Spinks Park will be barricaded from 3pm today, as film production crews prepare for tomorrow’s filming of Netflix comedy series, God's Favorite Idiot.Conway Street will also be closed tomorrow from 7am to 7pm, from roundabout to roundabout, including the TAFE. Little Dawson Street will be closed too.The new series features Hollywood film stars Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy, so if you are in town tomorrow, Wednesday, March 10, you may get a glimpse of them.The barriers at Spinks Park will be erected at 165 Molesworth Street alongsidethe park, Lismore Municipal Building and the car park behind the building. Film crew support vehicles will be parked on site tomorrow between 5am and 7pm while filming is underway.NF Ocean Productions, who are in charge of the film shoot have reported that pedestrian, traffic movement and bus services on Molesworth Street will not be impacted during the shoot. “The production has the full support of the NSW Government, Northern Rivers Screenworks, the NSW Police and the local councils,” they also reported.Produced by Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy, God's Favorite Idiot is a workplace comedy about a mid-level tech support employee Clark Thompson (Falcone) who finds love with co-worker Amily Luck (McCarthy) at exactly the same time he becomes the unwitting messenger of God.The series is being filmed in various locations across New South Wales over the next few months, with a $10 million grant from the Federal Government’s Location Incentive program and Screen NSW’s Made in NSW Fund. The production is expected to employ more than 300 Australian cast and crew.Producer and actress Melissa McCarthy said “to have the opportunity to safely film our show in a beautiful country like Australia is a dream come true”.“We love this country, and the talented people who live and work here. A special thank you to Chris, Luke, and Liam Hemsworth for volunteering to carry us to and from work with their wonderful powerful arms.”If there is wet weather tomorrow, the filming day will be rescheduled to Thursday, March 11 or Monday, March 22.

Richmond District Police are appealing for the public’s help as they investigate cattle stolen from a property on Skyline Road.On Tuesday 19 January 2021, police were contacted by a property owner stating two Red Angus stud heifers were unable to be located. It’s believed the two cattle were stolen between late December 2020 and early January 2021.Additional inquiries revealed that a further six heifers were believed to have been stolen from the property on Skyline Road sometime between Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 8 October 2020.Officers attached to the Rural Crime Prevention Team have commenced an investigation into the incident.The cattle were not tagged, branded or earmarked.Anyone with information which may assist investigators is urged to contact Lismore Police or Crime Stoppers.Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.

After 11 years, Brett Adlington is leaving his job as director of Lismore Regional Gallery. At the end of this month, Brett will be taking on a new role as chief executive officer of Museums & Galleries of NSW.While the position is Sydney based, Brett will be working between the two locations and keeping a strong focus on regional NSW.With 25 years of gallery sector experience already under his belt, Brett said his new role is a bit different – and he is looking forward to challenges, particularly getting involved with new creative programs, new visions, voices and thoughts.“The position supports the running and development of galleries and museums, as well as staff,” he said. “The museums side of it is interesting and challenging as it involves the volunteer sector and the museums are responsible for housing important collections.”Getting the top job at a major institution is no mean feat. It gives credit to the work Brett has done locally in establishing the Lismore Regional Gallery in its current location in 2015. The old gallery location on Molesworth Street was small and unsuited to its purpose.New location“Where the gallery is now was going to be the location we built the Margaret Olley Arts Centre in 2010, but the funding fell through,” Brett said.“So, I spent a few years looking at what could be done to allow us to function as a public gallery and looked at so many buildings and kept coming back the old Lismore High School site.“We adapted the building to purpose and the result has really worked for our community in many positive ways.”The old gallery.The new gallery.AchievementsBrett said one of his achievements he was proud of in his time as director was the access program for the deaf community.“It’s become an important part of who we are as an organisation and I am lucky to have had such incredible staff supporting our work,” he said. “The team of people we have at the gallery really stick together.”Hannah CabinetAnother huge achievement for the local gallery was raising enough money to keep the Hannah cabinet in the local gallery.“When we first proposed to fundraise for that, there weren’t many precedents in regional Australia to acquire something like that,” Brett said.“The Hurfords and Brian Henry drove that campaign so expertly. It now makes Lismore a good place to visit. One woman in Perth saw the Hannah cabinet on TV and flew here especially to see it."Geoff Hannah with Brett opening open of the secret drawers to the Hannah Cabinet.Funding challengesDespite the challenges of finding funding for the arts, Brett sees the local gallery well placed for the future.“The gallery has three years of State Government funding secured and the Quad has one year,” he said. “The whole arts sector is looking at what it does and we are now looking at the space and how we as a community can make it work.”Favourite artworksBrett said his favourite stand out artworks in the Lismore Regional Gallery collection were the Tim Hixson photographs, commissioned in 2014.“We commissioned a photographer to document hand made houses from the 1970s that had been built in the region for the Not Quite Square exhibition,” he said.It was an important show at the time and shows how galleries can tell local stories and social history through contemporary work.“It crosses over into the galleries sector and really shows how galleries play an important role in the social fabric of a regional area.”The futureBrett said he’s always loved the community connection in Lismore and sees it strengthened by the gallery and its exhibitions and openings.“I was reflecting on what a diverse community we have here compared to other places I’ve worked,” he said. “We have a different Lismore audience – we have young, old and children.“It’s kept me connected to the place so long. last year with Covid, we missed having the bigger exhibition openings that brought a bigger range of people to the gallery where we could all meet.“I want to give a huge thanks to everyone involved for their support over the years – from coming to openings, volunteering and support to build our gallery.”

