$180,000 tackles smoking	'Keep family safe'
After the rally	50 years for Rotary
MFS Riverland regional manager...	Club break-ins
Coldest night ever recorded	Council's Strategic direction
Digging deep	Drivers reported
Fake note report	Fruit in train accident
Funding for 'black spot'	Health talks
Markets well attended	New oil to boost our exports
Pickers needed	Village funds welcome
Vital heart funds	Winery halts stock trading

By LUCY FORSTER
This Wednesday's World Tobacco Day will be marked with the launch of a project aimed at reducing smoking rates among youth in the Riverland.
The Riverland Regional Health Service will receive $180,000 over three years from Drug and Alcohol Service SA to fund the Riverland Youth Anti-Tobacco Project.
Riverland Regional Health Service chief executive officer Nino DiSisto said he was pleased to announce the launch of a project that aimed to tackle a very serious health issue for young people.
"In South Australia, three people are dying from smoking-related illness every day," he said.
"This project fits perfectly with South Australia's Strategic Plan to reduce the percentage of young cigarette smokers by 10 per cent within ten years."
The project will target Riverland youth from 11 to 29 years of age. The Riverland Youth Anti-Tobacco Project will work with schools, TAFE, sporting clubs and other youth agencies to discourage young people from taking up smoking, and to assist smokers to quit.
The groups will be provided with information, educational activities/events and support for the period of the funding.
Project officer Greg Hatcher said the plan would take a strategic approach to reduce the smoking rates of Riverland youth.
"It makes sense to utilise and extend the networks that exist in the Riverland region and build on the achievements of previous projects," he said
"This project provides a wonderful opportunity to develop the Riverland community's capacity to reduce the harmful effects of cigarette smoking in our young people, with positive flow-on effects to the wider community."

'Keep family safe'
By PAULA THOMPSON
While many people may think of summer as the fire danger period, according to MFS Riverland regional manager Jim Grivell, call-outs occur just as often during the cooler months.
Mr Grivell is urging Riverland residents to put together a home fire escape plan.
"We don't notice a discernable difference between summer and winter," Mr Grivell said.
"The only difference is the actual fire themselves.
"In winter it's mainly due to unattended heating and flame appliances.
"We suggest every time people leave home they close all the internal doors, to slow any fire down.
"We also ask people to make sure items like electric blankets, stoves, etc, are turned off."
Mr Grivell said making a home fire escape plan could save lives.
"One of the main problems we have is people going back inside the house to rescue others who are already out.
"If there's a plan in place, and people have to evacuate, everyone knows where to go and what to do.
"Knowing about home fire safety can help you and your family stay safe."
On Saturday Riverland residents and their families can find out more about making a home fire escape plan.
Fire crews will be visitng McDonalds in Renmark on Saturday to discuss fire prevention strategies from midday to 2pm.

After the rally
By CRAIG TRELOAR
A significant compensation proposal and major government contributions were the main outcomes of a grower solutions rally in Berri.
Riverland Winegrape Growers Association executive officer Chris Byrne said nearly 1000 people attended Sunday's rally.
"We are very pleased with the outcome and that we were able to get our message out there," Mr Byrne said.
"We are very pleased that we have a strong commitment from State government for a social impact study and a promise from Federal Government to be part of an inland region study to look at how we can help small farmers."
The Federal Member for Barker Patrick Secker announced a $500,000 package to work with the grape industry on improving and investigating sustainability issues.
Mr Secker said the funding would focus on four key areas including value adding, greater industry collaboration, improving industry performance and the realisation of a sustainable enterprise size.
A second significant development was the announcement of a grower compensation package proposal.
"This was formulated by a group of Riverland growers and will be discussed at the Federal Summit on June 9," Mr Byrne said.
"We are suggesting the State and Federal governments with industry agree to fund a partial compensation package which may be used to pay growers $200 a tonne to not pick their grapes," he said.
Growers could then save significant amounts money by cutting down on their production costs.
Mr Byrne said if the proposal went ahead it would have an enormous effect on reducing the intake of unwanted grapes.
"If we are going to substantiate this compensation package we need really hard data so it is very good that the governments are doing that for us through the studies," he said.
Renmark Paringa Council deputy mayor and Riverland Winegrape Grower Association member Jack Papageorgiou said it was disappointing more Riverlanders didn't make the effort to attend.
"You would have thought more people would have made the effort to come out and support not just the growers but the region," Mr Papageorgiou said.
"The rally was a real message to representatives of government that they need to start implementing some grower driven policies," he said
"I believe the real crunch will be when they come to some serious funding arrangements at the National Summit on June 9."

