We're trying desperately not to say: "Play it again, Sam."

Hence: Encore, here is a top story from every edition of South this year.

The stories recalled here are a mix of good news and bad; whimsy and not so. Some made us weep, a few made us laugh out loud. All informed.

We made our choices based on the feedback the news article received and its impact on the community.

The two top stories of the year in the South Hills continue to resonate throughout the nation and the world: The dreadful state of the economy and the historic election last month of Barack Obama as the new president of the United States.

Residents here had much to say on those subjects. Indeed, among our most read stories were two separate, but related, South series which polled undecided voters among our neighbors. The first gauged the progress of the pivotal Pennsylvania presidential Primary in May. The second did the same with the Big Show in November.

We all know what happened: Barack Obama is the president-elect -- and the first African-American to win the office-- and Hillary Clinton is the soon-to-be new Secretary of State.

But a strictly local story that caused lots of buzz is the status of Century III Mall. Any mention of the West Mifflin mall -- once the veritable Dawntawn for meeting, greeting and shopping in the Mon Valley -- causes a flurry of news reports and letters to the editor.

Century III most recently was in the news again last month after mall management requested that some bus service be cut to what, for many, is a destination site.

Mall management said the request was made to save wear and tear to its parking lots and that Century III had double the bus service -- 205 buses entering and exiting daily -- of other local malls.

"You would think [mall officials] would be would be looking for all ways to get people there, instead of cancelling buses,'' wrote Mike Smalley, of West Mifflin, in a letter to the editor published in South on Dec. 4.

Mark Walgora who lives across the street from the mall, suggested in a letter published Nov. 20 that the mall be developed into a New Expo Mart.

"With the growth of the Allegheny County airport and multiple hotels in the area this would be a great place to have conventions and shows and would bring more people to restaurants and stores here,'' he suggested.

Another surefire way to get a debate going? Talk about deer. As in: Oh, deer, should we cull/kill/feed Bambi?

We got a flurry of letters on the merits/cons, of deer culls throughout the South Hills and elsewhere after Suburban Living columnist Ruth Ann Daily wrote in the Nov. 6 edition: "Why not let property owners decide what to do about deer?"

Among them was one from Elaine Gillen, of Mt. Lebanon, who wrote:

"A 'public safety nightmare' is a good way to describe the deer culling efforts in Mt. Lebanon parks, with no notification given to neighbors. Mt. Lebanon has spent close to $100,000 for deer management. Deer culling has divided neighborhoods, caused fear and not pleased people who have zero tolerance for deer.''

We like the feedback in the letters to the editor column; it's the readers' venue to put their words down on paper -- and in cyberspace. We get to express ourselves each week; so do you: The letters are your forum.

The stories and photos we selected for review today, informed, sometime entertained, and reflected our continuing conversation with you.

Happy New Year! We're looking forward to a new year filled with good headlines.

-- Virginia Kopas Joe
South editor

The top South stories for 2008:

Jan. 3

Street minister, the Rev. Sheldon Stoudemire of Clairton, a former professional boxer and Army Ranger, helped organize MAD DADS in an effort to end violence that has plagued the town. The acronym stands for the national group Men Against Destruction -- Defending Against Drugs and Social Disorder.

In the last quarter of 2007, two Clairton women were murdered, police say by teenage boys from the city. One, Jody Burdette, 38, the mother of three, was gunned down coming out of convenience store. The other, Florence Ranta, 82, a widow, was beaten and stabbed in her own home.

Johnie Washington III, 15, of Clairton, was charged with homicide, burglary, robbery and theft in Mrs. Ranta's murder. He used to cut the victim's grass.

Charged with the homicide of Mrs. Burdette, is Parrish Linnen, 16, of Clairton.

WHAT HAPPENED: Both suspects are in the Allegheny County jail awaiting their trials in the new year. Mr. Linnen's trial is set for March 30 before Common Pleas Judge Randal Todd. Mr. Washington faces trial Feb. 17.

Jan. 10

Dwindling congregations at two Lutheran churches in the South Hills caused the merger of our Savior Lutheran Church in Mt. Lebanon and Hope Lutheran in Upper St. Clair.

