In the final full week before the Christmas holiday, Salem mourned the loss of fallen soldier James A. Ayube II. In addition to honoring the combat medic and his family, an important court hearing and Zoning Board decision topped news. Be sure to catch up everything you may have missed with our Week in Review every Sunday.

• Sgt. James A. Ayube, a combat medic in the Army, was honored this weekend after he was killed in action in Afghanistan on Dec. 8. On Friday, mourners attended calling hours for the fallen soldier. On Saturday, after a funeral service, thousands of Salemites lined the streets to say goodbye to Ayube during a procession to Harmony Grove Cemetery where he was laid to rest.

• On Friday, Christopher Maxson of Marblehead was sentenced to three to four years in State Prison for the March 21 death of Salem teenager Julia Gauthier. Maxson's sentence was determined after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless and negligent driving, which caused Gauthier's death. Judge David Lowy heard from members of Gauthier's family as well as Maxson's father before making his ruling.

• The Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously rejected Community Health Care Inc.'s plan to open a methadone clinic on Highland Avenue. An attorney for the applicant indicated Community Health would appeal in court if the plan did not pass the Zoning Board.