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Mitchell Shire council to sell unused Kilmore land to Assumption

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Mitchell Shire council to sell unused Kilmore land to Assumption

Mitchell Shire councillors have voted to unanimously to authorise the sale of a small, council-owned lot of vacant land on Kilmore’s Conway Street to Assumption College.

The block, which is about 989 square metres, sits between properties already owned by Assumption College.

The land is vacant and has never been used for any council or community purposes and is assigned no council or community purposes under the Kilmore Structure Plan, leading officers to declare it surplus to council requirements.

Crs Louise Bannister and Bill Chisholm opposed the initial motion when it was heard by council in July out of concern there was ‘no concrete assurance’ the land would be used to benefit the community if it were sold on the open market.

At the most recent council meeting, Cr Bannister introduced an amendment to the recommendation that by purchasing the land, the purchaser must enter into an agreement with council to use the land for education purposes for the benefit of the general community, and if the land was sold in future, council would have the first right to repurchase the land.

Cr Bannister said the move was an assurance to the community the land would benefit the town.

“Anything can happen in the future and when a block of land is sold privately, even with the intention to benefit the community, council needs to ensure that this intention will not change,” she said.

The move was strongly supported by all councillors. Cr Rob Eldridge said while they had confidence Assumption College would use the block to the benefit of the community, it was a good idea to have the assurance for down the track.

“I don’t expect we’ll have a need to actually enforce this, but it’s good governance to make sure that, as we’re doing this as a special deal almost, they don’t have to bid against anybody else against in this, that in the future … we are safeguarded and given the option to come back to council,” he said.

Cr Fiona Stevens said it was a win-win for the community as the land would now be used, and the money would go back to council.

“It’s better for the community that this land is put into an opportunity that can benefit the broader community and that will be by Assumption College taking it on, which will assist their developments, which will benefit the community,” she said.

“Now the money from the sale is going to come back into the Kilmore community to be spent on something else.”

Whittlesea’s St Mary’s Primary School students awarded national maths award

The North Central Review
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Whittlesea’s St Mary’s Primary School students awarded national maths award

By Tricia Mifsud

Whittlesea’s St Mary’s Primary School students have earned both state and national recognition for their maths investigations entered in this year’s Maths Talent Quest, with the prep submission winning at national level.

St Mary’s maths leader Alicia Clark said competing in the quests had been rewarding for the students, and it was great to see all entries submitted do so well this year.

St Mary’s submitted seven entries in this year’s quest, one for each of the year levels. Some of the year levels worked on the investigation as a class, while others worked in smaller groups of about five to six students.Students began their investigations in term one and took up to four months to complete.

Clark said at state level, all seven entries scored highly from the judges.

“All seven were given a high distinction, and the prep and grade one entries were the best in Victoria,” she said.“These two entries were then passed on to national level and the prep investigation was the winner of the whole country.”

As a whole class, the prep students worked together with teachers Kristie Gibson and Jess Rowland to complete their maths investigation, based on the children’s story book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

“The students did a whole bunch of math activities around the whole book including counting all the food the caterpillar ate, creating graphs on the different types of food and even made their own caterpillars and measured the sizes of them,” she said.

Five students from the grade one centred their maths investigation on endangered animals and worked with Ms Clark to complete the investigations.

“The students looked at the number of endangered animals and their population, the percentage of habitats damaged and surveyed the school asking what the students favourite endangered animal was,” she said.

“They also measured the size of each animal using pieces of string and investigated the costs to sponsor an endangered animal.

”The Maths Talent Quest supports numeracy development and encourages schools and students from any year level to engage in mathematical investigations in a fun and creative way.

“The idea of the Maths Talent Quest is to investigate a real like topic, and doing so by incorporating as many aspects of maths as they could,” Ms Clark said.

City of Whittlese announces winners of inaugural Community Awards

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City of Whittlese announces winners of inaugural Community Awards

The inaugural City of Whittlesea Community Awards were presented in an online ceremony on Wednesday, celebrating immense contributions to the community.

