Initial utility investigations have shown additional work needs to be carried out as part of the planning for an additional left turn lane on the southern approach to the roundabout at New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive at Oak Flats We will carry out additional investigations while work to prepare a submissions report following consultation in September 2024 is being finalised.  This is expected to be in late 2025.  we will be drilling the pavement around the intersection of New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive at Oak Flats on Wednesday 16 April and Thursday 17 April This will help us understand where utilities are located underground The Review of Environmental Factors (REF) has been prepared and is on public display for feedback until 5pm on Friday 6 September.  View the REF main report and Appendices A and B (PDF, 11.47 MB) Transport is planning for a new left turn lane on the roundabout at New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive to help reduce congestion around the Oak Flats interchange The Oak Flats interchange was upgraded and opened to traffic in late 2021 long queues of traffic were experienced that extended from the roundabout at New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive south to the Oak Flats Interchange and back on to the Princes Highway in the morning travel peak Traffic modelling was carried out in late 2022 in response to community concerns and it was identified an additional left turn lane on the southern approach to the roundabout is needed to reduce congestion from the Oak Flats Interchange by reducing the number of northbound vehicles queuing on to New Lake Entrance Road Timing of construction is yet to be confirmed a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) was prepared and was on public display for feedback until ​​​​​​Friday 6 September 2024 An REF assesses the potential environmental social and economic impacts of the proposal and recommends measures to reduce these impacts.  Feedback closes 5pm Friday 6 September 2024.​​​​​​ Transport will collate and consider the submissions received during the public display of the REF and prepare a submissions report. We will keep the community updated as the project progresses.  Upon completion of this work, the surrounding active transport network would be maintained. The new left slip lane at the New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive intersection would reduce congestion at the Oak Flats interchange and further reduce queue lengths on the northbound off-ramp from the Princes Motorway. A new left turn lane at the New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive intersection would reduce congestion at the Oak Flats interchange by reducing the number of northbound vehicles queuing on New Lake Entrance Road. For further information about this project, please contact: Transport for NSW recognise and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal peoples and their ongoing cultures and care of Country. We pay respect to traditional custodians and Elders past and present. Picture taken at the pool in Oak Flats named after her and her husband Picture by Robert PeetHelen McKay is stepping away from coaching at Oak Flats Swimming Club after 56 years of volunteer work All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueThe 86-year-old arrived at the club in 1968 with her late husband Ted and their three sons and has since worked with every level of swimmers got involved with that and built it up from there," McKay said "Over those years 56 we've been a really strong club and at the moment it's the strongest it's ever been affectionately known as Mrs Mac to her swimmers said she wasn't leaving entirely - just stepping out of her coaching shoes and taking a backseat She and Ted had the club's main pool named after them in 2019 McKay was left to choose whether it was time for her to step away or into his head coach role "This is a second family to me," McKay said "I have a wonderful family and that's why I've been able to do this because they've never queried why (I'm) going or why aren't (I) coming with them McKay has given the club her priceless time for free - a testament to just how much she has loved being involved "To see a child not being able to swim and then in a few weeks or months they're swimming .. Mckay said she already knew where her new-found time would go: her eight grand-children and 12 great-grandchildren plus twins on the way she'd watched swimmers develop from shy to exceptional; new to experienced but you don't have top swimmers unless you have all swimmers to help them along," McKay said Oak Flats Swimming Club instructor Helen McKay Picture by Robert Peet"No champion is made by themself "There's always people behind them and parents supporting and things like that "(We've) always been a very close family sort of club where people are helping each other .. Grace Hamilton covers all things sport for the Illawarra Mercury. Born and raised a Queenslander before relocating to Wollongong, she is passionate about telling the story behind the story and supporting clubs from grassroots to professional. Got a yarn? Email her at: grace.hamilton@austcommunitymedia.com.au Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. Love footy? We've got all the action covered. The latest news, results & expert analysis. Get the latest property and development news here. Find out what's happening in local business. Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Picture by Adam McLeanFinding the right name for your business is essential All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords, Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueIt helps form a first impression and informs customers what your business is and a memorable name is more straightforward to recommend Loops in Oak Flats opened in January this year and the name came after the business owners decided what they were going to serve: bagels "We're just two young families that were just looking to get into some business and we stumble across a few ideas of what to do," Mr Morgan said "We both agreed to maybe start out as a bagel and a sandwich cafe slash shop "That's how we stumbled across the name Loops." Picture by Adam McLeanThe two families saw there weren't many bagel shops in the areas around Oak Flats with Mr Forsyth and Ms Hay travelling to Melbourne to see how they were done there The feedback from the community around Loops has been strong so far "We've gotten a lot of good feedback so far and a lot of returning customers," Mr Morgan said but we learned from the start," Mr Forsyth said and it's all trial and error to start with and they come down for a drive just to get a bagel Picture by Adam McLeanThe Loops menu features breakfast classics like bacon and eggs (called the Early Bird) and avocado on toast with bagels and sandwiches more suited for lunch but you can also get a blueberry bagel with a helping of cream cheese Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, covering business and entertainment most of the time. Got a tip? Send it to me at joel.ehsman@austcommunitymedia.com.au. He/Him More than a thousand students from our eight systemic Catholic secondary schools and one K-12 college completed the HSC this year, resulting in 369 Distinguished Achievers, with four All-Round Achievers and one Top Achiever.  The Director of Schools in the Diocese of Wollongong, Peter Hill, congratulated Year 12 students on this significant achievement. “We all know that education can transform the lives of students, and the acknowledgement of their hard work and dedication to their studies is well deserved." On behalf of the teachers and staff at our Catholic schools and the Catholic Education Office, we would like to congratulate the class of 2024 for their achievements this year.  Top Achievers lists the students who have achieved one of the top places and a result in the highest band possible in one or more HSC courses: All-Round Achievers lists the students who have achieved results in the highest band possible for at least 10 units of HSC courses. Distinguished Achievers lists all students who received a result in the highest band possible for one or more courses. Congratulations to the 369 Distinguished Achievers from our eight Catholic secondary schools and K-12 college, including: Picture by Adam McLean.Oak Flats Falcons couldn't have asked for a better start to life in the Illawarra Premier League recording a thrilling 3-2 upset victory over the Cringila Lions on Sunday Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueThe Falcons' Japanese star Shotaro Iwamoto scored the first goal of the match at Keith Bond Oval in the seventh minute before capping a fine performance with the winner in the 85th minute Cringila who played an Australia Cup game on Friday night tried hard and deservedly went to the halftime break level at 1-1 through an Anthony Krsteski goal The visitors had the bulk of the possession in the second half but the Chad Bishop-coached Oak Flats took a 2-1 lead in the 72nd minute thanks to a nicely taken counter-attack goal from substitute Nicholas Gelle made it 2-2 from the penalty spot 10 minutes later View +14 PhotosPictures by Adam McLeanHowever who were promoted from the District League with their star man Iwamoto banging in a sweet left-foot winner with just five minutes of regular time remaining Bishop was ecstatic with his team's performance I'll have a heart attack," the Oak Flats coach said "We sort of tried to get through what we could today but that was a great result for our club." Bishop was full of praise for the Falcons' No "Scoring 30-plus goals in the District League is nothing to be sneezed out it will hopefully be trouble for most clubs Maybe playing in the Australia Cup on Friday night hindered some of them "I don't think Benny Zucco would have started on the bench if he hadn't played on Friday "That's the standard they've set for the season so it is up to our boys to continue that moving forward." downing Port Kembla 3-0 at Weatherall Park Ben McDonald and Lewis Grimshaw scored for Bulli Round one kicked off with four games on Saturday The pick of the action was at Tarrawanna Oval where the home side Blueys lived up to their pre-season dark horse prediction by holding the high-flying Albion Park White Eagles to a 0-0 draw Elsewhere there were expected wins for reigning champions Wollongong Olympic and the team they beat in the grand final found themselves 1-0 down to Helensburgh Thistle courtesy of a Julian Lorusso in the 16th minute The home side levelled proceedings through Jason Madonis in the 42nd minute before substitute Tynan Diaz scored in the 82nd minute to secure Olympic a 2-1 win at PCYC ground in North Wollongong United did it easier against South Coast United Coniston FC also kicked off their campaign with a win downing Shellharbour FC 2-1 at JJ Kelly Park Tobias Norval (49th minute) and John Martinoski (69th) scored for Coniston before Sandy Lowcock pulled a goal back for Shellharbour in the 91st minute Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure. File picture by Adam McLeanAn Albion Park woman has been accused of defrauding almost $72,000 from the Albion Park Oak Flats Junior and Minor Rugby League Club Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueTamara Maree Carlson did not appear before Port Kembla Local Court on Wednesday December 18 where her matter was briefly mentioned for the first time since being charged She is yet to enter pleas to 22 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception six counts of making a false documents to obtain a financial advantage by deception and dealing with property being the proceeds of a crime Tendered court documents state the alleged fraud spanned between December 2023 and June 2024 Carlson allegedly unlawfully accessed the club's bank account and obtained a financial advantage by conducting 22 separate transactions ranging from as little as $55 to $8402.80 she is accused of swiping $7302 from the account on February 5 Court documents also state Carlson allegedly created six false tax invoices between the same period intending them "to be used to induce some person to accept it as genuine" to defraud the club of thousands Defence lawyer Cameron Meaney told the court he was only recently instructed in the matter and requested an adjournment to obtain further instructions Carlson will return to court on January 22 Picture by Grace CrivellaroAn amputee who served as an "accountant" for an Oak Flats drug dealer has dodged jail time after he traded cryptocurrency to facilitate purchases All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords, Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueSteven Boyslon, 40, worked under James Strickland, 52 who was the mastermind behind an illegal operation he ran out of his Reynolds Lane unit between November 2022 and May 2023 Boylson lived at the unit during some of this period with the pair using a shared device they dubbed the "Jesus phone" which was used to carry out their Bitcoin trade with Strickland attempting to buy meth and weed online Tendered court documents state police intercepted the phone and heard Strickland telling Boylson: "I awake .. need to send 300 Bitcoin but I need the receipt to be sent to me." James Strickland being arrested in 2023 and some of the items seized from his Reynolds Lane unit