The Save Our Kalkite community group is pleased to report that last Thursday the Council decided NOT to rezone productive rural land on Lake Jindabyne foreshore adjacent Kalkite to a RU5 Village zone. The motion to make this decision was put forward by Councillor Davis and supported by all but two councillors. The Kalkite Community are on the whole ecstatic with this decisive result, and we especially thank the councillors who spoke for the motion (Councillors Beer and Mitchell) and those who asked pointed questions of those addressing the public forum in support of the rezoning (Councillors Williamson, Frolich and Stewart). 

Each November Australia’s Asbestos Education Committee focuses on saving the lives of everyday Australians who might risk disturbing asbestos when renovating older homes. 

With the annual death toll from asbestos-related diseases exceeding 4,000 and predicted to rise, it’s vital that every Australian homeowner understands where asbestos might be lurking in their home and what to do to manage it safely. 

I am writing to inform the Cooma area and surrounds of the barbaric and cruel aerial and ground shooting culling that is presently going on for the Brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park (KNP). 

There are more than 500 rotting horses with varying degrees of decay that have been left there to rot on the ground and in the waterways of KNP. 

The stench from the recent long weekend showed not many people being able to hang around and I am sure hikers are going to come across the scattered bodies that have been shot and left to die a long painful death. 

Here in Cooma, within the Namala Street Park at North Cooma, there exists a tiny, neglected playground.

There are many small children in this area and the playground is not safe due to neglect and lack of maintenance by Snowy Monaro Regional Council, the responsible agency

Any maintenance that has been done has been carried out by parents of local children

The Council’s intent to divest and consolidate significant residential and aged care support across the Snowy Monaro Regional Council area has been carried at last week’s Council meeting in Cooma. 

No effective needs analysis, detailed planning covering legal, logistical and other issues was done. This will result in failure to meet the essential needs of our 24,000 present and future community as it steadily grows and ages.

I am writing to thank Councillors Beer, Frolich, Stewart and Williamson for showing their commitment to the community and voting against the closure of the Snowy River Hostel, Berridale at the SMRC meeting of November 16.

Unfortunately Councillors Davis, Higgins, Hopkins, Mitchell, Summers and Mayor Hanna failed to discharge their responsibilities as elected local government representatives and voted in favour of closing the aged care facility despite the overwhelming support of the community to keep it open.