Looking back at the past year and the stories that have appeared on our pages, one is struck by the sheer breadth of topics.

Last year’s lingering issues faded quickly into our memories, buried underneath an avalanche of breaking news, scandals, legislation, political developments, retirements, openings, closings and feel-good stories that no one could have predicted at the start of 2019.

Who would have predicted that Mayor Sam Teresi would retire in 2019 or that Jamestown High School would be searching for its second new principal in as many years? Who knew that Runnings would be the successor for Sam’s Club in a mammoth building on Fairmount Avenue, or that some of the area’s most established restaurants would close their doors in 2019? Long-awaited development projects came to fruition. A new wave of projects will get people excited this year, too.

It’s worth reiterating here, then, a thought that appeared in a news analysis on Page A1 of today’s edition — the news that keeps us talking all year will likely come out of nowhere.

Something else was striking about the stories that graced our pages this year. Often, The Post-Journal profiles interesting people in our midst who do interesting things, such as a profile earlier this year of Breanne Agett, a Sherman native who turned her passion of science into a career in the Chautauqua County Health Department as an epidemiologist, or Shawn Huestis, a teacher at Pine Valley Central School and a touring musician with Uncle Ben’s Remedy.

Our county is blessed with hard-working, dedicated people who use their talents to enrich the lives of Chautauqua County residents each day. It’s worth those hard-working, well-meaning people today, on New Year’s Day. The headlines change from day to day and year to year. The quality of the residents here in our little corner of the world, on the other hand, is always top-notch.