Time to look back on the highs and lows of 2002 (From Penarth Times)

Time to look back on the highs and lows of 2002

PENARTH HAS seen lots of things happen in the year, some happy, some sad.

There were parties to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee but there were also tragedies in our area during 2002.

Reporter Charles Booth looks back on the year that was 2002.

January

JANUARY saw a row brewing over the proposal that Sully Hospital could be used to accommodate asylum seekers, this enraged many local residents.

BT pulled the plug on a phone mast because parents and residents successfully petitioned against it being erected behind Bute Cottage nursery.

Dinas Powys Lane residents were shocked by the revelation that children as young as 12 were smoking cannabis on the Lane.

February FEBRUARY had angry residents of the Harbour View estate asking for information about the development of their homes.

The asylum plan for Sully Hospital was given the cold shoulder by local residents. Plans to house 750 asylum seekers at the hospital were thought to be stupid and should be ditched by government officials.

March

MARCH ended with the government cracking down on youth crime and Penarth was at the forefront of the fight against young offenders.

TB vaccinations were given to school children once more in Penarth after a gap of 12 years.

A planned One2One phone mast was causing concern to parents whose children went to Hazelhurst Nursery.

The nursery was across the road from the Waverley Care Centre, site for the proposed mast.

April

APRIL was a month when children could not play at the Cliff Walk play area because it was fenced off to be demolished.

Penarth tourist trade had a good start with the influx of visitors on the May three-day break. A nanny from Penarth, Judy Cole was in Los Angeles to look after Catherine Zeta-Jones' baby.

And anglers on the Penarth pier were furious at suggestions that it was unsafe to fish off the pier.

May

MAY ended with Jubilee celebrations but also saw tragedy when a man killed in a freak accident.

Kenneth Farr lived in Shakespeare Avenue and was a father-of-three.

He was killed when a barrier went through the front window of his car at ASDA Grangetown.

Penarth businessman Robert Smith offered £1,000 to catch the vandals who smashed up his showroom.

More vandals damaged Elfed Avenue Presbyterian Church.

June

JUNE, left many Raisdale Road residents concerned about a mast added to one already erected near a children's nursery.

The Billy Banks estate was looking like it might get a full revamp.

Golden Jubilee fever gripped Penarth and the esplanade one way system was set to stay on the sea front road.

And the Headland Link was given a wide berth as it was considered too expensive to get the go ahead.

July

JULY came to an end with the tragic shooting and death of Amie Miles who was an ex- pupil of St Cyres School.

Local Asian broadcaster accused the BBC of racial discrimination and Ann Jasani went to court to prove it.

A Penarth woman, Liz Roberts-Morgan, was furious that her late sister's body was given to the wrong family by Llandough Hospital's morgue.

August

AUGUST saw an Asian broadcaster from Penarth, Ann Jassani, lose her case against the BBC for race discrimination.

Yobs attacked a garden at St Joseph's Primary School which was vandalised twice in one week.

A youth stabbed a Penarth resident, who quit the town because of the attack.

And Rod Stewart fan, Steve Tudor, considered sueing the rock star for kicking a football at him which broke his finger.

September

SEPTEMBER saw residents of Stanwell Road worried about the parked cars at peak times surrounding Stanwell School.

A Penarth man, Peter Andrews, was hailed a hero for swimming through strong currents to rescue a woman in difficulty.

Rubbish was overflowing and considered a health hazard by residents in Bridgman Court, Penarth.

Security checks on teachers were taking too long so Penarth pupils found themselves without teachers.

October

OCTOBER was a stormy month as Penarth and most of Wales was battered with high winds.

The Vale took the brunt of stormy weather and many trees were uprooted.

A new police crime-fighting van was introduced in the Vale with CCTV to gather evidence.

Firefighters decided to strike across the country leaving green goddesses to put Penarth's fires out.

The Billy Banks residents in Penarth demanded information on the redevelopment of their flats.

And victim of arson Jeff Philips offered £100 for the apprehension of the criminal responsible.

November

NOVEMBER was a mixed month with a local school getting more than £1.8 million for refurbishments.

St Richard Gwyn RC School will use the money to build the school state-of-the-art facilities.

CCTV was fitted to bus services in the Vale to try to deter vandals and general bad behaviour on the buses.

Penarth residents of the Billy Banks were shocked to find their flats being boarded up by the council.

Vandals tried there best to stop a vital bus service by attacking mini buses. And Llandough hospital was visited by the Countess of Wessex.

December

DECEMBER saw a Penarth mother abandoning her 12-week-old-baby in Newport.

His mother, Sarah Langley, pleaded guilty to abandoning her baby.