News Of The Area
GLOUCESTER DISTRICT Local Community News ~ Proudly Independent ~ Family Owned
Wednesday, 4 June 2025
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King offers deepest possible sympathy for flood victims
Workers ‘broke’ as floods cause log jam
Worth the wait?
Gloucester Study Hub
opening 2025
From Idaho to Barrington for love By John WATTS REGULARS at Pizza Night at Roadies have probably been entertained by “Rattlesnake Willie” (aka Ellis Girrard). But how did someone born and raised in the small town of McCammon in the US state of Idaho, who has talent and a deep love of country music, end up in Barrington? Ellis is the eldest of five children. He loved life in his small town, where his father worked on the railroad. “School was fun, but I didn’t go as much as I should
have - although I hung in there and I’m glad that I did,” he said. After school, he worked in a variety of jobs, including as a local service station attendant, and on nearby farms, until becoming a semi-trailer driver. He did this for the next 30 years, driving mostly through the cowboy state of Wyoming. A brain tumour impacted his right eye and put an end to his truck driving, so he turned to delivery work. Ellis had first picked up the guitar when he was just 14, and decided that he’d love to play on stage and entertain a crowd. He and a couple of school mates started a Country Music band, unusually
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Rattlesnake Willie.
Photography competition Pix from the Stix open for submissions
By Wendy BUSWELL
PHOTOGRAPHERS of all skill levels, from emerging talents to seasoned hobbyists and professionals, are invited
FREE ACCESS
to take part in the 2025 Pix from the Stix competition hosted by the Gloucester Arts and Cultural Council (GACCI).
Initiated by local resident Gary Lyford, the competition has been running for 25 years and continues to celebrate
TO ALL NOTA NEWSPAPERS ONLINE & IN PRINT Visit newsofthearea.com.au to sign up for a FREE digital subscription to one / all of our newspapers. You will be sent an email when each of the printed editions are available to be read online.
the photographic art of locals and out-of-towners. Participants can submit their work across a range
of categories, including Portraiture, Nature, and CONTINUED Page 3
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News ~ Proudly Independent ~ Family Friday, 2 May 2025 Owned & Operated
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Koala Hospital is closing
PINATA ALCOHOL INKS
Anzac Day commemorations
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Free independent newspaper launches in Port Ma cquarie Ticket to Tokyo
Bold Street, Laurieton
0427598042
A FREE weekly newspaper today in Port Macquarie. launches Independent media company News Of The Area (NOTA), who operate newspapers across the Mid North Coast and Hunter regions, welcome an eighth community to the fold with the launch of Port Macquarie News Of The Area. NOTA Director Mick Wright is excited to bring a quality, independent printed news the Port Macquarie-Hastin source to gs “We are strong believers region. in the value of community news; there are lots of incredible stories to be told here,” he said. “We have been overwhelmed by the response from the community and are very excited about the journey ahead.”
The Port Macquarie NOTA will hit news stands across the region each Friday morning, providing locals with a dedicated source of accurate and entertaining local news and sport. “We are going to take what we have learnt from operating our seven existing papers, while making the paper as specific to Port Hastings as possible,” Macquariesaid NOTA Group Editor Douglas Connor. Mr Connor said independent CONTINUED Page
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The Port Macquarie News Of The Area Waller, Sis Higgins, team: (L-R back row) Sue Stephenson, Group Editor Douglas Account Manager Luke Hadfield, Rikki Connor, (front row) Chan Ansell and Bill Harrow, Lilly Pauline Cain. Photo: McCloskey, Client Ayla Mansfield.
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