SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Dear Editor,
I have been made aware of some confusion being directed at the involvement of Rashidi Sumaili and Kialla United FC Inc. I’d like to clarify a few of these issues.
In 2008 I was the McGuire College Soccer coordinator for four teams that competed in the Shepparton Junior Soccer Association. Mohamed Saleh coached one of the senior boys teams and asked if we would be able to start our own club and enter the then, NESL competition. At the end of the SJSA season many of our players continued to train and play social soccer games during the evenings and on weekends.
At the same time City of Greater Shepparton, Recreation and Leisure Manager, Brendan Gosstray advised me about another group that he was working with endeavouring to establish an organised social soccer training and games at Victory Oval in St Georges Road. This group was being organised with the support of Rashidi Sumaili. Rashidi Sumaili, Mohamed Saleh and myself met with Brendan to plan an approach to enable this group to continue to develop. We were fortunate to have the support of Andy Ingham and Luke Slater who both assisted with a twice weekly coaching and training program through September and October of 2008.
Rashidi was entrusted by the council with room and light keys to help set up the training and administration side of this group. He would use his car to pick up and take home some of the Congolese youth who lived in North Shepparton making several trips each training night. These nights would end in darkness around 9:00pm.
From these early sessions momentum built and a public meeting was called to form a new soccer club with the intention of competing in the 2009 NESL competition. The first meeting was well attended and the support was promising. Rashidi Sumaili attended this meeting. After this initial meeting several others were held and eventually the club was incorporated and accepted into the NESL by the executive in February 2009.
I wish to state that without Rashidi Sumaili’s initial support the Kialla United FC may not have evolved as there were very few others who were wanting to do the work to build this club in it’s initial stages. Rashidi’s children were playing with another club and they chose not to join the newly established club, hence Rashidi’s involvement then ceased even though he wished us well for the upcoming season.
Regards, Danny Lythgo, Kialla
BARMAH FOREST
Dear Editor,
Regarding the Barmah Forest becoming a National Park, ‘how disturbing’. I would like The Adviser to take photos now and then again in 12months. I don’t mean a nice wetland photo, but photos that display the true state of the forest floor in the event of fire.
Redgum is great burning wood and a wildfire would be nearly impossible to contain.
My Grandfather was a forest officer and on days of high fire risk the tower on the highest part of the wombat forest was manned so fires could be spotted before they were out of control.
Fires risks were lowered and managed with effective logging, permits being issued to woodcutters, cattle grazing, grass heads being piled and burnt and fire trails kept clear.
I can tell you Tom Conroy would turn in his grave if he were here to see the fuel in the forest today. The Greens and Parliament need to wake up, wasn’t 180 dead on Black Saturday enough?
Georgina Sheppard
FOREST ATROCITY
Dear Editor,
The pictures tell the story, which has upset many of the timber cutters who used to cut timber in the Barmah forest.
The two trees in the picture are two of many trees felled by Parks Victoria in a two hectare experimental plot off the gulf track in the area ironically near Murray’s Mill!
The main tree is an approximately 75-85 year old fiddle back red gum, measures 11m long and is 75cms at the base. The timber has been valued by an antique furniture manufacturer at between $40,000 and $50,000, after being kiln dried.
One of many brought down in this area, this tree was off limits to sawmillers as it was deemed too pristine and valuable to the environment and what is called a no go specimen. These trees cut down inside a two hectare plot were stumbled on by Bushmen at leisure. This mighty specimen has been sawn down and left to rot on the forest floor.
The other tree in this scenario, length 18m, approximately 90-110 years old, a prime tree valued by experienced sawmillers at between $70,000 and $76,000 in timber kiln dried furniture quality, which was also known to be off limits because of the need to be protected for the environment, was also left to rot on the forest floor.
The trees in this picture have been butchered and shows us that the Brumby Government and in particular the Green Movement as custodians of the forest and their servants who do the dirty work, Parks Victoria and in particular the Yorta Yorta, are willing to slaughter these mighty gums and leave them to rot.
When we see the wanton destruction of these mindless organisations God help our forest in the future. They have cut down these beautiful trees in the name of thinning, these trees were not the problem. The saplings are the problem not these magnificent trees, boys you got it wrong again. This is a disgrace!
All the people who have looked after this forest are appalled and saddened by this act of vandalism and butchering of these trees, by the people I have mentioned above, who “think they know best”, who took away “our” forest to protect it from us! One DSE head honcho has been ringing forest people to find out if it’s okay to thin in wet weather, they don’t have a clue what this forest is about!
The forest has eyes and ears, nothing that goes on in there goes unnoticed. This act rates up there with other slaughters involving man.
Yours sincerely, Max Schier, Congupna
Want to have your say?
Email your letters to the Editor to
editorial@sheppartonadviser.com.au.
Max 100 words
