Nationally, 2009 will be remembered for the first year of Barack Obama’s presidency, bailouts, cash for clunkers, a war in the Middle East and the swine flu.

Locally, those issues affected us but the Auburn Journal’s headlines featured news from Placer County.

Following in a David Letterman style are my choices for the hyper-local top 10 stories of the year.

No. 10: Shockley Park. The Auburn Recreation District board voted in the spring of 2009 to accept a gift of 28 acres in North Auburn with the condition it be named after William and Emma Shockley. William Shockley, who won a 1956 Nobel Prize for work with transistors, was better known for his racist beliefs. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and others objected to the park naming. The story attracted attention from The Wall Street Journal, London Times and other media. The board ultimately decided in September not to erect a sign honoring the Shockleys.

No. 9: Black & White Ball buries bunny. It was a great ride for those who love to party, but the Auburn Chamber of Commerce turned off the music and stopped the dancing in the streets by canceling future Black & White Balls. A move to Gold Country Fairgrounds did not offer the ambiance of Downtown and a few vocal naysayers stopped the party for thousands.

No. 8.: When Pitbulls Attack. A Weimar teenager was attacked and brutally bitten Sept. 23 by a roving band of vicious pitbulls in Downtown Auburn. Thanks to the help of passersby, the dogs were stopped before they could kill Jojo Kerschner and he will recover from his injuries. The dogs’ owner, however, has insisted the pits are misunderstood and pleaded for their lives after Judge Joe O’Flahrety ruled they should be executed. The saga continues while an appeal is under way.

No 7: Home prices continue to plummet, many face foreclosure. The median price for a single-family Auburn-area home held on at $266,000 in December 2009, down from a whopping $630,000 in August 2005, according to the Placer County Association of Realtors. The number of foreclosures was also staggering, as many found themselves upside down with their home worth less than their mortgage.

No. 6: Streetscape. With construction beginning in July, the city of Auburn made major progress on the $2 million phase one of its Downtown-to-Old Town Streetscape revitalization project. Many from the community, however, expressed displeasure saying that the city looked headed toward focusing its theme on endurance athletes. Though the city claims it is the Endurance Capital of the World, most residents don’t seem to relate to the theme.

No. 5. Swine flu, H1N1: 2009 was the year of the swine flu or H1N1 virus. County health officials actually discouraged handshakes and encouraged a thumbs-up sign for greeting on May 1. During the first week in September, 47 Placer High students were reportedly out sick with H1N1, but that was nowhere near as bad as Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, which reported 300 students out that week. Drive-through inoculations lured many to Gold Country Fairgrounds.

No. 4: Economy changes the face of local business community. In 2009 Gottschalks, Auburn’s major department store and anchor of the town center shopping area, closed due to bankruptcy. Many other small businesses closed or downsized as well. On the flipside, Home Depot opened Feb. 18 in North Auburn.

No. 3: Hillmen football rocks. Auburn had been hungry for a winner and coach Joey Montoya’s Hillmen team packed LeFebvre Stadium with enthusiastic fans week after week. The Hillmen went 9-1 before hosting their first home playoff game since 1980. After beating Foothill, Calaveras and Sonora, the Hillmen earned a spot in the Sac Joaquin Division IV Section final against Modesto Christian. The final was a thrill ride for Placer fans, a slugfest not decided until the fourth quarter. Placer finally succumbed to a private school team that recruits players, offers scholarships and shouldn’t even be in a league with public schools. But our local boys did the community proud and thousands were happily infected with Hillmen fever.

No. 2: Paul Kovacich found guilty. A jury found Kovacich, a former Placer County Sheriff’s deputy guilty of murder for the 1982 slaying of his then-wife Janet. The 27-year-old case drew national media attention. On April 26 Kovacich was sentenced to 27-years-to-life.

No. 1: 49 Fire. On Aug. 30 a treacherous wildfire burned more than 63 homes and businesses in North Auburn. Many were left homeless, lost pets and prized possessions yet no one was killed in the 275-acre blaze. The stunning conflagration united the community afterward in a showing of care and support for those who had lost everything. The Red Cross, Salvation Army, Auburn Disaster Relief Fund and many other efforts, including a student-led response from Placer High School, rallied to the relief of those affected. The fire was later ruled arson, and no suspects have been identified.