It was a roller coaster of a year on a national scale, and that holds true for the 2016 experienced here in Fountain Hills, too.

From major strides forward by the Fountain Hills Unified School District to a real estate rebound, a visit from the man who would be president and the defeat of America’s toughest sheriff, Fountain Hills had its fair share of headline-making stories.

As is tradition, we’ll be running down the “Top 10” news stories of the year. Also starting this week, expect to find plenty of review stories looking back at the past 12 months in relation to local news, businesses, schools and sports.

Without further ado, here is a rundown of the biggest local stories of the year.

1. Trump visit

The town was given little time to prepare for a visit from Donald Trump when, just a day and a half before his March 19 appearance, it was announced one of his Arizona rallies would be hosted out of Fountain Park.

But a stage, bleachers, fencing and security were organized in record time, giving the controversial candidate a venue to speak to his Valley constituents.

After visiting Fountain Hills, Trump went on to earn the Republican nomination and, back in November, he was elected to the position of President of the United States. Trump’s term is set to begin following his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017.

2. Park Place

Construction began on Park Place this year, kicking off a planned six-year construction cycle for the development going up on the south side of Avenue of the Fountains.

Being developed by Bart Shea of N-Shea Group, the project includes both commercial and plenty of residential space, as well as a parking structure.

Known by many up to this point as the “dirt lot” in downtown Fountain Hills, the site is one of the few remaining central locations that has gone undeveloped since the Town’s inception.

The hope is that the project will provide an ideal location for new residents and businesses looking to move into town.

3. Arpaio defeat

After serving six terms as Arizona’s sheriff, many were shocked to learn that Fountain Hills resident Joe Arpaio would not be donning the badge for a seventh term.

At the time of the election, Arpaio was facing stiff competition from an opponent he had previously defeated, Paul Penzone, as well as profiling allegations, federal civil rights investigations, as well as contempt of court accusations.

In the end, that added up to enough to bring Arpaio’s 20-plus-year term in office to a close.

4. Real estate

It’s taken a while for the nation to bounce back from the 2008 recession but, if real estate development around Fountain Hills is any indication, things are back on the upswing.

Bulldozers are rolling and hammers are swinging all over the place as Fountain Hills once again gets back into a phase of constant home development.

Overlook is starting to roll at FireRock Country Club, Trilogy is taking off about 12 miles outside of town, custom developments are going up and, at long last, some movement involving the State Trust Land has occurred that could result in more big things for Fountain Hills.

Homes are being built and, so long families, retirees and more are willing to fill them, Fountain Hills could be in for a population boost.

5. EVIT

Back in August, it was announced that the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) was considering a satellite campus in Fountain Hills. The Fountain Hills Unified School District has had students taking advantage of EVIT’s offerings for many years.

With School Board approval, the ball is now rolling on bringing EVIT to town. EVIT Superintendent Dr. Sally Downey visited town in late October to host a talk on the school, as well as its plans for the former site of Four Peaks Elementary School.

With input from local residents, business owners and students, EVIT plans to offer a selection of courses at the campus in partnership with FHUSD beginning next fall, opening up educational options for Fountain Hills students as well as those attending surrounding districts.

6. Noise

A lot of noise was made about noise this year, finally bringing six years’ worth of ordinance talks to a close.

Spurred on by a noise dispute concerning CopperWynd Resort and surrounding neighbors, the Council was encouraged to finally take another stab at town ordinances and provide more clear-cut regulations in regards to folks making a racket.

That action was finally carried out at the December Town Council meeting, where amendments to the noise ordinance were finalized.

7. Beeline shooter

A 36-year-old San Tan Valley man made headlines as the “Beeline shooter” in June when, armed with an automatic rifle, extra rounds of ammunition and body armor, he opened fire on oncoming traffic along State Route 87.

The incident involved six vehicles and 13 injury victims right outside of Fountain Hills. One local’s car caught fire along the highway following the shooting.

After a bit of a search, James David Walker was located, arrested and booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, endangerment, armed robbery, theft of means of transportation and possession of dangerous drugs.

8. FHUSD initiatives

While the potential of EVIT coming to town is certainly great news, it is only one prong of a multifaceted attempt to update the local school district’s image and offerings.

Guided by Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney, FHUSD has this year adopted a new logo, launched a revitalized website, enhanced its curriculum with offerings such as the newly approved AP Capstone program and bolstered its advertising and outreach with various projects geared at attracting and maintaining new students, families and teachers in Fountain Hills.

9. MorningStar

While the Park Place project is only just now getting underway this year, another aspect of the ongoing development of downtown, MorningStar, finally opened its doors in 2016.

An assisted living facility, MorningStar includes additional units for those in need of individualized memory care.

Along with providing its various services, MorningStar offers the added bonuses of bringing many new jobs to town, something the Town Council hopes to see duplicated in the coming years as the senior living community, Copper Ridge, begins to take shape along Westby Drive.

10. Fire Station #2

The Fire Station #2 project really took off this year, with one of the final touches before construction can begin currently being taken care of: The design.

A quartet of design possibilities were shown off during the Dec. 15 Town Council meeting, though none have been approved at this time. Town Councilman Dennis Brown will meet with fire personnel and the design team to hammer out some final details in early 2017.

With bid documents planned to be ready by February or March, it is expected that the facility could be up, running and improving response times around town by early 2018.