This is the time of year we here at The Fountain Hills Times like to reflect on the previous 12 months and look forward to the 12 months ahead.

We’ve spent the past two issues looking back, offering a crash course in all the biggest headlines from last year and writing refresher stories tackling some of the most noteworthy topics. While 2021 was a pretty tame year, the Town, local schools, clubs, churches, businesses and organizations still managed to get a lot done. Park equipment was repaired, a handful of residential developments got well underway, activities resumed around town and street safety projects were completed. There was steady progress throughout the community and, given the circumstances, that feels like enough.

Now the big question is, what comes next? COVID-19 is still a lingering nuisance, so hopefully 2022 is the year we finally get this pandemic under control. Those development projects mentioned above should be complete in the coming months, so we’ll be interested to learn what sort of impact that might have on the community. There’s a big election on the horizon, and more than half a dozen potential candidates have already begun the process to be included on the ballot. Local schools have had it especially tough trying to balance safety precautions with academics and athletics, so we’re hoping the lives of local students will be able to move closer toward normalcy in 2022.

There are a lot of question marks on the road ahead, but we look forward to filling in the blanks on a weekly basis as we head into yet another year of bringing the news to the residents of Fountain Hills and the surrounding communities.