JANUARY

• Shannon and Richard Vogels’ mobile home in Hardendell burnt down.
• MD Councillors agreed to limit how much they are paid for attending regular council meetings.
• Registrations were taken for a new Outreach School.
• The bicentennial theme song “Where the River Brought Them” became commercially available.
• The Food Bank benefited from the unnecessary Y2K food stockpiling.
• John Robert Makin was the New Year’s baby.
• The MD of Clearwater wanted more snow in order to do its winter gravel program.
• The Town moved to kick in 50 per cent of the cost for downtown revitalization.
• Work began on bringing back the Chinook League Rams.
• DT Lady Voyageurs took second at a basketball tournament in Trochu.
• The Rotary Club celebrated it’s fifth anniversary.
• Limeco Products announced it was closing.
• The MD approved an $11 million budget with no tax increase.
• Gas prices fell to 56.9 cents a litre briefly.
• WSHS Lady Rebels basketball team won their own tournament.
• WSHS Rebels boys basketball team won silver at the tournament.
• A Petro-Can pipeline burst along the cabin road at Crimson Lake.
• The Town announced a two per cent tax hike to cover equipment reserves.
• Rocky Raiders won the Doran Stewart Memorial Bantam Tournament.
• Bill Coghill received the Emergency Medical Services Exemplary Service Medal. It had been presented in October.
• Good Neighbors were Heather and Dave Emmons, Jane Holm, Angie French, Don and Patty Clark.

FEBRUARY

• Kurt Browning was inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
• Triplets were born to Candice and Kevin Campbell.
• Sunpine’s LVL mill caught fire. It was quickly contained.
• Fire destroyed a home in Arbutus owned by Randy Burg.
• Raw sour gas was released from a line owned by Apache Canada Ltd.
• Greg Thomas was named as superintendent of WRSD.
• Kerrie Wallace and Brenda Chomyshen were named to the Zone 4 female hockey team for the Alberta Winter Games.
• Gina Loitz was to compete in Figure Skating at the Alberta Winter Games.
• The Town approved a $6 million budget.
• The Rocky Mountain Baptist Church was torn down.
• Tina Smith and Jesse Cretney won gold at the Silver Gloves competition in Spruce Grove.
• The Pidherney’s Transit Mix team won the Farmers’ Bonspiel.
• RVB Management Ltd. added $75,000 more to its $2 million lawsuit against the Town.
• William Brian Hogg was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his daughter and trying to murder his son west of Rocky in August 1999.
• Twenty-nine elk from Banff were relocated to the Ram River Falls area.
• Snowfall caused several accidents.
• Bob Brant became a Melvin Jones Fellow, the highest honor in Lionism.
• WSHS Senior Girls wrestlers retained their title as 3A Rural Provincial Champions.
• Bruce Hutton was re-elected as LUFA president.
• Pioneer Zoo celebrated its 20th anniversary.
• Don and Kay Anderson were named Community Builders.
• Glen and Millie Holmes and Brian Mazza received the Chamber Community Service Awards.
• Jill van Tol received the Humanitarian Award.
• The Melvin Knopp Family was named Farm Family of the Year.
• WSHS received approval for an upgrade.
• Sunpine received the Corporate Citizenship Award.
• Jeannette LaRiviere won the Small Business of the Year Award.
• Casey Vasselin won the Junior Achievement Award.
• Water and sewer rates increased and a $3.97 capitalization charge was added.
• Wrestlers Derik Wolmarans and Will Skeels won silver at the Alberta Winter Games.
• Graeme Wright was third in speed skating.
• Dwayne Harold Bigelow died in police custody.
• A thief who stole tires from two dealerships was caught in Calgary.
• Geoffrey Ferrey and Stephen Jackson received Top Apprenticeship Awards.
• WSHS female wrestlers took gold at Provincials.
• Maria Hayball, Tina Smith and Jesse Cretney won boxing gold at the Alberta Winter Games.
• Good Neighbors were Harold and Ruth Jahraus, Todd Chudak, Ron Bootsma, Don and Dorothy Oliver, Denise Roland.

