Alpine Division 190624

OVENS RIVER RESTORATION BOOSTED

Helping our habitat

HABITAT restoration works at Mayfly Rise on the upper Ovens River, led by Alpine Fly Fishers, the Australian Trout Foundation (ATF) and Wangaratta Fly Fishers, have been boosted by a $46,000 grant for riverbed stabilisation, erosion prevention and replanting of native species.

Harrietville fisherman Brian Eddy said the works have been an ongoing project for the Alpine Fly Fishers, who are now on their fourth stretch of restoration along the Ovens River.

“The Ovens River has historically been affected by mining and dredging around 100-odd years ago,” he said.

“In the early years, the management, or mismanagement, thought they were doing the right thing clearing out snags which are actually the habitat for aquatic species.

“You end up with a wide, unstable

BY LEAH ANDERSON-BYRNE LAndersonByrne@ nemedia.com.au

riverbed that erodes each winter and lose any suitable habitat.

Mr Eddy said the funding will go towards using boulders to create different flow paths and places for fish to rest and find food.

“The diversity to flow and depth will create cooler waters in summer,” he said.

“We’ll use various tools to prevent further erosion, such as using fallen trees to peg along the banks, and then we’ll replant native trees, shrubs and grasses to hold everything together and create habitat for insect life as well.

“This project is a big one and not something a small club like ours could do ourselves so it’s great to receive grants like this.”

ATF president Terry George said

these works are important for the local environment, land and climate action.

“The positive effects these works have is a benefit to all water creatures; fish, native fish, freshwater crayfish and small bodied natives,” he said.

“They have the same needs we have; somewhere to live and somewhere to hide from predators, it also provides cooler waters and the plant species we put in scour the cobbles out and make for deeper water as well.

According to Mr George, an electro fishing survey at Mayfly Rise 1 by the Arthur Rylah Institute revealed that since habitat was installed in the river the abundance of fish has expanded.

“There were lots of little black fish found, trout populations, smallbodied natives, two female platypus in good condition and freshwater crayfish,” he said.

“By installing habitat in the rivers, fish abundance can grow up to 80 per cent and by revegetating the riparian strips, the water temperature can decrease up to 10 per cent.

“We might be the trout foundation but we’re really conservationists; our mission is to protect and enhance the health of waterways and fisheries for future generations.

“This is intended to be a long, ongoing process and there’s much more work to be done.

“Apart from the Ovens, we’ve got wonderful streams in the local catchment, which we’ve done some work on, and the Buckland River still needs a lot of work.”

Anyone interested in getting involved with these projects can register to volunteer at https:// australiantroutfoundation.com.au/ or contact the Alpine Fly Fishers or Wangaratta Fly Fishers.

RIVER RESTORATION: Alpine Fly Fishers’ Brian Eddy beside one of the new Ovens River improvement works near Bright.

PHOTO: Brodie Everist

Teachers forging ahead

ST MARY’S Primary School received a pleasant surprise last week when Victorian Minster for Education Ben Carroll specifically named the school during his announcement of a policy changing the way children will be taught to read.

According to the school, Mr Carroll mentioned St Mary’s Primary School as an example of a school that has been implementing an approach that will now be made mandatory across all government schools due to its effectiveness.

“It was great to be called out by the Minister – it was fantastic,” said school principal Kitty Hancock, who was attending the summit where the announcement was made.

As of next year, students from Prep to Grade 2 across Victoria will be taught using a mandated systematic synthetic phonics approach as part of their reading

BY BRODIE EVERIST beverist@ nemedia.com.au

programs, with a minimum of 25 minutes daily explicit teaching of phonics and phonemic awareness.

Systematic synthetic phonics is a structured approach that explicitly teaches the relationship between sounds and letters to read words, and it’s an approach St Mary’s began exploring in 2019.

“It’s the ability to decode words using knowledge of letter-sound relationships,” Ms Hancock said.

“So teaching the children what those letter-sound relationships are and then how you can break down words when you’re reading.

“Not always, but usually the

kids that struggle to learn to read are most likely to have missed out on that systematic and explicit phonics.”

The new policy will also include explicit teaching of oral language, vocabulary, reading fluency and comprehension.

Ms Hancock said explicit teaching, which involve teachers clearly showing students what to do and how to do it, is an approach they take across their curriculum, giving students certainly across different classes.

“It’s just the way we teach, it really helps those kids with anxiety or any wellbeing issues because they know that the delivery is similar in each class,” she said.

“We’re four years down the track and there are still things for us to

learn, but we feel really comfortable in what we’re doing.

“We get a lot of schools come to watch us teach from across our Catholic schools, but also from a lot of state schools.”

According to the government, evidence from Victorian schools and reviews conducted by the Australian Education Research Organisation and the Grattan Institute show explicit teaching works best for the largest number of students.

“The evidence shows that explicit teaching and the use of systemic synthetic phonics instructions gets results – while we already lead the nation in NAPLAN results, we’re always looking to improve, especially in relation to lifting outcomes for disadvantaged students,” Mr Carroll said.

AYU O’Donnell, Anne McEniery and Ting Ting Tang were some of the community members who enjoyed a Biggest Morning Tea in Myrtleford last Wednesday to raise funds for the Cancer council. Story page 4.

PHOTO: Brodie Everist

Laughter yogaa great tool for chronic stress

By KYM GOODMAN, Myrtleford Laughter Club

IN recent years, more and more people are reporting feeling stressed.

Although our body is well equipped to deal with acute stress, chronic stress can tire our system and contribute to chronic long-term illness.

Therefore, we need affordable and effective measures to reduce stress and this is where laughter yoga stands alone for its scientifically proven positive results for stress reduction.

For too long, many of us have relegated laughter to fun times and good company – when life is sweet.

The truth is, life can be challenging and stressful, and when life’s like that, it may not seem like there’s much to laugh about.

Laughter yoga harnesses laughter as a natural physical function.

It combines deep slow diaphragmatic breathing with playful gentle stretches and movement, and intentional laughter - which is a choice not forced.

The stress chemicals in our blood stream are reduced, allowing our mood to lighten and brighten after a half-hour session.

True change comes with sustained repeated use – as with any skill or exercise.

Luckily we have this resource available in Myrtleford at the Neighbourhood Centre every Saturday at 1:30 pm.

The sessions are free for community health and wellness.

If the privacy of your own home is preferable, I have been teaching laughter yoga for over 15 years and I run a free laughter session on Zoom every Friday at 4pm.

Phone 0431 329 840 for details or look on the ‘Laugh with us Myrtleford Laughter Yoga’ Facebook page.

Men’s shed goes medical with first aid course

By BRODIE EVERIST

ABOUT a dozen people attended a first aid course at the Myrtleford Hospital last Thursday, organised by the Myrtleford Men’s Shed.

Club treasurer Clive Walker said student participation was high.

“Even though I think most of us knew a little bit about first aid, it

was interesting to have an up-todate version of what you should or shouldn’t do and how to do it,” he said.

The class was funded by an Australian Communities Foundation grant obtained by the men’s shed in an aim to increase first aid knowledge for seniors.

The event also had attendance for the cardio-pulmonary resus-

citation (CPR) component of the course.

First aid trainer Carolynne Collier said it is vital to learn first aid, especially CPR, as many incidents of cardiac arrest occur without warning.

“There are around 30,000 sudden cardiac arrest deaths every year in Australia, which is a bit of an alarming statistic.,” she said.

“Of those, about 50 per cent don’t have any warning signs.”

When the first aid course was proposed last year an accompanying men’s health event was also suggested, but this did not come to fruition.

However, Mr Walker said the men’s shed will reconsider organising a men’s health event after the success of the first aid course.

Trina Solar looks at compensation, community benefit fund

By BRODIE EVERIST

TRINA Solar, the company behind a proposed battery energy storage system in Dederang, is intending to set up a community benefit fund should their project go ahead, the company’s head of development said last week.

Speaking on Alpine FM, Mr Flores said “the fund will be allocated in annual basis and will be distributed based on the needs of the community”.

He said they may also make compensation agreements with the installation’s neighbours following attempts to mitigate impacts of the project.

“If there is any remaining impact on the adjacent

neighbours during the construction or during operation, we will contact them individually and we are open to reach a neighbour agreement or any kind of compensation agreement with them,” he said.

Mr Flores was featured in an interview last Wednesday on ‘The Pale Blue Dot’, a show on renewable energy and environmental issues presented by Mount Beauty locals, where he answered several questions on the proposal.

Trina Solar proposes to develop, build and operate a BESS approximately three kilometres north-east of Dederang, with a total capacity of 1000 megawatt hours.

It is the second BESS installation mooted for Dederang, with another by Mint Renewables proposed adjacent to the Dederang terminal station.

According to Mr Flores, both companies are working on creating community benefit plans and Trina Solar would like to ensure “resources are used in the most effective ways and we don’t overlap”.

Mr Flores said the Trina Solar site will include batteries, an on-site substation, transformer, inverter and internal roads.

When asked about the site’s location, he said compared to major solar farms in the North East, the pro-

posed BESS is quite small and strategically close to the Dederang terminal station.

“Those solar farms take up 100 or even 1000 hectares and also faced strong opposition at the beginning,” he said.

“We believe that this project has some advantage with respect to this kind of development because it’s much smaller in size - we are talking about 10, maximum 15 hectares.

“It will be placed behind an existing substation and several transmission lines.”

He also said they intend for vegetation screening around the entire installation.

According to Mr Flores, the main purpose of the pro-

posed BESS will be grid stabilisation – absorbing power during times of excess energy production and supplying the grid when power demand is greater.

Trina Solar expects the installation to operate for around 20 years, after which the company may decommission the site or retrofit the equipment to keep it running, Mr Flores said.

“The equipment is designed to operate [for] 20 years, plus as well, that is in conjunction with the energy needs of Victoria and Australia during that period,” he said.

“We calculate everything to match the demand and also the energy needs of Victoria with the life expectan-

cy of the equipment.”

Mr Flores said the batteries will include a fire suppression system within each battery container and the entire installation will have water storage for a fire external to the batteries.

Responding to a query about Trina Solar’s Chinese ownership, Mr Flores said all of their team is working in Australia and their company is ”one of the most bankable solar module manufacturers in the world”.

“We are really well-known in the industry,” he said.

“I think that definitely the experience and the resources of Trina worldwide in Australia will be a big advantage for the project.”

GIVING AID: (From left) first aid trainer Helen Giles, Myrtleford Men’s Shed secretary Barry Holden and treasurer Clive Walker before the first aid course last week. PHOTO: Brodie Everist

Alpine resorts tackling climate change challenges, amid ANU study warning

By TILLY GWINNER

VICTORIA’S peak body for snow resorts says multiple measures, both present and future, are helping to address the challenges of climate change to ensure the longevity of winter snow seasons in the state’s alpine regions.

A report from Australian National University (ANU) released last month warns Australian alps are critically vulnerable to climate change and it forecast snow days at Hotham could drop by up to 28 days per season by 2050, and by up to 51 days at Falls Creek, with ski seasons across Australia estimated to be 44 days shorter by 2050 if the carbon pollution continues at its current rate.

Report co-author and ANU researcher Ruby Olson said trade-offs need to be

made, but it can also be an opportunity for the region to transition to a “year-round haven” from increasing temperatures.

Alpine Resorts Victoria (ARV) CEO and avid snowboarder, Amber Gardner, said a plan is in place and that “climate change is nothing new for our alpine sector, we’ve long moved on sustainable initiatives”.

Ms Gardner said the industry won’t be winding up winter anytime soon, and there’s more to the numbers than meets the eye, so a more realistic and pragmatic approach is needed.

“While these studies are important, they are conducted on an-ad hoc basis with no or little engagement with industry and the lead stakeholders in the sector,” she said.

“Because of this, they really fail to understand or

WE’VE GOT SNOW: The first big falls of the 2024 season delivered around 18cms to Falls Creek last week, allowing some terrain to open for skiing on the weekend.

model the positive impacts of collaborative adaption efforts occurring across the alpine resorts.”

Regardless, Ms Gardner said a plan is already in place at ARV.

PHOTO: Aidan Haynes

“We have been planning ahead to sustain and optimise our winter season by investing in sustainable infrastructure.... initiatives range from water tanks on mountain and solar, to an al-

pine nursery,” she said.

Ms Gardner said ARV will be implementing emergency management plans that look at current energy usage and alternative energy options into the future next year.

“We’re developing our own climate change strategy in conjunction with key industry stakeholders,” she said.

State and federal government funding has been secured by ARV to develop climate friendly initiatives, including a neighborhood battery project at Falls Creek.

“Integrated water management plans and solar trials are keeping the industry sustainable,” Ms Gardner said.

“A strong winter is integral to our economy.”

While Victoria’s alpine resorts have generators and

Forum draws prospective council candidates

By TILLY GWINNER

PROSPECTIVE candidates

for upcoming council elections

attended a Stand For Council forum in Wangaratta last Thursday night, which included Alpine Shire Council chief executive officer (CEO) Will Jeremy on the panel advising attendees.

Mr Jeremy said a number of interested parties from the shire were at the forum organised by the Municipal Association of Victoria.

“There’s no prospective candidates in person here tonight, but a few of them were online,” he said.

He said there was definite interest from parties looking to nominate in September for the October council election.

“Members of the public have approached me to discuss their candidacy, my door is open to anyone who is interested,” Mr Jeremy said.

“My advice to people is that if they are thinking of running, go for it.”

Some 22 people attended the forum in person, and 20 online, and were provided with an op-

portunity to ask questions of the panel that included Mr Jeremy and council CEOs from across the North East.

Council members advised prospective candidates the time commitment if elected is around 20 hours a week.

Indigo Shire CEO Trevor Ierino shared his thoughts on the process of council and how council officers need to realise it’s up to the elected council to decide on any given agenda item.

“They’ve got to realise this is a democracy and there’s a group of councillors who represent the community who vote on it,” Mr Ierino said.

“Staff that come to understand that do well and those who can’t cope with that they really don’t have a place in local government.”

From a councillor point of view he encouraged councillors to scrutinise the debate but be careful about comments.

“As long as council is respectful and understands the role of democracy, things work well, but if something goes off track then they don’t work well,” he said.

Mr Ierino said the council chamber can be an emotional place and he noted that people can have a view on matters but in a public arena it can be quite stressful for some.

solar on mountain at Baw Baw, Mt Stirling, Mt Buller and Lake Mountain, power at Mt Hotham and Falls Creek is currently partnered with Red Energy.

“We are trialing solar; we’ve long been working with stakeholders to develop new initiatives,” Ms Gardner confirmed.

Ski lift operators have also been proactive with resort management over recent years, increasing snowmaking capabilities on-mountain while enhancing slopes to be able to operate in more marginal natural snow conditions.

The report ‘Our Changing Snowscapes: Climate Change Impacts and Recommendations for the Australian Alps’ predicts a hopeful future for snow seasons in Mt Hotham and Falls if measures are implemented to limit climate pollution.

HAVING A LAUGH: Alpine Shire CEO Will Jeremy (left), Benalla Rural City CEO Dom Testoni and Rural City of Wangaratta acting CEO Sarah Brindley were able to share some of their insights into council with prospective candidates. PHOTO: Steve Kelly

Anyone in the community who is on the council roll can nominate as a candidate for the Alpine Shire Council.

Elections will be held to determine the seven councilors for a four-year term to represent the Alpine Shire via postal vote in October.

In order to register for candidacy, individuals are required to complete compulsory training with the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC).

