Philip Hirschy, above and first paragraph below, holds a picture of his wartime Jeep as his wife Fae looks on. Hirschy of Evans City was a Jeep driver during World War II. The annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival was in June.

Beyond this year's headlines are the reactions of the newsmakers. What follows is an array of those reactions and the context in which they were uttered.

[naviga:h3]Jan. 7[/naviga:h3]

“Accept the fact that you are going to be terrified. Figure out how you are going to burn off that nervous energy before walking down the aisle.”

— Michael Dittman, assistant professor at BC3, on advice for getting through the wedding ceremony

[naviga:h3]Jan. 8[/naviga:h3]

“Let's face it, drug dealers don't use pay phones anymore.”

— Richard Goldinger,Butler county district attorney on the use of software to glean information from a suspect's cell phone

[naviga:h3]Jan. 11[/naviga:h3]

“I think the opportunity is that, for the first time in many years, the American people are going to see a government that's very functional.”

— U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, on the prospects of legislating with a GOP House and Senate

<h3>Jan. 11</h3>“If we didn't have police officers, what would we have? We would have chaos.”— William McCarrier, Butler County commissioner speaking at a police support rally<h3>Jan. 13</h3>“It's been said this consolidation is about making sure that the children get the best education possible. Keep in mind that for many of the families that live in the city, the best education that their children can get is one they can actually get to.”— Laura Wick, mother of child who could walk to classes at Broad Street School, one of the schools closed by the school board

<h3>Jan. 30</h3>“I do formally believe code is the language of the 21st century.”— Ronelle Rowe, technology facilitator, Haine Middle School, about the importance of students knowing how to work with computer codes<h3>Feb. 6</h3>“Last night, the whole town was nothing but aglow.”— Nancy Marano, Emlenton manager on the fire at the old Emlenton Mill<h3>Feb. 10</h3>“My mother never really got over it.”— Ann Cooper, sister of Jack Lusk, reflecting on how their mother reacted to the news that Lusk had been killed in action in WW II<h3>Feb 13</h3>“A lot of people seem to think that's a little morbid, going to graves, but I don't. I have found cemeteries to be beautiful and full of art.”— Terry Wilson, of Renfrew on visiting every presidential grave in the USA<h3>Feb. 22</h3>“Don't move. Hopefully it doesn't hit you.”— Nick Yurkovich, a college student and volunteer firefighter describing what to do when ammunition is going off during a fire

<h3>Feb. 24</h3>“For crying out loud, shut up.”— Dale Pinkerton, Butler County commissioner, to Commissioner Jim Eckstein, exasperated over Eckstein's criticism of several volunteers' efforts on various county boards<h3>Feb. 25</h3>“We can't keep doing the same things and expect things to change.”— Kathy Kline, city council member, on favoring the use of a consultant to help cut city spending<h3>March 18</h3>“There are no jobs in history.”— Peter Njuguna, a Kenyan studying in Pennsylvania to become a teacher, referring to how history is viewed in his country<h3>April 23</h3>“I can't use enough adjectives to describe how happy I am.”— Tom Donaldson, Butler's mayor, reacting to announcement that state will be sending a $2 million grant to help pay for the new downtown hotel<h3>April 27</h3>“If the federal government thinks they are going to come into Butler County and take away your firearms, they've got another thing coming, because I won't let that happen.”— Mike Slupe, sheriff, at a Second Amendment rally in Butler

<h3>May 13</h3>“In times of intense tragedy, sometimes there isn't time to think. We default to our level of knowledge and training.”— Michele Gay, the mother of a student killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, speaking on the importance of training for such emergencies<h3>May 28</h3>“All you have to really do is just power through the pain, suck it up and go to school.”— Jared Buzard, student at Union High School, on how he managed to have 15 years of perfect attendance at school<h3>May 28</h3>“He didn't forget he spent his early life here. He's an honest guy.”— Tom Donaldson, Butler mayor, on presidential candidate Rick Santorum picking Butler County to make his announcement