WHAT HAPPENED: The churches officially merged in May and a combined congregation of about 240 people now attends services at the new Peace Lutheran Church, 2799 Old Washington Road, the former Hope Lutheran building. The Rev. Jamison Hardy, who served both churches before the merger, is the first pastor of the new congregation.

Jan. 17

Green Tree council President Mark Sampogna announced a $1,000 study to determine if it was feasible to install a windmill to generate electricity at the borough park behind Aiken Elementary. He estimated that it would save $5,000 in the yearly electric bill.

WHAT HAPPENED: The study was completed this summer and council has asked the state Department of Environmental Protection for $168,000 to fund the project. The borough would pay $5,000 toward the total $173,000. The money must be received, said council, before it makes a decision on whether to install the windmill, actually a turbine with a propeller about 25 feet in width. We reported on the update in a July 31 story: "State money factor in windmill plan.''

Jan. 24

In a tribute to Catholic Schools week, we visited St. Michael School in Elizabeth Borough, a school with 49 students in grades K-8, five teachers and a lab equipped with used computers. Students' families take an active part in the church.

WHAT HAPPENED: In the end the little school couldn't. The last day of classes for St. Michael was June 3. We revisited and reported on that last day in our June 5 edition with "Goodbye to a century of service" Students now attend St. Joseph Regional Catholic School in Port Vue.

Jan 31

Abdul Hakeem Hussein of Fallujah, Iraq, returned to Pittsburgh for more treatment at Children's Hospital for facial injuries he suffered during a 2004 mortar attack that severely disfigured the left side of his face. He also visited Brentwood Middle School to visit students he met during his first trip here for medical treatment in 2006. He and his father stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Oakland while here.

WHAT HAPPENED: Abdul continues to improve and stays in touch with Brentwood students via e-mail, even though his Iraqi home has electricity available only three hours a day. They talk about a lot about his action hero Jackie Chan and soccer. He hopes to return to Pittsburgh and plans to become a doctor.

Feb. 7

Century III Mall had some 30 empty storefronts on this date but mall marketer Christine Jamison, in a letter to the editor, called the mall lively and said that it was business as usual. Her letter and subsequent ones from residents set off a series of stories about the state of the Mall, once the shopping mecca for the Mon Valley.

Feb. 14

Century III received a 41 percent reduction in its property assessment, potentially costing Allegheny County, West Mifflin and the West Mifflin School District at least $1.5 million in annual tax revenue. The borough and district have appealed the reduction, which dates back to 2006 and dropped the mall's assessed value from $112 to $66 million. A decision is still pending. The l.3 million-square-foot mall is largest property in the borough and its largest taxpayer.

WHAT HAPPENED: The appeal continues. And, in the early part of this year letters to the editor claimed that roving youths, described by one writer on this date as "gangsta-wannabees" and empty storefronts were a problem. Mall representatives continue to insist they are not.

Feb. 21

Mt. Lebanon High School students produced a video showing a fictional drunk driving accident, as part of the national "Every 15 Minutes" project to educate students about the dangers of drinking and driving. Students, local police and rescue teams helped in the filming. The video was so chillingly comprehensive, it included a "viewing" at the Laughlin Funeral Home.

WHAT HAPPENED: The finished film was shown to students and the community in a gala red carpet premier May 18 at the high school theater. We reported on that in our May 22 edition, in "Student film depicts tragedy of drunk driving,'' one of a series of three stories and photos about the event.

Feb. 28

Pierce Anderson, a Bethel High School student who died Feb. 12 from an accidental drug overdose, was mourned by the community with a special tie-dye day at the school. Pierce, a talented musician, sometimes wore that 1970s' style of dress.

WHAT HAPPENED: Educators held a series of assemblies at the high school to remind students of the support systems they should use if they fall into a destructive behavior. Also on May 14, Pierce's parents, Scott and Kathy Anderson, were in the audience at a seminar on drug and alcohol awareness at the Bethel Park Community Center. The grieving parents were given a glass figurine of an angel by Denise Nunley, a Bethel grad and recovering heroin addict who told her story to the crowd.

