EDITOR’S NOTE: This year saw its share of historic and controversial moments, sometimes all in one occasion. The Chronicle will recap the top stories of 2014 through Dec. 31 as selected by the newspaper’s editors and reporters. The other shoe has yet to drop in a scandal that led to the September resignation of Augusta Commissioner Donnie Smith. A lieutenant with the Georgia State Patrol, Smith defeated former school board member Kenny Echols in 2012, winning every precinct in west Augusta’s commission District 7. read more