For more information about the 2024 council elections and the process to nominate, visit the VEC website, or the MAV website at mav.asn.au/stand-forcouncil-2024.

Past time for unregulated tech platforms

RECENT calls for social media tech giants to be treated as publishers and subject to Australian media laws has increased debate on the social media platforms, and their negative societal effects experienced in a single generation.

It follows the eSafety Commissioner’s loss in the Federal Court against the social media platform X refusing to extend a ban on video images of the stabbing of bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in a western Sydney church, with the judge stating an Australian ban ‘would be ignored or disparaged in other countries’.

According to Michael Miller, News Corp Australia’s executive chairman’s address to the Australian Press Club, the government should take notice

of what the majority of Australians want and legislate for social media monopolies including Meta, Tik Tok and X to play by Australian rules

Mr Miller proposed media platforms should require a ‘social licence’ to force them to deal fairly in markets and be liable for content in countries in which they operate, or risk being penalised or shut out.

The ‘social licence’ concept would include provision for anti-monopolistic digital markets, contribute funds to be spent tackling causal mental health, honour Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code, and apply penalties including crime sanctions where laws are broken.

Mr Miller cited recent Meta’s decision not to comply with the Media

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Bargaining Code and challenged it to bargain with legacy media in good faith.

He argued social media profits from bad behavior including ‘evil videos’, bullying, con artists scams, and glamourising eating disorders.

Surveys indicate that 83 per cent of Australians believe major technical and social media companies should be subject to Australian laws, and 54 per cent would support a ban on a social media company that

refused to comply with Australia’s regulations and law.

The addictive nature of social media driven by ever more smart algorithms, continues to challenge all levels of society, leading to cyberbullying, anxiety, depression and not age-appropriate content.

Concerningly, the leading cause of death among Australians aged 15 to 24 is suicide, and mental health disorders among young people have soared by nearly 50 per cent in 15 years, coinciding with the introduction of social media.

Some experts blame social media for young people’s decline in mental health and others are asking social media companies to share their internal data on how their products

affect teenager mental health. In response parents are being urged not to provide smartphones to children under 12 and restrict social media accounts under 16; school principals are moving to ban the use of smartphones during school hours.

While social media can be a force for good and has changed the way we communicate and socially interact, big tech social media platforms making super profits are not going to self-regulate.

It’s past time Australia joined the EU, Canada and other like-minded countries to legislate for social media platforms to be on a level playing field with legacy media publishers and respond to consequential harm they cause.

Community unites for cancer fundraiser

By BRODIE EVERIST

AN estimated 35 attended the Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser at the Bush Track Wines Cellar Door on Wednesday morning, where almost $1600 was raised for the Cancer Council.

Organiser Judy Anderson, who is a salesperson for the

winemaker, said the event’s success was due to the donations of time, space, and goods from wide range of businesses and individuals.

Food was donated by two bakeries in the shire, while a local supermarket donated ingredients, and several businesses in Myrtleford and

Bright donated raffle gifts.

Bush Track Wines donated the use of their venue, while staff also donated their time, meaning all money made from the event went to the cancer charity, Ms Anderson said.

She said the venue was almost at capacity.

“It was amazing that we had

that many people there,” she said.

“It was just such a great tribute to the people that have cancer, that are fighting and everything else, and it also shows the support from the local community.

“A great big thanks to the sponsors that helped us make everybody’s day a day to remember.”

A GREAT DAY: Helen McNamara and Linda Lewis.

GOOD TIMES: Glenda Janas with Fiona Nicholls last week.

HAVING FUN: Jan Mock and Kay Coianiz.

CHEERS: Catherine Upcher and Trish Bardone at the Biggest Morning Tea last Wednesday.

THE ALPINE

DEECA awards local volunteers for work at parks and reserves

By BRODIE EVERIST

THE Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) awarded two shire committees of management last Tuesday, while one volunteer was awarded for over 20 years of service to a local caravan park.

Around 30 attended the event at the Richardson Pavilion in Myrtleford, where DEECA regional manager for land and built environment Gini Harris gave out awards to management committees in the Alpine Shire and Rural City of Wangaratta, recognising their efforts in helping communities recover from floods over recent years.

The Myrtleford Recreation Reserve committee and Wandiligong Preservation Society were awarded, as was Mongans Bridge Caravan Park volunteer Elwyn Ried.

Awards were also given to the Oxley Recreation Reserve Committee of Management, the Milawa Recreation Reserve Committee and the Painters Island Committee of Management.

The Myrtleford Recreation Committee was the first to be recognised, with Ms Harris commending their efforts to renew the reserve, including renovating the Richardson Pavilion, upgrading a kitchen in the cattle pavilion, overseeing the installation of a new amenities block and the installation of two new horseman arenas.

She said the committee was also nominated for the award because of their efforts to repair damage following flooding in October 2022.

“It includes things like improving the main roadway drainage and installation of swale drains which we all would have benefited from today when coming in,” she said.

Committee chair Allan McGuffie thanked his committee members for their hard work.

“It’s not about me, it’s about all of us,” he said.

“It’s about the amount of hours you have to do to get these things right, and you pass that on to the next custodian.”

After handing out the other awards, Ms Harris finished with a particular acknowledgement of Albury resident Elwyn Ried for her long years volunteering for the park.

Despite growing up in Yackandandah, Ms Ried has a long connection to Mongans Bridge, and she said some of her ancestors settled in Running Creek.

She visited the park as a child, then later became a volunteer assisting her husband who was a committee member.

She later became a member

herself, from 2001 to 2022.

“When you went up there for a weekend, there was jobs waiting for you, but we enjoyed it,” she said.

Alpine Shire Youth Awards now open for nominations

THE Alpine Shire Youth Awards are back for 2024, offering members of Alpine Shire communities the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the young people in their lives.

The Youth Awards have a legacy of 24 years for council, with the inaugural ceremony taking place in 2000.

Every year, the Youth Awards ceremony is planned and delivered by a committee of young people, providing opportunities for them to develop skills across event management, stakeholder engagement, and project communications.

Alpine Shire Council mayor Cr John Forsyth said the Youth Awards are an invaluable opportunity for community members to showcase the achievements of young people.

“The Youth Awards ceremony is a very special event that is dedicated to young people in our community who are motivated, engaged, and contributing great things to the Alpine Shire,” he said.

“These people are only 12 to 21 years old, yet we can learn so much from hearing their stories and celebrating their achievements.”

The Youth Awards have also inspired young people to pursue the things that benefit themselves, their peers, and their environment.

2023 winner of the community award, Zoe Gray of Tawonga South, said receiving a Youth Award has motivated her to keep active in her hometown, particularly when it comes to her passions and interests.

“Receiving the community award has helped me to feel appreciated and recognised”, she said.

“In the future I would love to see our community prioritise our local environment.

“I’m an avid skier and I hope to be able to keep skiing in the future and for it not to be impacted by climate change.”

Community members are able to nominate a young person aged between 12 to 21 across nine different categories: academic, community, endurance and persistence, performing arts, proud and deadly, sport and recreation, rural, visual arts and media, and workplace.

“It has changed a lot, but the friendliness is still there and people that come for holidays are still willing to work, do some jobs.”

Nominations are open until Monday, 5 August.

Start your nomination by visiting https:// engage.alpineshire.vic.gov.au/alpine-shireyouth-awards.

COMMITTEE ACCOLADE: (From left) Jim Martin (representing the Myrtleford Golf Club), Alpine Shire councillor Ron Janas, Myrtleford Recreation Reserve Committee of Management chair Allan McGuffie, committe treasurer Debbie Geddes and secretary Mike Clarke.

PHOTOS: Brodie Everist

WELL-DESERVED: Elwyn Ried (centre) with Mongans Bridge Caravan Park Committee of Management members (from left) Herman Van den Broek, Catherine Upcher and Lynette Walker.

Mountains of money: alpine resorts are $2.14b industry

By TILLY GWINNER and JEFF ZEUSCHNER

NEW research into the economic contribution and benefits of Victoria’s alpine resorts has found the sector contributes a whopping $2.14 billion to Victoria’s overall annual economic activity.

Commissioned by Alpine Resorts Victoria (ARV), the research also found the six alpine resorts of Falls Creek, Mt Hotham, Mt Buller, Mt Stirling, Mt Baw Baw and Lake Mountain contribute to a diverse range of economic benefits for regional areas including more than 12,000 regional jobs, and they also create social and environmental benefits for all Victorians.

The findings, released by Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Steve Dimopoulos, also showed the sector annually creates 1955 full-time-equivalent jobs at Falls Creek and 1321 at Mt Hotham, while on-mountain spending generates $329 million in economic output at Falls Creek, and $247 million at Mt Hotham.

WE HAVE LIFTOUT: Hotham local Libby Chirnside 28, was enjoying the fresh snow at Hotham last week. Both Hotham and Falls Creek opened terrain, with one or two lifts operating, to get the season started over the weekend.

The report ‘Economic Contribution & Benefits of Victoria’s Alpine Resorts’ found that Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Buller make up 78 per cent of the state’s alpine tourism.

ARV CEO Amber Gardner, said the new research, coinciding with a century of skiing being celebrated at Mt Buller, reinforced the critical role alpine resorts play

in regional visitor economies - with economic contributions from off-mountain spending pumping $165m into the Alpine Shire economy and generating 1131 EFT jobs annually.

“Each year nearly 1.4 million visitors enjoy the alpine environment’s broad offering of nature-based tourism experiences, sustaining thousands of on-mountain

 $2.14 billion annual economic output

($1.74b winter/$404m green season)

 $1.04 billion gross value added ($839m winter/$203m green season)

 1.38 million annual visitors (935,800 winter/440,300 green season)

 $1.33 billion annual expenditure by visitors ($1.06b winter/$270m green season)

 12,130 FTE jobs supported (5960 alpine resorts, 2105 LGAs near resorts, 4065 rest of Vic)

 $4 private sector investment for every $1 of government investment

 $133 million in annual benefits for businesses and workers

 $820 million annual existence benefits

 $154 million annual user and health benefits

 8% of the total economic output in Victoria

businesses and making a significant contribution to the economies of surrounding towns in regional Victoria,” Ms Gardner said.

“In the High Country alone, the resorts account for a third of total visitation to the region, so act as the economic backbone of regional communities.

“The resorts are significant employers, and in ad-

dition to the economic benefits they generate, also provide important environmental, health and social benefits to the community.

“The findings also show visitors to our resorts are healthier and more productive members of society, and ecosystems benefit from environmental programs delivered by Alpine Resorts Victoria.

“The economic output of Victoria’s alpine resorts are equivalent to economic output of Sovereign Hill, Puffing Billy and the penguin parade combined.

“When you put it in context like that, it’s pretty impressive.”

The latest research was undertaken by consulting firm SGS Economics and Planning Pty Ltd.

Last season Falls Creek had 168,241 visitors and Mt Hotham had 154,825 visitors, and after their season opening on King’s Birthday weekend, both resorts officially opened terrain and started lifts to kick of the 2024 season last weekend, with snow depths of around 20cms.

More natural falls and snowmaking is hoped to allow further terrain and lifts to open later this week.

ARV was established in October 2022 to bring all six alpine resorts together into one organisation, with the aim of building the economic resilience of the sector, streamlining operations across the resorts and positioning them for strategic growth.

PHOTO: Chris Hocking, Vail Resorts

Festival broadcast a hit for local station

IT’S a first for the Rotary Club Mount Beauty.

Members Linda Hall and Ian Cohn, who met at Rotary meeting nine months ago, were married in May this year in an intimate ceremony in a beautiful setting with family and friends.

The immediate honeymoon was COVID central – both house-bound while recovering.

However, they will be enjoying the real honeymoon when they leave soon for

a trip to Amsterdam and Vancouver to meet Ian’s children and grandchildren. It’s a perfect match and a very happy ending.

THE Mount Beauty Writers Festival planning is well underway, ready for the event on October 12.

Bookings will be available in mid-July on their website. The festival conducts a writing competition for school age kids 10-13 and 14-18 that is now open; to

check details please contact email mtbyouthcomp@ outlook.com.

This gives the young writers three months to come up with a story consisting of no less than 1000 and no more than 2000 words.

Prize money is an extremely generous $350 for winner of each of the two age groups, with a second prize of $150, donated and sponsored by AGL.

So if you know of a storyteller or a budding

journalist, let them know about this great opportunity.

This is open to all school age children (in the two age groups) living in the Upper Kiewa Valley.

FOLLOWING the successful Brighter Days Festival, Darker Days Festival was held at the Bright Brewery last Saturday.

Alpine FM was there with an outdoor broadcast featuring the team from the Beats and Banter Program, along with

many of the station’s talented presenters.

Station manager Michael Ahearn said: “It was a fantastic chance to get to hear from so many guests, including all the beer brewers that were in attendance.

“The station also had the chance to speak with many of the local and national musicians that performed on the day.

“The weather was perfect, and everyone had an amazing time.”

HAPPILY MARRIED: Linda and Ian Cohn:

PHOTO: Detlev Rueff

OPEN-AIR RADIO: (From left) musician Matt Siers with presenters Mel Naismith and Mandy Van Gastel at Alpine FM’s outdoors broadcast from Darker Days last weekend.

PHOTO: Michael Ahearn

By FAY MASON, Kiewa Valley Correspondent

Resorts’ world-first snow rescue vehicles to heat up patient care

By BAILEY ZIMMERMANN

NEW state-of the art Ambulance Victoria (AV) snow vehicles are looking to change the game of patient care on the slopes this snow season..

The brand new Can-Am defenders and Skidoo vehicles have been specially designed for the Victorian High Country.

AV Hume area manager Rob Heaslip said the vehicles have been three years in the making, going through rigorous testing and design

alterations to ensure they are best suited for snow resorts at Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and Mount Buller.

“Everything was too big to access patients in those resorts, so we had to make something new,” he said.

“It’s going to make a huge difference; we will be able access patients a lot quicker and transport them a lot more appropriately and monitor really critical patients while we’re getting them back to a medical centre or to an ambulance.

“It’s just a much more so-

phisticated way to treat patients, because everything that’s on the Can-Am is on a normal ambulance, it’s just more compact.”

One of each vehicle is being distributed to the three resorts, complementing the standard garage of ambulance vehicles.

Mr Heaslip said the CanAM defender was a worldfirst design in ambulance care, which has already proven its functional value in elements outside of the snow.

“We’ve been developing

them from a farm vehicle to what you see now,” he said.

“They are really unique and they’re really functional; we put wheels back on it and used it at the F1 Grand Prix this year for getting in and out of big crowds and our Gippsland comrades will use on some of the surf beach stuff as well.

“We designed it for snow, but with different uses over the state and because our research development centre is in Melbourne, other people saw it being developed and thought they could us it

and Falls Creek skiing, snowboarding, real estate, events, travel, industry real estate, events,

entertainment and much more Together this makes entertainment and much more. this makes Mt Hotham Falls Creek News the ultimate guide for Mt Hotham Falls Creek News the ultimate for visitors and locals alike and business wanting to visitors and locals alike and business to reach this important market reach this market. your business with

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in other environments.”

Mr Heaslip said the design of the vehicles have been tailored to the snowy and hilly specific features of the local resorts, which have proven complex to navigate for standard ambulance transport in the past.

“It responds to a lot of manual handling challenges we had at different resorts as well as patient comfort,” he said.

