Which Wild West legend was born Henry McCarty?

Zach has the gift of the gab

Naracoorte High School student headed to national finals of public speakingcompetition

Naracoorte High School student, Zachary Pope as talked his way to the top of the podium as the new State winner for Rostrum Voice of Youth Competition at Parliament Houselate last month.

This was the third round of the competition, following on from Zach’s success at the South East heats in Mount Gambier and the semi finals in Adelaide. Zach competed against other contestants from St John’s Grammar School, Loxton High School and Emmaus Christian College, with one of them being in Year 10. like Zach. and the other two were Year 12 students.

This final required participants to write and deliver a newly prepared eight minute speech and Zach chose the topic “Walking a Different Path” and used it to persuade the audience that Australia must move away from all fossil fuels and utilise renewable energy sources. Zach’s passion in his voice, hand gestures and use of linguistic persuasive techniques were all equally impressive.

The short notice speech Zach chose was “The Future of Social Media” and he used his three minutes impeccably well to discuss the disadvantages of social media, in particular, the increase in cancel culture.

The quality of all four senior speakers was incredibly high and it was after a lengthy deliberation by the judges that it was announced that Zach had won., handing him a cash prize of $250, and receiving both an individual trophy and a perpetual trophy. He was thrilled with the opportunity of getting up at Parliament House and having his say about environmental issues and was also able to meet the Honourable Rachel Sanderson and the Honourable Clare Scriven.

Zach now progresses to the National Finals as the SA/NT representative. They are being held in Adelaide on Saturday, July 31.

GIFT OF THE GAB: (Above left) Zach Pope with Rachel Sanderson MP after winning the SA finals & (far left) testing out a seat in Parliament House.

Federal funding for veterans

Programs and activities supporting the health and wellbeing of our veteran community in the Limestone Coast will receive a share of more than $2.4 million worth of funding under the Veteran and Community Grants Program, announced today.

Member for Barker Tony Pasin said these programs provided through local organisations are an important factor to ensuring veterans and their families continue to get the support that they need.

Successful applicants in the Limestone Coast are the following: • Lucindale RSL Sub-Branch $20,000 - Install a disability access ramp at the Lucindale RSL SubBranch to improve access and safety for its members. • Robe RSL Sub-Branch $9800 - Upgrade kitchen equipment and purchase chairs to enable the Sub-Branch to develop and extend a range of social and wellbeing activities for Veterans and their families in the region • The Tatiara Men’s Shed $12,807 – Upgrade tools and equipment at the Tatiara Men’s Shed to ensure a safe environment.

“This funding not only supports local veterans and their families, but has a growing effect within our communities, by supporting local employment and businesses.” Mr Pasin said.

The funding will also go towards the development of new programs and services to help reduce social isolation by supporting local social events, upgrade existing facilities, create a community garden and provide transportation for veterans to participate in community events.

Song sung blue

Zac Coombe brings Neil Diamond classics to the region

Hot on the heels of an acclaimed NZ tour, The Sweet Caroline Tour: A Tribute to Neil Diamond is coming to Australia this July to September 2021.

The busy tour will take in 22 venues across New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, and will be the show’s first ever Australian tour.

The brand new stage production, produced by Showtime Australia and starring Australia’s own Zac Coombs, debuted in New Zealand in May and received rave reviews.

NZ Herald’s Ilona Hanne wrote that, “Zac Coombs truly shone like a diamond… [his] voice was well matched to the musical challenges some of Diamond’s songs come with and he didn’t falter once,” while Stuff.co.nz reviewer Jimmy Ellingham said, “With twenty-five songs in just over two hours packed into a slick production, with great lighting effects and a superb backing band and singers, Diamond fans would be hard-pressed to pick fault.”

Zac Coombs is indeed the star of the show, expertly reviving Neil Diamond’s deep resounding voice, timeless tunes and charismatic storytelling live on stage, in this homage to Diamond and his legacy as one of America’s greatest singer-songwriters.

Supported by a seven-piece band packed with international talent, Coombs makes his way through an impressive list of Diamond’s biggest hits including crowd-favourite Sweet Caroline, Cherry Cherry, Red Red Wine, Crunchy Granola Suite, Cracklin’ Rosie, Forever in Blue Jeans, Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon, Shilo, Heartlight and many more.

Tickets for the Australian tour are available now from the venue box offices, or more information is available at facebook.com/ thesweetcarolinetour.

The Sweet Caroline Tour will be at Mount Gambier’s Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre on July 27 at 8pm.