50 years for Rotary
A major milestone in the history of the Rotary Club of Renmark was celebrated on Saturday night.
The club marked its fiftieth anniversary with a dinner at the Renmark Greek community hall.
President of the Rotary club, Paul Taylor, welcomed over 100 Rotarians and guests. Former members of the Rotary club attended the evening, coming from areas around the State, and a special guest was District Governor Arthur Manser and his wife Shirley.
A strong contingent came across the border from the Mildura Rotary club, including club president Jayne Sunbird.
Mildura Rotary approved the Renmark Rotary club at a special charter night dinner at the Renmark Institute on Saturday, May 26, 1956.
A book recording the history of the club, 1956-2006, was also launched at Saturday night's event.
While no charter members were able to attend the dinner, Mr Rev Cant, who joined in 1957, was the earliest member there and was able to give an account of some of those early years and was also invited to assist in the cutting of a birthday cake.
Jayne Sunbird, president of the Mildura Rotary club, spoke on the sponsoring and chartering of the Renmark club, highlighting the strong links which have been retained between the two clubs, and several members from the Renmark club spoke on some of the major achievements.
Among these were the Rotaract club, women in Rotary, the highly successful Apprentice and Trainee Awards and the popular international youth exchange program and youth training initiatives.
Jayne Sunbird also presented a mantle clock to Renmark president Paul Taylor, who accepted it on behalf of the Renmark club.
A successful funraising raffle was held with many items being donated by Renmark businesses and a vigorous fines session relieved many people of their loose change.
Plenty of fellowship was enjoyed at the evening.

MFS Riverland regional manager Jim Grivell is urging the region's residents to put together a home fire escape plan.
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Club break-ins
The president of the Paringa Football Club has voiced frustration over a series of break-ins at the clubrooms.
Renmark police are investigating a break-in, which occurred at the clubrooms last Thursday night. Riverland Crime Scene examiners attended the incident. Police said soft drinks were stolen during the break-in.
Club president Todd Rivers said break-ins had been occurring on a regular basis.
"It's happened three times in the last six months," Mr Rivers said.
"It's always the same point of entry and it's always on a Thursday or Friday night."
Mr Rivers said the club was considering putting video surveillance in the club rooms to counteract the problem. Police are following a line of enquiries over the break-ins.

Coldest night ever recorded

By CRAIG TRELOAR
The Riverland has been experiencing below minimum average temperatures throughout May with one town recording its coldest May night ever.

Climate Services manager Elizabeth Curran said Renmark recorded its coldest night ever at ?4.1 degrees on Wednesday, May 24.
"A temperature of -3.2 degrees was recorded at Loxton on Wednesday and Thursday last week but that was not the lowest we have had recorded at Loxton," she said.
"As it turns out the lowest ever recorded in Loxton is also ?4.1 degrees and that was in 1973."
Although weather records have been kept at Renmark since 1889 the new record minimum temperature was recorded at a different site than previous temperatures.
"The old weather site at Renmark was at the post office and that was open until 1985," Mrs Curran said.
"The coldest temperature there was only 0.2 degrees, it would never register below 0 but it would have been more protected than the air port which is where the weather station is now," she said.
"The Loxton site has also shifted but that was only about one kilometre."
The previous lowest temperature at Renmark was ?3.5 degrees recorded in 2004. The mean minimum temperature for May in that year was 3.6 degrees, which is much colder than this year.
"At the moment we are running at a mean minimum temperature of 5.4 degrees at Renmark this year and the average is 6.2 so the minimum temperature this year is below average," Mrs Curran said.

Council's Strategic direction
By LUCY FORSTER
The Berri Barmera Council expects to release its draft Strategic Management Plan for community consultation within the next two months.
Chief executive officer Stephen Rufus said the 20 year plan would provide a framework for the future management of the council to ensure that council's vision, mission and corporate objectives were achieved for the benefit of the community.
"In developing the plan, I have tried to maintain its simplistic and practical approach so that it is clearly understood by all staff, the community and of course elected members," he said.
Mr Rufus said information received at the "Council on the Couch" session would be integrated into the plan and the community consultation process would continue through to the next stage.
"A summarised version of the plan will be released via community newsletter and forums will be held in Berri and Barmera giving people the opportunity to make a comment on the plan."

Digging deep

Over 160 volunteers knocked on doors around the Riverland on the weekend, collecting for the Salvation Army's Annual Red Shield Appeal.
Salvation Army Officer, Major Malcolm Jones said the turn out was excellent.
"There were 50 collectors in Renmark, 60 in Berri, 30 in Loxton and 25 in Barmera," he said.
The amount of money raised by the doorknock was still being counted yesterday and will be announced in the next few days.
Major Jones said there would be collectors in Clarks Plaza, Renmark next week to give those that were missed by doorknockers the opportunity to donate.

