ASHLAND — The powerful storms that wreaked havoc on northeastern Kentucky and the Tri-State in May were chosen as the top local news story of 2011 by the editorial staff of The Independent.

A car bombing in an Ashland parking garage was No. 2, followed by a guilty plea and resignation that brought an end to a political dynasty in Elliott County at No. 3. Changes at the Ashland Post Office came in at No. 4, followed at No. 5 by the brutal slaying of a well-known community activist.

Rounding out the top 10 were the disappearances of two young Carter County men, the tragic shooting death of a toddler at a local restaurant, a federal court case involving an alleged motorcycle theft and money-laundering ring; Carter County government turmoil, and Billy Ray Cyrus’ homecoming concert at Summer Motion.

A closer look at each of The Independent’s top 10 local news stories of 2011:

1. May storms. Many longtime local residents said they’d never seen anything quite like the violent storms that tore through the region the evening of May 10.

Few were unaffected by the storms, which dumped four inches of rain on the city of Ashland over a 24-hour period and also produced howling winds and grape-sized hail.

Downtown Ashland streets were flooded, and a number of motorists had to be rescued from their vehicles. Dozens of homes were damaged. More than 5,000 in the region were left without power. And, the owner of the Foodland store on 13th Street opted to liquidate his inventory and close the store after a blocked culvert caused the business to flood.

There were several reports of funnel cloud sightings during the, although no tornado touchdowns were confirmed.

More than 200 homes in Boyd County alone were damaged, emergency officials said.

Boyd County qualified for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance as a result of the storms.

2. Car bombing. Workers in Ashland’s 13-story Skytower building felt the repercussions when a car exploded in the building’s parking garage in late July.

An investigation revealed the blast was caused by a bomb being planted in Janie Biederman’s Ford Mustang. The device detonated when Biederman touched the car’s brake pedal.

Biederman escaped the blast with only minor injuries. Experts said the fact her car was convertible — which meant it was unable to contain the force of explosion in the passenger cabin — was likely what saved her.

The bombing remains under investigation by the FBI and, to date, no one has been charged in the incident.

3. Blair pleads guilty, resigns. Flemen “David” Blair’s guilty plea to federal corruption charges and resignation as Elliott County judge-executive brought an end to a political career that spanned five decades.

It also helped pave the way for the election of the first Republican candidate in Elliott County in nearly 75 years.

Blair and his son, former Deputy Judge-Executive Barry Blair, both were indicted in 2010 for what federal authorities said was a scheme to influence voters in the May 2010 Democratic primary by giving away county-owned gravel. As their trial was nearing, Barry Blair pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and agreed to testify against his father, which prompted his father to also accept a plea deal.

In so doing, Blair acknowledged giving away county gravel when he had no right to do so, but denied it was done to sway the outcome of the election.

Neither David nor Barry Blair received any prison time. U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning sentenced both to probation.

Following Blair’s resignation in August, Gov. Steve Beshear appointed Magistrate Georgia Ison to serve as judge-executive until the November election. Ison ran for the remaining three years of Blair’s unexpired term, but was defeated by Republican Carl Fannin, vice chairman of the county’s Soil and Water Commission.

4. Post office changes. In a move that will impact 43 local postal jobs and that many fear will impact local mail service, the U.S. Postal Service announced in late April that it would move all mail-processing operations from the Ashland Post Office to Charleston.

The decision was made after a study which started in September 2010 and was said to be the result of a 20 percent decline in mail volume for the postal service since 2007.

The postal service said last month that a decision to delay post office closings and consolidations would not affect the move of Ashland’s mail-processing operations to Charleston. In fact, Tuesday is scheduled to be the first day Ashland mail is processed in Charleston.

5. “Crickett” murder. The March slaying of Leslie “Crickett” Lanham-Lee stunned hundreds who knew her as a tireless community activist who’d recently been recognized by the Kentucky General Assembly for her efforts to organize events to raise money for organizations that assist veterans and victims of child abuse.

Lanham-Lee, 40, was found dead in her home the 2000 block of East Main Street in Greenup the morning of March 4. She died of stab wounds to the neck.

Lanham-Lee’s husband, Charles Steven “Steve” Lee, told investigators he wasn’t home when his wife was murdered. He said he awoke between 4:30 and 5 a.m. that morning and couldn’t get back to sleep, so he decided to go for a drive. He said he found his wife dead upon returning home about an hour and 45 minutes later.

Many found Steve Lee’s story suspect, and, on Oct. 27, a Greenup County grand jury returned an indictment charging him with his wife’s murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

6. Carter disappearances. 2011 was a year of heartbreak for the friends and families of two young Carter County men.

Dillon “Nemo” Bryant and Nathan Barker both vanished under mysterious circumstances and both were believed to have been the victims of foul play.

