For the last 12 months, there have been a number of people on the west coast of the island that have been generating headlines.
Whether it be for their sports exploits, activism or for what could be a record number of court appearances, western Newfoundland had its fair share of newsmakers.
The challenge then becomes whittling down the names into a manageable list.
It isn’t easy taking a whole year and reducing it to 10 names of people who made the news, and plenty of it, in 2018.
Yet, that is what we’ve done.
So, without further ado, here are The Western Star’s top newsmakers for 2018:
Humber-Bay of Islands MHA Eddie Joyce
It was a wild year for Eddie. He was hailed as a hero at the beginning of the year when he delivered Mary Brown’s fried chicken via helicopter to the residents of Lark Harbour after a part of the highway had washed out. Then, he was removed from the Liberal caucus after harassment allegations were made against him.
Justin French
In February, Dr. Justin French made news when it came out he was thinking of closing his eye surgery practice once his plan to reduce wait times was shut down by the provincial government. There were rallies in support of French and meetings with members of government.
Craig Kennedy
Craig Kennedy was hailed as a hero in his hometown of Corner Brook upon his death earlier this year. He was instrumental in making Hockey Day and played for the 1985 Allan Cup team. The city shut down for his funeral where hundreds of people attended.
Blair Curtis
The McIvers LGTBQ activist made plenty of headlines in 2018. First there was his speaking on his experiences with being a transgender youth. He and his mother formed a support group for transgender youth and their parents. Earlier this fall, Curtis was nominated for a human rights award.
Katarina Roxon
2018 was another solid year for the Kippens native. Not only did she compete and medal at various Paralympic swimming events, but Roxon was also named to the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Rosemary Ryan
Rosemary received special recognition for her work with the Special Olympics in 2018. In the fall, she was named the Special Olympics Canada coach of the year. In 2019, she will represent Canada at the 2019 Special Olympic World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi.
Stella Michel
Stella Michel has made a year of helping people. The person behind 12 Months-12 Miracles has made it a point to help someone new every month of the year. It is something that was recognized by Corner Brook as it was named the non-profit organization of the year at its ACE awards.
Ches Parsons
A Corner Brook native came home to take over the position as the top member of the Royal Canadian Newfoundland Mounted Police in this province.
Colin Wheeler
Corner Brook’s Colin Wheeler made news for all the wrong reasons in 2018. For a while, it seemed like every day he was in front of a judge for one charge or another. Usually those appearances resulted in jail time, which eventually led back to the courtroom.
Kevin Hennessy
Kevin Hennessy might not be the most recognizable face on the west coast, but he made news earlier this year when he was named Corner Brook’s citizen of the year at the city’s annual ACE awards ceremony.
Frank Humber
The veteran southpaw was recognized for his immense contributions to baseball in this province when he was inducted into the Baseball NL Hall of Fame.
Nicholas Mercer is the online editor with The Western Star. He lives in Corner Brook and can be reached at [email protected].