“We actually used to tow a sled with a skidoo with a patient on the back, so if someone needed treatment along

PEOPLE AROUND TOWN

Cathy Gunn

How long have you lived in the area?

In 1990 I came up here for one year teaching at the Secondary College. I met my husband, and within that year I was engaged, married, bought a house, and was pregnant.

What do you like about living here?

Easy - the environment and the community.

Would you like to see any additions or changes?

A pop-up cinema would be good, more entertainment in

Carly Montgomery

How long have you been living in the area?

I was born here in Myrtleford and left after high school to do an apprenticeship as a chef. I lived and worked away for 17 years before moving home with my young family 10 years ago.

What do you do for a living?

My job title is a bit of a mixed bag - I work for Billy Button Wines in various capacities (food and events), plus I also work at the Bush Track Wines Cellar Door here in town.

What are your hobbies and interests?

If I’m not watching the kids at their sporting activities, I love spending time working on my veggie garden and cooking. I love to cook and bake.

What do you like about the area?

I love the community feel

general. More young families settling here.

What do you do your hobbies and interests?

I am a marriage celebrant, I am on the committees of the Upper Kiewa Valley Regional Arts, the neighbourhood centre, and landcare. I am a supervisor for school exams. I like watching Netflix, and spending time in my garden.

Where would you take visitors to showcase the area?

Up to the snowfields at Falls Creek, the many walks, Pebble Beach, the gorge, and around the pondage.

here in Myrtleford and how we have such a beautiful blend of cultures. As a family, we love the snow, so being close to the ski fields is a bonus, not to mention the wonderful food and wine options that continue to grow.

Where would you take visitors to showcase the area?

Without leaving Myrtleford - a wine tasting at Bush Track Cellar Door, pizza from Bastoni, coffee from Chakra (or Chulo on

the way, then that’s too bad, but now we’ve got on board monitoring within the machine.

“We can now use the fire trails there in the summer and some of the bike trails to be able to access patients in wilderness areas.”

Mr Heaslip said in addition to a greater investment in snow vehicle car, Ambulance Victoria had also tripled its paramedic workforce at snow resorts during the season to improve response times and patient care.

the weekends) and breakfast at Fez. But a drive up to the beautiful Mount Buffalo or a ride on the rail trail never goes astray. But at this time of year, a nice wine around the fire with good friends and family just about covers it.

Is there anything you would change about the area?

I’m pretty biased when it comes to our area, and not just Myrtleford. We live in a spectacular part of the world and I really love how it’s growing and developing.

For my family and I don’t need to change anything as almost everything we need is close by.

Do you have any ambitions for the future?

Watching my kids grow up and sharing life’s moments is pretty special and fills my cup right now, but I’d love more snow so I can have more skiing days here in the Alpine Valley (ambitious, I know).

CUSTOM BUILT: Falls Creek and Hotham resorts are both getting a brand new Can-Am defender. PHOTOS: Kurt Hickling

START YOUR ENGINES: The new Ambulance Victoria skidoo and Can-Am vehicles were showcased at Wangaratta by Laura BYe, Jon Hopkins, Greg Margetts and Rob Heaslip.

SNOW READY: Ambulance Victoria’s Greg Margetts and Rob Heaslip were excited to showcase the new state of the art snow vehicles at Wangaratta’s AV branch.

Growers feel pressure of bats and business

By BRODIE EVERIST

LOCAL apple growers are reporting increasing costs of business amid static apple prices, with fruit bats a nuisance this year as they flew from the north in search of feed.

Freeburgh orchardist Peter Caloutas said it had been a tough season caused by fruit bat incursions, a warm autumn failing to colour fruit, and a quiet wholesale market.

This was only compounded by growing costs of business, such as input prices, wages and packaging.

“Everything around us is going up except our bottom dollar,” he said.

He said they will no longer sell fruit at the Melbourne market in Epping, a major Victorian wholesale market for growers and retailers.

“After 60 years we’re going to throw that in because the customers are running dry,” he said.

Mr Caloutas said he lost a considerable amount of fruit during the picking season due to fruit bats, which he said hadn’t visited his orchard in large numbers for three-four years.

“When it comes to picking, we need to lift the nets off and by doing that, you’re exposing the fruit to the elements,” he said.

“The bats come in and just cause havoc.”

Stanley orchardist Henry Hilton had similar concerns around increasing business costs, suggesting they were becoming unsustainable for growers.

Mr Hilton suggested inputs, such as electricity, transport and packaging, had increased his costs by around ten percent on the last financial year.

“It doesn’t matter whether I buy a ballpoint pen or I reinsure –they’re all climbing,” he said.

“Our product is not going up at the same rate.

“You end up treading water or going backwards where you can’t keep doing that.

“You’ve just got to shut the door, and that’s that, but, I mean, that’s going on across all agricultural and horticultural industries that I’m aware of.”

Don Nightingale, of Nightingales Apples in Wandiligong, said fruit bats were a nuisance from March through to April, and they forced pickers to take the fruit from underneath netting.

“Once they find a source of food, they’re going to keep coming back,” he said.

He agreed times were tough for the industry but didn’t want to complain.

“There’s no doubt about it,” he said.

“There’s the high cost of production, and we’re not getting any more for the fruit.”

However, he said the season had produced a good crop, with ‘club’ varieties, such as Jazz, Kanzi and Envy growing in popularity.

“We’ve picked nice fruit, our tonnages are where we thought they’d be, and quality, especially in the second half of the season, quality was good,” he said.

Construction roadshow to visit Bright

A HOME Efficiency

Construction Roadshow is visiting Bright this July as part of a Victorian Government push to ensure the construction industry is skilled in building energy efficient 7-star rated and all-electric homes.

Funded by Solar Victoria, the construction roadshows and webinars are provided by Master Builders Victoria (MBV) and the Housing Industry Association (HIA) to support the residential construction industry.

According to the government, the roadshows cover topics including passive house principles and solar design, how to avoid condensation and address air tightness, energy efficient appliances and building techniques and materials required to deliver better energy efficiency.

The roadshows form part of the government’s Renewable Homes Construction program, launched on Monday, which will provide free training on how to build, design or retrofit homes to make them more energy efficient.

The program will train builders on the new National Construction Code 2022 (NCC) which came into effect on 1 May 2024.

For more information, go to https://www.solar.vic.gov.au/ renewable-homes-constructiontraining.

CORE CONCERNS: Freeburgh orchardist

Peter Caloutas said increasing costs of business, fruit bats, and a quiet apple market made this year’s season difficult.

PHOTO: Brodie Everist

GREAT WORK

JAI Stone from the first Myrtleford Scout Group recently received his Grey Wolf Award, the peak award for cub scouts. According to cub scout leader Jo Macintyre (right), Jai has worked on this award from the past 12 months, completing level three in three core outdoor adventure skills – camping bushcraft and bushwalking – as well as six special interest areas, a personal development course and an adventurous journey of at least five hours. PHOTO: Supplied

Resort staff wellprepared for seasonal influx

By LEAH ANDERSON-BYRNE

STAFFING challenges at Mount Hotham and Falls Creek alpine resorts have turned on their head for this year’s season, according to local chambers of commerce.

Mount Hotham Chamber of Commerce president Steve Belli said application numbers have gone through the roof.

“Last year we had issues with both staff accommodation and low application numbers but this year it’s turned on its head,” he said.

“We’ve seen a rise in international applicants, along with local students looking for a gap year job.

“The accommodation side of things has freed up in terms of availability, due to some owners who didn’t rent last year bringing back their seasonal accommodation, but prices have gone fairly high so it’s been difficult for staff to afford to stay.

“Some employers are subsidising accommodation to support but with the current costs of living, people aren’t saving a lot of money.

“That being said the majority of people who come here for work are here for the snow experience so a lot of employers will explain that so there’s no misnomers that anyone will walk away rich essentially, they’ll walk away richer in experience.

“Employers are doing what they can to make it easier for staff by offering deals at local restaurants, staff discounts

STAFF RETURN TO THE SNOW: Staff at Mount Hotham and Falls Creek are looking ahead to a season of work and fun.

and the mountain is doing what they can; everybody trying to do their bit trying to manage costs for staff.”

Mr Belli said thanks to the number of applicants this year the resorts will have scalable staff solutions for the seasonal rush.

“We’ve got appropriately scaled staff at this point in time with the option to scale up if things go wild,” he said.

“It’s been very manageable so far; businesses are all pretty well staffed.

“We’re looking towards school holidays, waiting for people to come and a little bit more snow.

“The snow making has been going hard and the technology has certainly improved with grooming up to speed.

Falls Creek Chamber of Commerce president Michelle Lovell said Falls Creek businesses see a high return rate for staff

“We’re lucky in Falls; we have an extraordinary number of applications for our available positions with the ski companies, resort man-

agement and individual business reporting large numbers of returnees,” she said.

“This is a great benefit to us as it improves guest experience as our staff already know what they’re doing and are trained.

“I think our Falls Creek Village is an environment people feel at home in so, realistically, there’s more people who miss out than businesses needing staff numbers.

“We’ve only just opened the ski lifts so lots of staff haven’t had much work yet; everyone is happy and settled and waiting for the season to kick off but not making as much money as they will later in the season.

“In terms of accommodation we’re doing really well.

“Bogong Village is activated now and there’s quite a few Vail staff down there as well as St Falls Resort staff which has freed some beds for independent businesses at the staff accommodation up here.

“Although Bogong is not an entire solution because not everyone can live in the Bogong Village; many businesses need staff to be on mountain so we do need additional beds on mountain but it has definitely provided some relief.

“It’s been a bit of a bigger gap this year between opening weekend and the school holidays but that does mean more time for staff to train and consolidate skills to hit the ground running when the influx does arrive.”

Vaughn’s desert dream realised

BY LEAH ANDERSON-BYRNE LAndersonByrne@ nemedia.com.au

On the day of the 17year anniversary of a motorbike accident that put Vaughn Hogan in a wheelchair, the 54-year-old Myrtleford resident crossed the finish line of one Australia’s most challenging off-road races: the Finke Desert Race.

In 2007 Mr Hogan broke the C5 vertebrae in his neck and was classified a C5 Incomplete Quadriplegic, but that didn’t stop him from participating in the sports he had always loved.

“Vehicles have always been a big passion of mine and a big part of my life,” he said.

“I used to ride motorbikes and quad bikes and I didn’t want to stop being able to enjoy those things despite my injury.

“At the start it was really tough; I’ve always been a worker and very active and sporty so it was a massive adjustment in my life to not be able to do the things I wanted to do.

“In 2011 I had a meeting with a recreational specialist who asked me about my interests and I said I’d love to get back out riding with my mates.

“I knew I could ride a buggy so that’s where it started.

“In 2012 I bought myself a Polaris off-road buggy, modified so I could drive it and over the last 12 years I’ve had different modified buggies and done many trips in the high country.

“About three years ago I was sitting around a campfire and my mate Grant Shorland Jr suggested I work towards the Finke Desert Race and so the seed was planted.”

For the last three years, Mr Hogan has been preparing for the race by working on his modified buggy, participating in prerequisite races and keeping fit.

“I had to get an off-road racing license, my buggy modified, approved by motorsport Australia, and I then had to do the Finke entry criteria; three other races around the country.

“My buggy allows me to steer with my left hand and accelerate and brake with my right.

“The first few races were nerve-wracking because of all the unknowns but as we understood it more it became less overwhelming.

“As the weekend got closer it all became real and I was full of nervous excitement.

Mr Hogan said he felt confident after completing the other races, especially with the help of his navigator Sam Bell, who he met during his time on the Australian Disabled Water Ski team.

“We kept in contact and he knew this race was one of my big missions and wanted to help out and he has incredible,” Mr Hogan said.

On June 9, Mr Hogan woke up at 3am to begin his morning routine and prepare for the race from Alice Springs South to Finke, and back the next day.

“It takes me a little longer to start my day than others so it’s a massive program with the race on top of everything else,” he said.

“I have to make sure I’ve eaten enough and hydrated

right because it’s a 223km trip each way and a six-hour ride in total across the two days.

“Thankfully, it went well and we finished which was our aim from the start.

“We got through unscathed with no incidents or accidents and the buggy went well.

“The biggest moment was crossing the finish line, though at the 20km to go mark I remember thinking I didn’t want it to end.

“Seeing my support crew there celebrating me was huge and I couldn’t have done it without my wife,

MYRTLEFORD MAN CROSSES FINKE FINISH LINE

Kelly, who has been exceptionally helpful and supportive the entire time.

“It was also great to have Grant Shorland Jr there following my progress in a helicopter during the race.

Mr Hogan also thanked his team manager Jason Reid, who brought local Myrtleford sponsors on board.

“Jason is unbelievable with what he does with community-minded stuff,” he said.

“The whole town virtually supported me and it’s a great feeling; in a sense this is a new community to us as we only moved here in 2017 so

for them to support my project and my dream has been incredible and a little overwhelming.”

Vaughn and Kelly were on the way home when they spoke to The Myrtleford Times last week, totalling 5700km in driving time, and Kelly said they were planning to let the dust settle before thinking of any more races.

“It was amazing; I never doubted he’d finish,” she said.

“It’s a relief now and we’ll probably be back next year but for now we just want to get home.”

WE MADE IT: Vaughn Hogan (right) and Sam Bell atop the buggy that took them more than 400km through the Australian desert for the Finke Desert Race.

Latest Mystic harvest a success

MYSTIC Park’s latest harvesting operation, covering 23 hectares, has finished as winter rolls in.

While residents and visitors see the change with some trees gone (for now), and perhaps the logs being transported out the road, HVP Plantations is keen to share the story of the people and cooperation involved to make it all happen.

HVP district forester Louis Routledge has spent a lot of time on the ground at Mystic over the past few months.

“The team effort of close communication and cooperation is what makes plantation forestry and the outdoor recreation activities of Mystic Park successfully coexist,” he said.

Mr Routledge facilitates HVP roadworks and harvest operations according to the safety, community, environmental, historic and production values outlined in the Timber Harvest Plan.

With a number of HVP colleagues, he works closely with Alpine Community Plantation through the complex planning phase and throughout the operation.

“We are grateful to the vast majority of riders, runners, and walkers who do the right thing and stay outside of the worksite signs and barriers,” Mr Routledge said.

“Most people respect the safety signage and use alternate trail options while the harvesting team focuses on their job.”

Northern HVP general manager, Mick Evans, said community support is invaluable for the company’s continued work in producing locally grown timber.

“We extend our thanks to everyone we work with in the biking, paragliding and running community of Mystic Park to make this happen,” he said.

According to HVP, over the eight-week harvest period members of the public breached the worksite boundary on twelve occasions, which generates huge stress and puts people at grave risk of life-changing injury, or fatality, they said.

Beyond the worksite signs, the Plantation Harvesting contractor team operates with safety, efficiency and productivity to see the job through.

This includes processing the trees into logs, readying them for transport and coordinating across various crews and liaising with HVP.

After leaving the plantation, the logs are destined for a range of uses across construction, finishing and packaging.

According to HVP, over half of the timber volume harvested is heading to Myrtleford, where it is being processed into high-quality plywood.

The remaining timber will be delivered to processors in Wangaratta, Benalla, and regional New South Wales, where it will be transformed into house framing, other building materials, and paper and packaging products.

Haulage to these mills is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.

Looking ahead, Louis said HVP’s harvesting contractors will return to Mystic in spring 2025 to harvest the next area on the schedule.

“With plans to replant the latest harvest site this winter, it won’t be long until locals and visitors will see the next generation of trees popping up in the Mystic basin,” he said.

