While in the past there have been doctors in private practice in the village, this is the first time the practice is ‘owned’ by GCC.

Chair of the Gunning District Community and Health Service management committee, Michael Coley is thrilled by Dr McCracken’s arrival.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr Ruth McCracken and we thank her for having made the move to join us,” he said. 

“There has been such a need for a doctor in our community since the retirement of Dr Liz Challinor. This has been shown already by the great number of appointments made for Dr Ruth.  

Of course it is especially important that we have a doctor who is resident here. I thank Gunning Community Care, executive officer Alison Colebrook and Sue Berry at Medicare Local for having made the arrangements to help Ruth move here.”

Dr Ruth, as she is happy to be known, has been a GP for 30 years starting out in the Blue Mountains and most recently at a practice in Lithgow, with stints overseas in between.

She has a preference for semi-rural areas and has plenty of experience as a solo practitioner. Dr Ruth is especially passionate about preventative health. She is comfortable working in an integrative practice with the other complementary service providers on offer through GCC.  Alison Colebrook said that Ruth has meshed seamlessly into the existing GCC team.  

Amongst Dr Ruth’s reasons for choosing Gunning was the need to be closer to her elderly parents in Mittagong. She had checked out GCC and recognised the obvious need for a GP.  

Dr Ruth’s initial positive impressions about Gunning have been well and truly borne out.  

Asked for her thoughts, Dr Ruth responded enthusiastically: “Gunning is great and GCC is very ably managed.”

Dr Ruth will be at the GCC surgery on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – please phone 4845 1166 for an appointment.

Congratulations to the GCC management committee and executive officer Alison Colebrook on persevering with the much needed aim of ensuring the village and district has a GP once again.

Welcome Ruth – you are already and will continue to be a great asset to the district.  

Several staff members of Gunning Community Care were snowed in last Friday following the dramatic snow storm. Client care coordinator Julie Kennedy was isolated all Friday at her Grabben Gullen home while Vanessa MacKay escaped from an overnight stay at Crookwell, via the road to Goulburn, in getting to work for half a day. Vanessa eventually relieved Alison Colebrook, who had to take over the phones and reception. 

Some children in rural areas like Peter and Madeleine Cosgrove were also cut off and had to miss out on school, instead being forced to build snowmen. Tough life!

Keen local golfers arriving at Crookwell for their regular Tuesday game this week were dismayed to find the links still snow covered. They went to Goulburn instead.

However, as the saying goes: “It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good”.  

We travelled south to rural Victoria last Friday and the Hume was still closed by snow to the north. There was scarcely any traffic and we passed about six trucks on the five hour journey, mostly local ones puttering along. It was the most pleasant drive we have ever had on the Hume Highway.

At our destination in Victoria we were startled to find a sign that said Daish’s Bridge. Crikey, we thought, the PM is right – they are coming after us, those murderous terrorists who are intent on establishing a caliphate in the Middle East. Then to calm ourselves we remembered former Prime Minister John Howard advice to be alert but not alarmed in matters of anti-terrorism.  

So it was some relief that we discovered that Daish’s Bridge over the Goulburn River that joins Shepparton and Mooroopna is named after the Daish family who had a butcher shop in the area for many years dating back to the 1870s. Phew.

Following the shock death of Rob Carr, a local father of two with a third soon to be born, locals have set up a Facebook page to raise funds for the family.  Please check out Vanessa MacKay’s page to contribute.

It’s pleasing to see that the street trees in Gunning have been given some new and improved tree guards. A number of locals have been somewhat bemused to find that these guards have been constructed square to the footpath while parking on Yass Street is at a 45 degree angle.  There seems likely to be a net loss of the already restricted parking as a result.

On the matter, Upper Lachlan Shire’s general manager John Bell said: “The original stone guards that we replaced, due to people driving into them, were also square to the footpath.  Council allowed a bit more room in the new tree guards (appropriately – to allow for growth of the trees).”

Sunday: Lions Markets (information from John Milverton on 4845 1271 or 0403 539 482).

Sunday: Oolong Bushfire Brigade woodfire auction from 12 noon. Delivery is free within 15km.

Wednesday: Kangaroo March meeting from 6.30pm at Foley Centre (enquiries 0407 284 590)

Friday, July 31: Story Time at Gunning Library from 10.45am to 11.30am (information via 4845 1231).

Saturday, August 1: Beyond Blue information and fundraising session at the Telegraph Hotel from 12pm.