Pictures from NSWPFA couple of weeks later Boylson asked Strickland whether he wanted "this whole 1500 of Bitcoin" sent to an address provided to him Strickland told Boylson in early 2023: "You get a big bonus this year for being my accountant You're going to be awarded big time actually." Boylson landed himself in hospital for an unknown reason on January 4 2023 with Strickland coming to his bedside after he needed to make an urgent payment to buy 85 grams of meth and 907.19 grams of cannabis off an unknown vendor named 'Boxboi' Strickland was heard stressing after the drugs never arrived "We're gonna have to play this game okay and try and get this money back and these drugs dropped off," Strickland told Boylson on January 5 Boxboi wanted another 300 in Bitcoin before delivering what was requested Strickland used the Jesus phone to secure the deal with Boxboi before ordering Boylson to send the crypto If it don't work you've gotta start telling them you're gonna kill them and their family if they don't refund your Bitcoin," Boylson told Strickland Strickland reported a "Bitcoin scam" to an online justice platform on January 10 Boylson pleaded guilty at Wollongong Local Court this month to two counts of concealing a serious indictable offence - being Strickland's attempt to buy the drugs He also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with his obligations under the child protection register in May 2023 after he failed to provide a reasonable excuse for not telling police his address when he became homeless defence lawyer Caitlin Drabble submitted Boylson realised the size of Strickland's operation and should have reported it to police Ms Drabble said Boylson had beaten a longstanding drug addiction after moving to Tamworth from the Illawarra allowing him to break free from anti-social associates DPP solicitor Jacqueline Azad argued Boylson's offending was serious as he was the one dealing with the online transfer of cryptocurrency Magistrate Greg Elks sentenced Boylson to an 18-month intensive correction order and ordered him to complete 300 hours of unpaid community service work Strickland remains behind bars and will be sentenced later this year after pleading guilty to a raft of drug supply offences All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords, Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueBrayden Hamilton, 28, was released on strict conditional bail at Wollongong Local Court on Thursday December 5 after being charged with manslaughter more than two years on from the Illawarra woman's death Magistrate Claire Girotto addressed the woman's family who were seated in the courtroom gallery The court heard the woman was drinking with a group of people including Hamilton at a Shellharbour venue on June 12 It's alleged the group got kicked out of the venue with some of them later snorting drugs after they divided up lines on a mobile phone Tendered court documents state the Hamilton and the woman were at a Lake Entrance Road unit when the woman died between 2am and 11am on June 13 Emergency services responded to the scene about 12.05pm following reports the woman was unresponsive "NSW Ambulance responded; however the woman died at the scene," A NSW Police spokesperson said in a statement "Detectives attached to Lake Illawarra Police District responded and established a crime scene." Defence lawyer Matt Ward told the court Hamilton was charged with manslaughter by way of alleged criminal negligence and that his client believed the woman was asleep after hearing her "snoring" "There is no dispute that there is a tragedy .. but there is a difference between a tragedy and criminal activity," Mr Ward said It's alleged Hamilton phoned his mother the next day when he realised what happened The court heard it is not the Crown case that Hamilton sold the drugs to the woman but that he allegedly omitted to assist her and that his omission carried a high risk that death or grievous bodily harm would follow Mr Ward said the group ingested the heroin by snorting it which may suggest those who took it believed it may have been a different substance The police prosecutor opposed Hamilton's release She also cited a "serious concern" Hamilton may interfere with witnesses give that "all parties are known to each other" However Mr Ward said Hamilton had avoided interfering with witnesses while the matter has been investigated for the last two and a half years Mr Ward added Hamilton had strong ties to the community and that his girlfriend is pregnant The magistrate noted the circumstances surrounding the charge were "unusual" and factored in Hamilton's lack of criminal history when opting to grant his release noting there was nothing before her to suggest he would breach bail You need to obey this to the letter," she said and allow police inside his home up to five times per week His boss was present in court and deposited a $10,000 bail surety The 2024 golden boot winner ended up scoring one of his team's two goals in their 2-0 preliminary final win over the Breakers at Memorial Park on Saturday Picture by Adam McLeanIllawarra District League champions Oak Flats' dreams of winning the double this season remains alive after they booked a grand final berth against Fernhill following a 2-0 win over Gerringong Breakers on Saturday Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueThe preliminary final win at Memorial Park was "sweet revenge" for Falcons captain and striker Bojan Caric with the win coming almost 12 months to the day the Breakers ended Oak Flats' 2023 season at the same stage of the competition "It felt like a bit of revenge from last year against these guys," Caric said "We didn't want a repeat of last year that's for sure "Boardo {Breakers coach Brad Boardman] sets up a good team who are well organised It seemed like it got harder to beat them every time we played them "They knew every set-play we were doing and Josh Hawker up front was really hard to contain but we stuck to our game plan and it worked in the end "A lot of people wrote us off today saying we'd be going out in straight sets but I guess we showed them that we might be able to do the double this year Oak Flats were made to work extremely hard for their third straight win over the Breakers this season View +5 PhotosPictures by Adam McLeanThough the Falcons made all the early running and really should have scored at least one goal in the first half Oak Flats controlled possession in the first half and created a host of good opportunities who shot wide with just the keeper to beat Though the best chance of the first stanza fell to Gerringong's sharpshooter Hawker whose powerful left-foot shoot hit the post and bounced out mere minutes before halftime The 2023 District League player of the year Hawker was proving hard to handle and as the Breakers worked their way into the contest in the second half again had a golden opportunity to put his team in front but once again his shot hit the post and bounced out again to the delight of the Oak Flats players and fans alike The Falcons' supporters had more reason to celebrate soon after when Wakeling scored to give Oak Flats a 1-0 lead midway through the second term The best attacking team in the league then added a second in the dying minutes when the 2024 golden boot winner Shotaro Iwamoto capitalised on an error from Gerringong goalkeeper Joel Lockard to score and send his team into the 2024 grand final Oak Flats co-coach Chad Bishop was happy with his team's showing particularly in limiting the effectiveness of Josh Hawker "The game plan was to keep him as quiet as we could.," Bishop said "I've seen Gerringong play a lot this year but we tried to limit it as much as we could maybe his first touch was with his back towards goal instead of attacking our centre backs our midfielders just lacking that bit of oomph to defensively get us going Usually they're the guys that sort of get everyone going during the game defensively but we're the walking wounded at the moment We had to make a sub in the first half and the boys that come on in the second half really stepped up for us "It's gonna be a a week of maybe just maintaining the guys and trying to get them as fit as we can for Saturday." Oak Flats will play last year's grand final winners Fernhill in the decider at WIN Stadium on Saturday The Foxes were the first through to the big dance after scoring a 95th minute winner in their 3-2 grand final qualifier win over Oak Flats Bishop said he was looking forward to locking horns with Ferngill once again "There will be a lot of thought in the next few days about Fernhill especially about how we stop their attack," he said Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinue"This is very serious .. telling the man to "please take the time to reflect on your life" after sentencing him to 16 months jail November 25 after pleading guilty to a single count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (dv) Tendered court documents state the warehouse worker was drinking and cooking dinner with his partner on September 29 when an argument erupted McIlveen lost control and responded disproportionately with violence resulting in the woman sustaining severe facial injuries The offender called paramedics about 10pm due to the severity of her injuries lying when the responders arrived by telling them she tripped over while carrying a plate the woman disclosed she had been assaulted while she was being assessed Police arrived shortly after and immediately saw blood splattered on McIlveen's feet and right arm Court documents state they found the victim in the lounge room with a black eye and a "significant amount of free pouring blood coming from a laceration on her left cheek" with blood smeared on the walls and floors Defence lawyer Emel Ozer cited McIlveen's serious alcohol addiction and that he has had significant gaps in his record when he has managed to remain sober Magistrate Claire Girotto said the offending was above the mid-range of seriousness for this type of crime due to McIlveen's loss of control and described the injuries as "awful" A finding of special circumstances was made with a non-parole period of six months imposed Pictures by Sylvia Liber and Anna WarrPast history will make this weekend's Illawarra football preliminary finals even more intriguing Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueIn the Illawarra Premier League Coniston are set to take on Wollongong United whilst in the second tier District League league champions Oak Flats will tackle Gerringong there will be plenty of storylines bubbling under the surface in what should be two tense affairs Following United's 2-0 win over Albion Park in last week's elimination final United coach Rob Jonovski was asked if he would prefer Coniston or Wollongong Olympic in the preliminary final His one word answer gave an insight into just how much his team would be up for this Sunday's clash Jonovski was let go by Coniston just 16 months ago, and since picked up the head coaching role at United he guided United to a fourth place finish in the regular season And now the team are just one game away from a grand final United coach Rob Jonovski will have his side primed and ready for their preliminary final against his former side Coniston Picture by Anna WarrStanding in their way is a Coniston side who are looking to defend their championship The Franc Pierro-coached squad found themselves 2-0 very quickly in last week's grand final qualifier There is always plenty of feeling when Coniston and United play each other District League premiers Oak Flats were dealt a blow to their grand final hopes last week after losing to Fernhill thanks to a 95th minute winner from Brendan Pattman To get another chance at the Foxes at WIN Stadium next Saturday, the Falcons will have to beat Gerringong, which is something they couldn't manage in 2023. The Breakers made history last year by getting to one game away from a grand final in their first year in the competition after being promoted from the amateur Community League Gerringong knocked out Oak Flats in 2023 thanks to a dramatic 4-2 penalty shoot-out win Oak Flats improved dramatically to claim the league championship and have a number of weapons in the form of 2024 golden boot winner Shotaro Iwamoto as well as the likes of Bojan Caric and Sam Munro most notably in the form of 2023 District League player of the year Josh Hawker But can last year's elimination final heroics give the Breakers the edge this weekend the Falcons most definitely have the edge however Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au. Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueThat's the Oak Flats Albion Park Gymnastics and Acrobatics Club for you The club supplied 31 acrobats to the NSW squad at the Gold Coast nationals Aged from eight to 34 they competed in 11 different partnerships and came away with a massive haul of medals an incredible total of 27 medals were won - 17 gold The club, which has a long history of success finished the championships as the most successful Australian club Five groups from the club finished as overall national champions two groups finished second overall and one group was third Nine of the squad made their state debuts while 12 club members racked up their fifth appearance at the nations - some with many more The NSW team was selected after impressive performances at two NSW trials and the State Championships held in the year's first half View +14 PhotosPictures supplied by the club"Our acrobats trained up to 18 hours a week preparing for the National Championships in the Albion Park Showground Pavilion otherwise known as the Cow Shed," club coach Kim Lacey said The athletes endure red-hot summers and bitterly cold winter conditions in the shed "Most of the acrobats now get the chance to regroup and enjoy a bit of light training for the next couple of weeks the National Championships were the last national competition for our three Australian representative groups - the International senior trio the International 13-19 trio and the International 12-18 trio - who now step up their training in the final lead-up to the World Championships in Portugal in September." Pictures by Robert Peet and Anna WarrFootball South Coast has confirmed the makeup of the 2025 Illawarra Premier and District League competitions with Oak Flats promoted and Corrimal relegated Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueFSC's confirmation of the declaration of leagues for next season means the Falcons will compete in the IPL for the very first time whilst Corrimal were officially dropped to the District League after finishing with the wooden spoon in the top flight in 2024 Oak Flats claimed the District League premiership in 2024 scoring a whopping 94 goals in the regular season in the process They were neck-and-neck with Fernhill for the entire season with the Foxes going on to beat the Falcons in the grand final The side boast a number of former IPL players such as Sam Munro Oak Flats co-coach Chad Bishop said following the league championship victory in September that promotion was a testament to all the countless hours of volunteer work done at the club "It'll be good for the club and for the people that are behind the scenes that don't get the credit that they deserve," Bishop said "There's a lot of people that are here [at Keith Bond Oval] at 7am every Saturday looking after the ground It's a council ground but we've got guys down there every day mowing the lawn and just doing extra things on their own and don't ask for anything in return "They just come down to enjoy a bit of soccer I think for them to have a look at Premier League maybe next year they might understand that they deserve to be there So it's going to be exciting times for everyone involved." Meanwhile the Rangers will line up in the District League next season after finishing last in the IPL this year with just the solitary win Corrimal announced on Tuesday that former South Coast Flame mentor Stan Pappas will take over the reigns for season 2025 in the District League replacing former A-League player Dez Giraldi in the role after picking up the job midway through the last IPL campaign Despite finishing with the wooden spoon in the District League Picton will remain in the competition with FSC opting for no relegation in that particular competition this time round The confirmation of the men's declaration of leagues comes just a week after FSC announced that the women's IPL would expand by a further two teams with Coniston and Shoalhaven to join the comp in its third season Picture by ACMA former aged care employee accused of draining more than $16,000 from an elderly client has denied the claims saying she loved her and that it was the woman's son who stole the funds Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinue"I absolutely loved Jan to bits and I didn't like the way Martin (her son) treated her," the accused woman Whyte, 53, was arrested two days before Christmas in 2022, after she allegedly swiped $16,547 from Janette Nicholson, 83, by transferring the funds to her own account on 130 occasions The former Australian Unity Home Care Services worker faced the third day of her hearing after pleading not guilty to a dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception Joanne Whyte leaving Port Kembla Local Court on July 15, for the third day of her hearing. Picture by ACMIn February, police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Manning said the Barrack Heights woman accessed Ms Nicholson's account and transferred the money without her knowledge between 2018 and 2022 Sgt Manning said obtaining any financial advantage was against her employer's policy and Ms Nicholson was suffering "cognitive and mental deficits" leading to her to be unable to "understand" what Whyte was doing defence lawyer Michael Sinadinovic said all of the funds were withdrawn from Ms Nicholson's account with permission Whyte told the court she took Ms Nicholson to the bank after her card had declined while trying to pay for some shopping "The lady (at the bank) got Jan's card and gave her a printout of her account to show why there was not enough funds to pay for her groceries," Whyte said Picture from FacebookWhyte said there were many withdrawals from Ms Nicholson's account from an Oak Flats service station which she said Martin frequented to buy the newspaper Martin was sitting there and Jan said directly to him 'You've been taking money from my account'," Whyte said Mr Sinadinovic asked Whyte to explain each transfer from Ms Nicholson's account to her own shown on bank statements - ranging from $69 to $250 Whyte said Ms Nicholson had provided her pin number and would ask her to do the groceries or pick up takeaway food for her She said she would pay with her own cash then transfer Ms Nicholson's money to herself "She would say to me 'I need $300' and out of that I could purchase and I would take the receipt back," Whyte said Whyte said she would often work unpaid for Ms Nicholson when she wasn't rostered on because she "absolutely loved Jan to bits'" and wanted to help her Ms Nicholson allowed her to transfer $250 to buy Martin a garden shed from Bunnings "I took him out and used cash to purchase his garden shed and just transferred the money into mine," Whyte said "Was Janette aware of the garden shed?'," Mr Sinadinovic asked and Jaxon Krkovski participating in the Cross+Gen program Picture by Anna WarrA program bringing seniors and high school students to help address issues with digital exclusion has helped bring generations across the digital divide Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueThe Cross+Gen program began during the COVID-19 pandemic to help older people who were struggling to log in to online masses and has helped hundreds of people remain online since 2021 expanding from one school to four during this time The program is a collaboration between CatholicCare, Catholic Education and local parishes and runs across the Illawarra and recognised with the award for Innovation and Contribution at the Australian Institue for Intergenerational Practices At Corpus Christi in Oak Flats, the program has been a success, with students from the school helping senior members of the community with their tech issues 82-year-old Andrew Tuddenham found the program through the bulletin at his church and joined so he would be better prepared for online dangers Andrew Tuddenham and Ingrid Bradford at the Corpus Christi Cross+Gen program there was a little segment on a news scam where people come to your personal door and their agenda is to get money," he said "That's why I think we need to keep up to date because we didn't have iPhones we didn't even have a mobile phone when I was a child or a teenager or an adult 62-year-old Ingrid Bradford said she was interested in the program after hearing about it through Catholic Care and decided to follow up for help with using her laptop and phone and things were a bit different," she said So coming here to these sessions just cleared it up and made life easier Both Mr Tuddenham and Ms Bradford said the program had helped them move their diaries from paper to digital "I'm used to having a paper diary and to use my phone a bit more and keep up with technology was very helpful," Ms Bradford said "I feel more confident in using the phone now for appointments and important things in your life A motivation for Mr Tuddenham to attend the program was to connect with the younger generation "The connection between the students and ourselves was my motivation for coming in addition to learning some technology," he said "A spinoff from that is I've got a 13-year-old grandson now and we text each other regularly just asking how his day was Helping Mr Tuddenham and Ms Bradford was Year 11 student Pippa Tompkin who said the program was beneficial for the younger generation involved as well "We basically listen to what issues they may have and try and find solutions for how to do it," she said "The trade-off for that is when you're finding the issues and you get to learn about them and stories from their life and how it's changed "We had two people that I was helping with a couple of weeks ago I am learning about how they have maintained their friendship and how they make it a point to go for coffee every time after church "It feels like in high school now everything's going through a point of change getting towards the end of it and just learning how they've kept their friendship through all that." Matt Ballinger and Kay Glover discussing tech issues Picture by Anna WarrHelping them developDavid Gearin from Corpus Christi said the results of the program were a highlight in his 30-year education career "The young people that walk out of this program I always tell them 'There's not many things you can talk about in an interview .. but you talk about a program that was designed and delivered to seniors in the school'," he said "It's not just a reward for the seniors that come in "We actually hear the hum in these rooms where there is thriving happening with everybody and that's because there's an exchange of the particular gifts Parish and community office for CatholicCare Jane Hollier said it was "amazing to see" all the different arms of the Catholic Church come together for the program we couldn't do it without the schools," she said It's not only the students teaching the seniors something you will see they're chatting about things that would have happened to the seniors when they were children "Some of the students may not necessarily know their grandparents or have a lot of interaction with elderly people so the intergenerational opportunities is just amazing." Picture by Sylvia LiberOak Flats High School has hosted a group of students from Takigawa High School in Kobe giving students from Japan a chance to live like an Australian teenager All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxInteractive Crosswords, Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinue19 students made the journey from the Land of the Rising Sun and spent a week and a half with a host family Shellharbour City Council Deputy Mayor Kellie Marsh has been involved with the program bringing students to Shellharbour for "many years" we have host families that they're currently staying with doing a variety of things," Cr Marsh said The trip was organised through the Australian Institute for International Understanding "Oak Flats High School students are just so welcoming and it's just wonderful to bring the kids here because they make new friends," she said "We've had many students who have come to Shellharbour come back .. I actually had students last year who had gotten married and brought their wives back here." Deputy Mayor Kellie Marsh with the students from Takigawa High Picture by Sylvia LiberThe Aussie experienceHelped by Shinya Echizen from Takigawa High School as translator the students enjoy a first-hand account of Australian culture the students have all taken a liking to hamburgers and chips to meeting some of the native Australian animals at a zoo Cr Marsh says the program is a great way for the students to immerse themselves in the foreign culture "Whilst they're at the school here they'll be making lamingtons they will be attending and participating in a NAIDOC ceremony so they can learn about Indigenous culture," she said but they also go off to class with the Australian students as well." Mayor Chris Homer taught the students about the shaka hand symbol Picture by Sylvia LiberOne of the biggest culture shocks according to the students is how much friendlier the school environment is compared to Japan Shellharbour City Council Mayor Chris Homer says the experience shows why Australia is "one of the most successful multicultural nations on Earth" they're getting Australian culture," he said "The Deputy Mayor gave them some Australian culture 'Oi that's classic Australian education culture I had the same with my teachers at school." Picture by Adam McLeanOak Flats may have won the league championship but it's clear to see Fernhill have the wood over them in the District League in 2024 heading into the grand final Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueBut those three wins the Foxes have had over the Falcons this season will mean nothing if they don't make it four in a row at WIN Stadium on Saturday The pair's last meeting was a classic, with Brendan Pattman breaking Oak Flats' hearts by scoring in the 95th minute to see Dale White's side through to another decider It was enough to knock the confidence of the side, according to Oak Flats captain Bojan Caric. Despite this, a preliminary final victory against a dangerous and unpredictable Gerringong gave the Falcons another shot at Fernhill in the biggest game of the season Fernhill coach White and Oak