Police are reappealing for public assistance as they continue to search missing man Rohan Lloyd.Mr Lloyd lives in Lismore, however he is also known to frequent the Kyogle, Barkers Vale and Coffs Harbour areas.Rohan, aged 37, was last seen in Kyogle about 11am on Thursday August, 13, 2020.His family contacted police when he could not be contacted. Police and family hold serious concerns for his welfare.His vehicle – a light blue 2009 Hyundai Getz – was located by police on Wednesday 2 September near Whiteman Creek Road on the mid north coast.Officers from Coffs/Clarence and Richmond Police Districts are conducting extensive inquiries into his whereabouts.Mr Lloyd lives in Lismore, however he is also known to frequent the Kyogle, Barkers Vale and Coffs Harbour areas.Police have released an image of a vehicle similar to Rohan’s, in the hope that someone may have noticed it around the mid north coast in late August to early September.Rohan is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 167cm tall, with a medium build, balding brown hair and a short, fine beard.Anyone who sees him, or believes they know his whereabouts, or who may have seen his light blue 2009 Hyundai Getz with NSW registration CI 19 FC in late August or early September, is urged to contact police.Anyone with information about Rohan’s whereabouts 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 crime via NSW Police social media pages

The two big stories to come out of the monthly Lismore City Council meeting last night was the approval of the Nimbin Cullen Street Development and Neil Marks' appointment as Deputy Mayor for the next twelve months.The Cullen Street development means Nimbin's CBD will be revitalised once the project is complete with retail shops, take away food premises, a 12 seat café, a Medical Centre and communal open space garden areas.The majority of councillors referred to positive feedback from the community with Councillor Bird saying "That beyond a doubt that the community supports this DA. It can only bring positives to our community." There was some conjecture as to the amount the developer would pay in contributions for the Western Carpark and beautification of the garden area. The initial amount was $74,840, this was reduced to $20,000 as it was deemed enough for the proposed work to be completed without the developer walking away from the project.There were two candidates for Deputy Mayor, they were Neil Marks and Nancy Casson. Neil Marks was voted in as Deputy Mayor 5 votes to 3.In his speech Cnr Marks said 'This has been a difficult time for councillors and we have not always worked well together. As Deputy Mayor I hope to bring us together.""I feel I have worked closely with every member and hope I have earned their respect."Five councillors thought so while three supported Cnr Casson with Cnr Ekins abstaining from the vote.Cnr Casson suffered more disappointment earlier in the night when her motion to offer Financial Hardship Assistance to some struggling ratepayers through the creation of a reserve fund through the saving of former councillors Gianpiero Battista and Greg Bennett's wages, was lost 3 votes to 6. The money council saves from those two wages will be put into the general fund.

Applications are closing soon for Lismore City Council’s Business Flood Grants.The grants of up to $25,000 are to assist businesses and premises owners within flood-prone urban areas to become ‘flood ready’. Applications close 4pm, Tuesday, September 15. The program Guideline and Application forms are available at http://www.lismore.nsw.gov.auThe grants are in partnership with the NSW Government. For more information contact Tina Irish on 1300 87 83 87.To find out more about the grants, read The Lismore App story: Lismore businesses called to get flood ready with a $25K grant 