The awards, which replace the Australia Day Awards after council declared it would no longer officially mark the holiday, provided an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate residents across five categories: citizen, senior citizen, young citizen, access and inclusion citizen, and sustainable environment citizen or group of the year.

City of Whittlesea administrator Peita Duncan, a member of the Whittlesea Community Awards Committee, praised the efforts of all nominees and said the committee assessed nominations based on how they demonstrated values that reflected the City of Whittlesea’s vision of being ‘A Place for All’.

“It’s wonderful to see so many people in our community giving up their time to help others,” she said.

“This level of community spirit is inspiring. We were pleased to recognise a small group of these wonderful people in our first community awards program.”

Out of nine finalists, the citizen of the year went to Daman Shrivastav, a South Morang resident whose charity DD’s Kitchen provided free meals and food to international students locally and across Victoria during the pandemic.

Chair administrator Lydia Wilson presented the award to Mr Shrivastav and his daughter who joined the virtual ceremony live.

“Through his volunteer work, which goes back a long way, and spans more than one continent, Daman has had an especially significant impact in the City of Whittlesea during the pandemic,” she said.

“DD’s kitchen worked overtime during the pandemic providing free hot meals to stranded international students and anyone else in need.

“The DD kitchen team also provided much-needed supplies to the Shepparton and Ballarat communities during their lockdowns – how amazing really – and they even launched a YouTube channel to provide cooking tutorials to children and young people while they were stuck at home. What an absolutely amazing effort over many, many years, not just the pandemic.”

Senior citizen of the year was awarded to Shoukry Sidrak for his contribution to the community over more than two decades, including volunteering at Whittlesea Community Connections, offering companionship through the community visitors’ program and providing free sustainability assessments to local businesses.

The young citizen award went to Rudra Sekhri, for leadership and vision in his contribution to Thomastown Youth Council, ‘Youth Leading the World Congress’ and Mill Park Library Makers Club.

Sustainable environment citizen of the year was won by Hansikaa Sharma, for her commitment to inspiring others to join her in tackling environmental issues, from presenting to her school about the importance of Earth Hour and National Water Week to establishing a litter clean-up group and advocating against the use of helium balloons and palm oil.

Lynne Harris, of Bundoora, won the access and inclusion citizen award for her work helping create opportunities for people with disabilities to participate over the past 30 years.

Ms Wilson said while it was a shame to have only a short, online ceremony, the efforts of the community were incredible.

“You can really see from the presentation that so many people are the heart and soul of our community and really make the community so rich in relation to community support and looking after one another, so we really thank you all,” she said.

To find out more about the community awards, visit whittlesea.vic.gov.au/communityawards.

Broadford Presbyterian Church celebrates 160 years

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Broadford Presbyterian Church celebrates 160 years

Broadford Presbyterian Church last week celebrated its 160th anniversary, recounting a rich history of worship in the town since its beginning in 1861.

Celebrations were delayed due to COVID-19, however the lifting of restrictions late last week enabled the congregation to invite the community and friends to mark the significant anniversary.

Session clerk Ralph Kop said life around the church and in Broadford had changed a lot during its history.

“During [the 160 years] we have seen many changes occur, so much so that our lives today bear little resemblance to that experienced by the people that started up the first Presbyterian Church 160 years ago,” he said.

“Some things do not change, life is never easy and each generation has its own challenges as we all know only too well with the current pandemic.”

The first recorded Presbyterian service in Broadford occurred on March 17, 1861. It was held in a barn at the David McKenzie’s residence ‘Glenview’, and records name 12 or more people who attended including farmers, storekeepers, carpenters and labourers.

On October 27, 1861, a wooden shingle roofed church was constructed on the site of the current Broadford railway station and could seat 72 people. In about 1873, the building was moved to the current site on the corner of High Street and Hamilton Street.

The wooden church was extended to accommodate a growing number of people and served as the Presbyterian Church until 1912, when it was demolished and sold for 45 pounds.

The brick church was built in the same year and was dedicated on December 1, remaining in service to the current day.

Reverend Barry Porter said the church was still as dedicated as it was 160 years ago.

