The Western Advocate has started its look back on the year in news in Bathurst. First up, it's January.
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PEOPLE were being asked to avoid the area after a grenade was found in the Macquarie River, near Denison Bridge, on January 10.
"About 1pm today [Sunday], a local fisherman located an item in the Macquarie River, which has since been identified as a hand grenade of military origin," Chifley Police District Inspector Adam Beard said.
Police were guarding the scene to ensure public safety.
"It is very rusted and corroded. It appears to have been in the water for some time," Inspector Beard said of the grenade.
"We have to consider it live until proven otherwise."
Australian Defence Force staff later took possession of the device and destroyed it.
A spokesperson for the ADF said the grenade was deemed unsafe for transport.
POLICE were investigating a New Year's Day brawl in the Bathurst CBD which led to a man being taken to Orange Base Hospital with head injuries.
Police and paramedics were called to the intersection of William and Howick streets in the early hours of New Year's Day after receiving information that a group of people were fighting.
Chifley Police District station supervisor Sergeant Darryl Goodwin said while no charges had been laid so far in relation to the alleged assault, investigations into the incident remained ongoing.
Officers were set to review closed-circuit television footage from cameras in the area and would be interviewing witnesses.
Sgt Goodwin said initial investigations suggested one group of people had been having drinks at a CBD business before they went on to William Street.
A second group of three to four males, believed to be aged between 15 and 17 years, was in the vicinity at the same time.
Following an exchange of words, it was believed one of the young men allegedly hit a 20-year-old man, who fell back and hit his head on the ground.
Witnesses said Senior Constable Kelly Foster, 39, had been attempting to rescue a woman who had been swept off her inflatable lilo into a whirlpool at Mount Wilson.
The younger woman had not yet been named but was believed to be a 24-year-old international student who was living in Sydney.
Sen Const Foster had most recently been stationed at Lithgow after she took a break in her career when diagnosed with breast cancer.
Acting Commissioner Mal Lanyon said her return to work was a testament to her resilience.
A memorial wall was later built outside Lithgow Police Station to remember Senior Constable Foster.
ALSO MAKING HEADLINES IN JANUARY:
- Bathurst's Grant Denyer entered the jungle on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
- More than $1m was going to be spent replacing a timber bridge east of Bathurst.
- Councillor Warren Aubin called for Panorama Clinic to be relocated, saying the clinic's beds would be better used by the accident and emergency department.
- Work on a $7 million upgrade to Bathurst Police Station was set to begin.
- A proposal for a performing arts centre in the former TAFE building was put to council.
THE high-end property market in Bathurst was reported to be booming, with a number of homes selling for over $1 million in 2020.
And it was locals who were willing to spend the big bucks.
Raine and Horne Bathurst director Grant Maskill-Dowton said that, in an average year, very few residential properties would sell for over $1 million.
The year 2020 bucked that trend, though, as 19 residential properties - not rural or commercial - sold for seven-figure sums.
Of them, 13 were sold by Raine and Horne.
"On average, our office would typically turn over maybe one to two properties over $1 million a year," Mr Maskill-Dowton said.
The biggest sale was a property on Mount Panorama, 489 Conrod Straight.
It had been in the owners' family for generations and it was the first time in 88 years that it had been up for sale.
IT'S not often that a letter to the editor is one of the best-read stories of the month, but that was the case in January when Cecilia Hannon wrote about bringing her Sydney job with her as she made the move to Bathurst.
Around this time last year, my letter was published advising of my intention to move from Sydney to Bathurst in 2020.
I'm delighted to report that I made this momentous move some 18 weeks ago and as a result of COVID-19, was able to bring my Sydney-based job with me.
Now, I wish to thank the people of Bathurst for the sincerity of their welcome.
It's still very much early days in my new life, but I have no regrets, adore my new environment and have been at the receiving end of much kindness from relative strangers.
Cecilia Hannon
