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$5.6 million restoration of Lismore Library

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Ground floor entrance Lismore Library Lismore News
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$5.6 million restoration of Lismore Library

 

By Samantha Elley

With younger children, Winnie, 5 and Sylvia, 3, snuggled up next to her in a lounge and older daughter, Juliet, 9 sitting in one of the cosy chairs of a disused fireplace on the first floor of the refurbished library, East Lismore mum, Lauren Onus, knows the importance of having Lismore library reopened.

“It’s wonderful,” said the East Lismore resident.

“I have six children and the older kids didn’t want to hang in the younger kids book section.

“(Before the library was re-opened) the libraries were separate and so we were in different spots.

“Now we can all be together.”

While the Lismore Pop-up Library on Molesworth Street and the children’s library in Lismore Central Shopping Centre served their purpose, they will now be closed and relocating to 110 Magellan Street in the newly refurbished Lismore Library.

Lauren Onus and her two girls Winnie, 5, and Sylvia, 6 at the Lismore Library

Lauren Onus and her two girls Winnie, 5, and Sylvia, 6

At a soft opening on Monday, with the rebuild still continuing, many Lismore residents made good use of the re-opened facilities.

With a baby time class going on downstairs, children enjoying the junior section on the first floor and adults taking advantage of the computers and non-fiction area on the top floor, it almost seemed like business as usual.

“I vividly remember the disturbing picture of the large pile of water-soaked books outside the library reaching up to the second storey,” said Lismore Mayor, Steve Krieg.

“In total, 30,000 books were lost.”

Lismore Area librarian, Michael Lewis, who is leading the internal design of the building, was pleased to show off the flood mitigation aspects of the renovated building.

“The journey to get from a flooded building in 2022 to the beautiful space we have today has taken a lot of work from so many people across the full level of government organisations and community groups,” he said.

“The intention behind this space is always to be flood aware.

“(On the ground floor) what you will see is a lot of bare walls and these have been chosen to stay there just as an easier way to hose these things out.

“We have a concrete floor with an epoxy resin.”

Baby time on the ground floor at the Lismore Library

Baby time on the ground floor

Cr Krieg confirmed that when the Governor-General Sam Mostyn visited a while a go, she insisted the bare walls stay as part of the completed picture.

Lismore City Council’s Project Manager for the building renovations, Brett Lee, said the internal brickwork that greets patrons as they enter, will keep its natural look, just needing a water-based sealant to complete the picture.

“The slab (on the first floor) is brand new as the old one snapped,” he said.

“This building sits on timber pile and obviously the reactions of the ground caused movement and the floor broke.

“(The new floor) is hoseable.”

An information centre is now located on the ground floor where a point of contact is available for library users as soon as they walk in.

Since the devastation of three years ago, Mr Lewis said the support from people has been overwhelming.

“People were coming from all walks of life to give books,” he said.

“One lady came from Gosford, camping all the way up the coast, wanted to help and gave us some books.

“Staff were crying at the generosity.”

The $5.6 million flood-resilient restoration was funded  through state and federal government provisions of $4.5 million, NSW government’s 2022 community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package, 2023 Community Local Infrastructure Recovery Package , State Library of NSW Public Library Infrastructure Grants, Lismore City Council and Rotary Sunrise.

The Lismore Central Shopping Centre community book swap will continue to operate.

 

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Carnival over for Jacaranda guru

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Carnival over for Jacaranda guru

 

By Tim Howard

On the afternoon of Friday January 24 Jacaranda Festival manager Mark Blackadder shut the door on his office for the last time, feeling it was mission accomplished.

Six years ago Mr Blackadder returned to Grafton with two goals in mind: to spend more time with his elderly mum and to rejuvenate his home town’s iconic Jacaranda Festival.

Spending more time with his beloved mum came easily, but taking the Jacaranda Festival from a quaint country celebration and turning it into the slick, professional carnival has involved jumping some stiff obstacles.

The first festival with Mark  at the helm was in 2019, right in the middle of the worst bushfires in the region’s history.

But the 2019 Jacaranda Festival won praise as the best in years and the boost in sponsorship funding it received set the pattern for later years.

Barely had the excitement of the 2019 festival faded away and we started to hear of a mystery virus killing people in China, that was soon labelled Covid-19.

By late 2020 the need to lock down and isolate to stop the spread of the disease forced the cancellation of Jacaranda 2020.

But for Mark, who had amassed 12 years experience in international luxury goods marketing, it was a matter of not wasting a crisis.

