There was nothing boring about 2003 for residents of central and western Maine. The war in Iraq, criminal activity, Mother Nature and the Twin Cities’ mayors all helped make the year memorable. Ultimately, the Lewiston rallies for and against diversity were judged the top local news story of the year by the Sun Journal. Here are the top 10 for 2003:

1. World Church

of the Creator

For months, police and residents in the Twin Cities fretted over a white supremacist rally planned for Jan. 11 in Lewiston.

Matt Hale, the self-described high priest of the World Church of the Creator, had announced his group would gather to encourage the expulsion of Somalis from the city.

Residents worried that mayhem would spread through the community. Police began planning a strategy to thwart violence.

The proposed rally outraged minorities and civil rights groups, and drew national media attention. The community braced for the appearance of a hate group with a history of violence.

In the end, the rally itself was almost anticlimactic.

An estimated 500 people showed up on Goddard Road to support or protest the World Church group’s presence at the nearby National Guard Armory. There was shouting and shoving, but little violence. One arrest was made; nobody was hurt.

A massive police presence, the isolated location of the rally site and bitter cold temperatures were credited with keeping the peace.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, nearly 5,000 people gathered that Saturday to celebrate tolerance, diversity and acceptance. People from several peace groups spoke against those gathered on the other side of town. They publicly welcomed Somalis to the community.

Notably absent from the diversity rally: Mayor Larry Raymond, whose open letter to the Somali community in 2002 had been widely blamed for attracting the attention of Hale’s group.

Local police were lauded for organizing one of the biggest security forces ever assembled in the city. The final tally for the police operation was estimated at $65,000.

2. Shock and awe

The horror of war got a local face in early April when it was learned a Lewiston man had been killed in Iraq.

U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Francis Cunningham Jr. was one of three soldiers who drowned when their vehicle plunged into a ravine. The 33-year-old was among the first soldiers to die while fighting in Iraq.

Like other service people from around the country, he’d been sent to the Middle East earlier in the year as the United States and its allies prepared for war. Cunningham’s family received a letter from him March 8, shortly before fighting broke out in Iraq. Less than a month later, they received word he had been killed.

Meanwhile, more area men and women were being called to duty as the war in Iraq intensified. Locally, there were mixed emotions about the conflict. Some people displayed flags and publicly supported the campaign overseas.

On March 20, a war protest clogged Longley Bridge between Lewiston and Auburn. Approximately 200 people held signs condemning the war or chanted their disapproval.

After about an hour, police were called because some people had complained. Officers from four agencies swarmed on the scene and asked protesters to leave. A clash resulted. By the end of the confrontation, 17 men and women had been arrested.

3. Killer goes to prison

On May 8, Brandon Thongsavanh was ordered to spend 58 years in prison for stabbing and killing a Bates College senior.

A 20-year-old father of two, Thongsavanh later argued for a new trial. But that request was turned down in October. Unless an appeal is successful, Thongsavanh will spend five decades in prison for the March 2002 murder of Bates senior Morgan McDuffee.

The sentence handed down in May was small comfort to the family of McDuffee, who had died in the arms of his fiancée. The family and the Bates College community have dealt with their grief in several ways.

A scoreboard on campus was dedicated to the slain athlete. A lacrosse award was named in his honor.

A 5K memorial run was held on the first anniversary of his death and proceeds donated to a program that addresses youth violence. Called The McDuffee Fund for Safe Schools, the initiative was founded by Suzanna Andrew, McDuffee’s fiancée.

4. Auburn mayor arrested

Off-duty police officers who encountered Mayor Normand Guay at the City Building Aug. 4 said the mayor was off-balance, weaving and smelling of alcohol after a stop at a sports bar.

An on-duty cop followed the mayor as he drove away. Guay was stopped near his home, subjected to a field sobriety test and handcuffed. At the police station, he was given a Breathalyzer test.

The mayor’s blood-alcohol level was measured at just .01 percent. The state’s legal limit is 0.8. Since he was not legally drunk, the mayor was issued a summons and sent on his way. The charge was later dropped.

At the time, police were involved in sometimes bitter contract negotiations with the city. Talks had bogged down several times.