Drivers reported
Six people have been reported by exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol on Riverland roads in the past week.
Loxton police reported a Loxton man, as a result of follow up enquiries. The man was injured as a result of a fall from a motorcycle in East Terrace, Loxton, in February. It is alleged he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.097 per cent.
Blanchetown police reported a Merbein man for speeding and exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol. It is alleged he was travelling on the Sturt Highway at Blanchetown at 136 km/h with a blood alcohol level of 0.111 per cent.
Waikerie police reported a French tourist, while driving on Ramco Road, Ramco, for driving with an alleged blood alcohol reading of 0.124 per cent.
Morgan police reported a Morgan man for having an alleged blood alcohol content of 0.08 per cent.
Police reported a 17-year-old Barmera woman for allegedly exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol with a reading of 0.063 per cent.
Waikerie police reported a Waikerie man for allegedly exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol with a reading of 0.144 per cent.

Fake note report
Riverland police are investigating the passing of a counterfeit $50 note at a Berri licensed premises.
Police said the note appears to be a poor quality photocopy and was slightly smaller than the genuine article.
They are warning the public to be vigilant in the handling of cash.
Police are asking members of the public to advise them if they have any information in relation to this type of activity.

Fruit in train accident
By LUCY FORSTER
Nine containers of Riverland fruit were being carted by a train which derailed last week.
The fruit was on route to Melbourne to be shipped to the US when the accident occurred.
Riversun Exports managing director Steve Allen said following the accident the containers were returned to Adelaide to be assessed by insurers.
"We're just arranging for them to be transported to a cold storage facility where they'll be unloaded and then the insurers will look at the fruit to make sure there's no damage," he said.
"Once the insurers look at the fruit and assess it, a decision will be made then as to the whether the fruit is sent for export or whether it will go on the domestic market."
Mr Allen said neither Riversun nor local growers would bear any negative financial impact as a result of the accident.
"The fruit will probably be two weeks old by the time all of this is dealt with, but if there is any financial impact it will be on the insurance company," he said.

Funding for 'black spot'
The Berri to Loxton road will receive $130,000 in 'black spot' road funding.
The funding forms part of the $44.5 million AusLink Black Spot program, which aims to reduce the national road toll.
The work will be undertaken around 500 metres south of Gurra Road and will continue through to Bookpurnong Hill.
The road width is narrower through this section than the connecting sections of road, which have already been shoulder sealed.
Works proposed will be undertaken on the full length of this road section.
Shoulders on both sides of this road section will be sealed, with the exception of Salt Creek Bridge, which is already sealed to the bridge barriers.
Other work includes adding edge lines.
The project was nominated for funding by Transport SA's eastern branch.

Health talks
State Health minister John Hill met with delegates from across country South Australia last week to discuss the State government's plan to reform country health services.
The plan includes replacing seven separate regional health boards with one Country Regional Health Service.
The two-day conference gave more than 240 regional delegates the chance to hear how the system would be rolled out.
Mr Hill said that following the conference a discussion paper would be released, canvassing the changes proposed.
"Importantly under this plan the local hospital boards will concentrate on advocacy and strategy and priority setting, while technical responsibility for employment arrangements and contracts, and safety and quality issues, will be taken on by the new country health authority," he said.
"By getting rid of seven regional boards this will mean that local communities will have even greater capacity to be heard and any funds raised, donations and bequests will remain with the local community for it to decide how the money will be spent.
"The reform is about developing an integrated country health system that will result in better health outcomes for people living in country SA.
"This reform is about streamlining and reducing bureaucracy, while still ensuring there is very strong local representation. Savings from this process will go back into country communities.
"At the moment we do not have a country health system. We have a range of health units and hospital boards, which operate independently.
"The final structure must find a way to provide direction, when necessary, to ensure country health care is delivered equitably across the country.
"I'm expecting to appoint the new interim country health service board shortly and one of its first duties will be to make recommendations for the location of the head office."
Opposition deputy leader Vickie Chapman said the health restructure "would be a major blow to country residents".
"My fear is that the quality of health services for people living in regional communities in this State will fall dramatically under this model," she said.

Markets well attended
The Annual Mammoth Monash Markets held over the weekend have been hailed a great success.
Monash Primary School teacher Karyn Eckert said the turnout had been excellent.
"There was fantastic community support for the day," she said.
Ms Eckert said the number of people to walk through the gate was still undetermined but organisers estimate 3000 to 4000.
"There were so many people walking through, gate attendants just couldn't keep count," she said.
The markets are held annually at the Monash School grounds to raise money for the school and local charity groups.
Ms Eckert said the amount of money raised from the day was still being counted.
"We expect to do well but we don't know the final figures yet," she said.

