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For Bonner Springs and Edwardsville, 2008 brought with it many highs and lows, but no story grabbed the public’s attention like the possibility of a state-owned casino in Wyandotte County.

The Hard Rock Casino at the Kansas Speedway was awarded the bid to manage the casino for the state after a yearlong fight. With an expected 2011 opening date, preparations began for the $705 million facility to be constructed at Turn 2 outside the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.

Unfortunately, in December, bad news came when Kansas Entertainment LLC, a joint venture between The Cordish Company and Kansas Speedway, announced it had withdrawn its application for Lottery Gaming Facility Manager for the Northeast Kansas gaming zone.

The decision to withdraw, the groups said, was based on the weak U.S. economy, but they said they intend to re-apply upon the reopening of bidding for the zone.

When bidding reopens, Kansas Entertainment’s new application will include a phased development plan. It also said it would include plans for a second Sprint Cup date and building a road course in Kansas Speedway’s infield.

Another yearlong ordeal in the area surrounded the conviction and sentencing of Robert Haberlein, a 20-year-old Kansas City, Kan., resident, who was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Haberlein is one of three suspects in the November 2005 death of Robin Bell, a 44-year-old Tonganoxie resident and manager at the northside Dollar General in Bonner Springs.

Haberlein’s sentencing hearing was continued four times at the request of Haberlein’s lawyer. Judge John McNally ordered a competency evaluation of Haberlein, which could effect the sentence he receives.

In Bonner Springs, the beginning of construction on the new city library building kicked off the year. With the demolition of the former Sacred Heart School at 216 Allcutt, construction began on the 17,000 square foot building, more than tripling the library's current location that measures about 5,400 square feet.

The city also started its first curbside recycling program and, as of the end of 2008, 46 percent of the city’s residents had picked up their green bins to participate in the program.

A couple businesses celebrated significant milestones in 2008. The First Christian Church turned 125 in October, and Alden-Harrington turned 100 in August.

In education, Bonner Springs High School saw some success as it received scores from its state assessment tests. In math, the school’s scores increased significantly, bypassing the minimum standard with an improvement of 17.9 percent. District Superintendent Robert Van Maren attributed the success to the teacher’s hard work, especially during the past few years.

Edwardsville also saw a year of big improvements as it worked to make a new name for itself as a thriving and growing city, leaving behind the corrupt image that once existed.

In January, the city officially signed on Michael Webb as its new city administrator. At the time of the appointment, Webb was promoted as the person who could help turn around the city in a time of financial distress.

The city continued its changes with an upgraded police record system, which was initiated by Police Chief Mark Mathies, who had only been on the job since October 2007. Replacing the old, handwritten records, the department now enters its arrest and accident data into a computerized records management system meant to help the department identify suspects who have been previously arrested and to more efficiently target patrols in districts where they're needed the most.

But the city of Edwardsville’s biggest change came in June, when the City Council began the process of changing its classification to a city of the second class.

"It's a kind of a recognition that you've grown up into a new classification, a new level of a city," Webb said at the time. "It'll put us at par with cities like Bonner Springs."

Also surrounding 2008’s roller coaster year was a series of deaths, both of surprising circumstances and of influential community members.

In April, Bonner Springs mourned the death of Mark “Tony” Holmes, an 18-year-old Bonner Springs High School student who was killed in a vehicle accident at Kansas Highway 7 and Kansas Highway 32.

A couple months later, the accidental deaths of former Edwardsville police chief Dennis Robertson and local developer and Bonner Springs resident Tom Overby shocked the area. Robertson was killed in a vehicle accident on K-32 and Overby was found dead in his office of an accidental gunshot wound.

When it came to losing longtime community members, Bonner Springs said goodbye to Dick Burns and Frank Harrington. Burns was a former Bonner Springs High School industrial arts teacher and wrestling coach and was responsible for the construction of Kelly Murphy Memorial Park in the late 1980s. Harrington was co-owner of Alden-Harrington Funeral Home, which has been a staple in the community for 100 years.

The Chieftain has selected its top five stories of the year; find them on page 5A.

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