He instigated the Go Purple campaign which encouraged people to ignore the absence of a festival and think of ways to keep the Jacaranda spirit alive.

Next year was not much better, when seven days before the festival was due to begin, a Covid outbreak postponed it to December, well after the signature purple blooms had dropped.

Once again, not ideal, but it was a challenge Mark and his committee rose to and met.

For the next three years the festival has gone from strength to strength culminating in 2024 with the 90th Jacaranda Festival.

The festival was a both a triumph for Mark and his team and also a landmark that convinced him it was time to move on.

Grafton Jacaranda Festival Dinosaurs Fighting

The Jacaranda Festival has become a huge success over the past six years because Mark Blackadder’s experience and professional approach has been able to attract big grants and sponsorship dollars to local events.

“Yeah, I just, I honestly believe that the festival needs a succession plan with a younger generation coming through, and there’s plenty there available, if the committee choose the right people,” he said.

“And I just feel that it just needs rejuvenation. I feel every five to six years that’s definitely necessary.”

Mark said he’d passed on some names of people who he thought would be good in the role, but did not want to pre-empt the committee’s decision.

He said the next manager must maintain and build on the tremendous growth in assets the festival had developed in the past six years.

When he arrived the festival was largely paid for by the fund raising efforts of the Jacaranda Queen contestants, sales of Jacaranda merchandise and some input from local businesses.

The input from the contestants was not small, contributing $49,000 to the jacaranda coffers last year, but the growth in grant money and sponsorship from inside and outside the region has been massive.

Mark said the Jacaranda store’s merchandise sales had grown from $15,000 six years ago to $78,000 turnover in 2024.

And sponsorships growth has dwarfed that, jumping from around $40,000 in 2018 to more than $200,000 last year.

But while the cash has flooded in, Mark said the input from the thousands of community volunteers and in kind sponsorships from local are just as vital to the festival’s success.

He said the involvement of the operator of the new Clarence Valley Correctional Centre, Serco, has been one of the most valuable.

“Being able to use their inmates and their own staff for four weeks across the entire festival – they  ran the entire retail shop for us this year with their staff and two inmates – has taken the pressure off everyone,” he said.

The volunteers from the Army Cadet unit were also vital.

“You had 40 to 60 of them available any time that you needed volunteers,” Mark said.

He expected this would continue into the future, but would it would need to be nurtured.

Outgoing Jacaranda Festival manager Mark Blackadder surrounded by some of the festival merchandise which has soared in popularity in recent years.

Outgoing Jacaranda Festival manager Mark Blackadder surrounded by some of the festival merchandise which has soared in popularity in recent years.

“This was all built by relationships from when I started,” he said.

“Now you have to maintain those relationships. The most important part of the festival is the stakeholders.”

Mark said the success had allowed the Jacaranda Committee to expand its work outside of the traditional festival period in October-November.

He said the introduction of Marketta in Grafton and the community festivals in Ulmarra and Wooli were symptoms of the festival growing influence.

“We also did the Harwood Sugar Mill’s anniversary last year,” he said. “The biggest thing was through the festival, we bought Groove on the Grass to Grafton, which was Jess Mauboy concert.

“I twas the biggest concert Grafton had ever seen.”

Mark said would have preferred the concert to be in the festival, but the funding body wouldn’t approve.

“They wanted it another time to bring more people to Grafton,” he said.

“But that was by far the biggest event that I was involved with.”

Luckily for the Clarence Valley, Mark is not leaving the area and will start early next month with the Clarence Valley Council as its co-ordinator communications.

It wasn’t an easy decision.

“My blood will always run purple, and I hate to walk away, but sometimes you gotta think of yourself in your career,” he said.

“Money is not everything, but it is important as well. Certainly the hours I put in to justify the income, that’s for sure.”

He said Grafton now expected the Jacaranda Festival to keep improving and maintain its professional edge.

“I really do think across all the events, like with the likes of Jempire Events coming on board last year, the production level just went up that level,” he said.

“And I just think that the expectation is there now that it can’t be lowered.

“But I’ve always said we’ve only scraped the surface of what can be achieved.”

 

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Mikayla Memorial at Melanoma March

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Mikayla Green Melanoma March Ballina
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Mikayla Memorial at Melanoma March

 

By Samantha Elley

Twenty four-year-old Mikayla Green had everything to live for.

The Ballina resident and her partner, Ryan Clarke, who was studying to be a doctor, had made their lives in Canberra.

“She was loveable,” said grandmother, Pauline Dorey, “Amongst the grandkids, she was the glue as she kept all the kids together.”

