October 24th marks one year since The Underground site was relaunched in its current format. In the last 12 months the site has been read by thousands, attracted more than 800 Facebook followers, and on more than one occasion impacted local news headlines.

In honor of that one-year milestone LU readers were recently asked to name their favorite articles. Suggestions on the site and on Facebook were somewhat underwhelming, but these two received the most votes:

City Council Tells Roper Where to Go, an article about the city’s refusal to lower Roper’s electrical bill in order to keep the golf course open.

Plane Crazy, a piece revealing the city’s future plans for its money-losing airport.

Readers who didn’t vote directly still voted with their feet, making these the most-read Undrground articles for the last year:

Criminal Culture and ..Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out, our two articles about the murder of Theresa Parker (the first also discusses Tri-State Crematory and city council alcohol problems).

Protecting Their Own, about the Sheriff’s Department hiding the identity of a retired officer involved in a dangerous incident.

Mulling Over Mullis, a pre-election essay about the career of State Senator Jeff Mullis.

Chief Concerns, about the city’s growing arson problem and the police department’s inability (or unwillingness) to do anything about it.

Beyond just readership, some pieces have made a greater impact on the community than others. The two below have especially made a difference far beyond just the people who read The LaFayette Underground:

Infrastructure Insanity, an often-referenced report about local leaders’ indifference towards collapsing county and city infrastructure.

Wasted Potential, a discussion of disrepair and possibility at the old LHS football stadium in the heart of LaFayette. This piece became front page news and led to a long discussion at the August City Council meeting.

Some of our favorite articles are included in the lists above, but several others stand out as personal highlights:

Road to Riches or Highway to Hell?, a look at last year’s controversial liquor-by-the-drink bill that took both sides to task.

Charitable Questions, highlighting local nonprofit The Care Mission.

The Man in Black, a tribute to Johnny Cash on the 40th anniversary of his famous LaFayette concert.

If you haven’t read these we hope you will, or just go back to the beginning and read everything. Thanks for reading and participating in The LaFayette Underground during the last year and in the years to come.