EDITOR’S NOTE: 2007 has been quite a year in and around Denton. From the depths of serious flooding in downtown Denton and other areas in April to the heights of one lucky Denton couple winning the Texas Two Step lottery, news has touched all aspects of our daily lives. Today, we continue to look at all angles of the past year with coverage of governmental issues, some quirky stories, business and the arts. You’ll also find a colorful photographic glimpse of 2007. On Monday, we’ll top off our review with a look at the educational endeavors of the past 12 months.

The year’s biggest stories of the strange and wonderful often followed the classic man-vs.-nature story line, although one went strictly rags to riches.

DRC/Gary Payne

Javier Olivaras keeps bundled up while walking down Avenue C on Jan. 13 to get lunch.

Of the latter, a Denton couple, Fred and Glenda Evans, became the city’s latest Texas Lottery winners. Although the couple won a Texas Two Step prize drawing in December 2006, news of their win was not made public until January.

Glenda Evans made her husband show her the keys to the safety deposit box and put his hand on the Bible to be sure he wasn’t telling her a fib about the win.

He had called her from work, and she didn’t believe the good news about the winning ticket, which he put in the bank for safekeeping.

The prize came to $1.5 million. Glenda Evans bought the winning ticket at the Cracker Barrel Food Store, 410 Coronado Drive.

Of the former, many animal stories captured our readers’ attention in 2007.

In April, residents reported to police that they saw both adult and young snakes, likely water moccasins, nesting next to the pond in South Lakes Park, off Teasley Lane. Denton police officers shot seven snakes at the park — all they could find — after animal control officers determined it would be too difficult to trap and remove the snakes safely.

Also in April, baristas debuted the Albino Squirrel, a new white chocolate coffee drink, along with a tribute collage of University of North Texas student Amanda Nordstrum’s photos of “Baby,” the second known albino squirrel to live on campus.

Although a student group, the Albino Squirrel Preservation Society, pledged to look after Baby, the little squirrel was killed by a hawk last year. As the school’s unofficial mascot, the albino squirrels reportedly bring good luck to students who see them on exam day.

Other small-animal lovers were unsuccessful in having their group, Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue, added to the Denton County form for juror pay donations in November. The designation would have allowed the group to collect donations from jurors and help pay for its rescue work. Texas law allows jurors to donate to any group approved by the county, but commissioners balked at collecting donations for out-of-area charities.

Robert Stalbaum, a wildlife biologist for the Texas Cooperative Extension Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was busy rustling feral hogs all around Denton County this year. In November, he trapped 16 hogs in the Lakeview Estates subdivision.

The hogs, which are not native to the United States, have become a problem in Texas, especially for farmers and ranchers. But since they breed quickly — a sow can have as many as three 10-piglet litters each year — they have begun moving into the city, too. Hogs will root up lawns and landscaping in their search for food.

In December, a disagreement over a pair of Siberian huskies and the flock of chickens they killed spilled out from a quiet neighborhood in Krum to MySpace.

A Krum man shot the dogs after they escaped their backyard and raided his wife’s chicken coop for the third time. Upset over the loss of their beloved pets and the fact that Texas law expressly allows livestock owners to shoot marauding coyotes and dogs, the dogs owners took their plea for justice to the Internet, where animal lovers on both sides weighed in on the debate.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com.