By William C. Shelton

This article was first published on July 6, 2011.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

The most important thing that I know about life is that it is finite.

I will die. You will die. Everyone we know will die. Even the stars will fade away, one after another.

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Before we move on to 2015 and all we hope to accomplish in the coming year, it’s natural that we reflect on what we accomplished together in the past year. Thanks to our community’s vision and dedication to our shared hopes and dreams, Somerville had no shortage of accolades earned and milestones reached in 2014. Here’s a look back at only a few of those awards and milestones:

By Jim Clark

The past year saw many changes come about in the city and its citizens. Longtime development projects came to completion, while others were just begun. Familiar faces bowed out of the spotlight as others took their places.

Kids are getting creative with Arts at the Armory’s “Youth Arts Arise” program. —Photos by Joe Renken

By Sanjeev Selvarajah

Parents always encourage talent in their children. An artistic work their child had done might be on a wall of their living space – or, as a constant reminder – on the door to a refrigerator.

Happy New Year to all our readers out there both in print and online from the publishers, editors and staff to all here in Somerville. May 2015 be a great year for everyone here in Somerville. Both young and old, new and old time residents come together to celebrate our beautiful city that we all love.

By Tom Bannister

As most know, Somerville High School has one of the most storied histories in Massachusetts High School Basketball that dates back almost 75 years. In those dominant years that stretched from the early 1940’s until the early 1980’s, Somerville was a constant contender for sectional and state titles.

By Rebecca Danvers

Somerville once again in 2014 proved itself to be a sports loving – and playing – city, with school and semi-pro teams taking it to the competition, and more often than not prevailing as winners.

On the last newscast of the year, Executive Director Wendy Blom and Somerville Neighborhood News Director Jane Regan consider some of the hot topics of 2014, discussing some of the hundreds of stories from 25 newscasts.

Nicole Terez Dutton’s work has appeared in Callaloo, Ploughshares, 32 Poems, Indiana Review, and Salt Hill Journal.  Nicole earned an MFA from Brown University and is currently serving as the the 2013 Dartmouth Poet in Residence at the Frost Place. She has been awarded the fellowships at the Fine Arts Work Center, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Cave Canem and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is the winner of the 2011 Cave Canem Poetry Prize for If One Of Us Should Fall.  She lives in Somerville, Massachusetts and teaches at the Solstice MFA Program at Pine Manor College and Grub Street.

Joanne DeSimone Reynolds has published poems in Salamander, Ibbetson Street Press, Wilderness House Literary Review, and Sanctuary Magazine among others. Her chapbook Comes a Blossom was published in 2014 by Main Street Rag.