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ROSE GARDEN FESTIVAL GOES VIRTUAL PAGE 5
CHURCHILL PRIMARY’S BIG BOOST
Not in our backyard: Hazelwood North Primary School student Declan Phoenix, with school parent Kaitlyn Jones and her children Daisy and Gracie McBride, and Amanda Hamblin with her children Harlow, Wynter and Eliana Courberg. photograph michelle slater
DECISION TIME
LATROBE City councillors will tonight decide on the development of the muchdebated used lead acid battery (ULAB) recycling plant at Hazelwood North. Chunxing Corporation is hoping to process 50,000 tonnes of lead acid batteries into 28,000 tonnes of refined lead per year at a site on Fourth Road. The proposal, approved by the Environment Protection Authority has been subject to heavy community objection, much of which has focused
on the plant’s proximity to Hazelwood North Primary School of about 150 students, located 1.5km away. On the eve of the vote, the parents of students are threatening to pull their children out of HNPS and send them to another school if councillors vote in favour of the plant. Sheila James has a daughter in Grade 2 at HNPS, but told The Express she will take her out if the plant is built. She is also developing plans to send her month-old tot to the same school. Ms James said her family had been
hoping to buy land in the semi-rural community, but instead decided to settle down in Traralgon. “I will take my child out if the plant goes ahead; instead I will put my children in a school in Traralgon. If this goes ahead, our community will be destroyed,” Ms James said. Another mum Amanda Hamblin has two children at HNPS but said she would move her family out of the Latrobe Valley if the plant was approved. “I like Hazelwood North Primary, it’s a small school and the kids don’t get lost
in large class sizes. But we won’t attend this school if the plant goes ahead,” she said. “We will look at moving right away from the area, as far away as possible. We don’t feel safe around any sort of lead. This is impacting future generations of our community.” Cindy Long said she was “definitely concerned” about the plant, but was hesitant to take her two children out of the school, disrupting their education and social circles. Continued on page 6
RELAXING OF RESTRICTIONS A WIN FOR VALLEY VENUES - PAGE 2-3
Darren Our local Chester restaurants are Member for Gippsland
Shopping Locally Creates Local Jobs www.darrenchester.com.au
reopening See pages 14 and 15 of today’s paper
TALES OF THE VALLEY PAGE 16
Thinking
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Visit our display centre at 188 Argyle Street Traralgon.
Phone 5174 5311
GP1613316
By MICHELLE SLATER
PAGE 7