Let’s get communicating
Last week in ‘your’ Molong Express we introduced this Questions and Answers (Q&A) page to provide a path to Council for resident’s concerns of wide general interest. We receive them frequently here at the Express. We asked Council to advise on
your questions posed last week re council staffing and General Manager Brad Byrnes has responded. Thank you Brad for your prompt response. Give us your question (verbally or via 0448 231 180 or molongex@ bigpond.net.au).
Council is happy to accept a range of applicants for any of its vacancies. Council always looks to fill its positions with the best available applicants using a meritbased system. Council currently has 227 staff, with 141 outdoor (operational) staff and 86 indoor (corporate) staff.
Council works with contractors and consultants where it is needed. We currently have tenders out to supply goods, services and plant hire for the period of March 2023 to February 2026. This information can be found at www.cabonne.nsw. gov.au/Council/Tenders
Elders quick to recover
Elders Molong did not wait long to set up and continue operations after the flood. Like H Hardware they were keen to continue to serve local needs, particularly now. (R Leslie Stanniforth and Jeremy Evans at the new location i n Wa t s o n S t (formerly Daves)
$350k for facilities At Manildra’s Montana Park
N S W Nationals Upper House MP Sam Farraway has announced that Manildra’s Montana Park will benefit from $350,000 under Round Five of the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government’s S t r o n g e r C o u n t r y Communities Fund to make key improvements to the park. Mr Farraway recently visited Manildra with NSW Nationals Candidate for Orange Tony Mileto and said that the upgrades to the park will be enjoyed by all members of the community. “It is fantastic to see Round Five of the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government’s Stronger Country Communities Fund continue to support local projects and community initiatives in the Cabonne Shire. “This $350,000 grant will allow Cabonne Shire Council to continue to develop the grounds of Montana Park by constructing an amenities block, building a half basketball court and improving the lighting and accessibility pathing.
Remebering - Launa Boucher
Thank you for being with us today, to celebrate the life of a remarkable woman, our mother, Lorna. There are no lessons about 'The Art of Mothering' we can only do our best and hope that we do it well. She was unconventional in her approach to mothering, believing we needed to make mistakes in order to learn and be able to stand on our own two feet. She walked through life with strong beliefs about all things and stood by those even if it put her at odds with what was considered the norm. A feminist maybe. Growing up - mum welcomed all our friends into her home and was able to produce a meal from nothing if we turned up unexpectedly with extras. She had a wicked sense of humour and participated in many shenanigans like when the family had a race between the old hearse, a motorbike, a horse and a human. Not to be left out she saddled the milking cow! This unusual event had cars stopping on the highway to watch. You might wonder why I am wearing so much colour today. This is her coat. She called it her coat of many colours. Mum loved colour, as those who knew her, can attest too. You should see what she is wearing today! No going out dressed in beige or grey for her. At the Pearly Gates Mum will be noticed and if she’s not, she will make her presence felt. Mum will add colour to heaven. When we were trying to get her to think about moving into town, we looked at the new units. No, she wasn’t going in there. Why? Because they were painted grey. When I said that’s very on trend. She answered, not much wonder there’s so much depression today. Mum, Moo (affectionate term used by the family) or Psycho- ceramic (translated crack pot, when we as kids were over all talk of pots, clay, firing and the need to finish this before Friday for the exhibition next week) was born in Walgett on the 13th of July 1933 to Arthur Percival and Ella Mildred Kelly. She was the second of four children. Shirley, James, and Gordon, all predeceased her. Mum was homeschooled until she was eight due to living 85kms from Walgett. She, then went to the Church of England School for Girls in Tamworth which she hated and coloured her feelings on living in Aged Care. She only went home for the Christmas holidays due to the coordination of travel in those days. She has again gone home for Christmas. Mum and her family moved to Molong around 1948 where she met this dashing young man from Fairbridge Farm, Aubrey James Michael Boucher better known as Mike. They married and had 4 children, Shelley, Kelly,
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MOLONG EXPRESS, Thursday 2 February 2023
“Particularly during periods of drought, locations such as Montana Park play a big role in improving mental health outcomes of families by giving locals a recreational space to visit and opportunities to interact with other members in the community. “Ultimately, this grant will expand the usability of Montana Park to everyone in the Shire and provide a space where young mums, families and tourists can stop by and enjoy themselves.”
Launa Boucher was a true “Molong Legend” contributing and participating in community undertakings from the Molong Players to the Yarn Market. Here is a tribute to their mum by the Boucher family at Launa’s recent funeral service.
Craig and Lex. She has 10 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren and 2 more due soon. Mum was very proud of them but was unafraid to mentor if she felt it necessary. Mum always wanted to be a doctor as a child and young adult but lived in an era where allowing a girl to follow educational pursuits was uncommon. As a result, she turned her considerable talents to learning new skills and supporting her community. Many of you are familiar with her community involvement which culminated in her receiving Molong Citizen of the Year in 2012. She was a foundation member of the Yarn Market and Coach House which recently celebrated their fiftieth year. She managed the Molong Central School and pool canteen’s, ran Scouts and supported junior sport including instigating the development of the Basketball courts and running the competition and fundraising for the town’s Skate Park. Mum was a potter with a successful business called Kimrol Pottery, a painter, made silver jewellery, a woodworker, pieces she made are still in the home today as well as a member of the Molong Players until she was no longer able to dance and sing on stage. She developed plays for seniors, so they weren’t disregarded and wrote plays and directed many productions for the kids of Molong as she believed it was important for those kids who were creative. She worked tirelessly to raise money for the Heart Foundation when I was an entrant in the Queen of Hearts Quest. This proved to be significant to us as Dad later passed away from a heart related condition.
There are many other activities too numerous to mention that she supported to promote the town of Molong and support youth. If anyone said it couldn’t be done mum found a way to make it happen. Mum had an unenviable driving record particularly in her later years. It was never her fault but the hoon that backed into her or parked too close. Her little red car donned many other colours. She liked colour! The only time she was in trouble with the law over her driving was when she was pregnant with Craig and ran over dad. They were working together which they often did. He was riding on the side of the truck, fell off and went under the truck. They both ended up in hospital, Mum delivering Craig and Dad recovering from his injuries. When mum was asked to explain why she hadn’t reported the accident to the police. Her answer: I didn’t think it was a problem if I was married to him. Another time she was terrified she’d run over the person she thought she saw lying on the side of the road as she drove into town in the dark. On the way home she felt a huge bump. Thankfully it was only a roo or so she said! She was also charged with not wearing a seatbelt. She believed it was her secret. She drove from one side of the main street to the other side due to her increasing mobility issues. We have it on good authority she was unimpressed. Her grandkids have been reminiscing about her over the last few days reflecting on how after a visit to Nan you had a couple of inappropriate jokes that you could share with your mates (so much better than a knitted scarf). How you had to avoid the peacock poo, or they run bets on how stale the biscuits in the ‘bear biscuit jar’ would be. Bobbi, one of her grandchildren, will portray mum from their recollections. Mum was someone who said what she thought, although in recent times her filter was absent, and she could be quite wounding. She did not suffer whom she considered foolish graciously. She lived by the motto: I am women hear me roar. We would like to thank the staff at Yuranigh Residential Aged Care for the attention and love they gave mum over the past twelve months. Mum never really settled into care having lived on her own since Dad passed in 1993. She refused to play bingo because that was only for old people, tried to escape (she just wanted to go ‘home’) and at times could be challenging (they think I don’t know that they’re trying to trick me) so we appreciate the support you gave her.
