WC061224_SamReiher

IN THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

HOTSPOT TO LIVE

WANGARATTA has emerged as the top regional growth hotspot in Australia according to the latest report that maps migration of Commonwealth Bank customers.

The report released by Regional Australia Institute shows that Rural City of Wangaratta’s net internal migration inflows increased by 592 per cent in the 12 months to September 2024, topping the list with other nearby municipalities Strathbogie fourth and Moira fifth nationally.

There has also been a surge of new residents to Wangaratta recently with the September quarter change (Sep qtr 2024 vs Jun qtr 2024) showing a

staggering 246.2pc increase.

The report shows both residents from other regions and city dwellers contributed to Wangaratta’s stellar growth rate.

Wangaratta took out fourth place in the top five LGAs by annual percentage growth in new capital city to regional migrations in the last 12 months, while Moira was in second place.

To be listed in the top five

of the Regional Movers Index net migration flows need to be 50 or more people.

Acting Mayor Harvey Benton said the rural city’s central location to other attractions, strong health services, well performing schools, better rail transport connectivity, and land to build on all help in enticing people to make the tree change.

He said one of the main influences on the figures

has been the release of land in residential growth areas following extensive work with North East Water for water and sewage infrastructure.

Cr Benton also believed safety in the community and good services was a big draw card.

“Families can raise their kids up here and you get it repeated every night on the television how people are running amuck in Melbourne,” he said.

“The serviceability of the utilities in the Rural City of Wangaratta have improved and it’s starting to pay off

“We’re only an hour away from lakes Hume and Mulwala and two hours from the snow, we have a fairly good health system with the hospitals, and the schools have a good reputation.

■ Continued page 3

THERE’S still time to donate gifts to the Upper Murray Family Care and Centre Against Violence Christmas Gift Appeal. Theoffice of Indi Independent MP Helen Haines is accepting gifts and (from left) Laura Tonkin (CAV), Dr Haines, Jess Blum (UMFC), Kelly Timms (UMFC) and Georgia Spence (UMFC) are encouraging community members to support the cause. Story page 6.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Zoe’s legacy is helping others pursue dreams

AN aspiring chef and a passionate artist interested in joining the police force are this year’s recipients of the Zoe Buttigieg Wangaratta Chronicle Scholarships.

Grade five Yarrunga Primary School students Georgie Duncan and Lucinda Forster were announced the winners, with Zoe’s mother Janelle Saunders presenting the scholarships during a special awards assembly, attended by most the school’s students and many family members last Monday morning.

Zoe was a grade five student at Yarrunga when she lost her life in tragic circumstances in 2015, and the two $500 scholarships awarded annually to grade five students not only honour her memory, but seek to help students pursue their passions.

Ms Saunders said she was delighted that her daughter’s legacy was living on at the school which meant so much to her.

“Seeing something so positive come out of something so tragic is wonderful,” she said.

“Zoe loved school, she loved education, the arts and her netball.”

School principal Fran Waterman said the calibre of entries from all grade five applicants

was outstanding, and there were many worthy of the scholarship - with Riley Day and Matilda Snowdon highly commended.

Georgie told the Wangaratta Chronicle she was honoured and excited to receive the scholarship, which she will put towards a laptop computer to help her do well in school and follow her dream to be a chef.

Fellow scholarship recipient Lucinda said she would save the money in an investment account towards attending university.

“Once I graduate university I plan on becoming either a police woman or an artist,” she said.

Wangaratta Chronicle editor Jeff Zeuschner said the students’ resilience and achievements were clearly on show during the assembly.

“This is the eighth year of the scholarships and the Chronicle is proud to be able to support students to pursue their passions and their unquestionable potential,” he said.

Zoe Buttigieg Wangaratta Chronicle Scholarship 2024 winning entries

GEORGIE DUNCAN

When I grow up I want to open my own restaurant and become a chef.

I have always loved cooking and enjoy helping my mum make dinner.

One of my favourite things to cook is fried rice because it is so fun to make.

Cooking makes me happy and I want to do it as a job when I am older.

At school my favourite class is art.

I like to paint because I can do it at school and at home.

Soon in art we get to paint shoes and I’m very excited about this!

I can’t wait to wear them when they’re finished and I can wear them around.

If I were to be given the scholarship I would use the money towards high school.

I would like to buy a laptop so I can do my absolute best.

I would also like to get books and other things that would help me with my work.

School is important to me and I want to do my best so I can have a good future

and be that chef like I want.

I didn’t know Zoe, but my sister told me about what happened to her and I feel very sorry for Zoe’s mum and everyone else who knew her.

I know that if she still came to our school I would like to be friends with her.

LUCINDA FORSTER

I’m passionate about art and being creative about my work and art projects.

At my school I enjoy kitchen because I love to cook and bake my own food and then to be able to see other people try it. I also love Art because I get to make my own idea come to life.

If I won the scholarship I would put it into a High Interest Account with my savings that I have been collecting for two years.

My goal for this money is to build it until I graduate high school and use it for university.

Once I graduate university I plan on becoming either a police woman or an artist.

Thank you for considering me.

