THE TWEED SHIRE 8&&,
Volume 1 #27 Thursday, March 12, 2009 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 Fax: (02) 6672 4933 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au www.tweedecho.com.au
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LOCAL & INDEPENDENT
Mystery vandal poisons trees Burringbar residents are stumped over the motive behind the deliberate poisoning of three large historic trees in the village park. The act, described by some as a hate crime, has puzzled and upset locals. The 70-to-80-year-old trees, a Moreton Bay fig and two hoop pines, are deemed significant, being some of the largest and oldest trees in Masterson Park, providing shade to the many tourists and locals who use the nearby picnic tables and facilities. A hand drill or similar tool was used to make several holes at the base of each tree to allow poison to be injected into them in order to kill them off. Tweed Shire Council has condemned the senseless act and is asking locals for information which could help them root out the culprit. The three poisoned trees are now likely to be removed. But it’s the motive that has locals miffed, as there is no view to be gained from poisoning the trees and their roots were not causing any problems for pedestrians. The Echo did its own investigation and suspects the local resident who did it was trying to get rid of a colony of flying foxes which roost in the trees in the park at night. Burning or cutting down trees used as a roost for native flying foxes (which some people unfortunately regard as pests because of their noise and smell up close) has occurred before in the Tweed, especially at Dallis Park on the outskirts of Murwillumbah where a nearby bat colony caused a stink among residents years ago. Locals approached with the theory agreed that could be the reason for
the ‘massacre’ as flying foxes roosted in or fed on the old trees. Burringbar Real Estate principal Stuart Cahill said the tree poisoning was the current talking point of the town. ‘They’re all scratching their heads as to why someone would do something like this. It’s such a shame,’ he said. ‘Tourists come to this park all the time and the trees shade them from the searing sun, they are a big part of the streetscape here. ‘The whole town is now on the lookout so it doesn’t happen again. ‘You’re right, bats do roost in those trees, but there’s also possums there which people feed and lots of parrots too,’ Mr Cahill said. Burringbar General Store co-owner Doug Clarke said the whole town was horrified and shocked by the act. ‘We’re at a loss as to why someone would do something like this‌ now you mention the bats, that could well be it,’ he told The Echo. ‘They’re pretty historic trees – they make up a line of trees running down the park and the old Anzac Day marchers used to march between them when the cenotaph was at the other end of town, but they haven’t done that for a while since it was moved up this end.’ Mr Clarke said he noticed the top of one of the trees was dying several months ago. Council’s parks supervisor Paul Fahy found the fig had lost the majority of its leaves with some signs of regrowth flush, consistent with signs of stress, and the large pines were dying back from the top. Council’s recreation services manager Stewart Brawley described the attack on the trees as ‘outrageous’,
Female fight club on wheels revs up The Pain Clinic’s Nikki Nitro drops Maxi Mum Damage despite referee Saddam Insane’s whistle blowing, meanwhile in the back play Kid Kaos tries to elude Betty Bargeass’ headlock. Photo Jeff (‘Roll Another One’) Dawson Roxanne Millar
Women clad in punk-rock attire and wearing snarls on their faces are hunting down opponents for the ultimate thrill – roller derby. This aggressive contact sport pits two teams of roller skating women against each other in an all-out riot to destroy the other team with shoulder shoves and hip hits. Gold coast woman Jayne Moran is trying to establish a team at South Tweed’s Epic Skate Rink to give Australia’s other 15 teams something to worry about. ‘There aren’t too many women’s only sports out there, which this is,’ she said. ‘I love it because you get out on the rink and can change who you are, release all your aggression and dress up as a totally different person. ‘It is a really good way to put your nine-to-five persona to bed.’ continued on page 2 Described by some as Girls Gone
First Home Buyers
Wild on Wheels, the roller derby started in 1935, evolved into a spandex format in the 1970s and went badass in 2001. Bashing the sport back into style have been New York’s infamous Gotham Girls – a pack of punk-rock chicks with aliases such as Sybil Unrest and Iva Vendetta. The sport has found a fan base throughout Australia among women who respect its no-holds-barred athleticism, punk-rock feminism and unbridled aggression. Ms Moran, better known as GI Jayne, said the game is pretty easy to learn and relatively safe thanks to all the protective gear players must wear. ‘If you have two legs and the coordination to stand on skates you can absolutely do it,’ she said. ‘Most of the girls on the team so far haven’t skated for 20 or 30 years. We can also organise learn-to-skate classes for people who need a refresher.’
Roller derby is played by two teams of five. Each team has three defenders, one person who acts as the last line of defence (a pivot) and one scorer (the jammer). When the game starts everyone except the jammers skate around the track in a pack. When a second whistle blows, the jammers try to catch up to the pack. Before they can score points, they have to get through the pack and go all the way around and catch up again. Defenders and pivots try to help their own jammer through the scrum while also blocking the other team’s jammer. Ms Moran said plenty of training would take place before the Tweed team moved into major competitions. She is looking for at least three more team members. Training is on Thursday nights from 7pm to 8pm at Epic Skate Rink. For details call 0413 503 569.
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