Diary of a Flood Survivor

Shortly after the food, whenever I went somewhere and had to give my address, as soon as I said I lived in Woodburn the reaction was always the same. They’d tilt their head slightly to the side, usually saw ‘oooooh’ then ask, ‘did your house go under?’

Yep, it did and yes we lost nearly everything we owned, including our three cars.

Woodburn had gained quite a stigma in the national (and international news), along with Lismore, and many of the surrounding villages that were inundated.

Readers may not realise, although most likely worked out, I have never mentioned once in this column where I lived.

That was because I started it to hopefully share similar struggles with our readers who had suffered from last year’s foods.

I fgured what was happening in our village, was happening everywhere, therefore tried to keep the circumstances generic, so the more people could relate.

We are all at different levels of getting back to or fnding our new normal and the majority of us are by no means fnished.

I didn’t realise how much I still see my own home town as a victim, however, until I had to go to the Gold Coast for a specialist appointment.

The receptionist commented that I had come very far, as she knew where Woodburn was and she really liked it as it has a lovely park right on the river. There was nothing food-related in her words, until duffer-me decides to add:

Yes, it’s come a long way since the food although there are still many empty houses where people haven’t been able to move back home.

Why? Why could I not just agree and say how I love walking my dog along that river in that lovely park in the mornings?

Yes, we are still fghting to get back on our feet, but we need to be looking to the future and I don’t know about you, but I want to see my home town fourish again, not keep dragging it down with the negatives.

So next time someone asks about Woodburn, I am going to say that we are an amazing place with (nearly all) the facilities that we need with beautiful views of the river, cane felds and hills in the background. It has great fshing and boating spots AND an excellent historical cemetery too.

Little steps.

New Tech To Help First Responders Stay Connected In Emergencies

MEMBER for Lismore

Janelle Saffn (pictured) says new mobile wi-f equipment installed in Fire and Rescue NSW and NSW SES vehicles will ensure frst responders can stay connected during emergencies.

The ‘vehicle as a node’ systems allow crews to stay in contact via satellite where there is no land-based 4G or radio connectivity or when communications infrastructure is damaged in a disaster.

Premier Chris Minns and Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib recently announced that the cutting edge technology has been installed in 1300 vehicles across the state.

“Last year we saw the massive failure of essential communications and how dangerous that was in the midst of a national disaster.

“With this technology, Fire and Rescue and the SES will be getting the latest advice and on-the-ground reports. It will enable crews to advise people about when they need to evacuate, and to get information to communities who may be cut off.

“Equipping our emergency vehicles with this cutting edge technology is an important step in improving our preparedness for emergencies and disaster,” Ms Saffn said.

“The next step is to enable Fire and Rescue NSW vehicles to be used as mobile WiFi hubs, to allow for video streaming to share live footage from an incident site.”

Final fower has her chance to bloom

Book review – A Poppy in the Meadow

Title: A Poppy in the Meadow

Author: Annie Chandler-Cummings

Price: $22.95

Publisher: Shawline

Publishing

By Samantha Elley

is is the fourth and nal book in the Flower Quartet series and carries on the story of Poppy, sister to Daisy, daughter to Rose and grand-daughter to Lily.

A er a horrible break up Poppy hasn’t necessarily sworn o men, but she isn’t looking for a relationship either.

As a teacher, she is concerned for one of her students who gets tangled up with the law through no fault of his own.

It is here she meets the new young detective in town and a spark is ignited.