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Around 11.20pm yesterday, officers from the Coffs/Clarence Local Area Command were called to the swimming complex in Armidale Road, South Grafton.

Upon arrival, police found the centre’s office area well ablaze.

NSW Fire Brigades units from Grafton and South Grafton responded and brought the blaze under control at 11.50pm.

Initial investigations by police indicate signs of forced entry to the premises.

A crime scene was established as officers carried out a preliminary canvass of the area.

Coffs/Clarence detectives are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to contact the Grafton Police Station on (02) 6642 0222 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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“This is especially important in times of emergency,” said Cr Jenny Dowell, president of the Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Councils (NOROC).

“Although the new system will show roadworks and scheduled road closures on an everyday basis, it will come into its own during a flood or in other emergency event.

“It is the experience of most councils that the information people request most is ‘what roads are closed?’ and ‘how can I travel from A to B?’

“This new system will put that information at their fingertips.”

Travellers will be able to view a map of the Northern Rivers region, from Clarence Valley in the south to Tweed in the north and out to Kyogle in the west which shows ‘roads closed information’ with markers placed at the location of the closure.
This visual guide will indicate the most reliable routes for travel across the region.

The RoadInfo website, www.myroadinfo.com.au, will be launched at the NOROC meeting on Friday, 26 February at 11am.

The initial idea came up during the post-flood review conducted after the January 2008 flood.

Councils applied for and received $14,000 from the Natural Disaster Mitigation Programme courtesy of the NSW Department of Emergency Services in May 2009.

The past nine months have been spent designing and developing the website.

The development of the website has seen strong collaboration between Lismore, Ballina, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Tweed, Byron, and Clarence Valley councils.

Cr Dowell said, “It is really good to see our Councils working together, especially to provide such a useful service. This project shows just what can be achieved by us working together.

“We have shared resources and kept the cost down to an absolute minimum. I would like to thank all the councils for their hard work.

“Giving people across the region easy access to road closure information will be a real benefit to the whole Northern Rivers community, and although during a flood people should keep their travel down to a minimum, this new website will help to keep people safe when travel is essential,” she said.

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Police from Yamba and Iluka were pelted with bricks and rocks after responding to a noise complaint at a Deering Street industrial complex about 2.30am on Sunday (14 February 2010).

Partygoers allegedly smashed the windows and dented the panels of two police patrol cars before setting one of the vehicles alight.

Officers retreated from the scene to avoid serious injury and called for urgent assistance, resulting in the deployment of additional police resources from across Coffs/Clarence Local Area Command.

Two police officers sustained injuries in the incident and two police vehicles were damaged.

Fifteen people, including the owner of the complex and his wife, were arrested by police and a total of 13 people charged with serious offences.

On Friday and Saturday (19-20 February 2010), officers attached to Coffs/Clarence LAC conducted a high visibility Vikings operation within the townships of Yamba and Maclean.

As a result of the operation, an 18-year-old male from Redfern was arrested in relation to the 14 February incident and charged with riot, damage property and intimidation of police. He was also charged with custody of knife in public place.

A 14-year-old girl was arrested and charged with riot-related offences including malicious damage by fire, while a 21-year-old male was charged with breaching riot-related bail.

A number of bail compliance checks were also conducted on persons charged in relation to the riot.

Investigations are continuing into the Valentine’s Day incident, and officers attached to Coffs/Clarence LAC will continue to conduct high visibility policing strategies in the coming weeks.

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About 12.10pm a Ducati motorcycle was being ridden south on Grassy Head Road, Grassy Head, and whilst negotiating a left-hand bend, the rider was thrown from the motorbike after losing control of the vehicle.

Emergency services attended and the 46-year-old Coutts Crossing man was treated by paramedics but died a short time later.

Crime scene police attended and examined the scene.

Any witnesses should contact Macksville Police on (02) 6568 1044 or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.

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Ms Saffin said two of 83 new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander outreach workers nationally will join the Lismore-based Northern Rivers General Practice Network and Grafton’s Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation by the end of June.

“These  organisations  are dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Indigenous people in the region, and these outreach workers will help increase community engagement with primary health care services,” Ms Saffin said.

“The Federal Government’s $805.5 million Indigenous Chronic Disease Package includes $42 million to fund a total of 160 such positions to build the capacity of the Indigenous health workforce over four years.

“We are putting resources on the ground to improve the prevention, early detection and management of chronic diseases which account for about two-thirds of premature deaths among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases.”

Outreach staff will work to increase the uptake of Indigenous health checks and identify Indigenous people who would benefit from improved access to health services.

They will also assist Indigenous people to access other health services, including follow-up care, specialist services and pharmacies.

The workers will have access to nationally accredited basic level training through the vocational education and training sector. They can choose to develop career paths in the health sector by undertaking more advanced training as health workers or enrolled nurses.

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Already, partner organisation Southern Cross University has 78 staff and student members registered with the scheme and using it regularly, following a successful pilot program last year.

The local government-funded, web-based scheme aims to create a network of NSW North Coast commuters, from the Tweed Shire to the Clarence Shire, who have similar travel patterns, so they can reduce their travelling costs and share their travel time with compatible people.

The Northern Rivers Carpool Project will be officially launched at 11am on Thursday, February 18, 2010, at the John Crowther Carpark on the corner of Dawson and Woodlark Streets, Lismore.