MARCH

• The Fish and Game Association were told to resist anti-hunt lobbying.
• Greg Mallo, the Fish and Game Association president, won the Gerry Gibson Memorial Award.
• An Oilers-Flames Alumni Game raised $4,000 for the Friends of Terrance Gray.
• St. Matt’s Jr. High Boys Bobcats won the 1J basketball division playoffs.
• Pioneer Jr. Boys won the B side of the divisionals.
• Rocky Christian junior high Royals won the 1J divisionals.
• Leslieville junior girls basketball won the B side of the divisionals.
• The Town filed its defence against RVB Management’s amended lawsuit.
• Plans to beautify Main Street received a cold reception at a public meeting.
• Gr. 7 student Christopher Duncan earned his way to the Alberta finals of the Great Canadian Geography Challenge.
• Larry Jacobs was named as new deputy superintendent of the Wild Rose School Division.
• Demand was increasing at the Food Bank.
• Midget Royals qualified for the Provincial Championships.
• WSHS Rebels qualified for the 3A Provincial Senior Boys Basketball Championships.
• Rapist Robert Joseph Alferink, 32, was sentenced to 14 years in jail.
• Talks broke down between COPE and AUPE.
• Ice led to a multi-truck accident on the Forestry Trunk Road.
• WSHS Senior Band earned the St. John’s Music Award as most outstanding at the Alberta International Band Festival.
• Boxer Jesse Cretney won the 71 kg. Jr. C male category at the Alberta Boxing championships in Lethbridge.
• Water, sewer and garbage were the chief complaints at a Town Hall meeting.
• Sunpine announced a plan to build a $17 million floor joist plant.
• MD Council approved a $3 million chip sealing plan.
• Midget Royals were defeated in a semi-final game at the Provincials.
• Good Neighbors were Janelle Weidrick, Shirley Evans, Gordon Miller, Stan Klepach and Shirley Frisky.

APRIL

• A three year court battle between environmentalists and the M.D. of Clearwater over road construction at the Tay River ended when the privately brought charges were dropped.
• The Rocky Oilmen’s Bonspiel was won by Bunch Welding’s rink skipped by Wayne Heikkinen. It was the first time ten sheets of ice were used and 86 teams were registered.
• Infrastructure minister Ed Stelmach was the guest speaker at the PC Association’s AGM.
• Pioneer School hosted the Alberta Geography Challenge.
• Motivational speaker Alvin Law spoke to Condor and Leslieville students.
• Curling Leagues wrapped up with Bob Booth winning the men’s trophy, Ruth Knight the ladies’, Tyler Lutz the mixed, Kelly Erickson the Friday night league, and Lou Pelletier the Town and Country.
• The Village ended 1999 with a $54,000 surplus, much of which was committed to reserve funds.
• Rocky was promised a new long-term care facility.
• Kim Nielsen was honored as Rocky Ag. Society member of the year.
• Rocky Co-op reported record sales at its AGM.
• A committee began work on a second edition of the local history book The Days Before Yesterday.
• Mark Friesen, WSHS Band Director, was one of 125 finalists for the Alberta Excellence in Teaching Award.
• Jenny-Rae Lloyd and Dennis Ladd each placed fourth at the national wrestling championships in Abbotsford.
• John Hirschmiller, 10, brought home a bronze medal from the North American Speedskating Championships.
• A boat launch was proposed for Riverside Park.
• A cattle identification meeting drew 300 producers concerned about the new program.
• Vandals attacked the new Youth Shack location, doing an estimated $20,000 in damage.
• Separate accidents claimed the lives of Layne George Loomer and Dwight Keith Schultz.
• Kelly Kramer was selected for the Central Rangers bantam team for the Pioneer Chrysler Cup hockey tournament.
• Volunteers were honored by Westview Lodge, Rocky Native Friendship Centre and by West Country Family Services.
• Smaller fire departments were having trouble recruiting members.
• Doug Connelly lost his mobile home to a fire.
• Dr. Lionel Ramsey died in a backcountry skiing accident.
• Kinsmen transferred the playground to the Town of Rocky, which will oversee upgrading equipment.
• Moose Country Housing reported financial problems and was unable to pay property taxes.
• Caroline’s Lisa McQuiston and Rocky’s April Kosinski were accepted into the Shad International summer work-study program.
• Recommended sulphur emission guidelines had implications for several local gas plants.
• Harvest plans in the Nordegg area received a rough ride at an open house.
• Town Council imposed new regulations on pawn shops.
• Rocky Bottle Depot planned to stop accepting Molson and Labatt empties, stemming from a distributors strike.
• Travel Alberta held a seminar for area tourism operators.
• UNBC historian Jon Swainger, of Rocky, received a national grant to study crime in the Peace River Region.
• Frances Neal resigned after five years as The Mountaineer’s Caroline correspondent.
• Jessie Bokowski left The Mountaineer to take a public relations job in her home town of Stettler.

