Snow. Kenmore recognized as one of the best places to live by national and local magazines. The first murder in Bothell in many years. New digs for Kenmore City Hall. Changes at the Northshore School District. Bothell’s centennial celebration. All these happenings and a few more were among the local news highlights during the last year of the decade.

January

With little but rain outside windows recently, one might have a hard time remembering, but early this year snow was in the headlines again and again.

All in all, some 25 inches of the white stuff fell on Bothell and Kenmore. In Bothell, city crews worked 24 hours a day for 19 straight days trying to keep ahead of the storms and keep streets passable. The effort saw the use of 10,000 gallons of liquid deicer, 300 tons of sand and 5,000 pounds of salt.

In Kenmore, City Manager Frederick Stouder said the real problem was the city’s many steep hillsides, some of which were too snow and ice covered for plows to reach. Lake Forest City crews actually patrolled Kenmore streets, working around the clock for about 12 days straight.

• Now apparently headed for closure again, troubles for the Carole Ann Wald Pool in St. Edward State Park became public early this year. In the face of what officials said were mounting budget challenges, former operator Northwest Center announced it was walking away from the pool as of March 31. State officials followed Northwest’s announcement with a long search for a new operator, eventually deciding on Mill Creek’s West Coast Aquatics.

More recently, after roughly six months on the job, citing the same financial problems at Northwest, West Coast announced it is pulling out of its agreement to run the pool as of Dec. 31. State officials have indicated they once again will seek a new facility manager.

February

Kenmore officials received 14 bids for construction of its new city hall, with the lowest coming in at around $7.5 million. City officials had been working with a cost estimate of about $12.9 million. The city broke ground for the building in March and it should be open for business in the spring of 2010.

March

In one of the seemingly oddest stories of the year, a Kenmore man was facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty in a Seattle federal court to charges related to his alleged attempt to sell a gold bookmark purportedly once belonging to Adolf Hitler.

Christian Popescu, 37, was first arrested Nov. 25, 2008, at a Bellevue Starbucks on Northeast Eighth Street after allegedly trying to sell the bookmark to a federal undercover agent. Federal officials said the bookmark was stolen in October 2002 along with several other items from an auction house in Madrid, Spain. The bookmark was described as originally having been a gift to Hitler in 1943 from his longtime female companion Eva Braun.

• Kenmore’s Carsten and Louise Johnsen celebrated a rarity, a 70th wedding anniversary on March 31. They originally tied the knot in 1939. The obvious question that had to be asked was, how do two people stay together for so long? Carsten let Louise handle what is apparently a pretty common query for the couple.

“You just have to be in love,” Louise said. She then paused.

“That doesn’t mean I haven’t wanted to slit his throat,” she added.

April

The city of Bothell came into being April 14, 1909. In April 2009, the city began a year-long celebration of its centennial with events downtown last spring, during the annual Riverfest celebration and on July 4. The city even buried a time capsule containing a copy of the Bothell history, “Bothell: Then and Now,” along with items from Bothell High and the University of Washington, Bothell.

May

What began as a case of assault turned into a homicide investigation after a Bothell woman died May 4, more than two weeks after suffering stab wounds at her home, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

Police eventually charged David Harold Coffin, 28, with second-degree murder in the death of his mother, Gloria Studdard, 60. According to police reports, Coffin told authorities he had been visited in a dream by his niece and nephew, who urged him to attack his mother. At the time of the incident, officials were unclear as to when the Bothell area had last suffered a homicide.

July

From among 1,700 cities and towns studied, Family Circle magazine named Kenmore one of the top 10 spots in the country for families. The criteria used to judge cities included affordable housing, good neighbors, green space and good public schools.

“You can’t really say enough about the dedicated teachers we have at Inglemoor, Arrowhead (Elementary), Kenmore Junior High, Moorlands (Elementary) — and you can’t forget Kenmore Elementary. And a lot of them live in Kenmore,” Kenmore Mayor David Baker said in an excited call to the Reporter.

Kenmore received more kudos in August when Seattle Magazine tabbed the city as the best place to live from among 110 Seattle suburbs.

June

For good or bad depending on your point of view, Kenmore’s lone card room closed its doors after owners lost a long legal battle they tried to take all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The city passed a ban on card rooms and gambling in December 2005. The Kenmore Lanes card room ceased dealing June 30.

August

Like its Kenmore neighbor, Bothell’s Ruiz/Costie Northshore Pool lost is operator due to financial problems. The pool closed its doors Aug. 31 and has not reopened.

October

Bothell was in headlines across the area after an alleged pit-bull attack resulted in the death of another dog.

A resident of 241st Street Southeast, Diane Selin was walking her dog Ty on Aug. 3 when, according to various reports, a neighbor’s pit bull allegedly attacked Selin’s dog. Selin tried to pull the animals part, but with little success.

Ty died during surgery at a Bothell animal hospital. The pit bull was later destroyed. City officials still are considering toughening Bothell’s vicious-dog rules, including putting tight restrictions on the owners of certain breeds.

November

For the most part, incumbents held sway in local municipal elections. The exception was two races for seats on the Northshore School District Board of Directors where both incumbents failed to win voter approval. A third new face on the board resulted from the decision of a former incumbent opting not to run for re-election.

Elsewhere, challenger Tom Agnew upset Bothell Deputy Mayor Sandy Guinn.