Today is World Cancer Awareness Day - and with public health researchers predicting the global demand for cancer surgery will rise by 52% within the next 20 years, what does this mean for our medical workforce and population health? These alarming statistics were published in The Lancet Oncology by researchers from the University of NSW. Their modelling study analysed cancer surgery demand in 183 countries and estimated surgical and anaesthesia workforce requirements between 2018 and 2040. They predicted that cancer surgery numbers will rise from 9.1 million to 13.8 million from 2018 to 2040 – an increase of 52% or - 4.7 million cases. Their research also shows the greatest relative increase will occur in low-income countries, where the number of cases requiring surgery is expected to more than double by 2040.With cancer being a leading cause of death and disability globally, the study’s lead author Dr Sathira Perera said the findings pointed to the need to substantially increase numbers of surgeons and anaesthetists globally.Closer to homeIn the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD), Lismore is home to the North Coast Cancer Institute, which provides a high quality service to many patients with cancer – without them having to travel to bigger cities for treatment. So, how are we doing locally as far as cancer surgeries - and will we see a growth in need for cancer treatments?A NNSWLHD spokesperson said in NSW, cancer surgery activity has increased at a steady rate of about 2.5% each year over the last decade. “Surgical activity for cancer has remained stable in Northern NSW LHD over the past decade,” she said.“There are many factors which influence how these rates will change in the future, including our aging population, increasing incidence of cancer, earlier detection of cancers and the development of new treatments.”With the need for cancer surgeries growing, what are we doing about increasing medical staff numbers?“Between mid-2012 and mid-2020, the Northern NSW Local Health District increased its workforce by an additional 1008 full time equivalent staff – an increase of 26.7% - including 171 more doctors, 367 more nurses and midwives, and 121 more allied health staff,” the spokesperson said."The 2019-20 budget for Northern NSW Local Health District was $875 million. This is an increase of $37 million on the previous financial year’s annualised budget.”Shortage of medical staff globallyUNSW researcher Dr Perera said globally, there was a current shortage of 199,000 surgeons and 87,000 anaesthetists.“This is based on the current workforce of 766,000 surgeons and 372,000 anaesthetists, compared with 965,000 and 459,000 needed for an optimal workforce, respectively, in our modelling study,” he said.“The gap is estimated to be greatest in low-income countries“We need better planning and there needs to be an increased focus on the application of cost-effective models of care, along with government endorsement of scientific evidence to mobilise resources for expanding services,” Dr Perera said.“In addition, access to post-operative care is strongly linked to lower mortality – so, improving care systems globally must be a priority in order to reduce the disproportionate number of deaths following complications.”About the studyThe modelling study was an international collaboration between researchers from UNSW Sydney, University of Toronto, Kings College London, and the World Health Organization.The researchers used best-practice guidelines, patient characteristics and cancer stage data to calculate the proportion of newly diagnosed cancer cases requiring surgery in 183 countries.To deliver cancer surgery services optimally now and in future, the researchers also predicted requirements for surgical and anaesthesia workforces. To evaluate current staffing gaps, they compared the optimal estimated workforce (the median workforce of 44 high-income countries) with the number of surgeons and anaesthetists in each country.The researchers acknowledged that estimates in their study relied on several assumptions.“We based predictions of future cancer rates on 2018 estimates, but country-level changes – such as economic developments or altered capacity to screen for early diagnosis – could impact cancer incidence and therefore surgical demand and workforce requirements,” Dr Perera said.

The flavour of Tokyo will be coming to Lismore’s Carrington Street soon when new shop Japanese Kitchen Little Tokyo opens.The new food outlet will bring a fresh lease on life to the former Little Dehli Indian food shop, near Dragonfly Café, which closed late last year. Read more about the closureJapanese Kitchen Little Tokyo is run by Lismore couple Hatomi Watanabe and her chef husband Kenji.Hatomi Watanabe.The couple had previously run a sushi shop on Molesworth Street, opposite the Bank Café, but Hatomi said they can now expand their menu and bring their love of Japanese cooking into a new CBD location.Kenji has been a chef for 15 years, having spent five years as a chef in Tokyo and then ten years making Japanese food in Australia.Hatomi said her favourite food is sashimi (thinly sliced raw fish), which will be on the menu in the new shop – along with sushi, tempura, noodles and donburi.Donburi is a Japanese dish where cooked or uncooked ingredients are served over a bed of rice. It can include anything from seafood to meat and vegetables - as long as it is served over rice.Hatomi and Kenji are now painting their new shop in preparation for opening in two weeks’ time.Japanese Kitchen Little Tokyo on Carrington Street will be open Monday to Friday for lunch, from 11am to 3pm.

Local Northern Rivers artist and recent Trinity Catholic College graduate Molly Darvall has been named the winner of the Lismore Regional Gallery Friends of the Gallery People’s Choice Award in the 2020 Hurford Hardwood Portrait Prize.Friends of the Gallery president Ron Dowell said seeing the award prize of $1000 go to a local young artist was a wonderful acknowledgement of the Friends’ charter which was to promote emerging artists.The winning artwork depicts a woman with sparrows. The portrait subject was Molly’s sister and was created as part of her High School Certificate Visual Arts subject in 2020. The painting was selected for ARTEXPRESS, an exhibition of highlights from HSC art students across the state, but Molly instead chose to have the work included in the Hurford Hardwood Portrait Prize.Next week, Molly is leaving Lismore to move to Melbourne, where she will study visual arts at Melbourne University. Molly said “capturing the essence of my little sister in fluttered emotions extends our needs to confide and disguise our emotions in youth culture".“She is freed and enlightened, however, protected by the realities of perception which are hindered by teenage insecurities,” Molly said. Ron said lots of votes were cast in the people's choice and Molly was a popular winner.“People didn’t know the age of the artists when they voted and Molly had just finished high school and her painting was a stand out," Ron said.“Audiences fell in love with not only the exquisite detail, but the love and care that exudes from the work.“She did well to attract so many people to her painting and thousands attended the exhibition over the months the exhibition was on."The Hurford Hardwood Portrait Prize is held every two years, with the major prize being $10,000 and the people’s choice being sponsored by the Friends of the Gallery.The Lismore App will feature a Sunday Profile with Molly in two weeks' time.

Henry’s Bakery Café on Keen Street will close its doors at the end of trading today, in preparation for a month of renovations.So, if you are used to regularly buying their specialty breads, cakes, pastries, coffees and sandwiches - you will now have to wait until March for the doors to reopen.Michael Lawson, the bakery’s owner said he was closing the doors so he could add another level to the bakery section of the premises. “The new roof was up before Christmas and now we have to remove the old roof and put in the floor to the new level,” he said. “We have to vacate the bakery for this to all happen but should be good to go again on March 1.”Henry’s Bakery Cafe has been a family business since Michael’s dad, Derek Lawson, established the North Coast’s first hot bread shop back in 1979, at 74 Keen Street.“This was the start of an era where the supply of bread shifted from large centralised manufacturers supplying corner stores and supermarkets, to an option for consumers to buy a more interesting variety of breads, baked before their eyes,” Michael said.“In the 1990s, the bakery was renovated to incorporate our cafe and became Henry’s Bakery Café. “Why was it called Henry’s? Well, Derek Lawson started the business, and anyone with a surname Lawson invariably had the nick name “Henry”, thanks to Henry Lawson, the famous Australian writer and bush poet. So quite simply – Henry’s Hot Bread sounded better than Derek’s Hot Bread.“The business evolved and expanded to include cakes pies and pastries, also relocating to the current location in the heart of Lismore’s CBD, at 87 Keen Street, in the 1980’s.”Michael joined the team in 1989, ensuring the business remained in family hands for another generation and marked the family’s fourth consecutive generation working in the baking industry.This photo show Frank Lawson and his son Keith (Derek’s father), in front of the Willaura Tea Rooms, Victoria, in the 1920’s. This was an era when the residence was next door to the bakery, bakers mixed dough by hand, used wood fired ovens, and made their own yeast.Read more about local bakeries: New bakery brings unique sourdough to Alstonville

