REPRESENTATIVES from AusNet, SES, CFA, the State Government and Cr Geoff Ellis and others met with locals at the Community Recovery Meeting at the Grantville Hall on March 22.
They deserved the heroes’ welcome and grateful thanks of the community that locals gave the CFA after they saved Grantville and surrounds in the bushfires of January-February 2019. Thankfully, though belatedly, towards the end of the evening, locals did show their unanimous appreciation through sustained applause.
However, for much of the meeting, the emphasis was on sharing problems, grievances and suggested solutions.
Though AusNet and Telstra were widely criticised, most people appreciated what those on the ground did to get things back to normal as soon as possible. Without AusNet and Telstra workers and emergency services doing their best and working long hours in dangerous conditions in a situation on an unprecedented scale, things could have been far worse.
Some people seemed to have unrealistic expectations of emergency workers, such as those in the SES. They seemed to mistakenly think they were Government workers, not volunteers.
It was concerning to learn of a legally blind woman living alone having no power and no way of communicating for the five days her power was off. Another person had serious food poisoning and couldn’t get help, and one resident was found dead in their house.
Some residents came up with positive suggestions re: communications, and recommended all residents with special needs should be registered with Council so Red Cross could check on them in future emergencies.
Since the meeting I have heard of one man who rushed to help a neighbour trapped in a car between fallen trees on The Gurdies-Kernot Road. These and other community-spirited people like them, along with our emergency personnel and our community centre personnel who gave great support to locals during the outage, are our local heroes. Thank you.
Meryl & Hartley Tobin, Grantville
