WED 3 DEC 2014
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Turn over for your entertainment guide
PROUDLY INDEPENDENT P
Trades & Services Tra Need help at your place this weekend? p.18
Our humble hero All in a day’s work for new Freeman of the City, Irene Hemsworth The Screaming Jets 25 years of rocking out
NYE alcohol ban lifted p.4
A-League 2014/15 Stubbins left frustrated again p.21
MELISSAH COMBER
@melcomber
T
o those who know her the honour is no surprise, but if you ask Maitland’s newest Freeman of the City, Irene Hemsworth, she’s done nothing special. “This is really an award for all the volunteers out there,” she said. “I’ve just done what a lot of other people are doing.” The title, the highest a city can bestow upon a citizen, was awarded to Ms Hemsworth last week to acknowledge over 60 years of service to the city in a variety of organisations including Maitland District Netball Association, Meals on Wheels and St Paul’s Anglican Church. A breast cancer survivor, she also organises fundraisers for the disease, doorknocks for heart research and reads to day care children. The honour was spearheaded by Maitland Mayor, Peter Blackmore, and Council’s General Manager, David Evans, who said he had never heard a bad word said about Ms Hemsworth. Ms Hemsworth said that her work comes back to what she teaches children at Scripture. “We teach the kids to treat others as they want to be treated and I think that’s what it boils down to,” she said. “Besides, everything I’ve done I’ve enjoyed and I think that the more you give the more you get back.” Ms Hemsworth has previously been awarded Maitland Citizen of the Year (1989) and the Australian Sports Medal (2000).
Maitland’s newest Freeman of the City, Irene Hemsworth
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