The year ending at midnight tonight has been one more in a string of eventful years for our area. The Year in Review lists the Top 10 local stories for 2004, but it fails, by definition, to give a complete history.

Say goodbye to a year when

Snow in late February closed schools but hurricanes did most of their damage elsewhere.

Brantley Briley was named president of Lenoir Community College and interim President Joyce Cherry retired for the third time.

A street in East Kinston was renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The largest fire in Greene County history engulfed a kenaf warehouse north of Snow Hill and smoldered for days, eventually costing $4.3 million. Three teens were arrested for arson.

Lenoir County Schools surveyed its employees and then burned the original forms to ensure the privacy of people who participated.

The Kinston Indians capped an exciting season by winning the coveted Mills Cup, the Carolina League's championship trophy, for the first time since 1995.

Greene County schools received a $500,000 windfall when Judge Paul Jones ordered a bail bond insurance company to pay up after a drug suspect failed to attend his scheduled court appearance, thus forfeiting his bail.

A new Sears store opened at Vernon Park Mall, which received a major facelift.

Hoyt Minges, E.K. Best and Ely Perry Jr. were among community leaders who died.

Raleigh-based Longistics teased its arrival at the Global TransPark, cancelled its plan, sued the GTP, withdrew the suit and finally said it would set up at the park.

Two young athletes, Joshua Lovick and Curtis Hines, brought fame to Kinston. Savannah Middle School's Lovick won the 12-and-under Pepsi Pitch, Hit and Run North American championship. Kinston High School's Hines won the international championship in the Knights of Columbus 14-and-under free-throw shooting competition by going 25-for-25.

Lenoir Community College's baseball team advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series for the first time in school history and finished fifth in the nation.

The Historical Preservation Group saved a Civil War battlefield and dedicated a memorial to the late Wil King Jr.

Voters turned out in record numbers to send long-time Lenoir County Commissioner Oscar Herring home and helped George Bush keep the White House.

Those events, and many more, marked a busy year in our area. And now, on to 2005.

#10 - Tough year for former DuPont plant workers

It was definitely a tough year for employees of the former DuPont plant.

After two ownership changes in only four months, employees of the plant learned in October that the new owners will be cutting 490 jobs.

Unifi, a nylon company based in Greensboro, will reduce the number of employees at the Kinston plant from 750 to 250 by March. In September, the company cut wages at the plant by 20 percent.

The layoffs were not unexpected to many employees. Unifi is closing two major product lines as part of its plan to streamline operations.

DuPont's Invista division was sold to Kansas-based Koch Industries on May 1. The $4.2 billion price tag was reported to be the largest in Koch's history.

But in July, Koch announced it was selling the plant to Unifi for $21 million. High-ranking Koch officials said at that time that the only alternative to selling the plant was to close it.

Unifi Chief Operating Officer Bill Lowe defended the need to cut jobs at the Kinston plant.

"We've been exiting certain nonprofitable products, and this is part of a total effort to make the company profitable," Lowe said. "This is the first major step to building a solid base, and we think this puts us in a position where we need to be."

Beverly Alston, manager of the N.C. Employment Security Commission in Kinston, said this week that her office has been offering assistance to Unifi workers affected by the layoffs.

"We have held group sessions with the workers to offer instruction on unemployment alternatives as well as career exploration and trade readjustment schools," Alston said.

#9 - WASA project huge and costly

A massive project to provide water to more than 100,000 Eastern North Carolina residents received a boost in April through a $62 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Neuse River Water and Sewer Authority will use the money to build a regional treatment facility to water Lenoir and Pitt county townships, owned and operated by the participating governments.

The need for a regional water authority surfaced after North Carolina's environmental health services issued a report indicating Eastern North Carolina was draining its groundwater sources. A state law was passed requiring the region to find alternate water sources and to eventually reduce by 75 percent the amount of water pulled from the ground.

Public hearings were held in Kinston and in county townships from Pink Hill in Lenoir County to Bell Arthur in Pitt County. Many towns opted to buy into a WASA membership, even though residential water bills were guaranteed to increase.

Towns like La Grange and Grifton wavered in joining WASA, primarily because of the substantial monthly water rate increase. Both town boards later voted to join, citing a need for water in future years as the primary reason.

Other areas declined membership, including Greene County, now looking at Pitt County for a possible future water source. Pitt County has several communities that joined WASA for future water provision.

The massive project costs are estimated at more than $109 million before the 2007 targeted completion date. The plant is expected to pump at least 12 million gallons a day, and as much as 30 million gallons a day, as demand increases.

Engineers estimate the project will require 57 miles of pipe to carry water to Pink Hill, Deep Run, Kinston, North Lenoir, Grifton, Ayden and Bell Arthur.

Kinston has already begun assessing a $1 fee on its utility bills. In July, a 14 percent rate increase went into effect, designed to help pay costs associated with the multi-million plant.

#8 - GTP misses out on Vought aircraft plant

Kinston and the state were unable to lure a major aircraft manufacturing plant to the Global TransPark again this year.