With the proposed Dunoon Dam still in the community spotlight, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a partnership between the local water authority and a new NORPA theatre production about Indigenous people and water, was a public relations exercise.Read more about the Dunoon Dam issue: Rous Councillors put Dunoon dam back on the 2021 agendaBut, according to Rous County Council (RCC), their sponsorship of NORPA’s production of ‘Flow’ began long before Covid hit.Still in the creative development process, 'Flow' is an urban tale told by Mitch King, a Yaegl Bundjalung man, about his journey growing up in Yaegl Country. It’s about how he finds identity in music and hip-hop and about connecting to the ancient story of water that flows through his Country.'Flow' intends to strengthen the Indigenous voice and engage young people through a contemporary retelling of ancestral stories.Mitch King is developing thew new NORPA production 'Flow'.RCC manager and Reconciliation Action Plan secretary, Guy Bezrouchko said in November 2019, RCC was invited to support the development of a local NORPA production with a strong water theme.“A key theme of Rous’ Reconciliation Plan is to develop and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with A&TSI peoples, communities and organisations to support positive outcomes,” Mr Bezrouchko said.“So, when NORPA reached out to Rous to sponsor ‘Flow’, we saw it as great opportunity to partner in a production, related to water and traditional custodians.“We were very happy to support locally-developed Indigenous arts and culture in our region noting that Mitch King is from the Bundjalung nation and Yaegl country.”The production was paused during 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions and despite the setbacks and challenges, 'Flow' is still in the creative development process and will premiere as part of the 2021 NORPA season.To find out more about 'Flow' or NORPA, visit norpa.org.au/in-development/To learn about Rous County Council’s Reconciliation Action Plan, visit rous.nsw.gov.au/rap

As a nurse in local hospital emergency department, Janine (not her real name), knows that she will be expected to get Covid-19 vaccination when it’s made available here soon.She, along with other health care workers in hospitals and aged care facilities will be first in line to get the new vaccines – as outlined in the government’s COVID-19 Vaccine National Roll-out Strategy The Lismore App asked some of our local nurses and health care workers what they thought about vaccinations. We also asked local organisation Healthy North Coast (HNC) for more details about their rollout of the Covid vaccination program in our area. Read more about the rolloutWaryEmergency nurse Janine said she is “a little wary” of getting the new Covid vaccination.“A lot of health care workers are worried and don’t want to be guinea pigs for the new vaccines,” she said. “As an emergency nurse, I will be expected to get it, but I’m not jumping to be the first line.“I’m not an anti vaxxer - I get the mandatory flu shot each year for my job - but I’m not dying to get the vaccination.“I was thinking it was an experimental vaccine, but a doctor explained it to us and I wasn’t so worried.“If its mandatory I’ll do it, but if there’s a choice, I’d rather keep wearing a mask. I wear a mask all the time now anyway - it’s annoying but necessary.“Even though there’s no Covid in our area now, this pandemic is going to be hanging around for a while and it’s not going to stop when everyone starts travelling the world again."We might have to wear masks for a very long time.”Which vaccine will we get?When asked if local health workers would be offered the AstraZeneca (AZ) or Pfizer vaccine, HNC spokesperson Mike Hely said Australia has three purchasing agreements in place for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and they would only go ahead if they are proven to be safe and effective by the Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA).“It is possible that multiple COVID-19 vaccines will be used in Australia if the vaccines are proven to be safe and effective, and as they become available,” Mike said.Earlier this week, the TGA granted provisional approval to Pfizer Australia Pty Ltd for its COVID-19 vaccine, COMIRNATY. Read more about it.How many vaccines doses we will get, who will administer them and will they be free of charge? HNC spokesperson Mike Hely said “we are still not sure how many doses of the vaccine will be allocated to our region in the first roll-out”.“The goal and the expectation is that everyone living on the North Coast who seeks vaccination will be vaccinated,” he said.“An Expression of Interest has been already extended to all accredited general practices and pharmacists interested in taking a lead role in the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.“Primary care services who take a role in administering vaccines will be required to provide COVID-19 vaccination at no cost to patients who are Australian citizens, permanent residents, and most visa-holders.”DifficultyEmergency nurse Janine worries about the AstraZeneca vaccine being the one chosen for rollout in our area, as it needs to be kept at a very cold temperature in order to remain viable.“We’ve been told we can only have them out of the fridge for two minutes maximum before it gets used,” she said. “It won’t be easy for the clinics to rollout and administer vaccine to people."Janine said her elderly uncle had the flu vaccination and wasn’t well after he had it – highlighting community concerns about the potential bad reactions effect of a new Covid vaccine.“In Norway, the Covid vaccine caused some nasty side effects and some people had diarrhea and vomiting,” she said. “It’s possible some elderly people might not cope with it.“If everyone else around them had the vaccination and they were not going anywhere, why would you take the risk of vaccinating them?”Monitoring effectivenessWhen asked how the effectiveness of the different vaccines will be monitored after community concerns were raised about lesser effectiveness of the AZ vaccine, Mike said “the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance is better placed to answer this question”.“It has a COVID-19 vaccine FAQ resource which discusses vaccine efficacy and safety as well as monitoring and surveillance,” he said.Aged care worker “not afraid”Lismore resident Henry Luong is a nurse working in aged care and he said he’s not afraid of getting the new Covid vaccination.“My family overseas are worried about me getting the first jab, but I say it’s a 50/50 chance of being okay,” Henry said.“It’s a new vaccine, so I could be afraid of it, but there’s hope in it. At least we can do something and its more practical to get the jab and know we can protect the frail people.“That’s the purpose of working in the health sector.“I understand people are worried about their loved ones in aged care facilities or hospital - but if we have the jab, the government also needs to encourage people to get tested more.“Some people are afraid to get tested and worried they will miss out on work while they isolate and wait for the results to come back.“It’s a hard situation - even social distancing is not practical, when you can go to Lismore Square and it’s crowded."I see people coughing in public and touching food and groceries. To me, people who feel they are sick should wear a mask or stay home."

