Michelle travels far and wide these days, both nationally and internationally, but ensures us she and some other helpers will be able to reconvene the Girl Guide movement next year with about a dozen girls ready to start. 

The community program will engage local people to deliver workshops and activities in crafts, arts, wellness and outdoor activities with a weekly session directed at young boys. 

Drug education needs to be a major part of any efforts to help build a healthier community, as our town is unfortunately not immune from the spread of the ice epidemic. Kids of this age need warnings and education from home, school and anywhere else in our community to alert them to the scourge of this drug. Council agreed to their request for rate exemption for all charges to the value of $1308, and made an initial donation of $,000 towards their programs and redevelopment of the Guide Hall.

Some months back the Sunday Telegraph published a series of articles exposing the disadvantages that rural communities suffer from both distance and isolation, with regard to health care. They are to be commended for highlighting some major anomalies and gaining some major government improvements. The Federal incentives scheme to attract GPs to the bush will increase from $47,000 to $60,000, and criteria altered to allow smaller rural communities to apply rather than only larger regional centres. 

Their “Heal the Bush” campaign has seen the petrol subsidy increase from 19c to 22c per km for patients travelling to the city for medical treatment. The minute $43 a night current accommodation subsidy puts a dog in a kennel for the night or provides shared dormitory accommodation in a backpacker lodge. This will rise to between $80 and $105 per night depending on the length of stay. The NSW Health Minister has only made these changes because of exposure, oblivious to the fact that many isolated rural people needing medical attention face distance every time they go out their front door. 

Council Manager of Engineering Services Graeme Bourke presented the funding and works program for roads to council, with the extra Roads to Recovery federal funding enabling an expanded program to occur. Total expenditure on roads in 2015/16 totals $5,827,556 of which $1,783,121 will be the increased Roads to Recovery funding, up from $677,157 last year, and primarily spent on local roads with Peisley (5km), Pangee (5km), Coffill’s Lane (5km), Gilgai (4km), Gongolgon (4km) and Colane Road (9km) being the main recipients. 

Council will engage an extra grader, contract equipment and an additional gang to do the extra resheeting work during September to December 2015. 

Council’s policy to provide a reward of up to $1000 to anyone providing information that leads to the successful prosecution of those who commit acts of vandalism or graffiti is now in place. 

Keeping Nyngan a safe community to live in, largely free of crime and vandalism, remains a challenge for all of us, but is achievable if those who consider illegal activities know our community won’t tolerate actions that erode a standard of property protection and safety.

Our local court house, along with Cobar, Warren, Gilgandra and Narromine, is undergoing a six-month trial where it will only be open on days when the local court is sitting, or by sufficient requests for an appointment with the clerk of the court.

A representation from the Justice Department explained to council how they thought the duties of this person were so small now it didn’t justify someone here three days a week, with all they do or need to do, available online or from other government services. 

This person left the general manager’s office fully aware that we didn’t agree with this action, the loss of three jobs, withdrawal of assistance to residents and more work for police in relation to search warrants and AVOs. 

We also believe Westpac will be closing its office in the main street where it has operated an agency since the bank closed its full-time branch.

If this is so, Westpac needs to inform the community and indicate where any future Westpac bank services will be located.

Ray Donald