Cannabis Botanical Distillery
The past decade has seen a huge rise in gin consumption and one of WA’s newest distilleries is producing this popular spirit using a rather unusual product. The Cannabis Botanical Distillery (CBD) uses, as its name implies, cannabis as its alcohol base ... CBD’s owner, Matt Beaton, says he’d always had a dream to start a distillery and after joining his wife on her parents' 360 hectare Raintree Farm in the Great Southern region, that dream has become a reality.
Pasin praises safety commission for elderly
Chris Oldfield. Member for Barker Tony Pasin has praised the federal authority that sanctioned the Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN) over its management of Naracoorte’s Moreton Bay House. The Commonwealth Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission ruled on May 24 “there is an immediate and severe risk to the safety, health or wellbeing” of residents as reported last week by The News.
New festival format works well for artists, audiences
Serena Kirby. Festival of Voice organisers report good attendance for the start of this year’s extended program, traditionally held over three days of the WA Week weekend. This year’s program is spread across the month’s four weekends.
Time to have your say – pool closure
Kristin Nicholson. Community discussion has centred on the concern for the safety of the town’s youth who will seek out local alternative swimming locations such as creeks and channels, lack of leisure opportunities (including the water slide), lack of, or reduction of, swimming lessons and other organised aquatic-based lessons, and the cost of travelling to other towns or shires to access aquatic facilities.
Vinnies helper for 50 Years
Kristin Nicholson. 50 years is an impressive length of time to be associated with one organisation. That's how long Barham’s Phil Mertz has been involved with the St Vincent de Paul Society, better known as Vinnies. Last month, Phil was recognised for his years of service. Phil began his association with Vinnies in the 1960s when he lived and worked at Hay.
Australian Eggs shores up food security with new technology
Australian Eggs has announced the launch of EggTrace, a new tool designed to help egg farmers trace eggs back from point of purchase to the date and location that the eggs were laid ... By creating full visibility on the path an egg takes from lay to despatch, egg farmers now have the ability to more easily and efficiently identify any quality or health issues affecting eggs, ensuring a safer and more reliable egg supply chain.
Argentinian dishes proving popular in Narrandera
A delay in starting employment has resulted in an Argentinian woman now living in Narrandera turning her hand to cooking familiar South American delicacies to tantalise the taste buds of Narrandera locals. Lourdes Hurt from Cordoba came to Australia two years ago and arrived in Narrandera two months ago in readiness to take up employment at Avonlie Solar Farm.
Tamborine Mountain was awarded top honours at the Queensland Tourism Industry Council’s (QTIC) 2022 Top Tourism Town Awards
The Awards recognise towns whose tourism operators, businesses and community groups work together to encourage tourism and offer outstanding experiences for visitors. Public voters from across Australia and beyond selected Tamborine Mountain as a favourite destination for weddings, honeymoons, special events and extra long weekend adventures.
Festival of Small Halls
Clarence Valley Council's Resilient Clarence project proudly sponsored the Festival of Small Halls at the Wooloweyah Hall on the 26 May and the Dundurrabin Community Centre on the 27 May as part of the Woodfordia Inc Resilience Tour 2022. Using storytelling and music to connect people, the Resilience Tour is travelling to small halls in bushfire impacted communities.
Bring your garden back to life after the flood
Bernice Shepherd. For many of us, getting into the garden is a healing and grounding activity, a balm for the soul. But after devastating floods and relentless wet weather, what was once a beautiful sanctuary or productive food garden has become a muddy, stinky quagmire, no good for growing anything.
Pharmacy manufacturing unit delivers lifesaving treatment
A lifesaving $6.75 million laboratory at Townsville Hospital is manufacturing medications for North Queensland patients. Minister for Health and Ambulance Service Yvette D'Ath visited the pharmacy manufacturing unit, which allows lifesaving care to be delivered closer to home. ‘‘The laboratory produces about 5000 medications a year for patients requiring bone marrow transplants, oncology treatment, clinical trials, autoimmune conditions and intensive care,’’ Minister D’Ath.