<h3>May 31</h3>“I probably scare them worse than I have to, but they should know it could happen.”— Mary Feldbauer, of Penn Township on how she deals with her children's safety in a thunderstorm after having lived through a tornado in the county 30 years ago<h3>May 31</h3>“It's not usual. It's ridiculous. It's out of control.”— Linda Franiewski, executive director of the Ellen O'Brien Gaiser Center in Butler, speaking of the incidence of heroin overdose cases in Butler<h3>June 5</h3>“Life was so easy as a dependent.”— Jacob Fullerton, Moniteau graduate, talking about how his life will change after high school.<h3>June 11</h3>“To me, French is not a global language anymore. I see Spanish as a more important language.”— Jacqueline Pfeiffer, South Butler school director on her support of cutting the French curriculum

<h3>June 12</h3>“I didn't do much shooting because my main job was driving the captain, but I got shot at a lot.”— Philip Hirschy, of Evans City talking about his military experiences driving a Jeep in the Army<h3>June 19</h3>“So what you're seeing now is incredibly innovative solutions coming from different disciplines addressing these really, really big problems,”— Julielynn Wong, of NASA, speaking at Mars' New Year festival kickoff dinner<h3>June 22</h3>“You always see festivals about art and stuff, but never about science.”— Jess Rogers, of Mars reacting to weekend celebration of Mars' (the planet's) New Year<h3>July 3</h3>“We're going to enforce all the rules. We go after people with drugs. We go after people who don't mow their lawn. Parking is just part of the puzzle.”— Tom Donaldson, Butler mayor, announcing the city's intention to ticket vehicles illegally parked at meters after usual working hours and weekends<h3>Sept. 10</h3>“You don't have a grade school or any other bus stop in front of a bar. If anything happens or if nothing happens, it's not a good place for a bus stop.”— Tom Donaldson, Butler mayor, reacting to changes to school bus routes tied to the Butler school consolidation plan<h3>Sept. 18</h3>“We have the constitutional right to challenge something we believe is harmful to the community, and this suit seeks to deny us that right.”— Diane Sipe, president of Marcellus Outreach Butler, on the SLAPP lawsuit against opponents of drilling in Middlesex Township

<h3>Sept. 22</h3>“The hotel has the potential to have 120 people waking up downtown and in need of a cup of coffee.”— Barry Cummings, owner of Cummings Candy and Coffee on what the new hotel downtown means to his business<h3>Oct. 19</h3>“I can't remember when I last got a complaint about anything.”— Ron Lockwood, mayor of Cherry Valley, commenting on the political dynamics of his office<h3>Nov. 3</h3>“When you get up into your nineties, it gets a little harder.”— Helen Sankey, 90, on the occasion of her 50th year as judge of elections in West Sunbury<h3>Nov. 12</h3>“I tear up when I see them. I want the kids to understand and honor these awesome people.”— Margy Vorel, of Butler reacting to veterans marching in the Veterans Day parade in Butler<h3>Dec. 20</h3>“If Butler County was a publicly traded company, I'd be selling all my stocks.”— Ben Holland, Butler County controller<h3>Dec. 22</h3>“Because of their hard work, we're not stuck in a contractual relationship with a crook.”— David Cord, director of VA Butler Healthcare, on the efforts of the VA in backing out of a construction contract

Philip Hirschy

Navy veteran Thomas Schlipp holds his son Noah, age 4 months, as Noah plays with a little American flag during the 2015 Butler Veterans Day parade on Main Street Nov. 11.

From left, Sarah Untich, Kat WIntersteen, and sisters Kris and Jess Rogers collect autographed Mars rover photographs from NASA scientist James Green at the celebration of the planet's New Year festivities in Mars Borough in June.

Linda Franiewski, executive director of the Gaiser Center, said in May that the heroin problem in Butler is “out of control.”

West Sunbury Judge of Elections Helen Sankey has held her elected office for 50 years. She stands at the door of the borough's voting precinct at the Presbyterian Church on Timer Avenue.

Laura Wick of Butler talks about the benefits of neighborhood schools during a school board meeting in January.

Jared Buzard, a Union High student, amassed a perfect school attendance record.