December 19, 2008 - One of the highlights for me during 2008 was to help our aging neighbour Cleo Annie Alaire Jolliffe find her daughter after a separation of 64 years. For her daughter, Valmai Patricia Cavalli, it was the answer to a prayer.

Life’s circumstances had prevented an earlier reunion but it was a miracle and now they are living to enjoy catching up on the past 64 years.

Read the story as it was told by reporter Louise Richardson in the South Burnett Times:

She has lived in Sydney, Brisbane, Buderim and Kingaroy; worked as a top line frock designer and librarian; lived long and loved well but there was always something missing.

Despite the successes and joys in her life, Cleo Jolliffe was unsatisfied. She felt incomplete. The feeling could be traced back to one day, 64 years ago when she bid goodbye to her daughter Valmai, her beautiful baby girl who stayed in Sydney with her father while Cleo moved to Brisbane.

“After I left I cried myself to sleep every night,” Cleo said before admitting that when thinking of her daughter she would write Valmai’s name over and over on a piece of paper. Cleo always carried the image of her little girl with her.

“There isn’t anything I have done in life that hasn’t been done with Valmai in mind,” she said.

But the years passed by and Cleo’s life continued to unfold without her daughter a part of it. Cleo married Charles Watt and spent 23 happy years with him before he passed away.

After an a coincidental reunion with school sweetheart Jim Jolliffe who was a widower, the pair married and Cleo became a step-mother to his children. She was a dedicated step-mother and grandmother and loved Jim’s children as
her own, so much so that while Cleo wanted to find Valmai, she did not
want to hurt her family.

It was with Jim that Cleo came to Kingaroy where she has lived for the past 30 years just across the street from Keith and Marion Campbell who quickly became good friends. But despite being so close, it was not until this year that the Campbells found out about Valmai.

Cleo’s husband Jim passed away about four years ago and she felt it was time Valmai met her mother before it was too late. When she spoke to the Campbells about her wish to meet Valmai, the pair was on board right away.

“Well, we’ll find her for Christmas,” Mr Campbell told Cleo. And he did.

After scanning through the Queensland and New South Wales White Pages, Mr Campbell found Valmai.

“I started at midday and by 9pm I was speaking to Cleo’s daughter,” he said.

After 64 long years of waiting, the day Cleo had been dreaming about finally came on September 30. Both mother and daughter were over the moon. Valmai had searched for Cleo but because she had remarried and changed names had not had any success.

Valmai described meeting her mother as an answer to her prayers. Cleo also discovered she was a grandmother five times over, a great grandmother to 10, and next April will become a great-great grandmother. She could not stop beaming when she saw Valmai and all day she kept pointing to the woman next to her before saying, “that’s my daughter”.

“Cleo didn’t stop smiling for days, her lips were smiling and so were her eyes,” Mrs Campbell said about the reunion.

Since the first day Cleo and Valmai met they have seen each other another four times with plans to always keep in touch. Cleo has also now met her five grandchildren with the last arriving from Sydney to see her yesterday.

Cleo’s family puzzle has finally been solved.

“My life is now complete,” she said.

December 14, 2008 - At Christmas we all celebrate with the customs familiar to our upbringing and local circumstances.

I was asked to extend the Mayor’s welcome at the Kingaroy District Ministries Annual Christmas Carols at the Town Hall on December 14. I thanked the Ministers Fraternal for their effort in organising this annual event. As well, I thanked them for their contribution to the spiritual well-being of our communities. A representative of the Fraternal attends each of the regular Council Meetings where Bible readings and prayers are offered for the conduct of the meeting.

The Christmas Carols event was supported by a Nativity scene complete with a donkey as well as Mary and Joseph in costume. And then the Three Wise Men arrived on camels. The night was a stunning success with many favourite Christmas Carols being sung.

I hope that each and everyone who reads this website also has a most enjoyable Christmas.

December 12, 2008 - The Kingaroy Meals on Wheels Committee needs more volunteers to help complete the roster for 2009.

Currently we are short some six teams of two persons – a car driver and a support person - to deliver meals each month.

We are asking members of the public to assist us as well as business houses.

One remarkable volunteer is Alma Heit who has been a part of the Meals on Wheels program for 37 years.

She was introduced to the program by her mother who helped with the cooking in the early stages. Her mum asked her to help with delivering the meals and she has been doing it ever since. And, the great part is that she has no intentions of stopping, but acknowledges that one day she will.

There are lots of people who have been delivering for many years, however, Alma is top of the list for years of volunteering service.

If you can help, please contact me at any time.

December 7, 2008 - I attended the final presentation of the South Burnett Chorale telling the Christmas story in song and poem at the Lutheran Church in Wondai today.

"Christmas and Red Dust" was led by conductors Judith Jarrard and Sue Dowideit and the pianist was Betty Birch who always does a brilliant job as accompanist.

The 90 minute presentation was delightful and a credit to the singers. All proceeds from this concert went to the Australian Lutheran World Service Christmas Bowl appeal. The Murgon concert earlier in the day assisted Castra Retirement Home.

The chorale does a magnificent job in heightening the cultural content of community activities in the South Burnett.

