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, local schools and sports and more. This year, we’re also reaching out to local clubs, businesses and places of worship to discuss what can be conservatively called “a unique year.”

Believe it or not, 2020 wasn’t all doom and gloom brought on by the global pandemic. Yes, there were plenty of lows tied to COVID-19, but Fountain Hills still managed to forge ahead despite all of its challenges. A lot of development took place, efforts were made to create safer streets and, despite the need to make alterations, folks figured out ways to stay connected, keep having meetings and carry out charitable acts.

With a vaccine rolling out and the community’s proven resilience, here’s hoping the new year will see life return to something resembling normal. There are sure to be more hurdles along the way and the process will likely be slow-moving but, in the end, Fountain Hills is the kind of community that can take a licking and keep on ticking.

As for your community newspaper, thank you for sticking with us throughout these hard times, and here’s to moving ever forward in 2021.