Flats co-coaches Brenton Burke and Chad Bishop will also be sweating on the fitness of some key players Foxes captain Jordan Hughes is touch and go with his hamstring injury whilst the Falcons will be without the suspended Sam Munro "It's been a little disjointed I'll be honest with a few injuries and suspension," Caric said "But I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing all the time because it takes your nerves away from it I think we just really need to turn up and be up for a battle so I think one-on-one battle is the main focus "If we can free 'Showie' [Shotaro Iwamoto] up a little bit more than we did against them last time it will be good to get him in front of goals I think we isolated our wide men a little bit too much last time against Fernhill and they were ready with two blokes on him every time If we can get him in front of goals a bit more that would be good." Despite the poor record against Fernhill this season Oak Flats will be brimming with confidence of claiming the league/championship double with their fantastic recent winning record Before the loss in the grand final qualifier the Falcons went on an 11 game winning run and have won 12 from their last 13 matches Caric said that brilliant run in was a result of coaches Burke and Bishop who took over the first grade reigns at the start of this season "They did well with ressies last year and they are two very dedicated guys," he continued And they've come in with a game plan every week Fernhill coach Dale White (right) will be stepping down following the grand final on Saturday Picture by Adam McLeanMeanwhile in the opposing camp the Foxes are aiming to become the first team in club history to win back-to-back grand finals Adding to the plot is the fact that the side will be saying goodbye to their coach and club legend White who is stepping down from the role following the match Foxes player Luke Behl-Shanks said his team were inspired to make history on Saturday "It's the first time in our history that we've had the opportunity to go for back-to-back grand finals so everyone's very keen on that," Behl-Shanks said "It's a big opportunity even getting to that point Dale has been saying to us the premiership is more for the club so we're pretty confident that we can go out there and perform and take the trophy." hospitality students started preparing to feed the audience Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueEach year the school puts on dinner and a show with this year's theme being 'Sounds of the Silver Screen': a journey through the songs of popular films More than 70 of the audience members will enjoy the show alongside a three-course meal which starts with an entree of pumpkin soup - made from pumpkins grown at the school - with focaccia and a choice of three desserts: chocolate mousse Students began preparing the mousse and the beef during a school period on Monday but will spend their entire day on Tuesday cooking The prospect of preparing meals for dozens of people does not faze the students who have cooked for other school functions or experienced the pressure of a commercial kitchen on work placements Student Beau Gillis said that with most of the preparation underway on Monday 11 and 12 will also set the tables and serve the guests Students rehearse ahead of their performances Picture by Adam McLeanHospitality teacher and the school's head teacher of wellbeing said hospitality students catered a lot of events and staffed the school cafe As the students got cooking in the food technology kitchen over in the school hall students involved in the performance and production of the cabaret show ran through dress rehearsals Tuesday's performances - which include a matinee for the high school's feeder schools and a sold-out evening show - are the culmination of 10 weeks of rehearsals and preparation View +13 PhotosOak Flats High School students get ready for their annual cabaret show Pictures by Adam McLeanAbout 80 students from years seven to 12 are involved in putting on the show including year 12 entertainment student Riley Barlow who is stage manager for this year's production Both were involved in previous productions and were confident going into this year's show "It's going very well," Riley said during Monday's dress rehearsals As well as the 70-plus guests enjoying the dinner and show students will perform to close to 100 other audience members on Tuesday night Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs and education. Our Watch award winner. If you've got a story, let me know. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Sixty-years on and the 2024 U 13's junior side honoured some of the original team with a presentation prior to taking to the field for their own game against Thirroul at Croome Sporting Complex The team were presented with anniversary game jerseys which depicted the original white V stripe on the front Peter McGovern was especially touched by the honour who played lock in the commencement side is the great uncle of current day 13's player Taj Miller He took time before Saturday's game to provide some encouraging words to the young players and we know you guys can win the trophy again this year," McGovern said The special presentation was made possible because the 2024 coaching staff of Guy McGuiggan and Jono Nelse spent a few weeks tracking down the 'old boys' This allowed them to present Peter McGovern Robert House and Mark Raftery with their own 2024 APOF jerseys "Hopefully in eight weeks time we can have you back to watch these boys in the grand final at WIN Stadium," McGuigan said The Eagles are well in the hunt to make the finals despite being narrowly defeated 10-8 by Thirroul on Saturday Pictures by Sylvia Liber and Oak Flats Falcons FacebookIt's official Wollongong Olympic and Oak Flats are the 2024 league champions for the Illawarra Premier League and District League respectively But now the real games are set to get underway in finals meaning they finished a point ahead of Fernhill Finishing first in the District League comes with a lot of reward with Oak Flats now given the opportunity to showcase to Football South Coast that they should be promoted to the IPL in 2025 should they pass all the requirements to compete in the top flight Oak Flats will have the first week off in finals Second placed Fernhill will take on Shoalhaven for an opportunity to take on the Falcons for a grand final spot at WIN Stadium the week after whilst the loser will face the winner of the elimination semi-final between Thirroul and Gerringong Falcons co-coach Bishop said the league championship - and potential promotion to the IPL - was in honour of all the endless hours put in by the club's volunteers Bishop conceded that his team weren't at their best against Berkeley but was thrilled nonetheless that his team got the job done if someone was watching that game you would think that Berkeley was the team going for top spot," he continued We have boys there that have done it before in the Premier League Whilst Olympic had already secured the league championship heading into the final game of the season against United fans were treated to a goal-fest at PCYC on Saturday with the home side getting up 6-2 United opened the scoring through Van Elia before Olympic hit back with three unanswered goals two from Jason Madonis and one from Tynan Diaz to make it 3-1 after 21 minutes and Jarvis Paterson would see Olympic move out of sight View +13 PhotosClick on the photo to swipe through the best of the action from Olympic 6-2 United on Saturday there was drama aplenty at JJ Kelly Park between Coniston and Albion Park with the home side grabbing an 89th minute winner through Christopher Arditti to leapfrog APWE into second spot on the ladder The two sides will face off again next week in the finals to see who faces league champions Olympic for a spot in the decider at WIN Stadium with the winner facing either Coniston or APWE and the loser saying goodbye to their hopes of silverware Details on venues and times for both IPL and District League semi-finals will be confirmed by FSC early next week Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueTimothy Holt sought his release at Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday August 14 following being charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material The court heard officers searched Holt's home on July 16 and seized his mobile phone and Apple MacBook allegedly finding 10 images on each device that constituted child abuse material of young girls - with forensic examinations to continue "While it's very clear that possession of any child abuse material is a serious matter the description of the images does not place them in the serious category," the magistrate said Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Manning opposed Holt's release and said the accused man's child abuse material collection spanned over a period of a decade showing a "pattern of behaviour and obsessiveness" Sgt Manning argued there were no conditions that could mitigate risks of endangering the safety of the community due to police being unable to monitor Holt's use of the internet The court heard there were further images discovered on Holt's devices of girls in swimwear and other clothing with inquiries continuing about whether they fit into the category of child abuse material Defence lawyer Harry Lollback said there was ambiguity in the police fact sheet and argued the scale of seriousness for this type of offending was at the lower end Mr Lollback added the amount of photographs allegedly found was low and that a prison sentence if convicted was "far from inevitable" He said Holt had no prior convictions and proposed a set of strict bail conditions he was willing to abide by Satisfied these conditions could mitigate risks Magistrate Michael Love opted to grant Holt's release The ANZ bank worker must live at an Oak Flats address not be in the presence of anyone under 16 unless in the company of another adult and not possess more than one mobile phone Holt must also present his phone and allow access to it upon the request of police The matter will return to court on August 28 Today's top stories curated by our news team Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters Get the latest property and development news here Find out what's happening in local business tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert Your digital replica of Today's Paper Test your skills with interactive crosswords Type a search term or query below and press enter The Apaches and their allies hosted a day of prayer outside the Court as they asked the Justices to save the spiritual lifeblood of their people Sinai—the most sacred place where generations of Apache have come to connect with our Creator “We pray the Justices will protect Oak Flat and ensure that our place of worship is not treated differently simply because it lacks four walls and a steeple.” Apache Stronghold—a coalition of Apaches, other Native peoples, and non-Native allies—filed this lawsuit in January 2021 seeking to halt the proposed mine at Oak Flat. The mine is opposed by 21 of 22 federally recognized tribal nations in Arizona and by the National Congress of American Indians. Meanwhile, national polling indicates that 74% of Americans support protecting Oak Flat The Ninth Circuit ruled earlier this year that the land transfer is not subject to federal laws protecting religious freedom writing that the court “tragically err[ed]” by refusing to protect Oak Flat After unsuccessfully asking all 29 judges on the Ninth Circuit to rehear the case Apache Stronghold has filed their appeal to the Supreme Court “Blasting the birthplace of Apache religion into oblivion would be an egregious violation of our nation’s promise of religious freedom for people of all faiths,” said Luke Goodrich vice president and senior counsel at Becket “The Court should uphold its strong record of defending religious freedom by ensuring that the Apaches can continue worshiping at Oak Flat as they have for centuries.” Apache Stronghold is represented by Erin Murphy of Clement & Murphy PLLC Professor Stephanie Barclay of Georgetown Law School For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Ryan Colby at [email protected] or 202-349-7219. Subscribe to receive our monthly newsletter and breaking news updates. © 2010 – 2025 Becket. All rights reserved. but that hasn't stopped him from making the trip to this year's event Despite this ordeal - which ended with no conviction as it was his first offence - he said there was no question about him attending again Arrest at last year's Newcastle port protest no deterrent for Oak Flats grandfather"I didn't have to make any commitment about not doing any sort of action again," Mr Hunt said "And there's just too many people yet to understand the issue of climate change and the issue that Australia has so much coal." The blockade is demanding new fossil fuel projects be cancelled that fossil fuel export profits be taxed at 78 per cent and that coal exports from Newcastle end by 2030 While last year, the protest organisers gained permission to block the harbour for 30 hours, this year the state's transport department has declared an exclusion zone through the port from 5pm Thursday Last year Mr Hunt and another Illawarra grandfather Simon Leslie sailed a kayak with a distinctive "No more fossil fuels" sail all the way from Wollongong to Newcastle Anne Kelly and Tom Hunt are among the Illawarra contingent at the Newcastle port blockade but is taking it out on the harbour before the exclusion came into place "We can go out before that time and I'm intending to go out this afternoon," he said on Wednesday as long as we don't go into the shipping lanes but then Thursday afternoon at 5pm is when we become arrestable if we go into the water "It's left to the individuals as to whether they will pursue that." Despite the tension between authorities and protesters Mr Hunt said there was a positive vibe at the encampment around the port as more people arrived "It gives me a positive feeling where there's so many people who are willing to put their skin on the line to bring this to the attention of Australia," he said said he was protesting because "our elected government is governing in the interests of fossil fuel companies rather than in the interests of my grandchildren" "There is no denying now that our planet is warming as a consequence of relying on fossil fuels for energy," he said "It is obvious we need to stop using fossil fuels as soon as possible by transitioning rapidly to renewable energy sources "This is in all our interests yet our government is still opening new coal mines and gas fields." who is part of the Illawarra Knitting Nannas Against Greed as well as Rising Tide said "because I don't want our future determined by fossil fuel companies and the government." and we all need to have a voice," she said Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2011, I'm an award-winning reporter who has helped the paper set the news agenda across our region for more than a decade. Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) do not apply on federally controlled land “Oak Flat is our spiritual lifeblood—like Mt Sinai for Jews or Mecca for Muslims—the sacred place where generations of Apache have connected with our Creator,” said Dr “The government should protect Oak Flat just like it protects the sacred places of all other faiths in this country—not give it to a foreign-owned mining company for destruction.”    “The Supreme Court has a strong track record of protecting religious freedom and we expect the Court to take this case and confirm that Native American religious practices are fully protected by federal law.”   Subscribe to receive our monthly newsletter and breaking news updates Watch a KJZZ panel discussion discussing Oak Flat — an area sacred to generations of Apaches that may soon be home to one of the largest copper mines in the world WATCH ON YOUTUBE BELOW OR CLICK HERE Moderator KJZZ tribal natural resources reporter Gabriel Pietrorazio delves into the history of Oak Flat and the decadeslong legal battle to decide the fate of the land Mila Besich was first elected town mayor of Superior in 2016 and previously served on the town council since 2013 Besich has devoted herself to advancing education community and economic development in Superior and the rest of the Copper Corridor region of Arizona event planning and marketing expertise for more than a dozen Arizona small businesses She also serves as a reporter and advertising director for the Copper Area News Publishers — a portfolio of local publications — including the “Copper Basin News,” “Superior Sun,” “Pinal Nugget” and “San Manuel Miner.” Besich sits as vice chair for the National League of Cities Energy Environment and Natural Resources Committee and is among 20 members of the U.S EPA Small Communities Local Governance Advisory Committee Marcus Macktima is a historian and member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe in eastern Arizona He’s an assistant professor in American Indian history at Northern Arizona University and helps his tribal community as an instructor teaching Apache history at the San Carlos Apache College A chapter from his dissertation entitled, “A Manufactured Identity: Cattle-Raising, the Coolidge Dam, and the Creation of the San Carlos Apachean Peoples,” was also published in the summer of 2023 “all indigenous” issue of the Journal of Arizona History where he analyzed the creation of the “San Carlos” Apache identity Russ McSpadden is the Southwest Conservation Advocate at the Tucson-headquartered Center for Biological Diversity where he has worked since 2012 He leads campaigns to protect public lands — and the wildlife who call them home — in Arizona and the Southwest McSpadden holds a master’s degree in environmental history from Florida Atlantic University and serves as board president of La Tierra Del Jaguar a nonprofit regenerative agriculture and education site in Sonora Henry C. Muñoz Sr. was born and raised in Superior and comes from a family of underground miners spanning five generations Muñoz has more than 24 years of underground mining experience in Superior and Magma Copper-BHP in San Manuel A lifelong community and labor union activist, Muñoz is a member of the Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council and former three-term Superior town councilman Muñoz is now chairman of the grassroots Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Coalition Terry Rambler is the four-term chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe he served as a councilman representing the Bylas District between 2004 and 2010 Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland tapped Rambler to sit on the inaugural Tribal Advisory Committee and represent the West He also currently serves as vice president of the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona A former chairman and vice chairman of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association secretary and treasurer for the Apache Alliance a nonprofit coalition made up of nine Apache tribes across Indian Country.  His administration is credited with opening the San Carlos Apache College and Apache Sky Casino in Winkelman in 2017 Rambler also sat on the Fort Thomas Unified School District Board between 2004 and 2012 A fluent Apache language speaker — Rambler has a strong faith and believes in the power of prayer — having raised three children as a single parent Curt Shannon is currently the interim director of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition He is one of the founding members of the Concerned Climbers of Arizona which has worked to protect Oak Flat and other rock climbing areas threatened by mining activity or other forms of land use since 2004 His professional background is in electrical engineering materials science and product management; having spent most of his career working with gallium arsenide and other III-V compound semiconductors Shannon has worked primarily on energy consulting — with an emphasis on solar energy — for a number of Indian tribes and solar development companies in Arizona LeRoy Shingoitewa is a member of the Hopi Tribe hailing from the village of Munqapi (Moenkopi) He is the tribal monitor program lead and project manager for WestLand Engineering & Environmental Services Shingoitewa has been with WestLand’s cultural resources department since 2018 where he discovered that his background in biology and use of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge has helped with the process of fostering tribal engagement and conducting baseline cultural and environmental surveys throughout the West general manager of communities and social performance cultural heritage and permitting at Resolution Copper Support for KJZZ’s coverage of tribal natural resources comes from Catena Foundation dedicated to restoring human and ecological systems Police have charged a second man with manslaughter following the death of a young mum from a heroin overdose two years ago Kye Conlon, 27, was arrested at Stockland Shellharbour in the Illawarra region south of Sydney on Wednesday morning was found unresponsive at a home in the nearby suburb of Oak Flats in July 2022 and couldn't be revived She died after snorting lines of heroin after a night out at a local pub with a group of friends Conlon was taken to Lake Illawarra Police Station where he was charged with manslaughter and supply prohibited drug less than or equal to small quantity He was refused bail to appear in Wollongong Local Court on Thursday His arrest comes after disability support worker Braydon Hamilton was also charged with the manslaughter of Ms Ayuso It is alleged Ms Ayuso then went back to Hamilton's Oak Flats home in the early hours of July 13 2022 after snorting lines of heroin during a night out Ms Ayuso died between 2am and 11am that morning Following two years of extensive investigations police charged Hamilton with manslaughter earlier this month Police alleged that Hamilton 'omitted to assist her' which carried a high risk that 'death or grievous bodily harm' could follow Hamilton is not accused of selling or supplying drugs to Ms Ayuso During a bail application in Wollongong Local Court last week Hamilton's defence lawyer Matt Ward argued that his client thought Ms Ayuso was asleep The lawyer described the incident as a 'tragedy', the Illawarra Star reported Magistrate Claire Girotto granted Hamilton bail Hamilton had to forfeit $10,000 as a surety must report daily to police and is not permitted within 500m of any international point of departure as part of his strict conditions Hamilton is due to reappear in court early next year Friends wrote on on an online fundraiser that Ms Ayuso was 'taken suddenly (and) she has left behind her much loved children,' who were 'Rachel's moon and stars.' 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Oak Flat (known in Apache as Chi'chil Bildagoteel) is a sacred site in Arizona’s vibrant Tonto National Forest where Native Americans have gone to worship and conduct religious ceremonies since time immemorial Recognizing its responsibility to Native peoples the federal government has protected the sacred site for more than six decades a rider was attached to a must-pass defense bill directing the government to transfer the land to Resolution Copper which plans to construct a mine that will obliterate the sacred site in a nearly 2-mile-wide Now Becket is fighting to stop the destruction of the site which would irreparably harm the religious expression and practices of the region’s first inhabitants Video: Apache sacred land threatened by mining in Arizona and cared for Oak Flat and surrounding lands Apaches believe that the Creator gives life to all things Their religious and cultural identity is inextricably tied to the land and Oak Flat has paramount significance for prayer and sacred ceremonies Many of their most important religious practices must take place there such as the coming-of-age Sunrise Ceremony for Apache women; sweat lodge ceremonies; gathering of sacred medicine plants and minerals; and the use of sacred waters It is considered the direct corridor to Apache religion—recognized in the National Register of Historic Places and sometimes compared to Mount Sinai for Jews government has a sordid history of destroying Apaches’ lives and land for the sake of mining interests the federal government forced the Apache people onto the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and authorized miners to take Apache land And although Oak Flat has been expressly protected from mining since the Eisenhower administration mining companies still covet Oak Flat for a large copper deposit 7,000 feet below the surface Mining companies have long lobbied Congress to give them control of the land One sponsor of a land-transfer bill was even convicted of soliciting a bribe from a mining company in exchange for his support protecting the site from exploitation the same way it would preserve a historic a last-minute rider was attached to a must-pass defense bill ordering the land to be transferred to a foreign-owned mining company The government admits the mine will destroy Oak Flat forever—obliterating the sacred ground in a nearly 2-mile-wide and making the Apaches’ religious practices impossible saying that the land transfer to Resolution Copper did not substantially burden the Apaches’ religious exercise Judge Marsha Berzon called the ruling “absurd,” “illogical,” “disingenuous,” and “incoheren[t].”   In November 2022, the Ninth Circuit agreed to rehear the case “en banc”––meaning in front of a larger panel of eleven judges.  