Richmond Valley Notes

with Therese Schier

Motorhome development lands in the poo

The development of the CMCA Casino Motorhome Village has a blockage - and it's over sewerage. Richmond Valley Council is insisting that the developers provide a plan of the sewerage needs for the full village development before it will approve 25 retirement villas.

The CMCA was seeking to transfer sewerage allotments from stage one of the village to the retirement villa development, but Council's environmental services director, Ken Exley, said the CMCA needs to comply with the original development conditions to provide Council with an overall sewerage plan.

"The ball's in the CMCA court," he said.

Cr Col Sullivan warned that the CMCA had legal advice saying Council could approve the sewerage transfers.

"I have concerns this is going to blow up in our faces," he said. "There's a threat to us in this issue."

Cr Sullivan raised the specter of the development shifting to Queensland, where the CMCA has bought a $3 million site in Queensland for another retirement village.

"Some of the facilities we might have got here we now may not get," he said.

However ,Mr Exley said Council needed to plan to upgrade for the increasing sewerage needs of south Casino

Cr Robert Mustow said there were no special favours for the CMCA.

"We must treat every developer the same as everyone else, in the public's eyes," he said.

Nyree welcomes visitors

Nyree Epplett at work at Council's new events and cultural liaison officer.

In her previous job, Nyree Epplett managed over 600,000 basketballers. Now she'll manage events and cultural life in the Richmond Valley.

Nyree is Council's new events and cultural liaison officer and comes to Casino after two years as the marketing and communications general manager of Basketball Australia.

After working in Sydney managing the national teams the Opals and the Boomers, as well as all those kids and adults who shoot the hoop, Nyree is already enjoying her change of lifestyle.

"I don't know why I didn't move here earlier," she said.

And after just one week in the job Nyree is already busily planning her first event, the Richmond Valley Australia Day celebrations at Windara Nursery and Tea Rooms.

"A gourmet 'Aussie' breakfast featuring a selection of delicious local produce, will kick-start proceedings on the day," Nyree said. "The official ceremony and presentation of citizenship awards will commence at 9am, followed by the Great Aussie Breakfast Race, children's maze competition, sausage sizzle, local produce stalls, music & entertainment, face painting, and displays by the Casino East Rural Fire Brigade."

Nyree said the Australia Day Ambassador is Kerry Saxby-Junna, one of Australia's greatest athletes and an international trailblazer in race walking.

Nyree plans to listen and learn and encourage event organisers to share ideas.

"A successful event is one the community gets behind and supports with a mix of volunteers and professionals," she said.

In the lead up to the Athens Olympic games earlier this year, Nyree organised a fundraiser for the two national teams.

"It was A Big Fat Greek Send Off," Nyree said. "It was great fun, like walking into Athens."

With experiences like this to draw on Nyree is sure to have some great ideas for events and cultural development in the Richmond Valley.

Evans Head high-fliers gather

Des Porter shows off his restored 1934 DeHavilland Dragon to Mrs Jean Haughton-James an ex-WAAAF who was one of the first of eight women to serve at Evans Head No.1 Bombing and Gunnery School during World War II. The Dragon will be on display at the Great Eastern Fly-In at the Evans Head memorial aerodrome from December 30 to January 2. 

Warbirds, vintage aircraft, gyros, models, microlights and ultralights are just some of the aircraft that will be on display next week at the annual Great Eastern Fly-In at the Evans Head memorial aerodrome.

The fly-in, from December 30 to January 2, attracts more than 100 aviators who are only too willing to show off their planes to the public. Admission is free and there will be air displays throughout Friday and Saturday as well as joy flights over the four days of the show.

Organiser Gai Taylor said there are joy flights to suit all budgets and in all types of aircraft, including a Beech 18 that will take the whole family.

One person who will have a special interest in the planes is Mrs Jean Haughton-James, a former WAAAF who was one of the first of eight women to serve at Evans Head No.1 Bombing and Gunnery School during World War II. She is patron of the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome committee and a revised edition of the book Wings at War telling the story of the wartime use of the Evans Head aerodrome is soon to be released.

For more information about the Fly-In, contact Gai on 6621 5592.

Summerland Way - the state's safest road

NRMA president Ross Turnbull (third from left) and Richmond Valley councillor and chair of the Summerland Way committee, Peter McLennan, mayor Charlie Cox and NRMA Far North Coast regional manager Mario Napoli check out the Summerland Way following the release of a report showing the road is the safest in NSW. 

The Summerland Way is the safest road in NSW and a good holiday route for families travelling this Christmas an NRMA safety audit has revealed.

NRMA president Ross Turnbull visited Casino last week and said the independent audit found the Summerland Way between Grafton and the Mount Lindesay Highway had the lowest crash and casualty rates of any NRMA road audit.

"We're absolutely delighted we've found an alternate for the Pacific Highway," he said. "We've driven it today, and it's a beaut road.

"Since the NRMA's last audit in 1995, the condition of the Summerland Way has seen a number of improvements that helped keep the crash and casualty rates relatively low."

However, Mr Turnbull said more work needed to be done, as 78 per cent of the road had shoulders less than one metre wide, increasing the risk to vehicles running off the road - the most common crash.

Richmond Valley councillor and chair of the Summerland Promotional committee, Peter McLennan said the road's safety record should benefit the towns and villages along the route over Christmas

"It's good news," he said.