Letters, March 29, 2023

Cat experience

WHILE I can’t talk about cat numbers, I can tell you about our experience.

When I bought my house over 30 years ago it came with a cat, as the previous owner moved overseas.

I cared for the cat but when it died, I decided not to get another one.

My neighbors made the same decision when their cat died soon after ours.

We are not aware of any cats, neither pets nor feral in our neighborhood.

We had created a vacuum, which nature abhors according to previous letter writers. Did our vacuum fill with other cats? No.

I had lunch outside the other day and several supreme blue wrens hopped under my legs searching for any crumbs that I may have dropped.

Our birdbath attracts many different small birds from grey fantails to striated pardalotes and honeyeaters.

The larger birds use the bigger birdbath a little further away.

I got a surprise a month or so ago when a goshawk landed on a branch about four metres away and eyeballed me for a couple of minutes until it spread its wings and silently glided off.

Occasionally, I see antechinus scurrying around our garden shed and a few weeks ago our family noticed a koala sauntering around the grass and hopping onto a tree a couple of metres away. I haven’t seen a cat locally in over 20 years, but there is lots of native wildlife.

Ian Hobbs, Mylor

Fair outcome

THERE seems to be quite a bit of publicity and media coverage for Option 4 of the Hahndorf solutions affecting the Paechtown residents.

So it is easy to forget the other three options proposed.

It would be worthwhile to be reminded of these, so fair reporting is done.  

Harold Gallash made excellent alternative suggestions to diminish the truck issue, published in the last edition of the Hahndorf newsletter.

I did not feel it came from a ‘not in my back yard’ perspective, either.  

Regarding the article in last week’s Courier, trucks are rarely a problem over the weekend along Main Street, but caravans, motor homes and RVs certainly are, and increasingly since Covid days finished.

If the vehicles are not parked in Main Street, then the owners park them in the nearest side road.

So, again, this highlights the neglected parking issues for tourists – let alone locals.

None of the four options would affect my home or lifestyle – other than improve the local traffic conditions, of course!

But it would be a just and fair outcome if any other resident or business does not lose a home or livelihood either for the sake of a commonsense decision, and no biased lobbying which hopefully does not take place.

S. Tarrant, Hahndorf

Data safety

GOOD luck to those who have the ability to work from home and are not required to commute each day – it is a great privilege, as some do not due to the nature of work performed.

I hope that the information that is accessed is secure.

With all the recent high-profile data breaches, it makes me think of sensitive information that is accessed by those working from home.

I could understand the emergency situation requiring people working from home during the pandemic, but now that there has been plenty of time to enact new policies and procedures related to sensitive data, it should no longer be an issue.

The data is normally sent encrypted to the worker, but what happens after that is anyone’s guess.

Is it being processed on a workstation that is only used for that purpose, or is it being processed on a device that is not dedicated to that task and to which others may have physical access?

It would seem to me that it may be easier for a person with malicious intent to access the computer or network if a device is in the home rather than the workplace.

Rodney Hawksworth Callington

Tree under threat

IT was great to read the opinion piece, ‘Go greener’ in last weeks’ Courier (March 22).

In particular, referring to significant loss of well-established trees and open green space across Mt Barker.

I have nominated a local gnarly old river red gum in the annual 20 metre tree Tree of the Year competition at 20metretrees.org/vote.

The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of the importance of trees in our local environment.

I have called this tree ‘Old Man Barker’ – it’s up to 300 years old, has hollows for wildlife habitat and has been silently watching over the increasing traffic at the Mt Barker exit, helping to offset carbon emissions.

It is currently under threat of being cut down for the new bridge over the freeway at Mt Barker.

A vote for ‘Old Man Barker’ will highlight its plight, its significance, and the need to work with and around the natural environment rather than obliterate it. Voting closes this Thursday, March 30.

Julie Hockey, Mt Barker

Easter reflections

MANY are looking forward to the Easter long weekend.

This is a time to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. May you and your family be blessed with joy and peace.

Lorraine Kuchel, Mt Barker