It read, looked and felt as good as any paper published in a capital city. Its quality was reflected in its long domination of the Meacham  Awards and more recently, PANPA.

As a former employee, the Border Mail and its quality was a source of pride.

I am shocked by its new look which more resembles a regional weekly gossip sheet than a serious newspaper.

In the great overhaul of Fairfax Media’s regional dailies, why did they opt for the lowest common denominator and not strive to lift all the papers to match the best, The Border Mail.

It is only a matter of typefaces but it makes all the difference.

People reaching to pick up the most eye-catching tabloid on the newsstands would pick up The Border Mail.

Now it looks B-grade, lost among other regional newspapers put together on a shoestring budget. The quality might still be there but if no one opens it, who will know?

I READ J Carrodus letter,(Green bins an absolute joke, The Border Mail, July 14) and I totally agree.

We are only three weeks into this foolish system in Wodonga and I am already starting to get backed up with bags of rubbish with nowhere to put it while the green lid bin has three tiny bags of food scraps.

One has to ask are the councils trying to promote the dumping of rubbish with the halving of our services.

Perhaps the council could employ their poster girl Julie Goodwin to pick up everyone's bags of rubbish that won't fit each fortnight ,in a council truck.

JUST when we think that nothing else can go wrong with the North East railway debacle, we now have race track drivers in control.

We have all witnessed the disgraceful track work that has been carried out, the dreadful condition of rolling stock, mud holes that cannot be repaired, and the list goes on and on. 

Railway control people along with our various levels of politicians should hang their heads in shame.

We are told somewhere up towards $2 billion dollars has been spent, and look at the pathetic service. This is nothing more than a joke. Are the hierarchy waiting for a major tragedy to occur?

At the risk of sounding painfully obvious there does seem to be a national distrust of politicians in general.

There always has been but now it's so bad that the two major parties seem to have no decent beliefs. Voters are turning to Independents and minor parties much to the frustration of the two major parties. What will happen when the older supporters of the two major parties die?

The LNP and Labor will end up with nothing to stand for, but they will be standing against an army of disbelievers in their doctrine.

They are losing their power, living in the past and groping for a future without seeming to care not one shred for their future generations. They will have this legacy around their necks for generations, surely they should realise that now?