As we come to the end of another year in Dawson County, we can’t help but look back on what the past 12 months have brought.

Some may remember 2010 as a tough year, while others could have very well found redemption somewhere in the past 365 days.

We use the calendar’s events to define a particular period of time, to stamp it as “good” or “bad.”

No matter what challenges 2010 brought for Dawson County residents, there’s one thing that’s a constant: the community spirit.

The fabric of our community is woven together by a calendar of events that make most of us proud to call Dawson County our home.

In October, the Mountain Moonshine Festival raised thousands of dollars for children in need.

Kids awoke on Christmas morning over the weekend to find that Santa Claus was very real.

Deputies with the local sheriff’s department took 47 deserving children to a department store to fulfill their Christmas wishes.

We celebrated the Veteran’s Day Parade in November. Dawson County’s venue is one of just 54 sites nationwide recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the parade was a chance to thank our heroes.

A fireworks show in July reminded us how fortunate we are to not only live in such a great community, but an outstanding country as well.

Special gatherings such as these will always bring us together, no matter what 2011 throws in our path.

For those of us looking to 2011 for a fresh start, New Year’s resolutions are an annual tradition.

We often look to the coming year as a chance for making changes in our individual lives. With these resolutions, we resolve to start fresh.

It gives us the opportunity for a clean slate, and a chance to reexamine the shapes of our lives.

Often, we fall into patterns that define us: how long we’ve lived somewhere, how old our children have grown, how many years we’ve spent at a job.

We look between the lines, and we try to decide what stays and what goes.

Benjamin Franklin, one of our country’s founding fathers, said it well: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man.”

In 2011, let’s resolve to go forward in everything we do, as individuals and as a community.