Thanks Mr Ryan
In reference to the article in last week’s paper of the great job of canoe building by four Lumen Christi boys who gave up part of their school holidays to participate, “congratulations” should surely go to the teacher Mr Luke Ryan who not only organised the venture for the boys, but transported them to Sydney and gave up four days of his holidays too. Thank you Mr Ryan.
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Margaret Munn, Merimbula
Tura Beach junction
I have to agree totally with Robert Stephens regarding his letter re the T-junction at Sapphire Coast and Tura Beach Drives. It is without doubt a horror waiting to happen.
For many of us, life and death can/will be a matter of milliseconds and millimetres and that’s how it has become at this T-junction. It’s not a matter of if it happens, but when it happens.
I too, like Robert, drive this T-junction many times during the week and am more than amazed by the idiocy and impatience of drivers and generally for the sake of a few seconds or a car space. Many, many times I see drivers exiting or entering Tura Beach Drive seemingly ignoring the closeness of the oncoming traffic hurtling towards them at between 80/100kms.
And let’s not forget those vehicles, trucks caravans etc that cross over the double lines near the T-junction to get to the alternative Woolworths car park.
Wayne Stinson, Merimbula
Volunteers
Volunteers make Australia a better and more caring place to live. This week is National Volunteer Week (9-15 May) and we want to thank all volunteers for everything they do.
Volunteers add value to our communities by building trust, relationships and connections between people. Plus they boost social engagement and help communities to share skills and resources. There are more than 20,000 Red Cross volunteers in Australia.
They support local communities, they help the children of refugees with their homework, they are there in times of disaster both in Australia and overseas, they take the time to talk to those who are lonely every day, and many other activities.
Thank you to all volunteers – wherever you are and no matter who you volunteer for – your generosity creates a more supportive, connected, inclusive and happier Australia.
Judy Slatyer, Australian Red Cross CEO
Roads to nowhere
Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association (BVSRRA) understands council is responsible for maintaining a road network of some 1,420kms; 697kms of which is sealed and 723kms unsealed. Of the 723kms of unsealed roads maintained by council, 65kms (around 10 per cent) is part of the collector roads network.
According to council’s “Unsealed Rural Collector Road Upgrade Program”, it is scheduled to seal an average of 1.5kms of unsealed collector roads each year over the next decade, which means that, at the current rate, it will take council 46 years to finish sealing the collector roads.
While the BVSRRA accepts that council has a significant task to perform in maintaining and upgrading the shire’s road network, it also believes that road maintenance is a core function of local government.
If council can afford to spend nearly $11m on questionable real estate investments in the past couple of years ($1.3m for the AUDWIDE building in Merimbula, $2.2m for the Tura Beach Tavern (including $1m for redevelopment costs) and $7.2m for its “palace of dreams” in Bega), it should certainly be able to find more than $300,000 a year to speed-up the sealing of collector roads.
Even if Council feels unable to find additional funds it could at least take steps to install safety fencing along the unsealed sections of road, where the risk of injuries is at its highest.
John Richardson, Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association
