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Two Wells & Districts
Est 1978
November 2013
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THIS IS WHY WE ARE YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER! NOW HOME DELIVERED IN ANGLE C o p ie s e a c h m o n th VALE AND VIRGINIA in th e lo c a l a re a
Two Wells CFS captain joins our relief crews in NSW bushfire battle:
Adam answers the call REPORT: Bec O’Brien
Leaving his young family behind to head interstate to fight the devastating Blue Mountain bushfires was not easy, but Two Wells CFS captain, Adam Harris, says he’d do it again if the call went out. Adam - the only Two Wells CFS member - and around 150 CFS fire fighters from around the state flew to New South Wales on Tuesday October, 22, to help relieve and support Rural Fire Service personnel who had been battling the blaze for nearly a week. It was the third contingent of South Australian volunteers to head interstate to assist in the bushfires, with the RFS firies tired and exhausted from fighting one of Australia’s worst bushfire disasters, which has devastated mountain countryside and destroyed more than 200 homes. Based in Penrith, about and hourand-a-half from the fires, Adam says the experience was eye-opening, with the sheer size of the fire, and the logistics of fighting it a timely reminder of what can happen when large quantities of dry bush land and strong winds combine.
n ADAM Harris in the Blue Mountains, with fires behind him – and safely back at home with his wife Chantel and children Carla and Blake. “We did get the big winds they were expecting (last Wednesday),” he said. “But it didn’t impact as bad as they had initially predicted.” While not fighting at the fire’s front, Adam and other volunteers
assisted local fire fighters in back burning efforts and also attended a new fire, which broke out due to a lighting strike. Dense bush land meant access was difficult, and Adam said the volunteers worked in strike teams
of five trucks consisting of about 25 people. “I wasn’t concerned at all,” Adam said. “Once I saw what we were dealing with and the fact that I wouldn’t be at the fire front, I was okay.”
Waiting at the family home in Two Wells, it was a different story for his wife, Chantel and young children Carla, 8, and Blake, 6, especially the first night Adam was deployed. n Continued Page 12
Ernie and Ken lap up glory It took less than 40 seconds for Lewiston greyhound trainer, Ken Gill’s life to change when his dog Ernie Bung Arrow won the $75,000 Triple M Adelaide Cup at Angle Park on October 10. • The pair are pictured with their Adelaide Cup trophy at Ken’s training track. “Ernie” as he is affectionately known, was the youngest dog in the race, and at just 23 months old has won nearly $120,000 in prize money
since he first raced in June this year, winning 14 of 15 starts – until a defeat in Melbourne at the Meadows in the Group 1 Topgun on Saturday, October 26. But that loss takes nothing away from Ernie’s achievements. He was the first South Australian dog to win the cup since 2006. Not bad for a dog who was purchased as a five-month-old pup for just $800. Involved in the greyhound in-
dustry for more than 40 years, and a resident of the area for the past quarter of a century, Ken and partner, Helen Deacon’s, luck has certainly changed for the better with their rising star, Ernie Bung Arrow, winning the prestigious Cup by five lengths. “I knew he was pretty good when we broke him in,” Ken reflects. “He looked fast but I didn’t actually know how fast until we had him time trialed in Gawler.” n Continued Page 2
CONTACT US www.twowellsecho.com.au Phone 8862 1977 Fax 8862 1997 news@twowellsecho.com.au
TWO WELLS PRIME MEATS
WANT A STRESS FREE CHRISTMAS…
Taking Orders Now For Christmas
• Hams • Turkey • Pork • Chicken • Duck & more • Call in and see Dylan and Lewis • Shop hours: Monday-Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm, Saturday 8.30am to 12 noon
Livestock processing our specialty
Lot 6 Old Port Wakefield Road, Two Wells SA 5501
8520 2211
Open: Tuesday to Saturdays
TWO WELLS
FRESH SEAFOOD 104 OLD PORT WAKEFIELD ROAD PHONE: 8520 3333 OR 0409 095 461