WANDONG’S Three Brushes Studio will this Sunday host an art exhibition, showing off more than 140 artworks created by its students.
The studio’s first art show last year featured about 100 works made mostly by children, however student numbers having since grown to more than 120 children and 20 adults.
This year will feature two new categories: the people’s choice award, giving visitors the opportunity to vote on their favourite pieces from the exhibition; and the all-abilities section.
Three Brushes owner and teacher Sharon Delaney said the show had grown from last year, with more community groups involved and students returning in higher age groups.
“We’ve had help from Kilmore Art Society who has provided prize packs for budding artists who need help with supplies, and Officeworks have also provided art packs as prizes,” she said.
“It just shows how therapeutic art can be and how important it is for people, especially kids, to be involved in art.”
This year’s exhibition will include a barbecue by the Wandong-Heathcote Junction community group, with tea and coffee also available for visitors.
Judges for this year include Kilmore Art Society member Cheryl Eve, Wandong Primary School teacher Robyn Beer and artist Helen Syngaris.
The exhibition will be from 10am to 2pm on Sunday, at the Wandong Hall, at the corner of Rail Street and Wandong Avenue. Entry is free.
For more information on the studio and the exhibition, people can call Ms Delaney on 0409 131 663.
FIRE danger ratings in Victoria have changed, bringing them in line with the Australian Fire Danger Rating System now current across every state and territory in the country.
Fire danger ratings provide information on the likelihood of a fire so people can take action to protect themselves and others.
The higher the rating, the more dangerous fire conditions are and the more difficult fires are to stop if they begin.
The new system came after one of Australia’s largest community surveys found a majority of Australians did not understand the previous fire danger rating system.
Victorian emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp said the new fire danger ratings system was based on community feedback.
The new system includes four colour-coded levels and plain language that provides clear advice on what action communities need to take at each level.
Mr Crisp said the new system was based on modern technology and research that improved emergency services’ ability to accurately predict fire behaviour and potential community threats. He said the previous system was more than 60 years old.
“The new fire danger rating system means that no matter where you live in Victoria or Australia, the same system will be in place. This is particularly important for our border communities and travellers,” he said.
Under the new system, emergency services can provide more specific advice to local communities so they can make more informed decisions about their own safety.
As part of the changeover to the new system, all fire danger rating signs across Victoria will be covered by a sticker promoting the new four-rating system while emergency services roll out replacement signs, which will be installed from this month.
Country Fire Authority, CFA, chief officer Jason Heffernan said the objective was for Victorians to better understand what actions to take at each fire danger level.
“That’s why this new system will be reduced to just four simple ratings and use clear recommendations for how to protect yourself according to your bushfire risk,” he said.
“The new system will measure local fire danger using improved science and a wider range of fire behaviour models to better represent the variety of Australian vegetation.”
People can access up-to-date fire danger ratings and other emergency information on the VicEmergency website emergency.vic.gov.au and the VicEmergency app.
WHITTLESEA U3A will participate in R U OK Day on Thursday, hosting a range of activities to promote social interaction and community connections.
Set to be hosted in Epping, the day will feature tennis, tai chi, golf and walking football, a variant of soccer aimed at promoting social connections rather than competition, while keeping participants healthy and active.
The R U OK Day activities have been organised through a collaboration between Whittlesea U3A, YMCA Leisure City in Epping, City of Whittlesea council and DPV Health, and information tables from all contributing groups will be available throughout the day.
Walking football program leader Mick Trim said the sport was not only good for physical health, but also the mental health of participants.
“It’s been found that walking football helps with mental health, so we thought it’d be a good idea to link it with R U OK Day because it all ties together,” he said.
“Holding R U OK Day activities has sort of grown from an idea to showcase the mental health benefits of walking football and get more people involved.”
Walking football originated in the United Kingdom as a version of soccer with no running and no contact, aimed at encouraging people to get out and be active while avoiding isolation and strengthening social connections with like-minded people.
Whittlesea U3A currently has about 40 people participating in weekly walking football sessions, with the activity aimed at all people aged over 50 regardless of ability, gender, or background.
