Clarence Valley Independent

Emma Pritchard. Despite moderate flooding preventing the Clarence River from being illuminated by floating lanterns, community enthusiasm for the inaugural Riverlight Ulmarra Festival shone brightly on the weekend. More than 600 people gathered in the historic village to celebrate the event on May 15, with many expressing their wishes to see it become an annual attraction.

Geoff Helisma. Environmental watchdog, Valley Watch, first began predicting flooding of Yamba, as a result of developing West Yamba, in about 1995; on Sunday May 21, the group will present a more than 1,000-signature petition to the mayor, Ian Tiley (or his proxy), calling for a moratorium on further filling and development approvals on the Yamba floodplain. “Basically, the petition is demanding a well-designed master plan for West Yamba,” Valley Watch spokesperson Helen Tyas Tunggal said.

Emma Pritchard. Flicking through the pages of The Lonely Jacaranda, Manager of The Book Warehouse in Grafton Jess Wood is delighted by what she sees and reads. Written, illustrated and self-published by Grafton author Russell Irving, The Lonely Jacaranda tells the tale of a little jacaranda tree, the first one to arrive in Australia from South America as a seed.

Geoff Helisma. Election campaigns cost money, lots of money. The major parties, which more often than not form governments in their own right, have a distinct advantage when it comes to funding multi-million-dollar campaigns. But, over recent weeks it’s the ‘teal’ independent candidates who have emerged as a threat to the current government’s re-election. The Independent spoke with teal independent, Hanabeth Luke, who is contesting the Page electorate.

"It is a great honour to be our community’s representative in Canberra. I have and always will have, our community’s interests front and centre. This is the most important election in recent history – it is about jobs, flood recovery and cost of living” : Federal Member for Page, Kevin Hogan.

Emma Pritchard. It is one of the toughest sporting events in Australia. A challenging 228km journey which physically and mentally tests the endurance, courage and mindset of every participating athlete.

Emma Pritchard. While discussing how they could help locals affected by the recent floods during the past several weeks, members of the Clarence Valley Community Church and the Lower Clarence Presbyterian Church embraced the idea of opening a community kitchen in Maclean. The two congregations promptly started researching and organising recipes, scouting for a suitable location within the township, and drawing up a roster of volunteer cooks.