In history textbooks, the year 2010 might be defined by a lingering economic downturn that has left the jobless rate high and families and business struggling.

Locally, the past year clearly had its highs and lows. Signs of an economic rebound have emerged - in Four Oaks, a medical-device maker broke ground on a distribution center that's set to provide nearly 200 jobs, and a supplier to McDonald's began construction of a bakery near Clayton.

But tragic news made headlines too. A string of arsons around the county has made residents fear for their property, and three domestic-violence murders shocked the community.

Here are some of the biggest stories of 2010, in no particular order:

Arsonist strikes repeatedly

More than 20 vacant houses - mostly in southeastern Johnston - have been destroyed since April. No arrests have been made yet.

The common thread in the fires is that they happen on weekends, late at night and in vacant houses or storage buildings in rural areas. Suspicious fires in neighboring Wayne and Harnett counties could be connected, authorities say. Most of the fires have been concentrated around U.S. 701 and Devil's Racetrack Road southeast of Four Oaks, but others have been reported on Mallard Road outside Smithfield and as far north as the Kenly area.

The Johnston County Sheriff's Office in December increased the award for information from $2,500 to $5,000. Sheriff Steve Bizzell, whose detectives are working the case with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, has said he's confident an arrest will be made. "Eventually he's going to get caught," he said. "There's too much work being done on this."

Water scare

Johnston County health officials shut down about 100 restaurants and commercial kitchens in Smithfield for a day and a half in early July after samples from the town's water supply tested positive for potentially deadly E. coli bacteria.

The contamination was found at a single testing site, a house on the west side of town. Other testing locations came back clear, but the entire town was put under the boil-water order as a precaution. Utilities officials think a pet's saliva or urine might have affected the testing site.

Rick Childrey, director of the Smithfield-Selma Chamber of Commerce, said the forced closures would mean a big loss for restaurants and other town businesses that rely on passersby. Many folks had to go to Clayton or Selma to eat during the closure.

Since the contamination scare, Smithfield has changed the way it tests water quality, ditching backyard taps for indoor faucets at businesses. The Town Council is still considering more-expensive changes, such as $22,000 for sampling stations that tap directly into water lines. But Town Councilmen said even with the new measures, the situation could happen again.

Smithfield curfew

After months of debate, the Smithfield Town Council enacted a curfew in August.

The curfew bars anyone under age 18 from being out and about between 11:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. Exceptions are made for teens with parental permission, jobs or other reasons for being out. The law aims to reduce juvenile crime and prevent teens from being victims of crimes.

Parents could be cited under the new law and face a fine of $50 to $100.

But no teenage night owls have been punished yet. Police Chief Michael Scott said police have issued only warnings so far, and citations won't start until this month.

Bridge will close in 2012

The N.C. Department of Transportation announced last spring that the U.S. 70 Business bridge into downtown Smithfield would close for up to nine months starting in September 2012.

After seeking input from residents and town officials, engineers decided to rip out the bridge rather than keep two lanes open and have a longer construction process.

The closure could become shorter. When the project goes out to bid in March 2012, contractors vying for the work will have to say how long they'll take, and their answer will factor into who gets the job, DOT engineers said.

The decision spares the Little Brown Jug, a popular watering hole near the bridge. But traffic will be detoured onto the new Booker Dairy Road Extension, and business owners fear that could hurt downtown shops.

Council on Aging

The Johnston County Council on Aging ousted its director after a turbulent year full of accusations against agency officials past and present.

On Dec. 9, director Jane Schirmer had a choice: resign or be fired as director of the Council on Aging. She chose to quit after being under fire for months amid complaints of poor management and nepotism.

Pam Ennis, fired by Schirmer in June, claimed in a letter that Schirmer had tried to steer the agency's business to family members and made questionable purchases. Ennis said Schirmer had wanted to buy office furniture from her brother, Smithfield investment adviser Mark Hall, who needed money after his 2009 arrest on charges that he stole from clients. Schirmer also fired two other veteran agency employees, including Kathy Greenwood, who ran a popular support group for caregivers.

Unrelated to Schirmer's tenure, the agency's former finance director is facing charges that she forged checks and stole $15,115.33 from the agency in 2008.

