JULY
JULY 2: Hidden in an old warehouse near Sydney Olympic Park, a life-sized model of NSW's new intercity trains offers a glimpse into the future for passengers travelling to the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and the South Coast, and Newcastle. READ MORE: Secret prototype
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JULY 6: Gorrie Ban was granted $10,000 towards improvements towards Fatima Hall in Lithgow, including fencing, during a visit by Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
JULY 10: Lithgow artist Natisha Daniloff was the overall winner for the Lithgow Contemporary Art Prize on Saturday, July 7.
July 10: After a five week tour of adult education providers in the UK, Lithgow TAFE teacher Nicola Connon looked forward to putting some of the new resilience and wellbeing strategies she discovered to use. READ MORE: Nicola’s journey.
JULY 13: After 50 years with Avon, Doreen Hart was one of the 21,400 to lose her position when the multinational pulled out of its operations down under. READ MORE: Avon’s not calling anymore
JULY 17: Lithgow broke the record for its minimum temperature on Sunday morning, July 15 with the Cooerwull weather station recording a frosty -9.7 degrees.
JULY 20: Portland’s Kaitlin Algate won a national bodybuilding competition just 16 months after being declared cancer free. READ MORE: Strength in change
JULY 27: A revamped tourist information centre for Lithgow was unveiled.
JULY 27: A new artwork by Natalie Topaz was unveiled on Lithgow’s exterior library wall. READ MORE: New Tidy Towns laneway project
JULY 27: Doggo’s Fight stickers were released to help support Portland Colts player Nathan Doggett, who was injured in a car accident. READ MORE: Doggo’s Fight
JULY 31: Hartley Vale man Matthew Pilarcik, heading to a garlic growing conference in Albury, transformed his trip into a relief run for drought affected farmers.
JULY 31: Lithgow City Council signals intention of joining Western Sydney Region of Councils, moving away from Central West.
AUGUST
AUG 3: Wolgan Valley Eco Tours and Mayfield Gardens in Oberon both claimed gold medals at the NSW Regional Tourism Awards.
AUG 7: Lithgow Mercury’s office acted as a drop-off point for items to be donated to drought-affected farmers, along with two businesses in Hartley, supporting the work of Hartley Valley Holiday Farm.
AUG 7: After nine years of growing her hair out, Wallerawang Public School student Keeley Collins cut off her very long hair to help raise funds for charity. The big chop took place at a memorial morning tea Wallerawang Public School held for Simon Williams and Rebecca Karini on Thursday, August 2.
AUG 7: Jimmy and Helen Nguyen, who have been working at Top End Newsagency in Lithgow for six years, said that $35 million won by a mystery Lithgow resident was the biggest win any of their customers has taken home.
AUG 14: The Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum will soon start restoration on its general machine shop to allow it to be reopened to public view after a State grant.
AUG 17: The NSW Environment Protection Authority signalled it would be altering Mt Piper’s licence to bring it up to standard with the air monitoring requirements placed on all other coal fired power stations in the state. Read more: Up to sniff
AUG 21: Three truck loads of hay were delivered in the Peak Hill district as a result of a donation of more than $40,000 from workers at the Springvale and Angus Place collieries and their parent company Centennial Coal.
AUG 24: Eskbank House’s historic importance to the region has been recognised, with its addition to the State Heritage Register this week. READ MORE: Historic recognition
AUG 28: Calare MP Andrew Gee spoke out against “ghastly spectacle” of the Malcolm Turnbull leadership spill.
AUG 31: A guard on Transport NSW’s intercity lines contacted the Lithgow Mercury with concerns that staffing arrangements on the new intercity fleet of trains would increase delays and reduce safety for customers using the intercity network, including the Blue Mountains line from Central to Lithgow. READ MORE: Safety concerns.
SEPTEMBER
SEPT 4: Workers were taken off Wallerawang power station site due to concerns around lead levels. READ MORE: Workers off site
SEPT 7: Portland residents protested the closure of its last bank branch, the Commonwealth Bank.
SEPT 11: Lithgow and District Workmen’s Club hosted a drought fundraiser and charity auction held on Sunday, September 9 to support Rural Aid.
SEPT 11: Lithgow woman Samantha Steele shared her experiences on our train system and her fears if train guards should be cut from the Blue Mountains Line. READ MORE: “Trains guards saved me”
SEPT 18: Australian Threatened Species Commissioner, Dr Sally Box, toured 52 Regent Honeyeater Recovery project sites in Capertee Valley from September 11-13.
