PAUL TIERNEY
SUBMISSIONS—EMAIL: BOB@OCLIFE.COM.AU // POST: ‘LETTERS’—SUITE 3, 241 LORDS PLACE, ORANGE NSW 2800
THE WORD OF ORANGE
A Heck of a Movie The saying usually goes “Heaven must have a heck of a rock band”, but the movies up there must be pretty good, too.
W
e all have to go sometime but, touch wood, both you and me have a few more years in us yet. 2016 has had more than its share of musicians and major movie and TV stars passing away, with one who passed away this week being the catalyst for this column. The new year rolled around with news that Lemmy, the lead singer of hard rock band Motorhead had passed away. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but boy did he rock it. All those musicians up there will now be super organised, with the passing of the Fifth Beatle, George Martin giving structure, production and promotion to all the gigs held behind the Pearly Gates. My brain sees ‘life’ in heaven finishing everyday with a massive concert, kind-of like the Live Aid Concerts of the 80s, where all the classic musicians who have passed on would perform a song each night. That evening concert got better this year, as music legends like country singer Merle Haggard, Eagles frontman Glenn Frey, the Thin White Duke David Bowie, master lyricist Leonard Cohen and of course one of my all-time go to musicians, Prince having all passed on. I was lucky enough to see the Purple One a few years ago in Sydney, and we’d hung around for about 45 minutes after the show having a beer, when he came back out on stage to say “wanna hear some more, we’re not tired yet!” The encore each night in Heaven will be a beaut. Arnold Palmer and Ali would headline the losses the sporting world felt this year. I hope that when we pass on, we regain all of our powers in the afterlife – Ali has
CHANGE OF PRESIDENT Farewell Florence suffered enough over the past 20 years, and I’m sure Arnie would love to hit the green on the par 5 in two shots again too. Which brings me to the actors who moved on this year. Wow, so many of my favourites are no longer with us. When I first saw the Die Hard movie, I thought that Hans Gruber was the best baddie ever. Then Alan Rickman went on to become immortalised as Snape in the Harry Potter movies. Rest in Peace, Severus. Willy Wonka was the first movie my family saw twice at the cinema, Gene Wilder was that good. He’ll always be the one who brought Roald Dahl’s character to life exactly as it should have been. Like all the rest of you out there who were/are obsessed with everything Star Wars, I’m sure you shed a tear when the small-ofstature Kenny Baker passed away this year, after a career crammed inside the tin-can that was R2-D2. The endless amount of chauffeuring to a million hockey games and other events over many years saw me nickname my daughter ‘Lady Penelope’, as she sat in the back of my car and I drove, just like Parker in the Thunderbirds. This year, the voice of Lady Penelope, and co-creator of the original Thunderbirds Sylvia Anderson died. Her legend will forever live on as dads emulate Parker, and little girls are happily driven to endless hockey games. Perhaps the saddest of all came just last week, as the actress who played the greatest TV mom of all time, Florence Henderson died at the age of 83. You do know who I’m talking about, don’t you? Yes, Florence was Carol from the Brady Bunch (sob). Heaven will just that little bit brighter from now on, and Carol will live on as the re-runs of the best 22 minutes of TV ever get shown for hundreds of years come.
Paul Tierney hosts a weekly radio program on Monday from 5-7pm on 107.5 Community FM
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DECEMBER 1–7, 2016
At the recent AGM of the Orange Residents and Ratepayers Association Inc., President Colin Young agreed to make way for new leadership. Tony Mileto was elected to the position of President. Mr. Young thanked the members for their support over the last four and half years, and encouraged them to continue to monitor the activities and decision making of Orange City Council. He also thanked the publican of Kelly’s Hotel, Mr Bill Kelly for allowing the Association to use its premises to conduct meetings. The new President, Tony Mileto, acknowledged the past efforts of the outgoing executive committee. He believes the work of the Residents and Ratepayers Association is vital to ensure that Orange City Council remains accountable and acts in
a transparent manner. “People should not feel uncomfortable, apprehensive or intimidated by the prospect of having a conversation with Councillors about any issue. There needs to be some scrutiny of Orange City Councils processes and decision making. The Residents and Ratepayers Association is well equipped to provide an independent voice for residents and ratepayers. The Council needs to listen to genuine concerns and respond to correspondence about those concerns in a timely manner. The Council guidelines can be difficult to understand and can be ambiguous. However, I do believe that the Orange Residents and Ratepayers Association and Council can work collaboratively” he said. Mr. Mileto encourages any new ideas on improving communications between residents and ratepayers and the Council. “Many people are either not confident with public speaking or unable to attend Council meetings but would welcome the opportunity to provide
their ideas. The Residents and Ratepayers Association can provide that voice which would assist the development of the region”, he said.Mr. Mileto is concerned that there has been a lack of information from State Government or Local Council about the proposed forced merger of Local Councils. The Residents and Ratepayers Association believes this will negatively impact • ratepayers by increases in rates and levies • the interests and voices of ratepayers in the smaller villages • funding for projects that have already received approval, and • funding for future infrastructure and building projects. The Residents and Ratepayers Association holds meetings at Kelly’s Hotel on the first Wednesday of each month at 7pm. It is a forum where residents can openly discuss any issue that is within Council’s responsibility without fear of reprisal. Contact can also be made via email at orra2800@ gmail.com
Letters will be published at our discretion and may be edited for space reasons.
VERY BADMAN
WITH CARTOONIST MIKE BADMAN