Calling for smarter water management, protestors wearing masks gathered outside the Rous County Council building in Lismore this morning to declare their opposition to the proposed new dam at Dunoon.The protestors were members of the newly formed alliance, WATER Northern Rivers – and they presented the water authority with 280 paper submissions objecting to the new dam.Read more news: Channon Dunoon Dam causing more than wavesWATER Northern Rivers spokesperson Annie Kia, said tomorrow was the last day for the public to hand in submissions expressing their views on the planned dam to the water authority.New report“We want Rous County Council to pause in the process of planning this new dam, especially since a new report from Professor Stuart White from UTS in Sydney has shown that the dam is unnecessary and would increase the cost of water significantly,” she said.“Professor White’s report says that the Rous assessment process failed to adequately analyse and cost better water efficiency, and that it incorrectly applied the concept of marginal cost in comparing options.“In view of this report, we call on Rous County Council to stop promoting the dam, and to adopt a management approach that values water at every part of its journey.”Annie said the way forward instead, was to invest in system-wide water efficiency, as undertaken by the City of Sydney – which then successfully increased its population by one million people without any extra water usage.“This involves auditing all the water pipes in the system, including schools, hospitals, aged care residences, government buildings and universities – every faucet, appliance and policy,” she said.“Then fixing it means more jobs are also created to address the issues where water is lost."Will the cost of water go up?Annie said Rous’ general manager already confirmed to Councillors that the cost of water will increase four fold.“Rous sells to local government and the dam costs at present are $245 million – it’s on their website,” she said.“It’s a huge infrastructure cost and we know these builds blow out, Professor White looks at this and analyses the costs.“He offers a different way of thinking about this and has worked with Egypt, Oman and the Phillipines on these modern approaches to water systems.“Sydney City put a big investment in it and got a big return on it, making incredible gains in the system."We lose water all the way on its journey.“It’s a mad notion that we need to raise water to the highest drinking standard and use it to flush toilets and mix cement.‘We collect energy on roofs here, but we are not good at harvesting water.Picture by David Lowe of the area to be flooded for the dam.Lismore Square“Lismore Square has a big roof and when they put rain tanks on, they collected the water and flush toilets with it – it’s their big water use. We can all do so much better.”Annie also said some councils dealt with water efficiency better than others. She cited Ballina Council’s purple pipe water reuse scheme and how it was used to feed water to new housing developments.“If the Lismore North Plateau development goes ahead, Lismore City Council still have no plans to take clean water to the development for reuse through the purple pipe system.“If we go ahead with the dam, we lose the opportunity to get a water system we can be proud of. Local resident, David Lowe has created video footage and pictures of the rare and endangered rainforest in The Channon Gorge, which would be destroyed by the new dam wall.Environment“This dam is destructive all round. It would obliterate Aboriginal Heritage. It would drown exceptionally rare rainforests. And with its eye-watering price-tag of $240 million dollars, it would increase the cost of water to consumers and industry."Annie said the plan to flood the Dunoon/Channon valley would destroy “quite an amazing place”."There is only 1% of the Big Scrub Rainforest left and the dam would destroy an important part of what remains, and with it, endangered ecological communities, and threatened species,” she said.MP HoganPage MP Kevin Hogan said "our area is good at catching water on the roof", but that government needed to look closer at policies that could restrict the ways we gather water from roof tops.“The issue here is we have is we have a growing population with a demand for more water and more energy,” he said.“Rous do a lot of work on this and there’s currently a public consultation and we’ll see what comes back.”LinksProfessor Stuart White’s documents reports can be viewed here:Brief summary: http://www.bit.ly/Prof-Stuart-White-Rous-Water-augmentation-proposalSlides in PDF form: http://www.bit.ly/Prof-Stuart-White-Rous-slidesAnyone interested in submitting their views to Rous County Council can do so by emailing council@rous.nsw.gov.au or get ideas from the Facebook page Dunoon/ the Channon Dam Proposal Forum

Water squirters, misters and water cannons - to keep the kids (and big kids) cool in the warmer months - will soon be a prominent feature in Lismore's Heritage Park.Lismore City Mayor Isaac Smith said work on the $500,000 upgrade of the popular Heritage Park is progressing well with the installation of the new water play area and upgrade of the Tiny Tots area expected to start in a couple of weeks.“Heritage Park is much loved and used by our community. This upgrade will ensure families will use it for many more years to come,” he said. “It is planned that the installation of the water play equipment will commence in the second week of September, with the new playground and nature play area installation commencing the following week.“While the installation of the playground areas has been delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, Council has used this time to employ local contractors to do various other aspects of the upgrade, including painting, plumbing, cleaning, fencing, landscaping and earth moving, all using local supplies. “With everything going to plan, and the weather being favourable like it is now, we are aiming to have the park open to the community for a well-earned play in early October.”The new water play area includes squirters, misters and water cannons to keep the kids cool in the warmer months.There will also be a new nature play area with boulders and timber features for children to climb on and new equipment in the Tiny Tots playground including a carousel, tree-tops tower, whirly dizzy, relocated tortoise seesaw and in-ground trampolines.The Heritage Park upgrade has been funded through a $250,000 grant from the NSW Stronger Country Communities Fund and $250,000 from Council raised via pocket park sales and flood insurance money. 