Other annual award winners at Yarrunga Primary School

• Outstanding contribution to the school in all areas: Grade 6 student Hannah Snowdon

• Wangaratta Rotary Club Jean McDonald Perpetual Scholarship for all round student: Grade 6 student Daneeka Lines

• Brian Bosse Scholarship for personal growth: Grade 6 student Jack Mumby

• School Council Awards for excellent leadership, academic and school involvement: Grade 5 student Matilda Snowdon and Grade 6 student Nash West

• Kids Council Award for qualities of an excellent volunteer: Grade 4 student Indie Hickson-Sutcliffe

• Zoe Buttigieg Sports Award for Grade 5 student who excels at sport: Lucinda Forster

• The Redmond Encouragement Award: Grade 5 students Riley Day, Rydah Donovan

• Bindi Award: Grade 4 students Lily Britton, Carl Watts

• Community Award: Grade 3 student Cassidy Thomson

AWARDED: Yarrunga Primary School grade five students Georgie Duncan (left) and Lucinda Forster were awarded the annual Zoe Buttigieg Wangaratta Chronicle Scholarships on Monday. They are pictured under the Zoe tree with Zoe’s mum Janelle Saunders and Wangaratta Chronicle editor Jeff Zeuschner.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Op shop thief goes airborne attempting to escape police

A WANGARATTA op shop thief didn’t know it was illegal to take items from a donation bin, a court has heard.

Appearing from the custody box at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court this week, the 29-year-old pleaded guilty to taking 10 bags of clothing items from a Wangaratta op shop donation box in the early hours of October 6, 2023.

The court heard after his theft, he drove to a Wangaratta petrol station for fuel and attempted to steal $35 worth of various food items including mint slices, maple syrup and a lollipop.

Staff caught the defendant placing items in his pocket and locked the automatic doors as he attempted to flee.

The defendant hit the

emergency exit button and took off to his car while police were called.

His car went “partially airborne” as it drove across a nature strip as he fled.

Police pulled over the defendant on Ryley Street and located the stolen items from the service station and an ice pipe.

The defendant initially

claimed the op shop clothes as his own and said he was going to donate them, until he was questioned about some “elderly items” found in one of the bags.

He told police he didn’t know it was illegal to steal clothing from the op shop donation bin.

Defence counsel Geoff Clancy said his client was

FLOOD WARNINGS EASE ON KING, OVENS RIVER CATCHMENTS

By BAILEY ZIMMERMANN

FLOODING is expected to ease along the Ovens and King river catchments until the weekend, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest flood warnings.

The King River at Docker Road Bridge peaked at 3.91m Wednesday afternoon, as the BOM sent warnings to nearby residents to prepare for moderate flooding at 3.95m.

As of 9am Thursday, the BOM did not expect any further flooding at the site and the river level slowly receded below the minor flood level of 3.70m.

A minor flood warning was issued on the Ovens River in Wangaratta as it slowly raised towards the minor flood level of 11.9m.

As of BOM’s latest warning, the Ovens River sat at 11.21m and further river level rises were possible as upstream floodwaters arrived but it was expected to peak below the minor flood level.

BOM forecasts as of 2:30pm Thursday show rain is expected in Wangaratta for both Friday (0-6mm) and Saturday (520mm) with the possibility of storms.

jailed in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court in May for 18 months for a number of separate matters.

Mr Clancy said mental health and drug issues had plagued his client’s life and he acknowledged it was reckless to steal the clothes and drive away from police.

The court heard the defendant was eligible for parole, but

STARTING TO EASE: Flooding on the

within Wangaratta was not expected to reach minor flood levels, as Bureau of Meteorology issued warnings throughout the week.

Kurt

Fourth alleged Tavern Terrace home invader apprehended

By BAILEY ZIMMERMANN

A FOURTH alleged offender of a Wangaratta home invasion which left an occupant assaulted was arrested in Wodonga on Wednesday following a joint North East police operation.

Detective Senior Constable James Nelson of Wangaratta police said officers from Wodonga, Cobram, Benalla and Wangaratta

simultaneously executed search warrants at properties in Wodonga on Wednesday, December 4.

Det Sen Const Nelson said Wangaratta police arrested a 55-yearold woman who was alleged to have fled a break-in at Tavern Terrace, Wangaratta on November 11.

Police were called to the address around 1:20pm that afternoon where a home occupant was allegedly assaulted as they returned home to

their property being robbed.

Police were able to arrest three men at the nearby Wangaratta Christian Fellowship Church, with the help of a nearby witness.

Police seized a large quantity of jewellery, along with other items that were taken from the house.

Det Sen Const Nelson said the 55-year-old allegedly fled the scene in a grey hatchback before police arrived.

She was charged with burglary and theft offences.

Det Sen Const Nelson said two other arrests were made at Wodonga properties on Wednesday in relation to burglaries in Cobram, where jewellery of around $50,000 was stolen.

The 55-year-old woman was bailed to appear at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court along with her three alleged co-offenders on January 20.

he had been unable to obtain it because of outstanding matters in Wangaratta.

Magistrate Ian Watkins imposed a $400 fine and a seven-day prison sentence, to be served concurrently with his current jail term.

“Sorry about all of my offending,” the defendant said.

“I’ll look to do good and be better.”

Rural city a national hotspot to move to, according to latest population data

■ From page 1

“We have spent $31 million on the aquatic centre so it’s got to start to pay something back.

“The train service is still not 100 per cent but it’s better than what it was.”

Cr Benton noted that the King Valley was named as the top trending place by Time Out Australia and that the valley has been a magnate for a lot of people who drive from Melbourne go to lunch at a winery and then drive back again.

“Our climate is a big factor and over many years I only know of one stock agent who moved to Wangaratta from the south to work and eventually returned to Melbourne,” he said.

“The staging of events in the rural city also attracts return visitation and people get a taste of the area and eventually make the move here and tell their friends how good it is.”

