Charity

You are likely to have seen Towong Shire Councillor, Peter Dikschei, along with Corryong Health CEO, Dom Sandilands, training on local roads in preparation for the High Country Charity Ride ... over Mount Hotham and through North East townships - a distance of 550 kilometres.

With 292 participants registered to take part in the Ganmain Triathlon on Sunday, the day was an astounding success. 101 triathletes took part in the Open Sprint race, with Ed Langdon first over the line with a time of 55:30, while he was closely followed by Jared Kahlefeldt finishing in 57:30.

An amazing figure of $9,675 was raised at the Get Chopped Pub in Greenmount on Australia Day, which hosted the inaugural Sophie’s Gold Fish Race in the memory of Sophie Grace Patch ... Sophie, daughter of Todd and Tamara Patch of East Greenmount, tragically passed away in November 2022 at the young age of 11 months.

Australian grain leaders are calling on other growers and farm businesses to show generosity and donate a tonne of grain or more, to help support Ukraine farmers and rural communities. The #AUSSIEGRAIN4UKRAINE initiative was established last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to give Australian grain producers a way of supporting their farming colleagues and communities facing the continuing challenges and horrors of war.

Inspirational community contributions celebrated. Well known Narrandera Shire resident Rex Evans was rewarded for his generous and ongoing contribution to Narrandera shire communities over many years with the 2023 Citizen of the Year Award ... "our town wouldn’t be what is without volunteers": Senior Citizen of the Year, Beverly Hughes.

Australia’s most trusted rural charity, Rural Aid, has joined forces with the Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen’s Association (KPCA) to create a fundraising drive for flood-affected graziers in Western Australia’s Kimberley region ... Ex-tropical cyclone Ellie brought unfathomable volumes of rain to Fitzroy River catchments – up to 800 millimetres in a week for some locations - resulting in a flood that exceeded previous water levels by more than two metres. Properties such as Yeeda Station, just outside of Derby, were battling up to 40 kilometres of flood frontage.

The BlazeAid camp saga continues. BlazeAid co-ordinators Cindy and Wayne Lusted were told to pack up the camp of volunteers staying at Rappville Sportsground ... Mick and Marie Evans, who were volunteers at the first BlazeAid camp in Casino are taking on the smaller jobs on the BlazeAid list and plan to finish the fencing themselves as M&M Fencing, not under the BlazeAid umbrella.

Returning to Mount Peel Bushland Park in 2023 will be Hike to Heal, an interactive hiking adventure suitable for all levels of fitness and hiking experience. Hikers have fun following clues at the Mt Peel Bushland Park or a park of their choosing to find natural treasures and solve riddles as they walk along the trail.

If you have driven a header, seen a header or seen a picture of a header, you are welcome at the annual Header Drivers Convention in Narrandera on February 3. Main organiser of the event for the past 20 years, Neil Seidel, said the night was a great opportunity for farmers or anyone interested in a good night out, to tell lies about the harvest just gone...

Cambooya Hall is now the second venue to host classes by Kiyua, a not-for-profit organisation working with children and youth, building confidence and self-esteem through performing arts. Kiyua Kids come from all backgrounds and cultures and enjoy classes every Saturday during school term.

With a heavy heart, BlazeAid camp coordinator Cindy Lusted announced the group would be packing up and leaving Rappville and the Richmond Valley by January 20 ... “From what I’ve heard, everyone who has had BlazeAid help said their stress has subsided because their fencing has been fixed”: Rappville Commercial Hotel publican Lisa Stewart. “It is imperative BlazeAid stay.”

With Santa’s reindeer still a no show and the sleigh unable to power itself, it was a Hino tilt tray to the rescue for the Moulamein present run. A generous donation started after Heather Theodoulou witnessed the biggest flood on record isolating the town.

Anyone who wanders into Narrandera Showground on January 28 and 29 next year will be forgiven for thinking they have stumbled into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. A Weekend With Max Festival, based on the popular Mad Max genre movies will take place over two days.

The Richmond Valley Council’s acknowledgement of the work done by BlazeAid volunteers in the past three years was more like a goodbye than a thank you at the council meeting on Tuesday, December 20. And BlazeAid isn’t thrilled about it.

Heather Gibbons. Health Harmony and Happiness Inc. has recently made a donation to Jodie Hutchins Born Free Native Wildlife Care in Millicent. This assists in covering some of the many costs Jodie has such as fencing, food and veterinary bills.

Narrandera Lions Club Christmas Carols in the Park 2022 was held in near perfect conditions on Sunday night with revellers turning out in force at Marie Bashir Park to enjoy an evening of song and dance and spread the festive spirit ... Narrandera East Infants, St Joseph’s Narrandera and Narrandera Public schools gave performances, as well as Leeton SDA Choir, With One Voice and Riverina Men’s choir groups, the Uniting Church community choir and individual soloists Jamie Gawne, Joan Graham and Texas Rose (Lou Hoare).

New support to improve the mental health of people working in social and community sector organisations will be available in the seven flood-impacted local government areas of Northern Rivers NSW ... “Having worked in the social sector for many years, I’ve seen the almost normalised acceptance of this kind of burnout and mental ill-health across the social sector – a sector that is always on the frontline when disasters and pandemics strike": Julia Keady, founder of The Xfactor Collective Foundation.

A partnership between Forestry Corporation of NSW,  Pentarch Forestry and the Tumbarumba community has seen donated timber enhance facilities at Tumbarumba Carcoola Children’s Centre and Tumbarumba Public School. The partnership has seen renewable resources used to benefit children and the community, said Forestry Corporation’s Billie-Jo Brown.  

Chris Oldfield. The sweet smell of roses hangs in the air wherever you walk in the garden of internationally acclaimed hybridist George Thomson and his wife Linda. On the outskirts of Naracoorte, they live among hundreds of colourful roses – varieties which have taken decades to breed and grow.

Santa Claus has been flat out this year preparing to fill the Christmas orders from all the well-behaved children around the globe, and urgently enlisted the help of the Mayor of the Barkly when trouble arose. Thousands of dollars of presents for this year’s 88th annual Tennant Creek Christmas Tree event were at risk of not arriving for the event due to freight issues.

Since its inception, Toowoomba’s Christmas Wonderland has welcomed over one million visitors and has returned over $1.32 million back to the local community through its beneficiaries. This year is its 20th year of bringing the joy of Christmas to the young and young-at-heart across the Toowoomba region.

As the weather warms up and dissolved oxygen in the local rivers and creeks remain dangerously low, the community is leading the fish protection response. From old bedframes with dripper lines supplied with air compressors, to garden hoses circulating water, and even a paddleboat churning through $700 in fuel per week in an effort to provide an oxygenated refuge for native fish. The Murray Downs Marina dissolved oxygen went up above 5mg/L after four days with the Iron Dry paddle boat running.