January

Askern councillor John Hardy threatened to sue the Labour leader of Doncaster Council Joe Blackham for disability discrimination, after being ordered by the former, to sit on Doncaster's planning committee.

Coun Hardy said he could not, because childhood polio had left him disabled, meaning that site visits were dangerous.

Meanwhile the Shakers building missed its scheduled Christmas opening time but was due to be in operation by Valentine's Day... (it wasn't).

February

Plans for the redevelopment of the Askern woodyard came under discussion between the landowners and the local authority – with the idea of recreating a health spa and baths, harking back to the town's glory days.

March

The Newsletter revealed how Doncaster Council shut EVERY library on World Book Day – ordering staff to re-apply for their own jobs as part of what became a disastrous library service reorganisation fiasco.

Meanwhile Norton Junior School was listed by Osted in Britain's top 10 per cent for teaching science.

April

A team of Campsmount students brought home a trophy from a worldwide robotics contest, staged in America.

Back in Askern, Welfare trustees said they hoped to demolish the building and replace it with something smaller and cheaper to run, freeing up land for development.

May

Labour Party member Austen White was elected as ward councillor, with a slim majority. He stirred up strong feelings before even stepping off the stage at Doncaster's Dome on results night by publically snubbing two of the town's former mayors who stood against him – Malcolm Woodrow and Martin Bevan.

And in a showbiz exclusive, actor Brian Rix told how working down Askern pit helped propel him to fame as the king of farce.

June

Building ground to a halt on the Shakers Milk Bar, under construction behind Alexander House. The troubled project's latest setback came when the Finnish building firm responsible for the supply and construction of the building went into administration.

Better news came from Campsmount College, which announced it was in talks about a link with Leeds Met University which could lead to it hosting degree-level courses – as part of a move to change the college into a Trust school.

July

Askern Spa Primary School was labelled "failing", by Ofsted – but headteacher Ron Leedale hit back at inspectors who had spent very little time in the school, shunned a special performance put on by pupils, and failed to make allowances for particular local issues.

Pupils also hit back – by scoring top SATS results just weeks after the inspectors' visit.

Meanwhile Askern-based impresario Ricky Butler was celebrating the launch of his film career – almost 40 years after just missing out on the part of The Artful Dodger in the classic musical Oliver! Ricky, 53, won a role in the film CASS, based on a true story about West Ham's notorious 'hoolifans' in the 1960s and 70s.

August

Shakers milk bar was at the centre of a major row when leaders of the project applied for its anti-alcohol covenant to be lifted.

Planned as a 'pub with no beer' that would give local teens a safe, attractive place to meet, the scheme's leaders asked Askern Town Council to allow over 18s to consume alcohol on the premises, saying this would widen the likely uses of the building. The plan was thrown out by councillors...

September

Major changes to the Askern area – including the re-routing of the A19 road through the town – were under discussion as part of the Green Corridor programme. A steering committee met to consider improving the old Instoneville pit estate and King's and Queen's Road areas, and drawing together communities from both sides of the main road.

October

Local bobby, PC Stewart Brookes caused a stir by claiming that Askern Town Council's Alexander House HQ had been built illegally, and was illicitly selling booze in contravention of a no-alcohol covenant!

Meanwhile, townsfolk were in mourning with town music tutor Valentina Davis, whose husband John died of a heart attack, aged 63. Valentina gave up a top job in her homeland of Russia, to move to Askern, six years earlier – after marrying John following an Internet romance.

And Askern's new health centre, the White Wings Centre, opened on the Lakeside, housing two town doctors' practices.

November

Your Newsletter made headlines after the series was shortlisted in the top six campaigning newspapers in Britain. We made the final of the Paul Foot Award, along with five London-based publications.

And we carried on the investigative work, by revealing that only FOUR qualified librarians now remained in the whole Doncaster Borough –
after the council paid off its staff in the March "re-organisation", then had to rehire them! But Mayor Martin Winter publicly denied responsibility for the fiasco.