Porepunkah Transfer Station open for business

POREPUNKAH Transfer Station is open and operating at full capacity after completion of a significant landfill capping project.

In December 2022 Alpine Shire Council began works to ensure it met its obligations under the Environmental Protection Act’s (EPA) Best Practice Environmental Management guidelines.

Tax cuts for every taxpayer

Estimate

Alpine Shire mayor, Cr John Forsyth, said the capping project was necessary to manage waste from the old landfill that was once located at the current transfer station.

“This was done by placing a protective barrier on the old landfill to stop rain getting in and producing leachate, which is contaminated liquid,” he said.

“These works also ensure the protection and future integrity of our natural environment, and also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the residual organic waste that was buried when the site was still a landfill.”

In addition to the capping works, council has upgraded its waste drop walls to now include concrete pads for convenience during disposal, and provide space for the transfer station to now accept food organics and weed material.

The upgrade of the drop wall was largely funded through a grant from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action as part of the transfer station upgrade fund.

The final handrails will be installed by the end of June to complete this project.

Cr Forsyth thanked the community for their patience while council worked towards having the facility open and running at full capacity.

“We know this project took longer than expected, and would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding whilst these works have been carried out,” he said.

“The great news is that residents and visitors can now access the transfer station during the standard operating hours on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am until 2pm.”

The reopening of the transfer station also means the Porepunkah Pit is no longer in operation.

LOGGING IN: (From left) HVP district forester Louis Routledge, plantation harvesting processor operator, Jacob Cunneen, plantation harvesting forwarder operator Lachlan Foster and plantation harvesting operations manager Hayley Wright. PHOTO: Supplied

Travel experiences back on the local bucket lists

Local travel agency welcoming revitalised travellers back through their doors gygg

By STEVE KELLY

THE travel industry has bounced back with people from all over the North East and Southern NSW renewing their hopes and dreams to travel Australia and the rest of the world.

It was one of the hardest hit during the COVID years with border closures and restrictions turning people’s plans on their head.

But it only made seasoned travellers more persistent in their desires to return to their favourite overseas spots, or revitalising people’s ambitions to create new memories through travel.

Renee Nightingale, owner of Hello World Wangaratta, Wodonga and Albury, said there was a pent-up demand because people had been locked up for so long and they just wanted to go out and have those experiences and those bucket list trips that they were thinking about when they couldn’t travel anywhere.

“We lost everything over those couple of years and for it to come back as it has, it has been huge,” she said.

Renee has managed to retain most of her staff through the COVID years and she is back to a full team of 15 experienced consultants who offer that extra layer of support for travellers looking to set up on their next adventure.

“I got the three shops through with as many staff as possiblewe did have to downsize but to be back fully staffed with 15 consultants is absolutely terrific,” she said.

“There is a demand out there for travel agent consultants, so to have the team that I have that are so well travelled and passionate and have been doing it for as long as they have is a real credit to each and every one of them.”

The staff feel like they travel around the world every day considering the never-ending list of places to visit and experiences to be had.

Japan has been a popular destination of choice and Europe has returned as another favourite for people to visit.

Domestic travel to the wide selection of locations in Australia is always high on the list for customers.

Renee said the destination of choice at the moment is Japan and it’s possibly because it’s perceived as a very safe destination and it’s not the 24-hour flight that Europe is.

She said people generally look for guided tour groups such as river cruises as it adds that extra layer of security in travelling.

“For these people it’s about just being around other people when travelling,” Renee said.

“It has changed in recent years with people wanting smaller groups and more intimate experiences.”

Europe is always a popular place for people to make travel plans for through Hello World with its iconic landmarks, and

travel packages offering amazing experiences.

Renee also recommends that someone’s first trip to Euroa could be to touch on all the iconic spots and work out where they would like to go back to and spend a more in-depth time on another trip.

“It’s a great eye opener and a great way to start travelling to Europe and it’s probably something that you either do it once and do it well, or you keep going back to different areas that you like.

“People are really looking for those niche itineraries, for example a foodie might be chasing

a Bordeaux river cruise.”

It has been great for staff at Hello World staff to see people coming back in to plan their next adventure, albeit it took a few some time to regain confidence again.

“The regulars who continue to travel, I do think it didn’t affect them as much and as soon as the borders opened they were ready to go again,” Renee reflected.

“It was the ones who had saved up for so long and were let down in not being able to go, it was hard for them to get the momentum back.”

Renee reassured any potential

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Myrtleford, 1-7 Albert Street Phone: 5752 2288

Bright, 3 Ireland Street Phone: 5755 1327 www.belmores.com.au

PAYNTER & ASSOCIATES

Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors

25 Clyde Street Myrtleford Phone: 5751 1995

Email admin@paynterassoc.com.au www.paynterandassociates.com.au

Dennis Kersting Dip. RM CM. Myrtleford - 18 Rayner Street Phone: 0427 440 744

travellers looking to plan a trip.

“The one thing we’ve found coming out of COVID is that when you’re booking with us, you’re booking with someone who is local and trusted,” she said.

“We’re 24/7 so if something happens in the middle of the night the caller will generally get me on the end of the phone.

“You’ve got that person and that reassurance that somebody is there for you the whole time and you’re not going to go to a call centre and be 87th in the queue at three o’clock in the morning when something is actually happening.

“It’s not that we anticipate something will happen, but we all know that with everything changing in the world, to have that security is important.

“Your consultant has either been where you are going, or they’ve got a colleague who has which can also add that extra layer of support.

“Whether it’s your first, second or even your 50th trip, just to know that your consultant has your back the whole way, can be an easy and reassured way to travel.”

Myrtleford, 47 Clyde Street Phone: 5752 1151

Bright, 104 Gavan St Phone: 5715 9705 Email: info@ovib.com.au

DICK & WILLIAMS

Solicitors & Attorneys Vic & NSW Myrtleford, 5B Clyde Street. Phone: 5752 2363. Email: email@dwlawalbury.com.au

TONER & MAY LEGAL

BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS

86 Standish Street, Myrtleford. Phone: 03 5752 1493

2A Camp Street, Bright, Phone: 03 5750 1819 Email: amanda@tonerandmaylegal.com.au or jess@tonerandmaylegal.com.au

Phone Jenny on 57313305 or email jking@nemedia.com.au

ONCE IN A LIFETIME: Safari experiences are available for people

DESTINATION OF CHOICE: Japan is the number one destination for the region’s travellers at the moment.

TRAVEL EXPERT: Hello World Travel Albury, Wodonga and Wangaratta owner Renee Nightingale

EXCITING TIMES: Hello World Travel consultants

Jodie Pellegrino, Sami Kreltszheim, Carrie O’Shannessy, and Nikki Feehan have been super busy with a huge spike in people looking for their next holiday adventure. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

GET SET FOR WINTER

DISCOVER TIMELESS INTERIOR DESIGN

STAY WARM INDOORS

WINTER | 2024

Building Design & Interior Design by Wade & Candice Jones of Design by Jones

Stay inspired this winter

HATE being cold? No problem, be sure to add energy

Fireplace need some “jazzing” up? Easy, select from a stunning range of natural stone and stone “look” tiles to

WINTER WARMTH: Whatever you need to make your home cosy this winter and beyond, Pulvirenti Tiles can help.

A beautiful home starts with a clear vision

CREATING your dream home isn’t just about selecting colours; it’s about transforming a vision into a sanctuary where you can thrive.

As an interior designer, Candice Jones from Design by Jones, solves the critical challenges between homeowners and their ideal living spaces.

One of the biggest challenges Candice helps you with is the overwhelming nature of interior design.

Many homeowners have a vision but need help to bring it to life due to the myriad choices available.

The decisions can be daunting, from the perfect paint colour to suitable bathroom tiles.

Candice has a streamlined guidance that saves time, reduces stress, and ensures every choice aligns with your vision.

Another common challenge Candice resolves, is the mismatch between personal style and practicality.

Many homeowners need between their aesthetic preferences and the functional needs of their space.

Candice bridges this gap by

infusing your unique style into a design that looks beautiful and enhances your daily life.

By understanding your lifestyle, habits, and priorities, she creates personality and support your day-to-day activities seamlessly.

Whether it’s optimising

marry form and function, Candice ensures your dream home looks beautiful and is tailored to you.

Lastly, personal style can be challenging to articulate and even harder to implement.

Candice creates personal and intentional spaces by translating your unique tastes and preferences into a cohesive design that truly

Design by Jones transforms the daunting home design process into an enjoyable journey, solving practical problems and bringing your dream home to life.

Curious to learn more, phone Candice on 0418 962 167 or visit www.designbyjones.com.au

The experts in outdoor living

AS your local experts in outdoor living, Ultimate Alfresco is the natural choice when you’re thinking about creating an outdoor living space.

experienced team, they can custom design, manufacture and fully install your new patio, pergola, alfresco, deck or outdoor kitchen.

panels, decking, frameless glass sliding doors, louvres and more, the team can advise on the best solutions for your space.

As we head into the cooler months, interest in their Slidetec Frameless Glass Sliding Door Systems is increasing.

Designed to provide protection from the elements style, this exciting range allows you to enjoy your outdoor living space all year round, and it’s available on the border

exclusively through Ultimate Alfresco.

They work with the best in the industry to bring you the highest quality alfresco solutions, from high quality outdoor kitchens, environmentally friendly switch.

If you’re considering adding an alfresco area to your home, consider Ultimate Alfresco.

The team takes care of everything from the design of your project through to the council process and construction. Visit www.ultimatealfresco. com.au to view examples of their work and to get the ball rolling on your project.

Appointments are available at 380 Wagga Rd in Lavington. Give them a call on (02) 6040 6555 to book a time to speak with one of the consultants.

Service your equipment this winter

FOR many of us winter might mean the time of hibernation of our larger most used outdoor power equipment.

During the active growing season of our yards the hours clock up very fast on lawnmowers, blowers and whipper snippers, so before pushing them to the back of the garden shed, consider what their workload has been like over the last six months.

The last time you mowed was the cut up to standard or did the grass look frayed and ripped.

Does your catcher keep

Did the primer bulb bounce back on your blower when you

Why not do your repairs and maintenance now before storing away over the cold wet months.

A lot of brands now sell

service kits if it’s a job you would like to tackle yourself.

Service kits can also be made up by your local service agent.

With a little help from some online resources such as YouTube a service can be completed within an hour.

If your equipment needs to come instore, do it now before the season starts.

We all know how busy workshops get so be proactive and get it done early so you are ready to go.

HANDY TIP:

Don’t forget to tip the fuel out from your small engines before storing.

It only has a short shelf life or consider using a fuel stabilizer. It will help to save on the perishable parts of your equipment.

That also goes for your fuel containers.

SEASONAL SERVICE: Get everything you need to service your outdoor power equipment at Wangaratta Saw & Lawnmower.

WINTER GARDEN CUTTING & MULCHING

- Petrol and battery powered chainsaw

- Battery powered pruners

- Electric shredders

- Petrol and battery powered blowers and shredder vacs

Repairs & maintenance on your outdoor power equipment over the next few months before spring - beat the spring time rush.

Get ready for spring - the beetle is coming

ELMS have been planted in avenues, public and private gardens throughout Australia.

However, lurking in the shadows, the to the health and beauty of these wonderful trees.

by these pests, recognising the signs of infestation, and taking proactive measures paramount in preserving the vitality of your elm trees.

Elm Leaf Beetles are notorious for their voracious appetite, primarily targeting the leaves of elm trees.

Their feeding frenzy results in unsightly skeletonization of the foliage, leaving behind a lace-like pattern of chewed leaves.

If left unchecked, severe infestations can cause serious harm to the health and appearance of elm trees.

Spotting an Elm Leaf Beetle infestation is crucial for timely intervention.

Keep a vigilant eye for tell-tale signs such as:

1. Shotholes: Be on the lookout for shothole damage in the leaf from September.

2. Skeletonised Leaves: Look for leaves with extensive damage, appearing as if the leaf tissue has been eaten away, leaving only the veins intact.

3. Yellowing or Browning Foliage: Infested trees may exhibit early leaf drop, premature yellowing, or browning of leaves due to sustained feeding damage.

4. Adult Beetles: During warmer months, adult beetles may be visible on leaves or bark, typically small and metallic, ranging from green to bronze.

PROTECT YOUR ELMS: It’s important to keep an eye out for Elm Leaf Beetles.

treatments available to control Elm Leaf Beetle infestations in Australia:

1. Soil injection targets the root system of a tree.

It involves applying a systemic insecticide-water mix via a soil probe directly into the soil around the base of the tree where it is absorbed by the roots and translocated throughout the tree, ending in leaf deposit.

This application is best applied in late winter to spring, before the ground dries,

2. Stem injection involves drilling several small holes and applying the chemical directly into the tree trunk. Again, the tree will circulate the chemical

the foliage where the beetles feed. This application is best done in spring to early summer.

Timing is critical when it comes to Elm Leaf Beetle treatment.

Early intervention, before populations controlling infestations and minimizing damage to your elm trees.

So, if your elm tree showed any signs of Elm Leaf Beetle damage last ensuring its well-being and call Arboressence on 57257493 today.

The go to for all your electrical needs

WEBSTERS Electrical and Lighting in Wangaratta have been supporting the North East with electrical services for over 90 years.

Being a third-generation family business, Websters is the name locals trust.

For residential, commercial, and industrial needs, Websters has the knowledge and experience for your next project.

The Websters team understand how important it is to have a safe home for your family.

Throughout the decades Websters has proven repeatedly how they are the name Wangaratta trusts.

From switchboard upgrades and safety switches to protect your home and appliances to the mundane.

Michael, Rob, and the team have you covered, and lamps, picking out the right globe to solar services and rewires, Websters not only has the experience, but they also have the team to aid you in all your electrical needs.

Websters Electrical is not just a business, it is part of the community, from sponsorships to work experience and supporting young electricians through their apprenticeships, Websters is not just helping you today, but helping the future. With a range of

residential to commercial more than electrical services to suit your needs and style.

Their show room has a wide range of globes,

homeware, to help make a house your home.

THE NAME YOU CAN TRUST ESTABLISHED 1929

Five jobs to do in the garden this winter

DON’T let the cooler weather deter you from getting stuck into the garden.

Here’s what to get done during winter.

1. Help the rain soak in

If your soil has been dry for an extended period it can become water-repellent (hydrophobic), even after heavy rains.

Remove heavy layers of autumn leaves that can stop the rain getting to the soil. Use these excess leaves to make nutrient-rich compost.

2. Get stuck into weed control

With rain comes weeds. Make sure you remove weeds before they mature and set seed.

3. Get on top of those jobs

This is the perfect time to get on top of ‘those jobs’ that have been niggling in the back of your mind.

Do you need to relocate underperforming plants to a more suitable spot, or replace them with something else?

Do you need to attend to irrigation?

4. Veggie patch-up

Winter’s the time to prune your existing fruit trees or buy new ones to put in the ground.

It’s also a great time for planting brassicas (such as brussels sprouts and Chinese vegetables.

Take the time to tidy up your veggie garden, enrich the soil with compost and start thinking about what you’re going to plant next season.

5. Take time to prune Winter is a good time to prune for structure on

Winter Garden

young deciduous trees. Hydrangea pruning can buds have set. The old wood can be pruned out and the shrubs pruned back to those healthy display next year. Rose pruning is a winter must – any time from July apply a seaweed-based product to condition the soil, which will help the plant with drought tolerance, resistance to frost and attack from pests and disease.

