Social work a paperwork nightmare, says outgoing chief
ANNE O’BRIEN has resigned as neighbourhood centre coordinator after eight years, expressing frustration at the heavy hand of bureaucracy in social work. To continue reading,…
2018
Another good day for dance house’s annual extravaganza
TWAS GOOD day times five at the Charleville dance house performance at the racecourse auditorium last weekend. In her third year as director of the…
Clank goes Maree after 4700km round trip to the Friendly Games
IF YOU’D known what to listen for, you’d have heard Maree Edwards’s 18-year-old Land Cruiser wagon clinking with the loot as it drove into town….
Looking for rain and news in the Big Apple
SOME WATCHMAN subscribers take no chances of getting caught short of a read while abroad. Roly Hughes of Autumnvale, Thargomindah, is packing a copy of…
Tough getting only a million for second place
SAME DAY and what a contrast. The Charleville cup, the Central Warrego race club’s biggest day of the year, coincides with Victoria racing club’s Melbourne…
Joker-draw party a novel excuse for Goannas’ forfeit
ANOTHER WEEKEND of mayhem and recrimination in the district cricket league. Railways pulled off a morale-boosting win against Morven, Commercials bounced back from defeat to…
National rodeo title as easy as lying in bed
CHARLEVILLE roughrider Ross Tilley capped off a solid year with the junior bareback buckle at the national rodeo council of Australia titles. He was unable to…
Quicker take-offs and landings for fly doc ball
IT’S A battle in these apathetic, entertainment-saturated times to pull a crowd. Not the hangar ball in aid of the flying doctor. The first one four…
150 years crammed into one long weekend
PREPARATIONS for the town’s 150th birthday party are getting to the pointy end. The four-day program on 8-11 November runs to a street parade, a…
Drying climate led to marsupial lion’s demise, say scientists
CLIMATE CHANGE has been this way before. Researchers are now suggesting the extinction of Australia’s fiercest predator, the marsupial lion, was due to changing weather…
Christian catering corps diversifies with $1.7m fodder convoy
A CHRISTIAN charity has organised a shipment of 6000 bales of oaten and wheat hay from Western Australia for graziers in southwest Qld. Rapid Relief…
Rare round project piques builder’s interest
THE PLANETARIUM has already captivated the attention of the boss. Greg Lawson likes nothing better than to be on the job, so he wasn’t going…
Now for some wheelie important news
GARBAGE COLLECTION might not be a glamorous job, but it’s not a waste of time, according to Paroo shire CEO Oliver Simon. It falls under…
Poor health a challenge for health service $1.14m in the red
THE HEALTH of southwestern Qlders is worse than most people in the state, southwest health service chairman Jim McGowan said this week, after the service’s…
Fairytales with a dark twist in the kingdom of Babushka
ONE HUSBAND elected to remain at home during the Babushka cabaret performance in the shire hall on Wednesday night this week. Told his wife it…
Big fish down bats for flying doctor’s benefit
THE KILLER Whales dived into the second round of the district cricket league with a big score of 7/313, following their first-round bye. They were…
Free beers and talking footy, as good as a cool change
EVEN FOOTY players are getting into drought relief. It was free beers all round when Cronulla Sharks’ utility back Kurt Capewell did a lap of…
Gold Coast nurse swap a haymaker for Toompine graziers
A WORK SWAP between a nurse from the Gold Coast and a colleague from Quilpie hospital has led to a truckload of hay for the…
Pony club hopes teenagers can spur a revival
THE WORKERS behind the Warrego pony club were gratified by a strong turnout for their gymkhana at the weekend, but it was back to slim…
Most plot twists this side of running rail as curtain falls on 2018 racing season
MANY PEOPLE don’t realise how interesting a regular garden-variety race meeting can be. A dash of rodeo, wildlife encounters, punches thrown, impromptu debt collection. All…
Commercials, Morven get the jump in first round of new cricket season
A MISFIRE and a couple of surprises. The shiny new cricket season unfurled last Saturday in a welter of triumphalism and recriminations. Morven Magic, renowned for…
New Bourke goatworks to kick into gear next week
CHARLEVILLE’S Western Meat Exporters faces a gleaming new competitor. The 22-year-old plant, the first in Australia to specialise in goats, is about to be usurped…
All the glamour of the ball … minus the price tag
FREE GOWNS and suits have taken the sting out of formal preparations for graduating high school students this year. So many quality garments were dumped…
Mayor fears childcare centre closure will impact working parents
MURWEH MAYOR Annie Liston is considering calling a public meeting to confront the fallout over the closure of one of the town’s two childcare centres….
We better start playing cricket again
THE TEST match between Pakistan and Australia in Dubai reminded the seven teams in the district cricket league of something. They’d better start playing cricket….