When city leaders learned of Guay’s arrest, they questioned whether the police action might have been a vendetta arising from the stalled negotiations. Police union leaders defended themselves by insisting the mayor appeared drunk and said that the arrest was in accordance with department policy.

A copy of Guay’s arrest report was leaked to a Sun Journal reporter, and the story was published Aug. 12.

Auburn City Manager Pat Finnigan called for a full investigation of the events leading to the arrest and everything that followed. The city paid a Portland law firm thousands of dollars to look into the matter. The investigators interviewed 17 police officers and several others involved. In November, they gave an 80-page report to Finnigan.

Finnigan wrote a five-page summary detailing her opinion of what the investigation had determined. The press and public wasn’t allowed to see it. The officers who were investigated were not privy to it. Finnigan has said that only she and police Chief Richard Small had access to the report.

An Auburn city councilor as well as the Sun Journal tried to get the report through the Freedom of Information Act. Both were unsuccessful. The Sun Journal sued in court to get the report released.

A hearing on the newspaper’s lawsuit is scheduled Jan. 2.

5. Maineiacs come to Lewiston

Hockey fever swept the community when it was announced that a new Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team would be based in Lewiston. They would play at the Central Maine Civic Center, which would get a $2.5 million dollar facelift. This is the the only United States team in the league, and several local families readily agreed to host Maineiacs’ hockey players.

In April, it was no longer a pipe dream. A Web-based contest to name the hockey squad drew more than 1,400 submissions. The team would be the Maineiacs; its colors would be blue, black and white. The mascot would be a lantern-jawed, gap-toothed brute, Lewy the mascot.

Some questioned whether a semipro team in Lewiston would be popular enough to draw respectable crowds. Some pointed out the shabby condition of the civic center.

But the renovations transformed the civic center. Seats were torn out, painted and rebuilt. New bleachers were erected. New air conditioning was installed and fire safety equipment updated. The building was painted inside and out, and a food court was assembled.

By the end of the year, the Maineiacs were trying to overcome a losing record, but healthy size crowds still flocked to local games, although sellouts at the 5,400 rink have been rare.

6. Twin Cities Development

Nearly everywhere you look, there’s a sign that proclaims: “It’s happening here.” It’s a phrase dreamed up to tout progress in Lewiston and Auburn. But actions speak louder than words.

In several areas of the Twin Cities, buildings, parking garages and other edifices seem to be going up faster than anyone can keep track.

On Lewiston’s lower Lisbon Street, several new projects were under way to enhance the city’s southern gateway, replacing decrepit, empty buildings.

Oxford Networks is moving into space downtown on Lisbon Street. Next door, in a warehouse formerly occupied by the Good Shepherd Food-Bank, Andover College will be renovating and moving to town.

Across the street, VIP Auto Discount Center plans to build its flagship store on two acres. It could be open by April 1. Plans at that site also call for construction of a 6,000-square-foot restaurant or small retail store behind the Public Theater.

In Auburn, the Hilton Garden Inn overlooking the Androscoggin River opened in September. By year’s end, it was doing a brisk business, according to developer Lee Griswold, who sunk $10 million into the project.

A short distance away, on Court Street, major renovations are being done at Auburn Hall. The building, constructed in 1865, and an addition will be home to both Auburn’s city government and the Auburn School Department. The project is expected to be completed in June.

In 2002, $29.8 million was spent on major, non-municipal economic development in L-A, the most in the state. And spending here in 2003 is expected to lead the state once more.

7. Man accused of shooting mom in farm dispute

On July 7, Janette Osborne was hanging clothes outside her 172 Osborne Road in Farmington when she heard a loud bang. At almost the same time, she felt a sharp pain at the left side of her chest. The 47-year-old woman was bleeding as she stumbled to her car. When she got inside, a bullet passed through the car door.

Within eight hours, Osborne had been treated at a hospital for bullet wounds. And her son, 22-year-old Joshua Osborne, was charged with attempted murder and criminal solicitation to commit murder.

Police say Joshua Osborne shot his mother with a .22 caliber rifle and another gun in a dispute over the family farm. Police also charged Joshua with previously trying to pay someone $15,000 to kill his mother.

Janette Osborne told police her son had been upset about her plans to sell the farmhouse and all the equipment. She also told police her son had found she was planning to have him evicted.