With Bryant, that belief was confirmed just over a month after his disappearance.

Bryant, 19, of Olive Hill, went missing Feb. 28. In early April, his body was found in an isolated farm pond in Elliott County. He had been shot before his body was dumped in the water. No one has been charged in his slaying.

The whereabouts of the 20-year-old Barker, of Olive Hill, were still unknown as the year drew to a close. On July 12, Carter County sheriff’s deputies found a maroon Cadillac owned by Barker smashed into a guard rail along Ky. 7 near Grayson Lake. The car was discovered around 2:30 a.m. with the front end and windshield damaged, but Barker was nowhere to be found. The air bags in his vehicle were deployed but there was no sign of injury.

Investigators say they are handling the situation as a missing person’s case, and looking into the possibility of ties to the unsolved murder of Bryant. The crash site of Barker’s car is not far from where a farmer found the body of Bryant at the bottom of a farm pond in April. He had been shot and killed before his body was dumped into the pond, according to detectives.

Bryant and Barker reportedly had ties, according to officials. Bryant’s aunt said the two knew each other, and Barker had called their home a couple of weeks before he disappeared.

7. Toddler shooting. An accidental shooting that cut short the life of a 2-year-old Elliott County girl was perhaps the year’s most heartbreaking story.

The shooting, which occurred May 21 in the parking lot of Cheddar’s Casual Cafe, located adjacent to the Ashland Town Center, resulted in the death of Addison Tussey of Sandy Hook.

The youngster was shot in the face with a handgun she found in a center console storage compartment in the family’s Chevrolet Tahoe sport-utility vehicle. The girl’s father, Gary Tussey, had a permit to carry the weapon, but had taken it off prior to going into the restaurant and left it in the vehicle, police said.

Addison’s mother, Brandy Tussey, was in the process of strapping Addison’s younger sibling into a child safety seat in the back seat of the SUV when Addison climbed from the back seat into the front-seat area of the vehicle, found the loaded weapon and began handling it, causing it to discharge. The round struck the toddler in the left cheek area. She died about 2 1/2 hours after the shooting at Cabell Huntington Hospital.

A Boyd County grand jury reviewed the incident, but chose to not indict anyone.

8. Motorcycle theft ring. A federal grand jury in London in August returned an indictment that was the culmination of a four-year criminal investigation involving stolen motorcycles and money-laundering.

A total of 10 defendants — three of them from Ashland — have been charged with a total of 18 offenses, including possession of stolen vehicle parts, money-laundering, lying to the FBI and threatening witnesses who were called to testify before the grand jury.

The indictment alleges the defendants participated in a money-laundering conspiracy related to the interstate shipment of stolen motorcycles. According to the indictment, the defendants altered or obliterated the vehicle identification numbers on stolen motorcycles. They then allegedly transferred the titles to others, before selling them, to conceal the fact the bikes were stolen.

Boyd County sheriff’s deputies discovered a chop shop on Meade Springer Road that was part of the alleged theft ring while investigating a March 7, 2007, shooting on Ky. 5 that left an Ohio man dead.

9. Carter government turmoil. A new fiscal court brought with it a great deal of upheaval in Carter County in 2011.

Much of the turmoil centered upon the operation of the county’s detention center. Magistrates and Judge-Executive Charles Wallace feuded openly with newly elected Jailer R.W. Boggs over a variety of issues. At one point, the fiscal court even discussed terminating the county’s lucrative contact with the U.S. Marshal Service for housing federal prisoners.

Boggs accused Wallace and the fiscal court of intransigence, saying they refused to even consider his ideas for holding the line on costs at the jail. Wallace, on the other hand, accused Boggs of playing politics with the jail, claiming he made voters a number of campaign promises about what he’d o if elected that he was finding himself unable to keep.

The court also skirmished with Carter County Republican Chairwoman Mignon Colley over its policy of not allowing citizens to videotape its meetings. Colley filed a complaint with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office over the policy, alleging it violated the state’s Open Meetings Law. The attorney general’s office found in Colley’s favor.

10. Billy Ray comes home. The first Summer Motion festival to be held in the new Port of Ashland Riverfront Park kicked off in fine fashion with a performance by one of northeastern Kentucky’s most famous natives, Billy Ray Cyrus.

The park was filled to capacity as Cyrus, sporting his signature mullet hairstyle and bathed in red light, took the stage and launched into the title track to his latest album, “I’m an American.”

Cyrus’ performance was the first Summer Motion concert at the new park and the first on the riverfront after a two-year hiatus where the festival was held at Central Park while the park was under construction.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.