YOUR SAY: Border Mail letters to the editor

Most important is that people understand that it was a small group of Lavington people who were responsible for the formation of the now defunct Lavington Sports Club which created and promoted the ground which has hosted many of the most significant sporting events for the benefit of Albury-Wodonga and this region.

The two most significant initial contributors were Mr Colin Donnelley and Mr Roy Collins whose foresight and tireless work led a dedicated group towards their vision of creating a facility of national standard capable of hosting state and national events.

Personally I believe these two Lavington men should be recognised in their own right at the ground but certainly Lavington must be retained in the name as a measure of respect to those families who were responsible for creating this community asset which has been enjoyed by many locals and visitors since the early 1970s.

I haven't read the list of successful sports grants applicants but I wonder if some of them were in a similar situation to our request for funds some years ago.

We urgently needed money to extend our Museum to house the famous "Simpson War Rug". The answer we got was that we were too small to handle such an important item, and "just send it to Canberra" to be displayed. Mr Simpson was adamant that his rug was to stay locally, so we dug in and pushed for some years until finally the money was forthcoming. I'm wondering if many of the successful applications for "sports grants" were in a similar position.

The thinking of some government officials would be to favour larger towns or organisations over smaller towns - the thinking being that many more people will benefit.

A small town in Queensland (population about 350) received a grant of $2 million for their Museum. Having visited it recently and seen how nearly all tourists and buses stop, it really shows how small towns get huge value from grants of this kind. Before this they said the town was dying.

Bridget McKenzie may have had this in mind if she went against the recommendations of government officials. If you have never lived in a small town, you would have no idea how beneficial government grants can be. I think the vitriol shown to Senator McKenzie is disgraceful and certainly in part, politically motivated.

I can't believe that the Albury City Council would want to change the name of the Lavington Sports Oval. Let's not forget the Lavington Sports Carnival ran from 1973 to 1989 and was the richest sports carnival in the world. Nobody objected to the name of Lavington then. Many sportsmen and women past and present have been proud to represent Lavington and enjoyed its status in the sporting arena. Lavington should be given the respect it deserves.