Invasive development
My objection to the proposed development of a recreational flight School school at Frogs Hollow is based purely on the invasive nature of the development, and the threatened loss of my “quality of life” in my own home. It would not a quiet, unobtrusive development that would have minimal impact on me, but the complete opposite.
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The very notion of concentrating the noise of multiple light aircraft, taking off and landing, in a picturesque rural community, is obscene. Adding to that, the fact the “noise” will continue, unabated for many, many hours, and for days on end, it is really unconscionable, and should be dismissed immediately!
The families at Frogs Hollow and the surrounding area have worked hard to establish their lifestyles, and they need councillors to knock this money-making scheme on the head, once and for all. Every dollar this repulsive proposal could make for a small number of people in the Bega Valley would be earned at the expense and pain of an existing resident.
Finally, the insidious nature of noise pollution itself sees it permeate all aspect of life and makes it impossible for those suffering to find relief from it. If it is directly overhead or even off at an angle, it dominates the environment - you can't turn off your hearing or look away. I can only hope our BVSC decision-makers and fellow residents, who have known the tranquility of our rural paradise, will agree and not allow our lives to be destroyed forever.
Ian Gordon, Toothdale/Frogs Hollow
Health improvement
One consequence of a successful campaign to prevent local fluoridation will be for council to miss an opportunity to improve the health of low income groups within our community.
There is no debate that poor dental health contributes to poor overall health and that dental treatment is beyond the financial means of many families, particularly those with single incomes and the indigenous community.
The recent comprehensive, scientific and unbiased report by Australia’s peak National Health and Medical Research Council confirms what has been patently obvious for years. Fluoride in the water supplies is safe and significantly improves dental health, especially among young people.
Why council has not grasped this nettle and supported the health of disadvantaged groups in the Bega Valley Shire escapes me.
Robert Bain, Eden
Resources failing
So, Bega Valley Shire Council claims the nearly 20 per cent or 117 kilometres of pipes servicing the shire’s drinking water network is being renewed and replaced “in accordance with our Water Asset Management Plan 2015” (BDN, 31/10). Maybe I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but having waded through the impressive 75 page Water Asset Management Plan 2015, I couldn’t find a skerrick of information detailing a timeline for the replacement of the aging pipes.
And while council’s respected manager of water and sewerage services, Jim Collins, says that “the weight of evidence indicates ingested asbestos is not hazardous to people’s health”, he didn’t comment on the ongoing potential impact on the health of residents of consuming a cocktail of chemicals contained in our drinking water, that may include chlorine, iron and lead, as well as fluoride and asbestos.
What council’s plan does acknowledge is a glaring lack of financial resources necessary to sustain the capital and maintenance requirements of the shire’s water system which, coupled with its ongoing deterioration, must mean that the already poor quality of the shire’s drinking water will only continue to deteriorate. It is way past time that council pursued the state government for a genuine financial commitment to address this most basic of community services.