In the Bellingen Shire at the moment the Friends of the Kalang Headwaters are busy gathering signatures to ask the NSW Parliament to end native forest logging at the Kalang Headwaters. Judging by the number of young people lining up to sign the petition at the Climate Strike on Friday September 20 there would seem to be a majority of Bellingen folk, young and old, who are in support of leaving our forests alone.

The plan is to obtain a minimum of 10,000 signatures from Australians of all ages. Petitions of more than 10,000 signatures will be scheduled for discussion in the NSW Legislative Assembly. Our intention is to lodge our petition in late November before Parliament closes for the summer break. A debate will then be set down for early 2020. All going to plan, a large contingent will travel to Sydney from Bellingen to listen to the debate from the public galleries.

If you are a young person who feels passionate about this issue and want to help, you can take some petition sheets to school and gather as many as you can. If you have not signed the petition yet but want to, please get in touch with the Bellingen Environment Centre.

Kevin Evans

Gleniffer

'Fridays for the Future' or 'School Strike for Climate' became a movement in 2018, when Greta Thunberg began taking Fridays off school to sit in front of Parliament to lobby for more climate action. Her message became mainstream: a 15-year-old Swedish girl speaking out, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, made woman of the year in Sweden and Ambassador of Conscience by Amnesty International.

Greta Thunberg's key points:

All humans feel hopeless when they can't find ways to safety. Greta says she too felt depressed and anxious, until she got involved. Young people in NSW can legally sign petitions. They can also write to ministers. Sometimes they are better at penetrating the armour of ignorance and denial. Think global, act local. To reduce climate change impact, the planet needs more mature trees in the ground not fewer. Young people are most welcome to come on board with the Kalang Headwaters campaign. We need you. Get involved. It's your future. For an inspiring vision of the future, full of realistic solutions and hope, watch 2040 on the Clarence Library web site.

Louise Cranny

Kalang

In a conservative newspaper that I read on alternate Saturdays to keep abreast of the range of current attitudes, I recently found a whole page (three articles) devoted to maligning the views of what one writer refers to as 'fundamentalist minorities'.

What concerns me most is the underlying assumption that traditional, mainstream socio-political viewpoints have a validity beyond question, whereas minority groups ('leftists' is openly stated in one article) are lumped together as using tactics such as 'aggression', 'intolerance' and bigotry, and of resorting to 'profanity'.

Adherents of political, social and religious mainstream positions do not need to articulate and defend their stance; they are deemed to be 'givens'. Yet minorities are forced to do so if they are to be heard.

An example of this concerns same-sex marriage. If traditional views from institutions such as the Catholic Church are clearly vocalised, surely minority views challenging conventional positions have an equal claim to be heard without being branded as 'bigots' guilty of 'intolerance'?

No one is asking holders of traditional views to change these; simply, minority voices should have the same respect and freedom accorded to them. Doesn't this go to the very nature of the 'democracy' we espouse?

Suzanne Ferris

Bellingen

Walking my dogs in Bellingen soon sours when off-leash dogs are sighted. It's not uncommon to see them racing around Connell Park or the oval or running along the streets while their owners stroll along seemingly oblivious to impending chaos.

The shout "it's okay he's friendly" gives no thought to the leashed dog. A friendly dog running at a nervous dog will cause trauma. Plus, as the RSPCA states, "when a dog is on lead, they cannot 'flight', and dogs will often revert straightaway to 'fight' as a dog running at them is a perceived threat. Walking your dog off-lead is like saying, 'I don't need to wear a seatbelt because I am a perfect driver'. You cannot control what the other cars do, and similarly you cannot control what other dogs do." Apart from the stress of such encounters, off-leash dog owners are legally responsible and liable for medical costs for injuries to a leashed dog and its owner.

The Companion Animal Act states: "A dog that is in a public place must be under the effective control of some competent person by means of an adequate chain, cord or leash that is attached to the dog and that is being held by (or secured to) the person." There are off-leash dog parks throughout Bellingen Shire to take dogs to. In public places do what the majority of dog owners do, obey the law and leash your dog.

Janet Richardson

Bellingen

Like many Bellingen residents I have been following the development of council's Growth Management Strategy with interest and optimism. I welcome the recent release of the draft Local Housing Strategy for public comment and feedback.

I think most people I meet in Bellingen share some very core values and aspirations for the place we call home: that our communities remain caring, inclusive and sustainable places for current and future generations. The strategy's purpose is to embed our shared values in a document that we can use to guide how our community changes and grows over the coming generation - yes it's that important!

I am committed to ensuring that everyone in our community has a secure, affordable and appropriate home, because we know that this is the basis of our personal, social, civic and economic well being. For these reasons I've been actively involved with the Bellingen Nambucca Affordable Housing Action Group since 2017.

The Action Group is keen to make sure the strategy works for our community so that all residents have access to secure and affordable homes. We are hosting three consultations across the shire over September and October. These meetings will be an opportunity for residents to engage with and provide feedback on the strategy. We encourage all residents to come along and get involved.

Bellingen: Wednesday September 25 from 4-7 pm, St Margaret's Church Hall

Dorrigo: Thursday September 26 from 9.30- 12.30 pm, Dorrigo Community Hall

Urunga: Tuesday October 1 from 1-4 pm, Urunga Neighbourhood Centre

Rose West

Thora

Sixty years ago last December my wife Janice (Anscombe) and I were married at St Margaret's Church in Bellingen .

Recently, having received a serious medical diagnosis, we made a nostalgic trip to return to the town and district of our childhood and education. The weather was excellent, the accommodation likewise and we were impressed with the general appearance of this lovely town.

We visited the cemetery, the family farm on Gleniffer Road, the original family selection at the Promised Land (adjacent to Anscombe's Hill) and St Margaret's Church where we were made welcome by a very helpful lady.

Our group of four, including two adult daughters, agreed we had a really enjoyable extended weekend and went on to see Dorrigo, Coffs Harbour and the Nambucca District. It was a wonderful experience being able to return to the old haunts of our youth.

However, we were all shocked and dismayed when, last week we received a parking fine of $114 dated September 9, for "park front to kerb where signs indicate rear to kerb", with details of the offence given as "not angle parked as on parking control sign or road marking."

All this was packaged in a hand-addressed envelope bearing the Bellingen Shire Council crest and letterhead along with two colour photos.

Our daughter is not disputing the 'offence' and expects to pay the fine by the due date but we, as a group, wonder why council officers could not be better employed welcoming visitors?? This experience has left a sour taste in our mouths and really destroyed what we expected to be a great nostalgic family event.

Laurie & Jan Monro

Green Point

I drove over from the north side last Sunday at 8.30 to buy a few provisions from IGA only to find council workers busily spraying the pavements outside the shop and I had to skip over the hoses and avoid the spray. No big deal but wondered what was going on.

Left home at 10am heading for the beach. Two council workers walking side by side from Hyde St down to the bridge with leaf blowers were moving debris from the path into the middle of the road on a windy day. A totally pointless exercise. More workers busily repainting the mission brown crossing points.

There may well be good reasons why all this stuff has to be done but why on a Sunday when I assume penalty rates apply?

Richard Jennings

Bellingen