“We’ve seen that some senior citizens are scared to come out of their homes because of COVID, so a big part of it is getting them out again so they can socialise and make sure they don’t feel isolated,” Mr Trim said.
“Holding R U OK Day activities is about creating awareness of mental health, reminding people they can ask people how they’re going and also teaching people how to ask someone who they think is struggling.”
Thursday will be the first time Whittlesea U3A has hosted R U OK Day activities and, while activities will be aimed at senior citizens, the day is open for everyone and will be an opportunity to learn about the different community organisations present.
The program for the day will feature tennis at 9am, ladies and men’s walking football at 9.30am and 11am respectively, and tai chi at 11.15am.
A golf putting mat will be available all day, with physiotherapists also present to provide information about body strength and fitness and teach simple exercises.
Whittlesea U3A’s R U OK Day activities will be from 9am to 1pm at YMCA Leisure City, located at 41-53 Miller Street in Epping.
For more information on walking football at Whittlesea U3A and the R U OK Day activities, people can email mick_trim1@hotmail.com.
Emergency services leaders converged on Seymour last week as part of a wide-scale training exercise simulating a natural disaster.
Representatives from the Country Fire Authority, CFA, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, Victoria State Emergency Service, SES, the Australian Defence Force and others participated in the joint training exercise that simulated a bushfire in the vicinity of Tooborac and Pyalong.
During the mock emergency, authorities decided to issue a shelter in place warning for the Tooborac community and leave now warnings for the Kilmore, Broadford and Pyalong areas.
The training exercise aimed to prepare emergency services for what could be busy flood and bushfire seasons in spring and summer.
CFA assistant chief fire officer Paul King said it was the first of two inter-agency training exercises planned for this year.
“All of those agencies get an opportunity to practice the things they need to do to keep the community safe during the peak summer period,” he said.
“We’ve got the police planning for the evacuation of those towns, we’ve got the fire agencies all working together to try to control the fire and stop the forward spread, we’ve got the relief agencies making sure the people in the local community are well looked after, the road agencies making sure we can close roads off and keep people safe, but just as importantly reopen them in a timely way so the community can get back to normal.
“We’ve had a couple of quieter fire seasons over the last couple of years, so exercising is a really important way to revisit those skills, rebuild the networks and get to know the agencies we all work with.”
Incident controller and SES operations manager Brendan Corboy said the exercise was a ‘great opportunity for emergency management practitioners to get together’.
“It’s going to be a busy year with floods through the spring and heightened grass fire [potential] through the summer, so it’s really important to get together and go through the consequences so the community can be seen,” he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecasted above-median rainfall in northern Victoria from September to November.
State Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said people should be prepared for both floods and fires.
“The outlook suggests Victoria will have a wet start to spring and it’s important Victorians begin to plan for floods and storms, in the same way they prepare for potential fires,” he said.
“What is the plan you are putting in place for yourself, your family, pets and livestock? As part of your plan, think about the clear triggers and when you will enact your plan,” Mr Crisp said.
“Good information will always lead to good decisions and Victorians need to know how they can access good information – that’s through the VicEmergency app, social media, including Facebook and Twitter, and through emergency broadcasters.
“As a sector, we’re getting prepared, but my question to Victorians is: are you prepared?”
The next inter-agency training exercise will be in Tallangatta later this month.
Authorities said each emergency service would also conduct its own training sessions.
Acknowledging a climate emergency and installing solar energy systems at community facilities were among the most significant environmental actions Mitchell Shire Council took in 2021-22, according to a report tabled at last month’s council meeting.
Councillors received and noted a Mitchell Shire Environment Strategies and Plans 2021-22 annual report, along with a Mitchell Environment Advisory Committee annual report at the meeting, outlining the most significant steps council took to improve environmental management in the past year.
Cr Louise Bannister said council had a range of responsibilities to consider when looking after the environment.
“We’ve had the acknowledgement of the climate emergency, [council workers] treated approximately 600 kilometres of roadsides for a weed-control program, they were part of installing a 33-kilowatt solar system onto community facilities, they supported 13 community environmental events with just over 800 participants in attendance, [and] 509 pieces of environmental information were distributed to customers including 221 new rural landowner kits,” she said.
