2019 May 16th RUR.POL.Feature

BE HEALTH SMART

Spinal Health Week SAT 25TH MAY - FRI 31ST MAY 2019 SPINAL Health Week, formerly known as National Chiropractic Care Week, is sponsored by the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia (CAA).

This event raise awareness about spinal health & how poor posture can affect a persons life. This week is a chance to promote good posture which can prevent future health problems.

Spinal Health & The Nervous System The spine covers and protects the spinal cord of the nervous system. The nervous system controls every cell, tissue and organ in the body. Poor posture can cause the spine to go out of its natural alignment, affecting the ability of the nervous system to control body functions.

If the spine is out of alignment, even

just slightly, pressure may be put on the spinal nerve disrupting the nervous system. A study by Dr. Suh at the University of Colorado showed that a small pressure on the spinal nerve, as little as the weight of a dime, can reduce nerve function by 60 percent.

Effects Of Poor Posture Include: • Back Pain • Joint & Muscles Disorders • Spine Problems • Fatigue • Headache • Rounded Shoulders Around 90% of people have poor posture; this could be caused by the way a person sits at work, does things at home, or carries things the wrong way.

Chinese medicine CHINESE medicine practitioners diagnose and realign a disharmony in the body and bring it back to balance. It is not the aim of Traditional Chinese medicine to cure a specific biomedical disease.

We work on harmony within the ‘Qi’ within the body. Qi can be translated as life force or vital air. As our breath sends oxygen to the lungs and blood saturates our body, working on the Qi improves blood circulation.

Chinese medicine can help all aspects of health and wellness.

Agnes commonly helps with pain and stress relief, headaches, insomnia, digestive and hormo-

AGNES KIM

Registered Acupuncturist Private health fund rebates nal issues (menopause, fertility).

Agnes Kim Registered Acupuncturist is practicing in Innisfail and Tully at Cassowary Chiropractic. She utilises a range of treatments to target your concerns. (Traditional and Laser Acupuncture, Cupping therapy and Chinese Herbal medicine)

Traditional & Laser Acupuncture Cupping Therapy Holistic treatments, healing & pain relief

Tully: Tuesday and Saturday Innisfail: Wednesday and Friday

0474 531 775

Celebrating

Tina Balomenos, Lina Lui and Nick Adhearn

Is excess screen time affecting your posture? can result in injury.

By breaking the habit of phone-checking, and maintaining correct posture when engaging in screen time, it is possible to significantly reduce stress on the spine.

According to the article, good posture not only has the potential to prevent neck and back pain, but may also be beneficial for overall health and mood.

To reduce the likelihood of screen time negatively affecting your posture, a few simple tips can be followed. These include raising your phone to your face rather than tilting the head down, being conscious about posture and keeping your neck straight, and storing your phone in your bag to limit screen time. If you are already suffering from neck or back problems, you can visit a chiropractor for advice and/or treatment. They can offer treatment options and advice on how to implement better posture techniques, not only to improve your current situation but also to minimize the risk of injury in the future.

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DID you know that the average Australian spends approximately 2.5 hours on their mobile phone every day?

If you don’t think that includes you, think about how many times you reach for it to check the time, only to quickly browse through your emails as well. Or how about that quick tap on the screen multiple times a day to see whether anyone has been in touch? The time all adds up, and while smartphones have added an incredible amount of convenience to our lives, they may also be contributing to spinal troubles.

Substantial strain is put on the neck every time you tilt your head forward to check your mobile device. According to a recent article in Surgical Technology International, tilting the head forward by just 15 degrees can put a strain of up to 12 kg on the neck. At 30 degrees, that load equates to 18 kg, and at 60 degrees the neck must withstand a staggering 27 kg.

In other words, the greater the angle, the more intense the strain. Over time, this

SPINAL HEALTH WEEK We have 3 fully Qualified Chiropractors

Phone 4032 0619 Cassowary Coast Independent News, Thursday, May 16, 2019 Page 11

COMMUNITY NEWS Ensuring you make a habit of locking the doors and windows of the house. If you are going to leave windows open for ventilation, ensure they have proper security screens or other security devices fitted and operating.

Drugs located, Innisfail: Police charged a 42-year-old Bentley Park woman on Tuesday evening with a number of drug related offences.

Police stopped to check on the welfare of the woman around 5pm as she was at the Jack Fossey Park, with a number of bags.

Whilst the officers were speaking with her she allegedly appeared very jittery and her behaviour was erratic whilst speaking with the officers.

It will be alleged the officers located and seized a number of drug utensils, dangerous drugs and restricted drugs including cannabis, a number of LSD tablets and methylamphetamine.

She was charged with three counts of possessing dangerous drug, two counts of unlawful possession of restricted drugs, and one count each of possessing relevant substance, and possessing drug utensils.