Wangaratta real estate agent Garry Nash said he has noticed a steady stream of new residents over the last 12 months including people returning to Wangaratta after a stint elsewhere, and retirees.

“This recognition endorses what I have been advocating over many years when I have the opportunity to speak to media, business and government,” he said.

“It is also testament to the hard work and dedication of many people who have contributed to the Rural City of Wangaratta over the years.

“It has been a commitment to continual improvement with our natural beauty and resources, the diversity of various agricultural streams, tourism, hospitality, manufacturing, transport, warehouse distribution, industries, medical, education and professional services.

“This all culminates in a desirable and attractive area to reside in and enjoy.”

Ovens River

PHOTO:

Hickling

Simmo’s Bloody Good Tour to help save lives

By JORDAN DUURSMA

A CENTRAL Coast father who is undertaking the incredible endeavour of visiting every Lifeblood donor centre across the country stopped in Wangaratta on Wednesday, encouraging locals to get on board ‘The Bloody Good Tour’.

Simmo Braun is calling on people who have never donated blood or plasma before to sign up for his Lifeblood team, ‘Bloody Good Humans’.

He also wants to spread the word about how saving lives can bring wellbeing, happiness and connection, with Lifeblood research showing four in five donors think donation is good for their mental health and one in four associates feeling energised with donating blood.

Simmo said over a period of 12 months he and his kids will be caravaning across the country to visit every town with a blood donor centre and he and his crew will donate plasma fortnightly.

“While I haven’t experienced the need for blood myself, last year I faced some deep personal challenges and I found regular blood donation positively impacted my mental health,” he said.

“I’ve experienced tough times, just like everyone else, and as a blood donor the lifesaving part of my identity lifts my spirits.

“Thousands of Australians are

alive because of blood donors, and those people have families, friends, teammates, colleagues, clients, whose lives are also better as a result.

“That is a pretty special feeling.”

Lifeblood spokesperson Shae Burns said a survey about attitudes to blood donation and its impacts on mental and general health supported Simmo’s experience.

“Our findings show that people

who donate blood strongly believe it is positive for their mental health, with most reporting they felt nothing but good after their donation,” she said.

“With blood demand at a 10 yearhigh and plasma demand the highest it’s ever been, we’re calling on locals in Wangaratta to show their support by donating blood and registering for the Bloody Good

Humans donation team.”

From January 7, 2025, there will be even more opportunity to donate blood in Wangaratta, with the centre increasing its opening hours to include Tuesdays, from 11am to 6.30pm.

To register to donate, visit lifeblood.com.au or call 13 14 95 and join the team Bloody Good Humans.

By STEVE KELLY

NORTH East bound passengers faced major delays on Saturday after an empty standard gauge train departing Southern Cross Station partially derailed off the tracks when returning to the stabling yards.

Two Saturday Albury services were cancelled as a result of the derailment, while two other services terminated or originated at Broadmeadows, with passengers using metropolitan services to travel to Broadmeadows to transfer to the V/Line Albury services to complete their journey.

A power fault on the metropolitan network on Saturday night also impacted some services on the Craigieburn Line.

Some V/Line passengers were caught up in this disruption and passengers, including one from Wangaratta, had to detrain the metro service at Glenroy.

V/line reported that coaches were sourced to transport passengers to Broadmeadows Station to connect with Albury services.

A spokesperson said the Saturday evening service to Albury was held up at Broadmeadows to wait for coaches to arrive.

“Some passengers who were unable to make the connection with the Albury train at Broadmeadows were provided with a coach to transport them to Albury,” the spokesperson said.

“There were no further impacts to services relating to the incident across the weekend.”

BLOODY GOOD HUMANS: Simmo Braun with (from left) Anna Pape, Lennoc Braun, Emerson Braun, Henley Braun and Merle Arens are calling on people to donate blood or plasma.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Talks to continue at Fair Work today

By STEVE KELLY

THE United Workers Union (UWU) will hold talks with Woolworths and Fair Work today in the hope an agreement can be achieved over conditions and wages at distribution centres in Victoria and NSW.

UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy said the union “will participate fully in the good faith bargaining hearing at Fair Work”.

“The union has been bargaining in good faith for months, and we were at the bargaining table with Woolworths again on Thursday,” he said.

“The best way to get workers back to work

and shelves restocked in time for Christmas is for Woolworths to concentrate on reaching agreement at the bargaining table. “Anything else is a distraction.

“Woolworths can fix this today if they focus on negotiating a fair outcome that addresses safety concerns with the framework and provides cost-of-living wage increases.”

Workers at Woolworths distribution centres, including Barnawartha, have been on strike since November 21.

The stop-work action has significantly impacted supplies to Woolworths supermarkets and subsidiary outlets including in Wangaratta.

Leave our car par ks parks alone, say seniors

COUNCILhbilld

COUNCIL has been grilled over the intended removal of carparking near the Wangaratta Senior Citizens Club Tara Court base due to the proposed $20 million Wangaratta Art Gallery extension works.

A planning permit is currently being assessed that details the loss of 46 car parks at the rear of the existing gallery, but the problem is, it will create issues for older residents with restricted mobility.

Club president Michael Chambeyron (pictured above)detailed at November’s council meeting that members operate every afternoon, five days a week, and when multiple organisations hold clashing events there is already a great parking shortage near the club.

He said the proposed loss of 46 car spaces and the age of the club members will greatly impact many who live with mobility issues.

“I’m 80 years old and there are a lot of members older than me with walkie-wheelers and there is no way known they can get from the Co-store carpark over to Ford Street.

