Candidates fought for election to be a Bathurst Regional councillor and Perthville residents battled to save the beloved elm tree tunnel. Also, two businesses went bust and another decided to call it a day.
September 2: Police seized 180 ecstasy tablets at a random breath test in West Bathurst. The driver was breath tested and during a subsequent search of the vehicle and driver police found about 180 MDMA tablets.
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September 4: A 37-year-old male motorcyclist was airlifted to hospital with head injuries following a collision with a goat on the Hill End Road at Sofala.
September 7: A 22-year-old driver lost his licence and his ute after being clocked at 100km/h over the speed limit in a Bathurst residential area. The man’s yellow Holden Commodore utility at 181km/h in the signposted 80km/h residential area on the Mid Western Highway on the western outskirts of Bathurst.
September 8: Seven people were out of work, six homes partially built and 75 creditors were owed in excess of $1 million after GJ Gardner Homes in Bathurst collapsed. The company, trading as Aluka Constructions Pty Ltd, voluntarily wound up on August 30.
September 10: Alex Christian moved to quash speculation he would use his shock result in the Bathurst Regional Council election as a stepping stone to higher political honours. Mr Christian, a member of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, won one of the nine places on council following the local government election on September 9.
September 11: Tradies caught up in the collapse of GJ Gardner Homes in Bathurst were facing an uncertain future, with some owed in excess of $100,000 by the failed business.
September 12: The Health Services Union announced that more than 150 of its members who work at Bathurst Hospital would walk off the job to protest what the union alleges is a culture of “bullying, harassment and intimidation”. “The culture at the hospital is seriously damaging morale and wellbeing,” HSU NSW secretary Gerard Hayes said.
September 13: Corrections Minister David Elliott ordered an investigation into an inmate’s escape from Bathurst Correctional Centre amid state opposition claims of a cover-up. The minimum security prisoner was taking part in a works program when he allegedly escaped custody. It was claimed he collected contraband – a mobile phone and 52 grams of tobacco – which was seized by corrective services staff when the inmate returned to the jail.
The culture at the hospital is seriously damaging morale and wellbeing.
- Health Services Union NSW secretary Gerard Hayes
September 14: High country areas across the Bathurst region woke up to a white-out following overnight snowfalls. There were reports of snow in Oberon, Black Springs and Sunny Corner.
September 14: The Greens’ John Fry edged out Vince Connor to win the final place on Bathurst Regional Council following the distribution of preferences after the local government election on September 9. Mr Fry was the third new face inside the chamber, joining Jacqui Rudge and Alex Christian as council newcomers.
September 14: Seven years after her son died in a Kelso house fire, Jacki Kovacs said she would never accept the coroner's findings. Billy Johns was four years old, and one of seven children living with his mother in their McMenamin Place property when it was engulfed in flames on September 15, 2010.
September 15: An elderly man died following a single car accident at the intersection of Brilliant and Stewart streets. A NSW Ambulance spokesman said the man appeared to have suffered a cardiac arrest while driving.
September 18: One of the most photographed natural features around Bathurst was threatened after the announcement of a planned road upgrade which included the removal of the elm tree tunnel on the Vale Road near Perthville. Residents and the community then fought a battle against the Roads and Maritime Services which eventually led to a redesign of the project which would keep most of the trees.
September 18: One of the city’s most iconic businesses, WJ Coote and Sons, announced it would close its doors in December. The store and its staff said a final farewell to customers and the city on December 23.
September 19: Building company Peter O’Brien Constructions went into voluntary administration after being owed $12 million by debtors. The Blayney-based firm owed $5.7 million to creditors including regional subcontractors.
September 20: A number of Bathurst schools were put into lockdown after a security scare where it was thought two boys were carrying a firearm. Police were called following a report that two children, aged 12 and 13, were suspected of taking a pistol into a tutorial centre. It was later found to be a replica.
September 24: A 45-year-old male motorist was taken to Bathurst Hospital after he crashed into a house on Stewart Street, near the intersection of Howick Street.
September 27: Tastebuds were tempted by the news that international flavours, markets stalls, music and games were coming to Bathurst with the Aussie Night Markets. This was the first time the Sydney-based company had held a market in the Central West.
September 28: A 25-year-old woman and a six-year-old boy were airlifted to hospital after a car collided with the front end of a prime mover on the Sofala Road north of Bathurst.