She is scheduled to appear at the Innisfail Magistrates Court on May 20.

Found property, Innisfail: Edith Street:

The pictured property was located in a car ashtray that was left at the Edith Street carwash around 5pm Sunday afternoon.

If you attended the carwash over the weekend we suggest you check to ensure you have collected everything.

The pictured Southern Star bike was located in the driveway of a Mourilyan Road address, it had been left there overnight between May 4 and 5.

The bike is a Southern Star brand.

Anyone who may recognise the above items is encouraged to call the Innisfail Police property section on 4061 5777 between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday and quote the corresponding police reference numbers.

Stolen vehicle, Innisfail: Police are investigating the theft of a vehicle from a Glady Street address.

During the night of May 10, entry was made to the Glady Street address and property including car keys were stolen.

At around 1.30am on May 13, entry was gained to the vehicle with the car keys, and the vehicle was moved, however, the vehicle was left in the driveway after it collided with a wall.

Police urge anyone with any information to contact police and quote QP1900926707.

Police would like to remind residents to ensure they have secured their home and vehicle to deter opportunistic thefts.

Ways you can do this include: not leaving keys in obvious places around the house, most offenders are looking for easy access to houses and will only look in obvious spots for keys Avoiding placing car keys on coffee tables, kitchen benches, and dining room tables which will assist in limiting the theft of the keys

Speeding, Bilyana: A 30-year-old White Rock man was issued with a $609 traffic infringement notice on Sunday afternoon.

It will be alleged he was travelling along the Bruce Highway at 132km/h in a 100km/h zone when he was intercepted at around 3pm.

Boogan: Police intercepted a 44-year-old Milla Milla woman at approximately 1.30pm on South Johnstone Road.

It will be alleged she was travelling at 99km/h in a 60km/h zone. She was issued with a $609 traffic infringement notice.

Stolen vehicle, Silky Oak: Mission Beach Police are investigating the theft of a Toyota Landcruiser and a dual axel box trailer from a Deluca Road business on May 12.

At around 7.30am, entry was allegedly gained to an office area and a shipping container at the business and a number of power tools and electronic equipment were stolen.

The vehicle also stolen from the premises is described as a white 1997 Toyota Landcruiser with a white steel tray and a black roof.

Police urge anyone with any information to contact police and quote QP1900922440.

Armed man charged,Tully: A 51-year-old Tully man was charged with possession of weapon under the influence of liquor or drug on Sunday evening.

At around 11.30pm, police located the man walking along Bryant Street carrying a long bow with a pouch over his shoulder with a number of arrows protruding from it.

He is scheduled to appear at the Tully Magistrates Court on May 30.

Four vehicle traffic crash, Fitzgerald Creek: Innisfail Police are investigating after four vehicles collided at roadworks on the Bruce Highway near Upper Daradgee Road on Wednesday afternoon.

Initial investigations suggest three of the vehicles were stationary at a manned stop sign when a 71-year-old Belvedere man driving a white Toyota Hilux has failed to stop and has collided into the rear of a Nissan Patrol, pushing that car forward causing two more vehicles to be damaged.

The driver of the Nissan Patrol sustained minor injuries.

Located stolen vehicle, Hudson: A Gold 1992 Toyota station wagon that was stolen from a Moresby Road address between May 1 and May 2, was located in a sugar cane field on Laurie Street at 4pm Thursday afternoon.

Police urge anyone with any information to contact police and quote police reference QP1900852576.

If you have information for police, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.

You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, by calling 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld. com.au 24hrs per day.

Give way to emergency vehicles Electricians support Parliamentary move against new solar farm laws JANE MORAN: SENIOR CONSTABLE | CASSOWARY COAST CRIME PREVENTION

POLICE, fire and ambulance vehicles are all emergency vehicles.

If an emergency vehicle is coming towards you and their sirens are sounding or they have their flashing lights on, you must move out its path as soon as you can do so safely.

You should: slow down move left to give the vehicle a clear run down the middle of the road. If you can’t move left safely, stay where you are and let the emergency vehicle overtake you not move your vehicle suddenly not drive into the path of the emergency vehicle.

The law allows you to drive onto the wrong side of the road or drive through a red traffic

light to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle if it is safe to do so.

However giving way to emergency vehicles should always be done with the utmost care and with the safety of yourself and all other road users as a priority.

Emergency vehicles at intersections Emergency vehicles often stop or slow down when they enter intersections to check if they can pass through safely.

You must give way to an emergency vehicle that is sounding an alarm or showing flashing red or blue lights. This applies even if you are facing a green traffic light or arrow and the emergency vehicle appears to have stopped or slowed down.

Watch out for emergency vehicles by looking ahead and checking your mirrors regularly.

Penalties of $304 apply if you don’t give way to emergency vehicles.