Vought Aircraft Industries, of Dallas, and its Italian partner, Alenia Aeronautica, announced Dec. 1 their plans to invest more than $560 million in a plant at Charleston, S.C., that will integrate fuselage sections for Boeing's next-generation 7E7 Dreamliner. The GTP, Mobile, Ala., and Charleston had been considered among the sites most likely to land the Vought plant. Mobile withdrew from the race in October.

Until the end of 2003, the GTP also had been in the running to house the Boeing plant that will build and assemble the Dreamliner. That plant went to Washington State.

Vought would have been a big boost to the ailing GTP and invigorated the local economy. More than 600 jobs, with an average yearly salary of $50,000, would have been created.

State Rep. Stephen LaRoque, R-Lenoir, isn't sure the state did everything possible to bring the aircraft manufacturing plant to Kinston. He believes intense lobbying by leading South Carolina officials, especially the governor, was a major reason North Carolina failed to land the plant.

But Vought officials pointed to other reasons for the Charleston site selection, including access to a deep-water port, airport and rail system infrastructure, readily available land, a trained workforce and attractive economic incentives.

Vought President and CEO Tom Risley also pointed to the ability of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Commerce Secretary Bob Faith to sell their state as business-friendly.

#7 -Voters OK $2.6 million bond for library

Lenoir County voters in November approved the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library's $2.6 million library expansion bond.

Residents will pay an additional 1 cent per $100 valuation in property taxes to pay off the bond.

The expansion will add 10,000 square feet to the library's existing 29,000 square feet. Plans also include renovation of the library's solarium. The project is expected be complete in 18 months.

The library was built about 20 years ago and has outgrown its space. Attendance has increased 266 percent, circulation has increased by 156 percent, reference questions are up 675 percent, attendance at adult programs is up 226 percent and attendance at children's programs is up 127 percent.

Agnes Ho, director of libraries, said she hopes a committee, including members of the library board, Friends of the Library and county and city officials, will be able to review and select an architect before the end of January, hire the architect in February and begin design work by March.

"I'm really happy and excited about getting started," Ho said in November. "We are taking this project very seriously. We want to get it done quickly, but we want to make sure it is getting done the right way."

#6 - Tobacco buyout, last auction ends way of life for many residents

Farmers and buyers gathered at Kinston's Gold Dollar Warehouse Oct. 19 for the last tobacco auction of the season, and possibly the last auction ever. Just three days later, President Bush signed into law a long-awaited $10.1 billion buyout of the nation's tobacco farmers.

The buyout wipes out a Depression-era quota system designed to artificially inflate domestic tobacco prices. Quotas, however, have been reduced in recent years and farmers have felt the effects of cheaper overseas competition more and more every year.

The buyout will bring millions to local farmers. About 4,000 farmers in Lenoir and Greene counties will benefit from an expected $80,000,000, with 187 receiving more than $250,000.

But with no more tobacco quotas, local governments are looking at the likelihood of losing thousands of dollars in property taxes. Tax officials in both Lenoir and Greene counties have said either their tax bases will have to increase or there is a good chance taxes will need to be raised.

Although glad to see the money, area tobacco growers have expressed concerns about how the buyout will affect the industry. Some say they will take the money and retire. Some younger growers have said they will stay in the business despite an uncertain future.

Three buyers bought 166,471 pounds of tobacco at the Gold Dollar Warehouse auction on the final day of the season. Of that total, 94 percent went to a farmer-owned stabilization co-op that no longer exists now that the buyout has become law.

For many, the auction was a time to reminisce about a way of life that helped build Eastern North Carolina.

"It certainly is different today," said 83-year-old James Taylor, who has attended auctions most of his life. "This is looking pretty weak."

Jimmy Byrd, who has been around tobacco warehouses for five decades, also pointed to the end of an era.

"Ten years from now, the only tobacco in this country is going to be in a box," Byrd said. "It's all going to be from Brazil."

#5 - Flu vaccine shortage creates panic

October usually marks the time when health officials gear up for the flu season by offering flu shots through clinics and other health organizations.

But a shock wave hit the country and reverberated down to Lenoir County when the flu vaccine manufacturer for half the nation's vaccine supply announced it would have to destroy the year's supply. The announcement resulted in near-panic for residents who routinely receive the shot year after year.

The Lenoir County Health Department had not ordered vaccine from the company that destroyed its supply, but officials still were forced to cancel walk-in clinics and focus on priority recipients.

Lenoir Memorial Hospital was not so lucky. Its entire supply was ordered from the company that destroyed its vaccine. Health care workers at the hospital had to find flu shots from any available source they could, and the hospital also cancelled its flu shot clinics.

Following strict guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Lenoir County Health Department put together a plan to address vaccine needs for all high-risk patients, mostly the elderly, children younger than 2 and people with chronic health conditions.

As the weeks rolled by, most Lenoir County residents considered high-risk patients received their shots. State and federal health officials rounded up more vaccine and shipped much of it to areas needing additional doses, including Lenoir County.

CDC loosened restrictions on guidelines for people receiving flu shots, lowering the age to 50 or older. By year's end, almost everyone who needed a flu shot had received one, and health officials were optimistic about having enough vaccine for the entire flu season.

