By Dominique Tassell
This week has been an interesting one as a journalist.
With so many highlights to choose from, my favourite was probably standing out in the rain, under a local’s tarp, waiting for the Leslie Dam floodgates to open.
They did not, by the way. At least not while the majority of the massive group of people who’d come out to see it were there.
Another highlight was seeing the Christmas spirit in Allora. Seeing everyone dressed up in festive attire really was a sight to see, and that kind of community spirit is something that I hold incredibly dear to my heart.
Some of our other, more serious, stories have also proved quite interesting.
The back and forth over requested comments from the Granite Belt Irrigations Project has been…interesting.
To be frank, GBIP would not talk to us even before they knew what our initial article was about. I attempted to call to give them a heads up and organise an interview, and was promptly shut down. I sat waiting by a phone that never rang, and was told I should send through questions via email.
And then they found out what the article was actually about.
GBIP stated they could not respond to our questions due to required government approvals, however did send through a statement late last week that has not been shared publicly elsewhere. A statement that seemingly answers our questions in a roundabout way with a touch of spin.
Seems to me that maybe it’s more about controlling the message than anything else. I guess they don’t trust me to polish off their quotes of my own volition.
Due to print deadlines, the meeting regarding the impending mandate could not make it into this week’s paper. However, through the power of the internet, future me (past me?) will have that coverage posted online and shared to our Facebook for you to read. We will include that coverage in next week’s edition, so please feel free to send in any thoughts you have on that for us to include.