MASTER Electricians Australia endorses moves by the Queensland Opposition to have State Parliament disallow new regulations covering solar farm installations.

MEA Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Richards said the while the Government had spoken with industry about the changes, the final regulation was vastly different to what industry had been told would be implemented.

“These new regulations add nothing but red tape to solar farm installations. They don’t enhance safety, they don’t improve performance and they don’t boost clean energy production,” Mr Richards said.

“What they will do is drive up the cost of building a new solar farm, and tie up electrical businesses in unnecessary regulation.

“And by requiring electricians to perform work that has traditionally been done by trades assis-

tants – lifting solar panels into place – they are already leading to job losses in some sectors off the industry.”

Mr Richards said although it was in the shortterm commercial interests of electricians to have exclusive rights to lift solar panels, it was not in the long-term interest of the wider industry.

“Our members didn’t do a four-year electrical apprenticeship so they could lift heavy solar panels. They want to be part of an efficient and productive solar industry in Queensland.

“The Government promised to consult with the industry, and paid lip service to that idea. But the devil is always in the detail, and now we can see the detail is no good.

Master Electricians Australia supports the disallowance motion. Parliament should scrap this regulation and start again.”

Cassowary Coast Independent News, Thursday, May 16, 2019 Page 17

RURAL REPORT

Cane growers’ ground-breaking trials reduce fertiliser rates A group of innovative Wet Tropics cane growers collectively reduced their bagged fertiliser use by 613 tonnes last year – the equivalent of 25 semi-trailer loads.

Thirty-three growers, including Tully landholders, are trialling new practices to improve productivity and sustainability as part of Project Catalyst, a program that supports cane growers to find ways to improve the quality of water leaving their farms.

Changed farming practices range from no-tillage crop planting to using biological stimulants, mixed-species cover crops and sub-surface mill mud as ways to improve soil health.

Terrain NRM’s Project Catalyst coordinator Michael Waring said the group’s growers had collectively reduced nitrogen use by more than 120,000kg and phosphorous use by 70,000kg in 2018.

“This is the ninth year that the program has been running in the Wet Tropics,’’ he said.

“Over that period, 45 grow-

ers have been part of it and they’ve run 80 trials on their farms.

“Many are still underway but some are already helping to more widely change farming practices in the cane industry.”

Mr Waring said growers’ trials of mixed-species cover crops and sub-surface mill mud application were leading to positive results that were gaining the attention of the industry and external research bodies.

“Mixed-species cover-cropping is the next step on from planting one species such as soybean or cowpeas on land that was traditionally left bare in the fallow period,’’ he said.

“This is something that Wet Tropics growers are pioneering for the cane industry, to improve soil health for the next cane crop through diversity and, in doing so, reduce the need for inorganic fertilisers.

“Results have been positive and these trials will now be backed-up by two external research bodies, one of them with funding for a 10-year project to examine the effects of different

species mixes on soil health.” tion to improve productivity er people who are trying new sure big changes to soil health He said trials of sub-surface and environmental outcomes. practices, seeing what they are in two or three years,’’ he said. mill mud were showing poten“We have access to peo- doing and seeing things starttial for improved soil health ple with different skill-sets ing to be picked up around the “It takes six years for a sugar and water quality flowing to throughout the trials and it’s area.” cane crop cycle, so a lot of work the Great Barrier Reef. The also about networking at a Mr Waring said research mill by-product, which is high grower level, talking with oth- was ongoing. “You can’t mea- goes into practice change.” in organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorous, is traditionally spread on top of the soil.

“Applying it beneath the surface means reduced potential for loss in a high rainfall event, and the cane roots benefit from the nutrients more quickly,’’ he said.

The Project Catalyst program also supports Mackay-Whitsunday and Burdekin growers, and is a partnership of the Australian Government, WWF, The Coca-Cola Foundation and natural resource management bodies Terrain NRM, NQ Dry Tropics and Reef Catchments.

Ingham cane grower Michael Reinaudo said Project Catalyst gave growers confidence to innovate. The fourth-generation cane farm- Terrain NRM Project Catalyst coordinator Michael Waring says farmer innovations are reducing bagged er has trialled variable-rate fertiliser use and helping to protect the Great Barrier Reef. sub-surface fertiliser applica-

Locals Star in New TV Campaign

FOUR Tully locals star in a new television campaign which is airing during the World Rafting Championships, showcasing a “raft of reasons” to look after our waterways and environment.

Clarence Kinjun, Peter Salleras, Vince Nicotra and Hannah O’Kane all share their unique perspectives on how Tully locals are looking after the landscapes.

Wet Tropics cane grower Vince Nicotra is one of several farmers hosting demonstration sites on their farms to assess what practices make a difference to water quality and why, as well as any associated im-

pacts on yield and profit.

