Many Marion County residents will remember 2010 as the year of strife and change.

Here are the top 10 stories that were most talked about in 2010:

• Decorated war veteran Ryan Newell was arrested Dec. 2 and accused of stalking and attempting to assault members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka. Newell attended a protest in Mulvane that day and followed church members to Wichita. Law enforcement apprehended Newell in the city hall parking lot. The Marion community and many from surrounding areas had rallied around Newell and his family as volunteers built a new home for them in June.
• A state fire marshal representative investigated Marion County Jail following a report of overcrowding. The 1940s jail was housing up to 20 inmates in a facility with a designated capacity of 11. The state determined the jail could accommodate only four inmates based on square footage and ordered a 24-hour fire watch. In the meantime, a jail committee, appointed by the county commission to research and recommend a solution to replacing the outdated jail, disbanded. With input from the county and from an architect, the state fire marshal reversed the initial decision and decided the jail now can hold up to 16 inmates.
• An oil pipeline from Canada to Oklahoma was constructed across Marion County but the real news about the project was a 10-year property tax exemption state officials gave to the foreign oil company, TransCanada Keystone Pipeline LLC. Even though the Keystone Pipeline did not qualify for the exemption, lawmakers refused to back down. County officials from Marion and the other five counties the pipeline travels through contested the exemption. The final decision is now in the hands of the state board of tax appeals to make a decision. The exemption could cost Marion County an estimated $4 million per year in lost tax revenue.
• Marion Mayor Mary Olson was accused March 12 of committing “an act of maliciously circulating false rumors concerning financial status.” City Attorney Dan Baldwin called for an investigation. Despite the allegations, Olson was elected in April to serve a second term as mayor. Kansas Bureau of Investigation concluded there was not sufficient evidence to prosecute Olson for breaking any law.
• School districts across the state took another hit when the state made another cut in education funding to balance the state’s budget. School districts in Marion County tightened their belts, requiring some to lay off staff and offer retirement packages to tenured teachers. Classrooms were consolidated and some programs cut.
• Former Peabody residents were charged in the death of 19-month-old Vincent Hill in Newton. Chad Carr and the baby’s mother, Katheryn Nycole Dale, were charged March 31 in the toddler’s death. Dale was sentenced Sept. 30 to 34 months in prison for child abuse and aggravated endangerment of a child. Carr’s case will go to trial Jan. 24.
• A $6.5 million renovation project began in July at St. Luke Hospital. St. Luke Foundation raised more than $1 million for the project. Renovation should be completed in the fall. With additions and improvements being made to the Marion hospital, ground was broken for a new hospital in Hillsboro. Construction has not yet begun but financing was in place to begin the project in 2011.
• Duckwall-ALCO Store Inc. announced Duckwall’s in Marion will close, along with all Duckwall stores in Kansas. Despite letters from residents, including Marion Elementary School students, pleading with executives to keep the local store open, the store will close Jan. 9. It has been in Marion for 75 years.
• Flags were desecrated at Peabody Prairie Lawn Cemetery during the Memorial Day weekend. Nine flags were torn from poles and shredded.
• Centre Elementary School was named Kansas Green School of the Year for recycling efforts, planting of a school garden and using the produce in the school lunchroom, and the management of a worm farm for production of natural fertilizer to be used in the garden.
• Other news stories of interest were:
• The renovation of Marion City Auditorium by Marion Advancement Campaign. The organization paid for the project and volunteer Gene Winkler performed much of the demolition and remodeling.
• Ten people were injured July 13 when a violent thunderstorm packing 60 mph winds swept across Marion Reservoir and flipped over three recreational vehicles in a campground. All 10 were treated and released from area hospitals.
• New state law prohibits teens from using cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. On Jan. 1, all drivers in Kansas will be ticketed for texting while driving. Research has indicated that texting while driving — at any age — distracts drivers and can cause accidents.
• The county special education cooperative was in crisis when director Chris Cezar told board members the budget was not going to be sufficient for expenses in 2011. Calculations indicated that the cooperative needed to cut more than $775,000 from the budget. Peabody-Burns School District requested to withdraw from the district, but the request was denied. The school district took its case to the state. In the meantime, USD 410 Business Manager Jerry Hinerman looked at the books and found an accounting error. The special ed cooperative was not in trouble after all. Cezar resigned his post and USD 398 returned to the cooperative, withdrawing its appeal from the state.
• Marion County population has decreased 10 percent in the past 10 years.
• It was a close election for three Marion City Council positions. Chris Meierhoff was the front-runner and only three votes separated Jerry Kline and Dick Varenhorst; Kline came out on top.
• Roger Fleming, of Hillsboro, defeated longtime county commissioner Bob Hein of Hillsboro for the commission seat.
• Bob Brookens was elected to a second term as state representative of the 70th District. He defeated Cheryl Green.
• Norma Hannaford, 106, died July 8. The matriarch of Hannaford Abstract and Title Company, Hannaford was believed to be the oldest columnist in the state, offering wit and wisdom every week in the Marion County Record, with her Random Thoughts column.