March 6

South kicked off its comprehensive coverage of high school musicals in style with a look at the West Mifflin production of "The Wiz,' " the R&B and gospel-influenced remake of L. Frank Baum's "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

WHAT HAPPENED: From March throughout mid-May, South did previews of these extraordinary student productions that showcase local talent. A list of the 120 musicals appeared on our Web site.

March 13

The future of White Oak borough concerned some of its leaders worried about failing housing prices and lackluster business. In a surprise move, council president Jack Petro proposed changing the name of the McKeesport Area School District to change things around.

WHAT HAPPENED: White Oak's 650 students continue to attend McKeesport Area, but there is continuing conversation among White Oak officials, leaders of the four other towns that make up the district and school administrators to advance a more positive image.

March 20

Five Mt. Lebanon residents filed a petition seeking a court-ordered audit of a political action committee that was responsible for mailing some controversial post cards just before Election Day Nov. 6, 2007. The cards urged the ousting of incumbents for school board. In that election, four new directors were elected, just one incumbent was re-elected and two incumbent lost their seats.

WHAT HAPPENED: A hearing was held May 12. In our May 15 edition we reported "Judge dismisses election petition'' in which Common Pleas President Judge Joseph James dismissed the petition that accused the political action committee of providing false information on forms it filed with the county Elections Division.

Still, Karen Cullen, one of five Mt. Lebanon residents behind the filing of the petition, said she still believes the hearing was a success because it revealed who was behind the Save Mt. Lebanon Schools Committee's efforts to oust three incumbent school directors in the November 2007 election. Though the only committee members identified in campaign reports made with the county Elections Division were Mt. Lebanon residents Calvin Lynch and William Schmeltzer, testimony at the hearing indicated that County Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty and two of his employees, Terry Matuszak and Faith Ann Stipanovich, were involved in creating the post cards. Ms. Stipanovich, who won a seat on the school board in the election, said she didn't realize she was proof reading copy for the post cards when her co-worker, Mr. Matuszak, asked her to look over information.

March 27

It was a chance to tell state politicians to be gone with the wind -- and have them thank you for it. State Rep. Harry Readshaw, of Carrick, helped to host the novel Civil War Preservation Ball in the glorious state capitol rotunda, which raised money for decaying monuments in the Gettysburg battlefield.

WHAT HAPPENED: The ball will be held again March 29. If you want to attend, or donate to the monument fund, contact Rep. Readshaw at 412-881-4208.

April 3

"Primary brings big push for votes"

April 10

"Countdown to Commitment"

April 17

"Clinton's win fails to sway them''

April 24

Martin Flaherty

Dan Tatomir

Alex Pazuchanics

Janice Matyasovsky

John Matyasovsky

All eyes were on the pivotal Pennsylvania primary this year as senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were locked in a bitter battle for the Democratic nomination for president. Well it's all history now but for three weeks in April -- in the editions of the 3rd, 10th and 17th, we tracked five voters as they navigated the many, and often nasty, headlines to made up their minds.

WHAT HAPPENED: After the April 22 primary, panel members told us how -- and why -- they voted as they did. Despite the Clinton win in the state, four of our five panelists voted for Mr. Obama, who, of course, went on to win the nomination -- then, in November, the office.

May 1

The firm of Gentile-Meinert & Associates of Monaca, Beaver County, schedules a visit to Upper St. Clair to look at the district's campuswide security. The consultation was in direct response to the then pending case involving a freshman who police said sexually assaulted at least four students, some on school property.

WHAT HAPPENED: The freshman, charged with multiple counts of rape, remains under house arrest and did not attend school. He could face up to four years of incarceration if found guilty. The family of one of the alleged victims has filed a federal lawsuit against the school district and several officials, claiming they were aware of the incidents but failed to take appropriate action. On Dec. 5, the school district responded by filing a request that the complaint be dismissed.

