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News
Wednesday April 2, 2014
Lily’s love of landscape is a winner environment in which I grew up”, Lily said. Lily’s oil painting on canvas is a sweep of her hometown’s rolling pastoral landscape. “I live on a farm, where there is nobody for kilometres,” she said. “My memories of home and the open space mean so much more to me after having boarded at school for the last two years.” Lily, who graduated from St Scholastica’s College Glebe, used a mix of paints and a pallet knife to recreate a textured painting of photographs of Bombala, which reflect her deep feelings for the landscape, and her love of its natural beauty. “Painting this work deepened my connection with, and thankfulness for, the From the desk of the natural environment I’m General Manager, surrounded by. It’s really Mr John Vucic amazing,” she said. Cooma-Monaro Shire Council “It expresses my gratitude, which ties in with the theme of this year’s “ROAD SHOW” ON REVITALISING competition.” Presented with a cheque for $2000
2014 Clancy Prize winner Lily Platts, of Bombala, was overwhelmed to discover her Year 12 signature HSC piece ‘The Road Home’ was also the winning artwork in this year’s Religious Art competition, the Clancy Prize. The 18-year-old, who took out the top award on Friday March 21 in Sydney’s Catholic schools’ most prestigious annual Religious Art competition, paid tribute to the place where she found her inspiration. She will use the $2000 prizemoney to assist her with travel overseas this year, before she begins study in Visual Arts next year. “The work pays homage to the natural
THE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS HEATING UP
The NSW Independent Local Government Review Panel and the Local Government Acts Taskforce have now completed their work with a variety of interesting and most challenging recommendations for Local Government reform. Check them out on www.dlg.nsw.gov.au. These recommendations have been floated for comment and debate as part of the journey towards revitalization and sustainability of Councils in meeting future community needs. It is understood that there was considerable concern in the initial community responses over the proposed amalgamations and boundary changes in the Review Panel’s Report. The Local Government NSW (LGNSW) have taken up the challenge to address the recommendations and are currently running fifteen (15) “road show” forums to provide a unified response on the recommendations to the State Government. These forums are attended by Mayors, Councillors and senior staff, which provide a myriad of local experiences on service delivery issues to the debate. Some hot topics that were raised and discussed at a recent “Road Show” forum in Queanbeyan addressed incentive schemes for voluntary Council amalgamations, resource sharing concepts, new rating systems and revenue support. Some hotly debated, novel governance structures involved concepts such as Joint Organisations of Councils, Regional Centers anchoring Regional Joint Organisations, concept of Rural Councils and Community Boards, Boundary Commissions for analysing mergers and limited financial assistance programs for roads and infrastructure programs. Other topics that raised eyebrows involved new arrangements for collaborative, whole of government strategic planning at a regional level, the conduct and process of Local Government elections, the role and responsibilities of General Managers and Mayors, preparation of Councillor development plans, and mandatory professional development requirements for Councillors and Mayors. At the local level, the three (3) Councils of Bombala, Snowy River and Cooma–Monaro Shire, have recognised that a one model fits all solution is not tenable and have formed a High Plains Forum to address and formulate a unique approach for government consideration to these challenges outlined by the Review Panel. It is envisaged that the three (3) Shire Councils will be making a joint submission responding to the diverse and complex demands by their respective communities of different sizes, interests and scale to generate cost effective and efficient services in the future. Watch this space. We are advised that feedback provided by the community and the local government sector will assist to inform the appropriate government response envisaged within three months of submission closure on 4 April 2014.
Lily Platts with her Clancy Award-winning painting. by Dr Michael Bezzina, Director of Teaching and Learning at the CEO Sydney, Lily admitted she was surprised to win the hotly contested prize in front of 300 people at the exhibition opening at the McGlade Gallery.
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A total of 73 works were submitted at the 15th annual event this year. The CEO organises the event and ACU exhibits the work.
Common Sense Comes Before a Fall “A serious fall can lead to long-term hospitalisation, loss of independence and, in some cases, premature death,” said Lorraine Lovitt, Leader of the NSW Falls Prevention Program. One in three people older than 65 have a fall each year, but some falls aren’t caused by tripping over a dog or cat. Medicine could be the culprit. Ms Lovitt said some medications, such as sleeping tablets, pain killers, high blood pressure medication, fluid tablets and some mood disorder medications (e.g, for depression) may increase a person’s fall risk. “These can cause unwanted sideeffects such as drowsiness, dizziness, poor balance, frequent/urgent urination and changes to eyesight, such as blurry vision.” That’s why this year’s theme for April Falls Day® is ‘Medicate right to stay upright’. It’s a new campaign by the Clinical Excellence Commission to promote the safe use of medicines. “If you start taking a new medicine, change brands, take multiple medicines, or change your normal dose, you have an increased chance of experiencing the above sideeffects,” said Ms Lovitt. “These can lead to a fall. If you are experiencing
any side-effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.” For more information on falls prevention visit www.cec.health.nsw. gov.au and click on the April Falls Day® 2014 link. For more information about Falls Prevention initiatives happening in Southern NSW Local Health District please contact Falls Prevention Coordinator Niccola Follett on 02 4475 1639. Here are some useful tips: • Have an up-to-date list of your medications. Carry it with you. It can speak for you. • Don’t take anyone else’s prescribed medication • Read medication labels in good light and follow the instructions carefully. • Don’t use out-of-date medications. Return them to your pharmacist. • Talk to your doctor or pharmacist regularly to review your medications, including any herbs or supplements because they may react with your prescription medications. • Ask your pharmacist about packaging your medications to help you manage them.
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