O OB
S
BUY LOCAL J
ENROL
$1.10 INC GST
Breeder has win at VCAT
see pages 19-24
see page 6
N
see page 3
SE N ES S SI
Time to
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
COMMMU
BU
www.midlandexpress.com.au
UR
Y IT
Express MIDLAND
Grand old dame gets a makeover
A welcome sign of spring
It's a welcome sign that spring is here when the daffodils are blooming and the lambs are being born. Quadruplets in sheep are extremely rare so it was a surprise for sheep farmer Andrew Sellars-Jones to see these four healthy girls arrive at Chandpara in Tylden this week. They are purebred southdown sheep and are a result of a natural mating in March. "Their mum is a seven-year-old ewe so she's got the experience and good maternal characteristics to look after her new family," Andrew said. "People say sheep aren't smart, but she can definitely count to four and gets very agitated if one of the brood strays too far away." Chandpara has an annual on-property sale at the end of October but these four can look forward to staying on the farm and hopefully having lambs of their own one day.
SERVICES TO MERGE
CHIRP Community Health and Castlemaine Health are planning a merger. The health services boards announced on Monday that they were developing a plan for the integration of community services and would undertake staff and community consultation. CHIRP chair Lexi Randall-L'Estrange said both boards believed the move provided a feasible option to ensure the continued provision of health services for the local community. "A detailed plan for integration is being developed. It will consider the governance, financial, service, human resource and legal impacts of integration," Ms RandallL'Estrange said. "Working together to provide integrated community health services in the Mount
Alexander Shire is a positive step forward for both organisations. "This positions us well to ensure inclusive and accessible services are available to our community both now and into the future." Castlemaine Health chair Peggy Ronnau said both organisations had a long history of working together. "By combining our unique strengths, we will further enhance community health services for the communities across Mount Alexander Shire," Ms Ronnau said. "Staff and community consultation are important parts of the process and will inform the development of a comprehensive plan. "It is important to note that all health service staff are valued and community
health services will be enhanced. "The integration will result in the combination of staffing and services currently delivered by both organisations. "We are both pleased to be leading our organisations into this next stage, with a firm focus on sustainability and strengthening service delivery." The organisations told the Express they would keep people informed and engaged as they moved through the process via the website, social media, local media, letters, meetings and consultation opportunities. The organisations initially flagged the possibility of service integration and co-location in February following a public meeting at the Castlemaine Town Hall. The meeting was called by community group Friends of CHIRP over continued
concerns about service funding shortfalls and the future of the independent community health service that has been serving the local community for more than 40 years. In a joint statement at the time, CHIRP and Castlemaine Health acknowledged the concern and frustration around the service shortfalls that CHIRP was experiencing and indicated a steering committee had been formed to progress this vital work. 'In parallel, work is happening on a longer-term project between our two organisations and the Mount Alexander Shire Council to look at development of a Health and Wellbeing Hub. State government funding has been provided to conduct a Master Plan in 2020 exploring our options,' the statement said.
KN251485
* GENERAL DENTISTRY * TEETH CLEANING AND WHITENING * DENTURES * ORTHODONTICS/BRACES * IMPLANTS * SAME DAY APPOINTMENTS Ph (03) 5422 6159 | 65 High Street, Kyneton | www.kynetondental.com.au
PALMER,, STEVENS & RENNICK Barristers & Solicitors
Please contact us on 5422 6500
8 Jennings St, Kyneton
email: psr@psr.net.au
KN251486
Property and Conveyancing Criminal Law Family Law Wills and Estates Commercial Law Employment Law Appearing in Kyneton Court KN246448