The alleged assaults took place from November 2007 through Feb. 4, 2008, some in a secluded stairwell at the high school. The district put in place new security protocols after the charges. Among them, students have to leave the high school after the final bell at 2:20 p.m. and must be under the supervision of a teacher or activity sponsor after 4:30, when the academic wing is locked down.

The security firm recommended the use of additional security cameras in its late-April report.

May 8

In a tribute to Mother's Day, we went to the christening ceremony of little Mariah Stypula, 7 weeks. Mariah, daughter of Brian Stypula and Beth Lion-Stypula, of Baldwin Borough, was the fourth generation of babies in that family to wear a christening gown made for her great-grandmother, Catherine Stypula, also of Baldwin Borough. The cotton and lace dress, with sheer overlay, was made from the wedding gown of Catherine Stypula's mother. Mariah was the 32nd family member to wear it.

WHAT HAPPENED: Mariah is now nine months old and walking. "She is a very happy baby,'' reports her mom. The lace gown is carefully packed away in special blue cloth for baby number 33, who will be christened after Brian Stypula's cousin gives birth within the next few months. Catherine Stypula is doing well and hosted the family's annual Christmas Eve gathering.

May 15

The Bethel Park school board and some residents want the municipality to approve a variance so a new, single-building high school can be built on Church Road, site of the current campus. But other residents and members of the zoning hearing board argue that the new school should not be built.

WHAT HAPPENED: The zoning board later that month denied a variance to build the school. But the board said in "Several district plan updates, new construction" on July 24, that it is moving ahead with plans, despite the denial.

May 22

Residents tell us they will be cautious -- day-trips are popular -- when it comes to this summer's vacation plans because of skyrocketing gas and jet fuel prices. This week the American Automobile Association said the national average -- $3.80 a gallon -- for gasoline is an all-time high, 70 cents a gallon higher than last May.

WHAT HAPPENED: Gas prices continued to rise until we broke the $4 a gallon mark in mid June. In "Travel agencies still busy," which appeared July 3, some agents in the South Hills, said people were still traveling, but staying in the United States, with Las Vegas and Orlando, Fl., the most popular. Price at the pump averaged $4.06 locally, $4.09 nationally. By Sept. 1 --Labor Day-- however, prices had edged down to around $3.67 locally for a gallon of unleaded. Then this month, just in time for the holidays, gas prices oozed down to $1.79 a gallon the week of Dec. 15.

May 29

Managers for South towns, such as McKeesport and Brentwood, went on record with concerns about the escalating price of health care benefits for municipal employees. McKeesport, for example, saw Highmark premiums raise 83 percent, a cost that Mayor Jim Brewster said could put the town ''out of business.'' The McKeesport mayor was looking for a new insurance provider.

WHAT HAPPENED: McKeesport did not fold, and is working to get a new health carrier.

June 5

It's become increasingly difficult to find undeveloped land in suburbia, but we found and reported on the Frank Mastandrea farm in Castle Shannon, where generations of families live off the land and in the original circa 1880s farmhouse.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Mastandrea family endures.

June 12

Sherri Koehnke, the mother of a girl who was missing for 10 years, filed suit against the City of McKeesport and the two officers who handled her daughter's case. Tanya Kach was 14-years old when she disappeared; Ten years later she emerged from the McKeesport home of Thomas Hose, a security guard at the school she attended. Ms. Kach said she was seduced as a teenager by Mr. Hose and that he held her captive by threatening her. In 2006, she revealed her real identity to owners of a deli in town.

Mr. Hose, who pleaded guilty to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison and is presently serving at SCI-Camp Hill.

WHAT HAPPENED: In June, Ms. Kach filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. Hose, the police department and the McKeesport Area School District. In September, Ms. Kach's lawsuit was dismissed on grounds that her statue of limitations had run out. She has filed an appeal.

Ms. Koehnke's suit was also dismissed on the same grounds in late October. She has also filed an appeal.

June 19

Longtime police chief Christopher Kelly announced his retirement after a 35 year career in law enforcement, the last 20 as Baldwin Borough's chief. "It's a younger man job,'' he said of his decision.

