Coming home to roost
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THIS week’s debacle over damage to an awning above a busy section of Main Street footpath has focussed attention on a problem that has existed for many years. The fact that it took four days for the owners to even attempt to make the area safe was of concern. Equally of concern was the method used with a dawn operation that according to witnesses made no provision to control a toxic cloud of pigeon droppings and asbestos. It was the same cavalier attitude that absentee landlords display towards properties all over Lithgow. There are old commercial premises in Lithgow that are clearly past their use by date. But investors can snap them up cheaply then simply wait for the rentals to come in. If we are seeking to improve our image then it’s one step forward and two steps back. A hard line is long overdue — decades overdue — and it’s not going to improve until positive action is taken. For the record, the tardy landlords whose only interest is self interest are not all ‘absentee’.
One step forward; two steps back
THEY don’t come into the same category of the listings in the previous item but there are important landmark buildings in Lithgow that would benefit from a touch up of their paintwork. The column notes that a standout public building in Mort Street, Lithgow Public School, is getting an all over paint job. It will complement the major work recently undertaken across the road on the Court House precinct. But two of the CBD’s most important heritage buildings are looking increasingly neglected. Unprofessional even because they’re both major banks. The National and ANZ Banks have needed paint for years and that’s disappointing. The ANZ doesn’t even contribute to brightening up the town at night; it no longer turns on its external corporate lighting. Maybe the banks are doing it a bit hard and waiting on an offer of crowd funding.
Dump the nasties
IT’S time to get rid of those nasties around the house (no madam, not your husband) that you’ve never really got around to. Tomorrow is the free Lithgow Council chemical clean out in conjunction with the EPA and NetWaste. Clean out your garage, shed or maybe even a laundry cupboard and take this opportunity to safely dispose of waste items such as paints, batteries, pesticides, poisons, pool chemicals, fluoro tubes, oil, ammonia based cleaners and other cleaning chemicals. You can also rid yourself of unwanted gas bottles and fire extinguishers. Just drop them in to the Lithgow Council depot in Mort Street between 8am and 4pm tomorrow. Miss this one and you’ll have to wait another 12 months.
A dog’s life
QUITE a few observers were appalled this week when a man tied a dog to a pole behind the Salvation Army shop in Main Street Lane and walked off, telling passersby ‘you can have him’. The unfortunate animal was left in heat in the mid to high 20s. Office workers provided the dog with water and a staff member from Julie Grant’s Bowenfels Veterinary Practice was quickly on the scene to care for the dog overnight. Now it wasn’t the prettiest dog in the pack but, heck, who is? He is currently cared for at the council pound in Geordie Street and you can check his credentials as today’s Dog of the Week on page 13.