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North East Regional Extra, Wednesday, January 29, 2025 - Page 1
January 29 - February 4, 2025
Mother-son pair eager to be SES Wangaratta’s newest recruits
By BAILEY ZIMMERMANN AS a storm wreaked havoc in and around their Oxley home on January 15 this year, Rebecca Hernandez and her son Max were left to wait for help as trees toppled and their power was cut. That day SES Wangaratta crews responded to a number of callouts for help over five long hours of removing trees from stretches of roads along Oxley, Milawa, Markwood and Tarrawingee which included a pair of serious road accidents. Ms Hernandez said as crews in their bright orange jumpsuits arrived and she and Max watched on from a distance, they felt inspired by the volunteers’ efforts. “A lot of trees were down, we had a power outage, and we saw people in the SES out helping,” she said. “The fact people were willing to give up their time to go and help others dawned on me. ■ Continued Page 6
◆ HERE TO HELP: Son and mother duo Max and Rebecca Hernandez will be two of the SES’ newest recruits as they signed up with the Wangaratta unit last week. PHOTOS: Kurt Hickling
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