The city's new year began with the welcome news there had been a decrease in the Riverina's road toll between 2017-18.

Data from the state government's Centre for Road Safety showed the southern region recorded 36 deaths in the 12 months to November 2018. This was 13 fewer than the previous year.

In January, Wagga also mourned the passing of Edna Busse, Wagga's home-grown ballerina, not long after she celebrated her 100^th birthday.

Ms Busse was an internationally renowned ballerina who went on to devote her life to teaching young dancers.

Charles Sturt University's announcement that it was considering a name change began a months-long debate, before the existing moniker was ultimately retained.

As the hot dry weather continued, Riverina Water's supply was tested by heavy demand.

RWCC engineering director Bede Spannagle said that in these periods, almost two-thirds of consumption was for evaporative air-conditioners and external watering of lawn and gardens.

It was the end of an era when Wagga Beach Caravan Park's iconic blue wooden entrance sign was removed, ahead of the park's lease expiring in May 2019 because of plans for an overhaul as part of the Riverside Master Plan.

As the middle of the month approached, Wagga was hit by two days of storms. Despite the city being lashed with wind and rain, the damage was minor.

Not so minor was a spate of serious robberies, which began when a taxi driver was robbed at gunpoint on January 7.

Just a day later, a 22-year-old attendant was threatened with a knife and hammer at a petrol station in Gumly. About 4am, two men forced their way into the service station on the Sturt Highway.

"They were brandishing a hammer and a knife and have threatened the attendant in the service station before leaving with a sum of cash and some other items from the store," Acting Detective Inspector Phil Malligan said.

On January 15, a Wagga taxi driver, 74, was assaulted by four men armed with a gun, leaving him with a broken nose.

Riverina Police District Superintendent Bob Noble said a taxi driver was stationary in his vehicle at a taxi rank outside Kooringal Mall before the incident.

January also saw a senior city Liberal party member quit ahead of the March state election.

Colin Taggart was unhappy with his party's decision not to run a candidate in the election, so he left for a tilt with the Australian Conservatives.

As the hot January weather continued, tragedy struck with the news that a 20-year-old Junee man had gone missing while swimming in the Murrumbidgee River at Oura Beach.

Searchers found the man's body two days later.

Wagga girl Mia Stewart finally set off on her "big adventure" in January. After two years of fundraising, the little girl finally underwent major surgery on her left leg, which was severely underdeveloped at birth.

On Australia Day, Alan Lean was named as Wagga's Citizen of the Year, with Matthew Lennon named as the young citizen.

Australia Day brought honours for Wagga residents James Pratley, Ann Adams, Barbara Johnston and James Simpson.

One of Wagga's landmarks was ravaged by fire during the January holidays.

A building with six classrooms at Wagga Public School was destroyed by fire, despite the efforts of 60 firefighters.

Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Stewart Alexander told The Daily Advertiser at the time that "all those classrooms and office areas [in the building] have been destroyed by fire".

"It suffered significant damage, but fortunately there's been no injuries and the fire did not spread to other buildings, which are very close by," he said.

The school and broader community rallied and made sure temporary facilities were ready for students within a very short space of time.

Since then, students have been using demountable classrooms while the final details of the insurance claim on the building are settled.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the design and consultation process was expected to begin early in 2020.

Paramedic John Hoey called time on a 43-year career that began after his own life was saved by paramedics in 1973. The advanced life support paramedic - who was also crowned Wagga's citizen of the year in 2018 - spent his entire career in the Riverina, with 37 years at the Wagga station.

The Wagga community banded together to help drought-stricken Walgett, with Paul Simpson driving a movement to get fresh drinking water to the northern NSW town. What started out as a few cases of water quickly grew to hundreds...

...and they couldn't do the donation run in a single trip, not even with the help of a six-tonne truck. Getting the water off the truck in 45-degree heat when they arrived in Walgett was just as big a job as loading it up.

And the heat back home had everyone running for the closest swimming hole. Wagga City Councli declared Oasis would be offering free entry on days when the mercury hits 41 degrees, despite the state government arguing it would be illegal for it to drop charges during extreme heat conditions.

William, aged 12, had been asking for donations of bottles and cans for the 10 cents Return and Earn deposit and every few month he picked a charity for half the proceeds. It meant he had made donations to organisations like the Guide Dogs and Wagga's RFS brigades, and buying presents for children and nurses in Wagga Base Hospital. And then he made a huge donation to help keep abandoned animals going.