Burdekin council tackles cancer

Shire Mayor Bill Lowis said the fountain, at the intersection of Queen and Edward Streets, would be coloured gold at an official function tonight at 6.30pm as part of the Burdekin Water Festival celebrations.

“September is the month to colour the world gold in an effort to raise awareness of childhood cancer and we will leave our fountain coloured gold for the rest of the month,” he said.

“We had a letter and a visit from a young Rita Island girl Keely Johnson asking for our support during this month and the Council is only too pleased to help.

“Fourteen-year-old Keely has a brain tumour which has affected her growth and she has started a campaign to raise awareness of childhood cancers in an effort to get more funding for research and treatment.”

Cr Lowis said the campaign was aimed at finding a cure for this terrible disease.

“Cancer is the leading cause of death of children and there are about 15,000 Australian children living with cancer today,” he said.

“It is heartbreaking to think that about 40 per cent of children diagnosed with cancer will die from the disease.

“What we are doing is a small gesture, but we hope that by doing this we will help make the community more aware of the cancers that affect children and that may save a child’s life.”