“The church has been around for 160 years and … we are still as viable today as we were 160 years ago,” he said.

“Just as they did 160 years ago, we preach the good news of Jesus and we believe the whole bible.”

Members of the Broadford community were welcome to celebrate the anniversary, and church leaders said those interested in being involved with the church were always welcome.

Mental health tips for regional Victorians as restrictions ease

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Mental health tips for regional Victorians as restrictions ease

By Cassi Stewart, Nexus Primary Health

With restrictions starting to ease, have you learned any mental health practices that you want to continue doing in your new normal?

Have you practised mindfulness, meditation, walks in nature to help support your mental health during lockdown? What strategies have you learned during lockdown to stay mentally healthy?

Here are some valuable tips people can use to continue looking after their mental health as restrictions ease:

• Eating a balanced diet, which means getting a variety of nutritional benefits from different foods, helps support your brain to function properly. Without a good variety of nutrients, bodies cannot function properly.

Here are some nutrients that help support brain function and foods that are high in them: Omega 3 – salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines and herring, walnuts, chia seeds, linseeds. Omega 3 is especially important for brain health as it has been proven to support mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, ADHD and bipolar (Sinn, Milte and Howe 2012). Not all fish oils are the same. If you are going to choose a supplement, choose a mercury-free option.

Choline – eggs, salmon, tuna, soybeans, chicken, beef, turkey, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts. Choline is required to produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which helps support a good mood, memory and brain function (Blusztajn, Slack & Mellott, 2017).

Fibre – choose wholegrain options as they have a much better nutrient variety than refined options. Choose wholemeal bread, rye bread, wholemeal pasta, wholegrain rice like brown rice or quinoa. A healthy gut supports healthy brain function by allowing absorption of essential nutrients. Fibre also helps to eliminate toxins and cholesterol therefore also supporting good heart health (Barber, Kabisch, Pfeiffer & Weickert, 2020).

Schedule in time with friends, family and the wider community. Getting involved in community activities and volunteering are great ways to be social and meet new people and have been proven to improve mental health (Tabassum, Mohan & Smith 2016).

Getting involved and volunteering also helps to build thriving communities.

Spend time being creative. Have you ever thought about learning new painting, building, or cooking skills? There are lots of ways to learn. Your local library has loads of books on painting, drawing, woodworking, cooking and much more.

Check in with your nearest community house or hub to see what classes they are running. Try free online tutorials or ask your friends or family if they have the skills to share, they may even want to learn with you. Being creative can help boost your self-esteem and allows you to practise mindfulness (Slattery, Attard, Stewart, Roennfeldt & Wheeler, 2020).

Connect with nature. We are so lucky to live in regional Victoria with access to so many parks and trails. Studies show that when we are out in nature, our mental health receives a boost. Paired with exercise, think of all of those feel-good endorphins (Bratman et al 2019). Did you know that Parks Victoria has a range of accessible tracks and trails? Visit their website to find your closest park at www.parks.vic.gov.au.

Get a good night’s sleep. Sometimes easier said than done. But by practising a good sleep hygiene routine, people can improve their mental health by managing stress, improving moods and emotions and avoid irritability (Tahmasian et al. 2020).

Some tips include: Limit screen time an hour before bed to allow melatonin (sleep hormone) to increase. The blue light keeps people awake by stopping the production of melatonin as it signals to their brain that it is still daylight. reading or practising mindfulness before bed, switching light globes to yellow lights rather than the bright white lights. The white lights act like TVs, phones and computer screens and disrupt circadian rhythm. Try not to eat too late. Sleep is time for bodies to rest, not digest.

Take time out. Listen to your gut instincts and take a break and focus on yourself when you need it. There are some great mindfulness apps available that can help you relax and recharge, which can be downloaded free or for a free trial. Some mindfulness apps include; Smiling mind, Headspace, Insight Timer and Calm.