WHAT HAPPENED: On Aug. 12, council appointed Sgt. Larry Heidenreich to serve in the interim. The search continues for a new chief for the 24-member department.

June 26

Former Duquesne high school students, who were transferred to West Mifflin and East Allegheny schools talk to us about their first year in new surroundings. Most of the students adapted without problem and many were involved in new extracurricular activities that were not available at their old school. In 2007 the state board of control closed Duquesne High School.

WHAT HAPPENED: The students are now in their second year and all accounts indicate the transition has been smooth.

July 3

Actor and college professor Jay Breckenridge, 66, portrayed Uncle Sam during a July 4 holiday weekend celebration at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin. He did it on stilts, which made him 8 feet, 6 inches tall. He acquired the art of stilt walking while working with a circus.

WHAT HAPPENED: Mr. Breckenridge continues to teach theater arts at Penn State Greater Allegheny, in McKeesport, and perform at celebrations thoroughout the region. He says he does it "for the smiles.''

July 10

Realtors in the South Hills say the area has managed to escape the steep declines in the housing industry that plague most of the nation. Similarly, the foreclosure rate in Pennsylvania overall is better than most: Pennsylvania's foreclosure rate is one in every 1,696. The national average is one in every 483.

WHAT HAPPENED: We checked again in November and found that the worsening national economy has finally caused a housing slump here. Sales in the metro Pittsburgh area have fallen 16.4 percent over last year.

July 17

Bethel Park High School Class of 1958 has its 50th reunion with a special visit from Dr. Klaus von Schnakenburg, the class' foreign exchange student from Bielefeld, Germany. He was the district's first foreign exchange student.

WHAT HAPPENED: Dr. von Schnakenburg, a retired pediatrician, attended the reunion at Valleybrook Country Club and visited with some members of his hosts of 50 years ago, the Parson family. He and his wife, Gisela, also went on the Just Ducky tour through Downtown and visited Fallingwater, Gettysburg, Niagara Falls and Cape Cod before returning home. The couple said while this was their first reunion, it will not be their last.

July 24

State Auditor General Jack Wagner's office released an audit report that alleged that former Elizabeth Borough secretary Cora King misappropriated borough funds by writing herself additional paychecks and reimbursing herself for vacation, holiday and personal time she was not entitled to as a part-time employee, and by making payments on her student loans.

WHAT HAPPENED: The report was turned over to Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr., who charged Ms. King with using $7,937 in borough funds for her own purposes. Ms. King had a hearing scheduled for Nov. 19 before District Judge Eugene Riazzi but waived her right to a preliminary hearing.

July 31

U.S. Steel Corp. opened a new Mon Valley Works Training Hub in Duquesne. The hub is a refurnished building that once housed the boiler and machine shops of U.S. Steel's former Duquesne Works.

WHAT HAPPENED: Training is under way at the center for workers of three mills that make up the Mon Valley works: Clairton plant, Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock and the Irvin plant, in West Mifflin. The 32,500-square-foot facility is also used for corporate activities.

Aug. 7

Officials of Castle Shannon said plans for a long talked-about residential and retail development were on again. The $32 million revitalization project at the Castle Shannon light rail transit stop had been proposed about a decade ago by Developer Jim Aiello, of JRA Development Group Inc., of Lawrenceville. Government funding for a portion of the project is one of the holdups.

WHAT HAPPENED: No follow up announcement has been made, but the project is not off the table.

Aug. 14

Anna Mae Gorman Lindberg, 92, of Munhall, a member of the 1932 U.S. Olympic swim team, is honored by the Homestead Public Library during the Beijing Olympic Games. Mrs. Lindberg still swims three times a week in the Munhall library's historic pool.

WHAT HAPPENED: The week Ms. Lindberg was honored, American swimmer Michael Phelps took the grandest of swimming -- and Olympic -- records when on Aug. 16, he won eight gold medals in the Beijing Games. He had won 6 in the 2004 Athens Games.

Here at home Mrs. Lindberg is still swimming on a regular basis.

