Susanna Freymark, Richmond River Independent

A proposal to build a large battery to store excess energy from the grid prompted 80 residents to attend an information session at McKees Hill Hall on Wednesday evening. The mood in the hall was tense as Maoneng’s director for Australia Allison Hawke faced a torrent of questions from residents who said they had been kept in the dark about the proposal.

Explore close to home and be blown away. I am close to the sky. The breeze in the thick canopy that covers the hillsides makes the mountains look like they're moving. The landscape is more ocean than forest – even though I stand 110km from the sea. This is Pinnacle Lookout in the Border Ranges where the peak of Wollumbin-Mt Warning shouts its presence by protruding from the waves of green.

Kyogle's newest vet Simon Wake lives in an idyllic setting. He shares his 80ha property near the Border Ranges with his schoolteacher wife Sally, daughter Lucy, dogs Arthur and Millie, 10 chickens and 18 Speckled Park cattle. Sitting by a huge dam where koalas hide in the trees, Simon's Land Rover is parked under the gums nearby, ready for the next callout.

“We have a wetland here of national significance — like a mini Kakadu,” Jimmy Malecki said. State MP Janelle Saffin joined the gathering because of her interest in Landcare groups ... Richmond Valley Councillor Jill Lyons said the first Bungawalbin Landcare was initiated in the 1990s ...

The Hayman family must leave their Colches St home in Casino because the landlord is moving his brother in. They have rented the property for three years. With four children living at home and two elderly dogs, finding a new rental is proving difficult.

The Finch family are thrilled the Australian War Memorial has accepted their father's medals for display. The medals of Kyogle's Frederick Bradley Finch OAM, known...