Kym and Michael Smith of Condobolin are pleased to announce the engagement of their son Clinton Smith to Kristel Wisemantel, middle daughter of Helen and Alan Holden of Newcastle.

Both families wish them a lifetime of happiness.

Steven Sloan, Kobie Sloan and Shayne Whiley

Contributed

The Christening of Kobie Dennis Wayne Sloan took place on 28th January 2012 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Condobolin.

Father Gunn baptised Kobie who is the son of Steven Sloan and Shayne Whiley. The God Parents are Rachel Whiley, Juanita Gilpin and Anthony Davies.

Born to Read Treasurer Bev Martin receives a cheque from Gillian Ingram.

By Olivia McInnes

Chamen’s IGA made a generous donation to Condobolin’s Born to Read foundation of $5114.99 on Monday.

The donation was part of IGA’s community chest program designed to help community organisations with funding.

Born to Read’s Treasurer Mrs Beverly Martin was there to accept the cheque, and thanked IGA for their generous support.

Born to Read (BtR) has been operating in Condobolin for the last eight years. The dedicated committee is made up of community volunteers who know the importance of reading aloud to children.

Research suggests that reading aloud to your baby is the best investment you can make to their education.

BtR provides a free book and education package to every newborn baby in Condobolin.

They also operate the Joey Reader Program giving children a free book on their first and second birthdays, an alphabet chart when they turn three and a library bag at four, to help prepare them for school.

Once a year they hold a free concert to promote reading in a fun and interactive way.

This year it will be held on the 6th September and will celebrate the National Year of Reading.

The BtR Committee meets on the second Tuesday of each month (except school holidays) at 5.00pm at the Condobolin Public School SaCC Community Room.  New members are always welcome.

By Olivia McInnes

A keen group of Kindergarteners at Condobolin Public School.

Enjoying dinner at the Railway Hotel on Thursday 9/2/2012 were (front), Cheryl Pawsey, Colleen Doyle, Kathy Nagle, Almarie van der Berg, (back), Beverly Phillips, Myrell Coceanic, Marie Worthington and Sandrie Ritchie.

Contributed

Ron Tyack with his wife Rhonda, celebrated his 70th birthday with friends and family at their home on Lake Curlew last weekend. Some travelled from his old football club Barradeen in Queensland, where he was a former coach.
A highlight for the family was when five of Ron’s grandchildren waterskied past the party with ‘Happy Birthday Pop’ emblazened on their backs!

By Olivia McInnes

Daryl Nairn of Condo Quality Meats was last week crowned NSW Best Butcher after winning The Land Newspaper’s recent competition.
Condobolin locals really got behind their favourite butcher, helping him to take an early lead which he maintained for the duration of the competition.
The competition was open to all butchers throughout NSW.
Getting Daryl across the finish line was no mean feat for Condobolin given its size, with competitors in much larger centres including Orange, Bathurst and Tamworth also vying for the title.
Walcha Prime Meats gained an early lead in the competition, but Condo Quality Meats soon caught them and easily outstripped the rest with 38.5% of votes.
Other participants were no match for Condobolin’s army of supporters with the second place getter making it to only 12.7% of votes.
“I’d just like to thank everyone so much for their support,” said Daryl.
“We are so grateful for our customer’s loyalty, and intend to continue supplying Condobolin with quality meat and great service”.
Daryl won $1000 worth of Condabri grainfed beef for his business.