“It’s a big problem and they utilise those 46 spaces most days and it’s not only our problem but the church, school and arts centre patrons.

“My suggestion is to go up one storey with the arts centre as losing 46 spaces is too much.”

BY STEVE KELLY skelly@

nemedia.com.au

Mr Chambeyron indicated that club members have disability parking passes but most days the carparking on Ford Street was full.

Mayor Irene Grant mentioned that maybe council could establish an arrangement with Big W, allowing people with passes to park there.

However, Mr Chambeyron said people with disability passes have been fined for parking in the Big W carpark for too long in the past.

Cr Grant said building a two storey art gallery would be cost prohibitive and this option had been explored.

CEO Brendan McGrath said there is a planning permit application being assessed for the project and one of a number of things they will have to demonstrate is that sufficient parking will be provided.

“That will need to be demonstrated as it would for anybody else applying to the council to do a project like this,” he said.

“We’ve done a number of reviews for parking availability around the CBD and in general they tell us there is still parking capacity available most of the time despite the fact that people often tell us there isn’t.”

Mr McGrath said council will have conversations with the senior citizens to see if there are additional requirements they need to make, for example a couple of extra disabled bays or alterations to the permit approvals for members to make sure they can park close by without risk of being fined.

In response to a question from club secretary/treasurer Ken Daly, Cr Grant confirmed that council is pursuing funding for the Wareena Park Hub which is the touted new base for the senior citizens club.

“Funding from both federal and state is pretty tough and we are certainly working as hard as we possibly can to ensure whatever is out there we can be recipients of,” she said.

Director - community and infrastructure Marcus Goonan said council staff have been talking to the senior citizens regularly over the last 12 months and council is up to its third application but it was knocked back again.

He said council is looking hard at every opportunity and every piece of funding and the Wareena Park Hub is one of 10 advocacy projects.

“It doesn’t mean that it needs to be the sole way we move forward and there are other options out there…we’re certainly trying to get funding from anywhere we can,” Mr Goonan said.

THE Upper Murray Family Care (UMFC) and Centre Against Violence (CAV) Christmas Gift Appeal is nearing the finish line, but there are still many ways the community can make a donation.

This year, the aim is to support even more people in need across our region by providing gifts to those who otherwise may have missed out.

Last year, more than 384 children and young people received Christmas presents through the appeal.

These gifts were distributed across North East Victoria and Southern NSW, from Corryong to Benalla and Mansfield, as well as Albury, Wodonga, and Wangaratta.

This figure doesn’t include the additional children who were able to be supported through donations shared with other community organisations.

UMFC and CAV wish to kindly thank those who have already generously donated and the sponsors and supporters helping fundraise for the appeal including Helen Haines (MHR, Indi), Wangaratta West Primary School, Hume Bank, Charlie’s Restaurant, Wangaratta Chronicle and Oak FM.

The appeal will wrap up

on December 18, with staff distributing individual gifts to children and young people starting next week.

Every donation received goes directly to help vulnerable local children, young people, and families.

You can donate physical items, such as new toys, sporting equipment, school supplies, or gift cards, at UMFC Wangaratta (36 Mackay Street), UMFC Wodonga (27-29 Stanley Street), Helen Haine’s offices in Wodonga and Wangaratta or make a

monetary donation via the UMFC Give a Gift Appeal page.

These funds will go toward purchasing gift vouchers, experiences, Christmas items (trees, decorations), school supplies, and other identified needs.

Markwood man is hoping for pre-Christmas release

A MARKWOOD man is hoping to be spending the holiday season on the outside as he awaits sentencing from prison for persistent intervention order breaches with a minor.

The 32-year-old appeared at the County Court of Victoria to plead guilty to not adhering to multiple conditions of the order by allegedly contacting the teen protected person 1233 times by phone in a two-month period.

He was also charged with failure to comply with the intervention order conditions and “low-level” offending of possession of child abuse material.

The court heard the de-

fendant was on the sex offender registry for life after he was convicted and imprisoned for 12 months of two charges of sexual intercourse with an child under 16, with one of the charges related to the protected person in the intervention order.

He was released on December 5, 2023 and re-connected with the victim on December 26 via phone, and remained in regular contact until February 24 this year.

Throughout one of the contacts, the victim informed her support worker her ‘boyfriend’ was not answering calls and requested to use their phone to contact him. The support worker over-

Dentists:

heard conversations over the phone and identified her boyfriend as the defendant.

Wangaratta detectives apprehended the defendant on March 1 in Ovens Street, just three months after he was released for prior offending.

When interviewed by police, he said he did not remember there was an intervention order in place and denied knowing where the victim lived.

Prosecutor Shivani Pillai said analysis of the defendant’s text messages to the victim showed he had an awareness of his offending, asking the victim to “promise not to say anything” to police in one of his texts.

Dr. Tony Goodison B.D.Sc (Melb)

Dr. Joe Ibrahim D.D.S (Melb)

Dr. Michael Lin D.D.S (Melb)

“What’s central is this complainant was a victim as a child of sexual penetration by a man with a significant age difference to them,” she said.

“He knew not to contact her, but he has gone ahead and done so.”

Detectives also found two images of child abuse material sent by the protected person to the defendant, which he had stored on his phone.

Just after two weeks in custody, support workers of the victim intercepted a letter addressed to “my beautiful wife”, disclosing he wanted to move to Western Australia with the victim when he would be released and want-

ed to know the victim’s new phone number and address.

The court heard the seven-year intervention order placed in August 2023 was made in concern for the victim’s welfare.

