Today is typically reserved for looking back at the year that was, for making resolutions and dreaming about what the future might hold.

Over the last few days, we’ve looked back at some of the biggest news stories from the year 2019. Just this year, the Troup County School System hired a new superintendent, elections changed the makeup of the Hogansville City Council (and left most everything else the same), Great Wolf Lodge marked a year in LaGrange (already), Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia marked 10 years in West Point and the city of LaGrange started its own tourism board.

We had a chance to write about students winning brand new cars, and a local woman who won a new vehicle just by buying a sandwich. We even wrote about a sign promoting LaGrange that managed to get the spotlight on ESPN’s College Gameday. LaGrange College students had a chance to work at the Super Bowl in Atlanta. How cool is that? The list goes on and on. 

Some of our stories have been a sign of the times, such as the last full-service gas station in Troup County, Woody’s Service Center, getting out of the gasoline business. 

Other stories continue into 2020, such as the Tax Relief for Troup County Property Owners group, which continues to ask the school board to eliminate school property taxes for senior citizens 62 and above. 

This is a year where we saw this community come together over and over. The search for a superintendent was a collaborative effort, where community members had a chance to identify key characters they wanted in the next CEO of the school system. The same goes for the city and county park plans, which were both open to the public for input.

The year 2019 also was a year where we had to say goodbye to many people, including friends, family and people who made this community great. 

There have been so many events where people have come together, such as the H.O.P.E. for a Day Walk, the West Point Lake Dragon Boat Race and Christmas caroling at Lafayette Square. When tornadoes impacted Alabama and Georgia in March, we had so many calls about people donating clothes and supplies that it was hard to keep up. 

That’s our hope moving forward in 2020 — that we’ll continue those types of community efforts as LaGrange and Troup County continues to build for the future. We know others are probably hoping for a Target or an Olive Garden. Maybe one day. We’d all like to see less crime and more retail stores. 

However, it’s clear that LaGrange’s future is bright going into 2020. We’re looking forward to bringing you the news next year. Happy New Year everyone.