The year 2000 was an Olympic year - a chance for Sydney to shine on the world stage, and an amazing way to start a new century.
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But Tamworth's new year started off with a mystery, after thieves stole about three dozen goldfish from a pond at Shopping World.
Meanwhile, local parking officers joined a two-month dispute between parking officers and the state government over the future of their industry, saving North West drivers thousands of dollars in parking fines early in the year. The dispute was the result of a move to force the NSW Police Association to hand over control of parking revenue to local councils.
Locals were excited to hear leading regional airline Hazelton Airlines had secured the right to fly out of Tamworth in the January. This was the first route to be made open under the government's regional air transport policy which lifted restrictions on the number of airlines that operated on flight paths with more than 20,000 passengers a year. Hazelton would vie for it's share of Tamworth's 70,933 passengers again Eastern Airlines and Impulse when it joined the market on March 27 that year.
Former teachers Rich and Nell Torrens were awarded Medals of the Order of Australia on January 26.
Another unsung hero of the four-legged kind, a Maltese-cross called Sammy, woke the Gearin family in Daruka Road when a fire broke out in the family home on February 17. The family was lucky to escape unharmed, but lost their home. They were overwhelmed by the often anonymous gestures of kindness and generosity that landed on their doorstep in the days which followed.
Tamworth woman Leanne McLean gave her three-year-old son Jason the ultimate gift on February 28 - her kidney. The surgery took place at the new Children's Hospital in Sydney.
Back in Tamworth, local obstetrician and gynaecologist Keith Hollebone was raising concerns that the lack of health funding provided in the New England area which was resulting in the downgrading of the small hospitals.