MAY

• Northern Crossing staged Bye Bye Birdie.
• Dry conditions and high winds caused 13 fires on April 27.
• Tony Smith sustained serious injuries in a motocross race in Calgary.
• Pierre Morin of Pierre’s Concrete sustained serious injuries when he was crushed by forms falling from a crane at a job site.
• The Rocky Chamber reissued its telephone directory due to numerous mistakes in the first edition.
• Kyle Wright opened Hire A Student’s office.
• The Athlete’s Club finished their fiscal year $2000 in the red.
• Red Deer College’s local upgrading program had 15 program graduates.
• Chinook Inn earned a Hotel Association housekeeping award.
• CP Rail donated $7000 to the museum for the construction of a meeting room on the lower level.
• Rapid Lube was closed for several days because of a utility room fire.
• The trade fair was a success, in part due to poor weather.
• DTHS had 37 students in its Class of 2000.
• Local pilots took the Christian Reformed Church youth group for rides from the airport.
• Boating density was the top concern for cabin owners at Crimson Lake, they told staff working on a management plan for the park.
• A Jail & Bail raised $11,000 for the Cancer Society.
• County taxpayers received a break in education taxes.
• W.S.H.S. had 155 students participate in commencement.
• ChBW was purchased by Monarch, the parent company of Red Deer’s Big 105.
• Caroline’s Big Horn Rodeo was successful.
• Town taxpayers got a break in the municipal mill rate.
• The visitor information centre opened in the old Atco trailer while waiting for the completion of the new building.
• McHappy Day raised $5311 locally for children’s charities.
• Calgary Stampede’s bandwagon served pancakes at Crimson Lake.
• The Rocky Ag. Society hosted its annual Agricultural Theme Park for students.
• Amanda Wedman’s grand champion steer sold for $3.75 a pound at the 4-H show and sale.
• St. Matthew School’s grad class had 16 students.
• Zellers announced that a new program, Zellers Select, would replace the Best Value store.
• The M.D. of Clearwater reported a $2 million surplus for 1999.
• Tricia Dahms made the Olympic shortlist in Three Day Event equestrian competition.