At tonight's Lismore City Council meeting our new Deputy Mayor will be elected. Under normal circumstances this is not an overly interesting vote but in a COVID year where council elections have been deferred by twelve months, September 2021, it does give the Deputy Mayor a more visual profile if that person wishes to run for Mayor next year.Mayor Isaac Smith confirmed this point, "it does give that person more prominence going into a Mayoral election year."During this four year term we have had Councillors Gianpiero Battista, Vanessa Ekins, Elly Bird and currently Darlene Cook serving as Deputy Mayors for LCC."In the past this has been a rotating position to give other councillors experience in that role," Mayor Smith said, "but the rule book has been thrown aside once COVID hit."So who is putting their hat in the ring tonight?Councillor Nancy Casson has said she will nominate, Neil Marks wasn't sure, Eddie Lloyd and Bill Moorhouse were contemplating not staying in their roles for another twelve months so they probably won't nominate. This would leave Adam Guise as a third option unless one of the other four breaks the unwritten rotation policy.The biggest item on the council meeting tonight is the Development Application for a controversial new building in Cullen Street, Nimbin.The Rainbow Café and Nimbin Museum burnt down in 2014 with the land owners working with council on design and plans for a new building that complies with the Nimbin Heritage Conservation area. The new DA seeks consent for a mixed-use development on 60A and 62 Cullen Street that includes retail shops, take away food and drink premises, a restaurant / café (12 seats), Medical Centre and outdoor communal space area at the rear of the site.The debate will surround the car parking that was initially included in earlier DA's and has now been withdrawn. This was a concern for some of the thirteen submissions made to council from the public when it was put on display.Another item that cause some debate are proposed changes to the Model Mode of Conduct and Procedures something that has been a point of conjecture with some councillors over the course of this term.The Lismore App will have rundown of the results tomorrow.

Stroke patients in the Northern Rivers will now have access to an innovative new telehealth service as part of a $21.7 million initiative being rolled out across NSW.The NSW Telestroke Service will go live at Lismore Base Hospital today, linking stroke patients with specialist stroke clinicians via telehealth. The service enables time-critical diagnosis and treatment for patients in regional and rural areas.“People in regional and rural areas have a far greater risk of hospitalisation from stroke and this vital service will provide them with immediate, life-saving diagnosis and treatment from the state’s leading clinicians,” Lynne Weir, Director Clinical Operations, Northern NSW Local Health District said.“The Telestroke Service will improve outcomes for stroke patients in our region, giving them a much greater chance of surviving and leading a normal life.”The service links expert stroke clinicians with local emergency physicians to quickly determine the best possible treatment plan for a patient.Every year, around 19,000 residents in NSW have a stroke.At Lismore Base Hospital from January to December 2019 there were 253 stroke patients admitted to hospital.“A stroke is a medical emergency, and kills up to 1.9 million brain cells per minute,” Kim Hoffman, Lismore Base Hospital Stroke Coordinator, said.“This Telestroke Service will have an enormous impact by providing time-critical, best-practice treatment that saves lives and reduces lifelong disability.”“It’s also really important that people learn to recognise stroke symptoms and call an ambulance immediately, to give stroke sufferers the best chance of a successful outcome,” Ms Hoffman said.“The F.A.S.T. test is an easy way to spot the signs of stroke, which I encourage everyone to learn.”F.A.S.T. stands for:- Face: Check the person’s face. Has their mouth drooped?- Arms: Can the person lift both arms?- Speech: Is the person’s speech slurred? Do they understand you?- Time: Is critical. If you see any of these signs call 000 straight away. Developed by eHealth NSW and the Agency for Clinical Innovation, the NSW Telestroke Service is based at Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital. The service will expand to up to 23 sites over the next three years, with Grafton Base Hospital and The Tweed Hospital expected to roll out in the program in 2021. 

Lismore City Council released the results of their border closure survey yesterday with very little surprises but a very worrying real concern for Northern NSW residents and businesses.The Queensland border closure has revealed that it has adversely affected 98 per cent of the more than 300 people who responded, Lismore Mayor Isaac Smith said.Seventy-three per cent said the border closure had a “significant impact", with 25 per cent saying it had "some impact" and slightly under 2 per cent reporting ‘little impact’.By far the biggest impact was on families, with 69 per cent saying the border closure meant they could not see their close relatives, followed by 38 per cent nominating access to medical service and 25 per cent nominating employment.“These results are extremely concerning and reveal the real impact that the border closure is having on our community,” Mayor Smith said.“People’s lives are being put at risk, people’s jobs are being put at risk, and families can not see each other. It is totally unacceptable.This was typified in the Lismore App story about local man Brad Jones who cannot get across the border to visit his four year old daughter Charlotte who is undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. Charlotte has been in Brisbane with her mum Melissa since January 23 (Border closure heartbreak for family separated by cancer treatment)“These are real people we are talking about. The Queensland Government must immediately end this harsh boarder closure to Lismore residents.”Lismore City Council launched the survey a fortnight ago after receiving a large number of complaints from community members about the impact of the border closure.Of those who said the closure had prevented them accessing medical care, 47 people nominated specialist pathology or testing, 25 said it prevented them from receiving elective surgery, 12 related to infant welfare and 19 people said it prevented access to mental health services.More than 190 people said they had difficulty accessing information via the Queensland Government health portal or found it difficult to keep up with rule changes.“The survey shows people and families are under great distress. The Queensland Government must immediately adopt the suggestions submitted by the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation of Councils (NRJO) last week.”The NRJO, which includes Lismore City Council, recommends:A return to the managed pass system that was in place during Queensland's first border closure period, valid for residents in six council areas to travel as far north as Brisbane.Queensland to provide greater flexibility for non-urgent but essential travel for medical needs, including disability support or for compassionate grounds for families.The NSW Government to help resource Queensland Police to operate border checkpoints.The NSW Government to establish a $45 million grant program to assist small businesses in the region to cope with losses caused by the border closure.Mayor Smith said the results of Lismore City Council’s survey will now be sent to the Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin and the NSW State Government so that they can press the case for an easing of border restrictions.