People seeking help can contact:

Lifeline: call 13 11 14, 24 hours a day,

seven days a week;

Lifeline Text: 0477 13 11 14, 6pm to

midnight, seven nights a week;

Beyond Blue: call 1300 22 4636;

Butterfly Foundation National Helpline: call 1800 334 673;

Carer Support: 1800 242 636 or

1300 554 660;

SANE Australia Helpline: 1800 187 263;

Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467;

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800;

MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978;

QLife:1800 184 527;

Open Arms – Veterans and Families

Counselling: 1800 011 046.

• Cassi Stewart is health promotion officer at Nexus Primary Health. Nexus Primary Health provides a range of services such as general practitioners, counsellors and dieticians to support you to live well in your community. Call 1300 77 33 52 to talk about a referral.

Power restored in Macedon Ranges after storm; SES grateful for reprieve

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Power restored in Macedon Ranges after storm; SES grateful for reprieve

By Aleksandra Bliszczyk

Power was restored to thousands of Macedon Ranges Shire homes during the weekend after a storm on Thursday night – the second severe storm to hit the shire within months.

Winds of up to 110km/h hit the shire on late Thursday and early Friday, leaving residents in the dark.

Almost 2500 Powercor customers in the Romsey area alone were without power on Friday, with hundreds more outages in across Lancefield reported by AusNet.

By yesterday power had been restored in the shire but the clean-up of debris continues.

Damaging westerly winds swept across the state, with gusts of up to 143km/h recorded, as well as more than 500,000 lightning strikes from Thursday evening’s thunder storm.

Trees and fallen branches damaged cars and properties statewide, with buses replacing trains on several metropolitan and regional train lines due to debris on tracks.

Schools were shut due to power outages, including Romsey Primary School, which advised parents to keep their children home.

“The school is still open but is without a phone line so if you need to contact the school for emergencies only you will need to ring the school mobile,” the school said in a statement to parents.

“We have no lights so it is dark, no heating so it is cold, no internet, no phones and no canteen for food!”

Macedon Ranges Shire Council-run facilities including Gisborne Administration Centre, Woodend Operations, Gisborne Aquatic and Fitness centres, Kyneton Visitor Information Centre, Lancefield, Macedon, Swinburne Ave, and Romsey kindergartens, Romsey Service Centre, Romsey Recreation Centre, Hanging Rock, and Romsey and Gisborne libraries were all closed due to power outages, but have since reopened.

In the 24 hours to 9am Friday, VICSES received 1670 requests for assistance across Victoria. As of Monday the tally had reached more than 5000.

Members of the Gisborne and Woodend SES units worked through the weekend clearing debris, but Woodend SES operations manager Kevin McNare said the area was largely safe now and that all requests for assistance had been attended to.

“We managed to clean ours up reasonably quick, not like Melbourne … Melbourne really was hit harder,” Mr McNare said.

“As the jobs were piling in, we thought are we going to have another reasonably sized event [like the June 9 storms] but after two days it had pretty much calmed down.”

Mr McNare said the unit was relieved to have some reprieve after the June 9 storms saw some of the worst damage to the area in years, leaving residents without power for up to two weeks.

He said while there were still some loose or hanging limbs on trees that need to be attended to, roads in the area were now largely cleared, but residents should continue to exercise caution.

“I think with any storm like that we continually learn, but certainly if you’re going bushwalking, or just out in the forest it pays to be vigilant and just make sure there’s no damage around you or not going to be taking any risks,” he said.

The clean-up of debris on the roadsides is continuing and council has asked residents to drive with caution. To report a hazard such as fallen trees on roads, flooding or wandering livestock, call council on 5422 0333.

National charity Share the Dignity calls for Christmas donations for #ItsInTheBag

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National charity Share the Dignity calls for Christmas donations for #ItsInTheBag

By Tricia Mifsud

SHARE the Dignity, an Australian women’s charity, will again run its Christmas drive, ‘It’s In The Bag’, where the community can donate a bag of essential toiletries and wellbeing products for women, girls and those who menstruate.

There are three types of bags that can be put together for adults; teens; and mum and bub.

Each bag is slightly different to accommodate for the person receiving the bag, however general items including sanitary products, shampoo and conditions, toothbrush and paste and deodorants are essential to all three bags.