JUNE

• Ride for Sight attracted 545 registered riders and more than 800 participants, raising more than $102,000 in pledges.
• Injured motocross rider Tony Smith was making a recovery.
• Lane Green received the Royal Bank Award and Amanda Green received the Prince Edward Award at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.
• Lack of sponsorship forced Lumberjack Competition organizers to cancel the 2000 show.
• Neighborhood Places began pushing for more AADAC resources in Rocky.
• A motocross race at Tabletop, west of Rocky, attracted 225 entries.
• Randy Hill lost a DAB decision for a gravel pit development permit near Woodland Estates.
• New banners were hung in Rocky.
• A new baler was installed at the Waste Transfer Station.
• RCMP S/Sgt. Dan Lyon retired from the force.
• The Jaber family of Rocky opened a Gold’s Gym in Calgary and announced plans for a second location in the city.
• The Rocky Rodeo was hampered by wind, rain and cool temperatures.
• Will Sinclair High School received $7.9 million for an extensive renovation, but officials hadn’t given up on getting more to build a new school.
• Good Neighbors were Heather Stewart and Kendra Cobb.
• Tricia Dahms made the Olympic shortlist.
• Eric Dillon was elected president of the Rocky Chamber of Commerce.
• Mayor Soppit represented the community at a twinning conference in Hokkaido.
• Alberta Infrastructure moved to expropriate land to widen the highway north of the “five mile corner.”
• The Des Crossley Demonstration Forest held its official opening as a FEESA-run educational facility.
• In the best rodeo dress and decoration contest, top honors were taken by Rocky Credit Union, Bauer’s Countrywide Furniture, Hair Fever and Century 21 Westcountry Realty.
• David Hartley was introduced as the incoming principal of Caroline School.
• Helge Nome joined The Mountaineer staff as Caroline Correspondent.
• The 1967 Alberta Canoe Team was nominated for the Alberta Sport Hall of Fame. They were told as members launched canoes for a reunion in Manitoba.
• Millie Morley turned 100.
• The amalgamation of the seniors housing boards in the area was planned.
• Local fire departments had their communications upgraded.
• Treatment of Terrance Gray’s brain tumour was going well.
• W.S.H.S. boys rugby team ended fourth in the standings in their first season.
• Local runners took part in the last Jasper-Banff relay, finishing in 24 hours and 21 minutes.
• McHappy Day funds were given to the fire dept. to help with the Safe House.
• Rocky Lions burned the mortgage on their Den. Hank Bertrand and Ernie Closs shared Lion of the Year honors.
• Caroline councillor Gordon Willigar died.
• The Mountain Rescue Association held their conference at Goldeye.
• Lavern and Loretta Leer won six of seven numbers plus the bonus in Super 7.
• Lokken’s Bridges to Employment held a celebration for its seven grads.
• The County resumed gravel mining in the Perry Pit, after eight years and a protracted legal battle.
• The June 18 motocross race drew more than 300 competitors.
• A caricature honoring Louise Cross was hung in Caroline.
• The skateboard park was officially opened and Brian Desjardins honored for his efforts.
• 4-H held its awards night and Katie Songer collected over 20 awards.

JULY

• An estimated 400 people attended Canada Day ceremonies at the national Historic Site on the first of the month.
• RCMP cracked down on drugs with undercover investigation “Kavalcade” nabbing 64 Central Albertans including eleven suspects from Rocky.
• Sixty 4-H club members traveled to Victoria, B.C., to learn about agricultural practices and cultural differences.
• The Food Bank launched Toonie Drive with donation tins set up all over town.
• Caroline School holds graduation ceremonies with 15 students bidding farewell to the school.
• Brigade Days was celebrated at the National Historic Site with the living history reenactment group.
• Rocky High School’s classes of 1957 to 1962 gathered for their reunion at the Dovercourt Hall.
• The Tamarack Motor Inn was presented with the Service Best Award from the Alberta Tourism and Education Council.
• The first annual Rocky Physical Challenge concluded. Yvonne Saarela, Faye Thatcher, Randall Sugden, Linda Austad, Frank Gallagher, Connie Henneigh, Jacquie Medin, Alice Thacker and Romy Verhesen were rewarded for their accomplishments.
• Youth Shack launched mail-out campaign in the community to raise funds.
• Village of Caroline received a new fire-truck.
• Caroline Golf Course hosted the fourth annual fun tournament. Evelyn Johnson, Louis Johnson and Darcy Campkin were the top winners of the tourney.
• David Thompson high school students adopted Highway 11 from Condor to Alhambra making it litter free.
• More than 150 people took part in the scavenger hunt and sand-sculpture creation contest, part of National Parks Day at Crimson Lake.
• A tornado ransacked Pine Lake campgrounds and nearby farms claiming several lives. Rocky volunteer firefighters were among the more than 300 people assisting with search efforts.
• Local hockey players Brenda Chomyshen and Kerri Wallace went to the Czech Republic to take part in an exchange training program.
• More than 150 mountain bikers attend the Black Mountain Challenge in Nordegg.
• Rocky’s Pat Dirsten and Caroline’s Bill Turner sailed from Boston to Halifax as part of a training crew for the Tall Ships 2000 race.
• The O’Chiese First Nation Powwow took place to commemorate 50 years since the Band signed Treaty Six, creating their reserve.
• Lunch and Stuff 2000 Grand-opening took place with proceeds going to local injured motocross racer Tony Smith.
• The Annual Clearwater Yard and Garden Competition took place. Thirteen winners were awarded in categories such as water garden and mobile home garden.
• Twenty-seven area athletes went to Grande Prairie to compete at the 2000 Alberta Summer Games.
• Seventy-six soccer kids were in town to take part in the Rocky Mountain Christian Soccer Camp.
• 4-H Club member Amanda Wedman won the junior open Grande Champion Steer award at the Red Deer Steer Classic during Westerner Days.
• Local steer-wrestler Gerald Hayes was presented with the Guy Wedick Memorial Award at the closing show of the Calgary Stampede for his accomplishments as well as personality, sportmanship and appearance.
• Local athlete Mariza Wolmarans takes home the silver medal for the Heptathlon at the 2000 Legion Alta./NWT track and field meet.
• The Municipal District of Clearwater officially changes its name to Clearwater County.

