Life

Michelle Daw. The worst of winter ills is yet to come, along with further pain in our hospitals as staff struggle to cope. That’s the warning from groups representing doctors and nurses, as the Code Yellow crisis in public hospitals drags on.

Jenny Pollard. Team and individual members of the Red Cross Buloke Emergency Services Team were recognised with exemplary awards at the May 28, presentations held at Government House in Melbourne ... As the recipients of the Distinguished Team Award, the citation listed the extensive outreach which this small, but determined group has imparted over the years.

Following a spike in drug-related crime, local police are cracking down on drugs in the Buloke region, targeting suppliers and traffickers in particular, in an effort to reduce the negative impact drugs make on the wider community. Charlton’s Senior Constable Will Ringin relocated to the area around a year ago ... brings with him a fighting passion as well as particular skills and experience to deliver results in a rural setting.

Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli’s call to the Queensland Government for a lifeline following Bonza Airline’s closure has been met with a positive step forward ... The Fund will support direct Jetstar flights from Sunshine Coast Airport to Auckland all year round, starting in December.

The piano is often considered the ‘King of Instruments’ as no other instrument covers all 88 notes of the frequency range and its number of available octaves is unparalleled.   Its versatility of sound is also beyond compare as it can create sounds as soft as a whisper or as loud and rumbling as a thunderstorm. When pianist and composer Adam Cook sits down to play this most revered of instruments something quite magical happens.

So many people love their garden. Whether it’s just a small plot on an inner-city porch or a sprawling acre or more in a country town, we spend hours, planning planting feeding and trimming and the nicest compliment we can get is to have someone see our creation and exclaim how lovely it looks. The thing is, once the garden is created, it is necessary to keep it in order. Plants are wilful.

Affected CFA Brigades have united in a call for industrial action to achieve demands with respect to the future of their role as firefighters, in view of the Victorian State Government proposed reckless renewables expansion. We consider untenable the risks to lives and property, and irreparable damage imposed by proposed installations of High Voltage Transmission Lines and Renewable Energy Infrastructure.

I hear a train a coming, its rolling round the bend” sang the late great Johnny Cash, and might have been a song that came to mind as the Vinelander rolled into Donald on Friday, June 6, on its way to Mildura as part of the Slow Rail Journey put together by 707 operations based out of the Newport Rail yards in Hobsons’ Bay.

The Naracoorte District Men’s Shed is a vital part of the community, offering men a supportive and productive space. That’s the word from member of the Legislative Council and Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional South Australia, Ben Hood, who visited the members as part of Men’s Health Week last week.

East Greenmount Pilates instructor, Karen Bischof has displayed the benefits of pilates exercise with two wins in the gruelling Gold Coast Spartan competition in the Super and Sprint obstacle races. Spartan obstacle races are a test of endurance and strength fitness with the Super event incorporating 25 obstacles in a 10km run while the Sprint race is over 6.5 km with 20 obstacles.

Narrandera High School Year 12 student, Tahlia Gilbert, has been named Riverina Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander VET Student of the Year for 2024. She now moves on to the state finals. Tahlia is in her final year of her school-based traineeship - Certificate III Human Services with Murrumbidgee Local Health District working at the Narrandera Hospital.

Gemma Purcell. When your father is a physicist it’s hard to avoid experiments and well known Narrandera artist, performer, musician, teacher and conductor Lizzie Walsh happily confesses to being an experiment. "Dad wanted a classical musician in the family, so when my parents were expecting me, he was forever steering Mum’s belly toward the Mozart or Beethoven on the record player. I think it worked!"

These plantings are held each autumn and assist in bushfire recovery, bank stabilisation and improved water quality for us all. This year, the collective action in the Upper Murray by volunteers from around the state has led to the planting of 3,200 trees along the Nariel and Thowgla Creeks over four days.

The community is invited to a service at 11am on Sunday July 14th to commemorate the centenary of the Cudgewa Holy Trinity Anglican Church. The service will be officiated by Bishop Clarence Bester from the Wangaratta Diocese and followed by a luncheon in the Cudgewa Hall.

“At the pivotal point of Pfizer's vaccine approval in December 2020, there was a gross misrepresentation in what was presented publicly. Instead of the six deaths publicly disclosed, four placebo, two vaccinated, suggesting a benefit of vaccination, there were in fact 11 deaths, with more deaths in the vaccinated arm, six. We found undisclosed deaths, especially in the vaccinated arm of this clinical trial, in contravention to legal and ethical obligations of trial sponsors": Dr Jeyanthi Kunadhasan.

Emily Wan. For country cop Constable Bailey Edgerton there’s no greater reward than making a difference in the community where you live."I feel that special connection with my locals, because they’re the same people I come across on the job and at community functions, and that helps me build trust and rapport with them," Const Edgerton said.

The iconic Club Hotel, renowned for its feature on Selling Houses Australia in 2019 with its striking Porky Hawker beer garden mural, has once again changed hands. This time, it’s under the local ownership of husband and wife team, Steve and Michelle Martin.

Thousands of people were welcomed through the gates of the South Grafton Aerodrome on June 16 as the Grafton Aero Club hosted its popular annual attraction Wings and Wheels for 2024 ... the historic line up of classic and touring cars, hot rods, motorcycles, go-karts, tractors, and vintage engines, with a collection of aircraft including helicopters, gyros, and warbirds...

Sarah Herrmann. This Pride Month has an extra layer of celebration for the Copper Coast Gay Straight Alliance. The alliance has marked five years of providing a safe space for more than 50 local LGBTQIA+ youth and their allies to socialise ... The GSA gives the teenagers a chance to interact freely ... and form a support network ...

Hop Dac was born in Vietnam and came to Australia as a refugee in 1980 and through a series of life events he now has a connection to Birchip through his partner, a daughter of Maree Harris (Rickard). When approached to be involved in the Birchip Art Show in 2024, following some impressive publicity in “The Age” Culture, Art and Design section, Hop said, “I have heard of Birchip thanks to Maree, but also because of the vanilla slices and the Russell Street bombers.”

Jenny Pollard. A lifetime of table tennis service to the Victorian Table Tennis Country Championships saw Charlton’s Bill Freeman recognised with two significant awards ... Showing stellar dedication, Bill has attended every TTVCC event since 1966 – either at the tables as a participant, or in combination with his role as a committee member – a position which he has held for 40 years.

A dedicated healthcare advocate working to help people die with dignity has been named the 2024 Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) Queensland Hero ... Jodi Hamilton, the Cairns region Local Hero, is the overall Queensland Hero for 2024 for her exceptional work in enhancing palliative care services.