9:30am Wednesday 27th December 2000
December 27, 2000 14:42: January
About 1,000 trees were planted in Gravesham for the Millennium. The trees were planted by the North West Countryside Project and Gravesham Councils sheltered employment group.
The murder of Albanian refugee Flamur Daci was reported. He was stabbed in Gravesend train station after a fight broke out between rival asylum seekers.
The daring 75-year-old owner of Meopham Post Office tried to stop a robber who broke into the post office. But the robber squirted the man with pepper spray and escaped with the money in the till.
February
Arsonists struck at a Northfleet estate and left three flats and six cars gutted. Four people were injured, one critically, when Wallis Park council block was engulfed in flames.
Eye witnesses described the lack of human fatalities as miraculous. Police later held meetings with residents to discuss ways of improving home security.
Drunken shopworkers caused more than £4,000 worth of damage at their staff party. 100 employees from Gap in Bluewater caused the damage at The Woodlands restaurant in Wrotham Road, Gravesend.
A Gravesend Charity which pays for children who suffered in the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 to have a holiday in England was looking for host homes. Concern For Chernobyl Children is based in Pelham Road.
March
Campaigners battling to abolish Kents grammar schools admitted a setback after getting fewer than 7,000 signatures from parents. The group STEP (Stop the Eleven Plus) needed 46,000 signatures to force a vote on the future of education in the county.
One of the largest street festivals in the country took place in Gravesend. The massive two-day Vaishaki festival saw around 10,000 Sikhs celebrating in the streets of the town.
April
Teachers and pupils celebrated as Northcourt Primary School, in Dickens Road, came out of special measures and was not forced to close.
Gipsies were in uproar over the temporary closure of Denton Caravan site. Gravesham Council had to close it for refurbishment because of the dangerous levels of methane and carbon dioxide caused by rotting waste.
The management at Joyce Green were fuming after an internal letter saying nurses at the hospital were not up to the job was leaked to the press. Morale in A&E was at an all-time low.
May
A nurse charged with child abuse walked free from the Old Bailey. Carol Cummings of Ingoldsby Road, Gravesend was cleared of one count of indecent assault with the jury failing to reach verdicts on a further six charges.
She had separated from her husband, David Cummings, who was jailed for 16 years at the same trial after he was found guilty of rape and abuse crimes.
Cement giant Blue Circle fought off a hostile takeover bid by French company Lafarge. Hundreds of jobs were saved by the action which caused scenes of celebration outside Blue Circles Northfleet plant.
June
Plans for a Gurdwara Sikh temple come under fire from residents. The proposal to build a temple in Trinity Road, Gravesend, is opposed by residents fearing difficulty accessing roads around the area where a planning application has been made.
Little Rhiann Hutchins faced being scarred for life after routine treatment on her navel went wrong. The nine-week old baby girl had her umbilical cord treated but an attempt to cauterise it by Dr Ramesh Dhatariya went awry with the baby needing emergency treatment to heal the wound.
July
News Shopper editor Andrew Parkes volunteers himself to play in goal at an all-star football match between celebrity teams. Actors such as Jason Donovan and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star Nick Moran took to the pitch in order to raise money for the Lions Hospice.
A crack squad of super cops nicknamed Wasps raid Denton caravan site and recover £50,000 of stolen property. The Wasps first operation ends in eight arrests with four being charged.
Worried Windmill Hill residents declared war on plans to build a mobile phone mast near a conservation area. Gravesham Councillor Jonathan Clay urged other residents to boycott telephone company One-2-One in protest against the 17 metre tall mast.
August
Teenage arsonists set fire to a cornfield in Wrotham Road, Gravesend. The blaze ripped through 40 acres of land in just under an hour as fire crews battled to put it out. It took more than an hour to bring the blaze under control as it destroyed the entire field on Hook Green Farm.
The sixth Gravesham Music Festival brought thousands into the town to see a host of tribute bands. Robbie Williams, Abba, Tom Jones and Bewitched were all nearly there as impersonators entertained the largest ever crowd at the festival.
September
Gravesham Council voted overwhelmingly against spending £120,000 on a temporary site for travellers while their Denton site was renovated.
The blaze craze spiralled out of control in Gravesend with youths setting fire to fields, hedgerows and cars. It took two hours for firefighters to bring the fires under control.
Brave trainee housing officer Jonathan Cavanagh held a would-be burglar captive for 25 minutes until police arrived.
The karate black-belt was told by a worried tenant that a person had broken into the house in Cornwell Avenue. He acted quickly to stop the would-be burglar and received congratulations from Gravesham mayor Councillor Peggy Mersh.
October
Darent Valley Hospital dominated the News Shopper front pages throughout October.
Several calls were received about patients being left on trolleys and a lack of food throughout the facility. Hospital chief executive Anne-Marie Dean refused to be interviewed by this newspaper and sent out a pre-prepared statement saying the hospital was not in crisis.
November
The month began with worst storms since 1987 as 70mph winds whipped through Gravesham. Schools and businesses were shut down and the transport system was thrown into chaos. Flood warnings were also issued on the River Darent between Dartford and Chipstead.
The inquest into the death of Northfleet paramedic Mark Darby in an air ambulance crash recorded the verdict of accidental death.
Mr Darby was in the Kent Air Ambulance with two others when it struck overhead power cables and crashed near Burnham in July 1998.
December
Boxing hero Harry Dhami launched a campaign to recruit people from ethnic minorities to donate bone marrow. Gravesham Council are behind the campaign to get more ethnic minorities to register as donors.
Ex-Tory MP Jacques Arnold tries to sabotage the official opening of Darent Valley Hospital. Health Secretary Alan Milburn promised funding for 24 beds to the troubled hospital. William Hague calls the promise more spin than substance.
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