Hani Baghdan was one of nine new Australian citizens who emerged smiling from Lismore City Hall yesterday.Hani had two of his closest friends with him at the Australia Day citizenship ceremony to celebrate his big day of becoming an official Australian citizen.Hani used to live in Dubai before coming to Australia. As a gay man, he said the lack of freedom and rights for people in Dubai who identify as other than heterosexual, was something he was glad to get away from.“It’s very difficult for gay people in Dubai,” Hani said. “I was never able to come out .“But here, there is a beautiful diverse community and I feel so welcomed and love the culture in Lismore.”Hani came to Sydney six years ago and moved to Lismore last year. He’s already involved in the local queer community and with the radical fairies.“When I visited Australia for a friend’s wedding the first time, I had a feeling I wanted to live here – it was so easy and welcoming,” he said.“I wanted to become an Australian citizen for a combination of legal reasons and to live in a better country, with a more open culture."The other people who became citizens yesterday were: David Effer, Richard Laing, Rachel Nolde, Simona-Georgeta Pacleanu, Christine Scott, Olivia Stevens, Dr Iman Izadgooshasb and Niloofar Karimian (husband and wife).Mayor’s last officiationLismore’s mayor Isaac Smith has long said that officiating at citizenship ceremonies was one of his favourite things to do as mayor over the 12 years he has been on council.Since he announced his resignation from the role of mayor late last year, Isaac knows his final days as mayor are in the wings, and January 26, 2021 marked his last citizenship ceremony.“Welcoming new people to Lismore is such a gift,” Mayor Smith said. “We have such a diverse community and every new citizen is someone who adds to that diversity,“To me, that’s the biggest strength we have.”Mayor Smith said not feeling sad yet, but knows that it could be coming as the end approaches.“Council has been 12 years of my life,” he said. “Lismore is a wonderful community and I have great friends and family and I’m sure everyone will help me celebrate it. I will continue to plug into the community and do what I can – just not as mayor.”

You might not see Jack and Delores working every day at the new Le Plateau Bakery in Alstonville Plaza – but they are doing an important job.Jack and Delores are actually the funky names given to the sourdough bread starters by the bakery’s owners, Nico and Erin Flessati.Le Plateau Bakery opened last Friday and after a marathon weekend of trading, they sold out of stock.Erin said they were inundated by a supportive community and had to shut the doors on Monday and Tuesday to have time to make more baked goods.QuirkyErin said naming your sourdough is something that all good bakers do – and having quirky names adds character to the business.“Delores is our white Vienna loaf sourdough and we started it with a ferment of cranberries to get the natural yeast out of the natural fruit, not out of a packet,” Erin said.“Jack is the sourdough starter made from pumpkin skins and seeds – it’s short for jack’o’lantern.”SpecialtyThe sourdough is a speciality at the new bakery, along with Nico’s croissants. They also serve coffee.“Nico’s croissants are so popular, we put them on the shelves at 5.30am and we sell out by 10am,” Erin said. “We have almond and panne chocolate croissants and a Danish cruffin.”If you haven’t heard of a cruffin before, Erin said it is croissant dough turned into a doughnut and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.With a French pastry chef husband who loves baking, it’s not surprising that Erin eats a pastry a day.Bakery dreamNico used to work as a pastry chef at Brunswick Heads and Suffolk Park bakeries, but now the Alstonville bakery is the first business that Nico and Erin have opened for themselves.“It’s been our dream since we met to own our own business,” Erin said.“We’ve been saving our money and then bought the old Snowy’s bakery, opposite the chemist in Alstonville Plaza.”After five weeks of refurbishments, it finally opened last Friday. The bakery is so busy that Erin is moving away from front of house work to manage the business - and they are taking on more staff.“I live in Alstonville and grew up here,” Erin said. “I started my first job in a little café in the plaza 23 years ago. Then I moved away and came back to the area with my husband.“It’s uncanny, I never thought I’d open my own business in the same shopping centre I started work in.”Early startsAs a bakery family, it means a lot of early mornings for the couple .“Nick leaves home at 11.30pm and starts work at 12am,” Erin aid. “My alarm goes off at 2.45am – there’s not a lot of sleep, but we do it for the dream.”Le Plateau Bakery is open seven days a week, Monday to Friday from 5.30am to 5.30pm, Saturday until 4pm and Sunday until 3pm. You can find them on Facebook and Instagram.Read more about local bakeries: Henry's Bakery closes its doors today - but not forever

