The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is generally considered a new graveyard. That's one of the reasons you see so many year-end packages by news organizations.

But the end of 2008 was no news graveyard as the souring economy, unpredictable weather and television/cable company contracts garnered interest by readers throughout the nation.

Following are the best of the week that was.

Top Five Stories

1. Hamilton owes banks $10 million, county $500,000

Holy cow!

Chapter One in what will be an ongoing series of stories chronicling one of Rapid City's most prominent businessmen, this story promises only to get more interesting.

That's fascinating considering the economic disaster this story portrays, but be assured, not only is the devil in the details, so is Jeremy Fugleberg's notebook. Stay tuned for more.

2. LaCrosse Street bridge is a hit and run victim

Crunch!

That's the sound of the LaCrosse Street bridge after it was struck by some kind of large vehicle, bowing the structure and leaving readers at least slightly concerned about one of the most traveled roads in Rapid City during the Christmas shopping season.

Good news is, it will be repaired shortly.

3. High winds leave Box Elder family homeless

Woosh!

That's the sound of a Box Elder family's roof ripping away during an exceptionally breezy day earlier this week.

The real tragedy of the story is that the blame game kicked into high gear here. The insurance company said a pre-existing condition in the roof meant they didn't cover the damage. Remarkably, the property was a Barker & Little property of Doug Hamilton fame.

Here's to hoping for a better 2009 for this family.

4. Ben Franklin to move out of Baken Park

Economic conditions may have predicated this move, but at least for now, it's only a move and a downsizing of the store. Of course, many a Ben Franklin store has been lost to the tide of commerce over the decades, but a business that downsizes and survives is generally better for a community than one that simply closes up shop completely.

5. KEVN/FOX will stay on local cable line-ups

This story has been playing out nationwide as TV stations and cable networks negotiate anew deals that allow local networks to be carried to cable customers.

And though these deals aren't as big as the battle between Time-Warner and a group of channels that includes Nickelodeon, MTV and the such, I know quite a few people that would be angry they wouldn't get to see the start of the NFC playoffs this weekend.

Top Five Videos

1. Pet of the Week 12-30-08

The awwww factor continues to work in favor of the weekly Pet of the Week video. This week's feature of a calmer than calm 6-year-old Boston Terrier is perhaps the highest ranking "awwwww" since we started the series.

2. Three-Man Weave, Dec. 24, 2008

The Lakota Nation Invitational basketball tournament leads off last week's discussion, bringing a record number views to the new hoops-oriented video featuring the Journal trio of Padraic Duffy, Jim Holland and Joshua Russo.

3. Barker & Little Client Loses Roof of Home

Reporter Andrea Cook braved the winds to shoot on site in Box Elder where a family's roof was literally gone with the wind. The great thing about video on this story is that you get to see how windy it gets in Box Elder, which is to say, very.

4. Producers Video Picks For 2008

The quickest 2-1/2 minutes in video, Tim Appel's compilation of his favorite videos of the past year.

5. Storybook Island Christmas Lights

Warm weather brought out the crowds to Storybook Island as the annual Christmas lights version wound down for this season. The popular attraction closed down on Wednesday. See you this summer.

Rapid Replies of the Week

Becky Hammon's selection as the Rapid City Journal Athlete of the Year was sure to elicit opinions. The stories that chronicled her decision to play for Team Russia in the 2008 Beijing Olympics were among the most commented on here at rapidcityjournal.com.

Heck, when ESPN featured the story, even they had to close down their message board.

Here's a small sampling of the more than 120 comments that lit up the board on this story.

What wrote on Dec 31, 2008 8:57 AM:

" Leave it to the media to pick someone like BH in order to cause a firestorm. That can be the only reason as she sure did not deserve it after the betrayal of her country. No matter how you try to justify it, it was wrong. "

Tough choice wrote on Dec 31, 2008 5:34 PM:

" I admire Becky Hammon and her athletic ability. she has done well for herself and represented South Dakota well, but I think this is a poor choice for this award. It's not based on her athletic accomplishments but jumping through a loophole and playing for another country, then taking the criticism that comes with it.

On the other hand, you've got Louie Krogman, who broke a 50-year old scoring boys basketball scoring record and led White River to its first title in five decades. Or Kiko Mendoza who became the state's first four-time individual state cross country champion. Or Aubrey Baxter from BH who won national collegiate shot put titles then made the US Olympic Trials.

Those are far loftier accomplishments than playing b-ball for another country. "

To Proud of RC Athletes wrote on Jan 1, 2009 6:44 PM:

" "… when we have thousands of children, young adults and adults living here who are FAR MORE GREATER ATHLETES than her."

Wow…I thought I was tuned into the local sports scene. Please tell me what 8-year-old soccer player, what 75-year-old chain smoking bowler or 35-year-old balding, fat dart player in Rapid City is a better athlete than Becky Hammon. "

goodforyou wrote on Dec 31, 2008 4:19 PM:

" Congratulations on your good judgement on picking Becky Hammond for the Athlete of the year. She's a courageous and talented young woman. She has had to work hard for everthing she has accomplished and has shown to be a great roll model for all of us. It's great to see her recieve this honor, and it was brave of the RCJ to choose her. You made a GREAT choice. "

Poll of the week

According to the following poll, almost everybody should have their Christmas tree taken down and on its way to being properly disposed of.

When do you take down your Christmas tree?

Day after Christmas

276 15 percent

Between Christmas and New Year's Day

756 41 percent

New Year's Day

529 29 percent

When the kids return to school

283 15 percent

Editor's Picks

No-Bid Contracts

The series by Kevin Woster certainly shed a little light on the generally dark area of no-bid contracts.

I'm not saying dark as in evil or malicious. But when you ask the state how many no-bid contracts they have out there and they can't tell you, it's kinda dark.

Check out the package, though, which has video of how difficult the state Web site can be and the searchable database that allows you to see how much business your favorite business does with the state of South Dakota.