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Local News
APRIL 14, 2023
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Sport
Netflix program canned after just one season
Community Connect liftout inside
Teenager driving to be top in golf
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YOUNGSTERS SCRUBBING UP WELL
Generous hospital donation l CAIRNS NORTH
Avarie, 6, and Ariella Hari, 2, of Yarrabah are urging residents to be extremely hygienic as the Indigenous community battles Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD). FULL STORY PAGE 4
A sting in the tale
Report: Over three years 48 people treated for weed toxins l FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND | Nick Dalton A CAIRNS woman has revealed that being stung by one of Australia’s dangerous plants was more painful than childbirth
as researchers try to find ways to reduce the effects of the weed’s toxicity. Mum Naomi Lewis came off her mountain bike in Smithfield rainforest in June last year. “I had come off my bike and gone off the trail, down an embankment, and – of
course – found a stinging tree (Gympie Gympie or Dendrocnide moroides),” she said. “It got me all over my legs, from my thighs down, basically everywhere I wasn’t wearing shorts. “ “I got up and – bang – I knew instantly
what plant I had encountered.” Ms Lewis said it felt like her legs were on fire. “I’ve had four kids and had caesareans and a lot of stuff going on, but it’s nothing compared to this,” she said.
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THE legacy of a communityspirited Cairns man will continue after his son donated $125,000 to help cancer patients in the region. Matthew Calanna – the son of philanthropist, pharmacist and businessman Mario Calanna – said it was a fitting tribute to his father. It now brings the total for the $1.5 million Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation’s Cancer Care Hub to $753,000. “Dad was on the hospital board for some time and also as part of that on the hospital foundation board and I know he’d really like this project,” Mr Calanna said. Mario Calanna died in November 2022 from myeoloma – a type of blood cancer that develops in the plasma cells of the bone marrow. “He and we always felt lucky that he was able to access top medical, both in Cairns and elsewhere, but we have always understood that having to travel for treatment and be away from your loved ones when you need them the most, is really hard,” Mr Calanna said. “We also feel it’s important to give the doctors, nurses, OTs, pharmacists and physios the best tools that we can to help them do their work. They show so much care and dedication to their patients and this is such an amazing local cause,” he said.