SPANISH FORT, Ala.— History was made  in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected the first black president of the United States.

The city of Spanish Fort also had many noteworthy occassions in 2008. The Spanish Fort Sun staff chose the following top five stories the newspaper reported on this year.

1. Lead issues

An under layer of lead-based paint Jan. 5 was disturbed when Melvin Pierce Painting in Semmes allegedly failed to test for lead before sandblasting outdoor awnings at Spanish Fort Elementary.

The Baldwin County Board of Education filed a lawsuit against the painting company and said they have more than $1.4 million in clean-up bills. Wind blew the lead-infected dust into classrooms, which made it mandatory for all classroom materials to be thrown away. Eighteen classrooms and various outdoor areas of the school were contaminated by the lead paint dust.

Students in kindergarten, first, third and sixth grade could safely return to classrooms in February. It wasn’t until April when the second, fourth and fifth grade students were able to return to the school after spending three months in area schools.

2. A city boon

The Spanish Fort Town Center—a 200-acre mixed-use development by Cypress Equities—opened in August when Bass Pro Shops—the center’s anchor store—held a soft opening Aug. 13. More than 150 guests anxiously awaited for the store to open its doors.

The store held its grand opening Aug. 27.

The development—located at the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 90 and Interstate 10 in Spanish Fort—comprises Kohl’s, JCPenney, Town Center Apartments with 210 residential units and La-Z-Boy as of now, with more stores in the works for the 790,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Circuit City was one of the first stores to sign on to the Spanish Fort Town Center, but it announced in November that the nearly-completed store wouldn’t open.

3. Arrested developments

Crime in Spanish Fort is slim, but two major cases from 2007 reverberated in 2008.

 Patrick Blake Young Ballard, 19, of Spanish Fort was charged with two counts of murder after he allegedly stuck and killed two cyclists on Bromley Road in Spanish Fort. William Frederick Imle, of Daphne, and Archie Leroy Clemmons Jr., of Spanish Fort, were allegedly struck and killed by a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado truck. It is believed that Ballard was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

In October, Ballard was denied a change of venue after a motion was made to move him out of Baldwin County because pretrial publicity could have contaminated the jury. Ballard was indicted in September 2007 on two counts of reckless murder.

Arthur “Bobby” Wilson owned the well-known Wilson’s Service Center in Spanish Fort before he was attacked Aug. 12, 2007 and remained in a coma for more than four months before he died Dec. 28, 2007. Wilson suffered a fractured skull from the attack.

Leslie Eric Buzbee, 24, was named a person of interest in the attack after he told an acquaintance that Wilson wouldn’t cash his two-party check and allegedly told his drug dealer about the check-cashing incident. Wilson was found the next morning around 5 a.m. by a Spanish Fort police officer.

Buzbee faces the death penalty, if convicted, for allegedly murdering Wilson and has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder charge.

4. Education opportunity

The new Spanish Fort Middle School opened its doors this fall to more than 700 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students.

Prior to the $25 million middle school—a 134,870-square-foot development that features 44 classrooms—sixth-grade students attended Spanish Fort Elementary School and seventh- and eighth-graders went to Spanish Fort High School.  The school is under the leadership of Principal Carol Palumbo, former assistant principal at Daphne High School.

5. Farewell to Finch

After 15 years in the District 1 seat on the Spanish Fort City Council, Wanda Finch lost her spot on the council after the Aug. 26 municipal election.

Spanish Fort resident Dennis Dismuke ran for the District 1 seat and received 174 votes to Finch’s 119. Finch had served on the council since the city was incorporated in 1993.

Mayor Joe Bonner beat his opponent, Terry Reeves, by a vote of 836 to 373 and will remain the mayor of Spanish Fort for another term.

Councilmembers Mary Brabner, Joe Thomas, Tom Sawyer and Mike McMillan were elected to another four-year term on the council without opposition.