A key new cancer treatment has just become more accessible for Australians fighting specific forms of leukaemia and lymphoma. Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan said the Federal Government has listed Calquence® on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Calquence® (acalabrutinib) has been listed on the PBS for the first time for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma. Lymphocytic leukaemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma are types of blood cancer that affect lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) and the lymph nodes. Calquence® might otherwise cost more than $140,000 per course of treatment, however with the PBS subsidy, patients will now pay just $41 per script, or $6.60 with a concession card. Furthermore, access to Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) has been expanded on the PBS to include treatment of relapsed or refractory primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma. This is a rare type of lymphoma that largely affects young adults and there is currently a need for newer targeted therapies for this condition. Without the PBS subsidy, patients might pay more than $130,000 per course of treatment for this condition. The Government has also expanded the PBS listing of Keytruda® for the treatment of melanoma. Australia has one of the highest rates of melanoma in the world, with more than 15,000 diagnoses each year—close to one diagnosis every half hour. Keytruda® will now be available through the PBS as adjuvant treatment for patients who have had completely surgically resected Stage IIIB, IIIC or IIID malignant melanoma, which means it will be provided as a treatment in addition to surgery. In addition, this extension will also allow for the use of Keytruda® as a first line treatment of BRAF V600 positive stage III or IV unresectable or metastatic melanoma, or melanoma that has spread through the body and has a specific biomarker. These listings have been recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.  Since 2013, the Australian Government has approved more than 2,400 new or amended listings on the PBS. This represents an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month—or one each day—at an overall investment by the Government of $11.6 billion.

A free pilot program to help new and expectant fathers through the physical, emotional and mental challenges of parenthood is being rolled out in the Northern NSW region.The region is one of four, Northern Sydney, Western Sydney and the Murrumbidgee, to take part in the ‘Focus on New Fathers’ pilot program.The program sends texts to dads, offering valuable health advice and links into pathways to ensure support options are available.Ellie Saberi, Women and Children Health Program Coordinator for Northern NSW Local Health District said parenthood could be a difficult time for new fathers as well new mothers.“New dads want to be able to concentrate on their partners and children at this time, and they often don’t think to look after themselves as well,” Ms Saberi said.“Research has shown men are often reluctant to engage with the health system to get support, despite around one in ten dads experiencing depression and anxiety in the postnatal period.“This program is about letting fathers know they’re not alone and there is support for them when they need it.”Men living in Northern NSW can sign up if they are over the age of 18, their partner is at least 16 weeks pregnant or their baby is younger than 24 weeks. They need to have a mobile phone capable of receiving and sending text messages.The pilot, which is being delivered by the University of Newcastle in partnership with NSW Health, will run over the next year.Associate Professor Elisabeth Murphy, Senior Clinical Advisor, Child and Family Health, said self-care for new fathers was extremely important as the mental and physical wellbeing of both parents had a direct effect on their children.“Receiving help with health issues early on ensures dads are in the best possible position to care for their new baby and partner,” Associate Professor Murphy said.For more information, and to sign up for the program, visit https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public/pages/focus-on-fathers.aspx 

