Kilmore bowlers prepare for new competition

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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Kilmore bowlers prepare for new competition

KILMORE Bowls Club held its annual general meeting on November 29 which, in a sign of the times, was held outdoors.

The AGM was originally scheduled for May but was postponed until the club could comply with COVID-19 restrictions.

Members were also asked to wear face masks in case social distancing was not possible.

President Scott Fletcher welcomed the 37 members present and noted the club’s centenary celebrations as a highlight of a difficult year.

Fletcher thanked the club’s sponsors for their continued support through the COVID-19 pandemic and wished them the best in recovering, saying now was the time to support local businesses and help them get back on their feet.

“This year, we hold on tight as we navigate our way into the new Bowls Victoria boundary changes as we say goodbye to the Central Bowls Division and prepare to forge a new history in the Central Highlands Bowls Division,” he said.

Historic cottage to be restored

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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KILMORE’S Whitburgh Cottage is set to be restored with assistance from a $200,000 State Government grant.

Mitchell Shire Council was successfull in receiving the grant from the State Government’s Living Heritage program.

Built in 1853, the cottage is one of Kilmore’s oldest surviving buildings and requires urgent stabilisation and restoration works.

Due to its current poor condition, the building is closed to the public.

The grant will support conservation works to the roof, walls, ceilings, windows, fireplaces, and flooring. These works will enable the historic building to reopen for community use.

Mitchell Shire Mayor Rhonda Sanderson said Whitburgh Cottage was one of Mitchell Shire’s most historic structures.

“We are absolutely overjoyed to be working with the Victorian Government to restore and preserve some of our rich history,” she said.

“The site is historically and architecturally significant as it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Kilmore and is Kilmore’s oldest surviving bluestone house.

“We will now restore the building to its historic condition. Once we this has been completed, we will explore opportunities to utilise the site in the future.”

The Living Heritage program will also provide funding to the La Mama Theatre in Carlton, the Abbotsford Convent Gatehouse, and the Railway Engine Shed in Echuca.

Minister for Planning Richard Wynne said the grants program was the biggest boost to heritage assets in the state’s history.

“The Living Heritage program is an investment in both the past and the future of our communities and will help ensure our heritage is conserved for many generations to enjoy,” he said.

“These grants are important for the protection of our heritage, but they will also play a part in creating jobs, boosting tourism and getting communities back on their feet.”

Council’s $1.45M deficit

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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MITCHELL Shire Council has attributed a $3.11 million negative budget turnaround on the COVID-19 pandemic increasing costs and reducing revenue.

There were also significant costs relating to waste diversion during Mitchell Landfill upgrade works.

In council’s finance report for the quarter ending September 30, council forecasted a deficit of $1.45 million compared to the adopted budget surplus of $1.66 million.

At last week’s council meeting, officers explained the deficit reflected the impact of end of financial year changes and adjustments that were not foreseen at the time of preparing the 2020-21 budget.

The main changes impacting the adjusted result were updated assumptions relating to the pandemic, increased costs of the diversion of waste during constriction of Seymour Landfill cell six, increased waste settlement costs relating to Seymour Landfill rehabilitation, and various carry forward costs.

Figures in the quarterly finance report reveal council’s materials and services expenditure is forecasted to increase by $4.01 million compared to the budget, including an increase of $1.298 million in diverting waste away from the Mitchell Landfill and an $810,000 legal settlement relating to the landfill.

Council’s forecasted $51.59 million capital works expenditure is also $11.55 million higher than the adopted budget due to carry forwards and successful grant applications.

South ward councillor Rob Eldridge said the deficit was an unfortunate outcome.

“That’s quite a big turnaround. We’ve done really well over the last few years in managing our budget, but it just shows how fragile the situation is when a couple things thrown into the mix we weren’t expecting,” he said.

History moves next door

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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THE Kilmore Historical Society is preparing to move to a new home – right next door at the Old Post Office on Powlett Street.

