The presidential election between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain seemed to have tapped the enthusiasm of voters nationwide.

Butler County was not immune from the gusto.

The county's registration rolls hit a record 121,730 voters. And more ballots, 91,529, were cast here in the Nov. 4 election than in any other election.

Still, the 75 percent turnout was far from the record setting 87 percent turnout the county saw in 1992.

The economic downturn and Obama's coattails proved too much for longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Phil English, who lost his seat in the 3rd District that includes most of Butler County.

Ousting the seven-term incumbent was Democratic newcomer Kathy Dahlkemper.

The 4th District that comprises the southern part of the county remained under Democratic control.

Freshman U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire easily won re-election over GOPcandidate Melissa Hart, who held the same seat for three terms before Altmire defeated her in 2006.

All state lawmakers serving Butler County — five in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate — also were elected to new terms.

Meanwhile, former Democratic state Rep. Frank LaGrotta pleaded guilty in February to conflict-of-interest charges for putting two relatives on his legislative payroll in what prosecutors called a "ghost-employee" scheme.

He was sentenced to 6 months of house arrest, probation and community service, and ordered to pay a fine and restitution.

The start of the year saw two new county commissioners take office. Political newcomers Dale Pinkerton and Jim Lokhaiser began their first terms.Richard Goldinger also took office as the new district attorney.Along with incumbent James Kennedy, the new commissioners reopened the 2008 budget in January before approving a revised budget with a property tax hike in February.As part of an ongoing effort to cut costs, the commissioners in April eliminated health benefits for row office solicitors, but increased the attorneys' annual retainer to $6,000.County officials in October intensified contract talks with union workers. The commissioners initially proposed a wage freeze along with employees paying a portion of their health benefits.After the last contracts ended Nov. 30, the workers in December rejected final offers by the county. The employees continued to work under the terms of the expired pacts.

Construction of the new county prison continued to be the focus of the commissioners throughout 2008 following the late 2007 walk-off of the general contractor, A.G. Cullen Construction of Pittsburgh.The county in June hired Rycon Construction of Pittsburgh to be the new general contractor.County officials in July set the new completion date for the prison at April 2009, well past the original October 2007 date.The cost of the project rose to $41.4 million in August and again to more than $42 million in November.Meanwhile, two lawsuits continue unresolved. Cullen is in the process of resubmitting its $3.8 million breach of contract lawsuit against the county. The lawsuits of The Cost Co. of Allegheny County over a $635,000 payment dispute is headed to arbitration.

Early into the new year, on Jan. 18, an East Butler neighborhood was shocked by the murder-suicide of a woman and her recently estranged husband.Deborah “Debbie” L. Raimondi, 48, was found on the living room couch of her Grant Avenue home with two gun shot wounds.After killing his wife, Thomas A. Raimondi III, 50, apparently turned the gun on himself. He died from a single gunshot wound to his chest.The couple, married April 28, 1978, had two daughters and a son.In September, Cherry Valley farmer James Borchert, 51, was sentenced to 23 to 46 years in state prison for killing his wife and her lover.Borchert a month earlier was convicted by a jury of the shooting deaths of Esther Borchert and Lonnie Schwab of Crawford County on Aug. 14, 2007.In October a man was charged with raping a juvenile at the Mars Home for Youth.Jason Andrew Hall, 28, of New Castle was accused of assaulting the girl on two occasions at the facility off Route 228. His employment at the facility, which lasted about three months, ended immediately after the accusations.Also still pending trial is Kevin Johnson, the former Junior ROTC instructor for Seneca Valley School District.Johnson, 50, of Portersville was charged in January with sexually assaulting two male students.He was suspended without pay a month later and formally discharged by the district in September.

An Oct. 11 chemical spill at Indspec Chemical in Petrolia caused the evacuation of 2,500 people within a three-mile radius.According to plant manager Dave Dorko, an investigation revealed that the incident began when a chemical was being transferred from storage tanks into two, connected feed tanks.The auxiliary power supply to which the operation was hooked did not properly trigger an automatic shutoff switch, causing an overflow of oleum, a chemical similar to sulfuric acid. The oleum instantly evaporated to create a mile-long, foglike cloud.The state Department of Environmental Protection issued Indspec a notice of violation, and a penalty is pending.Indspec has since implemented new procedures and updated training.The company shut down its resorcinol operation immediately after the spill, and operations resumed Oct. 30.A lawsuit seeking class action status was filed Nov. 12 against Indspec in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.Three families were named as plaintiffs: Patricia and Warren Parker of Karns City, and Beth and Thomas Ealy Sr. and Tonya and Thomas Ealy Jr., all of Petrolia.The lawsuit seeks a class action to join together thousands of people who fall into two groups: Those who suffered damage from the incident and those who simply were evacuated from the area as a result of the spill.

Butler Health System spent 2008 working on growth and expansion on and off the Butler Memorial Hospital campus on East Brady Street.Down came the hospital’s old nursing dormitory known as the Nixon Building, making way for a seven-story surgical tower, which will feature new operating rooms, private hospital rooms and a community/education amphitheater off the new main entrance.While that work was going on, the health system revamped the emergency department, adding a quick-care area that includes a special, separate office for behavioral health.The health system also renovated and opened its new Heart and Vascular Center on its East Campus property, the former Morgan II building, and moved many outpatient services out of the hospital.

Butler County gave two of its own to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008, with another seriously wounded and many more in the war zones.Killed were Staff Sgt. Ryan D. Maseth, 24, son of Cheryl A. Harris of Cranberry Township, who died Jan. 8 in Iraq from electrocution while taking a shower, and Army Pfc. Matthew Brown, 20, of Zelienople, who died May 11 in Asadabad, Afghanistan, while on guard duty. Brown was the son of James W. Brown of Zelienople and Sandra Evans of California.Kevin Kammerdiener, a 20-year-old soldier in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and an East Brady native, was critically wounded when a suicide bomber drove a vehicle filled with explosives into a NATO convoy in Afghanistan May 31.Company A, 1st Battalion of the Pennsylvania National Guard was deployed to Iraq for a one-year tour of duty.

The vestiges of Hurricane Ike in September swept through Butler County.While the strong winds did some structural damage, downed utility lines caused massive power outages Sunday, Sept. 14.Thousands of customers lost electricity. The county 911 center received more than 1,100 calls between 7 p.m. that Sunday and 1 p.m. Monday.Some schools remained closed for days.Crews worked to restore power and remove fallen trees.By midweek, customers were frustrated by the duration of ongoing repairs.The Butler Chapter of the American Red Cross opened two shelters, one in Jefferson Township and the other in Slippery Rock.Water was provided at local municipal buildings and fire halls.Grocery stores scrambled to preserve perishable food.Cleanup efforts and power line repairs continued into the weekend.The Salvation Army of Butler accepted food and monetary donations for those whose items spoiled due to the lengthy power loss.Full power was restored by the weekend.<B><I>Eagle staff writers Megan Duncan, Tom Victoria, Kim Paskorz, Jim Smith, Kelly Garrett and Ed Biller contributed to this report.</I></B>