Letters

Lions MGR mess from fire.

Why does this type of thing happen to anyone?

Ed,

In the early hours of Saturday morning November 23, the Yamba Lions Club’s storage shed was massively damaged after the devastating fire which spread from Yamba Rotary’s storage shed when it was deliberately set alight.

The contents of the Lions shed, which mainly consisted of the recently rebuilt merry-go-round with new horses (pictured), laboriously completed by the CVU3a Men’s Shed in Townsend, undertaken and completed for the Club, are very badly damaged, plus the safety fencing. Also, the train carriages, which many of the older folk of the community would remember, has been extensively burnt (the old engine could not be fixed, so part of it still remains and lived between the two sheds).  Also, a couple of BBQs, a large gazebo, a borrowed commercial jack and fishing festival memorabilia.  The shed itself will have to be demolished, as the framework is badly damaged and the iron is warped and unusable, making it unsafe to enter.

Each year, the Lions Club take the merry-go-round to the local schools (including Maclean State Primary) for their fetes and at Christmas time both the merry-go-round and train are booked for children’s Christmas breakups. Two little girls cried when they were told that they would not be able to have rides this Christmas.

The Club does not know the extent of the damage and what, if anything, can be salvaged.

The Club would like to thank the local community for their concern and support since the tragedy.

Why does this type of thing happen to anyone, let alone Service Clubs, who do so much work in the community to help out where they can?  The tragedy of the bush fires are enough for folk to take in, without this senseless arson.

Joy Lauder, Yamba Lions