Somerset purchased the building in 2020 and went to work turning it into something new, residents of Somerset finally got to go inside and see the new-look Virginia for themselves this past June.

From July through mid-December, the venue brought big crowds to downtown Somerset seemingly at least once per week, mostly for musical acts — including a sell-out show by Bailey Zimmerman as part of the Power Country K93 Kentucky Takeover Tour in November— but also during the December holiday season for Flashback Theater Co.'s production of "Miracle on 34th Street." But maybe the Virginia Theater's biggest impact on the community was its brilliantly-lit marquee, a colorful beacon that transformed the look and feel of downtown Somerset at night.

A little ways down East Mt. Vernon Street, in July, what was once the Lay-Simpson Furniture store became The Makers Mill, a unique collection of local artists, craftspeople and vendors looking for a place where people could come to find their creations.

And in eastern Pulaski County, the much-discussed AppHarvest Greenhouse, set to sustainably grow nearly a million strawberry plants, finally opened in November. AppHarvest utilizes alternative, high-tech methods to growing produce rather than traditional farming, including artificial intelligence and sensors to detect changes in the air and temperature, and is poised to help put the long-agrarian community of Pulaski County up near the forefront of global food production.

2. ... And ClosingsTwo major closures made news in Pulaski County this year — one more a matter of nostalgia for the past, the other more a source of concern for the present and future. In 2016, the Over My Head Homeless Shelter opened its doors to those in need of a roof over their heads, located on Turner Street, behind Cumberland Church of Christ. Over a thousand guests stayed at least one night at Over My Head, and hundreds more were helped in finding food, clothing, furniture, hygiene products and more.

But things took an ominous turn in August, when the shelter's board of trustees met to discuss its future, following rumors that it would be shutting down. The response was to ask for the public's help in finding a new location and the resources to move there, as the lease on their current building with the church was about to run out and would not be renewed. That didn't happen, and at the start of September, Over My Head closed its doors. With homelessness a topic of concern for many in this community, losing the town's one shelter facility has only contributed to the unease.

While the Virginia got its second life this summer, the community's oldest and perhaps most beloved movie venue closed the curtain on its long history. The Highway 27 Twin Drive-In announced in May that they would not be opening for the 2022 season ... or ever again in the future. The drive-in had operated since 1967, and had stayed popular in Pulaski long after the glory days of the drive-in movie experience had passed, with generations upon generations of Pulaskians having made unforgettable memories there.

3. A Busy Year on the BallotThe biggest news for Somerset Mayor Alan Keck in 2022 wasn't that he won a second term in the local office in November, once again holding off his predecessor Eddie Girdler. No, Keck was thinking bigger — announcing only a couple of weeks later that he would be throwing his hat into the ring for the 2023 Kentucky governor's race. The 37-year-old will run as a Republican, as opposed to Somerset city positions which are non-partisan.

But while leadership at the city level stayed the same — for now — other key government positions will change hands after an election season full of hot races, yard signs, and a strong turnout at the polls, both in May and November. The biggest turnover happened in the Primary Election, as Marshall Todd unseated two-term county judge-executive Steve Kelley, and Tim Price replaced the retiring Linda Burnett as county clerk, overcoming fellow candidate Samantha Owens.

And after 42 years, it should be no surprise that Somerset's Hal Rogers won another term in Congress as the Fifth District Representative, his 22nd. All that time in office gave Rogers a distinction few other legislators have enjoyed — Dean of the House. Rogers became the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives in March upon the passing of Alaska's Don Young. Rogers noted that it's "mainly a ceremonial title" but it does obligate Rogers to swear in the newest House Speaker.

4. The Old College TrySince announcing plans to create the University of Somerset in 2020, and clearing out the old Cundiff Square property to do so — including the controversy associated with the resulting forced move of residents of an apartment complex located there — not much news came out early in 2022 regarding the project.

In late February, Somerset attorney Jay McShurley raised questions at a Somerset City Council meeting, asking if the University was raising money through its Educational Foundation rather than through the University itself. In March, mayoral candidate Girdler took to social media to made accusations against Keck over the mayor's involvement in the University of Somerset, saying Keck had misled the public by stating that the university's board members are unpaid, while not mentioning his brother Michael Keck's salary from the university.

In December, the future of the university gained some clarity, as the entity known as the University of Somerset and Campbellsville University (CU) in Somerset announced plans to merge and become the Somerset Institute of Campbellsville University. The Hemisphere Limited headquarters on the Fountain Square, also known as the former First and Farmers Bank building, will also become the site of the Somerset Institute, with classrooms planned for the first and basement floors. Keck said that his goal is to see the institute's campus grow into the area which had been planned for the University of Somerset, the former Cundiff Square property located only a block away.

5. Water WoesConcerns about the cleanliness of water in Pulaski County were one of the biggest newsmaking subjects of the year. Most notably, perhaps, was the issue of leachate potentially contaminating the local water supply. In April, Girdler made it a point of contention in the mayoral race, claiming that nearly 25 million gallons of "extremely toxic, poisonous and hazardous industrial leachate may have been dumped into the Somerset sewer system" and that the leachate "may have harmful chemicals that may be polluting your drinking water and poisoning the environment of Lake Cumberland." Likewise, Darlene Price, host of the Truth or Politics podcast, posted a two-part series on the concerns of the safety of the water within Lake Cumberland and attended several city council meetings to raise the issue.

Price's questions in May received a critical response from councilors who felt she was making the issue too political in nature. In June, the city passed its 2022-23 budget despite several "no" votes from council members due to their concerns that the city is continuing to accept landfill leachate to be processed at its Pitman Creek wastewater treatment facility. Things got heated at an October council meeting, when a vocal audience sparked by the issue prompted Keck to end the session abruptly. Ward 6 representative Robin Daughetee said in November that the mayor didn't ask him not to discuss leachate, and reiterated concerns about the political nature of Price's probe.