AUGUST

• Caroline and much of southwestern Alberta were under fire ban from the Forest and Prairie Protection Act.
• Mountain bikers from Hong Kong were in Rocky to train and compete at Canada Cup races.
• Arashi-Do Karate School students Melanie Mishio, Shawn Vanderzwan, Kory Humphrey and Kourtney Humphrey receive their black-belts.
• More than 100 jeep owners from Canada and the US gather at the Prairie Creek group campground for the 2000 Jeep Jamboree.
• A black bear attacked a group of British scouts who were camping out on the Kootenay Plains.
• Kelly Wilson’s photo of a helicopter rescue on Bighorn River won the Best Spot News Photo category of the Canadian Community Newspapers Association competition.
• Students from four high schools in Hokkaido visited Rocky for a few days as part of the annual Aurora tour.
• Next to New volunteers donated almost $23,000 to various causes around Rocky.
• Unity Ride and Run participants made their way through Rocky and Sunchild as part of their 1837 km journey from Penticton, B.C., to Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan.
• Leslieville Antique Days was celebrated with lots of fiddlers and displays.
• Fourteen Rocky Zone firefighters traveled to south east Montana to battle the raging blazes of the High Ore Fire.
• Forty-four vehicles were destroyed before a cheering, packed crowd at the Lions Club Demolition Derby.
• Locals Otto Rauch of Rocky, Leonard Skjonsberg of Eckville, Braden Graham of Rocky and Stauffer Land and Livestock of Eckville all did well at competitions at the Calgary Stampede.
• Rocky’s Jean Graham was named to the Premier’s Advisory Council on Health by Ralph Klein.
• David Thompson days took place in Rocky with exhibits and displays set up all around town.
• 109 runners took part in the David Thompson 10 km Trail Run at Crimson Lake.
• Eleven day Equibition finished with great success and so many entries that event time frames were bucked off.
• Will Sinclair biology teacher Richard Baron was one of 14 teachers in Alberta to receive the 2000 Teacher Award presented by the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta.
• Caroline Homecoming took place with displays, exhibits and games going on.
• Almost 300 Rocky area residents go to the Legion to the Firearms licensing clinic.
• Silver Springs Rodeo re-opened its gates after a 12-year hiatus with more than 180 cowboys competing.
• Circus Gatti visited the Voyageur Arena complete with elephants and death-defying stunts.
• Sunpine Rapids soccer team repeat as Central Alberta Men’s Soccer League Champions.
• Minister of Learning Dr. Lyle Oberg announced the re-institution of full funding for early childhood programs in Alberta.