Defence counsel Abbie Roodenburg said she sought no further sentence of imprisonment than time already served due to the consensual matter of the contact with the victim.

The court heard there was a total of 3000 contacts between the defendant and the protected person from December to February.

Ms Roodenburg said her client had only just begun his rehabilitation following

his release in December and was beginning to engage with support services after a history of homelessness and alcohol abuse.

“There’s still much that can be done to aid his rehab and provide the best protection for the community,” she said.

Ms Roodenburg said her client suffers from an intellectual disability, and a psychology report had shown his functionality was more relatable to younger people and girls rather than those similar to the man’s age. Judge Greg Lyon remanded the defendant in custody for sentence on December 11.

SHARE THE JOY: Pictured are (from left) Laura Tonkin (CAV), Dr Haines, Jess Blum (UMFC), Kelly Timms (CAV) and Georgia Spence (UMFC) encouraging others to make a donation.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Climate change hits regions hard

By STEVE KELLY

SEVERAL regional councils gathered in Wangaratta on Wednesday to tell a state inquiry about the difficulties they have in mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Representatives from Rural City of Wangaratta, Indigo and Moira shire councils responded to questions via an Inquiry into Climate Resilience, with committee members including Northern Victorian MPs RikkieLee Tyrell, Gaelle Broad and Wendy Lovell.

Committee chair and Labor MP Ryan Batchelor gave an overview of the inquiry’s function of looking into how well the public and private built environment is adapting to climate change.

“We’ve been looking at how roads and bridges and community infrastructure like community halls, to people’s homes are constructed and looking at how resilient they are in the face of the changing weather,” he said.

Mr Batchelor said temperatures are getting hotter, there are more extreme rainfall events and stronger winds and is the infrastructure up to scratch?

There has been a large focus on the way people build their homes and the comfort

Moira, Wangaratta

and liveability of homes, everything from insulation, energy efficiency, to the colour of people’s roofs.

“We’re really aware of the impact of flooding and disasters on communities and how we build back from those disasters,” he said.

Wangaratta council director of sustainability and culture Stephen Swart spoke about the storms, floods and bushfires that have hit the municipality in recent years.

“These events and their after effects significantly affected our communities, environment and our economy,” he said.

Mr Swart suggested that the burden of the impacts of climate change is greater on regional areas due to lesser

populations and rated income.

He spoke about the impacts of the 2020 bushfires, the 2022 floods and the 2024 power outages in the Rural City of Wangaratta.

“Thanks to funding from Emergency Management Victoria, the Rural City of Wangaratta is currently developing a climate adaptation plan for council operations and service delivery,” he said.

Indigo Shire director of infrastructure services Ian Ellet spoke about the rain over the last week and the ability to have good drainage to keep roads clear as the number one priority.

He said when flash flooding and intense storms oc-

cur, the material from the roads can wash away.

“We are seeing more of those becoming frequent rather than a really rare event,” Mr Ellet said.

Following a question from Nationals MP Gaelle Broad relating to the effectiveness of subdivisions in Wangaratta, Mr Swart referred to housing supply limitations in recent years due to infrastructure delays (sewerage system capacity issues).

“One of the challenges for us as a rural council is we compete with other councils around us for development and growth,” Mr Swart said.

“If we have requirements that are in addition to what those same developers have in neighbouring councils,

they may make decisions not to develop in Wangaratta.

“It’s always a fine balance between making sure we attract the growth and development but also making sure these things are really well planned.”

Mr Swart said if planning scheme policies can be applied more consistently across the state it would help all councils with this and resourcing.

“Resourcing engineers and building surveyors is a real struggle at the moment and has been for a number of years and consistency and policy direction will definitely help us on that side,” he said.

“Policy direction in the planning scheme could be

strengthened at a State Government level.

“In my mind it’s not very strong policy when it comes to these resilience specific policies.

“We are not hearing from the communities that planning decisions should be centralised, for example solar and wind farms.

“However, I do think there is room for policy to be centralised and being applied consistently across the state.”

Mr Swart said an example is the State Government controlling the bushfire management overlay and it is applied across the state but the same does not apply with a flood overlay.

Ms Lovell asked about the State Government infrastructure barriers in councils achieving their growth targets in the next 25 years.

Mr Swart said the Rural City of Wangaratta has been provided with a target of 5700 additional homes by 2051. He said council can achieve the number, but was not so sure about whether there will be enough infrastructure to support the growth.

In reference to the sewer capacity issues in recent years, Mr Swart said there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

People taking to the our city’s vibe

THERE are two events this weekend that will attract thousands of people to the Rural City of Wangaratta - the turf club’s Christmas Party Races and the Folk, Rhythm and Life Festival.

The races are great for locals, friends and family to let their hair down at the end of the busy working year, while the music festival will make its return to Eldorado bring droves of people who wouldn’t necessarily visit Wangaratta.

They are great economic drivers for the local economy as people attending events like these from out of the region tend to spend money at retail outlets to get supplies and this sustains and creates employment for local people.

Other scheduled events throughout the year like sporting meets, car shows, conferences, and wine and gourmet food weekends are a brilliant drawcard for Wangaratta and its surrounding areas.

In today’s Chronicle our story about the Regional Movers Index placing Wangaratta as the number one spot in regional Australia is a product of many years of hard work from multiple government and non-government organisations, businesses, and locals who take pride supporting the rural city’s growth and prosperity.

Events like the two standouts this weekend go a long way in promoting the municipality and this translates to return visitation and eventual migration of new residents from other regions and city capitals.