Police also arrested Joshua’s girlfriend, Donna Enman, 26, who was charged with hindering apprehension and sent to jail for allegedly trying to help hide guns and for lying to police about Joshua’s whereabouts when he was being sought.

On Oct. 19, Enman gave birth to a 7-pound boy at Franklin Memorial Hospital. She named the boy Joshua, after his father. Jail guards watched over her during the delivery.

Days later, Enman turned her child over to a friend who took the baby to Franklin County Jail to meet Joshua. Because of bail conditions, Enman and Osborne were not allowed to have contact with each other.

Joshua Osborne is expected to stand trial sometime in 2004.

8. Lisbon couple blamed in adopted son’s death

On Valentine’s Day, a Lisbon woman called police to report her 22-month-old adopted son was gasping for air inside their Lincoln Street home. The child had fallen and injured himself, she said.

Nathaniel Allen was rushed a Brunswick hospital and then to Maine Medical Center in Portland. Doctors determined the boy was brain dead and would not survive without life support. On Feb. 15 Nathaniel’s parents decided to disconnect him from life support.

Police began investigating when they learned the boy’s injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome.

Two weeks after Nathaniel died, Sarah Allen, 29, was charged with manslaughter, accused of shaking her son with so much force that it had caused irreparable damage to his brain.

Three months later, her husband, Jeremy Allen, was charged with assault, accused of hitting his son two days before the child died. Police say the 29-year-old Navy journalist struck Nathaniel with a spatula and left bruises on the toddler’s thigh and buttocks.

According to court records, Jeremy and Sarah Allen adopted their son from Guatemala in April 2002. It was arranged through a private, out-of-state agency.

The state wants to try the couple before the same jury. Lawyers for the Allens insist that isn’t fair. That matter is expected to be resolved before each of the Allens goes to trial in 2004.

9. Plant closings, layoffs

Several businesses closed their doors in late 2002 and 2003, forcing hundreds out of their jobs. Western Maine was hit particularly hard by plant closings and layoffs in the textile, wood product, shoe and agricultural industries.

In western Maine, businesses that closed and the number of employees laid off were: Ames department stores in Farmington (40), Oxford (32) and Rumford (42); Parkview Nursing Home in Livermore Falls (85); H.G. Winter & Sons Inc. in Kingfield (27); Strong Wood Products (12); Rangeley Wood Mill (3). Forster Wood Products in Strong (80); Robinson Manufacturing in Oxford (70); C.B. Cummings in Norway (33); Swan’s Supply in Norway (9); Bob’s Discount in South Paris; Fashion Bug in Rumford (7); Cormier Equipment Rental in Rumford (5); Freddie’s Restaurant in Rumford.

Those in Lewiston and Auburn: Acorn Products (45); Ames department store (62); Bottoms USA (20); Dyeables Inc. (about 40); Lewiston Lumber (9); Marois Restaurant (18); ICT telemarketing (84); Auburn Machinery (17); Mid State College (28); and National Pharmacy.

10. Flooding in Canton

On Dec. 17 and 18, ice jams plus heavy snow and rainfall caused the Androscoggin River to rise more than 8 feet in 24 hours. In the town of Canton, rising water flooded basements, agricultural lands and the village center.

High water also prompted the evacuation of more than 50 homes and more than 100 residents from a nursing home. Streets washed out, and cars and trucks became stranded in flooded lots. Routes 140 and 108 and a portion of Canton Point Road were closed, and school kids were shifted to classrooms in other towns.

Several families were unable to return to their homes for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Gov. John Baldacci, along with a half-dozen National Guards members and Maine state troopers unloaded hundreds of toys, warm clothing and bags of items at the VFW.

Volunteers worked overtime to pump water from basements, plow chunks of ice from driveways and roads, re-start furnaces, deliver firewood and offer food and shelter to strangers.

Help for flood victims included more than $2,000 in cash sent to the town office. The Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Community Concepts and individuals and businesses have donated food, clothing, firewood and other items.

Estimates of damage to homes, town equipment, businesses and other parts of the town infrastructure topped $2 million.

On Tuesday, town residents accepted an emergency grant of $100,000 from the state’s Community Development Block Grant urgent need program.

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