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Hopefully, you might get some quiet time on Sunday to enjoy some handpicked content from across the ACM network. From George Wilson the dog making end-of-life connections with humans to the quiet volunteer force helping fire-hit communities and the ties that bind in small, northern NSW township, let our reporters expand your Sunday.
THE LAND: Why a hall built in 1914 matters in the 21st century
Burren Junction School of Arts Hall is the town's beating heart, a building that once symbolised hope and prosperity. So when it was condemned in 2014 a group of the town's volunteers rallied to keep its doors open. There have been challenges, mighty challenges. Reporter Samantha Townsend explains how deeply this hall connects the community. READ ON
ILLAWARRA MERCURY: Deaf bulldog George Wilson brings joy to palliative care ward
When Jai Wilson's dad lost his battle with cancer, she bought a puppy to help her with her grief, and named him in her father's honour. Three years on George Wilson, the English bulldog, comforts others grappling with heartache and anguish during his weekly visits to Port Kembla Hospital's palliative care ward, south of Wollongong. Reporter Lisa Wachsmuth and photographer Adam McLean walked the corridors with the 42kg pupper. READ ON
BALLARAT COURIER: Who would believe a kid in a psych ward?
Hope was a fragile and vulnerable 13-year-old girl receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital at the time she was abused.She was in treatment for a substance abuse problem, which stemmed from a previous sexual assault committed by school peers when she was 12, when she met her abuser, a high-profile identity who was not affiliated with the Catholic Church. READ ON
BELLINGEN COURIER-SUN: BlazeAid digs in for fire-hit communities
The coordinator of the BlazeAid camp at Ebor on the NSW Northern Tablelands, Tony Samuel, has been at home with his wife for only seven days of the last seven months. Like several of the grey nomads who've signed up to rebuild fences damaged by the Bees Nest fire, Tony came to Ebor straight from spending five months at the Inverell BlazeAid camp 200km north-west, which began soon after devastating fires hit Tingha nearby. Janene Carey meet BlazeAid volunteers helping out. READ ON
NEWCASTLE HERALD: Escaping the city to the fly fisher's paradise in the wild heart of the Hunter
On the surface, the water looks alive with fish. Rings of promise ripple out across the dam in the late afternoon light. Yet Barry Brown seems unmoved - and so is the fly rod he is holding.
"That's a platypus," he says. Scanning the surface, I can see there are quite a few platypuses about. It is a wondrous sight.
But it is trout that Barry Brown is seeking. As he stares at the water, he offers an aphorism: "There are some fish you're just not meant to lose, and some fish you're not meant to catch." READ ON
THE ADVOCATE: The former Greens MP now blending business with activism
Former Greens MP Paul 'Basil' O'Halloran is still optimistic about the future - so much so that he's reinvented himself as an entrepreneur. The onetime educator and environmental campaigner is about to move into what he terms a niche in the tourism market with a new company called Rare Earth Tasmania. READ ON
Enjoy Sunday.