Webster, Michael Webster and Max Webster can help you with all your electrical and lighting needs.

WINTER GARDENING: There are many jobs you can do out in the garden this winter.

Central city convenience

HERE is an ideal two bedroom home situated in the beautiful and central tree lined location of Templeton Street.

Conveniently located close to the city centre, sporting grounds, walking tracks, shops and restaurants, this home will allow you to enjoy everything the City of Wangaratta has to offer.

Featuring a spacious yet cosy living

and dining area and good size kitchen with ample storage, electric cooking and a dishwasher, this home offers everything to ensure a comfortable yet low maintenance lifestyle.

The bathroom includes a spa bath, shower, vanity and separate toilet.

Enjoy comfort throughout all the seasons with evaporative cooling and

The rear yard includes plenty of space for off-street parking, with a carport, separate studio/art room and garden shed.

A perfect opportunity for purchasers seeking a lovely central home or investment property.

Contact the team at Garry Nash and Co. today to arrange your private inspection.

branch

Open weekdays

9am to 5pm (closed 1pm to 1:45pm)

Tolmie living at its best

PERFECTLY perched on an elevated site at the end of a private road this property is secluded living at its best.

With amazing views to the south of Mount Stirling and snow-capped Mt Buller with sometimes your own snow, this property is all updated and ready to go.

The property consists of three generous sized bedrooms, two separate living areas, updated kitchen, updated bathroom and second retreat/ bathroom overlooking the alpine region.

Heating and cooling are covered with a closed wood combustion heater and a reverse cycle split system air conditioner plus double-glazed windows throughout home.

Externally there is great car storage plus an impressive shed/workshop for excellent storage.

Just move in at Waldara

THIS welcoming four-bedroom home with additional study is nestled in the sought-after Waldara Park Estate.

a spacious master bedroom complete with walk-in-robe and ensuite including double vanity and walk-in shower, plus a study conveniently adjacent.

The home separates the remaining bedrooms with a spacious kitchen, family and dining space complemented by an adjoined separate lounge.

The undercover, north-facing alfresco

weather entertaining capability.

$769,000

The property also offers a detached retreat/bathroom with amazing views over the alpine region.

Properties in this location are very sought after.

Contact Nutrien Harcourts now for your private inspection.

There is approximately three acres of cleared land around the home plus and additional five acres of bushland.

The kitchen facilities include electric oven, gas cooktop and walk-in pantry with access through to the double garage, perfect for unloading the groceries with ease.

The three further bedrooms are served by a family bathroom with separate toilet.

You will live in comfort all year-round with ducted heating & cooling ensuring climate control throughout.

allotment with a secure yard, there is plenty of space for growing families or keen gardeners.

Located in close proximity to schools, walking and cycling paths and public transport, you will immediately feel right at home.

Contact the team at Garry Nash & Co. today to arrange your private inspection.

Wangaratta 4/1 Sadler Street

Wangaratta

Charming

Docker

4.94Ac2 12

Superb

Nutrien Harcourts Wangaratta Paul

wangaratta.nutrienharcourts.com.au/ L28192880

Thoona 89 Sargeant Street 3177m2 5 22

Thoona Church

For Sale $650,000 View by appointment, wangaratta.nutrienharcourts.com.au/L19191865

Laceby 302 Wangaratta-Kilferra Rd 10.3Ac3 22

Lifestyle Living in Laceby For Sale $899,000 View by appointment, wangaratta.nutrienharcourts.com.au/L23995911

Nutrien Harcourts Wangaratta Danial Siperki M 0400 027 473 Harcourts

Nutrien Harcourts Wangaratta Danial Siperki M 0400 027 473

Wangaratta

Moyhu 2551 Wangaratta-Whitfield Road

13.86Ac3 12

Development opportunity in Moyhu

For Sale Contact Agent View by appointment, wangaratta.nutrienharcourts.com.au/L26106702

Nutrien Harcourts Wangaratta

Paul Reid M 0417 537

Harcourts Wangaratta

Harcourts

Harcourts Wangaratta

Harcourts

ACN

info@winsec.com.au

www.wins ec.com.au

sales@nemedia.com.au

GROWN CATTLE

Willowood Nominees Pty Ltd – Barham (AWN)

WANGARATTA STORE CATTLE SALE

20 Hereford Steers 12-14mths 5-in-1 x1, ‘Willowood Blood’ YOUNG CATTLE

A/c Breeder - Brassi, East Deniliquin (ELD)

150 Angus M/Sex 7-10mths St Paul’s and Rennylea Blood, Brassi East Bred

G J & D M Allan - Melrose, Moama (ELD)

40 Angus Steers & 40 Angus Heifers Sept / Oct 23 Drop Weeran Blood

La Fav Investments Pty Ltd – Glenrowan West (AWN)

30 Charolais/Angus Cross M/Sex 9-10mths, Piliguard, 7-in-1 Vacc, Drenched Neovedor May 2024

RJ Clark – Boorhaman (AWN)

30 Angus M/Sex 12mths Weaned ‘Fernhill Blood’

AJ Cole – South Wangaratta (AWN)

25 Angus M/Sex 8-9mths ‘Alpine Angus Blood’ 5in1 Weaned GFO

RWJ & EH Ackland – Greta South (AWN)

25 Charolais M/Sex 12mths ‘Airlie & Paringa Blood’ Weaned

L Adams (ELD)

25 Angus M/Sex weaners

G Collins (ELD)

25 Shorthorn x Angus weaners

BT & PA Spencer – Whitfield (AWN)

20 Angus M/Sex 9-10mths, ‘Riga Blood’

Split 4 Ways (ELD)

20 mixed sex Angus weaners

D Anderson (ELD)

15 Angus X steers

JH & TM Parton – Benalla (AWN)

15 Angus M/Sex 9-10mths ‘Riga Blood’ GFO Antibiotic Free

S Williamson (ELD)

14 Angus x Charolais M/Sex

Mi Ritchens (ELD)

12 M/Sex weaners

P Gorman (ELD)

12 Hereford X M/Sex

WG & EM Zabilowicz – Oxley (AWN)

12 Angus Steers 9mths ‘Jade Park Blood’ Weaned

M Brennan – Laceby (AWN)

10 Angus Heifers 9-10mths ‘Black Aqua Blood’ Weaned

F Ramsey- Myrrhee (AWN)

7 Angus steers 7-8 months By ‘Black Aqua’ bulls 7in1x2 Weaned

DA & RP Farley – Lake Mokoan (AWN)

7 Angus Steers 11-12mths

Marcus Hill – Norong (AWN)

5 Angus Steers 10mths

2 Speckle Park Steers 10mths

T Lang – Benalla (AWN)

3 Angus Steers 10-11mths ‘Riga Blood’ Weaned

COWS & CALVES

A/c Breeder - Brassi, East Deniliquin (ELD)

12 x12 Angus & Angus Hereford x Cows - 2nd & 3rd Calvers Brassi East Bred, to be preg tested

BULLS

Black Aqua Angus- Myrrhee (AWN)

2 Angus bulls 20 months old HBR registered (pedigrees available) crush side semen tested, fully vaccinated

Toyota crosses over with its latest SUV

By ALISTAIR KENNEDY, Marque Motoring

AFTER a long period when Toyota’s smallest SUV, the RAV4, grew into a mid-sized model leaving the compact field open to numerous competitors from other brands, it now has three vehicles in contention, Yaris Cross, C-HR and now, the subject of this week’s review, the Corolla Cross.

Although it sits on the same platform as the Corolla hatch, the Cross has a totally different body as befitting an SUV.

There are three Corolla Cross three variants, GX, GXL and a new name, Atmos.

As is the norm with Toyota each comes with a hybrid option which adds between $2500 and $3000 to the price while GXL and Atmos are also available with all-wheel drive.

Prices, prior to on-road costs, range from $33,980 for the entry level 2WD GX petrol through to $50,030 for our test vehicle, the Atmos AWD hybrid.

STYLING

While it shares much with the Corolla its outer appearance is more mini-RAV4 than maxi-Corolla with a snubnosed grille featuring the Toyota logo, with blue highlights in the centre.

GXL and Atmos add front foglights, enhanced LED headlights and roof rails.

The Atmos gets a two-piece panoramic moonroof.

INTERIOR

Anyone stepping up from the latest Corolla hatch or

sedan will have no problem adapting to the dashboard layout of the Cross because, apart from the new touchscreen, they are all-but identical.

That’s not a criticism because we’ve always loved the stylish yet functional Corolla design.

What they will appreciate is the extra interior space that the SUV conversion has brought to the Cross with more headroom throughout and plenty of leg and foot room in the rear seats for all but the tallest of occupants.

Only the Atmos comes with a folding centre armrest complete with twin cupholders.

Boot space varies according to driven wheels and powertrain, ranging from 380 litres in the Atmos AWD hybrid up to 436 litres in the 2WD nonhybrid GX and GXL.

Atmos comes with a powered rear hatch and kick opening feature.

ENGINES/TRANSMISSIONS

While the 1.8-litre setup in the hatch puts out 103kW, the Cross with a larger 2.0-litre Atkinson cycle engine and an electric motor for the front axle, delivers a combined 146kW of power at 6600 revs.

Torque?

Toyota never puts a figure on combined torque for its hybrids.

Never really been quite sure why.

The petrol engine alone however produces 190Nm between 4400 and 5200 revs.

The electric motor - another 206Nm.

A second electric motor is added to the rear axle in allwheel drive versions, helping among other things to correct any oversteer or understeer.

Drive is through a CVT-style continuously variable style transmission.

SAFETY

In addition to the usual mandatory safety features all Corolla Cross variants come with eight airbags, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and ISOFIX child seat anchors.

Also standard in all models is the latest Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 package which adds a pre-collision safety system with pedestrian and cyclist detection, active cruise control, lane trace and departure alert with steering assist, lane change assist with deceleration assist, road sign assist, door exit warning and automatic high beam.

In addition, GSX gets parking support brake with vehicle and object detection and a panoramic view monitor.

Atmos adds pedestrian detection to the parking support brake feature as well as advanced park assist.

Corolla Cross has yet to receive an ANCAP rating but the maximum five points would seem certain.

DRIVING

The taller body of the Corolla Cross assist with access while the higher driving position, large windscreen, side windows and mirrors together

with a relatively narrow A-pillar combine to provide excellent visibility to the front and side, only let down a bit by a fairly skinny rear window.

There’s a reassuringly solid feel to the Cross and it’s easy to drive and park around the urban environment which is most likely to be its home with steering which is relatively light but direct and intuitive.

Apart from the battery-only start and silent running the Atmos hybrid that we tested had that sharp acceleration that we enjoy in all vehicles with an electric component.

Suspension is well-balanced although we did get knocked around when manoeuvring through a badlycratered section of our drive courtesy of some recent flooding.

Toyota is playing a waiting game in adopting pure electric and plug-in hybrid technology relying, very successfully on the hybrid variants that feature across the range with sub-5.0 L/100 km fuel consumption relatively easily achieved.

It’s quite rare for road testers to be able to match or beat the optimistic fuel consumption numbers that car company’s publish but we were able to average 4.3 litres per 100 kilometres during our week in the Corolla Cross AWD Hybrid, just under the listed 4.4 L/100 km.

In one 40-kilometre rural run we got down to 3.6.

Helping these impressive results, Corolla Cross is the first local model to get the 5th generation Toyota hybrid powertrain which combines a

FUNCTION OVER FASHION:

The styling is quite conservative but that’s unlikely to deter the typical Toyota buyer who prefers function over fashion.

AT A GLANCE

MODEL RANGE:

GX PETROL 2WD: $33,980

GX HYBRID 2WD: $36,480

GXL PETROL 2WD: $37,730

GXL HYBRID 2WD: $40,230

GXL HYBRID AWD: $43,230

ATMOS PETROL 2WD: $44,530

ATMOS HYBRID 2WD: $47,030

ATMOS HYBRID AWD: $50,030

NOTE: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local Toyota dealer for drive-away prices.

lighter lithium-ion battery with a more powerful main electric drive motor.

SUMMING UP

Everything about the new Corolla Cross points to it being a major success for Toyota.

Start with the base of Australia’s top-selling brand for the past 25 years, add a badge that’s been around since 1967 and accumulated more than 1.5-million sales here.

Then bulk it up to get into the booming compact SUV market, and top it off with the latest in fuel-saving hybrid technology.

Corolla Cross currently sits in sixth place among the 23 vehicles in the small SUV market segment.

The Corolla name brings decades of credibility while the SUV body adds the family-friendly practicality to the Cross.

Add it’s neat styling, com-

paratively spacious interior, capable performance and excellent fuel economy and we expect it to overtake its compact SUV rivals within the next 12 months.

All Toyotas now come with a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. This can be extended to seven years on the engine and driveline, and 10 years on the hybrid battery, subject to all scheduled servicing being done at Toyota dealerships. There is also five-year capped price servicing due every 12 months or 15,000 kilometres at just $230 per visit.

RATINGS:

Looks: 8/10

Performance: 8/10

Safety: 8/10

Thirst: 9/10

Practicality: 8/10

Comfort: 8/10

Tech: 7/10

Value: 7/10

JACK RUSSELL TRI-COLOUR PUPS

2 male, 1 female $1100 each

Source ID: MB230031

Microchip numbers:

956000017032545

956000017031636

956000017029187 Ph 0400 671 577

Phone:

Booking

Booking

TOYOTA RAV4 2020 GXL,immac,white,reg (764ZEH), 75,000km with books, serviced by Toyota, extra 18” alloy wheels, roo f rails, tow ball pack, mud flaps, wireless phone charging, $36,000. Ring Anne 0417 774 074.

Phone for quarterly booking deadline

Phone: (03) 5723 0100

Booking deadline: Second Friday of month

> CAR ADVERTISERS

Private vendors of motor cars advertised for sale must include in their advertisement

• Cash price of motor car

• If car is registered, registration number

• If unregistered, the engine number

> PHOTOGRAPHS

All photographs appearing in this issue that are taken by our photographers are available as reprints.

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All found advertisements are published free. for publication.

> PERSONAL ADVERTISERS

• All personal photos submitted for printing in this issue must be collected within the next 4 weeks.

• All engagement and marriage notices must carry the signatures of BOTH parties, if under 18 the parents’ signatures as well.

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EMAIL BY PHONE 5723 0101

CARAVANS & CAMPERS

2014 Jayco Starcraft V91992 16ft 6in, PopTop, 2 single beds, shower-toilet, solar power, diesel heater, $31,800 neg. Ph 03 5766 2657.

ISA Brown Pullets, POL $28ea. Pick upWang to Bright Becky & Hugh (03) 5798 1868 freerangehens.com.au

TER (nee Slezakova), Lenka. 5/9/1926 – 10/6/2024

Passed away at Kiewa Valley House, Mt Beauty.

Dearly loved mother of Lenka (Riegel) and Ollie (dec).

Much loved Nana to Rani, Bibi, Kara, Hannah, Leonie and Paul.

Great-grandmother of Matilda, Maggie, Ella, Luci, Zakk and Phineas. Will be greatly missed by all her extended family.

There will be a private cremation.

Memorial/gathering in spring 2024; time and location to be advised.

CRISP, Zannie. 26/12/1962 – 20/6/1982

Missing you always.

Treasured memories.

Uncle Alan, Aunty Marg, Anndrea, Debbie, Brennan and their families.

