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Hervey Bay Independent : 11th December 2014
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YOURSAY Celebrating a cancer-free future With the International Volunteer Day having just passed, I write on behalf of Cancer Council Queensland to offer my heartfelt thanks and abiding gratitude to the many thousands of Queenslanders who volunteer for CCQ each year. Without volunteers, we simply would not exist. CCQ was founded by volunteers nearly 54 years ago and today has around 2000 registered volunteers and 40,000 regular fundraisers and supporters. Their generous dedication of time and energy makes a tremendous difference. Together this year we have invested more than $14 million in research, responded to nearly 20,000 calls to 13 11 20, and accommodated nearly 4000 regional Queenslanders in one of our six statewide lodges. Next year promises to be just as impactful, with a steady focus on supporting local communities to improve cancer control. We have welcomed 200 new volunteers to Cancer Council in 2014 and look forward to engaging more Queenslanders in our work during 2015. If you’re interested in volunteering with us, we’d like to hear from you. Please call us on 1300 851 957 or visit our website at cancerqld.org.au and click on ‘Support Us’. I once again acknowledge with gratitude the work of all volunteers – they truly are champions for a cancer free future. Thank you! Professor Jeff Dunn Chief Executive Offi cer Cancer Council Queensland The true Spirit of Christmas Christmas and the holiday season should be a time of love and joy … and for many people it is. That is not the case for all Australians. Poverty and fi nancial hardship can be isolating experiences. This can hit home even more at Christmas for people who are struggling. Whilst people are gathering to enjoy time with family and friends for the celebrations, some Australians cannot afford to even buy a gift, get together with friends or go on any kind of holiday. We are encouraging everyone in this area to specifi cally look out for others in the community. Try to help those who may be lonely or having any kind of up-hill battle. Please share some hope and joy with others in your area. Anyone needing support or assistance can call our free 24/7 telephone counselling service - Salvo Care Line - on 1300 36 36 22. The Salvation Army will serve around 10,000 meals in the lead up to Christmas and on the day itself. It is estimated nearly half a million toys and gifts will be distributed to people in need - through the generosity of the Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal. At least 100,000 food vouchers and hampers will be given to people in need. The Salvos will help 300,000 Australians in need this Christmas. We are asking people in the local community to help in any way they can. Our national fundraising target is $15 million. To donate to The Salvation Army Christmas Appeal, just call 13 SALVOS (13 72 58) or go to salvos.org.au/Christmas. Funds are badly needed to help people in crisis. There is a network of Salvation Army churches around the nation - with many offering a range of activities leading up to Christmas including carol singing and Christmas Day church services. Some also offer community Christmas lunches. Your local details are listed at salvos.org.au/ Christmas We wish all your readers a happy and safe time over Christmas and the New Year and all the very best for 2015. Major Bruce Harmer, The Salvation Army. Why no Christmas decorations? Fraser Coast Council I ask you, “where is your Christmas Spirit?” I acknowledge (the local newspaper) has supported the Christmas Lights competition for several years, which was great and many people like my 71-year-old mum who barely survives on a pension thoroughly enjoyed entering the Christmas lights each year knowing she had no chance of winning anything, but did it to see the joy on children’s AND adult’s faces as they drove past. People would stop and thank her for her hard work, and the neighbours kids waited with baited breath for the decorations to appear. Mum even contacted Council, talking directly with Mayor O’Connell several times throughout the year asking why a tourist city like Hervey Bay has NO Christmas decorations what so ever! No Christmas tree, NOTHING! Consistently she was told “we’ll see what we can do” or “the budget doesn’t allow it”. Come on Fraser Coast Council you have a mature size Christmas tree right beside the stage at Scarness park where the ambulance wheel is held each Christmas and you have electricity right there. How much would it cost to put lights in the tree? Including some money in the budget with the huge rates we pay will not bankrupt the council. A little Christmas spirit shown in our streets I believe will only encourage tourists to come back. Regardless of Council’s bah humbug lack of Christmas spirit I would like to thank residents of Hervey Bay like my mum who decorate their yards. I will be. Karen Kahler Wondunna What’s on your mind? Debate over dams continues What a quaint way to describe ‘dams’ John A Neve; “just holes in the grounds” (December 4). Those “holes in the ground” keep cities supplied with water and negate the use of expensive desalination plants which cost Australians whether in use or not. Of course we have never had control over weather, that is why preparation is vital. There was much liquid falling from the sky on Saturday and I can assure you it made me very wet. Email your letter to edit@theindy.com.au prior to 10am Monday for publication. Letters must be no longer than 300 words, and contain a name, address and daytime telephone number for verifi cation purposes. Letters may be edited due to space restrictions and may be refused if handwritten. Watching water fl ooding and pouring into the oceans, knowing shortly farmers will be praying for some water and residents are on water restrictions. Remember the January 2013 fl oods? Where did all that water go? I had relatives in Sydney desperate to get back to Hervey Bay for the start of the school year. Aren’t water tanks a sort of dam, there for when it doesn’t rain? I like to try to prevent problems. Your concept on wind turbines is interesting. That the 55m blades don’t turn? They don’t turn when there isn’t any wind, which is quite often. Lines of them, stationary. Then the birds are probably safe, but when those great blades are turning, suicide? I suspect some power is taken back from the grid to keep batteries recharged and gearboxes etc. happy. The farmers who take the money to allow turbines on their property have that right, but unfortunately these things aren’t isolated to this one property, it affects others, like a loud acoustic band in your house that can be heard streets away. These turbines have a different sound, more dangerous because it isn’t obvious to the ear. People, little children are ill, they are in pain. I have heard them crying on the radio, asking for help, hoping that someone is listening. Normal, hard working farmers, their income gone, lives ruined and no money to fi ght. Unfortunately, once again the money god is involved. An open enquiry would prove who is fi bbing. Interview the doctors and specialists who have treated these victims. People who aren’t on the payroll, their livelihood dependent on giving the right answer. How many of those who are in favour of these structures have them lined down their streets near their home? There are so many questions, who pays for the installation, is tax collected, how much is the Australian taxpayer donating and how is our power bill affected? All reasonable questions from people who don’t like being treated like mushrooms. Jenny Jones Scarness Ph 07 4124 6222 | Email info@riwidebay.com.au Best Wishes for a Happy and Prosperous New Year from Kathy, Genevieve and Michael at RetireInvest Hervey Bay & Maryborough | Website www.riwidebay.com.au | Facebook - RetireInvest Wide Bay RI Advice Group Pty Limited ABN 23 001 774 125, AFSL 238429. This information does not consider your personal circumstances and is general advice only. You should not act on any information without obtaining professional financial advice specific to your circumstances. Hervey Bay Independent, December 11, 2014 / 33
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