TANTALISING TRANSFORMATION
At the Tooleybuc Sporting Club the chef has delivered more than a weekly special.
As a local of the area and member of the Tooleybuc Sporting Club it has been a pleasure to be cooked for by our new chef Camilla.
The clubs bistro has transformed from a bastion of old school club nosh into a tantalising treat every time we dine. The new menu is bold, flavoursome and refreshing while also keeping the classic favourites. To add more to the mix there are the changing specials and fantastic deals for lunch and dinners. As someone who eats out in Melbourne and across Swan Hill regularly I would like to congratulate the Tooleybuc Sporting Club for moving forward and bringing in a visionary and exciting chef to take the club forward to a new dining experience. As a local I feel the need to invite everyone in the district to the join us.
Erin Jonasson
Goodnight, NSW
WAKE UP ON WATER
AS I was lying awake in bed this morning the beautiful sound of rain continued to pitter patter on the roof. It had been doing so for hours; God bless the rain.
I lay there reflecting on the constant feedback we receive from scientists and politicians about climate change and the need for humankind to save and effectively use our water because, they tell us, it is going to become increasingly scarce.
As a farmer who proudly grows food for Australians and others around the world I have learned the value of water and the need to ensure we use it efficiently.
So it was with sad reflection I kept listening to the rain and pondered the scandalous waste of this precious resource which today has become the norm.
We store water in the Hume and Dartmouth Dams, then send it all the way down the Murray Drain (which used to be an iconic river), with massive losses from evaporation and seepage along the way.
It reaches the huge lakes near the sea in South Australia, where we lose the equivalent of 1.6 Sydney Harbours worth of water every year. And what’s left pours out into the ocean.
Some of our biggest businessmen, including Hungry Jacks’ founder Jack Cowin, in past weeks have spoken about the folly of pouring water into the sea.
The Australian Agricultural Company chief executive Hugh Killen this week spoke about the potential of harvesting water that goes out to sea.
But our politicians don’t listen. They continue allowing waste and mismanagement because fixing the problem might cost them votes; we can’t have that, can we.
Maybe I’ll fall asleep while I’m listening to the rain, and when I wake up the water mismanagement nightmare that myself and so many others have been living for over a decade will be nothing but a bad dream.
But I think that is unlikely because at this point we do not have politicians with the courage to fix it, nor an MDBA (Murray Darling Basin Authority) with the courage to call out the failings and advocate for change.
For the sake of our nation’s future I can only pray that one day they will wake up to their folly.
Kathy Smits
Deniliquin, NSW
APPALLED AT PROPOSAL
AS members of Nyah Two Bays Swimming Club (NTBSC) we are appalled by the proposal of replacing our 50 metre pool with a 25 metre outdoor pool. This would highlight our councils neglect of hearing what the community want and need, and also mean the likely demise of yet another small club and recreational group in our town who provide the valuable health benefits of being active.
Having competitive swimmers in our family we already have to go out of town to compete because our facilities are not up to scratch, removing the competition size pool would mean that we could not host local carnivals, we could not host school swimming events and the community would be serviced by a grossly inadequate facility.
Our swimming club has a long and strong history of voluntary service and excellent team and individual results for athletes living in an isolated community of Swan Hills size. To remove the training and competition pool would not only ruin any possibility of our swimmers being able to compete at the level they currently do, around the state, but would also limit the choice of being a competitive swimmer growing up in Swan Hill.
Can I suggest that our councillors visit the pool during a school day in the summer period to see how the attendees could run their vital swimming programs in a 25 metre facility with the current number of students at one time? This is after all a government requirement for students to attend a learn to swim program. Maybe our councillors could visit the 25 metre pool on any given evening to see how squashed for space swimmers are during a NTBSH club squad training session; already trying to fit in an aerobics session and recreational swimmers lanes. It is problematic and the 50 metre outdoor pool at least elevates this issue in the warmer period. Unfortunately without heating blankets and adequate starting blocks the outdoor pool in not ideal for training sessions which last 90 minutes and include young children who can not tolerate the cold water for such periods.
Perhaps the proposal should include the necessity of heating blankets to warm the water for extended use during months either side of the summer. Perhaps the proposal should include the inclusion of adequate and up to date starters blocks to increase the likelihood of clubs hosting competitions in our area and to attract visitors. Perhaps the proposal should include adequate shade for visitors to the pool to sit and relax while they supervise their children. Perhaps your proposal should include a 50 metre competition pool at the Leisure Centre location to fully service the needs and wants of our competitive swimmers already fighting the odds living in the country and doing well in their chosen sport.
Regards,
Lea, Ross, Alivia, Mason and Ryan Andrews
Nyah Two Bays Swimming Club
COSTLY MOVE
VICTORIAN households will bear the cost of the Andrews Labor Government’s move to go-it-alone on energy projects.
Labor has made a mess of Victoria’s energy network, leaving us with an unreliable supply and sent prices skyrocketing.
In a panicked attempt to paper over the cracks, Labor’s Energy Minister has introduced changes to state parliament that will give the minister the power to bypass critical checks and balances applied by the national energy framework.
The framework exists to ensure the nation’s energy infrastructure, and new projects, work together to provide a reliable and affordable power supply.
Victoria going it alone risks leaving Victorian households with a more unstable and unreliable power supply and even higher power bills.
Victorians are paying the price for the mess Labor has created in our energy network.
Peter Walsh
PANIC BUYING
WITH the advent of the coronavirus scare, a lot of people have been panic buying, leaving many supermarket shelves bare.
Whilst various types of food have been disappearing, it seems that the most sought-after item of all is toilet paper, to the extent that some customers have even ended up in fighting over it.
Many have found it hard to obtain that humble product.
I went to the local supermarket
To buy my weekly supplies,
But things had been quite crazy —
Empty shelves there met my eyes
All the toilet rolls and tissues
Had simply vanished — disappeared —
Just because of some new virus,
Which a lot of people feared
Farewell rolled oats, and white rice,
As well as other types of food —
For panickers had grabbed the lot,
Which, to me, was downright rude
Whilst I understand the panic buying,
And people caught up in that caper,
I really wish, for the love of God,
That they’d leave me some toilet paper!
— Andrew Guild
THUMBS DOWN
A THUMBS down this week for The Guardian as it failed to cover the one event in our shire that brings in millions of dollars to our economy.
I’m talking about the Robinvale 80 Ski Race .
If the Echuca paper ignored the Southern 80 like you have there would be an outcry.
The same boats and competitors all race in the same races, Southern 80, Robinvale 80, and the Mildura 100 at Easter.
These people deserve more respect for the dangerous sport they compete in and the massive boost they add to the economies of each shire.
No photos, no stories, no interviews, didn’t even rate a mention in the What’s On section so people could go to it.
Also no story on who even won.
For those interested StrikeForce won the event.
I know Ski Racing Victoria have a responsibility to supply some information, but it is also up to you to know what’s going on.
That way reporters and photographers can be allocated equally across events and not just those happening in Swan Hill.
This is not the only year this has happened, so lift your game Guardian.
Coralie Nicholls
Lake Boga
