Our War Memorial, dedicated to all those brave men who left the safety of this beautiful village to fight for freedom in foreign lands, our freedom, had been desecrated!

The statue of a young man in reflection, had been toppled off the quite high plinth. The statue is damaged in several places, and I imagine will be difficult to restore to its former beauty. There was also damage done to mail boxes in the area.

I have difficulty in trying to understand the mindset of people who perpetrate such mindless acts. I believe as a community we generally welcome the visitors who come to stay at this time of year, and are generally tolerant of some of their more exuberant behaviour. However I, for one, do not think that this behaviour should go unpunished.

I would ask that any person who has any knowledge about this senseless act of desecration inform the police as soon as possible, so that those responsible can be dealt with by the law.

Anne Spencer

Nelligen

This cruelty is almost unimaginable. Dozens of terrified dogs in China are dragged from a pen one by one and bashed over the head with a wooden club. Then they have their throats slit and the skin torn right off their bodies – skin that will be used to produce work gloves, cat toys, jacket trim and other leather items sold to unsuspecting consumers around the world, likely including Australia. Right now, dogs, rabbits, crocodiles and other sensitive animals are being beaten, shocked, mutilated and killed for their skin, and we must push hard to stop these and other animals' suffering. Please be a voice for the voiceless.

Coral Anderson, Batehaven

Spokesperson for JEEP Australia, Mr D Rhodes, today confirmed that rumours of JEEP switching from its Rubicon Trail test site to a three kilometre section of the Old Highway and Watertank Road 10 minutes south of Narooma, were correct. This follows an earlier incident where a tourist bus disappeared on the road. 

Mr Rhodes said that with advances in vehicle design and construction, any old SUV could now conquer the famed Rubicon, but that the dirt ‘roads’ in Eurobodalla Shire were made for testing off-roaders such as JEEP’s line-up. 

In particular, he said, Watertank Road’s potholed sections resembled the tank traps used by Leopard tank builders and as such were an ideal proving ground for his company.  

“The gut-shakin’, filling-loosenin’, axle-bustin’ corrugations on both road sections, together with the non-existent shoulders on some of them blind corners, and the dam-sized potholes, combined with the blind entry onto the Princes Highway and the tourist-avoidin’ reflexes needed to stay safe, make Watertank and Old Highway just perfect for us” said Mr Rhodes.  

“The fact that scheduled maintenance either doesn’t happen, or is long-delayed, adds to the suitability of these roads, that are euphemistically signed by council as suitable for tourist drives”, added the spokesman.  

“Drives in what?  A JEEP Renegade, of course! Nothin’ else can stand regular travel on ‘roads’ like these!” he said. 

A council spokeperson said that JEEP’s plans were a godsend, as Eurobodalla Shire Council had already decided that the southern part of the shire should be severed from Eurobodalla and given to Bega Valley, an anonymous foreign bidder wishing to open a dirt quarry, or the People’s Liberation Army as a live firing range. 

With JEEP’s bid to take over the area, council could now save that embarrassment as well as the money not spent on maintenance - “a win-win”, she said.

S. Kennedy, Corunna