There is no more prudent investment than spending money on junior sporting facilities.
The University of Tasmania (Thomas, Cruickshank, and Patterson) longitudinal study of Tasmanian primary schools from 2009 to 2019 found that, “…regardless of size, there was a direct correlation between a school’s relative educational advantage and its success in running carnivals. The richer they were, the faster they ran.”
Read MoreLong before a Jack Jumper was a franchise and when teams of the black biting ants were more likely to require an EpiPen than hoops, Launceston's YMCA provided the boards for junior basketball.
Primary school basketball was huge in the 1980s with kids introduced by a small number of teachers who held a love of the game.
Read MoreI felt ashamed.
It was The Examiner's Twitter handle that informed me a car had been stolen. And not just any car. The Northern Suburbs Community Centre car used to assist people to learn how to drive had been pinched - again.
Obviously, feeling ashamed for the behaviour of my fellow humans did not return the car, nor did it solve the problems we collectively face as a society.
And although there must be consequences because criminal behaviour deserves to be punished, gaol time or youth detention will not stop people stealing cars.
Read MoreWhen a young person went missing in Launceston last week, emergency services and the community hastily mobilised to search. There were relatives and friends and acquaintances and those unknown to the family joining the party.
None of us would feel surprised because this is what we do. When someone is in trouble or the chips are down, we come together and help.
Read MoreThere is something very special about our young people.
Living on an island where close knit communities remain the norm, more commonly asserted as everyone knows each other, they share a bond that makes them proudly Tasmanian and fiercely loyal.
They are strong-minded and resolute and clear about democracy and injustice. Gone are the days where compliance is the most admirable quality. Questioning, expressing views, and thinking differently about challenges and issues are admired and highly sought after by employers.
Read MoreThe setting is not a location that we ever thought would feel comfortable.
Mobile houses crammed in with tents and swags and gazebos taking up the remaining space. A community with unspoken rules that you dare not break for threat of eviction.
A sense of privacy created by strategically parking cars and hanging washing on a mobile clothesline. Just enough to shield fellow holidaymakers from any tiffs that inevitably ensue when living close together.
Read MoreMy family has an elaborate faux Christmas tree.
It has not always been that way.
Once upon a time, a popular department store plastic and wire excuse of a tree that adorned our sunroom with a unique lean that had to be leveled with the assistance of a folded sheet of A4 was all we had for Christmas.
There was not enough tinsel across Northern Tasmania to hide its inadequacy.
The tree signified Christmas and that meant so much, but it was half-baked ornamentation at best.
Read MoreBeing the public face of leadership during a significant and ongoing crisis is relentless. Day after day of press conferences answering, or not answering, questions and attempting to share information in an unpredictable environment is tough work.
Due to the tragedy of coronavirus deaths and the loss of businesses and livelihoods, there will be also be a mental health impact across the community.
Mental health is important to all of us. Staying strong during times of challenge or crisis or failure or grief or loss is difficult for the most durable minds. Mental health should not be weaponised,nor hidden or forbidden from conversation.
Read MoreIt must be more than 30 years since I was a customer on Launceston's Cataract Gorge Scenic Chairlift. In fact, we simply referred to the attraction as the Basin chairlift in the late 1980s.
On that occasion my brother and I witnessed a young reveller, who would perhaps now feature on the Facebook page Chit Chat Launceston, attempting to impress his girlfriend by leaping form the chair into the tree rhododendrons close to the arrival point on the Trevallyn side.
The consequence of this stunt was violently swinging chairs for those who followed with a quick exit required to regain composure once the platform was clear.
Read MoreAs I cast an eye across our back deck a couple of Wednesdays ago, it appeared the Easter Bunny had returned to Tasmania with pitter-patter paw prints transforming the boards into a winter wonderland.
On closer inspection the prints were far larger than expected, resembling the heavy footed and rarely sighted Easter hare in gumboots who appeared to have trampled through settled snow.
Read MoreThe dancers, who attend several different primary and high schools around Launceston, come together as the tightest of friends to practise, rehearse, and perform at the highest level possible.
They form a formidable dancing clan: committed, dedicated, tightknit, and full to the brim with kindness and support for one another. And as much as Pearl MacDonald works hard at her own performance, it is her clan that she cares for most.
"Our dance community is encouraging and caring. We support each other to do our best and we make sure no one is left out," she said.
A clan is steeped in Scottish tradition.
Read MoreHis name was not Jacob, but he felt at home on a ladder.
A Jacob's Ladder can be found in several forms across the world. From a pedestrian staircase in Brisbane and a bridge in New Zealand to a scenic path in Scotland and a section of Route 20 in the US.
It is also the name of a 1990 horror film, a three-part pocketknife, and a spiritual song of African American slaves.
The origin of Jacob's Ladder comes from a passage in the King James Version of the Holy Bible from The Book of Genesis: Chapter 28 Verse 12 which states: "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it."
Read MoreShe craves the unpretentiousness of the people and the way they care for each other in good times and bad.
"There's a certain sense of humility. No one cares where you went to school, the car you drive, or how much you earn (probably because they already know...)," she said.
"Nevertheless, it really doesn't matter."
But even though the district remains her calling, Ms Joyce has her reasons to keep distant.
Read MoreMr Ariti is privileged - he can work from his new home. An executive and sought-after corporate emcee and raconteur, his golden tonsils and turn of phrase remain in high demand.
Nonetheless an enforced break with a less hectic lifestyle will "do him good".
Just 18-months ago they took the plunge and invested in the state's booming real estate market finding their diamond far away from the hustle and bustle of the "inner ring of suburbs and big city life".
Read MoreA volunteer found William Callaghan and chatted to him about Diesel. William Callaghan delightfully requested McDonald's.
Five hundred people joined the search. We expect no less. That is who we are, and it was heroic.
For all the heartache and worry, this was a joyous outcome.
Try to help those who are lost. It doesn't always work out. It doesn't always result in a positive outcome. But we will regret not trying.
Whoever you are - don't be a fair-weather friend. Don't be a fair-weather friend no matter the climate of life. Not that I need remind most Australians.
Feeling just momentarily lost is frightening enough.
Read MoreThe 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, said in his second annual message to Congress on December 1, 1862: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country".
Read MoreIt is important to reassure substitute teachers that you are not going to harm your children's life chances. This crisis is like nothing most of us have ever seen. It has interrupted every aspect of our being with many critically ill and thousands of people dying across the world. Therefore, simply spending time with your children, whenever you can, is non-negotiable.
Read MoreThe chairs were assembled long before the meeting was scheduled to begin. The Chairperson, the son of a dour no-nonsense Scotsman and a gentle English lady, sat waiting for other members to arrive. It was a Sunday in March and he felt unaccustomed being in a school setting even though he astutely guides the Scotch Oakburn College Board.
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a common theme in the way we go about our business - the inbuilt desire we all have for relationships with one another. BRIAN WIGHTMAN tells the stories of three Tasmanians adapting their styles.
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has already cost local jobs. There are businesses under extreme pressure and there will be more of our friends and colleagues who lose employment as a result.
For others, there has been instruction to work from home to "flatten the curve".
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