“The provision of environmental advice on statutory and strategic planning matters continues to be a focus for the team. They also held nine Mitchell Environment Advisory Committee meetings and 24 properties received the annual Mitchell Shire conservation convent grant.
“[The committee was] part of the National Tree Day event, where over 1000 plants were planted along the creek in Wallan and a number of trees were removed along Kilmore Creek in accordance with the Kilmore Creek Landscape Master Plan.”
Cr Fiona Stevens called council’s environment team ‘small but productive’.
“One thing I’m pleased to see is that two 33-kilowatt solar systems were installed on two community facilities,” she said.
“Councillors have discussed in this chamber a number of times their desire to see more of this implemented throughout our shire and no doubt when we start our budget discussions … there will be representation from this group.”
Cr Nathan Clark thanked the committee for its work to promote a proposed Wallan Regional Park.
“The work that they’ve put forward there [is really good], with a lot of research that they put to the state advisory committees and bureaucracy to show how that is important to get done,” he said.
Cr Bannister said the volunteer committee had contributed about 125 hours of their time during the past year, not including additional time spent reading and preparing correspondence and travelling to and from events.
Two new schools in the City of Whittlesea have been officially named.
The schools at Donnybrook and Wollert were among 12 new schools in Victoria that Education Minister Natalie Hutchins announced last month.
The primary school in development at 145 Olivine Boulevard, Donnybrook, had been dubbed Hayes Hill Primary School while awaiting its official title, but will now be called Donnybrook Primary School.
Donnybrook Primary School will open in term one next year, with space for 525 students in prep to grade six year levels.
The school referred to as Wollert West Primary School while awaiting its name was officially titled Barrawang Primary School. The title is derived from the local Aboriginal language – Barrawang being the Woi-wurrung word of the Wurundjeri people meaning magpie.
The final school names were announced after a community consultation process, which attracted almost 5000 submissions made across the state.
Ms Hutchins said the community involvement provided families and young people a chance to connect with their schools.
“It’s so important for families and young people to feel connected to their local schools, and we’re thrilled the community has had their say on these names that really reflect the areas’ culture, history and environment,” she said.
Donnybrook Primary School will include a library, competition-grade gymnasium, canteen, music and drama space, two outdoor hardcourts, sportsfield and collaborative teaching spaces. Additionally, Donnybrook Primary School will provide specialist teaching areas for science and food technology.
Barrawang Primary School is expected to be completed by term one 2023 at 7 Islington Street, Wollert, with space for 575 students in prep to grade six, including approximately 50 places for young people with specialist needs.
Barrawang Primary School – being a supported inclusion school – will offer additional amenities to support and enhance learning such as acoustics and lighting designed for the needs of students with particular disabilities, wider corridors where wheelchairs can pass and fitness rooms for physical education and therapy.
Another school nearby to the City of Whittlesea was also officially titled, with the school in development at 45 Blackmore Road Mickleham to be officially named Mickleham Secondary College.
The college will enrol up to 800 students in its first year of operation, open to year seven students only and progressing by year level thereafter.
The school will include a science building, materials technology building, community hub, outdoor hardcourts and sports field, and in future, a visual arts building.
Two students from St Patrick’s Primary School, Kilmore, took part in the finals of the Alliance Française Berthe Mouchette Competition, a French poetry recital competition for students who study the language.
Last year, St Patrick’s year five student Gabriella Luci made it to the finals.
This year, St Patrick’s Primary School had 70 entrants across years three to six, with year three students Chloe Rees and Erin Lawson participating in the finals on August 21.
Year three students had a choice between two French poems, which they practiced and prepared, with Chloe and Erin working with the school’s French teacher Quentin Berlatier to perfect their pronunciation.
“The girls started with hand actions to get the accents right and they’d come to me everyday asking ‘how do I say this’ and ‘how do I say that’ just to try and get it right,” Mr Berlatier said.
“These two worked really hard to learn the poem perfectly – Chloe would come in early everyday to get everything right.”
The Berthe Mouchette Competition is a statewide competition, with more than 7000 students entering across Victoria.
Entrants were required to recite their chosen poem once before being selected for the final, where they were then required to recite the poem live to a panel of judges via Zoom.