November 25, 2008 - A large group of supporters and media attended the launch of the latest cookbook published by the Kingaroy Hospital Auxiliary.

"Swarm to Recipes You’ll Love" was officially launched byLady Bjelke-Peterson.

Auxiliary president Dr Julian Mullans, (right), spoke about the hours that went into getting the cookbook just right which includes sections on summer salads, using honey in recipes, family favourites and delicious desserts.

Profits from sales will go towards purchasing furnishings for the renal unit to be established at the Kingaroy General Hospital by mid-2009.

I was also in attendance to present an award won by the Hospital Auxiliary at the recent Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, (right). The Hospital Auxiliary took out the Community Award category.

November 15, 2008 - South Burnett Regional Councillors were invited to visit the Glendon Street headquarters of the Kingaroy-Kumbia State Emergency Service to take a look firsthand at what the volunteers do for the region.

SES training officer Peter Verbakel spoke highly of his members by suggesting that they are more important than any tools and equipment.

We were reminded that the SES crews volunteer and help out in almost any situation from diverting traffic around road accidents to scouring the bush for missing people, performing vertical rescues and providing support for the police and clearing the debris left by storms.

Local Controller John Kefford has been in the service for 19 years.

November 11, 2008 - My wife Marion and I attended the Remembrance Day commemoration held in Memorial Park, Kingaroy to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the "war to end all wars", World War I.

The commemoration was led by local schoolchildren who did a sterling job under the proud gaze of their teachers and parents.

At the end of the ceremony, the students were presented with an Australian flag by Reg Miller, 91, believed to be the oldest member of the Kingaroy-Taabinga RSL Sub-Branch.

It's amazing to think that Reg, (pictured at right with John Bjelke-Peterson, Marion and myself), was only a toddler when the Armistice was called in 1918. He later served his country in the artillery in Bougainville during World War II.

November 10, 2008 - I was surprised to be asked to be the guest speaker at the November monthly meeting of the Kingaroy Garden Club which is its celebrating its 20th anniversary.

An issue of considerable concern for all gardeners is water. I had to tell the gardeners that sadly there will never be a time in the future where it will be open slather for water use. There will always be some level of restriction as we move into the future irrespective of how much water the dams hold.

Currently Gordonbrook Dam is 72 per cent full. On current usage, the dam will reduce to 50 per cent full by the end of March. One would think that with the storm season upon us, some inflows will occur. However, if this was not the case, supplies from the Boondooma Dam will be available.

The trigger for more severe water restrictions will be when the Gordonbrook Dam level drops to 50 per cent.

The gardeners seemed particularly interested in the range of topics covered especially when I provided some details about the activities of the new Regional Council.

November 8, 2008 - Tonight I had the pleasure of performing the official welcome for the Kingaroy Chamber and Commerce and Industry's Heritage Business Excellence Awards.

There were approximately 210 people in attendance. The ambience of the night was very cordial and the Kingaroy Town Hall was decorated excellently. The food and entertainment were also first class.

In my welcome address I told the audience there is an even greater requirement on businesses to not only provide superb goods and services, but to go the extra mile to make shoppers welcome, comfortable, be helpful and give them a sense of worth and well-being plus a desire to return and shop with their business.

Shoppers can come from Kingaroy or anywhere. Your staff and your business can leave a lasting impression of what Kingaroy is all about.

The Customer Service Award emphasises that essential ingredient – it does not matter who you are or where you come from - what does matter is that you as the shopper deserve respect and the best level of customer service from each and every employee within the business.

The Customer Service of the Year Award was won by Rob Masters from BGA Agriservices, Kingaroy, (above right). This was particularly heartwarming to me as Rob was one of my employees before I retired from BGA.

Congratulations also to Mulanah Gardens Bed & Breakfast Cottages which was named the Business of the Year.

The Employee of the Year Award was won by Wendy Elford (The Peanut Van).

There were a range of other awards given on the night.

Well done Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry for organising this annual event and congratulations to every business in the Kingaroy business area for making your shoppers want to keep their business in the South Burnett!

October 25, 2008 - I was asked by Carla Cross and Linda MacKenzie to open the Breast Cancer awareness fund-raising day held at the Kingaroy Senior Citizens Centre.

Australian women with Breast Cancer will benefit from this fund-raising event. Research is finding more and more answers to this tragic disease and each year and decade brings new findings. Improving cancer outcomes is complex because cancer is complex.

I told the audience that I am not qualified to speak about breast cancer although I can say that for men, the "nasty" is prostate cancer. The men’s health movement, which is now only starting to build momentum, has much to admire and learn from the dedication and vision of the professional medical women and men involved in Breast Cancer research.

Worldwide, there are more than one million new cases of female breast cancer diagnosed each year. In Australia 13,000 women and 100 men (yes men) will receive a diagnosis of breast cancer. Regrettably, some 2500 women die each year from breast cancer.

We all know someone who has died from breast cancer, including many well known and high profile women (Jane McGrath is a recent case).

Through their public profile, these women shine the light on breast cancer and the continuing need for research.

Every woman, despite fame or not, is someone’s daughter, wife, mother, workmate and friend. As a result of continuing research, there are many more women being saved from breast cancer.