Today's Lismore City Council Australia Day awards recognised some of the many individuals and groups who have been giving so much back to our local community.With an impressive line up of nominees present at Lismore City Hall, a gathered audience clapped and cheered as Ros Sten, Dr Ian Cappe, John Devoy, Fred Hoskins, The Lord Taverners and Lismore Rugby Union Under 18s Colts team were all recognised with an award for services to the community. Read the full list of nominees: Lismore's 2021 Australia Day Award nominees announcedAboriginal Elder Gilbert Laurie conducts a smoking ceremonyAfter a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony by Aboriginal Elder Gilbert Laurie and a rendition of the Australian national anthem by Luke Vassella, Lismore’s Mayor Isaac Smith presented each nominee with a framed certificate, before the following winners in each award category were announced by Council’s general manager Shelley Oldham.Read about Lismore's ambassador: George Ellis replaces Doug Hawkins as Australia Day Ambassador Luke Vassella performs.Lord Taverners executive committee members and volunteers Joanne Cooper (chair), Warren Phelps and Jenny Cook.Services in the Community (Group) - The Lord’s Taverners Northern NSWDespite 2020 being a tough year for fundraising, The Lord’s Taverners’ still managed to raise $40,000 in a virtual Darryl Chapman Fun run.Lord Taverners executive committee members and volunteers Joanne Cooper (chair), Warren Phelps and Jenny Cook said that Covid gave them an opportunity to think outside the box.“We couldn’t do a lot of our programs – like the twice weekly community dinners for Our House, we but still managed to come up with a few new programs like the TAFE resilience awards," Joanne said. "It recognised students that have overcome challenging circumstances to complete TAFE courses. Now, we will expand it into Southern Cross University.”Warren said there were 19 different programs and coordinators in the organisation, as well as volunteers helping out.“Receiving this award recognises the hard work of members over the years and gets the name of the organisation out there – maybe people want to join or someone sees us and knows we can help them.”The Lord Taverners began with a cricket focus, helping individuals by providing scholarships to get to sporting events – but expanded over the years. They still provide University scholarships and now also have the Bod Squad program for Year Nine girls to develop physical and mental well being.Read more about the Lord Taverners:  Stan Gilchrist "cricket is in our blood"Warren Noble: on life, Norco, cricket, dairying and charityAboriginal Citizen of the Year - Rosslyn StenUp against Greg Telford for the award, Richmond Police District Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer (ACLO) Ros Sten said she was still in shock about winning.“I thought Greg would get it - he’s done some wonderful things in our community,” Ros said.As a Widjabal Elder and ACLO, Ros provides knowledge and guidance to assist community and police in her essential role – and she loves doing it.“This is my country, this is my bloodline – I’m community minded that’s the way I was raised,” Ros said. “I’ve been an ACLO for 12 years and before that, 14 years working in TAFE education and I’m still serving the same mob with a different hat on now.”While the Australia Day awards ceremony was happening, in Lismore’s CBD a Survival Day rally called for a change of date. Read about it: Survival Day rally marches through Lismore CBDWhen asked about the rally and it's aims to make change, Ros said “we are all one now.”“We can’t send youse all home, so we may as well be one,” she laughed. “We are all Australian - the only thing we have is that connection to country and that is so important.”“We are the original descendants of our people for 60,000 years and that is more important to me than a date. We have a history and it is a deep love of the land and it’s where we originate from and that’s what I see my job as - to educate and help people understand.”Read more about Ros StenCitizen of the Year - Dr Ian CappeLismore’s Citizen of the year is Lismore Base Hospital radiologist, Dr Ian Cappe. His provision of specialised interventional radiology services to the local area has resulted in pioneering how we treat the removal of kidney stones.Dr Cappe said he moved to Lismore 35 years ago to raise his family here.“I just love Lismore,” he said. “It’s been a honour and a privilege to work here providing radiology services at Lismore Base Hospital.“Radiology is a key part of medicine – and medically Lismore is well serviced with a great hospital, cancer centre and Our Kids too.”Sports Team, Group or Organisation- Lismore Rugby Union Under 18s Colts team After two under 18s players died last year, it was a tough year for the Lismore rugby club players. Through a difficult time, these boys played on and held the spirit of rugby up. Through extreme emotional difficulties, these boys played on and won the grand final, highlighting their true character and pride in sport.Arts and Cultural Contribution - John DevoyFor more than 40 years John’s managing skills ensured the success of Lismore’s Eisteddford, with his work reaching businesses, competitors and audiences.His technical skills with sound and lighting ensured a first class event, especially through Covid 19 and the event still being able to continue through his event planning and excellence in stage presentation.Services in the Community (Individual) - Fred Hoskins Fred has been long-acknowledged by locals as the unacknowledged mayor of Wyrallah. He has long been contributing to the Wyrallah community and is known for his generosity and humility.For over 60 years, he has been a member of the Wyrallah Hall committee and was a former student of Wyrallah public school – and still provides free produce to students and makes wooden objects for the school.He put out numerous historical publications about the area and had World War 1 and 2 memorials rededicated to the Australian war memorial. He has been a long term choir member of St Anglican's church at Wyrallah for decades.As a church volunteer, Fred has been responsible for rebuilding every element of the church from the altar to the rails or the bell tower. Fred organised community fundraising events for families in need.Read about other locals awarded with national Australia day medals:Local doctor David Scott honoured with OAM for medical service Koala conservation work brings Lorraine Vass a national honour

After 20 years of working for koala and wildlife conservation, Lorraine Vass has received one of the top honours in Australia - and has been named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).Lorraine was one of two Lismore locals this January 26 to receive a national Australia Day Medal.Lorraine said she was ‘overwhelmed’ when she received the news that the Governor General had officially conferred her with the citation for her service to wildlife conservation, particularly the koala.Local doctor Dr David Scott also receives an OAM. Read more Local doctor David Scott honoured with OAM for medical service Friends of the Koala (FoK) Lorraine’s work with Friends of the Koala (FoK) over the past 20 years has been instrumental in raising awareness of the plight of the koala.She spent 15 years as president of FoK, after joining the organisation in 2000 and said while she was koala focussed – she has a much broader focus on wildlife in her campaigning work.“I retired here from the N.T. and joined FoK because we had koalas through our Wyrallah property,” Lorraine said. “The profile of FoK has skyrocketed over the years since then.“Looking at the big picture is my strength. From early on, it was important for me to build relationships with other organisations and build alliances and relationships. Public service management was my background and I realised you can’t do anything alone – you need partnerships and goodwill - and to educate people.”Lorraine also won a NSW woman of year award in 2016 for her work and has been inducted into the Koala Tree of Fame.Peter GarrettShe has met with many politicians in her work lobbying for koala conservation. One of the memorable times was meeting former federal environment minister - Peter Garrett.“I met him when he visited Lismore when Janelle Saffin was the Federal Member for Page,” she said.“We were talking about the business of koala care and how there were no hospitals here and most vets are not trained to treat wildlife, but were doing it in their own time and at their own cost. Peter said ‘I’ve never thought about how sick wildlife are treated’ and I thought that’s an honest answer.”Lorraine said it important to her that the environment minister had become aware of the plight of Australian wildlife because of their chat.Fast forward to today - after the 2019-2020 bushfires killed or injured so many native animals - and the plight of the koala and native wildlife has become a national issue that politicians are now all aware of.Wildlife hospitalShe has been in the background lobbying for a new wildlife hospital which will now be built in Wollongbar, which was important because a lot of the koala activity is in Northern NSW. Read more: Long awaited wildlife hospital planned for Wollongbar“A wildlife hospital in our area has been a long held aspiration,” she said. “When Steve Irwin started Australia Zoo and Wildlife Hospital in 2004 on the Gold Coast, FoK took koalas for specialised medical treatment into Queensland.“Then over the years Currumbin Wildlife Hospital had built an expertise in koala work and FoK used this facility even though it was so far away.“Even Byron Bay now has a mobile wildlife hospital - the fires were a huge tragedy, but have drawn attention to the need for preparedness and capacity to respond.Lorraine is no longer the president of FoK but when she was, she worked over a 100 hours a week in the voluntary role.“I enjoy the work and I have no intention of stopping,’ she said. “My first love is koala conservation and broader wildlife is still in my scope,” she said.PlightLorraine hopes being given the AM honorific will continue to amplify the plight of the koala and wildlife in Australia.“Getting this award is important,” she said. “It’s good to see recognition being given to environmental work because it’s always been sidelined.“It becomes a vehicle for achieving outcomes that are good for koalas, other species and environment - and draws attention to wildlife carers in conservation.We can get involved in the fabric of government to get more done.”Koala conservation parkLorraine’s ongoing interest is working toward the establishment of a regional koala conservation park.“I represented Fok when planning koala management plans in all four local council government areas and the next step is developing a Northern Rivers koala conservation strategy that will be based on work done over the past few years in a local research project,” she said.Over the years, Lorraine has also sat on committees on a wide range of environment focussed projects in different organisations, including NSW Wildlife Council, North Coast Environment Council, Broadwater Koala Reserve Trust, Northern Rivers Fire and Biodiversity Consortium (NRFABCON) , NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Northern Rivers Animal Law and Education Project.Read more about koala conservation: SUNDAY PROFILE: Ros Irwin: Koala conservationist and ex-councillor