Aug. 21

Upper St Clair school director Daniel Iracki resigned from the school board, saying he was concerned with that board's restoration of the controversial international baccalaureate program. His term, his first, was to end in 2009.

WHAT HAPPENED: The board had 30 days to find a replacement and on Sept. 22 Frank Kerber, of Upper St. Clair, was sworn in. Mr. Kerber, who is retired from the U.S. Department of State, is an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

Aug. 28

The most ambitious retail venture ever in Washington County was scheduled to open Aug. 29. The Tanger -- rhymes with hanger -- outlets, some 75 shops, is across from the Meadows Racetrack and Casino. The pastel painted storefronts and colonial-style architecture are meant to give the look of old-fashioned Pennsylvania carriage homes. The project, which cost about $90 million, covers some 370,000 square feet, and created about 800 retail and union jobs.

WHAT HAPPENED: Tanger opened on time with about 75,000 people visiting the first day. Business was reported just as brisk for the Christmas shopping season.

Sept. 4

A special ''welcome center'' at Paynter Elementary School in Baldwin-Whitehall School District was created to help refugee children. Paynter has the district's largest refugee population, about 90 of its 670 pupils. The district has hosted a significant number of refugee students for the past decade; in recent years, educators have noticed the refugees are more needy because they are coming directly from camps and some have never lived in homes or attended school.

WHAT HAPPENED: In the inaugural of his "coffee talk" series, superintendent Lawrence Korchnak said there is no cap on the number of refugee students a district must take as long as the resettlement agencies continue to place such families within the district. And, he said, there is little outside financial help available. He said the district is still waiting to see if the state plans to approve a $54,000 grant Baldwin-Whitehall has received in the past for services to refugees. The district reassigned the grant for this year from the high school to Paynter.

Sept. 11

After five years of planing, a groundbreaking marked the beginning of Newbury, a $240 million residential and commercial development that many officials envision as a main street style gathering place in South Fayette. The development is on the site of an old chemical plant adjacent to the Interstate 79 Bridgeville interchange, and will include a mixed use commercial area on 88 acres and about 175 units on 200-plus acres.

WHAT HAPPENED: Gov. Ed Rendell announced Oct. 27 the South Fayette development would get $11 million in state financing to clean up the site. Some of the money will also be used for landscaping and pavement.

Sept. 18

Park elementary in Munhall was closed as district officials await results of air sampling taken at the school where asbestos was found during a roof replacement project.

WHAT HAPPENED: Asbestos was removed starting in late September and students attended Barrett Elementary in Homestead during the work. Park reopened Oct. 14 after the roof project was finished.

Sept. 25

Seventh- and eighth-graders at Duquesne Elementary played the first football game in the community's stadium since fall of 2006, the last school year Duquesne High existed. High-schoolers from Duquesne now attend either West Mifflin Area or East Allegheny high schools. The team took the field in new uniforms. Boys football is one of the extra curricular activities that the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, which is managing Duquesne elementary, has brought to the school.

WHAT HAPPENED: Duquesne won the season opener 20-14 over East Allegheny Wild Cats. The record for the season was 3-2.

Oct. 2

Landmark Kennywood Park in West Mifflin opens its popular Phantom Fright Nights which has about 250 workers and 10 walk-through attractions and numerous ''scare zones.''

WHAT HAPPENED: The scarefest ran Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 1 with crowds each night. Halloween is a big seller, the number two holiday, explained Kennywood General Manager Jerome Gibas.

Oct. 9

From Wall Street to Washington Boulevard in Mt. Lebanon, the talk is of the nation's financial crisis and the $700 billion bailout that occurred this month. We asked dozens of residents of the South Hills to comment. For those of a certain age, the crisis brought parallels to the Great Depression. Retiree Carmella Vatral, of West Mifflin, said "I think people are already on the street selling apples -- if they can afford the apples. These days even apples are expensive.''

WHAT HAPPENED: The economy remains in critical condition. Foreclosures and jobless rates continue to rise and two of the Big Three auto makers have asked for a bailout from Uncle Sam. Ford Motor Co. declined help at this time. President-elect Barak Obama unveiled a comprehensive plan to get America back on track that includes a kind of public works program to ease the nation's rising unemployment, and to start a big fix for the nation's infrastructure.