Then in 2018, Mikayla noticed a mark on her head that didn’t seem to go away.

“The specialist said he wanted more detail, so she was booked to have an MRI,” said Pauline.

“He said it was a haematoma and to come back in 12 months.”

Mikayla & Ryan Melanoma March

Mikayla & Ryan

In October 2019, it was found to be a stage four melanoma.

It was believed the haematoma had covered the growing tumour.

Mikayla was sent straight to Sydney where more tests were done and the cancer was found to be in her liver.

Treatment seemed to be working at first and the young couple moved to Armidale so Ryan could continue his studies.

During this time Ryan proposed to his beloved girlfriend and they planned a wedding in Byron Bay for April 16, 2022.

“By February 2022, just before the floods, it was the last time she came home,” said Pauline.

“I thought she looked really good but she ended up in Armidale hospital and was then sent to Sydney where she was told she only had 4-6 weeks to live.

“They flew her back to Ballina and she lasted not even a week.”

Mikayla passed away on April 8 and her funeral was held on her wedding day.

Mikayla Green

Mikayla

Pauline and her daughter, Sharyn Dorey, Mikayla’s mother, had dressed her in her wedding dress after she died.

The Dorey family are determined that no other family should suffer what they have been through, especially when something as simple as wearing a hat, putting on sunscreen or wearing long sleeves out in the sun, could save a life.

The Melanoma March is now in its third year and will be held on Sunday, March 9 starting from Missingham Park, near the amphitheatre.

People are to gather at 7.30am where speeches will be held at 8am and the walk will commence at 8.30am where the path will go across the bridge and out to the breakwall.

Ballina-on-Richmond Rotary will be holding a barbeque and there will also be a coffee van.

“It still is raw,’ said Pauline. “One of Mikayla’s wishes was that Ryan finished his medical studies, which he did.

“He is now known as Dr Ryan Clarke.”

To make a donation to the Melanoma Institute Australia or to find out more about the march, visit here.

 

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In-town green waste depot to close

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In-town green waste depot to close

 

By Tim Howard

Grafton gardeners face a drive out of town to get rid of excess gardening waste when the in-town depot stops accepting green waste on March 1.

An upgrade of the North Grafton sewerage treatment plant, part of the Grafton Waste Transfer Station in Kirchner St, Grafton, has led to the decision to close the green waste facility.

The plans for the upgrade of the North Grafton STP incorporate the land now used for green was treatment.

Clarence Valley Council said residents can still take green waste direct to the Grafton Regional Landfill’s organics facility at 704 Armidale Road Elland, or place it in the green organics bin for collection.

The council’s director environment and planning, Adam Cameron, said while it will be a change, there were other options out there for the community to utilise.

“Residents who receives a residential bin collection service can place their green waste in their green FoGo bin, which gets collected weekly,” he said.

“If you find that you’re regularly overfilling your green bin, you may also benefit from ordering an extra green bin from our waste contractor, with the cost added to your rates to be paid off during the Financial Year rather than paying the dumping fee every time you take green waste to the landfill.

“A compost bin also is a great way to dispose of green waste while providing extra nutrients for your garden.

“While it may be a little tricky to dispose of larger pieces such as tree branches and palm fronds this way, lawn clippings and leaves make great compost additions.”

But the Grafton waste transfer station would continue to accept general waste.

The changes are not popular with Grafton gardeners who, from March 1, face a trip towing their trailers through South Grafton to the landfill site and back.

For more information on the Grafton Regional Landfill and current fees and charges visit councils website.

 

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Gavin named Valley’s top citizen

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Clarence Valley Council's Australia Day ambassador Cr Cristie Yager, left, with the 2025 Citizen of the Year Gavin Rayward, centre and Clarence MP Richie Williamson.
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Gavin named Valley’s top citizen

 

By Tim Howard

The Clarence Valley has rewarded an athlete who has promoted healthy outdoor activity as an antidote to mental health problems, naming Gavin Rayward as its leading citizen for 2025.

Mr Rayward was named the Clarence Valley’s 2025 Citizen of the Year at a ceremony held at Grafton District Golf Club on Thursday.

For more than a decade he has been at the forefront of local outdoor sports including running, canoeing and orienteering, encouraging young people to enjoy the wonderful environment the Clarence Valley possesses.

Gavin was nominated for his dedication to promoting outdoor activities and mental health in the Clarence Valley, where he has organised numerous events to engage people of all ages and abilities, such as Street-O orienteering event in Grafton and traditional orienteering events in Bom Bom State Forest since 2013.

