I must say the school did a fantastic job with both events held that day, but was dismayed when I heard during the welcome speech that Amanda Findley, our newly elected Mayor for this region was unable to attend and sent a representative.

I would like to point out to Mayor Findley these students will be voting next election.

Emphasis was placed on commitment and ethics for the future.

Hopefully, the Mayor's representative can relay what transpired and the possibility of in excess of 100 votes next election missed.

Good luck to all students across the Shoalhaven with the HSC.

A staggering one in three of people reading this letter will face at least one natural disaster in their lifetime. And after the disaster hits, sadly there’s one thing most will also experience.

Regret about not being better prepared.

In Emergency Preparedness Week, Red Cross is calling on all Australians to take action before it’s too late. We want all Australians to be prepared for an emergency, whether it’s as large as a bushfire, cyclone or flood, or as personal as a family crisis .

Too many conversations after an emergency begin with “I wish I had…”. People wish they’d taken the kids’ baby photographs; kept their passports safe; upped their insurance; looked in on their neighbours.

For decades, we’ve seen first-hand the trauma, stress, and hardship that disasters bring; things many of us just aren’t prepared for like anxiety, grief and loss, relationship problems, and financial hardship that can go on for many years.

You can’t get back what you’ve lost after an emergency. But you can plan to protect what matters most. And that’s different for everyone. Our free guide can spare people much of the avoidable grief and trauma because we know that the better you are prepared, the better you will cope

Download your RediPlan at redcross.org.au/prepare and get prepared.

As if the 20,000 people devastated by the loss of greyhounds wouldn't be enough, horse racing would be 10 times that. These extremists from Animals Australia need a watchdog of their own. They're seemingly a law above themselves. They are very open about trespassing and setting spyware up on private properties. These people must be prosecuted to end this attack on law-abiding citizens. When Animals Australia start sending police to raid private properties, greyhound trainers and citizens looking for any minor infringement, they have well and truly crossed the line with me.

For two long nights my wife and I sat and watched the well advertised documentary on Channel 9 of the murder of the child model/star who was murdered twenty years ago in the USA with an amazing amount of commercials thrown in. Super sleuths from other parts the world unraveling the available clues with modern technology that was not available 20 years ago. At about the same time, allied planes bombed (in error), some army personnel in the Middle East,. The bombings caused the death of 80-odd soldiers and hundreds more injured. It seems that innocent lives lost in the Middle East are not really that important or precious to the rest of the world. But these soldiers were all fathers and sons and had families, same as us. It’s no wonder we have this mass exodus of refugees world wide.