A great day was had by all. I must say a big thank you to the White Rock Wind and Solar Farm for funding this event and to Caroline, Steph and Christine from Arts North West for organising the event and stalls.

Thank you also to the Chapel Theatre for hosting Lindsey Pollack and his array of instruments, Richard and Michael from the Makers Shed and the bubble lady from Armidale and of course to the volunteers and stallholders for making this a wonderful day.

On Saturday I was present for the " Day in the Life of Glen Innes" photography exhibition alongside Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall, who presented various prizes. The exhibition is open until October 5 at the Glen Innes Art Gallery and I encourage residents to visit.

Whilst at the gallery I met up with council's new General Manager, Craig Bennett and his wife, Rosemary, who were in Glen Innes for the weekend before they relocate from Leeton at the end of the month. Craig's first official day of work with Council is Tuesday 1 October 2019.

"Every Student, Every Voice" was held at the High School and Naidoc Day was recently celebrated at the Correctional Centre, where Josh Blair, an Aboriginal Education leader, and his dance group entertained. I also handed back to Jaydon Potter some valuable aboriginal stones on behalf of Bob Brown whose Uncle had previously collected from this area in the 1920's.

Numbers at the Youth Booth continue to grow. Many kids are turning up and enjoying the space, so much so we need more volunteers to assist. Volunteer packs are available at the Centre.

The drought has reached the point where, worst case scenario, we have approximately 10 months of water left in the Eerindi Ponds.

This is a climate emergency. Council this month will be drilling a bore at Eerindi Ponds, which from studies to date, is looking positive. But I urge all members of the community to adhere to the restrictions and further be conservative with their water usage.

Be kind to each other,

(Note: this piece was written before the weekend's fires)