“There are no better stewards of the land than the people who are working on it,” Mr Nicotra says. “This is my home and my community and so, like most farmers, I want to do what’s right and make sure we leave it in good shape.”

Carole Sweatman, CEO of Terrain NRM, said the World Rafting Championships were a great opportunity to highlight some of the work happening in the Tully district to improve water quality.

“There’s so much change happening on the ground that often goes unrecognised so we wanted to

celebrate some of these successes and show the rest of the community how people care about our Wet Tropics environment and what they’re doing to help protect the Great Barrier Reef,” Ms Sweatman said.

Clarence, Peter, Vince and Hannah are involved in the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project, a reef water quality program in the Tully and Johnstone. The project is focused on reducing the amount of nutrients, sediments and pesticides flowing to the Great Barrier Reef, while ensuring that regional communities are sustainable into the future.

It is funded by the Queens-

land Government through the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.

The campaign is airing on Channel 7, Channel 9 and WIN, until the 20 May. The videos are also viewable on the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project Facebook page, and on Terrain NRM’s social

This week’s IRF World Rafting Championships in Tully are putting the spotlight on the Tully River - renowned for its white water rafting but just as much a hotspot for water quality innovations to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

The Tully region’s high rainfall and fast river flows create conditions that make it challenging for land users.

Peter Lucy, Manager of Tully Canegrowers, said the rafting competition was an opportunity to communicate some of the work going on in the region to improve water quality.

“Tully relies on a productive and profitable agricultural industry - it’s the lifeblood of our community.

But our climate and geography mean we need to bal-

ance the needs of sustainable farming businesses with our impacts on the environment,” Mr Lucy said.

“Many of our local farmers are involved in industry and reef programs that are helping them make changes to farming practices to benefit water quality. It’s not just time and effort that’s being put in, but significant investment from their own pockets too.”

“Farming’s not the easiest game in the world. Farmers are generally trying to farm more sustainably, and trying to do that without going broke,” Mr Lucy said.

Several government-funded programs are bringing investment into the region through grants opportunities for landholders, technical support and training

and education, and this is helping to accelerate farm practice changes already happening in the region.

Alex Lindsay, Extension Officer with the Wet Tropics Sugar Industry Partnership (WTSIP), is working with cane growers in the Tully district as part of the Australian Government’s Reef Trust III program.

“We’re working with growers to develop customised nutrient management plans, which is not only improving water quality but also making farming systems more profitable and sustainable for the long term,” he said.

“With 3000-4000mm of rainfall a year, it’s a real challenge for growers to feed the crops and not lose nutrients, so nutrient management plans are not just

about what fertiliser you use but how you use it. We want to address constraints to maximise the uptake of applied nutrients.”

A number of other programs are also supporting farmers across industries to innovate and trial new machinery or practices that focus on improving water quality, profitability and sustainability.

The IRF World Rafting Championships will run from 13-20 May 2019. For more information about the championships visit www. wrc2019.com

Tully a hotspot for water quality innovation

Page 20 Cassowary Coast Independent News, Thursday, May 16, 2019

The Cane Crushing Season is about to start

THE 2019 crushing season is planned to commence on Tuesday, 28 May 2019 (weather permitting). Pre-season operations have commenced and Tully Sugar locomotives have been delivering empty cane bins across its cane railway network since Tuesday 14 May. This provides pre-season on the job training for new loco crew starters and at the same time placement of bins in sidings in readiness for the 2019 crushing season.

This year as in the past Tully Sugar takes added safety precautions for cane trains traversing the rail network for the first time prior to crushing season operations.

This includes reduced travel speeds along the mainline track and speed restrictions for our trains when approaching and crossing our cane railway level crossings and occupational crossings.

It is a timely reminder to motorists, cyclists, school children, pedestrians, local residents and tourists to our region to “Beware of Cane Trains “ It is a sad reality that accidents involving Cane Trains can end tragically.

There will be an increasing presence of trains on the cane rail network and Tully Sugar asks that people be more alert when approaching our railway crossings.

Look out For Trains Follow the signage located at our passive railway level crossings (They are the sign posted level crossings without flashing lights.)

Stop at the active railway level crossings when the lights are flashing.

Pedestrians including school children are to cross the cane railway corridor, especially through town at the existing road level crossings.

Tully Sugar also participates in a North Queensland Safety Train Awareness program which includes both local radio and television stations extending from the Mackay Region through to Mossman.

This is a collaborative partnership between Wilmar, Mackay Sugar and Tully Sugar.

These advertisements will start in early June and will continue through to December.

A simple safety message for all of us to bear in mind as we go about our daily activities whether it be going to work or school or just out to collect the mail is: “Play it safe, stay away from cane trains “ Tom Peatey Cane Supply and Transport Manager Tully Sugar Limited.