2018 in focus: The local issues that made front page news
At midnight tonight we draw a veil over another eventful year.
And while the national news landscape has most certainly been lively during 2018, the same is very much true of the local area in Shropshire and Mid Wales.
Whether it was saying farewell to beloved figures, celebrating sporting success, being swept up in the political melee or watching our towns and cities changing before our eyes, the Shropshire Star has been there to document the events and the human stories that have marked out the last 12 months.
Today we have taken a selection of some of the key front page stores from the last year, which show a mixture of celebration and sadness for our local communities.
February
Last winter, an intrepid trio of amateur rowers took on the Atlantic ocean, and landed in Antigua in February with new world records the reward for their Herculean efforts.
May
Few Shrewsbury Town fans will ever forget their side’s amazing 2017/18 season – even though it eventually ended in disappointment under the Wembley arch.
June
Ironbridge Power Station has long been a Marmite, love-it-or-hate-it landmark in one of Shropshire’s best-known beauty spots, and this year it was finally sold off.
July
If Shrewsbury’s season caught the imagination locally, England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals had the nation abuzz – alas it wasn’t quite enough, as this cover from after the Croatia defeat shows.
August
During 2018, talk of legalising cannabis for medicinal use grew stronger – and Andrea Davies from Longdon near Shrewsbury said the NHS was denying her son a chance to be treated.
October
One young man’s name has appeared in the news again and again this year – Zac Oliver from Broseley captured the hearts of the nation with his leukaemia fight. In October we reported that enough money had been raised to take him to the USA for treatment.
November
This front page appeared the day after Armistice Day in November, in a special year in which the country marked 100 years since the end of the First World War. Inside, we covered a number of the events held around the county to honour our war heroes.
December
In December, we told the story of Shropshire mum Rosemary Westwood-Rose, who was calling for an inquest into her daughter Libby Rose’s death a year ago. Libby had been living with bulimia for two years, and died aged just 16 at home in Telford.
