| Having trouble reading this newsletter? Visit https://ymlp.com/archive_gesgjgm.php | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| January 2, 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Newsletter
for
Offshore Residents
of Pittwater, Australia - Volume 14, Issue 724
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Contents
After Christmas, Santa's reindeer must have been really thirsty, as during the night of the 27th to the 28th of December, 25,000 litres of emergency water seems have disappeared on line 1. It may, also have been (and I do hope it was the case) an omission on the part of somebody who has forgotten to let me know that they needed a booking. If this is the case, please let me know and let 2012 end well. On the other hand if anyone just happened to see, or hear of something about this, then I would really appreciate whatever info can be passed on - confidential of course..... Happy new year to all the water users, May 2013 be rainy, without too much wind and may the possums develop a new respect for people's roofs! Nathalie (line 1 water monitor) 9999 4449 0419 432 460 FOR THE ATTENTION OF PARENTS OF NEWPORT PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS Ferry Walk After six years of exceptional service, Paula Young has decided not to continue coordinating the Ferry Walk in 2013. Efforts to find a replacement for Paula have been unsuccessful and therefore the service at this stage will not be continuing. Accordingly, until a replacement can be found, parents who wish their children to be escorted to and from the ferry will need to get involved. Each term we will need one parent to manage the administration of the walk. We also need to organise a roster to cover the walk itself. A meeting to discuss strategies to keep the service running will be held on Saturday 19 January at 10.30am at the picnic tables at Catherine Park. Any questions or comments can be directed to newportferrywalk@hotmail.com We will need to have a clear idea of how many children will be in the walking group next year. Please email your child/children’s name(s) and school Year to the above email address as soon as possible. SCOTLAND ISLAND RURAL FIRE BRIGADE  Your Brigade We wish you all a happy , prosperous , and safe new year and thank you all for your support during the last year. David Wardman 9999 5944 david@wardman.com.au David Wardman SIRFB 9999 5944 david@wardman.com.au A date for your diary - Friday 25 January Elvina Bay Grameen Group Wine and Tapas Night The Elvina Bay Grameen Group are holding a Wine and Tapas night on Friday 25 January from 6.30 - 9.00 pm. It will be an evening of delicious food and good company, so help us raise money to support Kenyan women by coming along. We'll post more details in January - SO - mark off the 25th and watch this space. Many thanks Edols coverage of the Lovett Bay Carols Greeting friends, Here is in part my coverage of the Lovett Bay Carols: - http://www.edols.com.au/lovett_carols/ You may require to upload a freeware which is Adobe Flash Drive; here is the link http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer. Please forward this your friends that you see here Am more than happy to give these images to whoever would like to make their own prints; my gift to our Pittwater Offshore community. You ought to activate the link in my portfolio page that says e-mail photographer or email me back the frame numbers you require. Wishing the very best to everyone for 2013. Kind regards Michael Edols Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, I have recently received a revised rental account for my domestic waterfront license. The amount to pay has increased by a massive 41.2% from $566.50 to $800 per annum (including GST). I wrote and objected & received a reply which I don't really understand but saying according the the "new formula" the numbers were correct and my objection was overruled. I note that that the 'water access only' rebate has been replaced by free rental of essential structures but that this only covers 49.1m2 in my case and my structures cover 106.6m2. It's hard to see how my structures could be any smaller!! But the real annoyance is that an "ADMIN FEE" of $275 (including GST) suddenly appears in the new calculation. Now I would need some convincing that some civil servant costs $275 to prepare my invoice. Presumably the charge includes his or her time drinking tea of on 'Smoko" or chatting about the week-end!! This is daylight robbery and we on the Island should make a stand against it by simply refusing to pay "en masse" Yours Truly John Thixton I would be very interested in hearing from any other Jetty owner that has had a huge hike in their fees. Contact me at jthixton@hotmail.com Tick Season is upon us... PARALYSIS TICK INFORMATION SHEET – Canine & Feline The female paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus, is found along the eastern coast of Australia and causes tick poisoning. It is more prevalent in the bushy, seaside areas where there is an abundance of its natural hosts, the bandicoot and possum. The paralysis tick is very sensitive to climatic changes and so the life cycle slows down in cold and dry weather, and accelerates very rapidly in warm, humid weather. Thus, in Sydney the worst time for ticks is between September and February, but it is important to remember that they are present all through the year and their incidence is climatically controlled. The life cycle of the tick consists of the adult laying eggs that hatch into tiny pinhead size larvae. These larvae attach themselves to a suitable animal (the host), suck blood, fall off when full, moult and develop into a nymph. The nymph, like the larvae then repeats the process and finally develops into the adult tick. The adult then attaches itself to a host, feeds until engorged, falls off and lays 2000 to 3000 eggs, which hatch into larvae and so complete the life cycle. The paralysis toxin which the tick produces comes from the salivary glands of the adult female tick and paralysis occurs progressively, that is, the more engorged the tick, the more toxin it produces which in turn produces more paralysis. To our dogs and cats, the all too often result of tick paralysis is an untimely and uncomfortable death. So let us speak firstly of prevention. By far the best, if not the only means of prevention is to search your pet daily; that is running your fingers over every square inch of its body. Pay particular attention to the head, neck, shoulders and forelimbs but not forgetting between the