YELLOW Hyundai sedan, 2000, (1YM9QQ), 218,242km, great car for new drivers, 5 speed manual, $4500 ono, located Mansfield. Ph 0439 719 529 2022 GLX Prado, local car, full warranty, as new, 59,000kms, reg (1WQ9ZO), bull bar, driving lights, roof racks, Anderson, Redarc, electrics, $69,000. Ph 0415 665 327.

can also be lodged at Myrtleford Newsagency, Bright Newsagency and Mt Beauty Newsagency

Baseballers stand up for Panthers

THE under 12 Porepunkah Panthers were playing away against the second placed Wangaratta Rangers and, after leading all game, were just overtaken in the last.

The first innings had lead-off batter Ryland McCormack set the tone with nice safe hit and was helped around the bases with safe hits to Byron Smith, Charlie Smith and Zac Gould.

In the field Panther pitcher Ollie Smith threw out a runner at first base helping restrict the Rangers to five runs.

The second innings had another six runs cross for the Panther and another five for the Rangers, with Xanthie McCormack, Zara Gould and Steph Alexander all getting safe hits to bring in runs for the team.

Cohen Guest Smith produced the highlight of the innings showing not only his power but his speed, hitting big and running fast to get a home run.

Going into the final innings Porepunkah were leading 18-16, and Xanthie McCormack hit safely and stole her way around to home plate to bring in an extra run for the Panthers.

The Rangers managed to score six runs to just come out on top.

Final score - Rangers 22 def Panthers 19.

The under 15 Panthers could not quite hold onto lead against the Wangaratta Rangers, falling 11-5 on Sunday.

The first innings was just the start Panthers needed, with Ayla McCallum and Ollie Brown both hitting safely to get on base.

Paige Anders and Steph Alexanders then also hit well and ran hard to help McCallum score and load up the bases.

The Panthers were then able to keep the Rangers scoreless, with pitcher Paige Anders striking out one batter.

The Panthers team had a lot of chances in the field and the had players try different positions to develop skills.

The C grade Panthers team cemented their top position on the ladder with a crushing 21-7 win over the Rangers.

Lachlan Rosser hitting safely to bring in two runs, Sam Bourne drew a walk also scoring a run and Mason Anders and Ollie Chambers

also drew walks scoring off Geordie McEwan’s big bomb.

The second innings had the Panthers bats running hot, with Eric Quinton hitting a solo inside the park home run straight up.

Sam Bourne received a walk then Ollie Chambers and Jayden Eastwood both hit out to centre field to bring in runs and be on base.

Luca Barthelmes then hit big to clear the bases, bringing up another inside the park home run.

Not only did the Panthers bat well, they ran riot on base, stealing a total of 14 bases for the game.

Playing the top placed Wangaratta Rangers, the B grade Porepunkah Panthers showed why they will be right in the mix come finals time, just going down after being in control of the match.

In a six innings game the Panthers started well with Adam Rosser hitting safely, then Randy Skippen receiving a walk.

Wangaratta were kept scoreless with nice plays by James Jellef and Randy Skippen in the field.

By the end of the third innings the game was tied 5-5.

Mason Anders hit safely and

along with the Quinton brothers in the fourth innings to bring in one run and set up an exciting finish.

Wangaratta managed to bring in five runs to finish up 10-6 winners.

The A grade Porepunkah Panthers collected five safe hits to Wangaratta’s three but were beaten 9-4 .

The Rangers jumped out to a five run lead at the end of the first innings but the Panthers played some good defence to keep the game on an even keel for the rest of the match.

Ollie Chambers got Porepunkah’s first run on the board after receiving a walk and crossing the plate by Dean Anders hitting a sacrifice fly ball.

A pitching change in the third from Adam Rosser to Lachie Rosser had the Wangaratta Rangers ‘shut out’ for the innings and they only managed one more run for the match with Rosser pitching a beauty.

The Panthers managed two more runs with Jack Banks and Damon Barker both receiving walks and Steve Johnstone collecting his second safe hit to bring in Jack.

Final score - Wangaratta 9 def Porepunkah 4.

Bright riders hit the gravel

By LEAH ANDERSON-BYRNE

BRIGHT’S first gravel racing event was a huge hit with the 150 riders who took on the local courses, with many assuring organisers they would be back with friends next year.

Paul Redenbach from Service Course Bicycle Studio has lived in Bright for almost three years, and decided the thing that was missing was a gravel cycling event.

“I’ve got a big gravel background so I had it in my mind to run one here and I’m really proud we saw it happen,” he said.

“There was some concern and negativity at the beginning, as I

wanted the course to go in and out of the town, but we implemented timed out zones to solve the issue.

“I teamed up with Rohin Adams at Big Hill Events, who were immediately on board and took care of the website, entries and timing on the day, while I organised the course design, sponsorships and volunteers.

“The riders really enjoyed Bright as a good base for the race and we were pretty lucky with weather as the sun was out on Saturday and no rain on the Sunday, though it was quite overcast.

“The feedback we heard was it was definitely challenging but

the timed out zones where riders could stop to eat and drink were popular and the everyone enjoyed the circuit overall.

“The great thing about gravel racing is it meets in the middle for road riders and mountain bike riders so it’s the most diverse participants out of any of the other disciplines.

“I’m proud we made it happen and relieved we got through the first one without any major hiccups.”

Mr Redenbach said he has already begun working on next year’s event, and plans to make it an annual race.

“We had a few big names this

LEADER OF THE PACK: Wendy Caldwell won the Drummond Monthly Medal with an excellent 39 points.

Chills can’t stop the golf

EVEN if the weather was cold and wintery this week, the golfing action at the Myrtleford Golf Club was red hot.

Saturday, June 15

Myrtleford Auto 4BBB Stableford AMCR 71 AWCR 74

Winners: Chris Rowney (13) and Jade Galvan (8) 42 pts c/b. Runners up: Lawrence Miller (14) and Colin Walker (26) 41 pts c/b. Ball winners: D Clark and A Rockliff 41, B Caldwell and A McKerral 40, T Batt and S Hancock 40.

NTPs - 1st: Alan Rockliff, 4th 2nd shot: Stephen Piddington, 8th: David Clark, 14th: Jan Roseby, 16th: Paul Evans.

Raffle winner: Chris Rowney.

Thursday, June 13

Drummond Golf Albury

Monthly Medal Stableford AWCR 74 AMCR 71 Winner and Medal Winner: Wendy Caldwell (34) 39pts. Runner up: Kerry Newton (21) 35pts c/b.

Nine hole runner up: Kaye McGuffie (54) 16pts.

Ball winners: Jan Roseby 35pts c/b, Penny Dawkins 34pts.

Foodworks NTPs - 1st: Penny Dawkins, 14th: Sandra Piazza, 16th: Jan Roseby. Wednesday, June 12

Myrtleford Auto Electrics Stableford AMCR 71 A grade winner: David Clark (15) 37 pts c/b. A grade runner up: Ian Wales (11) 37 pts.

Ball Winners: S Ramsdale 33, P Jessen 33.

Foodworks NTPs - 1st: Ian Wales, 4th 2nd shot: Pieter Veldman.

Monday, June 10

King’s Birthday Teams of 2 Ambrose

year but I’d love to have even more come and enjoy what we have to offer,” he said.

“I want to increase the number of participants and there will possibly be a change of date, due to the uncertainty of weather at this time of year.

“It was great to see such a broad range of riders, both ability and age-wise; we had some under 17 riders all the way up to age 60.

“The biggest categories were the open male 40-50 and 50-60.

“A huge thank you to our major sponsors Bright Brewery and Focus Bikes, as well as every single person who helped out and made this event happen.”

Men’s handicap winners: Jade Galvan and Ben Holmes (5.75) 65.25. Men’s handicap runners up: Peter Stewart & Andrew Loftus (8) 67. Mixed scratch winners: Kerry Newton and David Clark 76. Mixed scratch runners up: Valerie Ellis and Malcolm Ellis 81. Mixed handicap winners: Jan Roseby and Alan Rockliff (7.5) 69.25. Mixed handicap runners up: Kerry Chapman and Tony Chapman (13) 70. Ball winners - men’s: C and C Piazza 67.75, B Carroll and R Wheeler 68.75, D Matthews and T Batt 69, B Huggard and S Piddington 70.75. Mixed: J and B Bynon 70.25, S Piazza and B McMasters 72, C and K Bailey 72.25, D and B O’Donohue 73.5.

Foodworks NTPs - 1st: Val

and Jade

Ellis

Galvan, 8th: Paul Evans, 14th: Sandra Piazza and David Clark, 16th: Val Ellis and Robert Wheeler.

THEY’RE OFF: Around 150 cyclists and mountain bike riders set off throughout Bright’s gravel roads for the first Bright Gravel event.

PHOTO: Jean-Pierre Ronco

Mount Beauty golfers in form

THE ladies of the Mount Beauty Golf Club played the back nine on Wednesday, June 12 which was won by Carol Bartholomew with 12 points from Liz Harvey with 10 points. NTP on the 18th (second shot) went to the club.

The rain at the start of the week did not help the run on the course.

On Satu rday, June 15, they took on the Blue Tees for the first time for most of them.

They all did better than they expected to with Leesa Bevan, an experienced hand at the Men’s Tees, winning with 35 points from Liz Harvey with 32 points. All the rest of the Ladies

scored in the high 20s, which is to be commended.

Leesa took the NTP, second shot, on the seventh. The men played a Par Comp on Saturday, June 15 with Peter Partington (pictured) victorious with a fabulous +5 from Don Mason and Rick Biesboer with their +2s.

Allan Retallick and Brett

Williams managed to score 0s. NTP on the seventh was Don Mason, the ninth was Peter Hertzog, the 17th was Allan Retallick, and the money on the 18th was given to Rick Biesboer.

WINNER: Peter Partington took out the par comp with a solid +5.

Kangaroos

Imperials

19.12.126

BEST: KANGAROOS: Ollie Reynolds, Kade Jackson, ollie kent, Sonny McCormack, Jamie Scheier, Eli Beach. IMPERIALS: Charlie Flynn, Harry Allen, Ryley Canning, Declan O’Sullivan, Archer Direen, Max Startin. GOALS: KANGAROOS: Edward Clayton 1. IMPERIALS: Declan O’Sullivan 4, Will Prebble 4, Kai McPhan 3, Archer Direen 2, Luke Griffiths 2, Marshall Semmens 2, Seth Ismale 1, Max Marek 1. Benalla

BEST: BENALLA: Logan Hyland, Ryder Levy, Xavier Rhodes, Josh Hart, Christian Squires, Josh Mathieson. COLLEGE: Harrison Bowman, Fraser Burgan, Christian Ashworth, Ryan Dillon, Lachlan Pensak, Harry Cook. GOALS: BENALLA: Josh Hart 2, Lucas Ham 1. COLLEGE: Christian Ashworth 2, Fraser Burgan 1, Ryan Dillon 1, Selby Doyle 1, Thomas Fieldew 1, Charlie Fitzgerald 1, Ayden Peebles 1, Sam Reid 1.

BEST: TIGERS: Harvey Dodgshun, Oliver Mullane, Drew Winter, Lucas Webb, Jack Preston, Jacob Wickham. CENTRALS: Cooper Boman, Kaiden Wohlers, Connor Ormond, Hunter Barry, Hunter Fraser, Charlie Curr. GOALS: TIGERS: Mitchell Benton 2, Zack Carroll 1, Harvey Dodgshun 1, Archie Turner 1, Jake Wall 1, Lucas Webb 1, Drew Winter 1. CENTRALS: Charlie Curr 5, Ryan Parsons 2, Hunter Barry 1, Cooper Boman 1, Connor Breheny 1, Cohen Hazell 1, Jack Lewis 1, Reid McNamara 1, Solomon Steer 1, Kaiden Wohlers 1. Junior Magpies

Mansfield

BEST: JUNIOR MAGPIES: Lachlan Suffield, Charlie Miller, Lucas Sexton, Joel Comensoli, John Wohlers, Callum Bott. MANSFIELD: Noah Whittall, Liam Smith, Hayden Desmond, Andrew Friday, Jaxon McCormack, Edwin Morphett. GOALS: JUNIOR MAGPIES: Joel Comensoli 3, Callum Bott 2, Cooper Allan 1, Riley Burrows 1, Mac Correll 1, Charlie Miller 1. MANSFIELD: Harry Craddock 3, Astin Browning 2, James Benton 1, Hayden Desmond 1, Samuel Kain 1, Edwin Morphett 1, Liam Smith 1. Bright

Myrtleford

BEST: BRIGHT: Ewan Lodge, Aidan Hargreaves, Otis Dalbosco, Aiden Toy, Harper Wilson, Lee Robinson. MYRTLEFORD: Jordyn Notarianni, Taj Cooper, Benjamin McMasters, Hudson Durling, Liam McManus, Zeke Menz. GOALS: BRIGHT: Ewan Lodge 4, Stefan Barnard 1, Bailey Brady 1, Tyson Brierty 1, Aidan Hargreaves 1, Hamish Johnston 1, Ryan Logan 1, Lee Robinson 1, Jack Thomson 1, Ethan White 1. MYRTLEFORD: Adam Morgan 1, Jordyn Notarianni 1.

BEST: KANGAROOS: Maddox Coleman, Mason Skermer, Hudson Wallace, Michael Sacco, Dael Johnston, Noah Gigliotti. IMPERIALS: Lomond Cumming, Wally Startin, Riley Mckay, Lenny Campbell, Luke Welch, Stanley South. GOALS: KANGAROOS: Isaac Chilcott 4, Archie Symons 4, Earnest Byrne 2, Noah Gigliotti 2, Jack Pople 2, Mason Skermer 2, Urban Holt 1, Dael Johnston 1, Mitchell Murphy 1.

Wally Startin 1. Benalla Red

BEST: BENALLA RED: Xavier De Fazio, Lucas Webster, Noah Hogan, Jack Pollard, Thomas Mount, Riley McCarthy. COLLEGE: Lenny Sims, Dominic Ciccone, Charlie OBrien, Cooper Bowman, Reegan Monk, Tom Hill. GOALS: COLLEGE: Lenny Sims 7, Dominic Ciccone 4, Luke OBrien 4, Cooper Bowman 1, Luke Dillon 1, Tom Hill 1, Reegan Monk 1, Charlie OBrien 1.

BEST: TIGERS: Xavier Sheldon, Marlon Togolo, Thomas Jones, Kobe Ackroyd, Blake Kantor, Zachariah Akers. CENTRALS: Nicholas Jones, Archie Knobel, Andrew Fraser, Noah Paul, Samuel Elkington, Beau Johns. GOALS: TIGERS: Kobe Ackroyd 1, Riley Webb 1, Austin Whitehead 1. CENTRALS: Liam Bennett 2, Seth Webster Mizzi 2, Ethan Cryer 1, Archie Knobel 1, Milla Wallace 1. Benalla Black

Junior Magpies

BEST: BENALLA BLACK: Hugh Ross, Tom Osborne, Joshua Montgomery, Kobi Thwaites, Ryan White, Charlie Bell. JUNIOR MAGPIES: Jimi Pell, Lane Sloan, Maxwell James, Baxter McLeod, Dodge Lawrey, Lukas Cannata. GOALS: BENALLA BLACK: Joshua Byers 3, Ryder Humphries 2, Kobi Thwaites 1, Oliver Wardill 1. JUNIOR MAGPIES: Sam McIntosh 3, Jimi Pell 3, Will James 2, Lane Sloan 2, Patrick Alker-Jones 1, Harry Allan 1, Archie Johnson 1. Mansfield Yellow 2.2

Blue

BEST: MANSFIELD YELLOW: Toby Gerrans, Cooper Martin, Noah De Santis, William Benton, Macc Watson, Isaac Crowe. MANSFIELD BLUE: Jay Kynnersley, Archie Dunn, Gus Robinson, Noah Langlands, Reeve Purday, Billy Turner. GOALS: MANSFIELD YELLOW: Mitch Rossiter 1, Mitch Storer 1. MANSFIELD BLUE: Archie Dunn 3, Taj Kynnersley 3, Billy Turner 2, Bodhi Killeen 1, Gus Robinson 1. Bright vs Myrtleford - pending

Ackerly, Samuel Lewis, Flynn McCoy. IMPERIALS: Harrison O’Brien, Scout O’Keeffe, Thomas Sealey, Aleksia Hayward, Logan Riordan, Crosbie Govers. GOALS: KANGAROOS: Samuel Lewis 1. IMPERIALS: Harrison O’Brien 5, Mitchell Allisey 1, Harry

1, Thomas Sealey 1.

