The break up of an Appalachia, Va., gambling operation topped the year's local news stories

For Mountain Empire residents, 2007 was a year that hit them where they live – whether it was drought conditions that dried up ponds and turned crops to dust, or witnessing the takedowns of police and other govern-ment officials, who we normally turn to for protec-tion, over various incidents of corruption.

We also saw progress in two of the region’s biggest murder cases with the sentencing to death of Nikolaus Johnson, who had been convicted of killing Bristol Tennessee Police Officer Mark Vance. And a man was arrested and charged in the stabbing death of Bristol native Johnia Berry in Knoxville.

Money issues continued to make the news, as Bristol Virginia’s Exit 7 area enjoyed a new wave in its retail boom, and a Bristol Herald Courier survey of taxpayer-funded salaries brought interesting facts to light. Virginia Intermont College teetered on the very brink before winning a reprieve funded in part by a city philanthropist. And those who feared the worst when the sale of Bristol Compressors was announced are seeing it continue to operate.

Following is a capsule rundown of the stories Herald Courier writers and editors chose as the top 10 news items of 2007:

1. Appalachia gambling indictments

Seven of 10 Appalachia, Va., residents indicted on a variety of gambling and racketeering charges have been convicted this year in Wise County, Va.

In January, a grand jury handed down more than 100 indictments in connection with illegal gambling operations in the small community. Officials said the sophisticated operations had the potential to make hundreds of thousands of dollars.

All the indictments stem from a May 2006 raid where Virginia State Police seized four buildings and more than $500,000 in cash and assets.

2. Police in trouble with the law

Small-town police departments across Southwest Virginia were beset by scandal as chiefs and officers were arrested on a variety of felony charges.

Chilhowie’s police department was gutted in May when former Chief Dwayne Sheffield and former Sgt. Brian Doss were charged with rape and sodomy of a 17-year-old girl and Officer James Runyon was arrested on an unrelated drug charge.

Doss was sentenced to a year in jail on Thursday after pleading guilty in Smyth County Circuit to child endangerment and assault and battery. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop three charges, including forcible sodomy. The judge suspended nine months of the 12-month jail term.

Sheffield is serving about three years in jail after entering a plea in the case last month.

Former Damascus Police Chief Tony Richardson was arrested in June and charged with distributing methamphetamine and prescription drugs, including hydrocodone.

Former Saltville police investigator Gary Call was arrested on drug charges in October.

Across the state line, Sullivan County former Corrections Officer Bryan Ruffo was charged with stealing almost $1,000 from an inmate in December.

3. Nickolaus Johnson convicted, sentenced

Nickolaus Johnson was sentenced to death for the 2004 killing of Bristol Tennessee Police Officer Mark Vance.

April’s sentence and verdict concluded an emotionally charged, week-long trial in Sullivan County Criminal Court.

Vance was killed in November 2004, while responding to a domestic violence call at the home of Johnson’s girlfriend.

Johnson, 28, of Bristol Virginia, shot Vance in the head with a .357 Magnum handgun, a forensics expert had testified during the trial.

Attorneys for Johnson filed an appeal in May.

4. Drought conditions grip Mountain Empire

Like much of the Southeast, devastating drought conditions gripped much of the Mountain Empire during most of 2007.

As of Dec. 20, the National Weather Service recorded 21.23 inches of rainfall for the year – 19 inches below normal – at Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Blountville, Tenn.

Conditions classified as "exceptional" saw creeks run dry and crops wither in the field. The drought prompted a federal agricultural disaster declaration for much of Southwest Virginia and Johnson County, Tenn.

Wise County, Va., and the town of Appalachia, Va., declared water emergencies in November, prohibiting some non-essential uses and Appalachia began pumping water from the Powell River into the town’s reservoir.

5. BMS resurfacing

Contractors needed less than four months to completely resurface Bristol Motor Speedway and install a series of improvements to the "World’s Fastest Half-Mile."

The multi-million project began in March, the day after the Food City 500, as workers tore out the old concrete surface, pit road and concrete retaining walls.

By mid-July, a new, wider concrete surface was installed, complete with progressive banking in the turns. Changes also included new infrastructure, including drainage and electrical upgrades.

6. Virginia Intermont survives 2007

Virginia Intermont College survived a tumultuous 2007, as the four-year, liberal arts school teetered on the brink of closing because of financial problems.

The money crunch first came to light in the spring, when VI didn’t extend contracts to any of its faculty. College officials said they might consider closing the doors without significant community support.

By year’s end, VI had raised more than $6 million and the school had announced one new academic program.

To remain open, school officials eliminated some athletic programs, increased tuition, reduced financial assistance and developed a long-range financial plan.

7. BHC salary study

An area police chief earned less than $12 per hour until his town council took a second look at its budget and found him and other town employees extra money.

The average Southwest Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney earned $115,000 last year while a teacher with 39 years of experience in his field earned only $62,000.

Those were just a few of the stories a team of Bristol Herald Courier staff writers uncovered as they compiled a pay study project. The intensive effort included collecting and evaluating public employee salaries from 65 local governments across the Mountain Empire.

The data – which is a matter of public record and available to anyone who asks for it – was then loaded into a database and posted on the Herald Courier’s Web site www.tricities.com.

8. Knox police arrest Johnia Berry murder suspect

Nearly three years after her death, Knox County authorities arrested Taylor Olson, 22, in September, and charged with him in the stabbing death of the Bristol native during a burglary at her Knoxville apartment.

Berry, who was about to receive her diploma from East Tennessee State University, had moved to Knoxville to begin classes at the University of Tennessee.

In November, authorities also filed court papers to try and link another Knoxville man to the December 2004 slaying.

9. Bristol Compressors sold, remains open

Bristol Compressors, the Twin City’s largest employer, continued operating after it was purchased in March by a New York investment firm.

The purchase, from former owner Johnson Controls, ended more than a year of speculation and rumor.

KPS Capital Partners paid about $45 million for the compressor manufacturing firm and agreed to keep it open at least five years.

Bristol Compressors employs about 1,000 people at its facility in the Bristol-Washington County Industrial Park.

10. Exit 7 retail growth continues

The 2007 additions of major retailers Sam’s Club and Target bolstered tax revenues and the unlikely stature of Interstate 81’s Exit 7 area as a shopping destination.

Officials expect the growth to continue.

With the new businesses, including The Highlands center, the greater Exit 7 area is expected to generate about $10 million in revenues this year for Washington County, Va., Bristol Virginia and city’s utilities provider.

Compiled by David McGee