Mr Rayward’s motivation was to help deal with the effects of mental illness, like depression, by getting outdoors.

A good example was his role in the Mad Paddlers event in 2023.

The acronym MAD – Men Against Depression – summed up the event perfectly.

The Clarence Valley 2025 Local Hero winner was Jenny Vickery pictured here with Clarence MP Richie Williamson and 2025 Citizen of the Year Awards ambassador Cr Cristie Yager.

The Clarence Valley 2025 Local Hero winner was Jenny Vickery pictured here with Clarence MP Richie Williamson and 2025 Citizen of the Year Awards ambassador Cr Cristie Yager.

“MAD Paddlers is a program created to help you experience the physical and mental benefits of becoming more active and socially connected,” the promotions for the event promised.

It reflected the emerging recognition in mental health sectors that exercise and social connection has a big impact on improving mental health.

Mr Rayward finished ahead of a big field for the 2025 award with 11 nominations received in the Citizen of the Year category.

In the other sections there were four nominations in the Young Citizen of the Year, four nominations for the Community Achievement Award and six Local Hero nominations, highlighting the incredible contribution and impacts made by our community.

Clarence Valley Councillor Cristie Yager, who was the 2025 Citizen of the Year Awards ambassador and hosted the event, praised the nominees for all their hard work in our community.

“Our community are everything,” she said. “These awards are the perfect way to highlight and celebrate our local legends and community groups and I’m so honoured to be able to host the awards in my first year of being a councillor.

“These incredible accomplishments reflect the immense impact our nominees have made and the high regard in which they are held by our community.

“Thank you for making a difference.”

Warm Touch received the Community Achievement Group award for their quick action support to individuals in need of all ages and circumstances.

Warm Touch received the Community Achievement Group award for their quick action support to individuals in need of all ages and circumstances.

Other nominees in the Citizen of the Year category include Brian Ferrie, Damien Fisher, Helen Tyas Tunggal, Jesse Dead Langford, Kaitlyn-Maree Robertson, Kathleen Giggins, Kathryn Langford, Sally Rogers, Suzanne Day and Toby Power.

Nash Crofton was named Young Citizen of the Year for his remarkable impact on the Clarence Valley community through his entrepreneurial spirit, leadership, and passion for the arts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nash founded Clarence Tunes, a home-grown music festival providing a vital platform for local artists to showcase their talents.

Mr Crofton was an apology for the awards ceremony.

The festival quickly became a regional highlight with proceeds directly supporting performers.

Also nominated in the Young Citizen of the Year categories are Kaitlyn-Maree Robertson, Reny Dooley and Shannon Moran.

Warm Touch 2460 were awarded the Community Achievement Group award for their quick action support to individuals in need of all ages and circumstances.

This remarkable group is backed by local businesses, generous community members and dedicated volunteers.

Also nominated in the Community Achievement Group category were Happy Paws Haven Inc, Paua Yoga Studio and Rivertree Film Inc.

 

For more local news, click here.

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Golden Guitar winner heading to muster

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Golden Guitar winner heading to muster

 

By Samantha Elley

Musician and instrumentalist Lindsay Waddington will need to make some room on his shelf in the ‘pool room’ having just won a Golden Guitar, along with fellow musician Brendan Radford, for their work, The Red Centre.

“I grew up on Aboriginal missions, so my work often has a desert vibe to it,” said Lindsay.

“I did my first recording session at 10 years old after I’d learnt the drums in North Queensland.

“I was the only person who could play the drums with brushes, so when someone needed a drummer, I got the job.”

In fact, Lindsay was a teenager when he travelled as a roadie with Brian Young, then the late Jimmy Little, who took him under his wing.

From there, Lindsay met the who’s who of country music, eventually working with the likes of John Williamson, Brian Cadd, James Blundell and many more.

Running his own recording studio and record label, LWM House, on the Gold Coast, Lindsay was thrilled with his win.

“We had the song pretty much finished,” he said.

“But it was missing something, so I asked ‘Breno’ to look at it.”

Once the music was complete, the pair were on track for their Golden Guitar win.

Northern Rivers country music lovers will get the chance to hear Lindsay and Brendan perform at the 10th anniversary of the Clarence Valley Country Muster, to be held on October 16th-19th.

“I am usually plugged in to the Gold Coast but I love getting back to the bush,” said Lindsay.

“People come from everywhere in the vans and Wendy (Gordon, the muster’s host) gives a great vibe.

“People are there for a good time and good music.”

Find out more about the Clarence Valley Country Muster here.

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