#4 - Police/fire merger becomes permanent

The Kinston Police Department and Kinston Fire Department ceased to exist this year. The two agencies earlier merged in an experiment proponents touted as streamlining the city's services with a financial benefit.

Money saved in cutting administrative costs could be used to put more officers and firefighters on the street.

With the official stamp of approval from the city council in February, the newly created Kinston Department of Public Safety became a permanent organization.

There have been some growing pains as firefighters and police learned to operate as part of one agency. New titles seemed to come and go before the departments leaders settled in their new roles.

Former Fire Chief Greg Smith was selected to oversee the entire department; former Police Chief Scotty Hill took on new duties as Deputy Director.

The city council often expressed skepticism over the merger, with some city leaders wondering if the merger wasn't creating more layers of bureaucracy for the city's fire and policing responsibilities.

Others questioned the wisdom of having an experienced police chief in a position primarily focused on administrative supervisory functions.

They also worried that Smith and Hill's experience in their respective fields would be underutilized with both police and firefighters working in one department.

The city council eventually was convinced - approval of the merger was unanimous.

With one budget - and one uniform - the Kinston Department of Public Safety has taken its first steps into the future.

Department leaders promise that the change will make little difference to the public when it counts the most.

Police officers will still fight crime, and firefighters will waste no time responding to a burning buildings.

#3 - West Pharmaceutical reopens in Kinston

The dust has long since settled from a deadly 2003 factory explosion, but West Pharmaceutical Services was very much in the news in 2004.

Amidst legal troubles and a federal safety investigation, the company's leadership decided to stay in Kinston. The new plant officially opened in August, bringing back employees who had been working at a plant in the Midwest since the deadly January 2003 explosion. The decision to stay was in some part due to the tremendous outpouring of community support for the company and its employees through a trying time that captured the attention of the national media.

"Business and industry go where they feel they're wanted, but stay only where they feel they're appreciated," Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce President Bruce Parson told The Free Press.

The new state-of-the-art factory greets visitors coming into Kinston from points west along U.S. 70. Joy and celebration among employees was evident, but for every smile at the ribbon-cutting ceremony a tear was shed for the six colleagues lost in the explosion.

Less than a month after the new plant's official opening, the U.S. Chemical Safety Hazard and Investigation Board released its final verdict on the cause of the explosion: fine plastic powder.

The powder, used in the production of rubber products, had filtered through the plant's ventilation system and collected above an unsealed suspended ceiling. The dust is explosive when mixed with air and only one spark was needed to engulf the entire building in flames.

The CSB doesn't levy fines, but it does look at its findings and make safety recommendations to industry and labor groups to help avoid another similar tragedy.

#2 - Lenoir County gets new school head

The face of Lenoir County Public Schools changed in July when John Frossard took over leadership of the county's schools.

Frossard replaced former superintendent Curtis Rains, who announced in November 2003 his plan to resign when his contract expired June 30.

The school board paid the North Carolina School Boards Association $5,000 to conduct a search for Rains' replacement. The association collected 23 applications after the process began in January.

School board members narrowed the field of applicants in March and began interviewing candidates in April. Frossard was hired during an emergency meeting about a week after interviews began. The decision came about a month earlier than the board's tentative schedule had specified.

"Things happened and we had to act pretty quickly," board member Clay Howard said in April.

When the board learned that Frossard was being recruited by other school systems, members thought it was best to go ahead and make an offer, board Chairwoman Connie Mintz said.

Frossard was the board's unanimous choice. From the initial 23 applicants to the six finalists, Mintz said, the board agreed that Frossard was the best choice.

"He is not only very professional, but he seems to have a real sense of what students need," Mintz said in April. "He has an 18-year-old son about to enter college. He's in tune with current education needs and the availability of certain educational services."

Rains has since become the management consultant and CEO of the Kinston Charter Academy, a school opened under the leadership of Lenoir County Board of Education member Johnnie Lyles.

#1 - Smithfield expands, Delta Airlines to fly

In a year of economic uncertainty, at least two bright spots illuminated Lenoir County: A local meat producer announced a new plant and a major airline announced that commercial air service was returning to Kinston.

With the help of a $5 million incentive package offered by Kinston and Lenoir County, Smithfield Packing Co. in October unveiled plans for a new $80 million plant to be up and running by April 2006. Company officials said they expect the new plant to employ 206 people making an average $11.85 an hour. No jobs will be lost at the company's West Vernon Avenue plant, officials said.

The new180,000-square-foot plant will focus on processing and packing a ham product marketed by the company.

Earlier this month, Delta Airlines made an announcement that has many Eastern North Carolinians eager to take to the skies.

Starting April 1, three flights a day will leave the Kinston Regional Jetport bound for Delta's hub in Atlanta.

It was good news at an often beleaguered Global TransPark, where the last passenger flight took off four years ago.

Community leaders touted the new flights as a boost not just for Kinston and Lenoir County, but for the entire region.

While other regional airport leaders scratched their heads wondering why Kinston won Delta, economic developers focused on how the flights would provide the east with an option to Raleigh-Durham International Airport for a flight.