When reflecting on the experience of this year’s competition, Erin said she had practiced a lot by reciting the poem to her sister many times.
Chloe said it wasn’t difficult to learn the poems and particularly enjoyed reading her chosen poem to the judges.
Mr Berlatier said the school was building on the strengths from last year’s competition.
“The fact that we did so well last year was part of why we’ve done it again. We’re very proud of the girls for getting to where they are,” he said.
“We had one finalist last year and this year we’ve got two. The girls were too young to compete last year but I’m sure they would’ve done very well if they had competed.”
Mr Berlatier said the difference in the girls’ recital of the poems was how hard they focused on the pronunciation, with extra effort being put in to learn tough words.
The final results are expected to be announced in coming weeks. Chloe, Erin and the school hope to continue to participate in the competition when it is next held in 2023.
The Kilmore Mosaic Artisans Group, MAGs, have donated a three-panel mosaic piece as a gesture of gratitude to Kilmore District Health, KDH.
The mosaic, titled ‘Now and Then’, depicts the history of Kilmore District Health, with reference to a multitude of services, staff, facilities and patients at various stages of life’s health journey.
A team of eight women, led by project coordinator Marina Villani, worked on the project for two years between COVID-19 lockdowns before finally seeing it installed in the front entrance of KDH in July.
Completely unfunded, artists described the project as representing ‘a labour of love and appreciation for our very special hospital and its role in our community’.
Ms Villani remembers first contacting Sue Race, the then chief executive of KDH, in February 2020 to offer a mosaic in a token of appreciation.
“Sue did not hesitate. The foyer was sadly in need of cheering up and we agreed on a three panel mural that would cover an area 1.4 metres high and three metres wide,” Ms Villani said.
“As a group we wanted to create a piece where people would look, discover, revisit and discover again.”
Finally seeing the vision come to life, Ms Villani and the Kilmore MAGs members say the finished piece captures the scope of Kilmore Health’s role in the community.
“There is so much hidden detail just sitting there in plain sight,” Ms Villani said.
‘Now and Then’ project coordinator Marina Villani with the mural at Kilmore District Health.
Kilmore District Health chief executive Arish Naresh said the health organisation was grateful to receive the mosaic art piece and have it displayed in the hospital’s main entrance to welcome visitors to the facility.
“The art piece is a beautiful representation of the evolving health system and its importance to the community,” he said.
“The health service exists due to the generosity and leadership of community members who have gifted time, effort and gifts such as the art piece we have received from Marina.”
‘Now and Then’ is not the first mural to be completed by the Kilmore MAGs, who first gathered in 2017 to create and donate works of mosaic art to the community.
‘Reflections of Kilmore’, completed in December 2018, is hung in Oddfellows Cafe, while mural ‘Pyalong Poppies’ was donated to the Pyalong Neighbourhood House in recognition of their service to the broader community.
Ms Villani said the MAGs latest achievement ‘Now and Then’ reflected the team’s hard work, perseverance and growth as artists.
“The group began as an enthusiastic gathering of raw learners but in this last piece of work you see the skill and achievement of five years of hard unswerving dedication and learning,” she said.
‘Now and Then’ comprises primarily of glass, each piece cut individually to size, as well as stone, fused glass detail, photos in glass, murini and embellishments.
The Kilmore MAGs members who produced ‘Now and Then’ under the guidance of Ms Villani were Sue Gibbs, Jill Mattei, Joan Grindley, Leanne McKenna, Elaine Findlow, Kerry Nugent and Glenda Farnay.
KILMORE Cricket Club will field a women’s team for the first time in its inaugural season in the Gisborne and District Cricket Association.
Club president Brett Buttler said it had long been Kilmore’s ambition to support a women’s team, but it had been unable to do so in the Seymour District Cricket Association – the league in which it competed for the past five decades.
“It’s been a goal of the club’s for quite a while to get a women’s side up, because we do have a few junior girls who play,” he said.
“We’ve always had a desire to get a women’s side together, so towards the end of last year, when we knew there was a possibility of going to the Gisborne league, there was some talk about that.
“There was a fair bit of interest, so once we made the decision to go to the Gisborne league we contacted those who expressed interest and most of them were keen.”