While there has been a high percentage increase in people moving to the rural city based on the index, it appears that this is just the beginning of what could happen in terms of growth in future years.

Growth is great for the city and local business, but it needs to be matched with suitable private and public infrastructure and services.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

FACEBOOK users this week commented on a woman charged with a host of thefts and breakins across the North East being back in police custody.

• Trevor Dawson: Vandalism early this morning in Ryan Ave by another suspect who also needs to be in custody. Enough is enough police needs to get tough on these crimes.

• Kallan Horton: Trevor

Dawson police can only do so much when these offenders are then being released again and again

• Sam Kelley: Trevor Dawson totally agree. But I listen to this talk back radio on my way to work, a they have had a lot of police ppl call in. And from what I understand the police a doing the best they can and are sick of it just as much as everyone is. Up in qld they are taking steps back coz the court system

Look to the past for council budget advice

ESTIMATE your maximum income for the budget year and total your fixed costs/ expenses; the difference between those two figures, is the amount of your wish list.

It seems the new council includes its wish list with the fixed costs and then starts whinging that it is somebody else’s fault when it doesn’t have enough money.

Some years ago, council changed from town clerk administration to chief executive officer and administration.

Since then we have had hundreds and maybe a couple of thousand extra blocks of land added to the original number on which rates are now being paid at an exorbitant dollar increase.

These additional funds should be more than sufficient to handle any extra costs the Rural City of Wangaratta may incur or become responsible for.

There was never a media announcement where John Elward town clerk, Harry Kilminster engineer, Len Greenwood mayor and subsequent mayors ever whinged, or berated state and federal governments in public with tales of woe.

If on occasions things were tough, these people made detailed written eloquent submissions for crisis funds.

They met with our one of our local politicians - Ken Jasper, David Evans or Lou Liberman - who introduced the group to a selected parliamentary committee where our submission was tabled and verbalised.

If the submission was unsuccessful, government ministers were asked what modifications we needed to make for success.

All of this was done with decorum and respect.

I am proud to say on occasions I was part of a couple of those groups.

If not successful, we crept back into our burrow and tried again.

We did not travel in the flashiest car in town.

Councils judiciously spent ratepayers’ money.

Breakfast was a thermos coffee, cupcakes out of the boot of the car, courtesy of town clerk’s wife Gwen Elward, at a Craigieburn truck stop.

And so, I ask Mayor Irene, to list the council limousine at auction, trim the budget at the basic level and you will be listened to intently by people with funds to distribute.

Brian Fox, Wangaratta

is just letting everyone go. Am I believe the courts are the ones to blame not the police. Happy to be proven wrong but.

• William Magnus: Trevor Dawson the Courts are releasing them on bail police are doing their job

• Lorraine Monshing Oam: Friends house had a attempted break in last week down near Cemetery estate …. At about 9am in morning…. Masked youth , failed ..but lots of

NOTE: Comments as they appear online, without corrections. Our follower total is Like the Wangaratta Chronicle Facebook page to have your say.

security footage….. They are getting more , brazen, stupid or desperate

• Jessica Woodrow: Natalie, this your mate from Coles?

• Natalie Hickson: Jessica Woodrow I doubt it. She seems to only be capable of stealing cokes and chocolate bars. Not sure she has the criminal intelligence to be at break and enter level...she would probably get lost in someone’s house

15,050

TREATS: Emilie Sanderson and Kai Sanderson had the chance to decorate some biscuits with a Christmas theme at Wangaratta’s Synergy Youth Hub on Monday afternoon. The youth hub, located at 29 Flanagan Street, will be open on the next two Mondays, December 9 and 16, from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, with young people encouraged to drop in, hang out and enjoy the snacks and wi-fi. Twelve to 17-year-olds who bring a friend along to the Rural City of Wangarattaoperated hub for either of these sessions will go into a draw to win a Visa gift card, which could be a great help with Christmas shopping.

Animal pain cannot be muffled by music

“REGFEST” rolls into Wangaratta this weekend.

A country music component can not deflect attention away from the core event; a rodeo carting animals around to subject them repeatedly to demonstrations of human brute force.

There is no educational benefit in taking children to see rodeo events.

Rodeos do not reflect best practice cattle handling or horsemanship.

In normal farm practice, bulls are not ridden and neither horses or bulls have flank straps overly tightened around their sensitive underbelly until in their discomfort they buck.

The only time you will see such tormenting practises is in a rodeo ring.

The RSPCA is clear: “Animals are not or should not be handled as demonstrated by rodeo events on any farm or station as part of normal husbandry practices”.

In fact all animal welfare organisations are opposed to rodeos.

“Sentient”, the Veterinary Institute for Animal Ethics warns “Spectators are usually seated at a distance from the action focused on the human competitor, distracted by loud music and commentary and unaware of the significance of the animal’s body language and stress behaviours. In recent years, however, research has produced sound evidence of the fear,

distress and pain experienced by animals used in rodeos.”

In the 21st century best practice in animal handling involves working to minimise the stress in animals not actively provoking animals into a fight or flight response.

Ask yourself, if you had a bond with a horse would you like to see your cherished horse end up being made to repeatedly buck on the rodeo circuit?

There are other places to spend our entertainment dollars.

I encourage those in the music profession to show consideration and respect for animals by making a commitment to not perform at rodeos.