All bags used must be in good condition, and the items donated must be new, sealed, and in their original packaging.

Homemade items are encouraged, but must be new, not used and packaged if possible and have a note attached to identify they are homemade.

Seymour resident and Share the Dignity volunteer Simone Ispanovity said it was great to be a part of a charity that aimed to end period poverty.

“I read about Share the Dignity about three years ago, and had missed the cut off for 2018 It’s In The Bag. I spent the year researching the charity, and found it to be a relatively new charity, with quite a simple initiative; aiming to end period poverty,” she said.

“It amazes me that the findings of the Period Pride report 2021, based on more than 125,000 Australians, found that more 22 per cent of people have to improvise on period products-due to costs.

“With approximately 3.24 million of the population living below the poverty line, access to sanitary products is a right not a privilege and it is a driving force for me to want to help all the women, young girls, teens and mums to ensure they have the products they need but may not be able to afford.

“Giving these bags out to these people makes you feel a sense of warmth; these people have nothing, and may have escaped with just the shirt on their back, some also having young babies and children.”

In her second year of volunteering for Share the Dignity, Ms Ispanovity said she had always wanted to give back to the community, but hadn’t found the right fit until she came across Share the Dignity.

“I have always wanted to give back, and had looked into volunteer work for a long time but just hadn’t found a charity that aligned with my values,” she said.

“I liked that the charity didn’t just help one cause or charity, they partner with over 3000 nationally (to distribute the bags to those in need.”

In 2020, 93,981 donations were passed on to those needing them, bringing the four-year total of the event to 617,517 bag donations, and Share the Dignity hope to beat last year’s record especially in another year affected by COVID-19.

Collection points for the bags will be available at every Bunnings across Australia from November 19 to 28 and then dispersed to the charities who can distribute to women, girls, and those who menstruate in need.

People can also sponsor a bag, where the amount donated goes toward buying essential items to fill more bags. To sponsor a bag, visit click here.

To find out more about the campaign, including what items to donate, visit the Share the Dignity website.

Mitchell Multicultural Association celebrates Hindu festival Diwali with ‘pay-it-forward’ movement

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Mitchell Multicultural Association celebrates Hindu festival Diwali with ‘pay-it-forward’ movement

By Tricia Mifsud

MITCHELL Multicultural Association Incorporated, MMCAI, is celebrating the Hindu festival Diwali this year by encouraging the community to take part in a ‘pay-it-forward’ movement.

Diwali, which translates to ‘row of lights’, is one of the largest Hindu celebrations. MMCAI is celebrating by connecting people to the shire’s businesses and food, while igniting a light of compassion by helping others.

Community members are asked to purchase a meal to the value of $20 at participating restaurants in Wallan and Seymour this week, and in return those who purchase a meal will receive a lamp to thank them for the contribution.

Participating venues include Café Vento, Wallan Food and Spices, Wallan Fish n’ Chips, Smoking Joes, and both Baba’s Kitchen and Kebab House in Seymour.

Meals will be delivered to families between 4 to 6pm this Saturday by MMCAI members with support from Love In Action in Wallan and Broadford.

MMCAI chair Nikki Simos said it had been a challenge to organise an in-person celebration for the Hindu festival because of COVID-19 restrictions, and hoped for a successful pay-it-forward movement.

“COVID-19 has made it challenging for people to congregate and celebrate the Diwali festival in large numbers. Therefore, to bring some light of celebration into people’s homes, MMCAI members thought it to be a safe way to celebrate, offer a gift to people in our community, bring a sense of understanding of what Diwali festival is all about and also offer a meal to a family in need,” she said.

“We see this as a win-win opportunity as we support local business and vulnerable members in our community, as well as celebrating Diwali festival and being culturally inclusive with all community members participation and being part of the gift of light.”

Ms Simos and the MMCAI committee extended their gratitude to the businesses and organisations already involved in this week’s event.

“MMCAI would like to thank all the local businesses who jumped on board with this initiative so far and we thank Love In Action in Broadford and Wallan for their continuing efforts in supporting members of our community,” she said.

