We're for recognising our local heroes

On Stan Kellett's 21st birthday in February 1944, he watched the Japanese bomb Darwin instead of celebrating with his friends back home in Bell.

WE'RE FOR YOU: Stan Kellett spent his 21st birthday watching the Japanese bomb Darwin. He's just one local hero whose story the Dalby Herald is committed to sharing. Picture: Meg Gannon

ON STAN Kellett's 21st birthday in February 1944, he watched the Japanese bomb Darwin instead of celebrating with his friends back home in Bell.

He spent his first day as an adult watching a vicious attack on the country he loved.

Now at 96 years old, he is the oldest member of the Bell RSL and has one final wish - to win Powerball.

It's stories like Stan's the team at the Dalby Herald has always been committed to telling.

From our former servicemen and women, to our local volunteers, to our children who go above and beyond to care for those around them, the team at the Herald have always been here to share the stories of our local heroes.

We're here to renew this commitment to you, our readers.

We bring you their stories through features about our dedicated servicemen and women, whom we recognise on Anzac Day and on the centenary of the Bell RSL sub-branch.

We celebrate the lifeblood of our community, our volunteers, in National Volunteers Week and many other weeks of the year.

We thank the original owners of our land in NAIDOC week, and appreciate the women shattering glass ceilings, paving the way for future generations on International Women's Day.

It's what we do best. We do it well.

Many faces have passed through our editorial team since the Herald first took on this commitment to bring the stories of our local heroes to you in 1865.

But our cause remains the same. We're here to tell the stories of kids like 12-year-old Jackson Brown, whose kindness and selflessness towards his school peers earned him a Children of Courage award from the Dalby Lions Club.

We're here to recognise the Somerfield children, Misty-Ann, 12, Asher, 10, and Isobel, 7, who help care for their sister Harriet, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was born.

We're here to thank the likes of Sam Burke and Peter Gaffney, who from the time they could talk knew they wanted to serve our country in the army, and children like Michael Whitby, who was born profoundly deaf, has had cochlear implants from the time he was a baby and is now one of the fastest swimmers in the country.

Because we're not just here to cover council, court, breaking and business news, we want to remind you, our loyal readers, of the amazing people who walk the same streets we do, who are making a difference every day.

We're for the ordinary women, men and children in our town who go about their lives in extraordinary ways.

We're for you.