New oil to boost our exports

An oil which protects export-quality citrus from unwanted peel pest has paved the way for Riverland citrus growers to pursue their push into international markets.
Agriculture minister Rory McEwen said extensive testing by SARDI scientists had proved that a new specially-formulated food-grade oil was effective in protecting fruit from the surface pest, light-brown apple moth.
"This is an important breakthrough for the citrus industry as the use of this post harvest oil treatment will help the industry to pursue markets, like China and Japan, where there are major quarantine barriers and nil tolerance to insect pests, while protecting the established US market," Mr McEwen said.
"The SA Citrus Industry development board has recently secured emergency approval for Riverland packing sheds to use the new food-grade oil until June 2007, replacing supplies of another oil that ran out last season.
"By protecting the fruit from surface insects, this development will keep SA's $50 million to $70 million citrus exports on track and help overcome challenges to address export quarantine barriers," he said.
Mr McEwen said the use of the new oil would avert the need for fruit to be fumigated using methylbromide, which was not only costly but also slowed down the packing process and greatly reduced the shelf-life of fruit.

Pickers needed
The Riverland citrus harvest for 2006 is showing an increase in demand for workers and worker accommodation according to one local employment agency.
Madec harvest officer Leighton Pearce said the citrus harvest season had commenced with many vacancies for fruit pickers.
"We are sourcing pickers to come into the area to harvest the navels and mandarins, they are the main varieties at the moment," he said.
"Vine pruning is also commencing and we are looking for vine pruners as well."
Mr Pearce said job seekers could come into the Berri Madec Harvest Office and lodge their enquiries.
"We can then take it from there and hopefully put them into some meaningful work," he said.
"I think we have increased our profile over the last year so we are seeing a lot of growers that have never used our services before making enquiries as well.
Mr Pearce said accommodation was once again an important factor this season.
"A lot of the caravan parks are reaching full occupancy so it will be an issue," he said.

Village funds welcome
By CRAIG TRELOAR
Future development at the Loxton Historical Village received a substantial financial boost when local MP Karlene Maywald presented the attraction with a cheque for $4290.
The funds were made available through a South Australian History Trust grant as part of the annual Museums and Accreditation Grants Program.
Loxton Waikerie Council community services director Des Schliebs, acting on behalf of the Historical Village, accepted the cheque at a presentation last Thursday.
"We have approximately 18 sound systems that were developed some 15 or 20 years ago and obviously the quality is deteriorating and needs upgrading," Mr Schliebs said.
"With this funding we will upgrade six of the worst and then proceed to upgrade the rest with grants over the next couple of years."
The upgrades are the first stage of a major development at the attraction to enhance and revitalise the exhibits.
"We are aiming to eventually upgrade all sound systems to digital to enable us to develop soundscapes for the more prominent exhibits," Mr Schliebs said.
"A good example of a soundscape is a Railway Station. Apart from having an audio voice describing the station there will be soundscapes in the background so you'd hear the train arriving, the puff of steam and the screeching brakes," he said.
"The bustle of platform activity would be heard in the background, maybe even a couple people standing and discussing a topical subject from the day and the sound of a guard blowing his whistle and the train leaving.
"People would be transported back 60 or 70 years ago and actually feel themselves being part of the process."

Vital heart funds
Students at the Riverland Special School will be participating in 'Jump Rope for Heart' this Friday to raise money for the Australian Heart Foundation.
School Services Officer Karla Dak said the whole school would be involved in a range of 'healthy heart' activities to raise money for the charity.
"Participants will collect sponsorship money from family and friends for taking part in the 'jump off," she said.

Winery halts stock trading
McGuigan Simeon Wines has halted trading in its shares for two days.
Trading was halted for Monday and today.
The trading halt was requested pending the release of an announcement by the company on its inventory, vintage results and full year profit.
In a release issued on the Australian Stock Exchange's website McGuigan Simeon managing director Dane Hudson said that following the 2006 vintage the company had begun a detailed analysis of the company's stock position and the full year outlook.
"While we have not yet finished that review we will endeavour to give the market a clear indication of our position by start of trading on Wednesday morning," Mr Hudson said.
"We were comfortable with our stock level in December.
"However the impact of another record vintage on top of previous excess stocks in the industry meant it only prudent we closely review the value of our stock."
Mr Hudson said the principal outcomes of the McGuigan Simeon 2006 vintage were good quality across Australia and extraction rates in line with expectation.
During the 2006 vintage 232,000 tonnes were crushed by the company, which is 23,000 tonnes less than last year but still above initial forecasts.

