The top 10 stories of 2020

#1 COVID: THE STORY THAT AFFECTED EVERYONE ALL YEAR Early in 2020 word began to reach the U.S. and Addison County of a deadly respiratory disease striking a Chinese city with a name unfamiliar to most — Wuhan. We saw images of masked residents and health care workers and troops in hazmat gear. Middlebury College students in China had to abandon their studies and hurry back stateside. Porter Hospital began to make preparations — just in case. Before long it all hit home. Lockdowns. Masks. Social distancing. … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY — The past year was not ideal for sports, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. But once we all figured out how we could compete in many sports safely, the athletes and lovers of athletics among us found some pretty good ways to play and watch. … (read more)

Editor’s note: 2020 was unlike most years. Wow. A global pandemic reached even this small part of the world to turn our lives upside down, and you read about it in the Addison Independent. But if the unprecedented health crisis was the year’s big story, t … (read more)

Arts+Leisure celebrated it’s fourth full year in 2020. Twelve months, 52 issues, over 700 pages, all dedicated to arts and events going on in Addison County — in spite of COVID-19. They say hindsight is 20-20, so what do we have to say now looking back at … (read more)

From this desk, it’s difficult to separate the year 2020 from the Trump-inflicted chaos that consumed the country. But as our 9-page retrospective in this issue depicts, life was racing along full-tilt on many other fronts. During a competitive Democratic … (read more)

Will 2020 be remembered as the start of the nation’s rejuvenation, its crawl back from the edge of insanity to a nation once again embraced in the world community, and respected for its leadership in human rights, political realism and its adherence to sc … (read more)

Part one of two. ADDISON COUNTY — The year 2020 in sports will be remembered in many ways for what didn’t happen, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Winter high school and college postseasons abruptly halted. Spring seasons never started. Summer? No America … (read more)