On March 1, 2024, the Ninth Circuit again refused to stop the federal government from transferring the sacred site to Resolution Copper writing that the majority “tragically err[ed]” in allowing the government to “obliterat[e] Oak Flat” and prevent the “Western Apaches from ever again” engaging in their religious exercise Apache Stronghold appealed the decision to the United States Supreme Court on September 11 Apache Stronghold is represented by attorneys Michael Nixon and Clifford Levenson After a two-month pilgrimage across the nation Apache Stronghold formally presented its appeal to the U.S Supreme Court on Wednesday in a final bid to stop a massive copper mine from obliterating one of the Apache peoples' most sacred sites The high court was the last hope for the group after the full 29-justice 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to review the case Opponents of the mine say the case will be a test of how the court and the government view the religious rights of Indigenous people The high court must first agree to consider the case the law firm representing Apache Stronghold said the court briefs should be filed in about 30 days justices will discuss the case and decide whether to take it The spokesperson said a decision could come as soon as late December or early January 2025 On the steps of the Supreme Court's building in Washington Apache Stronghold leader Wendsler Nosie said all tribal nations facing similar issues need to come together and where are you going as a collective?" he said Nosie said that the multitribal effort to remove four dams on the Klamath River on the California-Oregon border was an example of what can happen when people come together to advocate for their rights He also noted the effort of the Modoc Tribe and Klamath Tribes to save their sucker fish, the c'waam and koptu "Part of their mythology just like ours is that if they die we die," Nosie said "the place where the Emory oak grows," is at the heart of a struggle now entering its third decade Forest Service to trade the 2,200-acre site currently a campground about 60 miles east of Phoenix for parcels of environmentally sensitive private land owned by Resolution Copper a subsidiary of British-Australian mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP To obtain the copper ore, Resolution will use a method known as block cave mining in which tunnels are drilled beneath the ore body leaving the ore to be moved to a crushing facility leaving behind a crater about 1,000 feet deep and nearly 2 miles across where Oak Flat and its religious and environmental significance stands Forest Service published the final environmental impact statement and draft decision for the copper mine and land swap five days before the end of the Trump administration in January 2021 That set off a 60-day clock during which the land deal could have been finalized Apache Stronghold filed its lawsuit in January 2021 in federal court to stop the land swap, citing religious rights guarantees under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act along with a group of private attorneys and law professors which includes Apache and other Native peoples and their allies The Biden administration rescinded the environmental impact statement in March 2021 for further consultation with tribes Resolution was granted permission to join the lawsuit in 2023 The company issued a statement after the appeal was delivered asserting that the case "does not present any question worthy of Supreme Court review as the Ninth Circuit simply applied well-established Supreme Court precedent." "This case is about the government’s right to pursue national interests with its own land — an unremarkable and longstanding proposition that the Supreme Court and other courts have consistently reaffirmed," the spokesperson said The mine would bring jobs and resources to the area and Resolution would continue to talk with local tribes and communities to shape the project Nosie pointed out other tribes' struggles to preserve cultural and sacred sites that he said don't receive the level of attention as Oak Flat a group of sites in the Medicine Lake Highlands in Northern California under threat from geothermal plants; Thacker Pass where tribes lost the battle to prevent lithium mines from impacting their sites; the continuing effort by the Bishop Lone Pine and Big Pine Paiute tribes in the Owens Valley to preserve their lands fight off even more lithium mines and win back the water lost to the greed of Los Angeles water brokers; and the battle to save wild rice in the Great Lakes region In addition to religious leaders, environmentalists and tribes, Apache Stronghold gained a new group of supporters. The 16,000-member SEIU Workers United Southern Region unanimously approved a resolution supporting Apache religious freedom and the protection of sacred lands such as Oak Flat during their convention in June Wendsler Nosie, head of Apache Stronghold, has long said that prayer was the key to preserving Oak Flat. At each stop during the "prayer journey" from the Lummi Nation in northwestern Washington state to Washington the group was met by religious leaders and elders from many faiths Tribal elders and cultural practitioners came out to pray and speak about tribal rights the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe and other local tribes offered prayer fresh vegetables and medicine plants for the journey The Indigenous Environmental Network hosted Apache Stronghold during a climate change conference on Cherokee Nation land in Oklahoma Apache Stronghold also stopped to pray in Montgomery the birthplace of the civil rights movement The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd hosted Nosie and other Apache Stronghold members for song Mennonite churches hosted the group in several sites in the mid-Atlantic before Apache Stronghold reached the District of Columbia Sunday Tribal lands: Indigenous people find legal, cultural barriers to protect sacred spaces off tribal lands Legal expert weighs in on Native religious rightsAngela R. Riley, a law professor and director of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law’s Native Nations Law and Policy Center, attended the 9th Circuit's en banc hearing in March 2023 said it goes without debate that Oak Flat will be "utterly completely and permanently destroyed" after the mine is played out in its 50-year lifespan Religious ceremonies will no longer be able to happen "it was remarkable to hear the United States argue as our trustee for American Indian tribes that what it's doing here...not only doesn't violate the Constitution but it has no trust obligation to act otherwise." "The reality is that Indian religious freedom is not protected in this country," Riley said "The Supreme Court has failed to protect Indian religious freedom has ruled time and time again that the First Amendment doesn't protect American Indian religions." Although the Supreme Court has become more solicitous of religion over the past decade to protect the religious freedom of corporations "We are seeing virtually no examples where either the First Amendment or the RFRA are being used to protect the religious freedom of Native people."Apache Stronghold is raising these issues absolutely on the nose." Normalize this." He advised people to write statements and petitions and to involve their local governments and get their local governments activated." Take these steps to ensure that our seven generations have a chance at clean air clean water and to learn our culture and traditions and keep those things alive and well." Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @debkrol Coverage of Indigenous issues at the intersection of climate culture and commerce is supported by the Catena Foundation The Gila Herald Your trusted source for news of the Gila Valley and more SAN CARLOS APACHE RESERVATION — San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler warned Congress Thursday that the People’s Republic of China  (PRC) is poised to import copper from the proposed Resolution Copper Mine planned for the Tonto National Forest 70 miles east of Phoenix “The 2014 Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act failed to include a provision that unrefined copper extracted from the Resolution Copper mine must be processed into finished metal and sold in the United States,” Chairman Rambler said Thursday in a statement moments after a Congressional hearing on U.S “This glaring loophole puts the PRC in a position to import 40 billion pounds of unrefined copper currently worth more than $160 billion,” Chairman Rambler stated “Congress should immediately take action to protect U.S national security by revoking the Land Exchange Act.” Rep. Jared Huffman, D-CA, said during the Feb. 6 hearing of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources that “Resolution Copper has not committed to keeping copper in the U.S.” and that the company is “going to mine copper that is just going to be sent abroad.” Chairman Rambler submitted written testimony to the subcommittee detailing Resolution Copper’s connections with the PRC that could lead to the export of one of the largest copper deposits in the world to the PRC controls the remaining 45% of Resolution Copper The Chinese state-owned Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) is the single largest shareholder in  Rio Tinto Rarely does a single shareholder own more than five percent of a multi-national mining company The PRC uses Chinalco to secure strategic minerals worldwide Chinalco’s website states:“(Chinalco) is a key state-owned enterprise directly supervised by the central government and a pilot state-owned capital investment company It is shouldering the important mission of being the spearhead in the global nonferrous metals industry the main force in supplying national strategic mineral resources and advanced high-end materials and the leader in industry innovation and green development “Chinalco’s major investment in Rio Tinto puts the PRC in prime position to seize control of the copper produced at the Resolution mine and import it directly to China,” Chairman Rambler Not only does the Chinese government have a major investment in Rio Tinto but the PRC is also Rio Tinto’s and BHP’s largest single customer Rio Tinto generates nearly 60% of its revenue through the export of minerals to the PRC BHP generates over 62% of its revenue through the export of minerals to the PRC “Most of what BHP and Rio Tinto mines end up in China for processing,” Rep Resolution Copper has claimed for years on its website and in statements to the press and Congress that copper from the Resolution mine “will supply 25% of the United States copper demand.” But Resolution Copper has never released a definitive plan to convert unrefined copper into finished metal in the United States The company has refused to testify before Congress unequivocally stating where the unrefined copper will be processed has stated in federal filings that the unrefined copper could be exported Resolution Copper states in its General Plan of Operations that unrefined copper concentrates will be prepared for “shipment to domestic and/or global markets for additional processing.” (Emphasis added.) The company’s general plan also states that “there are no plans for an onsite smelter or other secondary refining plants.” Limitations on U.S. domestic smelter capacity have resulted in a surge in exports of unrefined copper extracted from U.S. mines. The 2024 United States Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Survey for Copper reports that the United States exported 350,000 metric tons of copper in 2023 out of total mine production of 1.1 million tons A 2020 University of Arizona report states that $1.6 billion worth of unrefined copper concentrates was exported from Arizona Nearly all this was sent to the Port of Guaymas in Sonora The University of Arizona report states that copper is one of the port’s top exports Congress passed the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act as a last-minute addition to the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act. SALECA requires the transfer of 2,400 acres in Tonto National Forest, which includes sacred Oak Flat, to Resolution Copper. The transfer must occur within 60 days of publication of a Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Resolution project. The Trump Administration is expected to publish the FEIS later this year. In his testimony, Chairman Rambler stated the destruction of Oak Flat would inflict a severe human rights violation against the Tribe. Oak Flat is included on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property. “Congress should not partner with foreign mining entities to commit human rights violations against us, the First Americans, by destroying Oak Flat,” Chairman Rambler stated in his congressional testimony. similar to dozens held across the Illawarra during the week It all came down to a special collaboration between the tiny preschoolers and their Year 5 and 6 buddies With a public preschool open and operating on the Griffiths St site the youngest students join school events early on Principal Jodi Niedermayer said the preschoolers and their buddies used hats cardboard and craft supplies to make their creations "Our preschoolers led the design process and their buddies were there to help bring their ideas to reality mostly to help with the sticky tape and glue," Ms Niedermayer said "This takes a lot of pressure off our families and the creations are genuinely theirs which creates a real sense of ownership Our students are always so proud of their designs." Let the parade beginThe preschoolers held hands or walked with their buddies during the parade It's not just the youngest students who benefit from the partnership "Our senior students get just as much out of being a buddy as our preschoolers do," Ms Niedermayer said View +16 PhotosAll photos by Robert Peet can be purchased Email syndication@austcommunitymedia.com.au"It's a time for our senior students to shine and they thrive on this added responsibility they will also be here to support our preschoolers to transition to kindergarten next year Each grade performed a song after the parade for the big crowd including the preschoolers whose version of The Easter Bunny Song was well-received But the multinational company’s general manager insists mining will have a minimal footprint “It has such a small footprint compared to other mines that would be this scale,” she