Grape action

Eventually there will be an end to rock-bottom grape prices.
Supply and demand logic says as more growers are forced away from grape production, due to the prices, it would result in less fruit available for sale. You would expect that less fruit on the market would ultimately lead to a higher demand and a corresponding price rise. Our wine export growth is not being questioned.
You only have to consider that following the Queensland cyclone one banana is now costing around 90 cents (simply because the fruit is in short supply).
Sunday's grower rally at Berri was another step to help the grape industry further discuss the crisis and keep the profile of the issue high on the agenda.
However, even more importantly, because of the sheer size of our grape industry, next week's meeting, which is expected to discuss a proposed partial compensation package, will be crucial to deciding the future of our region.
There is a lot riding on a positive outcome.
Growers are not looking for handouts and the proposal would see industry pay back a $16 million loan, over a four to five year period, via a levy fee.
Australia is generous and contributes substantial amounts of money to assist overseas countries. Our international aid is not under question, but you would therefore expect if Australian tax-paying growers need some one-off assistance support, both Federal and State money would be available.

Another link in chain	Birthday celebrations
Ethanol and growers	Hand to backpackers
Lost in pine forest

AFTER reading the article about William J. Sandercock, (Drove the first tractor in Renmark: Pioneer May 19 ) by Heather Everingham I realised that the particular tractor mentioned is in fact the one that I had acquired in 1996 from Ian and Hagh Showell.
It is actually 1918 International 10/20 Titan number TY 33890 made in America.
The tractor was shipped out to Port Adelaide and travelled as far as Paringa by train. It was then transported by barge across the river to Renmark, as the bridge between the two towns was not built until 1928.
Then delivered to Mr Harry Showell at Renmark. Mr Showell's fruit block previously belonged to the Chaffey brothers.
Mr Ian Showell agreed that it was a very rough tractor to drive so consequently it was used mainly on dip pumps and did general engine work. The tractor had been dismantled and packed in Ian's shed ready to be restored.
A two-cylinder engine driven through a three-speed gearbox to chains on each rear wheel supplies power to the tractor.
I have been working on the tractor and have completely rebuilt the engine including making new rings and machining the pistons. Restoration of most of the mechanical parts has now been completed. The tractor will be running again in the near future.
This published story was of great interest, as it is another link in the chain of the history of this tractor. I would be very interested to obtain any further history or photographs of this interesting old machine.
DEVON AMBER
Gumeracha

Birthday celebrations
RIVERLAND Respite and Recreation Service is celebrating its 20th birthday on June 24. It will be an open office from 5pm to 9pm with the official opening of our new building and the cutting of the birthday cake taking place at 6pm. The celebrations will be held at 28A Kay Avenue, Berri. Bookings close on June 5.
The service opened on June 29, 1986, after ongoing lobbying from parents to have a "respite" facility available to assist them in their role of caring for children with an intellectual disability.
The service has grown considerably since those early days. We now offer the following:
1) Flexible respite for families;
2) A day options program for students who leave the Riverland Special School (or special classes in mainstream schools) and cannot find meaningful day activities. Our program is run each day f rom 9am to 3pm and gives clients the opportunity to participate in various community activities (eg recycling and library work) to cooking classes and recreation programs (eg swimming and gym).
3) A comprehensive recreation program which ranges from diners club, kids club, school holiday programs, indoor cricket, ten pin bowls, basket carnivals and special olympics to weekend trips away and week-long holidays.
GAIL PAGE
Manager

Ethanol and growers
I REFER to the rally organised for this weekend by the Wine Council of Australia. I was interested to hear what the people were saying through the regional ABC program: "Look to ethanol as a way of getting rid of the surplus".
Amazingly, the direction fell on the deaf ears of the panel that were three in the studio. Though ethanol was not altogether discounted it was not embraced. The majority of the panel were saying they did not want to grow grapes for anything other than wine. This stubborn attitude is going to result in the Riverland missing out on a wonderful opportunity. If those people and others who have discounted ethanol were to open their minds to the benfits that ethanol provides they would see it as a way of controlling surpluses and giving lost-lasting benefits to the world by introducing some cleaner fuel. In doing this it would help Australia to meet her international obligations on Greenhouse Gas Emission.
I was advocating ethanol production as a means of getting rid of the oversupply of wheat when John Kerin was the minister for agriculture. We talked at length on the subject. He explained that the oil companies would fight to the death to prevent it happening. I say to growers' representatives, work with governments throughout the world to shame the oil companies into coming on board and use up our surpluses in a way that everyone benefits.
So far as new crops are concerned, I suggest that the Riverland look to sugarbeet. A number of countries with similar climate conditions to our own grow this crop and it is a dual-purpose crop that need never be wasted.
SHIRLEY FAULKNER
Berri

