As we do each year, we began 2009 by listing five “hopes” we had for the new year. As the year comes to a close, it should surprise no one that based on the five broad “hopes” we listed in this space back on New Year’s Day of 2009, this was far from a banner year. While there was some progress in a few areas during the year, for the most part 2009 was a year in which our expectations fell short of what we had hoped.

So, before we move on to a new year, we recap those five hopes if for no other reason than they provide something of a measuring stick for the year:

‰Economic recovery.

This was the year in which we lowered our expectations for this area’s economy from the creation of hundreds of new jobs that we had listed as a hope in 2008 to the “preservation of existing jobs.”

While jobs have been preserved at AK Steel, which is even hiring some new workers, 2009 comes to an end with most of the union workers at Progress Rail laid off. In addition, much of the rest of the local economy has languished during the year. At least one automobile dealership has closed and numerous other employers are ending the year with fewer workers than they had in January.

“Here’s hoping President Barack Obama and a Congress controlled by the Democratic Party can take the steps necessary to help pull our nation out of recession without jeopardizing our future by spending billions and billions of dollars the nation does not have,” we wrote on Jan. 1.

Barack Obama had been president for only a few weeks when the Democratic Congress, with little Republican support, approved a huge economic stimulus package that has yet to fulfill even a fraction of what it promised. With the federal budget gushing red ink at an alarming rate, the year is ending with Congress on the verge of approving a health care reform bill that is certain to cost billions in the next 10 years.

And while economic experts insist the recession has ended and the economy is slowly improving, it remains a mostly jobless recovery, Until that changes, it is going to seem like a recession for most Americans.

‰A healthier community.

“Our hope is that in 2009 hundreds — or even thousands — of area residents will vow to quit smoking, to exercise more, to eat smarter and to shed those excess pounds and that they will keep those vows,” we wrote back on Jan. 1. “... Let us help ourselves, our families and our communities by living healthier.”

Admittedly, this is a difficult “hope” to measure. If nothing else, we hope the doubling of the state tax on cigarettes that took effect on the same day as a huge increase in the federal cigarette tax has encouraged dozens of area resident to kick the tobacco habit if for no other reason than to save money.

However, one only has to look around to realize that too many of us continue to weigh too much, eat fattening foods and smoke. There may have been some progress in accomplishing this goal in 2009, but we still have a long, long way to go to reduce our number of illnesses that are, in essence, self-inflicted.

‰Downtown revitalization.

There definitely was progress in realizing this hope in 2009 but not as much as we had hoped.

As the year ends, the beautiful new home of the Ashland Police Department is nearing completion at the corner of Greenup Avenue and 17th Street and work is continuing on the first phase of the Ashland Riverfront project. Work on both projects ended years of much talk and no action.

After condemning the former Sears building at the corner of 17th Street and Winchester Avenue and even budgeting funds to level the six-story building, the Ashland Board of City Commissioners reached an agreement with owners Perry and Susan Madden in which they will restore the exterior of the building in exchange for the city dropping condemnation proceedings. As the year ends, work is being done on the exterior of the structure. Our hope has always been that the building would be restored instead of demolished. In 2009, a small step was taken toward realizing that hope.

‰More cooperation.

“May this be the year that our elected officials on the national, state and local level spend more time seeking solutions to pressing problems and less time playing politics,” we wrote on Jan. 1. “Frankly, most people — Republicans, Democrats and Independents — are tired of the partisan bickering that has hampered government on all levels in recent years.”

While there was more cooperation than politics on most local governing bodies, it was sadly lacking in both Frankfort and Washington. In Washington, the Democratic majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have created a tyranny of the majority by virtually ignoring the Republican minority. In a sense, that has disenfranchised those of us who live in areas represented by Republicans.

In Frankfort, disagreements between the Democratic majority in the House and the GOP majority in the Senate continue to create a gridlock that is hampering progress. The political atmosphere in Frankfort may have improved a little in 2009, but it still has a long way to go.

‰Helping others.

“This has always been a caring community where people have reached out to do whatever they can to help both neighbors and strangers in need,” we wrote on Jan. 1. “Our hope is that this giving spirit will be more evident than ever in 2009. ...”

This is the one hope in which we can say there was real progress in 2009. Buoyed by a large donation bequeathed in a will, the United Way campaign that began in the fall of 2008 reached its goal despite a weak local economy. And as the year ends, the Needy Families Fund is coming off a strong campaign, although falling short of what it raised in 2008.

However, it is clear that this remains a giving community, and that’s one of our strongest assets. It is something to build on for the new year.

TOMORROW: Hopes for 2010.