We are again trying to raise funds for the Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation who will receive all donations. Wishing all our generous supporters a very safe, happy and healthy Christmas.    

I am currently very impressed with a proposal to build an offshore extension to the Pambula Beach sewage effluent outlet.

This proposal follows the Sydney model where effluent is piped some kilometers offshore. But then where does it go? With the prevailing southerly current it goes straight to Wollongong and areas near by.

Do the residents of Wollongong mind that the  Emerald City residents are unloading their effluent on them? Probably not as they are used to pollution after decades of exposure to industrial pollution.

So where will our new pipe send our effluent? Obviously straight to Eden. How will the residents of Eden react to Twofold Bay regularly turning red? After all they put up with that stinking fish factory for decades. Still I don’t think they will be happy.

This means having to extend the pipe further out so the effluent misses Eden. Then where does it go? You guessed it, Tasmania. Tasmania already has a complex about mainlanders picking on them and with that two headed thing still kicking around I think they deserve a break.

My suggestion is that we take the pipe out to New Zealand – given the level of rates in our shire the cost won’t be a problem at all.

Most importantly it will exact some revenge for all the floggings the All Blacks have given our boys over the years and the fact that the N. Zedders are getting NBN fibre to the house.

The development of a light aircraft pilot training school in a  rural environment with many residents and within 2km from the edge of the Bournda Nature Reserve and within 8km of the National Park requires careful scrutiny.

It is important to note that a 20dBA increase in noise in such a quiet environment represents a four-fold increase in perceived noise. Added to the low background levels this adds up to levels known to disrupt a normal conversation.

These levels, together with the repetitive nature of pilot training with cycles of landing and take-offs and their irregular occurrence, are likely to disrupt sleep patterns of shift workers and young children as well as the productivity of  dairy, beef and sheep farming enterprises and the reproductive  and feeding activities of wildlife.  

Having two foci of disruptive aeronautical activity just 18km apart in our beautiful valley defies logic. Can  we please re-think this strategy?

With Christmas fast approaching, you may notice the influx of youngsters giving it their all in their newly acquired jobs around town.

I’m sure I speak for many in asking the community to take a moment and have a little patience for those still learning the ropes!

Feedback is a gift when delivered the right way! Please remember, we were all new once and it takes time for negative experiences to be water off a duck’s back.

Let’s instead encourage the front-line workers of our community who will be doing their best to serve you efficiently during what will be a busy holiday season.