By Jeremy Judd
jjudd@salisburypost.com
Recently, the Salisbury Post put together a list of what we felt the most important stories of 2009 were. Then we let you vote on which ones you thought were the most important ( to vote, go to www.salisburypost.com and click on any story and then scroll down. You’ll find the poll on the right hand side of the page).
The list got us thinking about what the most-read stories might be. So we took a look at our Web site traffic numbers and pulled out the 10 most read stories of 2009. Interestingly, very few of the stories we thought were most important were also the most read. Some were a little bizarre (see No. 1), others were tragic (see No. 4). One was even a little out of this world (see No. 2) and still others caused community outrage (See Nos. 10 and 3).
The 10 most viewed stories of 2009 were:
10. “Authorities: East Rowan band director sought sex with student”
The band director for East Rowan’s high school was charged with taking indecent liberties with a Carson High School student that he met at summer band camp.
9. “Woodleaf firetruck collides head-on with car”
A Freightliner firetruck from the Woodleaf Fire Department ran head on into a 2002 Pontiac on Woodleaf Road. Neither the driver of the firetruck or the Pontiac suffered life threatening injuries.
8. “Victims of shooting named; charges will wait”
A shooting took place at Summer Place on High Rock lake that resulted in one man’s death.
7. “Undercover buys lead to drug bust”
Authorities seized nearly $100,000 in drugs and arrested five men from Salisbury and Kannapolis in a drug bust in the parking lot at Ryan’s Steakhouse. The drug bust resulted from two months of buys in an undercover operation conducted by both the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and the Salisbury Police Department
6. “Man charged with statutory rape”
A Cleveland man was arrested and held on four counts of statutory rape, with bond set at $125,000.
5. “Sheriff to retire at end of month”
Rowan County Sheriff George Wilhelm announced his retirement less than two weeks before he planned to exit the stage, stating: “I know this is quick, but I believe it’s best for the sheriff’s department.” Wilhelm’s retirement created a scramble among candidates offering themselves as an interim replacement. County commissioners have said they’re in no hurry to make a decision.
4. “Second motorcycle accident victim dies”
A motorist turned into the oncoming path of a motorcycle. Bobby Stewart, who was driving the motorcycle, and his wife Cindy Stewart, a passenger, both died in the accident. The motorist was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and failure to yield the right of way.
3. “North Rowan teacher charged with having sex with student”There were several scandals involving high school teachers having inappropriate relationships with students. Of those, this was the most read, with 6,877 views. The defendant was charged with 28 counts of sexual activity with a student and 12 counts of statutory sexual offense.
2. Coming in at runner-up for 2009, with 6,886 views, was “Mars hoax back in orbit.” This article debunked an e-mail many had received claiming that Mars would be so close to planet Earth on Aug. 27 that it would look as if there were two moons in the sky.
And coming in at No. 1 with a whopping 21,827 views was … (hold your breath) …
1. “Police say thieves made off with pilfered TV on roof of vehicle”
Both compelling and strange was the tale of two men who somehow managed to walk out of Circuit City with a $2,300 television without paying for it. They then strapped the television onto the top of their car and simply drove away.