Buttler said Kellie Freeman would coach the women’s team, bringing a wealth of cricket knowledge with her.
Freeman has played more than 20 seasons of cricket – competing for Brunswick Park Cricket Club, Coburg Cricket Club and Tallarook – and won eight premierships.
Cath Mogridge will support Freeman, with men’s A Grade captain-coach Josh Buttler lending assistance.
Brett Buttler said the club’s aim was to create a pathway for junior girls.
“We’ve got a couple of older women who we hope take the younger girls and women under their wing,” he said.
“Hopefully in coming years we can build those numbers and bring in a junior girls’ side, but this is our starting point and hopefully it creates a bit of interest.”
Buttler said the club was searching for more players for the 2022-23 season.
“We’ve been hoping we might be able to get some girls from Assumption [College] because we play on a Sunday and Assumption plays on a Saturday, so we might be able to get a few girls to play both,” he said.
“We have about 10 players ourselves, so we’re looking for just a few more to strengthen the numbers.
“Assumption do have quite a few girls, so there may be an opportunity for some who do miss out on playing for Assumption. It might be that in the weeks they don’t play for Assumption they play for us instead.”
Buttler said any interested players were welcome to attend the team’s first training session tomorrow, Wednesday.
The State Government has defended its record on regional roads after a survey organised by the Liberal-National coalition named Melbourne-Lancefield Road among the worst in Victoria.
The opposition launched the ‘Victoria’s Worst Road’ campaign earlier this year, encouraging people to vote for what they believed to be the worst road in the state in an online poll.
The results, released late last month, named Melbourne-Lancefield Road as the third worst in Victoria, trailing only the Great Alpine Road and various locations on the Princes Highway.
The roads eligible were government-managed roads, not shire council roads.
Shadow Roads Minister Danny O’Brien announced the results of the poll alongside Member for Euroa Steph Ryan and Nationals candidate for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland.
Mr O’Brien described the state of regional roads as ‘unacceptable’.
“There are some incredibly dangerous stretches of the Melbourne-Lancefield Road that need urgent attention,” he said.
“Country roads like this are plagued by rough surface signs, a symptom of neglect and a failure to take meaningful action.
“I will be raising the state of this road directly with the Roads Minister and requesting urgent action to upgrade the crumbling shoulders that pose a real hazard to road users.”
Ms Cleeland said roads in Euroa were ‘an embarrassment’, spruiking the opposition’s commitment to allocate 25 per cent of its infrastructure budget to regional areas.
“The deterioration of roads is top of mind for locals who feel the shocking neglect of our region’s roads is symptomatic of a government with extreme disdain for regional Victorians,” she said.
“The Nationals are in touch with what our communities need and have a positive plan to invest in our roads network.
“We will bring back the Country Roads and Bridges Program to support councils to fix dangerous roads and reverse the consecutive cuts made to the roads budget.”
A government spokesperson hit back at the claims by Mr O’Brien and Ms Cleeland, saying the government had rebuilt or resurfaced more than 10,000 kilometres of regional roads and invested $34 billion across the state’s road network since 2014.
They said the government had undertaken ‘significant work’ to reduce road trauma along Melbourne-Lancefield Road.
The spokesperson said road crews were currently rebuilding a four-kilometre section of Melbourne-Lancefield Road between Bolinda Creek Bridge and Mullallys Road as part of a regional road maintenance blitz, while a section between Lancefield and Monegeetta was upgraded with safety barriers, new overtaking lanes, rumble strips and wider road shoulder in 2020.
They said the State Government had invested $1,847,719 in road rehabilitation and repair works along Melbourne-Lancefield Road, not including the current rebuilding project between Bolinda Creek Bridge and Mullalys Road, since 2018.
“We are investing $780 million toward maintaining and renewing Victoria’s arterial road network this financial year,” the spokesperson said.
“Over the past four years we have averaged $813 million per year on road maintenance compared to an average of $493 million per year when the Coalition were last in office.
“Since 2014 we’ve rebuilt or resurfaced more than 10,400 kilometres of regional roads to ensure their quality and safety. We have another 1,000 projects being delivered this maintenance season.”
