Strawberry sabotage, council chaos, the aged care crisis, drought, break-ins, assaults and car chases.
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Is there anything good happening in Maitland anymore?
Yesterday there was, and it all had to do with a former swim champ, a Maitland councillor and the season opening of Maitland’s two swimming pools.
Sure it wasn’t a big breaking news splash but we felt compelled to acknowledge it.
The bottom line was – it was a feel good story, something that brought a smile to our faces, gave us a chuckle – a bit of escapism from all that is wrong in this world. It let us know that in these crazy mixed up times, we should still have a little faith in humanity.
Enter long time Maitland councillor Henry Meskauskas.
Champion of feral shopping trolleys, Neighbourhood Watch, Maitland RSL-Sub Branch, local swimming pools and kerbside waste collection.
The Merc needed a model to do something a little bit left of field for our pool season opener story. He obliged. No questions asked. Did not bat an eyelid despite some cussing in the background from wife Carolina.
On a bitterly cold and wet morning in Maitland Park, Cr Meskauskas got his kit off (well most of it) squeezed into a fluro kiddies Finding Nemo swim cap (complete with dorsal fin) and matching goggles, grabbed a kick board and stood under a bucket that dumped hundreds of litres of freezing water over him all in the name of promoting a cause close to his heart – Maitland Aquatic Centre.
We can probably concede to sitting back and criticising our councillors for what they have or haven’t done for the city, for what they have said or haven’t said in the council chamber.
But we must also concede there are many who do good.
That good may come in small packages. It may not be earth shattering or breaking front page news but it is a token for each and everyone of us.
What Cr Meskauskas did this week had no semblance of political gain or no semblance of a local politician looking to score brownie points for their party.
It was the kid from Lorn who said his greatest accolade was holding the national title in 1962 for 100 metres butterfly. The same kid who almost half a century later joined the crusade for a year-round swimming pool for Maitland and won.