Allan, Jack Tonkin, Jax Borschmann, Ethan Millis, Jake Day, Rafferty Lyster. GOALS: BENALLA RED: Jack Hart 2, Xavier Beriman 1, Louis Horne 1, Samuel Mount 1, Hudson Pickering 1, Oliver Smith 1. COLLEGE:

TIGERS: Vaughn Godenzi, Logan Benton, Quinn O’Keefe, Jobe Dummett, Dylan Dickson, Joshua Robinson. CENTRALS: Oliver Forster, Leo Palmer, Harvey Muraca, Robert Sinclair, Samuel Lewis, Jordan Woodrow. GOALS: TIGERS: Jobe Dummett 2, Joshua Robinson 2, Dylan Dickson 1, Hunter Vandersteeg 1. CENTRALS: Franklin Fletcher 1, Jordan Woodrow 1.

BEST: BENALLA BLACK: Oliver Parker, Jackson Quarrell, Jack Davies, Maximilian Yuen-Francis, Joshua Bamford, Kayden Randell. JUNIOR MAGPIES: William Hernan, Xavier Van Schaik, Riley Filipenko, Ethan Colyer, Robert Stribley, Logan Fraser. GOALS: BENALLA BLACK: Oliver Parker 5, Joshua Bamford 1, Jimmy Jackson 1, Lachlan Osborne 1, Caleb Thwaites 1, Matthew White 1. JUNIOR MAGPIES: Samuel Patterson 1.

BRIGHT: David Finlaw, Theodor Gray, Khy Andersen, Jordan Peace, Nyoka Cunico, Archie Humphry. MYRTLEFORD: Milla Corcoran, Billy McMahon, Claye Corcoran, Mitch Mcmasters, Mason Durling, Nate Michelini. GOALS: BRIGHT: Oscar Godenzi 1, Theodor Gray 1, Jordan Peace 1. MYRTLEFORD: Mitch McMasters 2, Judd Carroll 1, Milla Corcoran 1, Nash Durling 1.

Fighting Savoy women break Heart

A TREMENDOUS effort in the second half has seen Myrtleford Savoy comprehensively take down Wodonga Heart in their division one women’s match on Sunday.

After conceding a goal early, Myrtleford fought back hard to eventually run out winners 3-1.

Savoy’s defence rallied after Heart’s Gemma Berto found the back of the net, while a massive individual effort from Gabby Paglia on the goal line prevented a two-goal deficit.

Level at half-time, Myrtleford pushed back in a major way, with goals coming from Paglia and Lily Notrianni.

Co-coach Tom Scott said he and fellow co-coach Will Robinson-Dunn were impressed with the fight displayed on the weekend.

“It’s something we’ve been working on pretty much all season,” Scott said.

“We moved a couple of players around in positions we’ve been thinking about for the last couple of weeks, I think we’ve found a formation and line-up we’re relatively happy with.

“We were able to score pretty efficiently, that’s something we’ve been lacking, so to be able to get on the scoreboard three times in one game is a really good step forward and something we’re really excited about.

Local juniors excel at Division cross country

CHILDREN in the Alpine district did their schools proud at the Division Cross Country in Wangaratta on Wednesday, June 5.

Athletics coach and physiotherapist Richard Xerri said the year was a strong one for local runners.

“It was noted how far the Alpine district has come along in the last 12 months with several youngsters to run for Division this week down in Benalla,” he said.

“This year we have rallied up support from Bright Rotary and my own contributions to strengthen the identity of the Alpine district with printed white vests.

“Athletics forms the building blocks of all sports but is now holding its own in town.

“My primary goal is to keep children in sport throughout their development, regardless of what sport they specialise in.”

NORTH East Bushrangers Basketball (NEBB) is a collaboration between local North East basketball associations with the commitment of “Creating Realistic Pathways for all North East Athletes”

Ten NEBB junior teams compete in the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) - the highest level junior competition in Victoria.

Our Club offers specialist Basketball Clinics, as well as pathways through Senior Big V Competitions.

One NEBB Youth League Men’s (YLM) team competes in the semi-professional Big V competition.

Big V & VJBL consist of teams from both metropolitan and regional Victoria.

Xerri, who sits on the coaching sub-committee of Wangaratta Little Athletics, runs regular sessions in Bright and Porepunkah,

along with the organisation each year of Bright Running Festival and can be contacted on 0415 732 776 for any interested parties.

ROUND RESULTS:

U14 Boys 1 41 def by Korumburra 1 88

(Top Scorers: O. Pigdon 14, C. Hueston 8, T. Thorp 8)

U14 Boys 2 55 def Keilor 6 45

(Top Scorers: N. Caccianiga 15, J. Kynnersley 14, X. Phillips 12)

U14 Girls 1 39 def by Korumburra 1 54

(Top Scorers: E. Hudgson 12, M. Hanley 8, M. Moscrop 8)

U14 Girls 2 25 def Diamond Valley 4 21

(Top Scorers: L. Nedelkovski 7, M. Tomkins 5, R. Pickles 5)

U16 Boys 1 62 def Frankston 1 41

(Top Scorers: S. Kain 19, L. Cashman 10, E. Ockenden 9)

U16 Boys 2 32 def by Collingwood 2 51

(Top Scorers: J. Kelly 10, A. KIpping 6, R, Casanova 6)

U16 Boys 3 76 def Geelong 7 28

(Top Scorers: I. Lacey 23, E. Damon 13, A. Richardson 12)

U16 Girls 1 48 def Western Port 1 41

(Top Scorers: E. Mercieca 17, M. Evans 8, E. Napier 7)

U16 Girls 2 40 def Broadmeadows 2 36

(Top Scorers: M. Watson 14, C. Campbell 7, P. Male 7)

U18 Boys 36 def by Melbourne 5 38

(Top Scorers: H. Pople 5, A. Button 5, R. Robinson 5)

BY NATHAN DE VRIES ndevries@ nemedia.com.au

“Heart had the chance to go two or three goals up within the first half, but our defence and Jess (Stringer), our keeper, we were able to lock them out and keep them out and keep them out of the box.

“We were really impressed.” Savoy face top team Melrose FC in their midweek clash tonight (Wednesday, June 19), and Scott was realistic about their chances.

“We know that Melrose and Hotspurs are probably the most likely to be there in the last game in September, so we know what it’s going to be like,” he said.

“We just look at it as another opportunity to see what our skills can do against a higher position.

“We have the weekend bye so that’s another chance to recoup before we have a relatively okay run of games.

“We’ve got Albury City then maybe Boomers or Twin City after that, so we have a relatively good month of football coming up.

“We get this challenge out of the way, we see what we can do, and we’ll go from there.”

Bowlers making most of the sunny conditions

LAST Saturday Myrtleford Bowls Club hosted Chiltern in beautiful sunshine, who brought along eight teams for some fun two bowls triples.

Great comradery was on display and many newer players are gaining valuable experience each week in the XXXX Winter Bowls competition.

While the scores are a secondary consideration in this competition it is still very keenly contested – the final scores were Myrtleford 162 shots and Chiltern 156 shots with the home team winning five rinks to three.

Yackandandah hosted Bright with Bright coming out on top 89 shots to 72, with only four rinks being used.

Bright won two rinks and drew one, while Yackandandah won one rink and drew one. This is the first time in the last six years that the competition has been able to play six consecutive Saturdays in winter without the weather intervening. A second round of six matches is now planned, commencing from Saturday, August 10. All clubs involved have had record numbers enjoy these games which has also assisted their revenue during the quieter months of trading – the clubs wish to thank XXXX for their support which is vital to regional towns.

DEFENSIVE TITANS: Gabby Paglia and Jess Stringer (centre) were resolute in defence in Myrtleford’s win over Wodonga Heart.

PHOTO: Janet Watt

NEW THREADS: Local children show off their new vests, courtesy of Xerri Athletics and Bright Rotary Club.

PHOTO: Richard Xerri

WINNERS AND LOSERS

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

NETBALL SCORES

A GRADE

Albury 42 def by Corowa Rutherglen 56 North Albury 56 def Myrtleford 50

B GRADE

Albury 45 def Corowa Rutherglen 34 North Albury 43 def by Myrtleford 61 C GRADE

Albury 60 def Corowa Rutherglen 33 North Albury 35 def by Myrtleford 39 17 & UNDER Albury 41 def by Corowa Rutherglen 42 North Albury 40 def by Myrtleford 44 15 & UNDER Albury 55 def Corowa Rutherglen 13 North Albury 24 def by Myrtleford 41

THIRDS RESULTS

Albury 9.7.61 def Corowa R’glen 9.5.59: GOALS: ALBURY: D. Dunstan 4, W. El-achkar 1, N. Conway 1, L. Hogan 1, N. Wilkinson 1, K. Griparis 1. COROWA RUTHERGLEN C. Duryea 3, I. Dickinson 2, J. Lavis 2, J. Kuschert 1. BEST: ALBURY: O. Feuerherdt, N. Prentice, J. Shanahan, D. Dunstan, L. Hogan, F. Scholes. COROWA RUTHERGLEN: L. Tafft, C. Duryea, J. Lavis, J. Kuschert, B. Eyers, J. Massey-Chase. Nth Albury 17.15.117 def Myrtleford 1.6.12: GOALS: North Albury Thirds: L. Hetherton 7, T. Field 2, T. Ellis 1, C. Spencer 1, T. Hunt 1, C. Moncrieff 1, M. Heriot 1. BEST: NORTH ALBURY: C. Spencer, W. Clohesy, W. Satchell, A. Jansen, B. Daley, J. Smith. MYRTLEFORD: T. Miller, J. Browne, O. Neil, O Benson, L. Barbour, C. Howden.

GOALS: NORTH ALBURY: N. Dennis 5, J. Minogue 5, F. Gardiner 2, J. Hayes 2, T. Broomhead 2, C. Winter 2, K. Tallent 1, C. McIntosh 1. MYRTLEFORD: L. Murphy-Dale 4, R. Bouker 2, B. Ricardi 2, B. Coleman 1, N. Turner 1, D. Batey 1, M. Munro 1. BEST: NORTH ALBURY: J. Reynolds, N. Dennis, F. Ramage, J. King, F. Gardiner, J. Minogue. MYRTLEFORD: J. Muraca, L. Murphy-Dale, T. Cappellari, J. East, B. Ricardi, J. Gribbin.

GOALS: ALBURY: M. Walker 7, C. McGrath 3, J. Gaynor 2, K. Heiner-Hennessy 2, M. Byrne 1, F. Hart 1, T. Quade 1. COROWA RUTHERGLEN: S. Dunstan 2, D. Hope 2, J. Eyers 1. BEST: ALBURY: M. Walker, J. Gaynor, E. Powell, J. Page, I. Muller, W. Unthank. COROWA RUTHERGLEN: D. Hope, R. Eyers, J. Longmire, S. Jansen, C. Bertram, J. Marks. ALBURY 6.1 8.6 13.6 17.11.113 COROWA-R’GLEN 1.2 1.3 3.7 5.10.40

SATURDAY, JUNE 22 WANGARATTA ROVERS 0

SUNDAY, JUNE 23

WANGARATTA

WINNERS AND LOSERS

GOALS: BENALLA ALL BLACKS: Lachlan Sinclair 1, Jordan Smith 1. MILAWA: Braydon Kearns 8, Jared Lea 7, Brady Bartlett 6, Xavier Ham 2, Harry Allan 1, Corey Dunn 1, Brandon Fitzpatrick 1, Matt Graham 1, Simon Pane 1. BEST: BENALLA ALL BLACKS: Damian Broughton, David Nero, Chelton Orchard, David Button, Sam Cox, Kieran Linke. MILAWA: Braydon Kearns, Xavier Ham, Tyler Dunn, Jared Lea, Corey Dunn, Josh Owen.

A GRADE:

Benalla 30 def by Milawa 70, Greta 58 def Moyhu 27, Goorambat 36 def by Bright 49; King Valley 38 def by Tarrawingee 45; Nth Wang 28 def by Whorouly 61

B GRADE:

Benalla 21 def by Milawa 82, Greta 36 def Moyhu 35 Goorambat 23 def by Bright 44; Nth Wang 34 def by Whorouly 51

B RESERVE: Greta 48 def Moyhu 37, Goorambat 34 def by Bright 48; King Valley 30 def by Tarrawingee 39; Nth Wang 22 def by Whorouly 66

C GRADE:

Benalla 12 def by Milawa 50, Greta 40 def by Moyhu 42 King Valley 39 def Tarrawingee 29; Goorambat 41 drew with Bright 41; Nth Wang 32 def Whorouly 30 15 & UNDER:

Benalla 19 drew with Milawa 19, Greta 21 def Moyhu 13, King Valley 34 def Tarrawingee 28; Goorambat 2 def by Bright 43; Nth Wang 19 def Whorouly 10

ROUND 12

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

BRIGHT vs BONNIE DOON

MILAWA vs GRETA NORTH

WANGARATTA vs BENALLA

MOYHU vs WHOROULY

TARRAWINGEE vs GOORAMBAT

KING VALLEY - BYE

GOALS: GRETA: Frazer Judd 11, James McClounan 4, Brenton Newbold 3, Tyler Arrowsmith 1, Frazer Dent 1, Ben Hogan 1, Lachie Kennett 1, Luke Minogue 1, Tom Webster 1. MOYHU: Tom Bannon 1, George Hearn 1, Nick Stewart 1. BEST: GRETA: Frazer Judd, James McClounan, Frazer Dent, Luke Minogue, Joshua Bell, Nicholas Pell. MOYHU: Bailey Zimmermann, Matthew Thrum, David McDonald, Liam Cook, Jett Roberts, Josh Coonan.

GOALS: GOORAMBAT: Dylan Beavis 2, Duane Haebich 2, Angus Burston 1, Josh Heylbut 1, Sully Malay 1, Brayden Stepien 1. BRIGHT: Mikka Paulsen 6, Dylan Bursill 2, Max Rampling 2, Rodrigo Arguello 1, Riley Bacon 1, Clay Cambridge-Dillon 1, Jack Dalbosco 1, Luke Quirk 1. BEST: GOORAMBAT: Benjamin Reaburn, Josh Heylbut, Sully Malay, Brayden Stepien, Dylan Beavis, John House. BRIGHT: Mikka Paulsen, Thomas Gray, Alexander Dalbosco, Joe Gray, Rodrigo Arguello, James Love.