toes, in the ears and even inside the mouth. Ticks can be found anywhere on your pet SO BE VIGILANT! Ticks, even large ones are easily missed so the more members of your family that can spare the time to go over your pet the better. Products such as Frontline (cats and dogs) or Advantix (only to be used in dogs as very toxic to cats) do help if used every 2 weeks. Permoxin rinse, which is used weekly can also repel ticks but again is only to be used on dogs as is toxic to cats. While use of these products does help there is unfortunately no guarantee. For this reason we highly recommend daily searching of your pet. Also, if your pet has a long or thick coat, having them clipped short for the summer months makes searching for ticks that much easier. Let us suppose you have found a tick on your pet (remember if one is found always look for more). Do not start dabbing at it with methylated spirits, kerosene etc. all that is going to do is further irritate the tick and burn the animal's skin as well. Grab the tick firmly at the point of attachment next to the skin with your fingers or a pair of tweezers and pull the tick out. If the body of the tick breaks off leaving the head behind embedded in the skin, don't worry, the tick has been killed and there will only be a slightly prolonged irritation at the site of attachment. This is another time for close observation. If your pet is not showing any symptoms (remember symptoms can occur for up to four days after you have removed the tick), keep him cool, quiet and for the first eight hours withhold food, water and any medication. If your pet develops any of the following symptoms:
No vet will mind a phone call. Let them ascertain the extent of the poisoning and whether you should bring your pet in for treatment. It is far better to err on the early side, apart from the fact that your pet stands a much better chance of survival. The cost of tick serum is expensive and advanced cases need a lot of other supportive therapy as well. At this point it may be as well to explain why there is emphasis on keeping your pet cool and quiet. As the tick poison circulates through the body, there is a gradual paralysis, starting with the rear legs and moving forward. If your pet becomes upset, too hot or you take him for a walk just to see if he becomes wobbly, you will aggravate his condition. This causes more distress and exhaustion, which in turn further aggravates his problems. If you have to transport him to the vet, be calm, reassure your pet, keep him cool, restrain him gently and generally keep him as quiet as possible. Most animals die of paralysis of the respiratory muscles, hence the emphasis on helping the breathing. However some animals die from a tick toxin induced pneumonia, which can be caused by two things. One is exposure. Cats have a nasty habit of crawling off somewhere when they are ill. It rains during the night, the paralysis worsens and without shelter your pet is severely stressed by chilling, leading to pneumonia. The second cause is the reason why food and water must be withheld if you suspect tick poisoning: as the larynx is not operating as it should be due to the tick poisoning, the chances of stomach contents being vomited up and inhaled into the lungs by accident is a very real risk. When this happens a bacterial infection usually occurs and pneumonia again. To finish up, here are a few answers to some commonly asked questions:
they may have built up some immunity but don't rely on it! Immunity will lapse during the winter months when there are few ticks about, leaving your pet just as vulnerable when the new tick season starts. The tick season is from September to April With thanks to MONA VALE VETERINARY HOSPITAL 22 Park Street, Mona Vale 2103; Ph 9999 2269 monavalevet@bigpond.com 2012 Scotland Island Dog Race Images Images by Alan Gaines Images can be see at the Offshore Photo Gallery at this address; https://plus.google.com/photos/114354168625817100487/albums/5828712825968212801
For Sale Useful items and hardly used     1 "dripolator" coffee machine ($10.00) 1 Iron - blue - ($5.00) 1 electric Kettle ($10.00) 1 good quality - large wheels - red caddy ($20.00) 1 free toaster with any buy of the above Call Nathalie on: 99994449 or 0419 432 460 Homedics seat massager Homedics seat massager to fit any chair - $60 Full upper back, middle back and lower back Power low, med and high control In perfect working condition Hardly ever used Please phone Annette Freeland 0299973136 Polycraft 4.1  Motor 30hp Yamaha Motor guard Bilge pump & float switch Price: $5,500 Ph: 0407671978 (David) Wanted Electric concrete mixer We are building a pizza oven and would really love to borrow or hire an electric concrete mixer for a week or so, from someone on the island, to save bringing one over. If you are able to help, please call Pete on 0401 716 194. An unwanted Sail (Triangular ,possibly a genoa ) to be used as a sun shade across a deck If you have one you dont want and are willing to sell Please give Bev or Don Dwyer a call on 0407316343 The Local Guide Community Information
Transport
Real Estate
Services, Clubs & Accommodation
Island Classes (Fitness, Dance, Art etc)
Groups
Government Organisations
Airlines, Buses and Railways
Weather Scotland Island Tides, Moon phases, Sun rise & set Local Weather Forecast Radar weather for Sydney (128k circle) Emergency Contact Numbers
Archived Newsletters A complete set of past electronic newsletters since May 2000 can be found and read at https://ymlp.com/archive_gesgjgm.php or by clicking here or by visiting the Mona Vale Library. The Island website is at www.scotlandisland.org.au To Contribute If you would like to contribute to this newsletter it's easy!. Send an e-mail to the editor (editor@scotlandisland.org.au) or by clicking here. Type your contribution (100 words or so would be fine) and assuming it is of general interest to the community, does not include matter of a political nature and is not offensive, it will appear next month. Subscription Information To get on and off this newsletter, click here or got to: http://www.scotlandisland.org.au/signup . To change your address, click the 'modify' link at the bottom of this newsletter or send an email to the editor@scotlandisland.org.au Follow the PON
The Online Local Contacts Guide Click HERE to load The
views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the views of the
Scotland Island Residents Association (SIRA), or
the Western
Pittwater Community Association (WPCA)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
