Carnarvon Pistol Association

Received this email earlier today:

Hello fellow shooters and shooting supporters!

For those of you that aren't aware, Carnarvon (a small country town ten hours drive north of Perth, the capital of Western Australia) was hit by severe flooding on the 19th of December 2010. Luckily the floods did not affect the majority of the town site but the waters flowed right through some of the outlying areas, including our pistol club.

As you can see by the attached photos, our club is all but ruined. We are a strong local club with 60 active members and we compete (IPSC) every Saturday for eleven months of the year. However it is unlikely we will be able to compete now for some time. We had five ranges, now none are safe to use. We had a great clubhouse with kitchen and seating area for up to 70 people, now this has been covered in water (initially flowing, but later just stagnant) up to mid-thigh.

Not only did the water come through quickly and with force, it also pooled in our ranges like it has never done before and is still there presently. The water as it recedes leaves behind a thick coating of mud and debris. Carnarvon is a horticultural town and some of its main industry is growing fruit and vegetables and also raising livestock on the outlying areas. As the river was so large and unexpected it swept through many homes, sheds and paddocks in outer areas resulting in the flood water becoming contaminated with chemicals, petrol and dead animals.

It is going to take many hands on deck, machinery and funding to move forward with the massive, unpleasant clean-up operation, reconstruction of ranges, stripping of the clubhouse, regrading of the road and reconstruction of shade and safety areas.

The recovery part of this operation must now begin!

Part of this is getting the message out there to all of you, please feel free to distribute this message as you see fit.

If you can provide us any assistance, (and any and all is welcome!) - please contact us [redacted].

Description of attached photos:
IMG_0725 - A range that normally is large enough to run three separate competitions, almost 2m deep in water. We have a train that runs along tracks down an incline to serve as one of our shooting props, you can just make out the top of the green train.


IMG_0694 - The safety area of one range, the dividing range wall and shaded area for spectators


IMG_ 0641 - The road to Carnarvon Pistol Association - the gate is next to the large tree you can see in the middle of the photo


IMG_699 - Drums filled with sand to form the dividing wall of our 100m range


IMG_ 682 - A member wading out to survey the damage, note the sign welcoming you to Carnarvon Pistol Association


IMG_727 - One of our storage containers - it has floated to a new position and targets and range construction materials inside are ruined.


Kind regards,

Jesie [Redacted]
CPA Secretary
[Redacted]

If anyone can help in any way and want contact details, please leave me a note in comments or email me - see profile.

Thanks

Let's take a vote - "Was alcohol involved?"

From today's news:

Fox shoots and injures hunter with own gun before escaping in Belarus


A FOX has turned the table on a hunter in Belarus, shooting him with his own gun before making his escape.

The animal pulled the trigger of the man's gun with its paw, wounding him in the leg.

The unnamed 40-year-old hunter was trying to kill the fox with the butt of his gun after first shooting it from a distance.

Friends took the man to hospital while the [fox] escaped and hasn't been seen since.

"The animal fiercely resisted and in the struggle pulled the trigger with its paw," said a police officer from the Grodno region of Belarus.

Fox hunting is popular in the region and foxes are not protected because they transmit rabies.

"I have never heard of anything like this before," an official said.

"The hunter couldn't believe it either. He was in shock."

Media reports indicate police are still investigating the incident.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky/fox-shoots-and-injures-hunter-escapes/story-e6frflri-1225990166308#ixzz1BM6s3oEF

Must See for Kids - Consolidated

I've gone through the comments on my "What movies do you recommend for my girls?" post from the other day and have enough to keep them and me busy for awhile.

Movie Recommendations

Paint Your Wagon
The Black Hole (12+?)
Oklahoma
The Shootist
Silent Running
The Final Countdown
Hawk The Slayer
Original Star Wars Trilogy
Tron (original)
Quigley Down Under
Flight of the Navigator
White Fang
The Princess Bride
The Never Ending Story
War Games
Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan
Willow
The Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
Back to the Future
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Hallelujah Trail
Pete's Dragon
The Ugly Dachshund
The Boatniks
Trinity is Still My Name
Snowball Express
Midnight Madness
Scavenger Hunt
Condorman
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
Swiss Family Robinson
No Deposit, No Return
Candleshoe
Dragonslayer
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
The Journey of Natty Gann
The Man From Snowy River
Return to Snowy River
The Cowboys
McClintock
Rio Bravo
El Dorado
Big Jake
Fortress(?)
The Watcher in the Woods(?)
My Name is Nobody

Let me know in comments if I missed any.

I got "The Never Ending Story" and "Paint your Wagon" out of the DVD library for them yesterday so it will be interesting to see what they think of them.

I also got one called "Artic Life" ("OMG-all-the-polar-bears-are-going-to-die" type). It had some lovely shots of polar bears and other artic critters in it. The girls seemed to enjoy it. (We watched this first as it was a short movie and it was nearly their bedtime).

More Floods and Animals

Had to blog this picture:



Apparently the house's owner doesn't know who owns the cow. Not sure how they're going to get it down either.

The floods ...

I think images of the flood, by now, have been seen around the world. Some of the most fascinating ones I've seen are the ones of animals.

Here is a collection of "Animals in the Floods" that I have come across over the last couple of days. (Sorry I've not kept source / attribute information):












This one isn't an animal pic - but really shows the "Australian Spirit" ...

The Price of Freedom

was summed up by the father of the 9y.o. girl tragically killed by the shooter in Arizona last Saturday.

This shouldn't happen in this country, or anywhere else, but in a free society we're going to be subject to people like this. I prefer this to the alternative.
- John Green, father of 9 year old Christina Green

Full clip and story here.

Worth remembering and repeating.

(H/t Smallest Minority)

Floods in QLD and NSW

Thoughts and prayers go out to all those affecting by the rain and flooding on the East Coast.

Toowoomba was devastated yesterday by a flash flood:



(More pictures at http://www.news.com.au/pictures/gallery-e6frflv9-1225985209684)

Today, Brisbane is being affected by the floods, with the Brisbane River breaking its banks. The river is not expected to peak until Thursday.

The last time Brisbane suffered such a devastating flood was in 1974, after which the Wivenhoe dam was built to protect the city. However, the dam (according the news last night) is already 40% over capacity so they are releasing water from it which is then flowing downstream to Brisbane.

Further north, Cairns is on flash flood alert as a severe thunderstorm is moving through the area.

The company I work for has a number of manufacturing plants and distribution centres in Queensland. These have all been closed due to the floods. Thankfully all staff are safe.

Please keep those in the flood areas in your prayers.

[UPDATE] 75% of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone

(http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief/disaster-zone-now-spans-75pc-of-state/story-fn7ik2te-1225985785232).

[/UPDATE]

(Updates on the floods can be found here http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief/flood-info-centre-updates-reports-warnings-advice-and-how-you-can-help/story-fn7ik2te-1225985436806)