Readers wanting more information can find it at - https://kb.rspca.org.au/ knowledge-base/what-are-the-animalwelfare-issues-with-rodeos/ Cassandra Pollock, Wangaratta

WE welcome

letters under 250 words. Every letter must have your full name, address and a daytime phone contact number supplied for verification purposes. Any letter may be edited for reasons of space, content or legibility. Email edit.chronicle@nemedia.com.au Post Letters to the Editor, 37 Rowan St, Wangaratta 3677

FESTIVE

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

FACEBOOK users this week commented on Wangaratta’s new Christmas decorations.

• Kmtb Park: Bravo, the decorations look great!

Facebook users this week also commented on several Woolworths stores being impacted the ongoing stopwork action.

• Greg Wighton: All power to the workers! Taking a stand against ridiculous productivity tracking that treats them like automatons.

• Roy Pini: imagine the

conditions without unions to help

Facebook users this week also commented on Helen Haines backing the Federal Government’s world-first social media laws.

• Phillip Coghetto: I’m shocked

• Terry Davern: I dont they use ai to snoop

Facebook users this week also commented on new public transport ticketing technology being road-tested in Wangaratta.

• Starsky Hutch: Just curious if they still take cash?? Will you

Check out some of our best photos at our @wangchronicle Instagram account.

be charged a small fee from your bank.?? Most pensioners it only cost a couple of dollars,

• Daniel Moore: Should have went MYKI system like seymour

Facebook users this week also commented on a local cherry grower selling a box of cherries for a record price at the annual Sydney Markets charity auction.

• Claire Higgs: Brilliant!!

• Marion Rak: Well done

• Rita Robinson: Well done Andrew Facebook users this week

also commented on Jubilee Falls flowing during summer.

• Georgina Rea: Beautiful. Love that place .

• Linda Simpson: Magnificent! Great to see it flowing!

• Starsky Hutch: We climbed that many years ago.

Facebook users this week also commented on the delay in the opening of the $12.9 million basketball stadium expansion.

• Noel Barnard: A never ending story at Ford St

• Nathan Andrew: Pathetic wake up

Our follower total is Like the Wangaratta Chronicle Facebook page to have your say.

15,050 Tweet

X USERS this week tweeted about flood warnings, the famous King Valley and wild weather affecting local sporting events.

VICSES News @vicsesnews

Minor Flood Warning - Advice for the Ovens River at Wangaratta. You should Stay Informed. For more info: http://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/#!/warning/34788/ moreinfo… #vicfloods

K9 News @SausageAnchor

A favourite destination for food gurus, centred on the King River between Wangaratta and Alpine National Park, King Valley is famous for its picturesque scenery and for its award-winning wineries and festivals.

WangarattaDistrictCA @WangarattaDCA

ALL WDCA Senior Cricket competitions have been cancelled for Sat 30th Nov ‘24 due to the wet weather & forecast rain Formatches, in A Reserve, B & C Grade, can the home team please enter the match results on Play HQ. Please share this post with your club players and officials. If you have something to say, add our handle @wangchronicle to your tweet and we will publish some each week. NOTE:

Truth Not War Stall & Symposium with John Shipton: Folk, Rhythm & Life Festival, BILYANA, WANGARATTA. 6-8 Dec 2024

TNW have a stage slot with guest speaker

John Shipton (father of Julian Assange) and musicians Hussy Hicks & Jason Freddi plus are a stall at #FRL. TruthNotWar @TruthNotWars

Welcome summer in all its glowing glory! Our valleys and mountains create the perfect stage for breathtaking sunsets that light up the sky with hues of gold, pink, and orange. This stunning image was captured at Glenbosch Wine Estate.

visitwangaratta Follow

Claire is warning performers to protect their business interests

By ANITA MCPHERSON

A WELL-known local singer is warning fellow performing artists to be wary of being taken advantage of, saying she has been let down by a venue that didn’t honour its commitment.

Claire O’Connell has performed extensively across North East Victoria for over 20 years, featuring regularly at local festivals, clubs, wineries, and at corporate and private events, establishing a successful business, operating as an independent contractor.

She said after being booked two months in advance to perform at a venue, it was cancelled by the busi-

ness on the morning of the gig, without Claire being compensated.

She said while she understood the weather was poor, the rain had been forecast, and most hospitality venues, particularly in this region, were prepared and made the necessary arrangements.

Claire said she had knocked back three other gigs to take the booking.

Over the last 20 years, Claire said she has never cancelled a booking herself, and the only other time a business has cancelled, they have apologised and fully compensated her without question.

“I have contracts in place for weddings and private

events, but I’ve never needed them for the regular venues and businesses I work for, especially not in my home of North East Victoria,” she said.

“I’ve never needed a contract because the venues are reputable and have always upheld their end of the agreement, and some go above and beyond, providing you with whatever you need.”

In the wake of the experience, Claire has been in conversation with a group of 35 other well-known musicians who play in the border region and heard “horror stories” from others who’ve had similar experiences, including late cancellations,

not being paid for months, or not being paid at all.

It makes life challenging for the independent contractors who, like everyone else, are only trying to make and living and relying on the income to pay their bills.

Claire said she worries about what is an unregulated industry that has no safeguards for performers; with no union, and no minimum standards, pay rates or allowances.

She said to safeguard themselves, the North East musicians are sharing their experiences, so they know who the good businesses are, and who they simply won’t work for.

But she fears for young

and aspiring artists like her own singing students who might be taken advantage of; excited by the opportunity to perform, but unsure of what they should be paid or what their rights and responsibilities are.

“We are so unprotected in this industry - that’s what I’ve realised,” she said.

“What is said in a phone call doesn’t mean a thingeverything has to be in writing.

“But I love working in the North East region and I’ve forged excellent working relationships with long term business owners - so I look forward to continuing collaborations with those amazing businesses.”

