This week, The Times begins its annual tradition of looking back over the previous year’s worth of stories. It’s a two-week affair that recaps some of the biggest news of the past 12 months (a list of which begins on page 1A of this week’s paper), as well as breakout stories looking at more granular topics such as town projects, development, local schools, sports and more.

The COVID-19 pandemic has remained a part of our daily lives this past year, but Fountain Hills still managed to forge ahead despite all of its challenges. A lot of residential development took place, efforts were made to create safer streets, schools and related activities have been steady and, while some safety measures have remained in place throughout the year, most of our community events and activities were able to move ahead without a hitch.

Yes, we’ve got a new variant throwing a wrench into the works and there are still plenty of safety concerns, but we have hope that 2022 will showcase an even bigger swing back toward normalcy than this past year. Fountain Hills’ vaccine rates are high and folks have gotten good about taking proper measures when they start to feel sick so, as long as we keep taking care of ourselves and our neighbors, we choose to stay optimistic about the road ahead.

As for your local newspaper, the staff of The Fountain Hills Times would like to thank the community for sticking with us this year, just as you have for more than four decades. We’re proud to bring you the news, and we’re proud to have you as our readers.