Yass Taxis and Telstra
Regular readers will appreciate this is not the first such letter I've written. Please accept Yass Taxis' apologies for being uncontactable for approximately 24 hours from 9am on Wednesday, March 1, 2017. I've lost count of the number of occasions we've been taken off the air in the past 18 months, although this is by far the worst occurrence.
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As I understand it, this was due to a programming error on Telstra's part, although as I write I've received conflicting information as to what actually occurred. As proprietor, I spent almost the entire day March 1 speaking to Telstra representatives in the Philipines, and finally in Australia. We could not come up with a work around on this occasion, and so callers would have received a message saying that the service was disconnected, or an engaged tone, or an endlessly ringing phone (all three occurred during the day).
We are back on the air, hopefully permanently, as of 9am on Thursday, March 2.
To customers who were inconvenienced, please accept our apologies but this situation was beyond our control and I can only hope you were able to make it to medical and other appointments and deal with the many emergency situations where Yass Taxis usually steps in to help. To staff who were abused for not answering phone calls by persons approaching them at the rank, thank you for your forbearance.
Steve Cusack
Yass Taxis
THANK YOU JESSICA
On behalf of Yass Valley Council and the entire community of Yass Valley, I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to Jessica Cole, who sadly is leaving us for greener pastures! The commitment and dedication that Jessica has shown our community is truly astonishing.
What she and her team achieve each week is remarkable and they should be proud of the work they produce, given the resources and man-power they have at their disposal, a truly astonishing feat. The Yass Tribune provides so much for our small community and without it we would be lost.
While we are sad to lose Jessica, we were blessed to have had her for as long as we did and she deserves every success that comes her way. There is no denying she has worked hard for it!
Thank you for all you have done Jessica.
Councillors and staff at Yass Valley Council
Restorative Justice
Ensuring the best possible treatment of our young offenders is not only beneficial for young people, but is also in the best interests of the community. The imposition of our criminal justice system is falling short of expectations of justice. I strongly believe that the use of restorative justice as an alternative to punishment is the way forward in reducing harm.
Australia’s criminal justice system does not encourage community growth and acceptance. Of the juvenile offenders released from prison in 2013, 76 per cent re-offended within the next two years. How can we expect our young people to improve and become upstanding citizens when we lock them away and doom them to a life of being stuck in a cycle of crime?
Under our criminal justice system, crime is treated as a violation of the law and state, effectively causing a divide between victim and restoration. Restorative justice treats a crime as a violation of people and relationships, through this justice offenders are forced to acknowledge their actions and the impact it has on victims, society and themselves. I have seen first-hand the benefits of restorative justice. Our young offenders are not always to blame for their crimes, often their actions are a result of their circumstances. Not only does restorative justice see positive outcomes for the offender as they are rehabilitated, but also the victim - who sees things put right.
Father Riley – Youth Off The Streets
