FALL the best for another week to our many readers at home and abroad.
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WE received an e-mail from long-time Yamba, NSW correspondent Col Shephard late last week, giving us a rundown on the Australia Day honours nominees from the Clarence Valley. Dedicated men and women, some elderly, spend their spare time serving the community in an amazing range of voluntary capacities.
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WHAT made the list even more interesting was the inclusion of a Dorothy Burns of Papua New Guinean birth, one of the most active of the active. Col, and naturally Column One were hoping that she would walk away with the Clarence Valley honours, but it was not to be.
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AFTER the ceremony on Friday night, Col was kind enough to e-mail us again; he was sad that Dorothy Burns was unsuccessful, but happy enough with the man and woman who shared the award, both of whom have given outstanding service to the community in his area.
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Sometimes we feel that modern PNG society chooses to ignore the number of services, all needed, that can be provided. There are those who are sick, the elderly, the victims of domestic violence, the disadvantaged youngsters and many others within our own communities.
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THE number of services that can be provided is limited only by the number of mature and generous volunteers, who are happy to give their time and energy to these causes. The rewards are the growing trust from an abused youngster or the smile of the elderly man, who simply wants someone to talk to; we ask again for volunteers to meet these needs.
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GREAT response from our wantok Ian Brooks at James Cook University in Townsville to our suggestion that the blokes used to chase the sheilas down Hunter St, Newcastle by way of Saturday night recreation. Says Ian: “Actually, the male of the species cruised slowly down Hunter Street in the FJ, Zephyr or Austin A40, slowing to a crawl when potential prey was spotted. The passenger had the responsibility of coming up with cool things to say to the girls. Occasionally, the girls would not tell them to … er … disappear.” Cheers!
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- Dee Nesenolis