KNOX COUNTY – With the year winding down, we had a simple question: What stories were most popular among Knox Pages readers in 2018?

Our staff dug through the archives to find the answer. Here were our most popular stories based on unique visitors (in other words, not just page views):

1. Nimeth reveals reason for departure in emotional Facebook video (July 3)

Back in May, local family doctor Brent Nimeth suddenly left his Mount Vernon office. There was a note left on his office’s front desk, which revealed that he was no longer employed by American Health Network. A week later, Nimeth’s attorney sent out a press release stating that the doctor was in a contract dispute with the network and that he hoped to return to his practice soon.

What came next shocked many. Over a month later, Nimeth published a Facebook video where he opened up about the reason for his departure. He explained that he had been dismissed from AHN for “disruptive behavior” and that the story began back in July 2017, when the company changed hands and office morale took a nosedive.

Nimeth choked up at several points in the five-minute confessional, as he spoke publicly for the first time since his termination from the company.

2. Mount Vernon man indicted for involuntary manslaughter (Jan. 24)

In January, 22-year-old Richard Cantu was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter, second-degree corrupting another with drugs, and two counts of tampering with evidence, both third-degree felonies.

According to the Mount Vernon News, the charges stemmed from the Aug. 2017 death of Dezerae Steigerwald. The News story states that Cantu provided Steigerwald with synthetic marijuana that was laced with fentanyl, which caused Steigerwald’s death.

3. Missing Howard woman finally located (Feb. 12)

Angela Frazee, a 52-year-old Howard-area woman, was found by law enforcement in northeast Texas in February after being missing for nearly two months. Frazee was reported missing by family members on Dec. 20, 2018. At the time, Frazee had not reported to work at the Kenyon Inn and her cell phone was found at her residence.

Little information was made public as friends, family and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office searched for Frazee. Texas officials indicated that Frazee was alive and unharmed when they found her, and there was no evidence of foul play.

4. Firefighters walk out after FCFD board votes against daytime staffing (April 11)

The years’ worth of debate between the Fredericktown Community Fire District’s board and staff over whether or not the district should hire paid, daytime firefighters rose to a crescendo in April, when firefighters walked out of a board meeting after the board voted 3-2 against hiring daytime firefighters.

Fire Chief Scott Mast and his staff strongly supported the idea, as the district is made up of a declining number of volunteer firefighters. This drop in numbers had concurrently hindered the station’s abilities to serve the community during daytime hours.

Although the issue would eventually be resolved in August, when the board compromised and voted in favor of hiring two paid, daytime firefighters, things grew rather contentious during the spring – and no moment during the conflict stood out more than the April 11 walkout.

5. SWAT team responds to man with gun barricaded inside Vernon Ridge Apartments (July 12)

This breaking story marked the beginning of what turned into an eight-hour standoff at Vernon Ridge Apartments in Mount Vernon on the afternoon of July 12. Multiple local law enforcement agencies, including the SWAT team, were called to the complex that day following reports that a man had barricaded himself inside an apartment with a gun.

The man was Vernon Kanode Jr., 22, who had allegedly been involved in a burglary in Morrow County the day before, where he stole several firearms. Officers were able to pry Kanode from a second-story apartment after hours of negotiations and tactical maneuvers.

Many of the apartment complex’s residents were evacuated while special units moved in. No one was seriously injured during the removal process.

Honorable mention:

Knox County Sheriff releases timeline of Ariel-Foundation Park tragedy (June 20)

Tragedy struck Ariel-Foundation Park on the morning of June 20 when a Newark man – Ricky D. Snyder, Jr., 35 – jumped from the park’s Rastin Tower and fell to his death. Later that day, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office released a timeline that detailed the events leading up to Snyder Jr.’s death.

The timeline involved reports of high-speed driving, a stolen vehicle, an altercation and eventually a car crash at the Action Waste facility on Pittsburgh Ave., which sits just beyond the park’s border.

‘This will be a blow to our community’ – Siemens to close (Feb. 6)

Siemens Energy announced in February it would be closing its Mount Vernon facility, located on North Sandusky St., and would be laying off 325 workers by the end of the year as a result. Siemens had been one of Knox County’s largest employers, and Mayor Richard Mavis called the corporate decision “a blow to our community.”

“These were good jobs,” Mavis said. “We kind of counted on them.”