From Olympic hopefuls to airport protests and a new MP, the Blue Mountains Gazette covered it all on the front pages of 2016. Here’s a snapshot of the year.
January 6: Three men from Blue Mountains are accused of the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl in 2012 in Hazelbrook.
January 13: 63-year-old woman dies in Katoomba home with only her dog for company. She is found two weeks later by her neighbour.
January 20: Maria Venuti to lead the main event on Australia Day in Glenbrook.
January 27: Mary Waterford from Wentworth Falls is honored as a member of the Order Of Australia for her social service and welfare commitments.
February 3, 2016: Hazelbrook Public School is the first school in Australia to source fair trade polo shirts.
February 10: Blue Mountains operators fear a reduction in tourism due to lack of marketing to promote the region.
February 17: Woodford parents introduce Australia’s first weekly newspaper for children.
February 24: Andrew Flintoff, ex-cricketer, visits Katoomba to film TV show Freddie Fries Down Under.
March 9: Macquarie MP Louise Markus sparks conflict with Blue Mountains council and Labor candidate Susan Templeman over Badgerys Creek Airport.
March 16: Peter Hackney, Blue Mountains spokesman for the gay community welcomes Lifeline’s decision to address large suicide rates in the gay community.
March 23: $4 million settlement for the 39 who sued Endeavour Energy for 2013 Winmalee bushfires .
March 30: Mushroom farming ceases after Department Of Primary Industries evict operators at Glenbrook’s unused railway tunnel.
March 2: Aircraft crash at Katoomba airfield kills 80-year-old pilot, Rodney Hay.
April 6: PM Malcolm Turnbull faces 200 anti-airport protesters in Glenbrook.
April 13: Former Blue Mountains mayor Daniel Myles accuses “pro development” forces in business community of encouraging higher density housing near town centres.
April 20: Mt Riverview native Jennifer Hens makes the Australian shooting team for next Olympics. Lawson mother who lost son in a hit and run concerned over plans to abolish the Road Safety Tribunal.
April 27: Labor to implement a nighttime “no fly zone’’ for Badgerys Creek Airport, as announced by Bill Shorten.
May 4: Katoomba High school students boycott rundown school toilets where the P and C are raising funds over the government, sparking controversy. Three Blue Mountains Cops receive recognition at the Police Officer of the Year awards, hosted by combined Rotary clubs, for harrowing rescues.
May 11: Liberal party backtrack on merging point at Blaxland, in an effort to get the Badgerys Creek airport flight paths on point. Entrepreneurs bottle Blue Mountains air and sell to the Chinese.
May 18: Blue Mountains has been rejected for their first compressed foam fire tanker, with the advanced fire equipment set to go to the Sydney region instead.
May 25: Residents of Jamieson street in Wentworth Falls welcome new sealed road, following years of travelling on a flood prone and dusty street. Labor opposition calls on Baird government to commit to a new Service NSW centre in Springwood.
June 1: The 770 victims of the 2013 bushfire may only receive $200,000 under settlement with Endeavour Energy.
June 8: Former Bullaburra resident and long distance athlete, Ben St Lawrence, makes comeback to Australian Olympic team, following hamstring injury.
June 15: Hazelbrook’s Frank Barr receives Order of Australia from NSW Governor-General for his three decade service of youth with the Scouting movement.
June 22: Macquarie and pre-poll voting - political pundits predict one in three of Macquarie’s 104,379 constituents will cast their vote prior to July 2. Domestic visitors increase in the Mountains along with NSW’s record.
June 29: Macquarie voters to decide marginal electorate with Labor’s Susan Templeman to battle against Liberal’s Louise Markus for the third time.
July 6: Macquarie MP- elect Susan Templeman celebrated victory after her third attempt.
July 13: Springwood Children’s Centre faces closure with lack of funding. NSW Environmental Protection Authority completes last inspection of Clarence Colliery’s Wollangambe River clean-up.
July 20: Blackheath climber, Tom O’ Halloran, is the first Australian to climb Katoomba’s grade 35 route –‘Baker’s Dozen’.
July 27: Blackheath Rotary club plan for launch of famous Blackheath rocket replica for memorial park.
August 3: 50 Years on from the Battle of Long Tan: Tunnel - Bob Bowtell remembered. Blue Mountains Jessica Fox’s Rio Olympics journey is on course.
August 10: The 770 Blue Mountains residents of the 2013 bushfires are due to receive 4.5 per cent of total assessed losses from Endeavor Energy.
August 17: NSW Premier Mike Baird pulled into the Blue Mountains Council election after opposition leader Luke Foley calls on him to remove Liberal Party candidate Jeff Egan from the party’s ward 4.
August 24: Blue Mountains commuters react negatively to the state government decision to build the new intercity trains overseas with issues predicted with the lines.
August 31: Community of Woodford wants council to recognise and restore their CBD; from Number 56 – 68 on the GWH, and sign petition to rezone the region.
September 2: Rosanna Taylor of Wentworth Falls, continues to receive Red Cross counsellors support, 18 years after she donated husband’s organs to save eight lives.
September 7: 48-year-old Lawson artist, Michael White, suffering from Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, takes first prize at Springwood High School’s Art show.
September 14: Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill dominates the council election results. Labor secures five spots to the Liberals three council reps.
September 21: Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill calls the EIS on Badgerys Creek Airport a “con job” and “propaganda”.
October 5: Blue Mountains council knocked back for $200,000 funding for waste removal from 2013 bushfires.
October 19: Police react to overseas terrorism by imposing new regulations on Mountains festivals and parades. Leura couple Simone Bateman and Amanda Solomons, have first baby and welcome Labor’s blocking of the same-sex marriage plebiscite bill.
October 26: Call for police graves to be repaired starting with the grave of Edwin Oliver Pratt at Katoomba cemetery who was killed in the line of duty.
November 2: 110-year-old Wayzgoose building in Leura spared but faces foreclosure; owner Mark Alchin outraged over council's approach.
November 9: Blackheath marks the 64th Rhododendron 64th festival. Former Springwood councillor Kerry Kime is buried.
November 16: Critics attack approval of Badgery Creek Airport EIS with flight paths still not selected. Residents warned to take precautions as weather warms and pets are treated for snake bites.
November 23: Blackheath Church needs a miracle as flock diminishes and minister pens letter to Gazette pleading for new parishioners.
November 30: Turtles are under threat but they could have new nesting stations on Wentworth Falls Lake to help them survive.
December 7: Cyclist without a helmet given large fine at the Rhodo festival after stricter police measures are brought in.
December 14: The airport is go for launch with PM Malcolm Turnbull signing off. Mayor condemns the move.
