From
the Editor I was flying back from Queensland after a less than 24 hour visit this week - all work no play when I noticed something whilst flying over the vast green of one of our many national parks; smoke. Little Pillars of smoke rising from spot fires deep in the bush. I am not 100% certain of where, I am assuming the northern tip of the Wollemi National Park or somewhere near there. Yet here we are at the end of the week, rain, wind, flooding throughout the Central West, and a possibility of snow for the long weekend. The land we live in really is unique in how you can experience four seasons in one day, and it was a reminder that the summer will soon be upon us and we should all do our bit to prepare for the bush fire season. Last weekend we headed to Cowra to experience the Sakura Matsuri festival at the Cowra Japanese Gardens and Cultural Festival. What an amazing experience that was. Lots of entertainment for the whole family, a stunning garden that you truly must experience and we were very lucky to have a beautiful spring day to enjoy it. The drive there and back gave me a ground level
view of the amazing Central west, particularly the rolling fields of golden canola that were the subject of at least 30 photographers that we saw pulled over by the side of the road. The thought crossed my mind I wonder how many of these same keen photographers had spent time overlooking the stunning Capertee Valley or any of our easily accessible natural geographic wonders? I would hope that as we increase tourism infrastructure, get more people in to the Lithgow region with events such as Halloween that this becomes one of the spin off benefits, people lining the side of the road taking photos. Please stay safe on the roads this long weekend and enjoy some quality time wit your families, after a busy week I know I will be. Rich Evans
PS: The long weekend is upon us so don’t forget to roll your clocks forward by one hour when you go to bed on Saturday night.
Your Say Dear sir, Wednesday night was the Mayoral elections at Council. Wednesday night was a fiasco. You see, it’s not about who our new Mayor and Deputy Mayor are – that is almost irrelevant. It is the process that saw them get there that we need to discuss. Two incidences of pure madness headlined the night: an elected Councillor abstaining from the Mayoral election, leaving the vote for two candidates at 4-4 – which then directly forced the election of the winning candidate to be drawn from a barrel. It was like a chook raffle down at the local. In my mind, it was disgraceful and so unnecessary. The other incident that should be noted is that, for all the hyperbole about Clr Ticehurst’s non-suitability
for office, not one other Councillor ran against him for deputy Mayor’s position. Not one. In fact, one Councillor withdrew his nomination after Councillor Statham was unsuccessful in her bid for Mayor. It was the equivalent of packing up his bat and ball and going home because his friend wasn’t named captain of the team. ‘All or nothing’ politics at its most obvious. So, in a few weeks, months or years when you want to complain about this current council, bear last nights’ events in mind. There are two very clear “groups” in a struggle for bragging rights. It was always about them – it had very little to do with us. We should expect better from all of our elected officials – in fact, we should demand it. Paul Phillips
The Village Voice
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Kids who text constantly taught a lesson The Magpie Whisperer A lot of the time my adult sons and I don’t talk. That’s not to suggest we’ve had a relationship crisis. It’s just that instead of talking, we text. And I know my situation is not unique. We have to text our older kids, because they never call us back! It’s almost 24 years since the very first text message was sent, and during that time the messages have brought down politicians, saved lives and been sent to other planets. Yet opinion is deeply divided over what effect constant texting has on young people. The school classroom is sometimes a battle of wills between kids who want to muck about, and teachers who want to help them learn. And most teachers would probably regard the mobile phone as the modern plague of their profession. Nevertheless, the act of texting is a quiet and fairly non-disruptive form of communication, and some think it improves children’s ability to concentrate. But others claim the frequent use of ‘techspeak’ - homophones, acronyms and the omission of non-essential letters - is causing a decline in standards of grammar and spelling, and having a detrimental effect on young people’s speaking skills. Fortunately, we can all stop and take a deep breath, because latest research indicates that not only does texting boost concentration, it improves language skills. And the earlier you start, the better it works. The more proficient you are at texting, the better your reading and writing skills, even if you do use techspeak regularly. While that may seem counter-intuitive, kids aren’t texting instead of writing essays about the state of the greyhound industry. They’re texting instead of NOT writing at all. And because of texting, we now have a whole new generation of writers, getting huge amounts of practice at forming thoughts into words. And concise words, at that - thanks to character length restrictions. As for texting in the classroom, it has its place provided it’s used in moderation. After all, how many kids would ever willingly write a sentence if texting and email didn’t exist? In the hectic environment of today’s crowded classrooms, it could be a lot worse. It may well be as good as it gets. I’ve come to terms with being just one of many contacts in my sons’ smartphones, but I know that when my youngest son and his girlfriend have news that involves a wedding, his mother and I will be among the first 100 to know!
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Freaky Friday
Friday 28th October Featuring ‘Side Show Annie’
A great school holiday activity for everyone
THIS WEDNESDAY FROM 2PM Come dressed up with great prizes up for grabs as well as $5 kids meals in the Bistro.
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Best dressed prizes, food and beverage specials, cash promotions
This Friday 7th October from 8pm
The Monsters of Rock Tribute Tickets $20 available now at club reception!
Gold Coin donation for entry
Proceeds to CanAssist LTPM/15/01277
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