On October 5, 2020 the Lismore App ran a story about local business owner Hayley Brown and her goal to open a free boxing gym in Goonellabah to get kids off the street and into a disciplined sport that can also shape their future.That goal is now a reality with the official opening of Gospel Gloves on Friday afternoon thanks to the financial support of the Northern Co-operative Meat Company (NCMC) and Mountain Blue Farms.(Gospel Gloves venue in the old Church of Christ building on Rous Road, Goonellabah. Photo: Simon Mumford)The biggest cost for Hayley was raising over $5,500 for the boxing ring, punching bags and appropriate gear. That was where Simon Stahl Chief Executive Officer at NCMC stepped into the ring along with Andrew Bell from Mountain Blue Farms donating the required funds that allowed Hayley's dream to come to fruition."This project does two things for us," Simon Stahl said, "firstly, it is a damn good project that deserves the support from business and secondly, we'd like to think that out of this we can find some employees for some of our local businesses in particular our Booyong abattoir.""We're short of workers and this is a great opportunity to get among the youth and see what happens.""I am under no illusion that this is going to be easy and it is not going to happen tomorrow but I think the more people get around the table and play a bit of a different role and help mentor through this process I reckon we have a great opportunity in the next few years."Other sponsors include Bunnings who donated a whole lot of flooring, Rekindle The Spirit donated the shirts and boxing equipment while Coles in Goonellabah will help with food for the sessions when the kitchen starts operating.(A session on the bags is part of the regular weekly work out. Photo: Simon Mumford)Hayley offers two sessions a week, on a Wednesday and Friday afternoon between 4:30 and 5:30 which regularly attracts 15-17 kids each session. Gospel Gloves Boxing Gym is in the old Church of Christ building on Rous Road opposite the Rous Road shops.Unfortunately Hayley has had to drop the sessions for the little kids because the volunteer dropped out."If anyone is a personal trainer with the appropriate children checks and can have fun and relate with young kids please get in touch," Hayley asked, "in particular a man because there are a lot of kids lacking that male role model in their lives as families don't have their dad's around."The gym has been well received by the community at large with a lot of positive affirmation."We did a walk around the street before we opened approaching known trouble makers in the area to try and get them to come in but some are a little embarrassed about boxing in front of other people with the girls not wanting the boys to see them and the tough boys in front of anyone," Hayley laughed."The kids love it. It's a hard workout and at the end of the session they get to have a minute in the ring with me. They are supposed to practice their combinations but they like to go all out, the smile on their faces makes it worthwhile."(Michael Bushby sparring with Hayley Brown in the brand new $5,500 boxing ring. Photo: Simon Mumford)For those that are worried about Hayley's health, don't be. Hayley is registered with the NSW Amateur Boxing Association and has five bouts under her belt a the Workers Club, Evans Head, Kingscliff and two in Brisbane.One of the newcomers to Gospel Gloves is 15 year old local Michael Bushby. Michael has been going to Gospel Gloves for a month now."I wasn't really doing anything at home and friends mentioned it and I wanted to do some exercise," Michael said, "I get more stamina, better hand eye coordination and better health in general basically.""Before that I was sitting at home playing video games not really doing that much."Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan was at the opening but not in an official capacity."These grass roots activities without government are usually the things that work, "Kevin said, "look at Hayley, lives here, saw a need and is making it happen. I am here to show my moral support."We all need to stand up and applaud Hayley for her insight, motivation and commitment to not only get Gospel Gloves off the ground but to help out those troubled youths that are looking to get out of a rut and give themselves a chance at a better life.

The countdown to the closing of the Target Country store in The Village Goonellabah shopping precinct has begun with the count at seven days.Next Saturday January 30 at 5pm will be the last time that staff close the doors for trading as a Target Country store.During the next week there will be some sale items that you can take advantage of but a lot of the more valuable stock will be transferred to other Target stores that will remain open.(Simone Smith and Sophie Thompson looking at the sales racks at Target Country. Photo: Simon Mumford)Assistant Manager Alex Wells told the Lismore App they are not certain of what stock will go on sale and when. "We only get notice the day before or the morning of about what items will be put on sale and how much for," Alex said."There will be some bargains to be had but it is best to come in each day to get the best bargains before we close the doors next Saturday."The next question on everyone's lips is "what business is going into the Target Country space?"Justin Clarke Director of McGees Property, the company that owns The Village Goonellabah was being tight lipped about what businesses are replacing Target."We are in advanced negotiations with two major retailers," Justin said, "we hope to make an announcement shortly.""If all goes to plan we will have two new tenants at The Village Goonellabah. One being a clothing store and the other a retailer, both will compliment the existing operating businesses."All going smoothly, the timing for the new stores will be before the end of June.Another new business coming into The Village Goonellabah is the Goonellabah Laundromat.Development Applications have been approved by council and the fit out process has begun.Owners David and Stacey Russell have told the Lismore App they will have 7 washing machines and 8 dryers with cashless payment options.More details on the laundromat as it gets closer to opening which is expected to be the end of March.