The move follows ongoing issues with the Kilmore Courthouse Committee of Management.

Last week society members took to the streets to protest, voicing their opinion about being locked out of the courthouse by its committee of management.

The conflict was resolved on Monday after the two groups came to terms on the society’s vacation of the building.

The Kilmore Historical Society has gained the use of the new premises on a 10-year lease, which will give it the opportunity to open to the community more often.

Kilmore Historical Society committee member Rose King said the group had the use of the entire building, which would make it closer to establishing a museum than in its previous location.

“I think the great news is that we can be open more days, we can display more of our archives, we can have permanent exhibitions in the front area so it will be a lot more accessible to the public and user-friendly,” she said.

“We hope to see it become a lot more of an inviting place where people can pop in a see what we’re up to that day or that week.”

The old post office was built in 1862 and operated as a post office until 1990 before serving as an antique centre and a series of restaurants in the past 30 years.

“We can’t think of a better use for one of our premier historic buildings than to be occupied by the Kilmore Historical Society,” Ms King said.

The society hopes to have its move completed by Saturday, December 19 and reopen to the public in the first week of February.

Kemp’s Christmas competition

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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KEMP’S Bakery is in the Christmas spirit, inviting local schools to decorate shop windows at both its Kilmore and Wandong locations with a cash prize up for grabs.

The five schools that entered the competition were given free reign to create anything they would like on any medium, as long as it measured one metre by one metre and was mountable on the shop windows.

The winning entries, one at each location, will be decided by customers, who will be able to cast their vote by dropping their receipt for any purchase into a ballot box for each school.

Kilmore Primary School, St Patrick’s Primary School and Broadford Primary School have their displays up at the Kilmore location while Upper Plenty Primary School and Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary School have theirs at the Wandong store.

Kemp’s Bakery manager Will Essex said the bakery wanted to do something community oriented to finish a challenging year on a good note.

“Because it’s been such a crappy year for everyone, we wanted to do something that’s a bit more community oriented to get everyone working together but competing for Christmas,” he said.

“I gave them very vague guidelines so that all of the entries will be different.”

Mr Essex said the schools were excited to take part.

“Upper Plenty Primary School was very excited to be included and the same with Broadford Primary School,” he said.

“We deliver bread to Broadford every day, it’s just a part of our area as well, we get a lot of customers come from Broadford.

“We didn’t go as far out as Seymour, but who knows next year? It’s going to be an annual thing.”

Mr Essex said the goal of the competition was to bring the community together and give the children a fun activity.

Council to explore hard rubbish collection

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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Council to explore hard rubbish collection

By Jackson Russell

MITCHELL Shire Council officers will look into the potential for a hard rubbish collection service to help reduce the amount of illegally dumped rubbish across the shire, following a request from councillor Annie Goble.

Council spends tens of thousands of dollars every year cleaning up illegally-dumped rubbish and, while there is not a clear relationship between dumping and council services, the cost of disposing of rubbish legally is often thought to be a significant factor.

Council officers said while the days of an annual hard rubbish day had passed due to unsightly street presentation and increased costs, the opportunity existed to explore a better and more cost-effective ways to manage hard waste collection and disposal while minimising the impacts of illegally dumped rubbish.

Cr Goble said a lot of community members had asked for a hard rubbish collection service.

“I think we need all the information to come to us about costs and then also the costs related to collecting dumped hard waste around the shire,” she said.

“We need to find out from other councils who have brought in regular hard rubbish collections whether it has impacted positively on the amount of rubbish that’s been dumped around their shire.

“It’s basically to ask the council staff to get information so we can make an informed decision as to whether we bring in a hard rubbish collection or not and what type of hard waste collection we bring in because there are alternatives.”

New central ward councillor Louise Bannister said the community had wanted the service for a long time now.