Councillor Nancy Casson is putting forward a Notice of Motion in tomorrow nights council meeting to help those suffering financial hardship and are unable to pay their rates.Cnr Casson's intention is to take the already budgeted salaries of former councillors Gianpiero Battista and Greg Bennett (who resigned as Lismore City Councillors in August) and put them into a nominated reserve account."I would like to finish want Gianpiero Battista was trying to get through with his previous voluntary donations motion," says Councillor Casson, "the money is already allocated in the current budget so it will not cost council any additional funds and we can help people in need."When asked about what sort of case this money will be approved for, Cnr Casson mentioned the example of a local farmer whose property was revalued this year. Unfortunately the revaluation meant that his assets were significant enough to affect his and his wife's pension. At the time his wife was suffering from cancer and subsequently passed away in January. Due to the reduction in his pension through both circumstances, he was unable to pay his rates.Cnr Casson reported that this man did the right thing and notified council to organise a payment plan once he could sell some cattle. This is where some sort of error occurred and council hired a debt collector to chase the late payment at a reported cost of $457. The man has paid his deferred rates amount then told Cnr Casson that he would pay this debt collector bill but it would put him on the bread line. Cnr Casson would like this fund to pay back the debt collector fee because he tried to follow procedure and organise a payment plan."I would like each case looked at separately," said Cnr Casson. "I hope that my fellow councillors support my motion tomorrow night. There are a lot of people suffering in our community."Lismore Council voted Council resolved to adopt a temporary policy in relation to address Covid-19 that allowed ratepayers to apply for a period of 60 days interest free from the 31 May 2020 rates due date, with no restrictions such as living on the property or being rated under a Residential category. To date Council has received approximately 30 enquiries but only 15 applications.The other side of the coin is that council is has a forecast deficit of $458,000 for the 2020/2021 financial year and that this saving should be returned to the general fund and reduce that deficit. The saving is $40,490.It really comes down to short term help for struggling individuals versus medium to long term advantages for everyone in our community.Councillor Casson's Motion is that Council:1. Allocate councillor fees for both Councillors Battista and Bennett be put in an account designed to help ratepayers who find themselves unable to pay their rates during the COVID-19 pandemic2. Application are to be assessed as per Council’s Hardship Policy3. Resolves to place this money into a reserve

Congratulations to Kadina High Campus for making it as a finalist in the NOVA Employment 2020 Focus On Ability Short Film Awards.The film is promoting Dylan, Warrajarra and Jayden’s abilities in the classroom, their interests and what they can provide to potential employers. The students have all attended The Rivers Secondary College, Kadina High Campus from Year 7 through to Year 12. This short documentary gives the students an opening to help with their transition from school into employment.The documentary is called 'Sign Me Up' and is filmed and edited by Harry Witt & Dion Meredith.While a fantastic effort to make it as a finalist in this competition Kadina High now needs your help to vote for their documentary which will enable them to win a $3000 Harvey Norman voucher for the most on-line votes.The link to view and vote for the Sign Me Up documentary is https://www.focusonability.com.au/. Once on the home page click on the 'View and Vote Now' button below 'School Films open for voting' heading. Then click on 'School Entrant Documentaries' and look for 'Sign Me Up'.You can only vote once and this must be done before this Monday September 7, 2020.Ian Davies Executive Principal of the Rivers Secondary College said "We are confident that the judges will love our documentary ‘SIGN ME UP’ but if the we all join together and support Dylan, Warrajarra and Jayden, their film can win Most Online Votes!!!""If that happens we will spend the money on resources for students with disabilities."Mr Davies also encouraged people to vote in different categories, as well, so please watch other films, be inspired by the abilities of students with disabilities and their films. Voters go into the running to win a $50.00 iTunes voucher.Other prizes include the Judges Choice – Documentary: Toshiba package valued at $7000 and the NOVA Employment School Choice Awards: Five winners each receive $1000 cash.Good luck Dylan, Warrajarra and Jayden!

