Another year has flown by in Oxfordshire, and it is time for us to look back at the highlights and low lights of the past 12 months. Here’s our pick of the events that hit the headlines for the right and wrong reasons in 2010.
January
Twelve months ago the county was in the grips of another cold snap, with travel difficult and schools remaining shut after New Year. Oxford doctor Steve Fabes embarked on a five-year, six continent-spanning, 50,000km bike ride to raise money for medical charity Merlin. By the end of the year, he completed 10,000km in the Sahara Desert. And the ERT Search & Rescue team was among the many charities helping victims of the devastating Haiti earthquake on January 12.
February
Oxford University unveiled multi-million pound plans to redevelop the iconic Iffley Road athletics complex, where Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile in 1954. A decision to grant a lapdancing licence to Thirst Lodge, located opposite St Ebbe’s Church in central Oxford, horrified religious groups who protested in the city. And a successful campaign was launched to raise £350,000to buy the freehold of one of the UK’s oldest theatres, the Kenton in Henley, and save it from development.
March
Organisers of Abingdon Arts Festival warned it might be the last after funding cuts, celebrity chef Raymond Blanc was laid up in bed after breaking his leg and plans to redevelop the world famous Bodleian Library in Oxford were revealed. And Abingdon-based soldier Joe Glenton was sentenced to nine month behind bars after going AWOL from the army in 2007 when he refused to return to Afghanistan.
April
Talented Oxford United youngster Godwin Nii Lawson, 17, was stabbed to death in an attack in east London, shocking football fans. PCSOs in Abingdon visited vulnerable pensioners in the town to hand out hot cross buns and daffodils as part of the Vale VERA (Vulnerable and Elderly Residents Action) scheme. And planes were grounded at Oxford Airport as travellers around the world were left stranded by erupting Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull.
May
Environmental group Abingdon Carbon Cutters announced ambitious plans for a £1m hydroelectric power generator on the River Thames. Members hope to raise the capital to build an Archimedes screw on the river, generating enough power for up to 200 local homes. Oxford Fashion Week returned for a second year and was declared a resounding success, and a family from Hinton Waldrist were reunited with their puppy, Piglet, after cops tracked the stolen pooch to a traveller’s site in Northamptonshire.
June
Grove teenager Tomas Bennett, 18, became the second person in the Thames Valley to be banned from boozing in pubs after racking up a string of offences, and Oxford United say they plan to stand by midfielder Adam Chapman after he is jailed for 30 months for causing the death of pensioner Tom Bryan in a road collision. Oxford cops launch Operation Buzzard, a campaign to crackdown on criminals preying on foreign students in Blackbird Leys and the city centre during the summer.
July
Cowley Road Carnival made a triumphant return to East Oxford after a year away with around 35,000 people enjoying a double jamboree along Cowley Road and in South Park. Animal rights activist Mel Broughton was returned to jail for arson attacks against the University of Oxford after a re-trial, and Oxfordshire County Council signs a contract with Viridor for a £100m waste incinerator near Ardley despite anger from local residents.
August
A report says child heart surgery should remain suspended at the John Radcliffe Hospital after the deaths of four babies between December 2009 and February 2010. Work to redevelop Bicester town centre gets underway, with £70m of improvements planned. And county councillors vote to push ahead with controversial plans to close Oxford School and reopen it as an academy.
September
The Journal is given a sneak preview of the Story Museum, an exciting new attraction set to open in Oxford’s Pembroke Street in 2014 on the site of 19th century pub and former postal sorting office. Proposals to close magistrates’ court in Didcot, Bicester and Witney are criticised by local councillors. The decision is given the green light in December. And bomb disposal expert Sergeant Major Karl Ley, based at Vauxhall Barracks in Didcot, receives the George Medal for diffusing 139 roadside bombs in Afghanistan.
October
Kidlington cops bring in new measures to prevent hooligans from causing misery to storeowners and shoppers on the High street after months of anti-social behaviour. NHS chiefs give plans for a new community hospital in Bicester the thumbs up, and hundreds of walkers get their boots on in aid of Oxford heart and cancer centres for the It’s Not Just A Walk In The Park fundraiser.
November
Will Oliver and Wayne Ford are awarded the Oxfordshire Chef Fire Officer’s Commendation for Bravery after rescuing Helen Birch-Machin from an upturned car submerged in a stream near Watlington, saving her life. A multi-million pound scheme to protect Banbury homes from flooding is approved, and Wantage launches a hunt for a poet laureate to extol the town’s many virtues.
December
A bursar is jailed for two years after stealing more than £40,000 from Kingham School in Chipping Norton and spending the cash on cars and credit cards. Cops tracked down Michael John Hall, 61, after he confessed to the school by email from a hotel. Student protestors storm and Oxford University buildings, holding a sit-in protest against Government plans to triple tuition fees. And councils across the county face up to a host of spending cuts after Government grants are slashed, with a number of services under threat.