NTH WANGARATTA 3.3 5.7 9.13 15.18.108

WHOROULY 1.2 2.3 3.4 4.4.28

GOALS: NORTH WANGARATTA: Matthew Curtis 3, Damien Bradley 2, Jack Brown 2, Jhye Devine 2, Taylor O’Brien 2, Steven Lepenik 1, Matthew Prestianni 1, Tyler Schulze 1, Timothy Wilson 1. WHOROULY: Zac Bladon 2, Oliver Dixon 1, Samuel Ferguson 1. BEST: NORTH WANGARATTA: David Killen, Sean Gales, Adam Enever, Tyler Schulze, Damien Bradley, Taylor O’Brien. WHOROULY: Oliver Dixon, Dylan Gephart, Zac Bladon, Daniel Harris, Darcy O’Shannessy, Edward Bramich.

MATCH REVIEWS

Lions pushed aside by rampaging Hawks

By NATHAN DE VRIES

WHOROULY’S senior football side suffered another harsh result at the hands of North Wangaratta, bullied across the park in a 4.4 (28) to 15.18 (108) loss.

The lacklustre Lions were in the game at half time, only four goals behind, before the Hawks upped the ante in the second half.

A total of 10 second half goals and as many minor scores were conceded by Whorouly, who had no answer as North Wangaratta ran away to an 80-point win.

Coach Lachy Moore said his side was not up to the standards they set for themselves.

“The squad unfortunately didn’t prepare to our set standards and that, mixed with a little bit of misfortune and a hungry Hawks outfit, saw them get the better of us,” he said.

“In the second half the Hawks ran away with it, we were beaten down and unable to take advantage when it was our turn with momentum.

“They bullied us in the contest, they looked lively in the midfield and forward.

“This sees them beat us twice this year and unfortunately it hasn’t been close - they are a side we believe we can run with and they have beaten us down both times.”

Ollie Dixon provided plenty of

run off half back for the Lions, while midfield bulls Ed Bramich and Dylan Gephart were strong around the contest.

It was a special day for the club, with stalwart Brett Allen playing his 500th game for the Lions in the reserves match.

The Lions rose to the occasion, picking up a win in a tight contest 11.5 (71) to 9.9 (63).

Allen kicked two goals in the

eight point triumph, full forward Simon Chalmers finished with five, and Jack Rufford-Sharpe was electric across the ground.

Whorouly heads across to Moyhu this weekend for their round 12 clash with the Hoppers in what’s tipped to be a heated affair.

“Over the last few seasons, although they have played finals, neither side has tasted much success – however, when it comes to

playing one another it’s a bit of a grudge match,” Moore said

“Between after the siren goals or biffs and brawls, there is always a sense of feeling.

“We will look to get back and enjoy footy and training during the week, shake the result of the weekend and sharpen up.

“Both teams will be thinking there’s an opportunity to take a scalp.”

Mikka kicks six as Bright outclass Bats

By DANIEL SAVILLE

AN outrageous second-half display from young forward Mikka Paulsen has single-handedly lifted Bright off the canvas to record their ninth win of the season.

Paulsen, who before last Saturday had slotted only four goals in six previous senior games as a ruckman, delivered when it mattered most to secure the 15.12 (102) to 8.7 (55) victory away from home against finals aspirant Goorambat.

Bright started well with two early goals and plenty of forward entries without fully capitalising, before Goorambat ran riot from clearance and general play to kick six of the next eight goals to hold a 10-point buffer early in the third quarter against the more-fancied Mountain Men.

In the absence of key forwards Cooper Thomason and Declan Bren, Paulsen took the game by the scruff of the neck to boot six goals after half-time, with a combination of strong contested marking, clever ground-ball positioning and accurate set-shot goalkicking getting the job done in the runaway 47-point win.

Vice-captain Michael Elliott was full of praise for the teenager.

“It was a bit of a master stroke to be honest – Quirky (forward Luke Quirk) was pretty well held in the first half and he (Paulsen) gave us

another option up forward,” Elliott said.

“Mikka has been growing in confidence and credit to him, he stood up when the team needed him – it was very impressive to watch from a young player.”

Elliott, who played an important role to hold dynamic Goorambat forward and league leading goalkicker Duane Haebich to just two goals, suggested that his side let themselves down before overcoming their stubborn opponents.

“I think the biggest difference in the first half was our foot skills going into the forward 50 – we had double the amount of inside 50s

than them, but we just couldn’t hit a target and finish off our good work,” Elliott said. Paulsen’s partner in crime Dylan Bursill added two important goals and was dangerous on the lead and at ground level, while midfielder Max Rampling added two majors of his own.

A mid-season blockbuster and grand-final rematch against Boonie Doon (first) awaits Bright (third), in what is a season-defining game for both teams in the pursuit of an all-important toptwo finish.

In a peculiar fixture twist for the second consecutive year, this is the only time that these two

SWITCH: Georgina Matters

PHOTO: Charlotte Kilner

Alpine netballers thrill on court

By NATHAN DE VRIES

IT was an extremely successful weekend for A grade netballers from Bright and Whorouly, with both squads recording solid ins in round 11 of the Ovens and King competition.

Bright’s emphatic 13-goal win over Goorambat sees them sit a win outside the top six, while Whorouly sits fifth overall after a 61-28 drubbing of North Wangaratta. Their fourth win for the season, Bright took control of the game early, leveraging a two-goal lead at quarter time into a seven-goal advantage by the half.

The Bats fought back in the third, preventing the margin from extending until the final quarter, in which Bright piled on 11 goals to seven to secure the win.

Co-coach Kate Buckley said it was the team’s consistency on the court which saw them take the points.

“A really consistent four quarters was our main focus this week, and it proved to be the biggest contributor to our win,” she said.

“Bringing the ball down the court seemingly and transitioning into goals were our definite strong points, while the pressure across the entire court and rebounds in the ring also played a huge role in securing the win.

“Ash Grimes and myself connected beautifully with Georgie Matters and Monique Martin feeding the ball into the ring really well.

sides will square-off in the regular season, with Greta also facing the Bombers just once in 2024 until a probable finals meeting.

“Over the next few weeks with Boonie Doon and also Greta, it will probably shape the top three and decide who will end up with the double chance,” Elliott added.

“The last two times we played them, we got jumped early and were playing catch up the rest of the game, so I think that’s where the game will be won and lost.”

In reserves footy, Bright easily accounted for Goorambat by 162 points – 25.18 (168) to 1.0 (6), with superboot Tom Mullane-Grant kicking 12 goals for the visitors.

“Defenders Molly Whitty and Ash Farmer fought hard all game and, with their strength and determination with rebounding, they were able to turn the ball over and bring it back down the court.” Bright face a true challenge this weekend when they host a fired-up Bonnie Doon.

Whorouly flexed their muscles over North Wangaratta in their round 11 match-up, tearing away form the Hawks after quarter time.

A 13-4 third term signalled the Lions were firing on all cylinders, with North Wangaratta struggling to break through Whorouly’s defence.

Shooters Tayla Allen (35 goals @ 85.37%) and Sarah Primerano (21 @ 77.78) were unstoppable in the shooting circle, kept well supplied by wing attack Bec Allen in her 100th game.

The Lions will face a tall order this weekend against Moyhu, with the winner to go a game clear in the top six.

CLEAN KICK: Tom Gray sends the Mountain Men forward, around the diving Jamie Dunne.

MAGNIFICENT MIKKA: Mikka Paulsen’s six second half goals helped steer Bright to a 47-point win over Goorambat. PHOTOS: Charlotte Kilner

MILESTONE: Brett Allen booted two goals in his 500th appearance in Whorouly colours during the reserves match. PHOTO: Nathan de Vries

changes the angle of attack in Bright’s win over Goorambat.

Hoppers bounce A grade Saints

MYRTLEFORD will enter their split round bye outside the top five in the A grade after a high-scoring loss to North Albury, 50-56.

The two sides traded blows early, with the match being locked at 2727 at half-time.

North Albury managed to force some turnovers and started to find consecutive goals to take a six-goal lead heading into the final term.

Myrtleford clawed themselves back into the game, coming within a goal of the Hoppers in the last five minutes, before North Albury produced a run of five goals to down the Saints.

Assistant coach Tina Way said the effort her side put into the game was unmatched, but it just wasn’t their day.

“We were up going into the second quarter then North Albury clawed their way back, they capitalised on a couple of errors and were able to draw even at half-time, so it’s like the game started all over again,” she said.

“In that third quarter we definitely had our work cut out for us because North Albury hit their straps a bit and got a lead on us.

“At three quarter time we made some changes – Evie Hughes and Maddy Martin swapped in the centre-wing attack role, and myself and Tayla Cartwright swapping, Tayla went into wing defence after three quarters in goal defence.

“It was really good netball by us to be able to continue to claw it back.

BY NATHAN DE VRIES ndevries@ nemedia.com.au

“Unfortunately, North Albury turned the ball a couple of times, a couple of us had a couple of errors, and they took the win by six goals.”

Myrtleford goal shooter Daisy O’Kane was immense under the post, shooting 43 goals at 84.31 per cent accuracy, while at the other end of the court, Bec Piazza force plenty of turnovers.

In other grades, Myrtleford’s B graders stunned the top of the table Hoppers 61-43, C grade won 36-35, under 17s took the win 44-40, and the under 15s had a comfortable win 41-24.

With the Saints heading into a split round bye next weekend, Way said the performance of all of Myrtleford’s netball squads was outstanding after 10 rounds of competition.

“We’ve got three teams in the five, and A and C grades are just outside the five,” she said.

“Just over halfway through, I think we’re going quite well.

“We know where our focus is, and our energy needs to go towards getting those two teams into the finals.

“We’re really proud of the face we’ve got so many teams in the five and two teams just knocking on the door.”

Bruised and battered

■ From back page

The Saints will sit out the second week of the split round, before launching into a home game against Wodonga.

“It’s been a really heavy training load over the last six weeks knowing we had two byes in the space of five weeks,” Millar said.

“We’ve basically gone from very little on the injury front, bar the Sharp boys with the seriousness of theirs, to really getting a fair few (injuries) in the last couple of weeks.

“We need to lick our wounds, recover well to take on Wodonga at home in a couple of weeks.”

In other matches, the Myrtleford reserves picked up an 84-point win, 16.9 (105) to 3.3 (21), while the thirds fell 1.6 (12) to 17.15 (117).

FULL STRETCH: Bec Piazza leaps to get a hand on the ball.

PHOTOS: Melissa Beattie

IN CONTROL: Daisy O’Kane shot the majority of the Saints’ goals.

GO AGAIN: Maddy Martin gets the Saints underway from the centre pass.

SURE SHOT: Lachlan Murphy-Dale slots one of his four goals against the Hoppers.

IN DISPUTE: Tom Cappellari tries to take control of the footy.

DYNAMIC: Josh Muraca tears from the contest in his 50th game for the Saints. PHOTOS: Melissa Beattie

2024 afl businesstipping footy

Bombers net important win

By DANIEL SAVILLE

IN a season where they have continued to impress, Dederang-Mount Beauty’s A grade netball side hasjumped a huge hurdle on their way to a now-probable finals appearance, thanks to a hard-fought win against Mitta United.

It was a classic ‘eight-point’ game between those sitting fifth and sixth on the Tallangatta and District Netball Association ladder, and the game did not disappoint.

The two teams traded goals all day with a raft of lead changes throughout, but it was the Bombers who ran away with a 48-39 victory.

A determined DMB did not have it all their own way, as they led by the barest of margins at the first break and were facing a two-goal deficit at half-time, but were able to regain the ascendancy in quarters three and four to bank a crucial four points.

Captain Alysha de Koeyer played her best game for the year, scoring 34 goals with impressive accuracy, and senior netball coach Alex Dyde could not be happier with her impact on the squad.

“Alysha is such a skilful player – her read of the play, not only in the ring, but down the whole court, is exceptional,” Dyde said.

“It’s great to have her back in full force, particularly coming into some intense games for us, and it’s great to have three very competent shooters to select from.”

Dyde was also pleased with the performance that leaves her side in a good position moving forward.

“It was a relief to take the win and one we did have to fight for, but we knew that going into the game that Mitta would aim to make it hard for us,” she said.

“The two game gap between us and Mitta gives us a little breathing room now, which is needed as we face Chiltern and then Tallangatta.

“This weekend we need to focus on our full four-quarter effort.

“We were right up there competing with Kiewa and Thurgoona and it was only our last five minutes on both occasions that we let them run away from us.

“If we can dig deep to run out a full 60 minutes, it should result in a very competitive game of netball.”

Dederang-Mount Beauty were no match for Mitta United in senior football action, with the Bombers going down by 140 points in their first of five games at Dederang – 5.2 (32) to 26.16 (172).

Max Jensen and Jacob Ozolins kicked two goals apiece for the home side, while Lachie Lee, William Webb and Sam Creamer did their best to reduce the margin as the Bombers’ most influential players.

The Bomber army travel to Chiltern to take on the Swans this Saturday afternoon.

A WELCOME CHALLENGE

THE split round bye this weekend will give the Saints some much needed recovery time after sustaining injuries over the last couple of matches, most recently in their 12.8 (80) to 20.11 (131) loss to North Albury.

The Saints were well and truly in the match at half-time, only down by two points, but without Matt Munro who was pulled from the ground in the second quarter with niggling injuries.

The bench was further depleted when Rhys Grant rolled his ankle after performing well on the Hoppers’ dangerous forward Josh Minogue.

The Hoppers banged on five third quarter goals to lead by 27 in the dying minutes of term before things for Myrtleford went from bad to worse.

Nick Ferguson was handed a

BY NATHAN DE VRIES ndevries@ nemedia.com.au

yellow card after a dangerous tackle, which meant the Saints were down to 17 men on the ground for almost a quarter.

Senior coach Craig Millar said his side fought hard despite the challenging game situation.

“Once they got a bit of momentum, we found it really hard to pull it back,” he said.

“I was really proud of the fact they continued to fight it out, but the unfortunate thing was they (North Albury) were just too good on the day under some difficult circumstances.

“We brought in pretty good players back into the mix,

but we lost Matt Munro in the second quarter, we lost Rhys Grant who was doing a good job on (Josh) Minogue early, and we lost Nick Ferguson with a yellow card in the third quarter for a whole quarter which made us play with 17 men.

“I’m comfortable they’ll be right after the bye, we just took a really careful approach with both of them, really conservative, especially with Matt.”

While they may not have taken the points, the Saints produced some brilliant footy throughout the match.

Lachlan Murphy-Dale continued his run of form finishing with four goals, Jaxon East was immense, and Josh Muraca impressed in his 50th club match.

The Saints also debuted VFL-

listed livewire Blake Coleman, who picked up a goal and 15 touches against the Hoppers.

“Lachy’s been really hitting the straps over the last month, and Jaxon’s been a really consistent player for us all year,” Millar said,

“I’m really pleased for Josh Muraca in his 50th club game, that was his best performance for the year and it’s been building over the last month and he’s starting to get a return for the effort he’s putting into it.

“Blake played his role really well for us, he looks really lively and doesn’t waste the ball so he was great - fingers crossed we can get him for a few other games in the back end of the year.”

■ Continued page 34

THE inaugural Bright Gravel cycling event saw 150 riders take on unsealed gravel roads around and throughout Bright over the King’s Birthday long weekend. Story page 29.

PHOTO: Jean-Pierre Ronco