“It’s often talked about and I think getting that information about the costs of picking up illegally dumped rubbish is a really great idea because you don’t really put those two together,” she said.

“Getting that information and also having an understanding of how other councils manage their hard rubbish collection and what options there are will be really important in making an informed decision in the future.”

Cr Rob Eldridge said it was not yet known whether a hard rubbish service would solve council’s dumping problem.

“There are many causes of rubbish dumping so I’d like to think the staff would look into that and come back with an open finding on that,” he said.

“One is hard rubbish, but another is empowering renters to be able to put their rubbish in tips. A lot of renters don’t get tip tickets from their landlords.

“Dumped rubbish is a really bad look for the community.

“We work very hard in about making people have pride in the community and one of the worst things that can happen is you drive into town and there’s rubbish everywhere.”

Grants engage youth in climate change

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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BEAM Mitchell Environment Group and Mitchell Shire Council will use State Government funding to tackle climate change at a local level.

The funding, from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s youth and community mini-grants programs, will support 11 organisations across the state to implement projects that address the effects of climate change by taking action to create a more sustainable future.

Mitchell Shire Council received $9185 through the mini-grants programs while BEAM Mitchell Environment Group received $7820.

BEAM Mitchell Environment Group plans to use the grant to fund its Composting and Planting for Climate Resilience project.

The project, headed by committee member Vanessa Malendrin, aims to work with VCAL students to plan, implement and promote an easy-to-achieve climate adaptation project using the gardening cycle of composting, growing seedlings, and planting vegetables for food and natives for landscaping.

BEAM Mitchell Environment Group president Peter Lockyer said Seymour College VCAL students who wanted to make a difference to climate change would be invited to participate in the project.

“Students will be able to select an area of interest, like project planning, project management or project promotion, with everyone spending some time in the garden,” he said.

“The project will also involve VCAL students documenting the whole process via video to motivate other schools to form a network of ‘Climate Warriors’ in neighbouring schools throughout Mitchell.

“They will gain valuable experience communicating to other students the effect of composting and gardening as climate adaptation and drawdown strategies.”

Mitchell Youth Council plans to organise an education program to develop a deeper understanding of the impacts of fashion on the environment, culminating in an environmentally-friendly clothes swap project.

Mayor Rhonda Sanderson said council looked forward to working with the youth council to implement the project.

“The youth council should be commended for the initiative and I encourage the community to get behind it next year once it’s launched. We would like to thank the Victorian Government for their support,” she said.

DELWP Hume regional manager community and partnerships Jacqueline Smith said the grants would help organisations in the region kick-start new and innovative ideas to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

“One of the successful projects will support students from St Bernard’s Primary School in Wangaratta to build an apple orchard and a second will help the Corryong community grow its own produce, so it doesn’t have to rely on food supplies being sourced from outside of the community, following last summer’s devastating bushfires,” she said.

“Other projects include composting and revegetation, a clothes swap campaign, online energy expo, a puppet show, how to adapt to climate change video series – all of which increase climate change awareness and preparedness within local communities.”

COVIDSafe summer ahead

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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VICTORIA is primed for a ‘COVIDSafe Summer’ after the State Government announced its latest lifting of COVID-19 restrictions at the weekend.

Facemasks are no longer mandatory in some settings, although government officials have encouraged people to use their judgment and wear them if necessary.

Facemasks are now only mandatory while on public transport, in taxis or ride-share services, and in large retail venues such as supermarkets, shopping centres and department stores.

Wearing a facemask is still strongly recommended both indoors and outdoors if people are unable to keep 1.5 metres between them and others.

Visitor limits have been increased to 30 people to a home each day, giving a green light to family Christmas gatherings. There is no limit on the number of households visitors can come from, but front yards and backyards are considered part of the home under the restrictions.

Up to 100 people from any number of households can meet outdoors in a public space such as the park or the beach, while weddings, funerals and religious gatherings will have no caps on the number of guests or attendees.