Bagels made with a New York friend’s recipe and vegan cupcakes are just two of the offerings from Lismore’s newest delicatessen. Freshly opened this week, Doughboy Deli in the Embassy Arcade, off Keen Street, is the new venture for Joe Steele and Jessica Smith.Inspired by Joe’s love of New York eateries, the pair wanted to bring an international coffee culture to the heart of Lismore.“We decided Lismore needs affordable, quick, easy light food,” Joe said. “Since Covid, there’s a big need for take away food and sometime you just don’t want to cook for yourself, so let us do it for you.“Jess and I travelled Europe for a few months and fell in love with the pastries and the coffee culture there,” Joe said. “You are quickly in, out and walking down the street with a giant Danish in one hand and a coffee in the other.”Jos also spent time in New York and he loved it the Italian and Jewish delis there which reflected his own Italian heritage.“New York is a world onto its own,” he said. “You walk in and they recognise you from the day before and the next thing you know there’s a sandwich being flung at you over the counter because they have remembered you and already made it.”While Jessica is passionate about making bagels and vegan cupcakes which sell out as fast as she can make them, Joe makes homemade pastrami – which has also been so popular, he needs to make more every night.“It’s a pickled brisket with a secret rub on it and its smoked,” he said. “The meat balls we make are an old family recipe from my mum and the napolitana sauce is my Nonna’s.“Our bagels will soon be vegan soon too we work out how to replace the honey.”On the wall in the shop are menus of sandwiches for sale – all with quirky names.“We’ve sold out of the Reuben twice,” Joe said. “It’s a quintessential. The New York deli style meatball sandwich is classic too and the Punky Rooster one of our flavour combos we’ve made up, with a herb yoghurt sauce.”The pair also use a special coffee blend that they have made up especially for them.“We are also selling the ingredients we use in our food from the olives and the feta cheese to chargrilled vegetables,” Joe said.“We can make salads with any of the ingredients – no bread – and we will soon launch anti-pasto boxes that people can take home.“The biggest thing we wanted to do was use local producers. It’s incredible ‘our cheese supplier gets Australian products or amazing Italian imported cheeses.“We will start working directly with local farmers in time – our area has great a agricultural industry and we want to make sure our food is ethical.”Jess and Joe used to work at Dragonfly Café together, when Joe’s mum owned the café. Now after working and travelling together they are ready to build a successful new business while working for themselves.With Joe’s background in business and marketing, it seems set to grow.“We’ve been so touched by the support we’ve had over the last few days,” Joe said.“We do free CBD delivery and people have been ringing up with orders, so we invite people to call ahead, email or text us. We like email so we can keep track of what comes through.”You can contact Doughboy Deli on 0401 064 211, via the website www.doughboydeli.com or email hello@doughboydeli.com

With the weekend weather looking a bit Jekyll and Hyde it may be best to get outdoors tomorrow (Saturday) because Sunday is looking likely to get us about 4-10mm of rain with a potential thunderstorm in the afternoon. Having said that the BOM say there is a chance of thunderstorm late Saturday afternoon or evening too but most of the day should be fine with a top of 27. We will experience a drop on Sunday when the change comes through with 21 expected.So, what's on offer this weekend?As reported earlier today two local businesses are having their official Grand Openings following their soft launches recently (Two Lismore stores hold grand openings on Saturday)NPC Amusements is a man cave warehouse at 16 Rifle Range Road, East Lismore and will be open between 9 and 4pm tomorrow. They have an amazing stock of products for Fathers Day if you are one of those late buyers!Stepz Fitness is Lismore's newest gym on the Ground Floor of Lismore Central. Stepz open at 7am tomorrow and will hold FREE Group Fitness Classes between 7am and 9am.The Lismore Farmers Markets is on tomorrow morning from 8. As well as some fresh local fruit and veg you will see Jyllie Jackson and her team raising money to save LightnUp which is Jyllie's not for profit business that runs the Lismore Lantern Parade. With no events at all in 2020 and therefore no money coming in the door Jyllie needs our help to keep operating. Imagine no more Lismore Lantern Parades? (COVID-19 threatens survival of iconic Lismore Lantern Parade).You will also find Jyliie and the team at the Lismore Car Boot Markets on Sunday. Don't forget the new venue during COVID is at the Lismore Showgrounds with the 7:30am to 3pm time frame the same.Blue Knob Community Markets are on tomorrow from 8:30am to 11am.The live music scene comes back to life tonight for the first time at the Lismore City Hall when NORPA and Kate Stroud put on the first of what is hoped to be many Studio Sessions. Ben Wilson has an album launch tonight while Lucie Thorne & Sarah Tindley play on Saturday night. Unfortunately if you are reading this for the first time, both sessions are sold out. Check out the NORPA website for more Studio Sessions in the coming months.The Lismore Regional Gallery has a few exciting exhibitions running at the moment. Language of the Wounded and Body Language will be showing until November while at the Serpentine Gallery they have the opening tonight for David Shaw's 'Through My Eyes' exhibition between 5pm and 8pm.The cheap petrol is 112.9 at the United on Ballina Road for unleaded E10, Unleaded 91 is 114.9 at United and the Woolworths Caltex near the Square while there are three diesel options at 117.9 at United and Liberty on Ballina Road, the Shell on Wilson Street and now the Caltex on Union Street near the Three Chains Road roundabout.It is round 7 of the Far North Coast Football league over the weekend.Saturday sees Richmond Rovers home to Bangalow at Nielsen Park with kick off at 1pm while the other game on Saturday sees Lismore Thistles away to second placed Byron Bay at 3pm.There are two Fathers Day matches on Sunday including the ladder leading South Lismore Celtics up against Maclean at Nesbitt Park at 2:30 and the Goonellabah Hornets tackle Alstonville at Weston park also at 2:30.In the NRRRL Gold competition, Northern United look set to continue on their winning way when they take on Mullumbimby at Crozier Field with a 1.20 kick off. The Marist Brothers Rams have the bye this week.While the Lismore Rugby Club senior team ended its season last weekend the junior teams continue their season while the Colts take on Casuarina for a Grand Final spot tomorrow.You will find the weekend results on the Lismore App Sports page which will include Hockey and Baseball too.Neil Marks' Blog tomorrow is about Fathers Day with a dig at Qld Premier Anastacia Palaszczuk, stand in line Neil!Happy Fathers Day to all Dad's all that play that role.As always, here are this weeks funny meme's;