ADF vehicles give SES boost
Three state of the art High Clearance Vehicles are now in permanent operation for the NSW State Emergency Service (SES), expanding flood rescue capability by helping volunteers get to hard to reach places. The vehicles, known as Unimogs, have been handed over to the SES by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) after being used on deployment in military operations.
Commonwealth sanctions against Moreton Bay House
Chris Oldfield. The Commonwealth Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has imposed sanctions on Naracoorte’s Moreton Bay House stating “there is an immediate and severe risk to the safety, health or wellbeing” of residents. Following an audit, Moreton Bay House failed 19 of 42 requirements listed under the Commonwealth’s eight industry standards for aged care and safety.
Regional Community Vet Clinic neuters 31 cats on inaugural de-sexing day
In an ambitious endeavour, a group of Central Victorian residents have come together to establish a Regional Community Vet Clinic (RCVC). The goal of this clinic is to support people who are experiencing dire financial situations to care for their companion animals, to run neutering programs and to support and promote the value of companion animals in the community.
Provider fails 19 requirements for Moreton Bay residents
Chris Oldfield. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission found 19 failures as its reasons to impose a “sanction or notice to agree” against the provider of care for Moreton Bay House.
Visiting veterinarian loves Tennant’s relaxed vibe
Kate Foran. Alana Drury has been with us at Barkly Vet for four weeks, and sadly she leaves this weekend. I decided to interview her about her time here. Alana comes from Central West, NSW where she grew up on a 25 acre hobby farm ... She learned how quickly you become a part of the community, given that there’s no easy way to duck ‘back home’ for the weekend, or even on to the next town for dinner, like rural life in other parts of Australia.
Maldonites are Maldon’s biggest asset
Mark Blythe. This Sunday will see another Maldon Swap Meet held at the Maldon Racecourse Reserve; the resurgence of events post COVID speaks volumes for the resilience and dedication of Maldon’s army of organisers and volunteers. A lot of rural and regional towns are very busy trying to pick up the pieces of their event industries after the wilderness years of COVID, but Maldon has managed to keep all of their events ticking over during the last two years, in one form or another, even if they were just on life support.
Free tickets for Northern Rivers Conservatorium visiting artists program
The Northern Rivers Conservatorium Executive Director Anita Bellman is thrilled to announce that there will be free tickets for all flood-affected members of our community to attend the Northern Rivers Conservatorium (NRC) 2022 Visiting Artist program, made possible with the support of its friends at Musica Viva and Southern Cross University.
Byron Bay wildlife sanctuary
A new and exciting chapter has begun for the iconic Macadamia Castle located in the Byron Bay Hinterland, with the recent purchase by not-for-profit organisation Wildlife Recovery Australia (WRA). WRA is a joint venture between Odonata Foundation and Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital. WRA has been working for some months on the smooth transition from the locally known and loved Macadamia Castle to The Byron Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Milestone reached by Healthy Kids bus stop
The award-winning developmental screening program Healthy Kids Bus Stop makes regular visits to Murrumbidgee Local Health District and last week reached a major milestone, with the 1000th child screened in the District since visits began in 2015. The Healthy Kids Bus Stop aims to improve the health and wellbeing of children aged three to five years living in rural and remote communities through early detection of lifestyle risk factors, delayed development and/or illness.
Is rural sport on death’s door?
Kendall Jennings. Unfortunately, my mind always takes a wander; I tend to overthink things and get stuck in my head. Hello, mental illness. One thing that has been on my mind recently is the decline in participation in community sport ... Over the past 12 months, I have realised that local football is not like it was 20 years ago.
Clarence Valley comes together to Close the Gap
Emma Pritchard. Communities from across the region, including more than 900 local school students, came together at the Maclean Showground on June 2 to attend the Clarence Valley Close the Gap Day 2022, and spread the message of the importance of embracing and achieving equality in the health, education, justice and employment aspects of First Nations people.