Hand to backpackers

THIS is in reference to the backpackers statement (Pioneer May 23). Although I do not live on the avenue, two statements were made that I feel a need to respond to.
COMMENT NUMBER 1: "May I just say it is a scary thought how many accidents are going to occur."
To my knowledge backpackers do not use their own transport a lot anyway. If this statement was meant to be taken as in "too many people" will cause accidents, I would like to see a statistics of accidents occurring through peak tourist season. I may be wrong but I don't think there is any higher accident rate along the avenue.
COMMENT NUMBER 2: "In an area where crime is minimal is this going to be the case if this stupid idea is passed?"
How sad that one can assume a backpacker is a criminal. These backpackers work hard for the money they gain through employment, they spend their money here, that alone I thought would be good for the economy of Renmark.
For my own thoughts I think having the backpackers along the avenue is a good idea, close to town, and close to employment agencies.
Would I buy or rent a house near a backpayer? Yes, why not? I think giving a hand to those who wish to travel our country and work along the way is a great idea.
KATHRYN ABBRUCIATI
Myle Street, Renmark

Lost in pine forest
TO all the people it may concern, I would like to relate the outcome of an incident which happened to me between May 3 and May 7.
Due to an unfortunate chain of circumstances, I became accidentally stranded in a forest of predominately native pines which ultimately turned out to be an uncleared reserve on private property, being a legacy of the Marginal Lands Act of the 1950s which deemed any uncleared land on broadacre Mallee farms to be left uncleared in perpetuity.
Unfortunately for me, this particular uncleared reserve was of the magnitude of about 4500 acres and, to cut a long story short, I got lost.
To clarify the last statement, by being lost, I mean that I was basically separated from my vehicle which was somewhere else in a place that I wasn't and I couldn't find the damned thing again, so I subsequently walked around quite a sizeable chunk of the Karoonda-East Murray council area looking for it.
After four days and an estimated 120 kilometres later, and about 10 kilograms lighter and after drinking from sheep troughs and eating some edible raw mushrooms on the way, I was just about ready to give up and lay down under a tree but I knew that if I did it would probably be my last rest.
The next thing I remember was a vision of a saviour in the form of a Renmark transport company sem-driver asking me if I wanted a lift.
Mick Cowley, you are, in order, a champion, a compassionate man of the highest order and of course, not to mention, just a bloody good bloke.
CHRIS BEAL
Renmark West

Locals cycling Tour success	Fiery top of the table clash
Riverland players excel in Sta...	Magpies nullify Roos
Panthers revive season	Goal spree for Loxton as Rover...
No stopping Tilbrook's 17	Riverland Cycling Club member ...

By NICK DILLON
The 32nd annual Tour of the Riverland was staged on the weekend with all Riverland riders performing well, but none able to upstage former Norwood Cycling Club member Wayne Fazzalari.
Fazzalari, who came second in the event four years ago, won the event in a time of 2.03.19 from fellow 11.30 minute group member Jason de Ross.
Tour of the Riverland organiser Barry Skinner said that Fazzalari had improved since his last race in the Riverland.
"The year he got second he should have won but it looked like he'd learned a lot since then because he beat a lot of better riders on Saturday," Skinner said.
"He was over the moon considering he was only coming up to go to a 40th birthday party!"
Scratch rider Peter Meuller. of Adelaide, won the fastest time award in controversial circumstances after teammate Adrian Laidler lifted his arms in celebration prematurely and Meuller snuck home by just six inches.
Hamish MacKirdy was the best of the Riverland riders on both Saturday and Sunday, finishing in sixth place on the second day.
"Hamish was certainly the fastest Riverland rider and he raced particularly well on the Sunday because the whole scratch bunch got up," Skinner said.
Chris Luxton was the winner of Sunday's open handicap after pulling out of the Saturday race after only 25 kilometres, leaving him fresh to blitz the field on Sunday.
Former Riverland rider Nick Ferguson recorded the fastest time on both days in the under 17 handicap.

Fiery top of the table clash
The top of the table clash between Renmark and Barmera saw a fiery contest with Renmark getting up by six goals at home in Riverland A1 netball on Friday night.
Both teams were physical in the goal circle with neither able to grab too much ascendancy.
Renmark took an early lead and went to the first break four goals up but with Barmera still in the hunt.
Renmark broke away to lead by as many as 12 goals during the second quarter with shooters Amy Heritage and Sonja Modlinski stepping up.
However, Barmera were able to reel Renmark back in to trail by five at half time as Benita Dillon inspired her team forward.
Wing attack Helane Gartner was combining well with Heritage and Lyn Sweeney at centre for Renmark as they gained the ascendancy once again in the third quarter.
Barmera's shooters had a fiery battle with Renmark's defenders with neither side willing to give an inch.
Renmark stretched their lead to 12 goals during the final quarter before letting Barmera get to within six goals by the final whistle.

B GRADE
Cobdogla 57 (K. Walshaw, A. Lowe) d Brown's Well 13 (R. Callahan, M. Gleeson) 13; Lyrup 35 (J. Shepherd, K. Hartup) d Wunkar 22 (J. Schultz, S. Pfitzner); Paringa 42 (S. Roesler, D. Barton) d East Murray 18 (T. Bobillak. J. Cornish).