People wanting to be involved in future MMCAI initiatives can email mitchell.mca.inc@gmail.com.

Kilmore Racing Club welcomes the return of Kilmore Cup

Max Davies
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Kilmore Racing Club welcomes the return of Kilmore Cup

By Max Davies

KILMORE Racing Club is set for the return of the Kilmore Cup on November 21, with large crowds expected following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Being held with crowds at Kilmore for the first time since 2018, this year’s cup meeting will have COVIDSafe guidelines in place to allow spectators, trainers and connections to enjoy the event as it was pre-COVID.

Trackside venue manager Emily Milwain said the club was excited to be able to host the cup again.

“As a club, we’re really excited to be able to welcome crowds back,” Ms Milwain said.

“We’re basically one of the first clubs to be able to do this as well, so we’ve been given a short amount of time to put it all together and create an almost normal event.”

In 2019, the cup was held in Seymour due to work being done at the Kilmore track. In 2020 it was in Kilmore, however there were no crowds in attendance in line with government restrictions at the time.

“Racing Victoria and Country Racing Victoria have done an amazing job at being able to continue to race,” she said.

“We were able to run the cup last year but it was a really different vibe because there was nobody here.”

This year’s cup meeting will include separate zones around the precinct, allowing Kilmore Racing Club to control the number of visitors in any one area in line with density limits. Visitors from metropolitan Melbourne will be allowed entrance in accordance with current COVIDSafe guidelines.

The Kilmore Cup is also the last country cup of the Spring Racing season, meaning the club has been able to learn effective practices from other country racing cups. The late running of the Kilmore Cup has also meant that COVID restrictions have eased significantly since the start of the season.

Marketing manager Lindsey Melis said constant changes to COVID restrictions had created organisational challenges.

“Since [two weeks ago] we’ve already had changes,” Ms Melis said.

“It is challenging to keep up with the constant changing of the rules when you’re trying to plan a major event.

“Just to be on the safe side we’ve said that everyone needs to pre-book and be double-vaccinated.”

People planning to visit are encouraged to visit the Kilmore Racing Club website and book tickets in advance of the event. For more information and booking plans, visit Country Racing.

The club is anticipating a large turnout, with up to 3000 people expected on course. There has been a positive response to the announcement of the cup on social media and tickets have sold quickly as people are keen to return to the races.

High winds blast Victoria, power outages across Macedon Ranges and Mitchell

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High winds blast Victoria, power outages across Macedon Ranges and Mitchell

Thousands of homes in the Macedon Ranges and Mitchell shires are without power after 110km/h winds rattled central and southern parts of the state early this morning.

Almost 2500 Powercor customers in the Romsey area alone are without power, with hundreds more outages in Wallan and Lancefield reported by AusNet.

Powercor said on its website it estimated power would be restored in the Macedon Ranges by 2.30pm, though some customers in the Romsey area have received texts saying restoration at 5.30pm.

AusNet tweeted this morning that it was working to repair the network quickly.

“Strong winds are forecast to continue through the morning and the situation is still developing.”

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning at 4.38am of damaging westerly winds sweeping the state and reaching greater Melbourne after sunrise, extending to Gippsland coasts mid-morning.

Gusts of up to 143km/h have been recorded across the state, as well as more than 500,000 lightening strikes from last night’s thunder storm.

Trees and fallen branches have damaged cars and properties statewide, with buses replacing trains on at least three metropolitan train lines due to debris on tracks.

Schools have also been shut due to power outages. Romsey Primary School issued an announcement to parents this morning advising them that the school was without power.

“The school is still open but is without a phone line so if you need to contact the school for emergencies only you will need to ring the school mobile.

“We have no lights so it is dark, no heating so it is cold, no internet, no phones and no canteen for food!”

As of 9.00am, in the past 24 hours VICSES has received 1670 requests for assistance, with the number still climbing.

Triple Zero is receiving a high number of calls but it’s important to remember to please only call 000 if it is life threatening. If your request is relating to storm damage which is limiting access to your property, including trees down, please call Victoria State Emergency Service on 132 500.

More to come.

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