Life

It’s been an egg-cellent start to the Sunshine Coast turtle nesting season, with six nests laid in seven days. At sunrise on Friday, November 25, expert citizen scientist and Turtle Care volunteer Lesley Dimmock spotted the first turtle tracks on Buddina beach.

In less than 48 hours, Bracknell Lodge was transformed into an arena, hosting the ‘Ride for a Roof’ event raising money for the newly-formed Common Ground Foundation. The event was organised to raise money to purchase a house in Toowoomba in which families can stay while they have a loved one in hospital. And raise money it did.

David Landini, Riverina State Group. The Victorian election, with the re-election of the Daniel Andrews’ Labor government, and the election of seven Greens Members of Parliament, ensures that the suppression of natural resource-based industries such as irrigated agriculture and timber harvesting will not only continue, but actually accelerate and expand. That these Members of Parliament are all urban-based, while the industries being suppressed are all in the country, demonstrates the cultural and economic division existing between the urban and country populations.

Prominent local lawyer Jason Goode, of local law firm Farrell Goode, has been named a finalist in the NSW Law Society’s prestigious Rural Practitioner of the Year award in recognition of his tireless support of this region. Mr Goode, who is joint president of the Riverina Law Society and a member of the society’s rural issues committee, has spent the past 30 years working to bring much-needed attention to the issues that are unique to this area.

The Narrandera Branch of NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Union members took to the streets as part of strike action last Wednesday (November 23). About 15 Narrandera NSWNMA Union Members and numerous community representatives showed their support during a march in East Street ... Taking a stance, the members highlighted their plight of fighting for safer staffing levels by means of more acceptable nurse-to-patient ratios.

Sheep farmer Suzanne Lewis has just published her first children’s book and had no further to look for something to write about than her own front paddock. “Queenie the Quad Lady” is the story of a remarkable ewe that captured Suzanne’s heart after giving birth to four lambs and successfully raising them all despite all the trials and tribulations a sheep can face.

Emma Pritchard. Following a hard-fought campaign which stretched across five-and-a-half years and included a petition with over 11000 signatures, overwhelming community support, and plenty of lobbying by Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis, members of the Iluka Ambulance Action Group and Iluka Bowling Club proudly stood alongside Clarence Valley residents and visiting dignitaries on November 26 to celebrate a significant milestone.

More window displays are popping up in local businesses. Take a tour down the main street.

When I came to rural NSW pathology in the 1990's, there were approximately six rural cytology positions employed in the government pathology laboratories in the state and a single rural cytology position employed by the private sector. So the number of trained cytology positions was never large and very much fewer in rural areas. However, as of 2016-17 they are non-existent in any rural NSW pathology setting, private or public sector. Similarly, numbers are greatly reduced for most of the other specialist pathology positions, especially pathologists themselves.

The South Australian Wooden Boat Festival (SAWBF) will be sailing into new territory for the April 2023 Festival, with Coorong Quays hosting the two-day event at the Alexandrina Cove Lifestyle Village, Hindmarsh Island. This biennial occasion will showcase the finest wooden boats from our region and beyond.

Ryan Saunders died in hospital. He was nearly three years old. His parents were worried he was getting worse and didn’t feel their concerns were being acted upon by medical staff. They were right ... When Ryan’s death was found to have been preventable, the Queensland Department of Health made a commitment to introduce a patient escalation process to minimise the possibility of a similar event occurring. It is called Ryan’s Rule.

Charles Jangala Inkamala was born 1968 in Ntaria (Hermannsburg) ... Charles lives in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and began painting with Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists in 2017. He paints significant cultural sites such as Rwetyepme (Mount Sonder) and Yapalpe (Glen Helen Gorge) in stylized detail.

After recent rains in Tennant Creek, the Mozzie Mob is back to work under a renewed program to cleanse the town of the dengue mosquito. NT Health Director of Medical Entomology at the Centre for Disease Control, Nina Kurucz, said a fresh round of home backyard inspections will begin with technical officers in town to conduct inspections to prevent an outbreak.

What do you think will be the three issues uppermost in people’s minds when they cast their vote this election? ... What can you and your party offer the voter that other parties can’t?

Felton Community Hall played host to the Cambooya Landcare Association 2022 Annual General Meeting last week, which saw the group retain a strong financial position and the current committee continuing into the new year ... The meeting included a presentation by guest speaker Ken Keith, who gave a background explanation of Agro-Ecology through his presentation ‘Transitioning to Agro-Ecology in Australian Agriculture - The Landcare Way’.

How do you honour the incredible life and memory of our late Sovereign, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II? That is the question Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio would like to ask residents as the Council seeks community engagement to consider memorial options for Queen Elizabeth II.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, has endorsed the efforts of Australian grain producers to help Ukraine farmers and rural communities with their recovery from the war. Mr Myroshnychenko met with members of Grain Producers Australia’s farmer sub-committee recently to discuss the #GRAIN4UKRAINE initiative and thank them for supporting his people.

At just 16 years of age Narrandera’s Xavier Beauchamp is a young talented up-and-coming professional rap artist from the Western Riverina who goes by Beacho2700 and whose original tracks are available through Spotify, Apple Music, Instagram, Youtube and Sound Cloud. Beacho2700 is a combination of Xavier Beauchamp’s nickname and the postcode for Narrandera NSW where he comes from.

On any given day, the streets of Moulamein would see the odd fisherman or ute laden with dogs trundling by, but not last week. Moulamein was the highway of detour distress ... From road trains to hot rods, race cars to caravans, Moulamein exploded with Sturt Highway traffic desperately trying to find their way without the traditional Sydney to Adelaide route.

Emma Pritchard. The Grafton Model Aircraft Club is hosting its annual flying weekend on November 26 and 27, and they are cordially inviting Clarence Valley residents, and visitors in the region, to journey to the Tancreds Lane Flying Field at Clarenza, for two days of spectacular aerobatics and flying demonstrations. Visitors will also have the opportunity to learn more about model aircrafts and get up close with some phenomenal displays...