Fond memories
Former Kyabramite Glen Macdermid has fond memories of Neale Daniher, who recently lost his fight against motor neurone disease.
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Glen attended Kilmore Assumption College at the same time as Neale in the 1970s and was inspired to write the following about the inspirational football personality after his passing:
I was fortunate to be in Neale’s orbit at Assumption College in the 1970s.
Whilst he was a year ahead of me, I observed him as a humble person who looked out for others.
We came in contact at the college through football and athletics — he was a natural sportsman.
If he hadn’t played AFL he would have played Test cricket.
Academically he was very solid, and loved a card game playing for matchsticks.
He used to call me ‘Derm’.
Boarding schools in the 1970s could sometimes be an unforgiving place but as an impressionable teenager, Neale made time to have a yack about footy, cricket, farming and whatever.
From this you walked away uplifted for knowing this person.
Vale Neale Daniher.
Wet start to winter
Just when most of the weather experts were predicting a dry winter, down she came.
For four of the first five days of June last week, Kyabram weather station recorded 39.2mm of timely rain.
It followed 43mm in May, 14.6mm in April and a whopping 128mm in March.
February was also wet, with 72.6mm, following January, when no rain was recorded at all.
To the end of May, Kyabram has now received 258mm in 2026. At the same time last year, only 82.6mm had been reported.
The latest rain has boosted hopes of a good cropping season, with recent plantings now surfacing.
The entry to winter has also dished up some cool weather, with the maximum temperature last Thursday (June 4) reaching only 12.1°C.
Superb sculptures
Up at Pretty Pine, north of Deniliquin, local Peter Murray has created some stunning sculptures.
They are on display on Pretty Pine Rd and are real head-turners.
His latest effort features two eagles with a nest and a chick, and a goanna climbing the tree.
A bridge builder in his working days, Peter was looking for something to do in his retirement 14 years ago and settled on constructing sculptures from junk metal rubbish.
Looking at his creations, he has mastered it.
Saleyards to close
Jerilderie’s saleyards won’t be around after October.
Murrumbidgee Council has been trying to find an owner since regular sales ceased in November last year but has had no takers.
October has been set for the closing date to allow the 25th anniversary John Wells Memorial Jerilderie Sheep Sale to be held.
Meeting the costs of modern safety and animal welfare standards have been the main reason for the decision to cease operating.
The closure will not affect the truck wash facility at the site.
Post office revival on the cards
The mail from Coleambally is encouraging.
Australia Post is now seeking an operator for a Coleambally licensed post office.
This follows public community outcry following after the closure of the post office earlier this year.
After the closure, a local pharmacy stepped in at short notice to operate as a community postal agency to ensure customers retained access to essential postal services, but PO boxes, banking, bill payments, indemnity checks, passport services and parcel tracking were lost.
Towns up for tourism gongs
Echuca and Rochester are in the running for the Victorian Top Tourist Town Awards.
For the first time Rochester has been named as a finalist in the towns under 5000 people category along with Alexandra, Camperdown, Cape Woolamai, Port Fairy, Portalington, Rutherglen and Warburton.
Echuca has been named a finalist in the over 5000 population category and has to beat Ballarat, Bendigo, Mildura, Ocean Grove and Swan Hill for the award.
The awards showcase the value tourism brings to towns across Victoria, celebrating diverse and outstanding regional communities.
Factory closure looms
There is an uneasiness at Strathmerton as locals prepare for the closure of the town's mega employer, Bega Cheese Factory.
Some 300 employees will be affected by the closure at the end of this month.
Bega Goup announced the closure in May last year, claiming redeployment opportunities would be offered where possible.
Now stalwart locals are praying that a saviour will come along and take over the site and continue to provide job opportunities.
Insect to tackle weed
A tiny insect has been given the task of combating an aquatic weed outbreak in Lake Benalla.
In a Victorian first, a weevil with a taste for cabomba has been released in a trial to tackle the problem.
Cabomba is a submerged water weed with small white flowers above the water’s surface. It reduces water quality, outcompetes native plants and reduces food and habitat for fish and other water animals.
Some 80 of the insects, which are smaller than a grain of rice, were released into the lake last week.
The cabomba weed was recently detected in the lake, following an outbreak five years ago, and managing it has been a long-term challenge.
Rail project on track
Despite Federal Government funding cuts, the proposed Inland Rail project is still alive.
Project management remains committed to successfully completing all sections of the project from Beveridge to Parkes by 2027.
The government funding cuts applied to the Parkes-Brisbane section of the project.
Square dinkum
G’day.
I took my girlfriend to a fancy restaurant last night and she wanted to pay for the meal.
I said: ‘‘Don’t be silly, we are already halfway down the road — just keep running.’’
Hooroo!