Berringa Community News Summer 2025 News and views from the residents of Bellbridge, Bethanga, Granya & Talgarno Circulation: 550
20 Years of Berringa CERT Berringa Community Emergency Response Team marked its 20th anniversary with a dinner at the Bethanga Hotel with former and current team and committee members and Ambulance Victoria staff present. Berringa CERT was launched on 17 November 2005. We were the twentieth CERT set up in Victoria. The Berringa CERT history is in two interlinked parts – a committee and the team. In 2004 Leslie Smith successfully applied for a grant to form Berringa CERT. The CERT team was part of the Department of Justice with a Committee of Management responsible for the management of the team of volunteers. David Elder was the first President followed in 2007 by current president Carol Marshall. In 2015 the CERT team became employees of Ambulance Victoria. The committee became an incorporated association with the purpose of raising additional funds and managing expenditure and assets which support the Berringa Community Response Team. As a CERT committee we raised over $50,000 to purchase 13 community defibrillators one training
defibrillators and 2 evacuation mats for theTallangatta Ambulance branch. We have the ongoing management of 10 defibrillators. We also provided a mental health first aid course for the CERT in 2009 from a donation following a local suicide. We participated with the local CFAs and police providing high visibility uniform roadside numbers for rural properties and staging a training scenario Triple 10 (10/10/2010) which was a two-car collision on the bridge on Talgarno Cemetery Road. We also awarded an annual Citizenship prize to a student at Bethanga and Talgarno primary schools. The committee also provided assessment kits to all CERT members. The CERT Team covers the areas of Bethanga, Bellbridge, Talgarno, Granya to the top of the Gap and Thologolong, an area of approximately 300 sq kilometres. 15 people completed the first round of training. In 20 years, 47 locals were trained CERT members. 8 are still in the team. We have had people with varying backgrounds and skills