The Australian-Italo Club in North Lismore has finally re-opened after months of closure.Italo Club president Americo Melchoir said the club officially reopened last Friday, but they “didn’t want to make a big fuss out of the first night”.Read more business news: Two Lismore stores hold grand openings on Saturday“Last night was our third big night and we got good numbers,” Americo said. “We had 35 people – that’s not bad for having been closed so long.“We have a new chef – Dallas – who is the same chef who makes the food at East Lismore Bowling Club.“People will be coming back because his food is good – the T-bone steaks are amazing.”Americo said the club is “back to normal” and has beer on tap again, with five varieties available and there are plans to sell martinis and cocktails.“We are going to get training soon so we know how to make them well,” he said. “I’m in the process of buying the equipment so we can do it."The Italo Club will be open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 4pm.MergerAmerico said the merger of the Italo Club with the Sydney-based Club Marconi is still going ahead, but that it will be a long process until it is finalised.“It will take another two to three months until the legals are sorted,” he said. "It’s early stages yet.”Club Marconi stepped in earlier this year with an offer to take on the Italo Club and save it from certain closure, after Covid forced the club to shut down. The process of taking the merger to completion has been slowed by the Sydney Covid outbreaks - which impacted on the ability of Club Marconi officials to travel to Lismore and work with the local management. “I’m happy about the future of the club – everything is looking good and I think we’ll make it,” Americo said. Read more news: Local Italo Club's future hangs on tonight's meeting  

What do you want to ask pollies about the state border closures?With the political battle over state borders heating up, ABC television’s Q+A program is tackling the Border Wars issue and is calling for people to submit questions for the show’s panel by 9am Monday.Read more news: Border closure heartbreak for family separated by cancer treatmentThe program Q+A will be screened on Monday next week at 9.35pm on ABC TV, and also streamed live on ABC iview and the ABC website. The show’s host Hamish Macdonald said the State Premiers are standing firm on closures and the Prime Minister wants interstate travel to resume by Christmas.“Hard border closures are helping contain COVID cases but have caused massive problems for business, health care workers and families in need of medical attention,” he stated. “And thousands of Australians remain stranded overseas faced with a cap on international arrivals, soaring ticket prices and quarantine costs. “So, who’s got the power when it counts? Are we getting the balance right when it comes to restricting free travel in the name of public health?”The panel will include:Michael McCormack, Nationals Leader and Deputy Prime MinisterKristina Keneally, Shadow Home Affairs MinisterDr Omar Khorshid, Australian Medical Association PresidentKim Rubenstein, Legal scholar and citizenship expertTania de Jong, Entrepreneur and sopranoQuestions can be submitted via the ABC website https://www.abc.net.au/qanda/

