Journalist Matt McLennan looks back at the big stories from the second half of 2020 for part 2 of our year in review. Elections, storms and snakes were the big stories from these months. Part one, covering January to June, is here.
July 20: Health authorities were braced for COVID-19 chaos in Logan after a cleaner at Parklands Christian College was one of two women who did not declare a trip to Melbourne before testing positive for the illness. Shopping centres, a church and schools were closed for 24 hours for deep cleans.
July 30: A man dozed off behind the wheel of his car at the Pub Lane Tavern, police said. Officers said they found the man asleep in his Nissan Navara with music blaring and the driver's door open. They say the man blew .206 when tested at a police station after the event.
July 31: Mayor Darren Power oversaw the Cedar Grove Environmental Centre's wastewater treatment plant going online. The first flow through the $53.7 million centre was the culmination of two years' construction and a decade of planning. It is the first sustainable plant of its kind in the state.
July 29: Concerned parents and students flocked to a COVID-19 testing centre at Parklands Christian College following the previous week's outbreak. Huge queues formed at the school while people waited to be tested.
September 15: Little Maddison Oakes was a picture of calm when confronted by a deadly brown snake in her family's Flagstone home. Maddison alerted her parents, who found the snake curled up in their bed. The family said training after her previous snake encounters stood her in good stead.
September 22: Snake season continued in full swing when a carpet python was rescued from the new Springwood police beat. The reptile crossed Springwood Road to visit Senior Constable Rod Whitehead at his new beat.
September 27: Jimboomba Redbacks' women's team beat Beenleigh Buffaloes to win a thrilling Queensland Football Association Women's Division 2 grand final by a point at Bond University on the Gold Coast. The Jimboomba team 4-4-28 to 4-3-27. They had a seven-point lead cut to just one point midway through the final term, but held on for a win.
October 7: Hills College student Marcos Flack headed to Europe to trial with Ferrari's Formula One drivers academy. Flack, 14, was one of just two Asia Pacific and Oceania drivers selected by Ferrari to take part as the iconic team looked to select drivers for the next formula 4 season.
October 7: Jimboomba emergency services personnel lined the streets to farewell local stalwart Bernie Savage. Mr Savage was a long-time captain of the Greenbank and North Maclean stations. Mr Savage, who had lived in the area since 1985, carried the baton during the torch relay for the Commonwealth Games in 2018.
October 8: Cedar Grove dog Bomber, nine, was hailed a hero after seeing off two deadly snakes at owner Donna James' Marion Road property.
October 28: First-home buyers dominated sales at Everleigh's Greenbank development, with more than $20 milion in sites sold. The first lots in stage two of Peet's $6.7 billion Flagstone development also went on sale.
October 30: Local businessman Jason Roebig had a lucky escape from a snake at his Flagstone property. Mr Roebig stepped on a black snake while walking barefoot, killing it. He took to social media to defend himself against claims his actions were deliberate.
October 31: Storms brought huge hailstones to parts of the region, sending volunteers ducking for cover on state election day. Hail as big as baseballs fell in some parts of the city. Linus Power and Charis Mullen kept their seats as Annastacia Palaszczuk swept back into power.
November 2: Rankin MP Jim Chalmers received an outpouring of public support after a melanoma diagnosis. Mr Chalmers urged people to undergo regular skin checks.
December 5: A man who was caught drink-driving on a ride-on mower at South Maclean returned the next day to collect it, only to find it had been stolen.
December 9: Councillor Lisa Bradley quit the City Governance Committee, announcing the news in an emotional speech, saying democracy had been lost. Natalie Willcocks took over until the new year when the new chair would be voted in.