Oct. 16

"Undecideds continue to evaluate candidates"

Oct. 23

"It all comes down to Tuesday"

Oct. 30

"The undecideds decide"

Nov. 6

The historic election swept Barack Obama into office, the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office.

In this edition, our panelists told us how -- and why -- they voted as they did. Two of the four, Don Nemchick and Roy Hanbury, voted for Mr. Obama who, of course, is getting ready to move into the Oval Office.

WHAT HAPPPENED: President-elect Obama will move into the Oval Office next month. Hillary Clinton, who won the presidential primary in Pennsylvania but failed in November, is Mr. Obama's Secretary of State.

As for our panelists: We'll check with them in early May 2009 to get their impressions of the new president's first 100 days in office.

Nov. 13

Virtuous Academy, a private religious school, opened in the basement of the City of Hope Church of the Nazarene on South Fifth Street, Duquesne. The school, which has 11 enrolled, was founded by Iyana Tennon, a city native, with help from the Nazarene church. Ms. Tennon said she doesn't believe the Duquesne City School District has adequately served students of the community for years.

WHAT HAPPENED: School is out for the Christmas holidays and enrollment is static.

Nov. 20

The Port Authority said it is cutting some bus service to Century III, at the request of mall officials. But mall management said the cuts were requested because heavy bus traffic -- "nearly twice the number of buses than at other local malls," according to Manager Gina Mercorelli -- was causing wear and tear on the property. Mall management also said that there is renewed activity at the West Mifflin site and that the facility now has two new lounge areas and lots of holiday promotions planned.

WHAT HAPPENED; In late November the discount sportswear store Steve and Barry's announced it is closing its Century III store as part of nationwide cutbacks. No replacement for that site at Century III has been announced.

Nov. 26

Local store owners, such as Sandra Castro of Upper St. Clair, who owns the J.J. Gillespie Co. art gallery in Peters, said they are determined to survive the bleak holiday economy. Many mom and pop stores in the South Hills were doing promotions and price cuts.

WHAT HAPPENED: We checked back after Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, -- considered the first official holiday shopping day -- and found some local shopkeepers ''pleasantly surprised at the foot traffic in the early days of the season. Still, many pointed out that while deep discounts brought in shoppers, it did little for profits.

Dec. 4

Bernard Ordos, 89, of West Mifflin, a Pearl Harbor survivor, recalls that day of infamy, which occurred 67 years ago. Mr. Ordos, a retired steelworker, was scheduled to appear a few days later at a special memorial at Allegheny County airport.

WHAT HAPPENED: Mr. Ordos was honored at the event, which was timed to coincide with the first bombs falling on Pearl Harbor at 755 a.m., local time, on Dec. 7, 1941.

Dec. 11

Members of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School performed skits from "The Nutcracker" for fifth-graders at Frances McClure Intermediate School in White Oak. The program is part of a 15-year school tradition of students traveling to see the holiday ballet at the Benedum.

WHAT HAPPENED: The tradition continued with fifth-graders attending the ballet on Dec. 12, courtesy the school's PTA. The Nutcracker ended its holiday run Sunday.

Dec. 18

Coleman McDonough is hired as police chief for Mt. Lebanon. Mr. McDonough, 53, follows longtime chief Thomas Ogden, who retired in late summer to become director of security at Carnegie Mellon University.

WHAT HAPPENED: Mr. McDonough, who is a native of Swisshelm Park and was deputy commissioner for the Pennsylvania State Police, takes office on Jan. 12. He and his wife Karen, a native of Canonsburg, are house hunting in Mt. Lebanon.

Dec. 24

Whitehall resident Jim Berroth stops traffic -- and land fill -- with a unique holiday display of recycled cans fashioned into trees and other seasonal items.

WHAT HAPPENED: "Pap's pop-can trees" as his six grandchildren have christened the retiree's hobby, remain on display at Mr. Berroth's Hamilton Road home.

Happy New Year!