Reports from a wide area tell of significant theft of sheep, tools and motorbikes.

We all agree that a thief is the lowest card in the pack. Please report unusual sightings to police and neighbours.

FAREWELL to a respected member of our community, Bill Sharwood, who passed away recently.

Bill's family had strong connections to the Trunkey Creek district and he is remembered for his friendship and for he and his wife Joan's commitment to the Cathedral School Parents and Friends Group in the years when their boys attended the school.

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A SUGGESTION was raised in a group of drought-worried farmers near Wellington that the NSW Minister for Agriculture should move now to permanently abolish Local Land Services (LLS) rates.

The man who raised the issue is a leading light of the sheep industry and his idea is to operate LLS in future as a "charge for service" plan: if you need the service, please pay for it; if you don't need it, why should you pay?

There would be pros and cons in this issue, but LLS rates are a significant cost to farm businesses and State Treasury has already funded the past two years without much upset.

EARLY orders for Mark Filmer's book Three Steel Teeth have confirmed the interest that was expected from district readers.

The book tells the story of the shearing industry's wide comb dispute that involved violence, many heated arguments and confrontations over an industrial issue that should have been settled amicably by all concerned working behind closed doors.

Readers should enjoy this book as a lot of people that we knew well are entwined in the story.

Much has changed in the 30 years since this dispute: sheep numbers have more than halved, the shearers and shed staff are in much smaller numbers also and the merino sheep are much plainer bodied and are of a very different type.

I think this book is a great read and BooksPlus Bathurst still has a few copies at $45.

HATS off to master farrier Nev Donnelly from Hobbys Yards after his strong win on Family Ambition at Bathurst trots last week.

Owned and trained by Chris Brodie, the mare has had 53 starts for three wins and a bunch of placings and I hope there are more wins up her sleeve.

Driver Donnelly obviously enjoys a win and his many friends enjoy his success.

FOR a true racing story and a family type film, why not take a friend or two to see Ride Like A Girl at Metro Cinemas Bathurst.

This is the tale of Michelle Payne, who was the first female to ride the winner of a Melbourne Cup (with Prince of Penzance).

Michelle, her dad and her nine siblings provide a great story with several tragic twists before the final Cup victory.

This is a true story and gives an outline of a real Australian family.

TWO cricket scorebooks have recently surfaced and they cover the summers of 1931/2 and 1933/4 for The Lagoon Cricket Club.

A list, in batting order, of a match at The Lagoon on March 18, 1934 should jog some family memories: D Russell 0; J Daymond 103 retired; H Mutton 6; J Linnane 91; P Glazebrook 49; G Bennett 39; H Morris 9; J Butler 49; W Daymond 58; H Daymond not out 8; J Linnane took seven wickets and D. Russell two in the Mount David innings of 44, and The Lagoon won by 328 runs. These scorebooks are in the care of Paul Glazebrook at Perthville. They carry the stamp of S.E. Atkinson, bookseller, George St. Bathurst; probably where Kings Antiques are now situated.

THE wool market had another positive week across all micron categories.

Superfine merinos rose around 50c/kg, the fine merinos around 55c/kg and the medium to broad merinos around 95c/kg to 100c/kg.

Crossbred wools also gained around 40c/kg.

The Northern Market Indicator finished the week on 1635c/kg, up 65c/kg on last week.

It is doubtful whether these levels can be held for the coming week with murmurs already coming from buyers that it is hard to do any further business at these levels.

Processors are just buying from week to week, which is causing this market volatility.

Next week will see 40,999 bales on offer nationwide.

MUM and Dad could not agree on which new vehicle to buy.

He longed for a turbo diesel SUV with good road clearance. She urged him to buy her a shiny white, streamlined machine that would zoom from 0 to 100 in mere seconds.

He finally went out and bought her a set of bathroom scales.

***

CYRIL'S new job involved a lot of pricing negotiations and one interview took him to a family business.

"If I was to seek a discount and offered your firm $46,500, how much would you take off?" he asked the matronly co-owner.

"Everything except my glasses, sir," she replied.