I was very sad to hear that some people who do not even live in Mylestom were protesting at a meeting recently that we should not have this pathway. My thoughts are with mothers and strollers, the elderly and disabled and others who just need to walk in safe place off the main road, as at present it is not safe.

I arrived in Mylestom in 1932 aged six, when River Road was made of shale and gravel and as children we would walk to Repton school. Those days the few vehicles included my father's Royal Mail Hudson and later Mrs Griffiths' mail car used for the Mylestom store, which still stands today.

I mentioned the vehicles because in those days compared to now we mostly had the road to ourselves. Nowadays our River Road is a very busy vehicle road and does need a path for safety.

I do wonder how many of the people who are denying this path have lived here as long as I have and seen the progress of our small village with council's help and have admired the changes made for us all to enjoy this beautiful village atmosphere.

Sadly we all grow old, some of us are blessed with few health problems and others are not but i do wonder will those who deny us the path now and become elderly citizens themselves, will they walk on the road or a path made for everyone's safety.

I am aware Trevor Williams has spent many years working with council to bring this path to fruition and i thank him for his unwavering commitment.

I also know our loved and respected citizen Nev Warwick and his wife Thel will appreciate a level path to ride his scooter and her walker on their daily trek to collect their mail.

Walking is a great exercise and good for our health and everyone in the village enjoys the social interaction of the village's community. the future with a safe pathway for all to use will, I am sure, only grown Mylestom's community boned.

Ruby M Glynn-Armstrong

Mylestom

I just want to say a BIG thank you to everyone who came along or assisted with the School Strike for Climate on September 20. As usual, a fabulous display of community, from the great children who organised it, the fabulous kids who stood up and spoke out, the adults who came along and supported, the businesses in town who stood alongside us and the photographers and media for your great coverage. The numbers far exceeded our expectations and it felt great! This will continue, Bellingen did well! Thank you everyone!

Carol Sampson, Brierfield

Tuesday Sept 17th on the verge of being seriously dry, river level the lowest here since we moved on 50 years back. Thursday 19th, 20 ml of that wet stuff, need a heck of a lot more but hopefully the beginning. My mother always said, son be grateful for small mercies. But how blessed we are down here as compared to those poor devils out west. I know family farms passed down generations, salt of the earth, never had a holiday, never held a hand out and during those occasional good times saved every cent. Some of these folk have extended themselves to retain their livestock to the point they now have to borrow to feed themselves. Unlike, as an example, a couple could have a family home worth millions, not counted as an asset and draw the full pension. In most cases for a farmer, apart from their residence and 2 hectares, their farm is classified as an asset denying them access to any financial assistance short of cashing in their farm.

A response to two recent letters, our Mayor on bush fire preparation and Lindsay Moulden on the backyard veggie patch. Lindsay you are spot on, mainly due to necessity and the taste of the home grown, most did have their little patch. Due to affluence, lack of knowledge, and slackness, plus the one stop shop Woolies Coles etc. the art has almost gone. The growth industry is the packaged microwave meal from the supermarket, and who knows where the contents of these come from.

And yes Dominic this shire badly needs a crash course in fire prevention, so bring it on. But please not in the Council Chambers, out in the bush to access some input based on experience and common sense. I could but will not mention three urban and semi urban areas in grave danger of a catastrophic event. Even our hospital sitting atop that western slope which is becoming a forest is a concern. So as a gentle suggestion to the powers in control, less vegetating, and more emphasis on the vegetation problem. No vegetation no fire.

Darcey Browning, Thora

I hope you can agree with me that you don't need to be a climate scientist to realise that you can't log in a headwater without disturbing the headwater itself. And yet that is exactly what Forestry is preparing to do here in Kalang. As Water Minister you are in the unique position of being able to prevent the destruction of the Kalang River and the obliteration of the myriad species that depend on it. I implore you to use your official powers and leadership to step in and save the river from being destroyed. For what? Our children and their children need rivers, not woodchips. I beg you to think of their rights and join with the people of Kalang in telling Forestry to take a hike and protect our river.

Andrew West, Kalang

In a world of climate change,we need to reassess the way we look at trees.They give off enzymes that boost our immune system and make us feel good. Science tells us that they are marvelous carbon sequesters. We know that they help moderate the climate also by providing shade on huge areas of land.They are also part of the water cycle,with mature forests seeding the clouds and making it rain. Mature trees slowly release water in dry times to help maintain their surrounds. It is common sense to keep them in the ground.

Alternative building materials are now available which are increasingly being used and can offer a far more environmentally friendly product. Public native hardwood forest logging runs at a loss of 7.5 million annually in NSW. Melinda Pavey, you support local jobs. Let's plan for the future and create viable ones that won't lead us all to extinction. We need to buy out the contracts, retain those workers and retrain them.

At present we know that most of our local milled timber ends up as throw away pallets and poles. Pallets are cut on machines that leave large amounts of waste material that is burnt and released back into the atmosphere as part of our carbon problem. Of the Kalang headwaters trees in the harvest plan, 90% are blackbut and many of these koala feed trees will end up as flooring for the wealthy Chinese.They will not be milled locally. Many of the remaining rich variety of trees will be trashed as not suitable timber and burnt, completely destabilising the fragile slopes. Save Kalang!

Cris Taylor, Kalang

So as other east coast rivers dry up and we see the atmosphere's abilities to absorb water vapour increase, I notice our river is becoming more dynamic. With no old growth forests left in the catchment we have sacrificed our perpetual water leaching storehouse. Best err on the side of caution and build infrastructure to drought-proof our community . If it only floods occasionally we probably should harvest and store these events . Water is more valuable than gold . And there is no society without water ... prepare.

Brian Osmond, Bellingen

It was another great year for the Bellingen Fine Music Festival. Record numbers attended the 10th anniversary festival last weekend and were treated to an amazing mix of concerts and other events in beautiful Bellingen. It was a wonderful three days of music ... and partnership.

We sincerely thank all the people who helped to make the festival such a success - the many brilliant performers, the 'behind the scenes' music teachers, their music students and their families, the local businesses who generously supported our fundraising efforts, the many, many, people in the community who donated their time and expertise in numerous ways over many months, the enthusiastic audiences, our major sponsors - Camp Creative, Planet Lighting, Regional Arts NSW, Musica Viva and the Bellingen Shire Council - and all the other smaller sponsors and our media supporters. THANK YOU ALL.

Planning for another fantastic program in 2020 is well underway - likely to again be the last weekend of September. See you there next year.

Rosie Wickert

On behalf of the 2019 festival committee

I encourage all Australians to keep sharing the potentially life-saving F.A.S.T. acronym with their friends, family and colleagues all year round. It involves asking these simple questions if you suspect a stroke:

Face Check their face. Has their mouth drooped?

Arms Can they lift both arms?

Speech Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?

Time is critical If you see any of these signs call triple zero (000) straight away The more people who know this message and call triple zero at the first sign of stroke, the better.

While 80 per cent of strokes display one or more of the F.A.S.T. signs, other symptoms can present including dizziness, loss of balance or vision, headache and difficulty swallowing.

Sharon McGowan

CEO Stroke Foundation