SEPTEMBER

• Local students headed back to school on September 5.
• Local dogsledder Hans Rietz was named to the Canadian Federation of Sleddog Sports’ 2000 World Championship Team.
• Four peaks of Ex Coelis, a mountain near the Kootenay Plains, was dedicated to the memory of First Canadian Parachute Battalion in WWII.
• Vision West Outreach School ready for another year.
• KerryAnne Hoogland is named as the Mountain Rose Women’s Shelter’s new coordinator.
• Katie Songer places fifth at the 14th annual 4-H Provincial Judging Competition winning a trip to the Denver National Western Stock Show in January.
• Lisa McQuiston of Caroline was one of 22 Alberta high-school grads to receive a $1,000 entrance scholarship to Red Deer College.
• Ambulance Association names John Folis as President, Joyce Pengelly as Vice-president, Pat Fielden as secretary and Daphne Moffat as treasurer.
• Journalists, historians and parks staff take part in the Heritage Corridors 2000 program at Banff, Kootenay and Yoho National Parks.
• Governor Hori, of the Prefecture of Hokkaido, Japan visited Alberta as part of the 20th anniversary of the twinning of Alberta and the northern island in 1980. Mayor Lou Soppit was re-elected as the president of the Alberta/Japan Twinned Municipalities Association.
• The 2nd Rocky Mountain House Brownies started their new season.
• 38 students from the Wild Rose School District No. 66 were awarded the Alexander Rutherford Scholarships from the Province totaling $68,000.
• Brock Armstrong and Dale Moore scored holes-in-one at the Charity Classic golf tournament held at Pine Hills Golf Course.
• Mark Morrish, Don Jeffery, Brooke Ball, Jen Andrews and Kelly Morgan take home first place in their races at a CMC Motocross event at Tabletop Raceway.
• Rocky Mountain Bike n’ Board team members compete at Provincials bringing home two silvers and one gold medal.
• Leighton Chrysler celebrated the grand opening of its new location.
• Rocky Christian School celebrated its 30 year anniversary.
• The air show attracted more than 2500 people.
• Town Council decided not to allow video or audio recordings of their meetings.
• A Stettler man was killed in a quad accident near Jackfish Lake.
• Elmer Adolf Sterling was killed by falling debris during logging on his land.
• Eight high school students from Kamikawa, Hokkaido, visited Rocky.
• The Lord’s Food Bank began opening twice weekly.
• Good neighbors were Joe and Heather Baker.
• Carol Harty of Rocky was admitted to Cambridge University in Britain.
• The Mountaineer won a provincial award for its series on teen sex.
• The Carl Ringness Award was presented to a 15-year-old entrepreneur from Sylvan Lake by the Centre for Business Development.
• Terry Fox run events raised more than $13,000 locally, most by St. Matt’s School students.
• Clearwater County began looking at fire co-operation agreements with neighboring jurisdictions.
• A motocross race at Tabletop, west of Rocky, attracted 180 competitors.
• A local slo-pitch team, the Nichiwogons, earned their way to the World Series of Slo-pitch tournament in Seattle in Sept.
• Shonny Pigeon reported on her year as a JET teacher in Kamikawa.
• Rocky Mountain House was told it will receive new postal codes in February 2001.
• James Chernak sought assistance to help with treatment for advanced Crohn’s Disease in the Czech Republic.
• Radio personality Jason Lacroix departed for Winkler, Manitoba.
• 200 horse riders took part in a poker rally west of Caroline to benefit the Historical Society.
• Caroline’s Terry Fox Run raised close to $6000.
• Justin Bester received the Governor General’s Medal for Caroline School.
• Starr Brothers Circus visited Rocky.