Riverland players excel in State clash
By PETER ARGENT
In the annual clash between the State under 20s versus the under 18s combination ahead of the national championships in late June, played last Friday night on Adelaide Oval, two Riverland boys excited their coach.
In one of the closer clashes between these two elite junior combinations, Renmark junior Ryan Bennett and team captain Scott Lewis both again put their name in front of the abundance of recruiting officers at one of the most picturesque sporting grounds our game is played on nationally.
After playing well in the corresponding game last year, Lewis was giving the opportunity to lead the under 20s combination and played this role to perfection.
"Scott showed a lot of class in this match and always seamed to have an abundance of time to use the ball," state under 20s and North Adelaide reserves coach Scott Peters said.
"He is a quiet type but also a strong thinker about the game.
"Used as a part of the mid field rotation, Scott finds the footy well and also uses it intelligently."
Besides being one of the best players in the match (he was rated fourth best by the coaching panel), he also pushed forward and kicked a telling goal.
Bennett, who went away with the 2005 under 18s combination, played across half back for the entirety of the match and was a key player during the first half, especially the under 20s dominant second term, where he directed play from this position.
"Ryan was unlucky not to get a mention in the side's best players," Peters said.
"His second quarter was certainly his best.
"He has a strong body and didn't get pushed off the ball at all in this match."
At SANFL level, Bennett has already had a couple of really tough assignments in the early rounds of his rookie season at this level.
The under 20s won the match for the sixth consecutive time by 18 points in this event, which was well patronised by recruitment people from all 16 AFL clubs.
A number of players have been drafted onto AFL lists after performing well for this selected combination.

Magpies nullify Roos
Waikerie retained top spot on the premiership table when they defeated Barmera-Monash by 42 points in their home game encounter.
The Magpies who nullified Barmera's main playmakers in a most professional manner looked the vastly superior team for most of the game and early in the final quarter they led by 74 points before letting the Roos in for six late goals.
Although making the final scoreline look a little more respectable from a Barmera-Monash perspective, in reality it was a very ordinary performance, particularly from their senior players.
Impressive play from Craig Underwood, Tom Hyde and Steve Liebich ensured Waikerie came out strong in the opening quarter.
Only poor kicking for goal prevented the Magpies from being further in front at quarter time as their key forwards struggled to kick accurately.
With Luke Tyrrell being cleverly shadowed by Luke Horner, the Roos were relying almost completely on Ryan Villis for their drive.
Throughout the second quarter Waikerie's ball carrying players in Shane Clonan, Thomas Hansen and Damien Stevens ensured the initiative stayed with the Magpies.
Good contributions made by three of Barmera's younger players in Jack Selfe, Rhett Davis and Troy Saville ensured their team had a competitive quarter.
Two goals kicked by Matthew Oliver in time-on saw the Magpies stretch their half time lead to 22 points.
A five-goal third quarter from Oliver, who efficiently finished off the work of his teammates further up the ground, meant that Waikerie were well in control of the game by three-quarter time.
Selfe was still giving the Roos plenty of run from his wing but the Magpie defence was in a mean mood.
Hyde's constructive game combined with the collective ball-getting skills of Clonan, Hansen and Stevens played a decisive role in Waikerie leading by 62 points at three-quarter time.
In the final quarter, Barmera's Luke Tyrrell, Peter Shepherd and Luke Pitman played some better football.
Waikerie, no doubt with next week's game against Loxton in mind, took the opportunity to rest a number of key players as the pressure came off.
Oliver missed a late shot at goal which would have given him his third tally of 10 for the season.

Panthers revive season
By JOHN CHYLINSKI
Berri went down by 12 points to Loxton North at Panther Park on Saturday, but were lucky that the final margin was not greater.
In the first quarter Berri were favoured by a slight breeze.
Matthew Barry started with especial intensity for the Panthers, while the consistent Peter Safralidis and flashy West Adelaide U19 player Steve Wenman starred for Berri.
North probably had more of the play, but Berri were far more efficient up forward.
The game became scrambly in the second quarter.
North took the lead, courtesy of some great work from veteran Dave Gregoric.
North attacked with more purpose, one highlight being a long running goal from the forward pocket by Jason Barry.
Berri star Michael Hare left the ground before half time with what appeared to be a groin strain.
This allowed North's Tim Arnold to exert a strong influence on play at ground level.
The Panthers' eight point lead at the half really did not adequately reflect their dominance in general play.
In the third quarter Berri was boosted by a purple patch of form from Travis Voigt.
He found the ball at both ends of the ground, kicked two goals and had more time and space than should be allowed a player of his ability.
Clint Muster was doing some good things for the Demons, and was helped by Tim Arnold resting in the backline for the whole term.
Chris Scholefield played his best football for the game in the third quarter.
There is a touch of Carlton's Matthew Lappin about this fellow as he is more powerful than his small frame would suggest.
But the Demons could not exploit their good play, as Dave Andriske and Anton Cook were keeping a tight rein on the dangerous Nettle and Wenman.
The difference between the sides in the last was Simon Dymmott.
He hurt the Demons both in ruck and in general play.
Even so North could not put Berri away as they were simply awful in their shots on goal.
Gun forward Barry Kaesler was the worst culprit.
On the other hand, his marking was worth the price of admission to see.
In the final analysis, Berri paid the price for the bulk of their players' inability to perform consistently for 100 minutes.
However, North will need to sharpen up its game if it is to be a serious threat to Barmera at Lakeside next week.