SEPT 18: To mark Marjorie Jackson-Nelson’s 87th birthday on Thursday, September 13, the Olympic Channel launched a new animated short series featuring the Lithgow Flash in its first episode. READ MORE: Lithgow Flash tribute
SEPT 28: A new mayoral team was elected in Lithgow City Council, Cr Ray Thompson as mayor and Cr Wayne McAndrew as deputy.
SEPT 28: A crew more than 60 from the greater Lithgow district went to the small western town of Tooraweenah armed with machinery to give farmers a helping hand as part of the ‘Helping Farmers in the Central West’ effort from September 21-23.
OCTOBER
OCT 2: The Beyer Garratt locomotive steam train made its entrance into Lithgow station on Monday morning, October 1 as part of the historic railway weekend.
OCT 2: Consent was given to allow Austen Quarry to begin operations at 4am, despite objections from a nearby accommodation provider and Lithgow City Council. READ MORE: Quarry operating hours extended
OCT 5: A man was charged with attempted murder after a 68-year-old woman was allegedly found with her throat slashed in Lithgow on Thursday, October 4.
OCT 5: Telstra unveiled its 500th mobile base station under the Federal Government’s mobile black spot program at Clarence.
OCT 9: Lithgow Railway Workshop’s role in creating the world-first solar-powered passenger train for the Byron Bay Railroad Company has been recognised with engineering awards.
OCT 16: The inaugural Resilience Festival kicked off at Tony Luchetti showground on Saturday, October 13. Organiser Greg McManus said he was happy with how the event turned out, despite the rainy weather conditions keeping numbers down.
OCT 23: Lithgow’s Hoskins Memorial Church marks 90 years of history.
OCT 26: Lithgow heath professionals call for MRI scanner for hospital.
OCT 30: Lithgow hosts Halloween Festival 2018 – and the crowds come.
NOVEMBER
NOV 2: Kanimbla Valley residents warn phone service a life-saver, not a luxury. They are campaigning for a mobile tower in their area. READ MORE: Black spot
NOV 6: Lithgow Information and Neighbourhood Centre (LINC) have helped 2808 community members with their Second Bite food for people in need program between October 2017 and October 2018. READ MORE: Second Bite
NOV 9: Hampton’s Ian Litchfield travelled to Borneo to honour his brother, 20-year-old Flight Sergeant Eric Mileham Litchfield, at Armistice Day commemorations. READ MORE: Long road
NOV 9: New plaques were installed to record Lithgow and Portland’s WWI service.
NOV 13: Lithgow Tidy Towns cleaned up several gongs at this year’s annual Keep Australia Beautiful NSW (KABNSW) 2018 Tidy Towns – Sustainable Communities Awards dinner. READ MORE: Tidy gongs
NOV 13: Lithgow High School’s Amber Shaw has been singled out as one of the bright science minds of the future. On November 29 she was awarded a prestigious Victor Chang School Science Award in Dubbo.
NOV 20: A move by EnergyAustralia to demolish the remaining buildings on the Wallerawang Power Plant site would significantly damage its value for future business investment, an interested party has warned. READ MORE: Play for station site.
NOV 23: Lithgow’s Fire and Rescue station officer moves in. Meet Steven Houghton.
NOV 27: Wolgan Valley Eco Tours won a silver award in the Ecotourism section of the NSW Tourism Awards, recognising excellence in the field specifically in country and outback areas.
NOV 27: The long-term fate of Lithgow’s Western Sydney University campus is uncertain, with the university moving to suspend its programs in 2019.
NOV 30: Zig Zag Railway enthusiasts and volunteers gathered at the railway station with Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday, November 29 to welcome $2.3 million in funds geared towards preparing the tourism attraction for reopening.
DECEMBER
DEC 1: Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Helen Riley has been selected as a member of the National Parks Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee (AHAC).
DEC 4: Portland Central School announced Year 12 student Jayden Rhodes as the school’s recipient of the 2018 Caltex Best All Rounder Award, one of Australia’s most prestigious secondary school prizes.
DEC 11: A bushfire at the top of Eskbank Street on Friday, December 7, at 3pm was deliberately lit. The youths responsible were apprehended.
DEC 14: Works produced by Lithgow students for the Higher School Certificate will be showcased as part of the prestigious Shape exhibition. Woodwork projects by Lithgow High School’s Ben Weller and La Salle Academy’s Brielle Mendham were among the exceptional works to be selected to go on display at the Powerhouse Museum next year.