Life

More than 20 members of the Tintaldra Fire Brigade were recently presented with Long Service Medals by CFA Commander, Trevor Ebbels, totalling an amazing 650 years of service in total. The longest serving current member is Phillip Coysh who has been involved with the brigade for 50 years with Laurie Forrest chalking up 45 years.

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.

Country music on horseback will rev up Narrandera tomorrow night when multiple Golden Guitar winner, Tom Curtain, rides in to the Narrandera Showground ... Tom is an official ambassador for Dolly’s Dream, and uses his music and shows to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and wellbeing in rural communities.

The organising committee of the Cambooya Australia Day celebrations could not split the outstanding community efforts of Rohan Greer and Christopher Collins, both receiving the Citizen of the Year award ... Rohan Greer is a well-respected and active volunteer in the community ... Chris Collins is recognised in the community as a selfless volunteer ...

The sight of two trees painted blue located on the eastern side of the New England Highway just north of the United Etonvale petrol station has caught the attention of motorists with a keen eye ... Painting the trees blue is not a random act but rather something that has been happening all over Australia as part of the Blue Tree Project.

Karen Giles. Rodney Giles (Gerry) passed away peacefully at home on Friday 20th, January ... Rod’s working life on Lord Howe included unloading the ship (from age 15 to age 60), the Lord Howe Island Board and many island lodges but his passion was Ned’s Beach shed.

A community leader, a teacher and an SES Unit Commander have been recognised for their decades of dedication to the region in the annual Australia Day Awards honours list. Three Clarence Valley residents, Mr Peter Dougherty, Mrs Meghanne Wellard and Mrs Susan Chapple were respectively awarded the prestigious honours of Medal of the Order of Australia, Public Service Medal and Emergency Services Medal.

Donna Layton knows a thing or two about the true meaning of loyalty, commitment, and devotion. As the General Manager of J Notaras and Sons Sawmill proudly reflects on 45 years with the local business, where she is well respected by her friends and colleagues, she said she can’t imagine being anywhere else.

When Dino Polese was three years old, he went looking for his father Angelo in the banana crops at Naughtons Gap. He got tired and fell asleep under a tree. “They came and found me,” Dino said. “They” refers to the Italian community who settled in Naughtons Gap near Casino between 1945 and the late 1970s.

Scenic Rim sellers who turned their trash into cash during two weekends of garage sales in November 2022 generated more than $40,000 in sales and saved almost 3.2 tonnes of unwanted items from landfill ... “Programs such as the Garage Sale Trail play a valuable role in shifting community perceptions of purchasing second hand, supporting the transition to a circular economy and enabling more effective reuse and recycling of unwanted items”: Mayor Christensen.

The Shire of Gingin and the Department of Health are warning people to avoid swimming and other full-body water immersion activities in Moore River at Guilderton after recent sampling results detected amoeba and high bacteria levels at several sampling locations.

About 650 breakfasts – cooked and served by volunteers – were consumed at the 2023 Australia Day event in Two Rocks ... Yanchep resident Sharon Conley, who is a member of the Yanchep Netball Club, received the YTRCRA citizen award.

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.

Tennant Creek’s born and bred doctor Sarah Goddard took the top honours in the Local Government 2023 Australia Day Awards for Tennant Creek. Dr Goddard has spent well over a decade reaching her goals to become a doctor and Citizen of the Year Awards adds to her list of growing accolades, winning best Indigenous doctor in Australia late last year in the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA) awards.

This year The Maldon Athenaeum Library will have been operating as our local library for 160 years. Its inaugural meeting was held on January 26, 1863, when several good citizens of the town gathered to establish the original Maldon Athenaeum Mechanics Institute.

Despite some major setbacks, life was back on track for this Victorian rider before the unthinkable happened ... Mietta Innes-Irons is a remarkable young woman who has faced more obstacles in her life than anyone should, but still aims for the future ... “I am aiming to get onto the Australian Para Dressage High Performance Squad and qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics."

A hideous fatal fireground accident near Lucindale was one year old last week. Recalling the day, a sombre group gathered at the Lucindale CFS Station for the unveiling of a plaque in honour of CFS fallen volunteer Louise Hincks.

Christmas and New Year are over for another year, we have just celebrated Australia Day and school is about to go back. For all those people who are wondering where to fit all those extra presents, or have just finished spring cleaning over the holidays, you can take heart.

Narrandera Landcare’s quarterly bird survey at The Wetlands recently surprised the group, with participants finding 25 species! There were almost no waterbirds but lots and lots of woodland birds.

A staunch advocate of women in agriculture, long-time Landcare supporter, strong community proponent and anti-cancer fighter has received an Order of Australia (OAM) in today’s honours list. Julie De Hennin of Talgarno was recognised for her service to the North East community and is well known in the Upper Murray.

Toowoomba LifeFlight was the aeromedical service's busiest Queensland base in 2022, with 659 people helped. The aeromedical missions were performed by the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue and Toowoomba LifeFlignt Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS) helicopters, which are based at the Clive Berghofer LifeFlight Centre and cover a huge area of the state, from the Darling Downs and beyond.