Goal spree for Loxton as Rovers hit rock bottom
Loxton handed Renmark a football lesson, humiliating them by 111 points at Renmark on Saturday.
The Tigers on-ball brigade was too classy, quick and cohesive with five-goal Ben Quinn and Pat Portolesi (three goals) leading the way.
The visitors were brilliant in switching the play and produced some withering end-to-end football.
Ruckman Liam Williams asserted his authority at the centre bounces.
That was where the fleet-footed Cohen Thiele, Portolesi, Mark McConnell and Rhys and Lindsay Mitchell feasted on Williams' taps.
A highlight (one of many) for the Tigers was Cameron McCallum's pick up when the ball was in dispute with a Rover defender.
He then spun around slotting through a goal.
Jumping Jesse Smith booted another when he evaded his opponents after a boundary throw-in.
These were two gems amongst a 10-goal first quarter for Loxton.
Renmark's second quarter was their best after coach Brett Exelby said some players were half-hearted in the first stanza. Peter Dempsey did his best to inspire his side with two goals and his tussle with Loxton's Jamahl Liddle was entertaining.
The Rovers were still 42 points in arrears at the main break and the only clear winner for them was defender Brett Kennedy at full back.
Mick Zerna's Tigers roared into over-drive during the championship quarter with a 13-goal blitz.
The coach had the luxury of moving Jamahl Liddle into attack and he responded with two goals in the last quarter.
Pocket rocket bench specialist Andrew Hoskin played a cameo second half and helped himself to three majors.
The versatile Smith patrolled centre half back in the last quarter and won that position as well.
Matthew Schutz and Hayden Fromm booted seven goals between them and talented McCallum snared three.
A couple of positives did emerge from the carnage for Renmark.
Harry Beavis showed plenty with his attack on the ball and debutant Todd Bennett involved himself in some plays that ended with Rover goals.
Tiger Aaron Sinkinson was held goal-less by Brett Kennedy whilst busy forwards Trevor Thorpe and James Pick had two goals apiece and consistent pair Nick Darby and Exelby had their moments.
However, it is the Tigers that may have their finest moments in September. Any team that can kick 23 goals in a half deserve to.

No stopping Tilbrook's 17
Cobdogla's Darrell Tilbrook has turned it on in successive weeks, this time nailing 17 goals as the Eagles leapt to the top of the ladder with a 197-point belting of Brown's Well in Independent football on Saturday.
He has now kicked 31 goals in two weeks to take his total to 36 and to give him the lead in the goalkicking ahead of Paringa's Simon Sumner who is on 26.
The Eagles started well to sprint out to a 70-0 lead by quarter time with Tilbrook on fire.
Brown's Well managed to score four goals for the match with Russ Charles a stand-out in the middle.
Big man Damien Webb and on-baller Luke Hefford were Cobdogla's best.
Lyrup also had a big win, demolishing Wunkar by 187 points at Lyrup.
The Lions forward structure was working well with Robbie Bates (12 goals) moving forward to join Gilbert Abdulla (seven).
With Adrian Abdulla junior working well around the packs and man-mountain ruckman Joe Finn dominating the ruck, the Lions kicked away from the hapless Bulldogs.
Speedy rover Roger Taylor was once again the Bulldogs best while Kym Jackmann battled all day.
Paringa kept hold of their spot in the top four with a runaway 68-point win over East Murray.
The Tigers gave the Swans everything in what was a physical first half by both clubs.
Despite leading by as much as 18 points during the second quarter, the Swans let slip with some innaccurate goalkicking and the Tigers kicked late goals to keep themselves in the game.
Dave Francis started to get his hands on the footy a lot more while Matt Stasinowsky was given no respect by his opponent and racked up plenty of touches.
However, the second half saw the Swans break free with Scott Abdulla starring up forward with four goals.
Jono Wood and Jack Clohesy were also good in defence for the Swans.

Riverland Cycling Club member Josh Steele (centre) awaits the signal to start during Saturday's Tour of the Riverland. PHOTO: Melissa Heywood
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