Letters to the editor

However, behind every player there is a group of people, often unseen, that do the organising, making sure everything is in place so the game can even happen.

In the case of the Yass Redbacks Football Club, one of the key behind-the-scenes people is Jodie Gallagher.

For many years she has been organising player registrations, collecting fees, coaching teams, helping organise canteens, field set-ups, managing competition draws: and the list goes on.

One of her initiatives led to the start of an under 7s competition, originally called Pee-Wees, now known as Mini-Roos, with well over 40 children involved this year alone. 

Most sporting clubs are active for six months of the year, but football (soccer) in Yass runs all year round with a winter and summer competition. With around 200 players in winter and 400 in summer, that is a lot of work in registration, getting player details, allocating players to teams, putting scores onto the local Redbacks website as well as with Capital Football.

Jodie has done all these tasks and more with enthusiasm and dedication for years, but feels the time has come to step back a bit and let others take on these roles. She indeed deserves a well-earned break. She is not planning on disappearing, and will still be seen around the fields enjoying the game. 

I, and all at Yass Football Club, want to publicly thank Jodie for all she has done, having gone above and beyond the call of duty.

However, that means the Club needs to find people to fill those many roles that Jodie and others have been doing. Sport does not occur without two teams: those on the field and those in the background getting the game organised.

Yass Football Club is looking for people who can help in the off-field team in set-up, organising draws and teams, packing up, overseeing games, running the canteen and a myriad of small tasks. My guess is there are players and their parents who think everything is done and there is no need for them. But that is far from the truth, and like in so many other things in life, “many hands make light work”.

Andrew Southwell, President, Yass Football Club

It was announced on May 20 that Yass Valley Council had been granted approval for a special rates variation amounting to a 38.6 per cent increase over the next four years.

It shouldn't have to be that much. Perhaps the increase could be reduced by better planning, better management and having a serious look at cost saving strategies.

But I have not seen any attempt by council to have a look at saving money. Instead the focus seems to be only on how to spend this money.

All of this indicates to me most strongly that we need some new faces on our local council. We need and deserve a council that is looking after the town and people of Yass.

We shall be voting for our council in September; let's see some new faces. It is time for change!

Jack Child

Elections, after the awful waste of time that we've just endured with the lengthy and ultimately dead boring Federal elections, might be seen as excruciating as they really solved no problems for the Prime Minister and actually gave him much more to worry about than he already had before them.

Our local council elections are really of far more importance to us and voters in the Yass Valley when they vote on Saturday, September 10 will have an opportunity to judge the council for what it's done - and what it hasn't.

Many resident rate payers who have just been fed up with the 'same old, same old' performances of a number of councillors in recent years will have an opportunity to vote out some of the deadwood and give the council a new and forward-looking direction .

It's very encouraging to read in your columns about new aspirant councillors and the five women who appear in the story of 'For the love of Yass' must really give us some hope for new blood to be injected into the council body to bring greater energy and imagination.

With the establishment of the new sale yards and the prosperity that they should bring to Yass it goes to show what can be done with council backing and those involved should have our best wishes for their success. It is a pity, that other promising enterprises like the development of the Liberty Theatre, Old Linton and the Crisp Galleries don't seem to have had such positive and enthusiastic support.

It would be good to see a council that is more independent of council administrative staff, particularly the general manager, and it is a pity that those responsible for these administrative functions are also not up for election. I am still puzzled at the very arbitrary, and as yet not fully explained, way in which the general manager's salary and length of tenure were so very generously extended.

There will be an opportunity to meet them all at the Memorial Hall on Wednesday, August 24 at 6.30pm.

Brian Millett

Printed in the Yass Tribune on August 12, under the Group A Ticket for the local council election in the article ‘Bigger than the Melbourne Cup’, the name printed was Stephanie Jitts. The Tribune wishes to correct that Mr Jitts’ name is Stephe and apologises for any offence that may have been taken.