Life

Emma Pritchard. There may be a few new faces and a name change on the horizon as the business continues to grow, but Celtic Coastal Hearing is proud to remain a family owned and independent practice, dedicated to providing the highest level of quality patient care while upholding the same values and principles it has been delivering to the Clarence Valley community throughout the past 10 years.

Campaspe Shire Council would like to reassure the community that the mosquito monitoring program is continuing right across the shire, treating breeding sites, and trapping insects. Acting Director Community, Mr Andrew Fletcher said the program, jointly funded by the State Government and Council, usually operates across the summer season, from around November to March, however did not stop at the start of 2022 due to the presence of the Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV).

The Scenic Rim's reputation as a leading destination for food tourism was reaffirmed at the 2022 Queensland Tourism Awards on the Gold Coast. Winning a silver award for Excellence in Food Tourism, the region has added to this year's accolades after being named as Best in Travel 2022 by the Lonely Planet guide and the Scenic Rim's Tamborine Mountain taking the title of Top Tourism Town in Queensland in June.  

A proud Gamilaroi man who recently started his own native grains business is partnering with a research team from the University of Sydney to share knowledge, revitalise country and help grow the emerging native grains industry. Les Knox, who owns and operates Garaah Gundal, will this summer lead a harvest collaboration with local farmers as part of a project to modernise Indigenous native grain processing and produce flour from the region’s traditional grain varieties.

Four tourism operators across the Northern Territory are creating new evening experiences for visitors, to enhance their attractions and encourage more tourists to visit the NT ... “These new evening experiences enhance our tourism offerings in the NT, which in turn helps to generate positive reviews and attract more visitors to explore our regions"; Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, Nicole Manison

Following the opening, the Tarrangower Times published the Hospital’s rules. The first rule required the Hospital to provide medical and surgical aid to poor persons ‘irrespective of their creed, country or colour’, and for casualties. It went on however to say that any person found able to afford medical aid would be liable for all expenses incurred for their treatment.

A stately bronze bust of John Riddoch - sculpted by the famous South Australian artist John Dowie AM, has been gifted to the Penola Cultural Association by Peter Rymill – great-grandson of Riddoch (1827-1901). Peter originally commissioned the sculpture of his great grandfather in the 1990s, where it took pride of place at the Rymill Coonawarra cellar door complex for many years.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a grassroots community group or a land manager wanting to roll out a landcare project on private property, how you put that project together is essential if you want to get funding, engage other people and ensure outcomes on the ground. Following the success of its workshop in Clifton last week, Condamine Catchment Management Association (CCMA) will be holding another free workshop at the Harvest New Life Church Hall in Pittsworth on Wednesday, 16 November.

This Funnel-web was found in a Goomburra Valley garden - so a word to the wise - watch out while pulling weeds ... The jury is still out - is it a Monteith funnel-web, found near Killarney or a Toowoomba Funnel-web, the most common species in South-east Queensland?

October has been a busy month with a Disaster Big Map Exercise, CPR courses taking responsibility of a Defibrillator machine to completing our new roof ... Disaster preparedness is one of the GTH committee’s aims for the Goomburra Valley as there is only one road in and out.

Food security is a growing problem for Australian families, according to a new state government report, with remote communities the worst affected. The Food production and supply in NSW report, from the NSW Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Environment and Planning, found food supply disruption was a driver of food insecurity, and that remote communities were unfairly burdened by the problem.

Emma Pritchard. A member of the LGBTIQA+ community and a proud Indigenous woman from Gubbi Gubbi Country, Amanda Daffey is the first candidate to assume the title of Jacaranda Ambassador in the 88-year history of the Grafton Jacaranda Festival after the Jacaranda Festival Committee announced in February that Australia’s oldest floral festival would become a gender-neutral event in 2022.

Casino’s largest business has plenty to celebrate. The Casino Food Co-op is the winner of the Northern Rivers 2022 Regional Business of the Year ... The win for the Co-op wasn’t only about the meat industry. Earlier this month, the Co‐op launched a Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan.

Cairns Private Hospital has announced an $18 million expansion, including the development of two new theatres, to cater for the demand for leading private health care in the region. Construction is due to begin next month with the first new theatre to be operational in mid-2024. The expansion will also include a new state-of-the-art sterilising department.

As the granddaughter of Australia’s first Aboriginal bishop and the niece of an award-winning fashion designer, Sara Fagan set her bar high from an early age. “I’ve always wanted to be a surgeon,” says the  Medical Program  student. “I've also got an unfinished paramedicine degree that I want to complete, but that's a future problem!”

Peter transforms turnips, caulis, cabbages, parsnips and simple green beans into culinary delights and adds in oodles of fun practical tips learnt over a lifetime enjoying making the most of the right food at the right time of the year.

A Tennant Creek teacher has become a national poetry celebrity after winning the Australian Poetry Slam competition for 2022. Jo Lang performed her poem titled A Broken System at the Sydney Opera House last Sunday and was received with a standing ovation and a score of 10 from all three judges.

A massive 19 teams signed up for the Lions Club's book themed Trivia Night at the Memo Club last Saturday night. Contestants came dressed as their favourite book character for a fantastic night which was organised to raise funds to provide book packs for schools in the Barkly.

The fifth Bishop of the Diocese of the Murray, the Right Rev Keith Dalby is coming to St Paul’s Naracoorte on 30 October 2022 for the Blessing of the Fleece. “Shearing sheep is something quintessentially Australian”, he said “and it is a great honour to be blessing this act”.

Farmers in the Darling Downs have had to contend with four floods in six months from November 2021 to May 2022 while elsewhere in Queensland and northern New South Wales the damage has been widespread and devastating. Following flooding down south in recent weeks, Rural Aid’s team of counsellors are conducting welfare checks on Rural Aid’s registered farmers.

All roads will lead to Narrandera Sportsground for the “boys in blue” on November 9 for a huge day of touch football. A major police fundraising event, the 2022 Golden Boot Touch Football Carnival will feature 28 teams competing, with games scheduled to start at 8.30am.