Audrey Lynette McBride-Bey, 37, of Clayton was arrested in January and charged with two counts each of embezzlement, forgery of an endorsement and uttering a forged endorsement. Her case is still pending.

Domestic violence

On July 13, William Fulton House, 50, shot and killed his wife and 14-year-old stepson, Dakoda Johnson, at their home near Clayton before turning the gun on himself. The couple had been going through a messy divorce. The couple's three young children - ages 2, 7 and 8 - were in the Castleberry Road home at the time of the shootings but were unharmed. Since April, House's wife, Devinee, 42, had called 9-1-1 four times for help dealing with her husband.

Earlier that month, Adolfo Reyes Maldonado, 45, of Wilson's Mills was charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder after authorities say he killed his estranged wife and wounded her stepfather. Authorities say Maldonado shot Elizabeth Holmes Reyes and injured Ben Croft on July 1 at 80 Neuse Bend Road in the Brogden community. Maldonado is being held in the Johnston County jail without bail.

Also in July, Jonathan Douglas Richardson, 21, of Smithfield was charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the death of 4-year-old Teghan Skiba. Skiba's mother, Helen Roxana Reyes, 27, who lives near Garner, also faces child-abuse charges after investigators determined that she saw Richardson abuse her daughter before leaving her in his care on July 6. Skiba died July 16 from abuse-related injuries, including severe head trauma, bruises, cuts and bite marks after Richardson brought her to a hospital. Richardson could face the death penalty if convicted.

Economic development

Two new businesses announced in 2010 that they would build plants in Johnston County.

In Clayton, Northeast Foods, which has supplied McDonald's restaurants with buns since 1965, is building a 106,000-square-foot bakery across U.S. 70 Business from drug makers Talecris and Hospira. The bakery will create more than 70 jobs when it opens this spring. The jobs will have an average salary of $41,000 a year - which is higher than the Johnston County average of about $31,500.

Medical device maker Becton Dickinson and Company announced in July that it would build a 700,000-square-foot East Coast distribution center in Four Oaks. Becton Dickinson became the first tenant in the new Four Oaks Business Park at the Interstate 95 interchange at Keen Road. The distribution center is scheduled to open in 2012 and will create 187 jobs. The new jobs - with an average salary of about $29,000 a year - will make the company the town's largest employer.

Etheridge booted

It was a tough year for U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge.

In June, the Cleveland High School graduate was shown in a video confrontation with a young man on a sidewalk in Washington, D.C. The young man, who did not identify himself, asked Etheridge, "Do you fully support the Obama agenda?" Etheridge then grabbed the young man and didn't let go as he demanded to know the young man's name. The video was shown by news outlets across the country.

Etheridge made a public apology for his actions on June 14, but support for the Lillington Democrat plummeted.

Just six months later, his 14-year career as a congressman ended as he lost to Republican Renee Ellmers of Dunn.

New high schools

A sign of Johnston County's population boom, two new high schools opened in August.

Cleveland and Corinth Holders high schools opened their doors to freshmen and sophomores, easing overcrowding at other nearby schools.

Although the recession has slowed growth in Johnston, the school system welcomed about 32,000 students this year - about 700 more than last year.

Nose-stud battle

A Clayton High School freshman has been at odds with Johnston County school leaders about their dress code, which prohibits facial jewelry. Ariana Iacono, 14, says her small nose stud should be exempt from the rule because she belongs to the little-known Church of Body Modification, which encourages piercings and tattoos as a path to spiritual enlightenment.

School leaders suspended Iacono several times for refusing to remove the nose stud. In October, a federal judge ruled that Iacono, who is being backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, can return to school while the case is pending. The next courtroom date is in February.

Johnston Health finances

In the same year the federal government restructured health care, Johnston Health built new walls of its own. The public hospital company opened its patient tower in Smithfield.

Johnston Health also made financial strides by tightening its belt and coming in under budget for expenses such salaries and benefits.

But by the end of its fiscal year in September, a floundering economy caused the system to operate at a multi-million-dollar loss for the second year in a row.

Johnston Health had projected to make about $200,000. In the end, it operated at a net loss of $9.3 million.

"Fewer people are coming in for selective services like operations," said hospital spokesman Jim Perpich. He said that because more people are out of work or are struggling to get by, they elect to put off health procedures that they would pay for during more-stable economic times.