told KJZZ and bang for your buck on the amount of copper it would produce relative to the small amount of environmental impact.” But now imagine a nearly 2-mile crater – 1,000 feet deep – decimating Oak Flat Arizona’s famed Meteor Crater – east of Flagstaff “This is going to be twice as big as that,” said Henry C We’re going to have this huge hole over here that's going to be there forever.” Muñoz began working at the Magma Copper Mine in the town of Superior before it shut down in 1982 the fifth-generation miner went to nearby San Manuel in Pinal County until that copper mine also shuttered in 1999 “Copper mining is not one of the big C’s like it was back in the day.” Muñoz is a former three-term Superior councilman and now chairman of the Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Coalition He claims Resolution Copper repeatedly denied that subsidence – which is essentially when the earth’s surface sinks in – would happen There’s only going to be little to no subsidence,’” Muñoz recalled the mining company saying you know you can’t pull that wool over my eyes and say there isn’t But Muñoz says that was the company’s stance. That is, until the final environmental impact statement Muñoz says Resolution Copper just tried to downplay it hear his messages as merely doom-and-gloom “Everything that we had said about the mine these are studies the government has done.” “This is what the state is telling you,” added Muñoz Everything that I say comes from a bona fide source.” made up of six volumes and thousands of pages It clearly states that the project’s proposed block cave mining would result in this colossal subsidence crater by removing such a large volume of rock Subsidence could still be avoided with cut-and-fill mining which Muñoz likened to a dental patient “getting your tooth drilled out and then getting it refilled.” The same concept would apply when extracting an ore body But due to the depth and size of this unique deposit Resolution Copper told KJZZ that non-caving underground alternatives were “determined not to be practicable or suited” after consulting with mining experts while drafting the FEIS subsidence would still be expected to begin by the sixth year of mining and would continue growing over time But subsidence would still be expected to eliminate numerous recreational opportunities – world-renowned rock climbing hunting and camping – from large swaths of the Tonto National Forest Up to 14,300 acres of state and federal lands would no longer be open to the public As many as 17,000 acres of soil and vegetation may be disturbed for thousands of years adding rare species of plants and animals with specific habitat requirements are “unlikely to return.” “They believe everything the company tells them,” said Muñoz warning Superior to not trust Resolution Copper Neither should Apaches bet on the future of Oak Flat executive director of the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition Featherstone has been attending Rio Tinto annual shareholder meetings in London “spends a heck of a lot more time mining shareholders than they do minerals.” In his eyes the pair of foreign-owned companies that form Resolution Copper have bad reputations Both have made international headlines in recent years The 2015 dam collapse in the Brazilian city of Mariana at an iron ore mine owned by Samarco sent 1.6 billion cubic feet of waste flowing in thick red mud 400 miles to the Atlantic Ocean 500-foot-tall earthen dam would contain close to 20 times the volume compared to the collapsed Brazilian tailings facility Samarco is made up of mining giants Vale and BHP – the latter of which is also the minority stakeholder in Resolution Copper these companies agreed to pay Brazil $30 billion to settle damages Five years after Brazil’s worst environmental disaster Resolution Copper’s majority stakeholder – Rio Tinto – obliterated a pair of ancient aboriginal rock shelters in Western Australia while blasting to expand an iron ore mine in 2020 The destruction of 46,000-year-old dwellings in Juukan Gorge prompted investors to swiftly force Rio Tinto’s CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques and two other senior executives to step down “Rio Tinto and BHP promised that they’d never again cause the destruction of a sacred site,” he elaborated the mining plan is such that they could not do the project without destroying a Native American sacred site.” Resolution Copper believes Oak Flat’s significance is still up for debate really respect and acknowledge that there’s deeply and legitimately held differences of opinion within the San Carlos Apache Tribe about whether Oak Flat is sacred.” a conservative-leaning Canadian think tank has been annually rating the global mining industry through its “Investment Attractiveness Index” since 1997 Arizona sits in the top 10 – ranked 7th out of 86 jurisdictions worldwide – behind only Utah In the most recent index, published in May, surveyed miners expressed concern about the uncertainty surrounding which areas, like Oak Flat, may be protected from mining in the Grand Canyon State. Either way, Resolution Copper told KJZZ the Oak Flat campground “will not be within the disturbed footprint (fracture zone) of subsidence.” However, the company has also promised to construct a new campground – should it need to be closed one day. “The campground will remain open for as long as it is safe,” reads a statement from Resolution Copper. “That may be decades or in perpetuity.” The FEIS states Oak Flat – which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2016 – will be “directly and permanently damaged,” adding “its loss would be an indescribable hardship to those peoples.” Although Resolution Copper doesn’t agree, Peacey says they’ve pledged to offset potential damage – even avoiding 70% of what the tribe defines as an Apache holy site and forgoing another 800 acres of mining claims by leaving Apache Leap alone. She’s still hoping to find common ground with the San Carlos Apache Tribe. “We can work together on just about anything, from cultural heritage to economic empowerment and generational wealth,” added Peacey. “We remain committed to open and honest conversations about the project. Our relationship with local communities and with tribes is long-term.” “What I’m most worried about is the company getting approval – just screwing up the land and the water royally,” he said. “We all know that as soon as this project is over, the company would declare bankruptcy and walk away. I think that would be the biggest tragedy of all.” Support for KJZZ’s coverage of tribal natural resources comes from Catena Foundation, dedicated to restoring human and ecological systems. was denied bail at Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday Picture from FacebookAn Oak Flats dad accused of running an extensive liquid ecstasy trade has made a bid for bail after securing a bed at a residential rehabilitation facility Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueMarino Decresci dialled into Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday charged with supplying a commercial quantity of drugs and five counts of supplying drugs on an ongoing basis Police will allege Decresci supplied 1.216 grams of gamma-Butryrolactone (GHB or liquid ecstasy) in the Illawarra between 26 October last year and 29 March this year Detectives gathered a swathe of evidence through intercepted phone calls in which Decresci allegedly used code words to discuss the sale of GHB Read more: Wollongong man allegedly found with police badge, gun and $135k in drug money They also gathered bank statements which allegedly proved payment for the drugs Decresci was arrested on March 29 following a raid of his unit Defence lawyer Danny Lagopodis argued for Decresci's release saying his client was gripped by a long-standing drug addiction and had finally secured a spot at a full-time rehab centre "This is not an application to release him to the community at large .. this is for him to be released into a rehab where there is a bed waiting for him," Mr Lagopodis said Read more: Dragons player and dad facing jail after brutal rooftop hammer attack However the police prosecutor pointed to Decresci's lengthy record of drug offending and said the case against him was strong She added Decresci had previously engaged in supply while in the middle of completing a court-ordered MERIT program aimed at reducing drug use "He has also committed drug matters while on parole," the prosecutor said Magistrate Gabriel Fleming denied bail due to Decresci's record and the "very large amount" of evidence before her Decresci will face court again on November 1 Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play Indigenous headlines for Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 Thanks for stopping by ICT’s digital platform Each day we do our best to gather the latest news for you Remember to scroll to the bottom to see what’s popping out to us on social media and what we’re reading Religious groups support Apache Stronghold’s opposition to Oak Flat copper mine — Eighty-five religious organizations stepped up to support Apache Stronghold in asking the U.S Supreme Court to review an appeals court decision over the Oak Flat copper mine saying it discriminates against Native religious beliefs known as a “friend of the court” brief supporting Apache Stronghold's challenge of a federal land transfer that gave away land in the Tonto National Forest to Resolution Copper in exchange for other lands the mine would destroy parts of Chí’chil Biłdagoteel the sacred Oak Flat site important to several tribes including the Apache “Because the federal government’s action here will prevent the Western Apaches from engaging in religious practices at Chí’chil Biłdagoteel — practices that cannot take place anywhere else — the outcome of this case should have been straightforward,” the brief reads. READ MORE — Kadin Mills SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY Standing Rock Tribe files new lawsuit over DAPL The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Monday filed a new lawsuit against the U.S Army Corps of Engineers arguing that the Dakota Access Pipeline is operating illegally and must be shut down due to concerns that it violates the tribe’s sovereignty endangers sacred cultural sites and threatens to pollute the tribe’s water supply The Army Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction over the section of the pipeline that passes under Lake Oahe — a reservoir on the Missouri River — roughly a half-mile upstream from the Standing Rock Reservation The tribe in a 34-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia argues the Army Corps flouted federal regulations by allowing the pipeline to operate without an easement, sufficient study of possible environmental impacts or the necessary emergency spill response plans, among other alleged violations. READ MORE — North Dakota Monitor Controversial Idaho mine gets green light despite concerns A proposal to build and rebuild open-pit mines in Idaho’s historic Stibnite mining district is moving forward Forest Service acknowledges it could have lasting negative environmental impacts on the area located at the headwaters of the South Fork Salmon River was critical to the United States’ war effort in the 1940s as a rich source of gold Operations ended in the 1990s and the site was abandoned Perpetua Resources is hoping to reopen the mines has been fine-tuning its proposal to the Forest Service for over a decade as previously reported by Columbia Insight The proposal has faced significant opposition from the Nez Perce Tribe and groups like Idaho Rivers United, American Whitewater and Idaho Conservation League. READ MORE — Columbia Insight First-ever oral histories of Indian boarding school survivors They’ve come from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa cedar and sage as they tell their stories of surviving Indian boarding schools They bring weathered black-and-white family photos to honor relatives lost have never disclosed their still-raw childhood trauma a group of traveling Indigenous oral historians are there to listen and to record these vital first-person narratives They are part of an ongoing collaboration between the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and the U.S The goal is to more fully document the systemic abuse endured by generations of Indigenous people under the government’s attempts at forced assimilation that began in the 1800s and lasted for over a century Ramona Klein, a 77-year-old from North Dakota shared a particularly harrowing memory with the historians, tribal officials and spiritual leaders who gathered in Bismarck, North Dakota in June to support the survivors. READ MORE — The Imprint Sign up here to get ICT's newsletter The brutal story behind California’s new Native American genocide education law an armed militia swept into the historic land of the Serrano people in the San Bernardino mountains and went on a killing spree A tribal leader named Santos Manuel led the surviving 30 members to safety in a nearby valley Manuel’s great-great grandson has ensured that every K-12 student in California will learn the story of the Serrano people and other California Native tribes who endured atrocities during the Spanish colonial and Gold Rush eras in California history “The hope is that students learn the true history of California but