The biggest story of 2009 hit on Dec. 18.

No. 1 — THE SNOWSTORM

The snowstorm that started that Friday evening and lasted through Dec. 19 was still affecting people nearly two weeks later as Appalachian Power crews are still in the area working on restoring power to residents in the coalfield counties of Logan, Mingo, Boone and Lincoln.

Nearly 220,000 Appalachian Power customers in West Virginia, Tennessee and Virginia were without power after the storm dumped more than a foot of heavy snow, causing powerlines to break and trees to fall.

The storm brought down nearly 500 power poles and Appalachian Power had to bring in its employees and electrical contractors from Michigan, Louisiana, Indiana, North Carolina and several other states to help restore power to its customers. Several thousand in Logan County were without power for nearly a week. Several thousand in Mingo County went even longer than that without electricity.

The snowstorm also closed down Chief Logan State Park and Christmas in the Park after more than 100 trees fell on buildings, the Museum in the Park, shelters and roadways. Several of the Christmas lights exhibits were destroyed by the fallen trees.

"It's like a war zone," Frankie Esposito, who helps run the Museum, said.

Appalachian Power President Dana Waldo said the destruction in the coalfields by the storm caused it to look like "ground zero."

No. 2 — THE FLOOD

The May 11 flood that washed through much of the coalfields destroyed much of Gilbert, Matewan and Varney and even reached into the Man area and other parts of Logan County.

Residents who were hit by the flooding are still rebuilding bridges and roads are still under repair. Hundreds of homes had to undergo extensive repairs after the flash flooding happened.

More than 100 bridges in Mingo County were destroyed and the property damage estimates reached into the millions of dollars.

Gilbert Elementary and Gilbert High School both suffered severe damage from the flooding as several inches of water flooded the buildings and gymnasiums.

The National Guard was brought in to help clean up and groups from all across West Virginia and from other states converged on Mingo County to help with the flood recovery.

No. 3 — THE EPA CRACKDOWN ON SURFACE MINE PERMITS

Earlier in the year, the Environmental Protection Agency started re-evaluating several surface mine permits that had already been approved by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

That re-evaluation has kept many miners worried that they will lose their jobs.

Logan County Commission President Art Kirkendoll didn't take the news lightly. He called Gov. Joe Manchin and they got together with state and national leaders to urge the EPA to release the already-approved permits and to define the rules so that all the mining companies know what needs to be done to be able to continue surface mining in West Virginia.

No. 4 — FRIENDS OF AMERICA RALLY

The EPA crackdown led to the largest labor rally in West Virginia, called the Friends of America rally, that was held on a reclaimed surface mine at Holden.

More than 50,000 people attended the event, which had Hank Williams Jr., Ted Nugent, John Rich and Fox News' Sean Hannity as its speakers and performers.

The rally was primarily backed by Massey Energy, one of the coal companies affected by the EPA's permit re-evaluations.

No. 5 — MEGAN WILLIAMS RECANTS STORY OF RACIST ATTACK AGAINST HER

A person who made national headline in 2008 was back in the news in 2009.

Megan Williams, a young, black woman who was the victim of a brutal attack against her by six whites, recanted her story and said everything she had said was a lie.

However, all six of the accused had already pleaded guilty to the charges against them and all are serving time in prison for their crimes. Logan County Prosecuting Attorney Brian Abraham said Williams' testimony wasn't even a factor in the guilty pleas.

Williams then failed to show at a press conference she called in Ohio.

No. 6 — SENATE PRESIDENT EARL RAY TOMBLIN ANNOUNCES RUN FOR GOVERNOR

Senate President and Lt. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced early in the year that he is seriously considering a run for the governor's job when Gov. Joe Manchin leaves office in 2012.

Tomblin is a Chapmanville native who has served in the state legislature for three decades and is the state's longest-serving senate president.

No. 7 — NEW REC CENTER UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Logan County was named one of the unhealthiest areas in the country. To combat that, the Logan County Commission worked with Gov. Joe Manchin and other state officials to secure funding for a new recreation center.

The new, Chief Logan State Park Rec Center was built in 2009 in Chief Logan State Park just off U.S. Route 119 near the Crawley Creek Exit and just down the hill from the Earl Ray Tomblin Convention Center.

Logan County Commission President Art Kirkendoll, who, along with county commissioners Danny Godby and Willie Akers, spearheaded the construction of the rec center, said now Logan County and southern West Virginia residents don't have a reason to be unhealthy.

No. 8 — APARTMENT FIRES LEAVE SEVERAL HOMELESS

Several families were left homeless after two apartment fires in downtown Logan.

The first apartment fire happened in February and left several without a place to live and the second apartment fire happened in December and left 20 without lodging.

No. 9 — CHRYSLER PULLS OUT OF LOGAN DEALERSHIP

In April, the Chrysler company filed for bankruptcy and pulled its franchise from several car dealerships around the country.

One of those was the Logan Motor Sales dealership in Logan that had sold Chrysler products for many years.

No. 10 — ROUTE 10 CONTINUES

Construction on State Route 10, long known as one of the most dangerous and narrow highways in West Virginia, continued despite funding problems.

The road extends from Logan to Man and is winding and treacherous in spots. Several sections of the road were under construction and a bridge has been built, but work has gone slowly over the past year.