Good
• MAYOR Bilal El-Hayek will donate proceeds from the Mayoral Christmas Appeal to a needy Bankstown family who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads while the mum battles cancer. Michael ‘Mudzz’ Tarei is facing an unfathomable road ahead as his 37-year-old wife Pania, mother to their six kids under 12, has been told she doesn’t have long. Mudzz, a scaffolder, is off work to raise their children, but to keep up with rent and put food on the table, the family needs help. A friend said it would be great if they had a car they could all fit in as well as items for the children such as football boots, clothes, school materials and maybe some Christmas toys. “They would be beyond grateful for anything,” she said. If you can help: givenow.com.au/cr/tarei-family-appeal.
• PADSTOW Station attendant Arthur is being praised after twice rescuing a resident with dementia who wandered from home while his wife slept. “After getting my husband to show identification, Arthur called me,” the wife said. “The second time, I was asleep so he rang my son. He also took a photo of my husband and his details to warn other staff and gave him tea and biscuits. Incredible work, Arthur!”
• CONGRATS to Bankstown cricketer Steve Waugh AO who was one of five prominent members of the NSW Cricket community to be given the highest individual honour at the Sydney Cricket Group – Life Membership – at an SCG field function last week. Test great Waugh was honoured along with Belinda Clark AO, Glenn McGrath AM, Mark Taylor AO and Cricket NSW Vice Patron Basil Sellers AM.
• EVERYONE is welcome to join the Padstow Community Care free Community Christmas Day Traditional Lunch, especially if you would like to spend some time with others celebrating this special day. The lunch will be held at Padstow Baptist Community Church, 23 Cahors Rd, Padstow, from 11.30am. No need to book, just turn up. Lunch will follow the Christmas Day service from 9.30am.
• BE sure to take family and friends to the last Christmas Village Market for the year in ANZAC Mall and ANZAC Park, Campsie, this Thursday, December 14, 5-8pm, featuring bargain-priced gift shopping items, gift-wrapping for a gold coin donation and Lions Christmas Cakes for sale, with all funds raised going to charity. You can also order cakes at cakes@lions.org.au or call the cakes hotline on 1300 300 205.
• OVER 50,000 HSC students will be able to access their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) this Thursday, December 14, from 9am using their student number and UAC PIN. Students can also access and store their ATAR in the free digital wallet, CredFolio, from 6am. The ATAR is the rank used by universities to select entrants into university courses. More info: ATAR Enquiry Centre, 9119 5012.
Bad
• SHIRLEY, 80, is warning others about ‘silent heart attacks’: “I felt a bit breathless while having a shower. When my carer arrived to take me shopping, I said I wasn’t feeling up to it and she took me straight to the GP who took my pulse and said I was having a heart attack. After having two stents, I’m much better but further delay could have been fatal, my GP said.”
• DIMI Papadopoulos wrote on December 5: “To the scum bag who stole my 13-year-old daughter’s bike from the front yard of a house in Myers Street, Roselands, this afternoon while she was visiting a friend. You left this child stranded and gutted. I’m sure you or someone you know will see this. You have left us in a bad position and it was her only mode of transport.”
• PARENTS are being urged to protect children from the sun, with an alarming number being treated in emergency for sunburn. Health Minister Ryan Park said: “It’s shocking to hear over 800 people presented last financial year with sunburn, with most children and young people. We anticipate close to 6,000 people in NSW will be diagnosed with the deadliest form of cancer, Melanoma, by the end of the year.”
• THE NSW Government must urgently build more social housing after Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data showed 68,400 people sought homelessness services in the last financial year but less than half (49 per cent) of people who needed accommodation were able to receive it. Homelessness NSW CEO Dom Rowe said: “The Government could solve this by investing an extra $152 million a year into homelessness services.”
• THERE are fears triple zero jobs could be left unanswered on New Year’s Eve as NSW paramedics escalate their lobby for a pay rise and threaten to strike. Negotiations came to a head on Friday, with the Health Services Union meeting with the NSW Health Ministry but no agreement was reached despite the government claiming it put forward a “record” offer of 19 per cent over four years, making them the highest paid in the country.
• WE’RE desperate for more doctors, nurses and teachers so why not allow Australians to study for these qualifications for free, a reader suggests. “It seems very obvious to me after hearing of financial barriers facing people wanting to study in these fields,” she said. “We do so much for everyone else, let’s start being more charitable at home and help the country at the same time.”
• DESPAIRING what’s become of the friendly supportive society she grew up in, a reader is urging everyone to be more considerate, especially at Christmas. “Stop being so rude and impatient on the road and pushing and shoving to get ahead of the queue in shops,” she said. “Let’s stop being so selfish and love thy neighbour a little bit more.”
Hi Torch
Not sure if this would be of interest for the Good / Bad section. Its simply about two dumped rubbish issues.
1. The rubbish is in the bush area known as Virginius Reserve, which sits between Virginius Street Padstow and Centaur Street Revesby. It has been there at least since late June this year. About a 2 & 1/2 minute walk along a beaten track deep into the bush there is a clearing which unfortunately has become an area scattered by general rubbish. The rubbish consists mainly of discarded plastic bottles and cans, fast food wrappings and some broken chairs. It apears to have been a regular meering place because someone has set up an old outdoor garden setting with glass top table and chairs, some intact and some broken. One interesting item commonly referred to as a ‘bong’, a filtration smoking device, has been seen on the table. Although the area cant be seen from outside of the bush, it does represent an ugly site inside the otherwise natural reserve. CB Council have been informed via online and telephone.
2. A discarded large water heater cyclinder currently lies on the nature strip in Hydrae Street, Revesby (outside No.67). Its initial presence would not normally create concern however it has been there at least since 18 July this year. It could be a minor danger to vehicles or pedestrians as it sits on the crest of the grassed area, and could roll in either direction. The CB Council has been informed via online and telephone.
If the Torch is interested in reporting the items, I could be happy to check that both rubbish sites still existed prior to printing. ASlso, if it helps I have photos.
Regards
Peter