David Klemmer deserved a fonder farewell from Newcastle Knights

I hope the club gives him some sort of decent send-off, because I for one would have liked to see him stay. If the whole playing group had his sort of passion I am sure the 2022 season for the Knights would have been a different story. All the best to you David, and the family. You will be missed.

WELL the Knights have done it again. They have swapped one of their best players in David Klemmer for a halfback in Jackson Hastings from West Tigers. I believe David Klemmer is paying the price when he was briefly stood down following a run-in with former trainer Hayden Knowles towards the end of last season.

In the end and after an investigation, Knowles later ended up leaving the club. The Knights will never succeed if they continue to give up their better players. You only have to look at the players that they have let go that have gone to other NRL clubs and have succeeded at that club's top level. If I was a Knights member, I personally would be objecting to what the club has done and seeking interest from other NRL clubs to see if they are looking for a straight swap of some decision makers or coaches. Maybe the two players in the squad that in my opinion bleed Maroon and not blue and red could also be traded to other NRL clubs.

THE Van Gogh exhibition was brilliant but why, oh why was it held here ('Park blocked for repair', Newcastle Herald 17/11)? The same applies to the wretched car races which will also chew up our East End turf and keep us out for weeks on end. Am I alone in hating the huge car park along the front here, used predominantly by office workers, now that multi-storey car parks are a thing of the past? The same comments apply to our beautiful King Edward Park, uglified by weekday commuter parking. Does our council have a soul or is it simply about the money? It's about time that it addressed commuter access and parking. Simple solution: bump up parking charges for anything other than short stay and make them apply to all of King Edward Park. Set up a necklace of park-and-ride sites with cheap and regular bus access. It works elsewhere and would be far quicker and cheaper to establish than any possible and very limited extension to the busway. It would also improve city air quality. A walk along inner city Hunter or King Street can be choking and is presumably no fun for the increasing number of apartment residents.

FOLLOWING on from a record number of drowning deaths in the past year, Royal Life Saving Society - Australia is urging all parents and carers in your area to always 'Keep Watch' around the water.

Our latest research reveals 549 children aged 0 to 4 have died from drowning in Australia in the past 20 years. Forty per cent were aged just one year old. This clearly reveals there needs to be much more action on supervising young children around water - which is why we urge everybody to 'Keep Watch' through an awareness campaign.

The drowning risk for young children peaks in summer; 38 percent of all drowning deaths take place between December and February. More than half of all deaths occurred in swimming pools, making pools the leading location for drowning among young children. Drowning in young children is often quick and silent. Everyday distractions like answering the front door, checking on dinner in the oven or answering a text message can divert someone's attention away from the crucial task of supervision. This can then enable a child to enter the pool area unaccompanied. Active supervision means giving your full attention - and avoiding distractions. It is important that you check your pool fence and gate. Pool gates should never be propped open for any reason.

The 2022 Keep Watch campaign urges parents and caregivers to actively supervise children around water, restrict children's access to water, teach children water safety skills and for adults to learn how to respond to an emergency.

RENOVATING is exciting, it's fun and rewarding but, it can also be lethal if property owners aren't aware of the potentially deadly asbestos-containing materials that lurk in one in every three Australian homes.

Every year around 4000 Australians die from asbestos-related diseases (more than double the national road toll) because people don't know how to manage asbestos safely while others continue to ignore the warnings. With experts predicting deaths from asbestos will continue to rise; it's vital that homeowners start to respect the dangers of asbestos and learn what to look for and what to do to manage it safely.

Asbestos was used extensively in more than 3000 building and decorator products that can still be found in any brick, fibro, weatherboard, clad homes, apartments or sheds built or renovated before 1990. Many of these products could be lurking under floor coverings including carpets, linoleum and vinyl tiles, behind wall and floor tiles, in cement floors, internal and external walls, ceilings and ceiling space (insulation), eaves, roofs, around hot water pipes, fences, home extensions, garages, outdoor toilets, backyard and farm structures, chook sheds and dog kennels. It was used everywhere.

While these materials are not considered dangerous if undisturbed and in a stable, sealed condition; if disturbed during maintenance, renovation or demolition and invisible asbestos fibres are released into the air and can be inhaled, this can lead to asbestos-related diseases including malignant mesothelioma. There is no cure for this preventable cancer with the average survival time after diagnosis just 10 to 12 months.

So, if you're a homeowner or a passionate renovator and you don't respect asbestos, you could be risking your life and the lives of your loved ones. Before taking up tools on any home built or renovated before 1990, learn the sorts of products to look for and how to manage asbestos safely. The rule is, if you think a product may contain asbestos, treat it as if it is asbestos and take all the necessary precautions starting with having the home inspected by an occupational hygienist or a licensed asbestos assessor. If asbestos is confirmed we recommend that you only use a licenced asbestos removalist.

As a professional renovator and someone who lost their grandfather to an asbestos-related disease, I know personally the importance of respecting the ever-present danger of asbestos. It's not worth the risk.

I AM sitting with my wife at the John Hunter watching the overworked and underpaid nurses working. I remember the Liberals spending hundreds of millions building football stadiums a while back so they could sit in the VIP area. Talk about a joke. Bring on March.

THE CBD live music noise debate seems to be going on "Adz nauseam". I agree with Warren Dean (Letters 18/11); the problem is not so much the noise as long as it shuts down at a reasonable hour, it is more the anti-social behaviour. Why should we "blow-ins" constantly have to put up with shouting, screaming patrons leaving venues, half-drunk beer bottles, fast food wrappers and vomit on our apartment steps?

THE one thing that nobody can deny, Michael Gormly, is that climate change activists are all experts on hot air.

LAST week I was talking to a friend who happened to be in Newcastle on business. He commented on how traffic in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie had become worse, particularly during peak periods.. Another friend from Sydney made a similar comment a couple of months ago. Last week I received correspondence from the Parliamentary Secretary for Transport which painted a rosy picture for Newcastle and its transport. What worried me was that it was suggested that we may not see extensions to the light rail for another 10 years or so. We need improvements to public transport now. If the present arrangements aren't improved the situation will become a lot worse, particularly once residential developments in the city are complete and occupied. It's clear to me that when the plans for revitalising the city were put forward, little thought was put into how people, particularly in large numbers would be able to go into and out of the city, especially during peak periods. The powers that be need to wake up to the fact that closing the railway, putting the light rail in Hunter Street and privatising the buses has made traffic problems worse and we can't afford to wait for traffic to degenerate into total gridlock.

WELL said Steven Busch (Short Takes 18/11). Absolutely spot-on, we should be looking at why these kids end up in detention. The absence of education is a good place to start. If these kids were better educated they would make better decisions, knowing right from wrong and the consequences associated with law breaking. We need to build local schools and ensure they are appropriately staffed. Give these kids a fair start in life. Kids also have a way of educating their parents about the things they learn at school.

DON'T worry about paedophile priests, Maureen O'Sullivan Davidson, (Short Takes, 17/11). They neither believe in God nor expect retribution. Both Christ and Muhammad are in tears, begging God to forgive them for what people do in their names. Get rid of religion if you must, but don't doubt the wrath of God.