By Olivia McInnes
Irrigators in the Lachlan Valley are concerned about the recent release of the proposed Murray Darling Basin Plan (MDBP).
They say the Lachlan River and those who reside on it are being left out of millions of dollars worth of investment in water efficiency projects.
A State Government consultation recently held in Forbes on the impact of the MDBP, provided farmers with an opportunity to voice their concerns.
Ted Morgan from Jemalong Irrigation says the federal government has spent a lot of money on water buybacks in the Lachlan, but little on improving efficiency.
He says he has applied for funding twice and has been knocked back both times.
“The Lachlan River in general is a significant water valley in New South Wales, I feel that it has been totally disadvantaged by what has gone on so far in the whole modernisation buy back strategy of the federal government,” he said.
Mr Morgan says there has been no balance between water buybacks and investing in efficiency measures.
“All the other valleys have had hundreds of millions put into schemes and into on farm efficiency programs.
“I think the Lachlan has had $6 million that I’m aware of in on farm efficiency and nothing into schemes to improve them and modernise them.
“This should be all about modernising irrigation across New South Wales, not just some valleys.”
Water users in Lake Cargelligo say they are being left out of the plan because they are not directly on a river.
The Chairman of the Lake Cargelligo Wetlands and Lakes Council, Peter Skipworth, says the town cannot be ignored.
“We need it because there’s a lot of stock and domestic users, there’s an environmental issue with the drought refuge and the wetlands in the back of the lake that nobody’s ever seen much of.
“(From) the social point, because there’s a cultural heritage thing there, there’s a large Aboriginal community there, and it’s the social point for the town, because there’s a lot of houses built around the lake invested in living and retiring in Lake Cargelligo.”

By Olivia McInnes

The Lachlan Shire Council has recently received reports confirming that the site of the former Renown Theatre is in fact contaminated with friable asbestos.
When these fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases which can lead to death.
There are four main diseases caused by asbestos: mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening.
A key factor in the risk of developing an asbestos-related disease is the total number of fibres breathed in.
Working on or near damaged asbestos-containing materials or breathing in high levels of asbestos fibres, which may be many hundreds of times that of environmental levels can increase your chances of getting an asbestos-related disease.
The report indicates that cleaning up of the demolition site must be done with the utmost of care to avoid asbestos particles becoming airborne.
General Manager of the Lachlan Shire, George Cowan says “the order placed upon the owner of the Renown Theatre by the Lachlan Shire Council to clean up the site expired on Friday”.
“We are hoping that he will begin cleaning up the site soon, if not we will put some more pressure on.
“If the council has to move in and clean it up it will be at the rate payers expense so we are trying to avoid that.
“We are also trying to restore pedestrian access around the building as that has become a safety concern,” George said.

• Friends and family of Lila-Jane Nagle gathered at the Condobolin Public School on Friday to celebrate her life, and to raise awareness of Meningitis within the Condobolin community.

By Olivia McInnes

 A memorial service was held at the Condobolin Public School on Friday in memory of Lila-Jane Nagle.

The Condobolin Community was both shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden death of the much loved little girl last August.

Lila’s mother Belinda Nagle, explained the chain of events leading to her daughters sudden passing.

“Lila woke up on the 28th of August 2011, complaining of a headache.

We assumed that after having such a wonderful day at the Condobolin show the day before, that she was simply exhausted from all the excitement.

“At 4pm Lila vomited and said she was feeling exhausted.

“By 10pm we couldn’t wake her and by 11pm she was on life support.

“The life support was turned off on the 29th,” Belinda recalled.

Despite showing very few of the symptoms, it was determined that Lila’s cause of death was Meningitis.

Meningitis is the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.

The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria or other microorganisms and less commonly by certain drugs.

Meningitis can be life threatening because of the inflammations proximity to the brain and spinal cord, therefore the condition is classified as a medical emergency.

The most common symptoms of meningitis are headache and neck stiffness associated with fever, confusion or altered consciousness, vomiting and inability to tolerate light or loud noises.

Sometimes, especially in small children, only nonspecific symptoms may be present such as irritability or drowsiness.

A rash may be present which may indicate a particular cause of meningitis, for example meningitis caused by meningococcal bacteria may be accompanied by a characteristic rash.

Belinda says that there is no awareness program for meningitis in NSW, and that Lila had meningitis three times in her short lifetime, but sadly they didn’t realise until it was too late.

“It can affect anyone of any age, and it can kill within 24 hours; it took Lila’s life within 12 hours,” she said.

The Memorial Day for Lila held at CPS on Friday was for her school friends, who placed a plaque and planted a tree for Lila in the memory garden.

Belinda said the day was also about raising awareness within the community.

“We want to raise awareness about meningitis and we hope that by doing this it will save peoples lives,” she said.

If you would like more information on meningitis, pamphlets are available at the Melrose Street Medical Centre, or you can visit http://www.meningitis.com.au.