# THE REDGUM HOLLOW GAZETTE **Serving the district since before you were a problem** *Edition 8 — Monday to Thursday inclusive* --- **WEATHER:** Still nothing. The sky is doing its impersonation of a locked door. --- ## MITCHELL BOY: THE STORY COMPLETES ITSELF By now most of you know that Steve-o Mitchell drove out to the Hartley place Tuesday evening, and that by Thursday the word had come back through the CWA — via Sandra Hartley, who chose her words the way you choose clothes for a funeral — that they'd *had a chat with the Mitchell boy about work arrangements.* She did not elaborate. She didn't need to. This town has been elaborating on its own behalf since Wednesday morning. The picture assembling itself — and I print pictures, not verdicts — is this: a young man who is not on the footy team, who went to the pub at an unusual hour for purposes that produced no stock movement, who has been visiting the café by the side door in the evening, who is now apparently in conversation about employment with one of the larger properties in the district. The word *serious* is still travelling. It has not arrived. It is taking its time, as serious things do. What I will say plainly is this: if Steve-o Mitchell is working out what to do next, this town should be paying attention — not to gossip, but to the arithmetic. Who works the Hartley place if Steve-o goes *anywhere?* Nobody has said he's going anywhere. The logic is doing that part without him. --- ## FOOTY: CURRAWONG FLATS, SATURDAY, AT HOME Redgum Hollow has not beaten Currawong Flats at home since 2021. The team sheet went up Wednesday. Several of you have done a headcount and not liked the result. The concern at the footy end of town is specific and live: we are short a forward and the Flats know it. I won't speculate about the team sheet gap. I've already said what I think about that. What I *will* say is that bodies in the stands matter as much as bodies on the field, and the Royal Hotel will need the after-game numbers. Show up. Drink moderately. Drink enough. --- ## CLARRIE BURTON: THE OVERPAYMENT Clarrie came in for lunch Thursday. Off day for him. He had the schnitzel. He left slightly overpaid. Several people have told me this as though I had a code to decrypt it. I don't. What I know is that Clarrie Burton does not do things accidentally, and he does not part with money for no reason. Whether the reason is the schnitzel, the company, or something this town is not yet seeing clearly — that is a question I am content to leave open. *For now.* --- ## RAY CONNELLY: NO REPLY My note to Mr. Connelly at the Henderson place has not been answered. Tash says he'll reply when he's ready. Bruce says he won't reply at all, and has now said so twice, which in Bruce's case constitutes a position paper. I am printing this not to shame the man — he is entitled to his silence — but because the town deserves to know that this newspaper made a professional approach and was met with nothing, and that this newspaper is still watching, and still interested, and still here. --- ## LETTERS TO THE EDITOR **From D. Forsythe, Town Hall:** *Marge — I'd ask that the Gazette refrain from treating the Bicentenary committee's internal planning discussions as 'public events.' We are working very hard and do not need amateur commentary. — D. Forsythe* *Ed. note: No Bicentenary content this edition, Deb. Pre-emptive complaint noted.* **From Anon, via letterbox:** *The sourdough sold out again Friday. This is getting ridiculous. Can someone tell Tash to bake three.* **From B. Aldridge:** *Re the footy — if a certain someone wanted to reconsider, Saturday's not too late. Just saying.* --- ## AROUND THE DISTRICT Both Tuesday sourdough loaves sold before ten. Friday's also gone. The card remains on the counter at the store. Lorraine has said nothing publicly. • Fuel at the servo up again. Plan accordingly. • Still no rain. • Macca restocked something Thursday. Nobody watched closely enough. --- *The Redgum Hollow Gazette. We print. You read. The rest is between you and your conscience.*