Wonder dog Odie the hero of Deloraine fire rescue

A PET Jack Russell has saved a Deloraine woman and her 11-year-old son from a fire that destroyed their apartment early yesterday morning. The frightened but unhurt owner, Trish Greaves, then returned the favour after the pup became lost in the smoke. Ms Greaves and her son Zack Upston were woken by their new two-year-old dog, Odie, about 3.30am to find the first-floor apartment filled with smoke and the shop below well alight. The rented apartment was not fitted with smoke alarms and the sleeping occupants were already engulfed in smoke when Odie woke them. "I am kicking myself about that now, we could have died in there," Ms Greaves said. As the floor below burned, the frightened dog went into Ms Greaves bedroom and woke her by barking and jumping on the bed. "The way she was carrying on made me realise she was really trying to wake me up, she jumped literally on my face and was really screaming at me," Ms Greaves said. "It took me a while to realise what was going on, I was half- dazed by the smoke."

An investigation yesterday revealed the blaze, which caused about $750,000 damage, started in the wall cavity at the rear of the The Flashing Chook take-away shop, and spread to the single entry apartment above. "It is a good thing Odie woke me when she did because otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get out the door, we would have had to get out the window which is quite high," Ms Greaves said. Two-year-old, Odie, was given to Ms Greaves just four days ago and she said she already owed the little dog her life and had a chance to return the favour. "When the man from the bakery next door was leading me out of the building I realised Odie was not there, she had gone back inside," Ms Greaves said. "The guy said to me just leave her and get myself out – I said `no way mate, she just saved my life’."

Ms Greaves ran back into her bedroom to retrieve the dog. Observing the blackened building later yesterday morning, Zack said he couldn’t believe their home was gone as well as the shop below.

"But it is pretty amazing, we would be dead if it wasn’t for Odie, she is a hero."  The fire was believed to have been caused by a faulty electrical conductor in the shop.

Santa’s Post Office Opens in Germany

This message is to all the boys and girls of the world informing you that Santa’s (Weihnachtsmann in German) post office in Himmelfort, Germany is open to receive your holiday wishes. That means you can mail your letters to Santa about 6 weeks sooner than last year. Santa knows you’ve been good and wants to make sure he and his helpers receive your wish list early. The Deutsche Post (Germany’s postal service) organizes eight post offices across Germany employing people to answer all letters a child sends. This year they plan to receive over 250,000 letters from over 80 countries. Santa and his helpers are multi-lingual, speaking around 15 languages between them. In the beautiful town of Himmelpfort (heaven’s gate) north of Berlin, you can drop off your letter and visit Santa in person Tuesdays until Thursdays until Christmas Eve. In 1984, two childred from Berlin an dSaxony sent their wish lists to the German state of Brandenburg after spending vacation there. Their letters were answered by postal employees and later Himmelpfort increased it’s helpers to meet the needs of increased mail traffic. To moms and dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and caretakers of children, rest assured that sustainability is on the mind of Santa and his crew. He will use an eco-friendly powered vehicle to collect the thousands of letters he receives every year from young boys and girls. Don’t worry, even though the economic situation is grim, Rudolph and the remaining reindeer won’t be made redundant Santa does not currently have an email, Twitter or a Facebook account, at least that we know of. He believes in old-fashioned communication so get out your pad of paper and write your wish list. Just make sure your letter is legible so you can receive an official response, send your letters to:

Santa (Weihnachtsmann)
Christmas Post Office (Weihnachtspostfiliale)
Himmelpfort, Germany 16798

Australian Families Offering Hospitality to Indian Students

The Australian government has announced a national initiative – Home for Dinner: Australian families offering hospitality to Indian students – that will provide a positive experience for Indian students studying and living in Australia and strengthen community engagement with international students. Rotary, through its districts and clubs in Australia have agreed to implement the initiative through an Australia-India Rotary Club Friendship Program. The program will see Indian students and community members offered the opportunity to establish positive links through shared informal dinners and barbeques hosted by Rotary members in their local area.

Rotary will have their club members invite an international student living in their area around for dinner. The program will be facilitated by partnerships with Indian student groups and Rotary.  John Lawrence, Rotary International Director from Brisbane said this was a positive initiative and it had the full endorsement of Rotary, which has a proud history of welcoming and hosting young people from all over the world.

Globally every year 12,000 young people travel on Rotary student exchanges to experience another culture. This move is in line with one of Rotary’s objectives of building goodwill and promoting world peace. Australia welcomed over 400,000 international students last year from more than 190 countries last year. These students make a real contribution to Australia’s multicultural diversity, the academic life of our institutions and people-to-people linkages across the world.

Students have made it clear – through the International Students Roundtable hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister in September, as well as through other forums – their sense of belonging within the community is vital to their social and educational experiences in Australia. The Home for Dinner initiative is a simple idea which will put students in touch with their neighbours and local community, and will help build a shared sense of understanding and appreciation between international students and the Australian community.