There are two store grand openings are happening this Saturday, after what seems to be a rush of new business in Lismore over the last two to three weeks. It is an exciting and positive sign for the post COVID recovery.Read more news: Lismore's Italo club finally reopensNPC Amusements in East Lismore and Stepz Fitness in Lismore Central have both had soft launches recently but have held off their official launches until tomorrow (Saturday September 5).NPC Amusements moved from Ballina Road to 16 Rifle Range Road, East Lismore in July to get out of the flood area and into a much larger warehouse that holds and displays all of their product items. The result means that they are now open to the public as a retail outlet as well as an on-line store.Celebrations kick off at 9am and run until 4pm with a cars and motorbikes on display and food from Junkyard BBQ including Take Away Packs for Fathers Day. Owner Nick Contojohn said "if you have a nice car bring it along and park it in the driveway"."We are not sure how many cars there will be," Nick added, "Car Clubs have said they will bring their cars along but we don't have an official count from all of the people involved".There will be free pinball, fussball and a classic space invaders game for the kids or big kids at heart to play as well as quoits set up for some fun.The warehouse is a very large area but with the COVID restrictions this means a maximum of 80 in the shop at any one time. You may have a short queue at various stages of the day and there will be hand sanitiser available.Nick explained it is difficult to put pricing on all the shelves because it varies so much depending on the exchange rate so if you wish to get a price look for the Code Scanner above the item and hold your camera over the code. This will take you to the NPC website and give the current pricing of the products you want.This is also your way to get 10% off your Fathers Day presents. When you use the scanner to check the price and you want to buy it, you can check out via the website by paying on-line. Once you have done that take your purchase to the front counter and show your receipt."It's all about making purchasing items a quicker process for everyone," Nick said.Another way to save 10% is to buy on-line before you go into NPC Amusements and pick up your goods when you are checking out the store.Stepz Fitness have been working hard finishing off their brand new gym on the ground floor of Lismore Central under the escalators.It is worth getting up early on Saturday morning and heading into Stepz Fitness in Lismore Central. Stepz has FREE Group Fitness Classes between 7am and 9am with Stepz Hiit, Stepz Fit and Stepz Strong.Manager Alyce Benson said there will also be a Kids Colouring Competition between 10am and 11am along with free prizes and giveaways."The rest of our equipment has arrived just in time for our grand opening which is fantastic so I want to invite everyone to come and have a look at our brand new gym with brand new equipment," Alyce said, "we are ready for action."If you are looking for something to do Saturday as well as supporting two new local businesses, call into 16 Rifle Range Road, East Lismore and ground floor Lismore Central.

Volunteer organisations can now apply for Federal Government grants of up to $5,000, to support the efforts of their volunteers. Page MP Kevin Hogan said the supplementary grants program funding was provided through The Centre for Volunteering. “Grants of between $1,000 and $5,000 will help community organisations buy equipment such as laptops, pay fuel costs, train volunteers and improve their fundraising,” Mr Hogan said. “Volunteers are the lifeblood of our community and by continuing to help each other and work together we are building a stronger and safer community.” “I encourage all not-for-profit organisations in our community to apply for the Volunteer Grants to help make the work of our volunteers easier, safer and more enjoyable.” For more information or to apply, visit https://www.volunteering.com.au/supplementary-volunteer-grants/ Applications close September 20.

The Premier of NSW, Gladys Berejiklian, has given local Year 12 students a glimmer of hope regarding this years graduation ceremonies when she announced a review of milestone events for Term 4.Until then all high schools were forced to make alternative arrangements involving a graduation ceremony that involved their fellow students and a handful of teachers but no parents, siblings or extended family.The positive news is that in a worst case scenario, parents would not miss out completely as all High Schools will create an on-line ceremony which will be streamed and recorded so the ceremonies can be downloaded as a keep sake.Ian Davies Executive Principal of The Rivers Secondary College (Lismore High, Kadina High and Richmond River High) told the Lismore App "To compensate for the inability for parents to be a part of the celebrations each campus has committed to creating an online ceremony. The ceremonies will have pre-recorded speeches, musical items and of course the students themselves being awarded their 2020 portfolios."Lismore High 2020 Captains (from front row left) Abbey Bailey, Angus Gallagher, Ella Campbell, Emily Buckner, Alyssa McDonald, (back row) Lockyer Wilson, Liam Pollack, Inanna Ihalainen and Bailey Crabtree. Photo: supplied.HSC Trails are now complete with the HSC Exams to begin on Tuesday October 20.In a sign of maturity beyond their years the school captains from the campuses are very appreciative that they will be recognised in some way as they complete their secondary schooling. Ben, one of the school captains from Kadina High Campus says “considering everything that is going on I feel lucky to be able to complete the HSC in a modified structure and still have some opportunity to celebrate our graduation with my peers.”Richmond River High 2020 captains (from left) Elijah Wraight, Will Scott-Wales, Rattana Bowyer, Joshua Bryant, George Shepherd and Tameka Devine-Davey. Photo: supplied.Catholic Schools Office media officer Lisa Kwok confirmed that similar plans were in place at Woodlawn and Trinity College's to provide on-line streaming of the Year 12 graduation ceremonies. Details had not been finalised as this story is being written and now the regulations around milestone events may be changed for Term 4, the ceremony day may have a number of alternate options.Hopefully, for the sake of our graduating Year 12 students the 2020 graduating ceremonies will physically include their families.Stay tuned.