• On January 3, a family of five in Leyds Street lost everything apart from the clothes on their backs after their home was gutted by a fire.
The tragic incident, however, showed that residents care about others.
Fellow Middelburgers opened their hearts and started a donation drive spearheaded by a preschool teacher.

• Those driving on the N11 were shocked to see a large white building located shortly after the Elandslaagte turn-off, on the farm previously owned by the well-known and legendary couple Gert and Johanna Wasserman. The Middelburg Observer reported the building was a church, and no other information surrounding its owners or use could be found.

• Let’s not forget how angry residents were to learn that suspended municipal employees, including the municipality’s chief financial officer and executive director for infrastructure development, Mothiba Mogofe and Reginah Makgata, were still receiving their salaries while forensic investigations were conducted.
The two top managers were handed suspension letters shortly after eight other municipal employees received orders to stay at home, pending probes into their alleged involvement with a salary fraud scheme, which saw them pocket more than R2.4 million over 24 months.

• Middelburg proved it was a town of winners as big wins came out of the Swim South Africa Age Group 4 Middelburg Gala, which was held at the Kees Taljaard pool.
Results included the best junior and senior swimmers, best-improved performance, best-disabled swimmer, and best overall performance of a junior male, which was won by Hunter Harty, who also appeared in several other editions of the Middelburg Observer regarding his amazing swimming accomplishments.