The only limiting factor for weddings, funerals and religious gatherings will be a requirement of two square metres of floor space per attendee for each service.

Businesses across all sectors will be allowed to open, with COVIDSafe plans required for any onsite operations.

Office workers will move to a 50 per cent return to onsite work by January 11, at which time the government will consider public health advice and further possible changes.

Up to 25 per cent of Victorian public service workers will return to onsite work by January 11, moving up to 50 per cent by February 8.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the new COVID-19 requirements would be in place until at least the end of January, giving Victorians more certainty about the summer months.

“Until we have a vaccine – and even then, until we have a widely distributed vaccine – some aspects of these rules and restrictions must continue to be part of our reality,” he said.

“At the same time, and because of the efforts of every Victorian, we’re able to end this year with far fewer limits on what we can and can’t do.

“These are the restrictions that will see us through the summer months – and living as normally as we can until we get a greater sense of what the rest of 2021 will look like.

“While masks are no longer mandated in most circumstances, the evidence is clear wearing a face covering makes a real difference in slowing the spread of the virus – so masks continue to be recommended indoors or outdoors when distancing can’t be maintained.”

Indian community protests farming laws

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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WALLAN’S Indian community came out in support of their homeland’s farmers last week, protesting new laws that would allow corporations to use valuable land and buy crops at reduced prices.

Up to 30 families attended the protest, organised by the Indian Sports and Multicultural Society Wallan, at a park on Botanical Avenue in Wallan’s south on Wednesday evening to show their support for relatives and compatriots affected by the new laws.

Indian Sports and Multicultural Society Wallan member Bikram Singh said Indian communities around the world were also protesting.

“Back in our country, we all are somehow related to farming. My dad is a farmer and the majority of people, the young families that moved here and migrated, they’re all attached to the farming back in our country,” he said.

“Everyone has their emotions, everyone wants to have their say that if someone does anything wrong to a farmer or to the families or to the farming community, they want to they want to tell the Indian government that we are together.

“I can’t go over there and protest with them, but I want to erase my voice and my concern for the farmers. If there are no farmers, there’s no food.”

The issue was also raised by Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell in Parliament on Tuesday.

Mr Mitchell said he had been contacted by constituents were concerned about escalating tensions between Punjabi farmers and the Indian government.

“There have been awful scenes of clashes between farmers and police with tear gas, water cannons and riot police called in to quell the protests over the passage of legislation which many farmers see as unfairly reducing their income,” he said.

“This issue is not unique to India. Here in Australia, family farming businesses have been preyed upon by corporate farming enterprises, and many families have been forced off the land.

“Recent studies show about 28 people who depend on farming in India die by suicide every day because of the growing debt, poor harvests and drought.

“We believe the right to peaceful protest is fundamental in any democracy, and I join with many in our communities who are very disturbed by the treatment of Punjabi farmers in India and those who fear for their safety while peacefully protesting.”

Christmas cheer at Gavan Hall

The North Central Review

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December 8, 2020

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BROADFORD’S Gavan Hall is brimming with joy in a special festive Christmas stage display, which can be viewed on selected dates.

Entry is by gold coin donation, with money raised put towards the Gavan Hall restoration fund.

The display of Bush Aussies visiting the North Pole in peaceful tranquility is designed to bring a little cheer to the community after a tough and challenging 2020.

People can also make a wish while placing a gold coin into the ‘Christmas Pudding’.

Tea and coffee is available and Christmas raffle tickets will be for sale.

Gavan Hall is located in the Broadford town centre, opposite the pedestrian crossing lights in High Street and beside St Matthew’s Anglican Church.

Opening times are: Saturday December 12, 10am to midday; Tuesday, December 15, 10am to 12pm, 3pm to 4.30pm; Wednesday, December 16, 10am to 12pm, 3pm to 4.30pm; Saturday, December 19, 10am to 12pm; Monday, December 21, 10am to 12pm.