Keck has said that taking other sites' leachate, liquid runoff from landfills, generated more than $200,000 in revenue for the city last year, and has maintained that the city's drinking and bathing water is in no danger from the substance, which is being treated in the sewer facility.

County government had its own water woes in 2022. The beach area at Pulaski County Park was closed in July due to concerns about a possible fungus, after a party using the water there reported a rash resulting from their recreation. While the closing was initially temporary, in August it was decided to close the beach for the rest of the summer to allow plenty of time for testing, with the end of the summer season close anyway. Incoming judge-executive Todd said that he hopes to be able to use the beach again in the future, but doesn't want to open it with a health hazard.

6. The Road AheadTravel in eastern Pulaski County was permanently transformed in 2022, thanks to work being down on a major cloverleaf interchange at the intersection of Ky. 461 and Ky. 80. The drastically altered roadway now features looping exits for those traveling between Somerset and London, as opposed to the straight show travelers have known for decades.

Mark Shopville Road was closed in April as part of the project, but the biggest changes were introduced in August, including lane shifts and travel on a ramp. The next phase of changes began at the start of November. The changes are designed to help improve safety and reduce traffic congestion at what has historically been a tricky intersection at the gateway to I-75 access, and also lay the groundwork for the I-65 spur, connecting the interstates and hopefully enriching the area's economic prospects.

The cloverleaf design sets up the northern bypass to go around Somerset, and cross over just north of the new SPEDA commerce park, then connect from Ky. 80 to Ky. 39 and on over to U.S. 27 and connect with the existing intersection with what will be the I-65 spur, running along the parkway.

7. Braving the ElementsWeather was a big headline maker for Pulaski County in 2022. Winter tornados at the end of 2021 put the county on alert concerning the state of its tornado sirens, with a test done in March. The City of Burnside in particular put forth an effort to have one installed in its city, with the nearest alarm too far away to be effective. In May, a tornado hit southern Pulaski County hard, with significant damage to Lake Cumberland Speedway, as well as local homes, with individuals injured.

In August, Burnside got its siren with the help of county government, which had money appropriated for sirens to put throughout Pulaski, and bought six — three used, three new. In November, the Pulaski County Fiscal Court approved two-way system upgrades for 10 tornado sirens, replacing two older sirens, and adding two other locations.

Winter weather was also a big newsmaker in 2022. The year came in like a polar bear, and kept dropping snow throughout the early months. Half a foot fell fast in early January and the chilly conditions kept up throughout the month, with ice and power outages causing real problems. The year ended much the same way it began — with a couple inches snow made worse by temperatures down around 0 degrees making for a white but bitter cold Christmas in December.

8. Wide World of SportsEvery year brings big sports news of some kind for Pulaski County, and the same was true of 2022. Maybe the most notable moment however took place up the road in Lexington, where former Somerset Briar Jumper Kaiya Sheron got to start for the University of Kentucky against South Carolina in an October football game, in relief of regular quarterback Will Levis. The Wildcats didn't get the win but Sheron played well as a redshirt freshman, scoring two touchdowns. He also weighed in on Twitter on the passing of Robbie Lucas in November, when the current Somerset High School football coach who won a state title with Sheron under center died at age 50.

Female student-athletes did particularly well in 2022. The Pulaski County High School cheerleading squad had a lot to cheer about in February, when they won the UCA cheerleading national championship down in Orlando, the school's second national championship in four years. And Southwestern's girls basketball team made another run to the State Sweet 16 in March, their third trip in four years, falling in the Final Four to Bullitt East. Southwestern's football team had the best season on the gridiron in 2022, falling to Bowling Green in the Class 5A state semifinals in November after winning its second-ever regional title.

9. Matters of SensitivityIn June, the community once again celebrated Juneteenth, the holiday which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. The Juneteenth Jubilee was the third-annual local event in recognition of the important milestone in African-American history. But the Pulaski County Public Library found itself in the middle of controversy, after a Juneteenth-related display that an employee had created was taken down. Charlotte Keeney, Pulaski County Public Library Director, said the reason for the display's removal was simply a matter of library protocol, as it was put up while she was on vacation and as director, she has to approve all such displays first. But the matter still caused a public backlash on social media and the person who created it left her position with the library following the incident.

State Sen. Rick Girdler also drew criticism in February after repeating language considered anti-Semitic openly in a state legislature committee meeting. Girdler uttered the phrase after it was used by another legislator to point out that it was said, and even observed that it wasn't "the right word to use," but nevertheless came under scrutiny for doing so, leading Girdler to issue a public apology. It was just one part of a rough year for Girdler, who had his senate district shaken up with redistricting early in the year, losing Boyle and Lincoln Counties and gaining Clinton, Cumberland, Russell and Wayne Counties to go along with Pulaski, and in May, suffered a heart attack from which he fully recovered.

10. Go, Go, Going for a World RecordSomernites Cruise has always brought big numbers of cars to downtown Somerset, but never like it did in August, when organizers attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the largest parade of Ford vehicles — and unofficially break the world record for Mustangs as well. The record for Fords was set in Bulgaria in 2016, and the Cruise team wanted to bring it to the U.S. — the number to break was 1,527. The attempt required a lot of planning, including the need to close the Cumberland Parkway to other traffic that Saturday.

Ultimately, the attempt fell short, though it was still the best-attended Cruise ever, with around 2,100 cars of all kinds in attendance. Would they ever try for it again? "Never say never," said Somernites Cruise Executive Director Keith Floyd.