We're bursting at the seams and need more room to expand but Cabonne ratepayers protested vigorously and even threatened 'civil disobedience' had amalgamation gone ahead.

However, there's nothing stopping a boundary change for Orange to grow on its edges to take in places now in Cabonne like Nashdale, Borenore, Ophir and Mt Canobolas, which you can argue are rightfully ours.

Lucknow and Spring Hill sit on Cabonne's boundary while Millthorpe is in Blayney Shire so we're really squeezed.

The minister could be asked to refer a boundary extension to the Local Government Boundaries Commission which is an independent statutory authority that looks at changes to local government areas.

The commission now has public hearings on its books into the de-merger proposals affecting Snowy Valleys Council and Cootamundra Gundagai Regional Council.

Cabonne Shire in the past hasn't held back criticism of Orange and some of it has been so out-of-order it's probably time to put up toll gates on Forbes, Cargo, Molong and Mullion Creek roads and impose a charge on shire residents who come into Orange to use our facilities, which they get for free. Zilch. Zero.

In one instance a former mayor and his deputy accused Orange of leaving erosion and noxious weeds after building the Macquarie pipeline with comments like 'northern distributor a mess, Wade Park a mess, the pool a mess...'

Well OK. If our facilities are a mess, Cabonne shouldn't bother using the library and civic theatre, not to mention our hospital and medical and professionals, sporting fields and shopping centre.

Cabonne can count itself lucky to surround the best country city in the State and should support our future development by supporting a boundary change.

Ted the baby wombat that's taken over Queanbeyan Police Station brings back memories of a wombat called Samantha owned by Yeoval farmer Virginia Wykes that went on an 18km walkabout.

Ted was found on the side of the road after his mother was hit by a car and is being looked after by Senior Constable Tori Murray who set up a cosy nook under his desk.

Virginia Wykes had hand-reared her wombat after her mother was also run over by a car but one night she wandered away, crossed a heavily timbered mountain range and wandered through an open door into the kitchen of a homestead 18km away owned by artist Dr Eris Fleming.

Sam was pretty hungry after her marathon four-day trek so got into a cupboard, devoured a packet of muesli breakfast cereal, attacked a bag of nuts and then retired under the veranda for a well-earned kip.

All efforts to coax her out failed, so rescuers had to rip up the floor to get her out.

One of them phoned Mrs Wykes to ask what to feed a wombat and she knew they had Sam so went to pick her up, not game to tell Dr Fleming she owned her until five years later.

Wife to neighbour: "Yesterday my husband thought he saw a cockroach in the kitchen. He sprayed everything and thoroughly cleaned it out. Today I'm putting a cockroach in the bathroom..."