also the resiliency of the Indian people,” said Assemblymember James Ramos a descendent of Manuel who authored a bill requiring schools to teach about the mistreatment and perspectives of Native Californians in social studies classes Navajo leader calls for tribal vice president's resignation The president of one of the largest Native American tribes in the U.S announced Tuesday he has removed responsibilities from his vice president saying she no longer represents his administration and should consider resigning from the highest office within the Navajo Nation to ever be held by a woman Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren made the announcement in a news conference that was broadcast on social media The tribe has been mired by political upheaval since April when Navajo Vice President Richelle Montoya publicly outlined allegations of intimidation and sexual harassment within the administration An independent investigation of Montoya's claims was initiated while other opponents of Nygren began collecting signatures from voters across the reservation — which spans parts of Arizona New Mexico and Utah — as part of an effort to recall the president Nygren took aim at the recall effort and outlined his reasons for terminating Montoya's authority during the news conference. He accused his detractors of failing to focus on issues affecting Navajo families, such as housing and employment needs along with access to drinking water, electricity and other basic services. READ MORE — Associated Press FOLLOW ICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK What should we be covering that we’re not By ICT, a nonprofit and multimedia news enterprise, is a spacious channel that serves Indigenous communities with news, entertainment, and opinion. Support ICT for as little as $10. Will you support our work?All of our content is free And we have hired more Native journalists in the past year than any news organization ─ and with your help we will continue to grow and create career paths for our people Support Indian Country Today for as little as $10 Nestled in the Tonto National Forest is Oak Flat — home to one of the largest copper deposits on Earth The ore could be worth a fortune to the mining companies planning to extract it Oak Flat’s value can’t be measured in dollars They are connected to it — culturally and spiritually — and fighting to save it as well as the region’s rich Apache roots Chi’chil Biłdagoteel — the Apache name for Oak Flat — has been a gathering site for generations of Apaches From coming-of-age and sunrise ceremonies to picking acorns underneath Emory oak trees it’s also where some believe angels — called the Gaan — or mountain spirits reside among minerals beneath the surface San Carlos Apache Chairman Terry Rambler has deep ties to this land east of the Valley you can just know why my ancestors were given that name.” Rambler’s relatives resided in the rugged Pinal Mountains and are among at least eight Apache clans and two Western Apache bands that lay claim to Oak Flat about a dozen modern-day federally recognized tribes in the Southwest maintain cultural connections there Zuni and Four Southern Tribes: Tohono O’odham More than 60 Western Apache clans — some now extinct — and differing bands roamed the borderlands of the Southwest from modern-day Flagstaff to eastern New Mexico and even into Mexico paying out bounties for Apache scalps: 100 pesos per male 50 pesos per female and 25 pesos per each child under age 14 Despite the 1848 Mexican-American War ending with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo timber and railroad interests with them to the West The mass migration, in part, led to the Apache Wars, a series of armed conflicts spanning decades with the U.S. Army. Then, the Treaty of Santa Fe — an 1852 truce — was ratified and supposed to cease hostilities history professor at The University of Texas at El Paso Then there were some bands of Apaches that said Mexico sold 29,670 square miles of soil to the U.S for $10 million through the Gadsden Purchase — eventually leading to the formation of the Arizona and New Mexico territories — with the 1863 Arizona Organic Act amid the Civil War still had to deal with Apaches in the West we’re kind of thinking we should just give up the eastern half of the Arizona Territory to the Apaches,” said Marcus Macktima a San Carlos Apache assistant history professor at Northern Arizona University “because there’s no way we’ll ever be able to control them.’” still trying to get rid of Apaches until 1886 when Chiricahua Apache leader Geronimo surrendered near Skeleton Canyon — 30 miles northeast of modern-day Douglas renegade Apaches still raided northern Mexico until 1915 “The reports from military say that these tribes are just kind of wandering around They don’t really have a reason to be in these places,” Macktima explained and we had a cyclical nature to our culture They were forced out of Oak Flat in the 1870s 75 Apache warriors near Oak Flat plummeted to their deaths off a sheer cliff — later named Apache Leap – located just on the outskirts of present-day Superior Federal and territorial government officials sanctioned militarized citizen gangs to essentially track down and kill families More than 380 Apache deaths were documented in 35 encounters between 1859 and 1874, according to Simon Fraser University anthropology professor John Welch, a former historic preservation officer for the White Mountain Apache Tribe. “The rifles defeated the bows and arrows, and so our people, including my great-grandmother, were herded like cattle from that area to Old San Carlos,” Rambler recalled. “They had the help of the U.S. soldiers and the PR campaign by the local papers, depicting us as savages and that we were in the way of Manifest Destiny.” President Ulysses S. Grant established the San Carlos Apache Reservation in 1871. “So you get this flurry of executive orders,” added Shepherd, “but it’s also tied with the just, just horribly violent clampdown on Apaches in the Southwest.” This led to rounding up thousands of Apaches, including Geronimo, and marching them to Old San Carlos — nicknamed “Hell’s Forty Acres” — as prisoners of war under military occupation. Sharpshooters surveyed the landscape for fleeing Apaches. As many as 4,000 Western Apaches, Mojave, Yavapai and Chiracahua Apaches were held captive under deplorable conditions by 1874. Some even refer to it as a concentration camp — that became their new homeland. At that time, the U.S. viewed Apaches as a monolith. Yet, these communities are made up of complex kinship networks of bands and clans, like Tonto, Yavapai, Chiricahua and many more. Today’s San Carlos tribal membership is essentially a melting pot of many Apache ancestors, including the White Mountain, Cibecue, Coyotero, Mimbres, Chiricahua, Pinal, Apache Peaks, Aravaipa, Tonto, Mogollon and Chilecon bands. “Obviously, when you bring all of these different people together on the reservation, there’s going to be some ancient, cultural, historical clashes,” Macktima mentioned, “because there was no Apache nation. That didn’t exist. We wouldn’t have ever confined ourselves in that way at all.” The San Carlos Apache Tribe only gained federal recognition less than a century ago, when the U.S. unified these distinct bands and clans through the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Long before that, Apaches were nomadic and traveled to hunt, gather and farm seasonally. So when the U.S. temporarily restricted movement with reservations, that upended their entire way of life, while also severing their ties to Chi'chil Biłdagoteel until the U.S. released them. “They’re really waging a military but also bureaucratic war on Apaches,” said Shepherd, “as a people, but also upon their land.” Mineral wealth, in large part, was a motivator for resizing their reservation six times — between 1873 and 1912 — by the U.S. and even the tribe itself. The chance to discover old Spanish silver mines, especially, attracted expeditions to the Southwest. “That’s driving people into Arizona,” said Macktima. “And of course, that means the extermination of Apache peoples in the region.” “Rounding people up, concentrating them on reservations, deporting them,” he elaborated, “and as that happens, we start to see the emergence of that federal land management regime take over the territory as public domain.” In 1896, a tribal measure passed with 56% of the vote to reincorporate a 232,000-acre mineral strip – mostly containing coal — from off-reservation into the public domain in exchange for $12,433 annually — more than $470,000 when adjusted for inflation. “In the late 19th century, they’re talking about minerals and getting rid of the [San Carlos] reservation to allow for prospecting, and they do that,” Macktima explained, “but the Apaches who agree are not from that reservation.” Aravaipa Pinal Apaches primarily opposed that decision because it harmed their territorial farmlands, while Yavapais and White Mountain Apaches didn’t, with Macktima adding, “so all these different Apaches are coming in saying, ‘Hey, we should go ahead and give this up.’” These ceded lands were supposed to be supervised by the U.S. government for mineral recovery with all revenues returning to the tribe. It wasn’t profitable, so the tribe sought to regain its territory. That mineral strip along the southern border of the reservation was eventually returned to the San Carlos Apache Tribe in 1969. Unlike the mineral strip, Oak Flat has remained in the public domain since 1955, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower incorporated that site into the Tonto National Forest — where it remains protected to this day. Macktima believes if the Apaches remained nomadic, “Oak Flat would still become a very prominent place for Apaches to travel to, and if the reservation didn’t exist, then you would still see a lot of that into the modern day.” Picture by Sylvia LiberSouth Australian all-rounder Nathan McAndrew said it was a shame his 'amazing" junior club Oak Flats was not fielding a first grade side in the upcoming South Coast District Cricket competition Sudoku and TriviaAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueMcAndrew credits the Rats for kick-starting his cricket career which has included representing Australia A in two four-day matches against New Zealand in Queensland just two months ago who also plays for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League said the success he was enjoying now had a lot to do with his time playing for Oak Flats adding he was disappointed to hear the former South Coast cricket heavyweight club was not fielding a first grade side in the upcoming season "I know last year they were struggling a lot to field a competitive first grade side and at times having to pull people up from third grade to fill in so it's not surprising that they have moved back to second grade if their numbers haven't improved for the upcoming season." Read more: Oak Flats Cricket Club pull out of South Coast first-grade competition who joined Oak Flats when he was eight-years-old said the Rats were an amazing club to be a part of "I learnt so much from so many of my initial coaches in the juniors and all the way through seniors," he said Kerry Penfold and Steve Nikitaras was something that I don't take for granted "I learnt so much about cricket but as a 14 year old playing with grown men I learnt so much outside of the field of play as well." Oak Flats is one of two cricket clubs in the region that no longer plays top grade cricket with Helensburgh also pulling out of Cricket Illawarra's first grade competition McAndrew said while this was disappointing he thought the game as a whole was still doing well "I think the game is in a great place at the moment with something for everyone given the three formats," he said "I just think the modern generation have so many other avenues for entertainment without needing to go outside and play a sport to pass the time "For me personally social media and smart phones didn't come out until mid to late high school so for me every afternoon was some form of outdoor activity to keep myself entertained." Read more: This passionate group of cricketers is bucking the trend of pulling up stumps I think cricket's biggest challenge is the duration and in an ever changing somewhat impatient society that we're becoming - I think the idea of giving up an entire Saturday to play men's grade cricket just doesn't seem as appealing to some as what it did in the past McAndrew added being the premier sport in summer also worked to cricket's advantage "Personally I don't think cricket has any competition from rivals sports We're the only sport that runs through summer and all the football codes run through winter and compete with themselves "The Australian men's summer and the Big Bash run unimpeded all through the school holidays which is prime time viewing for families and kids "I think cricket's biggest challenge is the duration and in an ever changing somewhat impatient society that we're becoming - I think the idea of giving up an entire Saturday to play men's grade cricket just doesn't seem as appealing to some as what it did in the past." Read more: Helensburgh drops out paving the way for rise of new Illawarra cricket club making it faster and giving you access to even more great content Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play