Susanna Freymark, Richmond River Independent

One echidna. One night. Locked in a bottle shop. What could possibly go wrong?

The developers of the proposed highway service station at New Italy have said the design of the project is “deliberately understated”. Memphis Strategic town planner Wayne Gersbach said the single-storey and ‘shed-like’ design will be constructed of raw, uncoloured concrete with a Colorbond roof and cladding to complement, and not overawe the nearby New Italy Museum buildings.

Rappville felt the love on the weekend, dog trial organiser Janelle McLennan said. Despite Covid restrictions causing cancellations from Queensland, there were 200 entries and 40 competitors at the NW Working Cattle Dog Trial. Competitors came from across the state to the Resilience NSW Rappville Rebounds dog trial, the first in Rappville since the 2019 fires.

Casino is about to get fresh with its own weekly farmers market. John and Frieda De Kleuver are organising the market for the Casino Lions Club. The plan is to hold a market every Saturday morning at Crawford Square in South Casino, starting in September.

Butchers inside major supermarkets could soon become extinct. No more stopping for a friendly chat about the cut of your meat with the butcher while you shop ... The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union said the change would see qualified butchers ‘redeployed’ into other roles at the supermarkets.

A native apple tree was the symbol for reconciliation on the banks of the Richmond River in Casino last Thursday. Richmond Valley mayor Robert Mustow and Aunty Leila Walker planted the tree together ... Aunty Leila said Casino was the traditional meeting place of the Bundjalung Nation. “North of the town is the largest bora ring on the East Coast,” she said.

We've sung about the pub with no beer. Tabulam now has the pub with no publican. George and Alison Martin ran the Tabulam Hotel for decades and George, now 78, had talked about retiring for years ... The person who bought the pub has on-sold the entitlements. This includes the six poker machines.

Golf took off during the pandemic. Casino Golf Club manager Andrew Porter said the social distancing aspects of the game made it one of the few sports people could play during covid. And a club like Casino was affordable, he said.