“Most cars on the roads have only a single occupant,” said Northern Rivers Carpool co-ordinator Gillian Edwards, “so it makes sense to share the journey by filling up the car seats. It’s also a great way to make new friends and even halve weekly fuel bills.

“Priority parking is available for registered carpoolers in many public car parks across the Northern Rivers and this is yet another great reason for people to get involved in this fantastic initiative.”

Southern Cross University sustainability officer, Kirsty Howton, said she was delighted with the take-up of the scheme among staff and students.

“An extensive pilot program was undertaken in 2009 and this was particularly popular with our staff and students as well as with staff from the North Coast Area Health Service. People involved in the pilot have already experienced the benefits of carpooling, with more than 220 members already registered on the website,” she said.

“Transport is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, so carpooling to work or study is an effective way to reduce our carbon footprint for the benefit of our community in tackling climate change.

“Additionally, with fewer cars on the road, we are reducing the resources required to maintain our roads and our cars – yet another win for the environment.”

Northern Rivers Carpool has been funded by NSW Transport and Infrastructure, six local councils (Lismore, Ballina, Byron, Clarence, Richmond and Tweed), Southern Cross University, North Coast TAFE and North Coast Area Health Service.

For more information on the Northern Rivers Carpool project please contact Lismore City Council, phone: 1300 87 83 87 or go to www.lismore.nsw.gov.au

The Carpool Project is a free and easy web-based service that matches travel details of like commuters. The website is located at www.nrcarpool.org

PICTURE: Southern Cross University staff carpoolers Sophie Kemm (at the wheel) and Kirsty Howton.

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Police from Yamba and Iluka were pelted with bricks and rocks after responding to a noise complaint in Fairtrader Drive about 2.30am on Sunday (14 February).

A group of partygoers smashed the windows and dented the panels of two police patrol cars before setting one of the vehicles alight.

To avoid injury, the officers retreated and called for urgent assistance. Additional police resources from across Coffs/Clarence Local Area Command were deployed to the scene.

Two police officers sustained injuries in the incident, while the total damage to the two police vehicles is estimated at $50,000.

Thirteen people, including the owner of the complex and his wife, were arrested by police – a number at the scene, others at nearby residences. All of them have since been charged with serious offences.

A 50-year-old Yamba man, 22-year-old Maclean man, 20-year-old Yamba man and an 18-year-old Yamba man were charged with riot and malicious damage by fire and – after appearing in Grafton Bail Court yesterday – were remanded in custody to appear in Grafton Local Court today.

A 21-year-old Wooloweyah man, two 19-year-old Yamba men, an 18-year-old Woombah man, a 17-year-old Yamba boy, 17-year-old Woolgoolga girl, two 16-year-old Yamba girls and a 16-year-old Maclean girl have each been charged with riot and malicious damage offences and conditionally bailed to appear in Maclean Local and Children’s Courts on Tuesday 13 April 2010.

Inquiries are continuing and police are not ruling out laying further charges over the violent incident.

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About 2.30am, police from the Coffs/Clarence Local Area Command went to a party being held at an industrial complex on Deering Street at Yamba with about 100 people in attendance.

When the officers arrived they were confronted by a group of about 20 people, who armed themselves with bricks and began smashing the windows and panels of the police car.

When the officers attempted to intervene, they had rocks and bricks thrown at them.

To avoid injury the officers left area on foot. Their patrol car was then set on fire by the crowd and was destroyed.

Another police vehicle came to their aid and was also pelted with rocks and bricks.

Police from across the command responded to the incident and arrested 15 people, including the owner of the complex, aged in his 30s, and his wife. Most are aged in their 20s.

Those arrested have been charged with affray, with the majority being bail refused to appear at Grafton Local Court later today.

More charges are expected to be laid.

The damage to the two police cars is estimated at being more than $50,000.

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About 12.30pm on 24 October 2009, the body of Jeffrey Ryan, formerly of Casino, was found on his rural property on Gowrie Road at Duri. He had suffered a gunshot wound to his back.

Strike Force Chandler, comprising Oxley Local Area Command Detectives, was formed to investigate Mr Ryan’s death.

As a result of those investigations, on Wednesday Strike Force Detectives arrested a man and a woman in Cessnock in relation to the death. The 45-year-old Cessnock man was arrested after a search warrant was executed at a house in Cessnock.

He was subsequently charged with murder and conspiracy to murder. He appeared in Maitland Local Court yesterday and was remanded in custody to reappear in Tamworth Local Court on Wednesday 17 February.

A 28-year-old Cessnock woman arrested at the same location will reappear in Tamworth Local Court on 17 February. She was subsequently charged with accessory before the fact to murder and accessory after the fact to murder.

Yesterday a 70-year-old Tamworth woman was charged with accessory before the fact to murder, accessory after the fact to murder, conspiracy to murder and solicit to murder. She was refused bail and appeared in Tamworth Local Court yesterday.

She was remanded in custody to reappear in Tamworth Local Court on 3 March.

A 49-year-old Tamworth woman was arrested and charged yesterday with an additional charge of solicit to murder. She appeared before Tamworth Local Court yesterday and was remanded in custody. She will reappear in that same court on 3 March.

A 41-year-old Tyndale woman was arrested after the execution of a search warrant at a house on the Pacific Highway at Tyndale yesterday. She was arrested and taken to Grafton Police Station.

The woman was subsequently charged with accessory before and after the fact to murder, conspiracy to murder and possessing a prohibited drug.

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