OCTOBER

• Three people were injured when the well their rig was servicing flared south of Rocky.
• Richard Pawliw died while working with a cutting torch.
• Premier Ralph Klein made a short surprise visit to Rocky, meeting with local officials, and stopping at W.S.H.S. and the new visitor information centre and museum.
• Brooke Clapson, 21, of Calgary was found stabbed to death at a local motel.
• The new visitor information centre and museum building was officially opened.
• Trent and Maria Lennie and family lost their Kilian Estates mobile home to fire.
• Aboriginal Neighborhood Place and Clearwater Neighborhood Place held their joint grand opening.
• A new rubberized pathway was built at Kinsmen Park, as part of ongoing work to upgrade the playground.
• Steven Donaghy received the Governor General’s Medal at David Thompson High School’s award ceremony.
• Caroline School staged Alice in Wonderland with Missoula Children’s Theatre.
• The Legion unveiled its new cenotaph.
• Allen Christie released The Last Rodeo, his first CD.
• Jean Graham was honored for promoting health research.
• The Stampede Board sponsored Whitecourt’s Brenda Kirkpatrick in the Miss Rodeo Canada contest.
• Leslieville’s Mellisa Hollingsworth began her bid for Winter Olympic selection in skeleton racing.
• Flu shot clinics were being held.
• Joanne Robinson, Erin Tjostheim, Alitta Tait, Brandi Sidoryk, Andrea Zalasky, Carsten Rubeling, and Charissa Pinnell, of WSHS, were selected to play in the Alberta Honor Band.
• Cst. John Hudak was charged with sexual assault and uttering threats.
• Rodney Greening, 25, was killed while felling trees west of Rocky.
• The Friendship Centre celebrated 25 years of service to the community.
• The consolidation of Condor, Leslieville and David Thompson schools was being studied.
• Rebecca Graff received the Governor General’s Medal for W.S.H.S.
• Richard Baron was honored by APEGGA for excellence in teaching in science.
• New large welcome signs were erected both the north and south highway entrances to Rocky.
• Mayor’s Awards were presented to: boxer Jesse Cretney, three day event rider Tricia Dahms, Northern Crossing’s Alita Hermary, volunteer Barb Richardson, Lochearn volunteer Roberta Rodway, volunteer Hazel Chambers, volunteer Marian McEwen, musician Guido D’Amico, minor hockey volunteer Ellen Bonde, and multiple sport athlete Chloe Brown.
• Rocky’s Jerilyn Sambrooke served as a guide at the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Germany.
• Bob Booth began curling for Kelly Rowe on the World Curling Tour.
• Alberta 4-H riding instructors gathered here for a workshop.
• Lindsey Draginda won the Governor General’s Medal for St. Matthew School.
• A snap federal election was called, with only M.P. Bob Mills and Liberal Walter Kubanek ready to start campaigning.
• The Canadian Forces 408 Squadron used Rocky Airport as a base for helicopter training for Bosnia.
• Mark Friesen received the Elk Horn Award, as Alberta Band Association director of the year.
• Cliff and Myrena Miller were named Foster Parents of the Year and Ron Cowan and Kandis Henry as Social Workers of the Year.
• Construction started on the new movie theatre.
• Women’s history month was celebrated with an evening with talks by remarkable local women Marian McEwen, Tricia Dahms and Martha Kostuch, and a presentation by Dawn Philips about her mother Mabel Brierley.
• Sarah Sutherland won the Fire Chief for a Day contest, Shelbie Scholz was deputy, Courtney Stark was third and Amanda Gagnon was fourth.
• Leslieville Elks raised $4500 through their Stag Auction for Rocky Hospital.
• One of the new entry signs was set on fire as Gates Night vandalism. Damage was contained.
• Rocky Rams senior hockey team returned to the Chinook Hockey League after a one-year absence.
• Darcy Gruntman was honored by the province for his extensive volunteerism.
• Site preparation began for the new IGA. Construction will start after the new year.
• Muriel Walker became the new Adult Literacy Program co-ordinator.
• Milton Elliot was returned as Reeve for Clearwater County.
• Mellisa Hollingsworth won the Canadian National Selection skeleton race in Calgary.
• Nordegg old-timers held their annual reunion in Red Deer.
• The new ear tag program stirred controversy at the Cattle Commission zone meeting in Spruce View.
• Local firefighters took a dive rescue course offered here.
• Caroline Neighborhood Place officially opened.
• Leonard Hemphill was selected as mayor of Caroline for the coming year.
• The Progressive Conservative Party announced Doug Wagstaff would run in the Red Deer constituency.
• The Meese family, Arsheen, Jimmy and Justin, began fundraising for their Operation Christmas Child shoebox mission to Mexico.
• The Calgary International Airport included an exhibit of Rocky’s National Historic Site.

