It appears our wonderful new hospital may be near  a crisis situation because there are not enough cleaners and those that are employed are overworked and stressed.

On the ABC a  Health Services Union spokesperson outlined the problem and put it down to lack of adequate funding to completely staff the new hospital. The importance of  cleaners in this facility is paramount not only for the obvious hygienic reasons, but because it has no superbugs.

Now all Dr Hendy can do to redeem his reputation is to ensure the federal government provide more funding to the NSW government for funding for  hospitals. How hard can that be?

In your article about the excessive number of power outages occurring over the next two weeks, I was absolutely amazed at the reported response by Essential Energy’s southern regional manager, Steven Ilitch.

To me, his comment, “Essential Energy has provided advanced notice to all customers affected by a planned power outage so they can make alternate arrangements”, borders on sheer arrogance.

Regardless of the amount of warning given, hundreds of people will be without power for a total of 18 hours over a three-day period. What alternate arrangements does Mr Ilitch have in mind?

Maybe we would all be welcomed at the Kerrisons Lane depot?

In my immediate neighbourhood there are 13 retirees, including two who are wheelchair-bound, who will find it impractical and expensive to seek temporary respite for three days in a row.

We are all of an age where we simply want the comforts of life, and apart from storing hot water in a thermos (sage advice given by an Essential Energy member over the phone), there is very little that can be done to prepare for a day without any form of power! And then another day, and then another!

And finally, in my original letters to Essential Energy and your paper, I simply inquired as to why the work could not be concentrated, so that more could be done on each day, or perhaps staggered over a period of weeks.

Bega Valley Shire Council is currently reviewing our mowing programs for parks and reserves between Bermagui and Eden.

We do this to make sure the land council is responsible for is being maintained in a way that best meets community expectations as well as our public safety and budget requirements.

The land Margaret Ball points to in Bunyarra Drive, Bega (Letters, 22/4), is indeed owned by the Department of Housing.

The review we are going through at the moment has identified that council staff have mowed vacant land like this on occasions in the past around the shire. This has been with a good deal of good will.  

Unfortunately we simply can’t keep doing this and, like all land managers, our focus has to be on land we are responsible for.

We have identified a number of these sites across the shire and we are looking at ways that agencies like the Department of Housing can better support council in this type of work.

In the meantime I have asked our Bega Town Team to mow the land Ms Ball is concerned about as a way of addressing those immediate safety concerns. 

In these situations it is useful for residents to also raise the matter with the land owner directly, so they have a record of the issue and can consider the best way to manage it.