The past year brought its share of triumphs and tragedies for Clark County. There was much to celebrate in Clark County in 2016, with the opening of several locally-owned restaurants and businesses, an inaugural flight taking local veterans to visit their respective war memorials in Washington, D.C., and a distinguished ranking for the local schools on KPREP testing.

But the year also had plenty of sadness, with the passing of many prominent citizens, the announced closure of a long-time local manufacturer and two fatal fires. Downtown’s iconic Leeds Center for the Arst the received an unexpected and generous boost for renovations from an anonymous donor, and Winchester’s famous soft drink celebrated a milestone anniversary and expanded distribution.

The Winchester Sun staff has collected some of the most memorable moments from throughout the year.

1) Winchester man sentenced to 10 years for fatal blaze

Donald Hisle, Tina Reynolds and Dixie Everman all died from the fire. Several others were injured, as some jumped from second-floor windows to escape the fire.

Police said the fire began around Hisle’s apartment. Hisle admitted to smoking while using his oxygen and knowing it was dangerous. The fire started near a sofa bed where Hisle said he was sitting, then spread through his apartment and into neighboring ones and on to the second floor.

Hisle was sentenced to five years for each of the three counts of second-degree manslaughter. Two of those will run consecutively and the third concurrently, for a total sentence of 10 years.

2) Clark veterans make trip to D.C. on ‘Honor Flight’ 

In August, for the first time under the newly-formed Honor Flight Kentucky hub, 43 veterans from across central Kentucky flew from Lexington to Washington, D.C., to see memorials dedicated to them — all free of charge — thanks to Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives.

Honor Flight Kentucky is part of the Honor Flight Network comprised of more than 130 non-profit charitable chapters in 42 states.

Veterans enjoyed an all-expense-paid trip to visit the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, the Air Force Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

Three Winchester veterans — Roy Bates, Vic Bloomfield and Paul Gray — were among those on the inaugural flight.

Four more local veterans — Gareth Adams, Norman Rose, Ralph Thompson and Clair Hunter — were aboard the second flight, which took place in early October.

3) Winchester YMCA closes

The Winchester YMCA announced via a letter posted on Facebook Dec. 13 it would shut its doors for good two days later, ending a three-year effort to revitalize the organization.

Board of Directors Chairman Brian Thomas penned the letter, citing declining membership and donations, and the costs associated with maintaining an aging facility for the closure.

The Winchester Y was on the verge of closing three years ago with about $600,000 in debt. The board brought the debt down to $450,000, Thomas said, but the facility continued to lose money.

The Y’s youth basketball program will continue until the season ends Feb. 17. Calvary Christian School worked a deal with the Y to take on the after-school care program and several other local fitness organizations offered deals to Y members to make up for the closure.

4) Ale-8-One celebrates 90 years, national distribution

In July, Ale-8-One Bottling Company kicked off celebration of the popular drink’s 90th anniversary. Ale-8-One, which was originally created by beverage innovator and founder George Lee Wainscott on July 13, 1926, continues to be an independent, locally-owned and operated company, now run by Wainscott’s great-great-nephew, Fielding Rogers.

Rogers still mixes the closely-guarded secret recipe in a locked blending room where Wainscott’s handwritten recipe notes hang on the wall.

Earlier this year, the local soft-drink manufacturer announced the expansion of its direct service delivery, which now spans from Campton to Owensboro, covering Lexington, Frankfort, Elizabethtown and Bowling Green, and nearly doubling the company’s original footprint.

The regional bottler gained national access in February through Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores in the retail section, now available across 42 states.

5) Leeds gets $100K anonymous donation for renovations, repairs

Leeds Center for the Arts is in the process of some crucial and extensive repairs thanks to an anonymous donation and matching funds from the Clark County Community Foundation.

Winchester Council for the Arts President Tracey Miller announced the $100,000 anonymous donation in March.

Through the Blue Grass Community Foundation, the anonymous donor also sought matching dollars from the Clark County Community Foundation, which agreed to contribute an additional $50,000 to the theater.

Over the past 25 years, the 91-year-old theater has fallen into disrepair.

Last year, CCCF donated $7,000 to repair the sump pump station, bathrooms, toilets, sinks and water fountains. The city previously paid for half the cost of replacing the roof on the downtown theater.

With the new donation, the theater will have renovations made front to back.

The Winchester Board of Commissioners voted in November to cover up to $15,000 of the theater’s operating expenses while it is closed until April for the renovations.

6-8) Magistrates sue judge-executive 

The four magistrates, Robert Blanton, Joe Graham, Pam Blackburn and Daniel Konstantopoulos, filed a petition for a declaratory judgment in April, several months after a long-running debate over employee raises.

The central issue in the legal filings centered on the authority to implement pay increases for county employees.

While working on the fiscal year 2016 county budget, department heads within Clark County government submitted budgets with employee raises of 3 to 5 percent. In subsequent Clark County Fiscal Court meetings, a majority of the Court voted not to implement the budgeted raises and voted for a 1.7 percent raise for all employees.

Branham said the budgeted raises were not removed from the county budget and believed he was required to administer the budget, which was approved by a majority of the fiscal court. After seeking advice from state officials, he implemented both the budgeted raises and the 1.7 percent raise for county employees.

An unexpected race was added to the November ballot when Clark Family Court Judge Jeffrey Walson retired in August with six years remaining in the eight-year term. His 2014 election was uncontested

Walson said he made the decision less than a week before issuing his official resignation with hopes of making sure the office would be on the ballot in November.

Walson’s resignation was effective at midnight Sunday, Aug. 7.

However, with the filing deadline at 4 p.m. the following Tuesday, there was little notice for candidates to file. Two people were able to file for the seat, Walson’s wife Kimberly Blair Walson filed on Monday and Richmond attorney Joan Deaton Grefer filed Tuesday. Elizabeth Elkins Bond also campaigned as a write-in candidate.

The night before the Nov. 8 election, Gov. Matt Bevin issued a statement calling Jeff Walson’s resignation “suspicious.”

Bevin likened Walson’s action to “inside dealing and corruption.”

“Do you think it is appropriate that the judge will start drawing his pension and his wife will slip in to collect his salary for the exact same position? Personally, I find it highly offensive,” Bevin said in the statement.

In an interview with the Sun, Jeff Walson said there was no political intent when he retired quickly in August.

Walson said he dated his resignation at 11:59 p.m. Aug. 7, or Sunday. The Kentucky Constitution says if notice is given of a vacancy less than two days before the filing deadline, the vacancy will be filled by a gubernatorial appointee, he said. Walson said his intent was to make sure voters had the opportunity to select their family court judge.

Kimberly Walson said the vacancy was posted on the Secretary of State’s office with plenty of time for other candidates to file.

Walson was elected to fulfill the remainder of her husband’s term and was sworn into office in early December.

The exchange also offers resources and information for treatment for addictions

9) Pretrial officer charged with rape, inmate charge with escape