NOVEMBER

• An eight-day EUB hearing began over an application to drill a Level 4 critical sour gas well in the Ferrier area between Shell Canada Limited and several intervenors, headed by the Clearwater Coalition.
• Four-year-old Danny Stourac’s leukemia went into remission.
• Highway 22 was marked as The Cowboy Trail.
• Lawrence Bell of Rocky was seriously injured when the crankcase on his quad exploded.
• Edward Hudson replaced Bruce Hutton as LUFA president.
• Linda Roth announced she will run for the New Democratic Party.
• Kenneth Morgan, 50, of Rocky died in an auto accident near Breton.
• Rocky’s Bicentennial book pre-sale campaign began after author Pat McDonald visited David Thompson’s elementary school in London, England.
• Two Rocky cattle breeders, Melvin and Pat Butler and Tom Seaborn, received top prizes at Farmfair International.
• An election forum was held in Rocky with candidates Bob Mills (CA), Walter Kubanek (Lib), Linda Roth (NDP) and Doug Wagstaff (PC).
• A marauding cougar was shot and killed at Frisco by Lorne Hindbo, who was called in by Alberta Fish and Wildlife.
• Author Barbara Belyea spoke in Rocky about Anthony Henday’s travels.
• Clinton Kautz of Leslieville was elected as Zone 5 delegate to the Alberta Cattle Commission.
• A National Film Board crew completed filming the EUB hearings as part of a documentary.
• The WSHS Rebels football team lost in the provincial semi-finals.
• Leland Visotto was elected as Central Alberta Soccer Association president.
• Jeffrey C. Lafontaine died in automobile accident 20 km northwest of Rocky.
• Caroline council approved a four-year contract with Parkland Regional Library.
• Alfred and Cheryl von Hollen lit-up their largest Christmas-light display ever, with more than 30,000 bulbs.
• WSHS Outdoor Education students completed Search and Rescue training.
• Two blood donor clinics were held this month.
• The new Sears store held its grand opening.
• Caroline firemen respond to two traffic accidents in two days with no fatalities.
• Astronaut Mike Mullane spoke to area students in Olds.
• Bob Mills was re-elected as MP for the Canadian Alliance Party with 72.6 per cent of the popular vote.

DECEMBER

• Rocky held its first Parade of Lights organized by the Rocky Retailers – the first in Western Canada.
• Clearwater County completed the Nordegg Development Plan.
• Icy conditions led to a multiple vehicle accident with no fatalities nine km east of Rocky.
• Registration began for Santas Anonymous.
• The province approved more than $10 million for the construction of a new high school to replace Will Sinclair High School.
• Former resident of Rocky, Barbara Bromley, was named to the Order of Canada for her work in health care.
• Local law-enforcement shaved their heads and almost $22,000 was raised for the Stourac family by the Mounties for Miracles campaign. St Matthew students also participated.
• Dustin Opdendries was named the CAHSFL Outstanding Offensive Player of the year, as well as the first all-star team with WSHS football teammate Eric Vander Linden. Seven other Rebels were named to the second all-star team.
• Rocky’s physicians temporarily closed their clinic in support of the AMA’s negotiations with the provincial government on a new fee structure.
• Next to New’s total donations for the year was $75,300 for numerous local organizations.
• The historic Strachan Post Office, tended by the Haupt family, mounted a new sign.
• John Wesley was re-elected to represent the Bighorn Reserve for the Stoney Tribal Council.
• Five WSHS senior volleyball players were named to the league’s All-star Team.
• Big West Country Radio moved its office next door in The Mountaineer building and made room for new technology and music.
• The Caroline arena raised more than $80,000 to buy a new ice-resurfacer, replacing a 1965 model.
• Two fires claimed two homes – one near Caroline belonging to William Clark, and one near Alhambra owned by the Ditchuk family.
• The Lutheran Church held its 19th Pageant of Christ’s Birth in -20 degree Celcius weather.
• The Town of Rocky held its first public budget meeting.
• The Rocky Rams senior hockey team earned its first point of the season in a tie.
• The town flooded the outdoor oval and rink at Will Sinclair field.
• Northern Crossing held its first ever medieval feast/dinner theatre performance.
• The Chamber of Commerce was criticized by some members for participating in a new Howse Pass Committee.
• The Food Bank estimated 1,000 people are depending on them this Christmas.
• The Mountaineer prints its largest edition, including the Christmas Edition, at 76 pages.