Storm chaser Jason Paterson’s mum told him that he was born in a thunderstorm – and when he was young, he had an inherent fear of storms. But a desire to understand them and conquer fear turned into a passion for severe weather and weather photography.From massive floods in Lismore to damaging hailstorms, Jason’s love of adrenaline has seen him drive toward severe weather systems with his camera and Go Pro in hand, ready to capture the destructive beauty of the weather.One of Jason's photos.PhotographyJason, along with Micheal Bath and other storm chasing locals, are contributors to the Northern NSW Severe Weather Facebook site. Their photos of storms and lightning are loved by many.“Some chasers love to drive into a storm and get smashed by hail, wind and lightning,” Jason said. “Some of us like to sit back get idea of structure where it’s moving to - and sometimes go into the core.”Core punchingJason said the core of a storm is the most severe part of it and making your way into the centre of a storm is called core punching.“It’s quite difficult to get into the core,” he said. “There might be limited road access and we try to get as close as we can.Dangerous risk“It is inherently dangerous, and we take a calculated risk when we do it – it can be dangerous, with cricket ball sized hail and 100km an hour winds and lightning strikes - and the sound is deafening.“Sometimes chasers’ cars resemble gold balls after core punches and the hail dints the cars.“I haven’t had the opportunity yet to chase a cyclone but would love to. They are a different beast, as they are a prolonged event and can go on for multiple hours.“It’s a fun activity, but we say don’t do it if you don’t know what you are doing.”One of Jason's photos.Storm chasingIn 2007 Jason decided to team up with Michael Bath and Rodney Wallbridge to actively chase storms. Together, they visited the United States and Jason said his career highlights include trips to Tornado Alley in USA in 2012 and 2015.Jason remembers the big hailstorm that hit Lismore in 2007 – on October 9. It was storm that cost car insurance companies a lot of money in payouts.“Recently, we were in the Grafton area when there were 26,000 lightning strikes recorded and we were in the middle of it – it gets your heart racing.”“When we are watching for storms to chase, we first identify a target and look at weather charts and find an area with some promise – as time gets closer, we refine the target and head out there. It’s not about seeing storm clouds – there’s science behind it.”Read more news: Healthy living photography competition calls to localsMeteorologist Ben McBurney in the field photographing storms.Weather forecasting While he’s not a qualified meteorologist, Jason does forecast the weather. He and Michael Bath, along with James Harris, Rodney Wallbridge, Dan Stewart, John Graham, Rosie Kew, Dann Weatherhead, Ben McBurney and Justin Noonan are responsible for forecasting and analysing weather on the Northern NSW Severe Weather Facebook site.Northern NSW Severe Weather founderMichael Bath is known as one of the premier storm chasers in Australia. He is a weather forecaster who’s been working for 13 years with weather organisation the Early Warning Network. He’s also one of the original founders of the Northern NSW Severe Weather site.Read Michael's weather prediction for the next few days: NSW heat wave warning might not apply to LismoreHe will travel hundreds of kilometres to capture a storm and said he is one of the pioneers of storm chasing and photography.“I have a nice group of friends involved with it and it’s good fun,” he said. “But there can be boring bits, like when you are waiting in a hot car for clouds to form.”“We do snow chasing too - I went to the Northern Tablelands three times last year.“I also love rain, sunsets and rainbows – we all love pics of weather not just severe thunderstorms.”1987 Lismore floodMichael said it was the 1987 flood in Lismore that inundated the CBD that caused his obsession with weather patterns leading to floods.“I’d already been taking photos for the Ballina High School magazine and I used to mess around with time lapse photography,” he said.Michael started analysing weather and storms in the late 1980s - before the internet took off and he used to rely on the evening news and newspaper satellite images for information. He would go out in the field and watch storms tracking and built up knowledge of how they formed.Northern NSW Severe WeatherJason said the Northern NSW Severe Weather Facebook site is a bit different to other weather pages.“We have experienced forecasters and qualified meteorologists that voluntarily contribute,” Jason said. “We make forecasts, but don’t scaremonger like some of the other sites – we keep a level head."Michael said providing highly accurate weather forecasting for local events was one of the priorities of the site.Forecasts variation “Compared to the Bureau of Meteorology, we take time to pull up multiple weather models and compare. We are the most reliable go to source for local weather,” Jason said.To keep up to date with their photos and predictions, visit: https://www.facebook.com/nnswweather

We are in store for a busy weekend following a quiet start to the year due to the holidays and wet weather.Mostly sunny is the weather outlook with tops of 29 and 30 degrees so we are off to a good start.Baseball fans are chomping at the bit for the first pitch in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) game tonight at Albert Park when the Sydney Blue Sox take on the Canberra Cavalry at 7pm. It is the first time in three years since Lismore has seen major ABL action which should attract a good crowd especially when admission is free.There will be four games over the weekend:Game 1 tonight at 7pmGame 2 on Saturday at 1pmGame 3 on Saturday at 4pm andGame 4 on Sunday at 3pm.Speedway fans will be excited also as they hit a double header this weekend at the Lismore Showgrounds with the feature race the 100-lap Wingless Sprintcar Grand Prix.Saturday night will see the Wingless Sprintcars preliminary qualifying heats as well as AMCA Nationals, Production Sedans, Street Stocks, Junior Sedans and National 4's while Sunday night Lismore Speedway will crown the Northern Rivers Junior Champion as well as the final of the 100-lap Wingless Sprints and a firework display at the end of the night.If you or family members would like to see the Wingless Sprintcars up close get down to Lismore Nissan between 9am and 11am tomorrow morning. The Wingless Sprintcars will be on display with their drivers available for a chat and a sausage sizzle.While on sport, Far North Coast Softball returns to action this weekend after a long holiday break which included cancelling their last games before Christmas due to the heavy December rain.The LJ Hooker League and the Northern Rivers Cricket League will welcome a fine weekend to get a full days play away over the weekend.Market wise, the Lismore Farmers Markets open the gates at 8am tomorrow. Fresh fruit and veg direct from the farmers as well as some live music by Tapestry Road.The Blue Knob Community Markets are set to return for the second time in 2021 between 8:30am and 11:30am with locally grown produce, including coffee - beans or ground - eggs, honey, vegetables, baked goods.The larger market this weekend sees the Nimbin Markets return in 2021 between 9am and 3pm in Cullen Street.You can make a day if it by taking the family on one of the many wonderful bushwalks in the Nightcap National Park (Walks)The Roadworks on Bruxner Highway from Rotary Drive and Nielsen Street in East Lismore will continue this Sunday between 6am and 6pm like last weekend. You can expect lance closures and detours with traffic reduced to 40kmh.If you are on the roads and need to fill your tank, the cheapest petrol prices are at the United on Ballina Road for E10 at 114.9 and Unleaded 91 116.9. We are starting to see some big variations for the price of U98 with some stations charging over 140 but if you go the Liberty on Wyrallah Road, East Lismore you will pay 125.9. That is a saving of $9 on a 60 litre tank of petrol. Diesel owners should be paying in the 117 price bracket with 117.5 the cheapest at the Liberty's on Terania Street, North Lismore.Australia Day will be the focus for Neil Mark's weekly Blog tomorrow while the Sunday Profile looks at the life of teacher and artist Mim O'Grady and written by Australia Day Award nominee Denise Alison.Here are this weeks funny meme's to get the weekend off to a happy start:

If you’ve been making money out of recycling bottles and cans, you are probably already aware that the Return and Earn recycling machine at Humbly Oval near Lismore Shopping Square hasn’t been operational for a while. And while the Goonellabah one is working – do you know where it is?The Lismore App investigated to find out what was going on with our machines - and also found out just how much the people in Lismore have recycled through the Return and Earn scheme since it began.Who runs Return and Earn?Despite popular thought, Lismore’s two Return and Earn reverse vending machines (RVM) are not run by Lismore City Council, they are actually coordinated by NSW organisation Exchange for Change. However, a third location - the bulk return facility at the Lismore Recycling and Recovery Centre - is run by Lismore City Council.The container deposit scheme network is operated by TOMRA Cleanaway – which manages 635 return points in NSW as well as the logistics and sale of the recyclable commodities. The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is responsible for regulating the scheme.Shirani Glover from Exchange for Change said NSW’s container deposit scheme, Return and Earn, marked a major milestone recently with over 4.8 billion containers recycled since the scheme began in December 2017.In a recently released report, Shirani said across NSW, the latest research found 3 out of 4 NSW adults have participated in the recycling scheme.“The Lismore community are enthusiastic contributors to this success with more than 42.5 million containers returned through its local return points since the scheme launched,” she said. “That’s more than $4.2 million in refunds given back into the hands of the community.”NSW Local Government Areas Return and Earn network collections by material type (volume of containers)Humbly Oval flooding Shirani said the reason the Return and Earn reverse vending machine at Humbly Oval hasn’t been working is because it was impacted by the flooding a few weeks ago.“This resulted in damage to the machine and the site,” she said. “Our network operator, TOMRA Cleanaway, has been working closely with the site landlord, Lismore Council, to safely access the site and replace the machine as quickly as possible.“We can confirm work on site to replace the machine began this week, unfortunately, a ‘go live’ date is not currently available, but we’ll provide updates online when an opening date is confirmed.”Shirani recommends visiting the Return and Earn website or downloading the MyTOMRA app to check the live status of the return point. Customers can also contact the network operator’s customer service hotline on 1800 290 691.The Humbly Oval RVM.The Goonellabah RVM on Simeoni Drive.Where do I do return my containers to?So, the advice is to either hold on to your containers and return them once the Humbly Oval RVM is back online, or return them to:The Return and Earn RVM at 2 Simeoni Drive, Goonellabah, behind Woolworths, or to Lismore Council Automated Depot at 313 Wyrallah Rd (Lismore Recycling and Recovery Centre), - where you can return in bulk, with 100 containers or more.Lismore's recycling statistics The following image shows Lismore's recycling statistics, compared to other Council areas in NSW.It was taken from the Local Government Network Collection Volumes Report for the last three years, which also showed that the Lismore City Council area recycled 3698 tonnes of aluminium, glass, plastics and paper materials in total over the period.NSW Local Government Areas Return and Earn network collections by material type (tonnage)Local charities benefitShirani said Return and Earn is becoming an increasingly important fundraising avenue for charities and community groups.“Overall more than $15.5 million has been returned to not-for-profits and community groups across NSW through donations and fees from hosting return points since the scheme commenced,” she said“Lismore City Lions Club, Alstonville P&C Association and NNSW Helicopter Rescue Service are some of the Lismore charities and community groups who have benefitted from the scheme as donation partners at local return points, giving participants the option of donating some or all of their refund to them.”For more information about Return and Earn, visit www.returnandearn.org.au.

After going virtual last year, the planning for this year’s Nimbin Mardigrass has begun.Nimbin HEMP Embassy president Michael Balderstone said the MOB (MardiGrass Organising Body) is planning like there’s no corona - but who knows what will be going on with Covid by the first weekend in May.“It could be jabs all round or rampant corona, so obviously we have to wait 'n see,” he laughed.Michael said the weekly Friday meetings to pull MardiGrass2021 into shape will begin tomorrow – Friday, January 22 at 4.20pm in the HEMP Bar - and he invites anyone who wants to get involved to get in touch.“This year will be an all Aussie MardiGrass as we won't be flying in any overseas speakers,” Michael said. “They may join us online but essentially we hope to bring together a bunch of Australian experts on all things cannabis."There will be a big focus on the ridiculous saliva testing by police of drivers searching for minute traces of THC. “These driving laws show clearly just how serious the government is about not supporting medical cannabis. “Fiona Patten is coming to MardiGrass and by then she might have the Victorian driving laws changed for legal cannabis users which would be a start at least. “Ex Magistrate David Heilpern and solicitor Steve Bolt will join Fiona for a Q and A on drug driving.Read more news: Community delays logging plans for Bungabbee ForestMichael Balderstone campaigns for ending marijuana prohibition."There will also be a special focus on veterans with PTSD gaining access to cannabis and the government's lack of support on that. This is likely the tipping point for the American Federal laws to change now Biden is president. The suicide rate of ex military people is shameful and we know cannabis could help many enormously."Michael said last week the HEMP Olympix officials examined the Growers Iron Person and Bong Throw and Yell course and declared there was plenty of room for social distancing should it be needed. “A smaller crowd than usual is expected because overseas flights will keep many champions from getting here,” he said.“This has galvanised locals into early training hoping medals might be easier to score this year."But nothing has galvanised us for MardiGrass like the patheticness of our politicians who refuse to listen to their own experts who keep telling them to change the cannabis laws.“The police apparently are the experts on the drug laws and get the final say. A bit of vested interest in there do you think seeing as half the police work and arrests come from the drug war. “Not just jobs, but the power, the power to search and destroy pretty much if they want to.“Drug use is a health issue and the longer we police it the way we are the worse it will become.Get involvedThis year will be the 29th annual MardiGrass protesting to end the war on cannabis. “For the first decade we cried it's our choice of medicine and they said we were liars,” Michael said. “The second decade they said maybe it helps epileptic children, maybe. “Now they agree it's good medicine for a wide range of issues yet still we are not allowed to grow our own and they control the supply and we must access it via a doctor.“They say our outdoor organic home grown weed is not safe and they wonder why people don't trust the government.”“Artists of every kind are most welcome as well as volunteers to help set up, clean toilets, cook and recycle,” Michael said.“We want musicians, poets and performers, Ubud drivers, in fact any drug free drivers, and Jungle Patrol traffic controllers, market stalls and speakers.“There is a movement for people to walk to MardiGrass this year in protest against the saliva testing roadblocks. “Hitch hiking is acceptable of course and we urge clean drivers to join in helping their druggie friends to join the gathering.”If you would like to get involved in any way with MardiGrass2021 on May 1 and 2, visit http://www.nimbinmardigrass.com or phone the HEMP Embassy on 66891842. Read more news: NSW heat wave warning might not apply to Lismore