The staff at the Salisbury Post compiled a list of the top stories in 2009.  We’d like our readers to pick what they believe was the biggest story this year. – – Read the descriptions of the stories below, and then vote in the poll on the right hand side of the screen to cast your vote. – – – Rowan-Salisbury School System officials pay a Raleigh firm to develop a high school redistricting plan based solely on numbers, then scrap the plan after opponents turn out in force at public hearings. Board members are currently considering another plan and have set a January hearing. – – Three co-defendants plead guilty in the 2008 murder of Salisbury dentist Dr. James David Boyd at his Country Club home. The plea deal closes a sordid tale that revealed Boyd was under investigation for allegedly trading prescription drugs for sex at his dental practice. – – H1N1, the swine flu virus, hits Rowan County. Two residents are quarantined during trips to Hong Kong and China, and a toddler contracts the countyís first fatal case of the virus. Schools and other agencies prepare for an outbreak, but the fluís impact appears relatively limited. Still, people line up for vaccinations when they become available in the fall. – – Seniors at North Rowan High School make national newswires after releasing hundreds of crickets in the halls of the school for a senior prank. Police say they may have used a set of keys handed down from one class to the next to enter the school. The students are charged, along with a parent. – – The Great Recession. In 2009, Rowan County experiences its highest unemployment since the early 1980 as businesses lay off entire shifts or close altogether. Foreclosures hit record levels. Social Services and ministries see record numbers line up for help. – – Alcoaís efforts to win a new 50-year license to operate a series of lakes and power-generating dams along the Yadkin River ó including High Rock Lake and dam ó hit a new hurdle: State officials want to take over the project. Gov. Beverly Perdue intervenes in the licensing proecess. A bill to create a state trust for the Yadkin Project is approved in the Senate but defeated in the House. – – Alicia Bean, former mayor of Spencer, holds police at bay for hours with an assault rifle after they responded to a suicide threat at her home. She is taken into custody and placed in a state mental hospital. Upon her release from the hospital, Bean is charged with assaulting law enforcement officers. – – The Rowan-Kannapolis ABC Board and Rowan County Board of Commissioners clash over ABC System spending and distributions to the county and other local governments. Commissioners replace ABC Board member Gus Andrews with Linda Lowman, former manager of the system, and make her board chairwoman. – – For three weeks in August, the Rowan American Legion Team takes our minds off the hard times for a little while by taking off on an improbable run to the American Legion World Series in Fargo, N.D. They get there by winning the state and Southeast regional titles. Though they come in third in Fargo, Rowanís boys of summer capture the attention and imagination of folks all over Rowan looking for some good news. – – Sheriff George Wilhelm first says he will run for re-election next year, then announces his retirement after asking county commissioners for extended benefits. His exit creates a scramble for the job, with the county Republican Party urging commissioners to appoint former candidate Tony Yon and others lining up to run for election to the post. – – The Salisbury City Council has new members for the first time in six years as Bill Burgin steps down and Mark Lewis comes up short in his bid for re-election. They are replaced by Brian Miller and Maggie Blackwell. Itís also the first time two women have served on the council, with Mayor Susan Kluttz and Blackwell, who is elected mayor pro tem. – – High Rock Raceway developer Dave Risdon is forced out by partners in the project, which has struggled for years. After his exit, Risdon says the money isnít there to complete the raceway, and a Greensboro veterinarian who paid $25,000 down on a townhome forces an auction of the 200-acre property. It is sold for $800 on the steps of the Rowan County courthouse and remains in the upset-bid process. – – Click here to view the results. –