From the Saint

THERE was truly some poetic justice in the air on Friday afternoon. As we hear the story a bunch of hoons doing donuts on the sports ovals at La Salle Academy did what some particularly dopey P Platers do best — They rolled their Mitsubishi crew cab ute onto its side. No one was impressed, least of all the cops who were called to the scene. What made this more stupid than the usual stupidity was that the oval is surrounded by houses so their stunt was always going to draw the crabs. It was a similar case for an 18 year old Lithgow P Plater who got his Hilux ute bogged while hooning on the Williwa Creek Common. Along came Portland police. And the result — an on the spot $425 fine for negligent driving. On a similar subject, hoons are doing dreadful disfigurement to the grassy area near the playground at Lake Wallace. This form of vandalism is even worse now than the damage caused on the other side of the park when a circus set up after days of heavy rain some weeks back.

All is revealed

TRAVELLERS on the Great Western Highway, at least those with long memories of the region, have been intrigued by the work under way on the old Road Bar as the latest stage in the rejuvenation of the Hydro Majestic at Medlow Bath. The administration centre for the Escarpment Hotels group will be located there with also commercial room provided for a hairdresser and nails business. The Road Bar was once a popular watering hole for travellers in the pre RBT era.  It had been vacant for years and at one stage suffered significant damage in a fire.  The damaged section has gone and now the Road Bar will live again — just not as we once knew it.

B Grade script?

THE freshly minted security organisation, Border Force is not off to a good start. The debacle in recent days in Melbourne after a confrontational — intended or otherwise  — media release was one of those egg on face occasions that must have had the Dodgy Brothers in our community smirking. So, here’s a little advice. Number one, appoint someone who knows how to write a media release. Number two, change the name. ‘Border Force’ was always going to be a ready made target for cartoonists and comedians. It sounds like the title to a B Grade Chuck Norris movie but clearly some bureaucrat thought it sounded cool.

Only the calendar knows

So, the winter of ’15 is over — but don’t get too confident.  Temperatures to polish off Winter at the weekend indicated that so far it’s just a calendar entry. After the most severe winter in years the Winter of Our Discontent will be on no hurry to depart. The Sydney Basin officially had its coldest Winter in five years. The column’s rough calculation for Lithgow goes back at least 15 years. Anyway, at least the calendar says Winter is done and dusted even if arthritic joints tell us otherwise.

Crippling

JUST how severe the weather has been in the Winter just ended is reflected in the toll of Winter ailments. Seems it was not only our worst weather in years but also the worst for colds, flu and the like.  When an associate of the column rang a local primary school last week to let them know his two daughters were laid up with the flu he was told ‘….. that makes 97 today!’   And that was just one school.

Hands off our icons!

WHO can you trust? It has been pointed out to the column that a feature about the revival of Newcastle in a News Ltd publication last week sang the praises the former steel city’s favourite sons and daughters. Among them they claimed John Doyle. John Doyle? AKA Rampaging Roy Slaven? Surely not! John/Roy is one of ours, born and bred, native of 37 Martini Parade, favourite alumni of La Salle Academy, and brother to my mate Tony. Someone didn’t do their homework. They also claimed noted artist Margaret Olley so we hope they got that bit right.