Dam rain
The heavy rain our region has gladly received was reminiscent of falls from days of yore.
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It has boosted our morale as the increased supplies in our regional dams - Chaffey Dam 39.8 per cent, Split Rock Dam 6.4 per cent, and Keepit Dam 29.8 per cent (as at Thursday 24/12/20).
Nothing seems to excite Tamworth region residents more than the sight of rain in their gauges or swollen rivers because Tamworth region residents and rural people generally understand how important water is to our lives.
It's been a slow old grind getting Tamworth, Kootingal and Moonbi's main water supply Chaffey Dam back up to a healthy level this year, from a low of 12.9 per cent and Level 5 emergency restrictions to the current level. Peel Valley farmers will hopefully get a good allocation too.
The dam level means more relaxed restriction levels under council's current Drought Management Plan as well. Council's Drought Management plan will soon be reviewed and as many residents have a view on water restrictions, I appeal to you to be part of the process and make a submission.
Sadly we do not have any control over the water releases by the NSW Government and given our council's reticence to ask questions about where the water went during the recent drought, as residents we need to be extra vigilant and sensitive to the unfettered releases from Chaffey Dam, they may make that could plunge us all back into that invidious position of serious water shortages again.
There have been no changes proposed to Water Sharing Plans or water management legislation and the state government's water management practices are not transparent so we need to be resolute when it comes to preserving our main water supplies Chaffey Dam and Split Rock Dam which are integral to the future of our region.
Mark Rodda, South Tamworth
Thank You, Tamworth
I first heard of Tamworth from Fr Richard Gleeson. At first, it was quite annoying the way he spoke of Tamworth in Armidale. He couldn't complete a full sentence without mentioning Tamworth.
Having lived in Tamworth for 22 months, I can appreciate his love for this city. I think I have been infected with "Tamworth Nostalgia". My time here was simply great. And I have God and the citizens of Tamworth to thank for that.
I will be leaving Tamworth on Christmas Day with good memories.
During my stay in Tamworth, I have marked four great events in my life. I became an Australian Citizen in Tamworth. I published my first book, Capsule for the Day, I celebrated my fifth anniversary as a priest, and I turned 40 here. In each of these events, I enjoyed the favour and support of "Tamworthians".
I am grateful to the citizens of Tamworth. I thank the mayor and his council members. I thank the staff at Tamara Hospital and Tamworth hospital. I thank the staff in all the nursing homes as well as the teachers, principals, and students of all the schools I visited and ministered as a priest. I thank families that allowed me to baptise their children. I also thank members of other denominations whose encouragement and prayers helped me to appreciate the gift of ministry. And I thank the parishioners and the parish priests of the three parishes in Tamworth.
My special thanks goes to the families who called on me to come and visit their mum, dad, grandfather, grandmother, siblings, children and grandchildren who were sick or dying in hospital and at home. Those visits enriched my priesthood. They gave me opportunity to confront my own mortality and to understand the beauty of presence. I also thank families who asked me to celebrate the funerals of their loved ones. What a great privilege I enjoyed being with you at your moment of grief and loss!
There is no doubt I will miss Tamworth. I will keep my memories of this great city alive by constantly talking about my good time in Tamworth. I will be praying for you and I ask that you keep me in your prayers. Hopefully, we may live to meet again and celebrate the good that makes life real; the love that reveals the beauty in each of us; and the joy that we experience by loving as we have been loved by God.
Thank you and God bless you.
Fr Francis Afu, Tamworth
Water security
To ensure water security now and in the future all options will need to be considered. I agree with Mayor Chaffey of Gunnedah (NDL22/12/20), that using non-potable water for road projects is a good method of saving drinking water.
It must be irritating that the pilot project hasn't been approved yet. There are a myriad of areas such as irrigation of parks, gardens, sporting fields and some household areas where non-potable water could replace drinking water with appropriate approval. It will be essential in many inland areas to produce purified drinking water.
It is fortunate that Tamworth Regional Council and CSIRO are researching less energy intensive methods of producing purified recycled water.
Robyn Bird, Tamworth Water Security Alliance
Truth in advertising
A television network has been promoting the next series of their reality program where celebrities are going to go into the Australian jungle. Could the network please explain where the jungle is in Australia as one of their promotions refutes that there is any jungle with the comment "it technically bushland" so why do they still use the word jungle?
In one of their promotions, they are emphasising the number of deadly animals in Australia. If there was any jungle in Australia it would be on land so why do they list so many marine animals. For me there is one animal that casts doubt on the credibility of the program. If they are going to go into the mythical jungle, then of course there they would encounter the deadly mythical "Drop Bears".
The promotions imply that the celebrities are going into the bushland on January 3, but truthfully, isn't that when the first episode is going to be screened. An episode that has most likely been recorded earlier so that if could be edited to fit into the allocated time slot.
Athol Latham, Tamworth