FRUSTRATED: While the experience has left singer Claire O’Connell disappointed, it’s made her appreciate the local businesses who support performers.

BE A GOOD SHEPHERD AND HELP OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES

THE Combined Churches in Wangaratta are providing a search for lost sheep in the city centre in preparation for Christmas.

For the past two years the Combined Churches have provided a Christmas activity morning in the King George V Gardens, but this year instead, children can become shepherds and search for 10 lost sheep in Wangaratta.

“If you go to the pet shop in Ovens Street, you will find a yellow envelope to collect, along with two laminated sheep characters,” Anne Turnbull from Combined Churches said.

“These sheep are part of the 11 piece nativity set you can collect along the way.

“Parents are also encouraged to do some Christmas shopping, while searching for sheep with their children to support local businesses in Wangaratta.”

The Messy Nativity Sheep Trail runs until Tuesday, December 17.

“Charlie Burgers is not open on Mondays and Tuesdays and My Little Patch is not open after 3:30pm on weekdays but maybe Mum or Dad could collect the nativity character at the shops for you or you could visit them on Saturdays,” Anne said.

“One of the sheep lost its way but has now found his way back to Flynns Menswear….please keep looking for all 10 sheep and I hope you can find them all now.

“Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy this exciting adventure.”

FOLLOW THEIR LEAD: Zayden Sheppard, Josanna McDermott and Makoan McDermott have rounded up their flock.

Wet summer on radar after eventful spring

WANGARATTA saw a bit of everything this spring, with above average temperatures, dry spells, high rainfall and severe thunderstorms.

Minimal rainfall marked September as the 25th driest Wangaratta has seen in a century, while October was warmer and wetter than usual with 54.8mm of rainfall and above average temperatures.

To finish up the season, not with a fizzle but with a bang, the Rural City of Wangaratta experienced its third wettest November in the past century, with a total of 128.6mm of rainfall last month, of which 43.2mm was recorded on the final day of spring, Saturday, November 30.

Over the last 100 years, the rural city has experienced two Novembers with more rainfall, in 1949, 134.8mm was recorded, and in 1954, 151.7mm was recorded.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather station at Wangaratta airport, the city had more than double the historical mean (51.2mm) for November, raining 11 days over the month.

Last month’s rainfall brought Wangaratta’s total annual rain-

weather patterns lighting up

fall up to 593.4mm, which is 28.7mm above the historical mean of 564.7mm for the first 11 months of the year.

November’s mean minimum temperature was 11.1 degrees, 1.6 degrees above the historical mean of 9.5 degrees.

Wangaratta’s lowest minimum temperature last month was 1.9 degrees on Saturday, November 9 and the highest minimum temperature was 20.2 degrees on Sunday, November 24.

November’s mean maximum

temperature was 28 degrees, 2.2 degrees above the historical mean of 25.8 degrees.

The city’s highest maximum temperature was 36 degrees on Saturday, November 23 and the lowest maximum temperature was 22.3 degrees on Monday, November 18.

More rainfall is on the radar for the coming months.

According to the bureau, Wangaratta has a 67 per cent chance of above median (34.9mm) rainfall in December and a 68 per cent chance of above median

(115mm) rainfall in the summer months.

The Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed the nation just sizzled through its hottest spring on record, with similar trends on the radar for summer.

According to the bureau, above average maximum temperatures are likely to very likely (60 per cent to greater than 80 per cent chance) for large parts of Australia while above average minimum temperatures are very likely across almost all of Australia this summer.

Council awards panel of asphalt and concrete suppliers

A CONTRACT to supply asphalt and asphalt paving to council has been awarded to a panel of suppliers including Sessions Asphalt, Downer EDI Works and Country Wide Asphalt.

Director - community and infrastructure

Marcus Goonan said council sought to establish a panel of suppliers for the supply of asphalt and asphalt paving services.

He said council officers reviewed the opportunities for collaboration with other councils or public bodies but couldn’t find any suitable for this project.

The term of the contract is for two years with an additional three one year options.

The supply and delivery of concrete was also awarded to a panel of suppliers including EB Mawson, and Lima South Quarry.

The Rural City of Wangaratta sought reliable, suitable, experienced, competitively priced panel of competent, qualified, and certified suppliers to provide a prompt and efficient service to supply concrete products to assist council in its footpath/kerb and channel and maintenance programs and requirements.

Again, council officers explored opportunities for collaboration with other councils and public bodies but had no luck.

Mr Goonan said historically, this tender has received minimal submissions and has often resulted in a sole-supplier outcome.

“The tender process was conducted via eProcure, open to all registered contractors,” he said.

“A review of the contractor list ensured that all companies supplying concrete within a 100km radius were registered.

“Of these, four companies downloaded the tender documentation, with two submitting a formal proposal.”

The contract term is set for an initial two years, with the option of two additional extensions of one year each.

SPRING STORMS: Over the past three months Wangaratta has seen some impressive storms, with

the skies.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

FORMER students, teachers, families and even principals gathered at the Oxley Primary School on Saturday, November 30 to celebrate the school’s 150th birthday.

A display of old photographs brought back fond memories for many, who shared stories and anecdotes

from their time at the school and took the opportunity to look around and see how it had changed.

Current principal Tim Seal and school council president Sally Day welcomed about 150 people to the event, who were treated to freshly baked scones for morning tea.

Students, friends share memories at Oxley Primary School’s 150th

The opening of the school’s new garden was also celebrated, although wet weather kept everyone indoors, so it couldn’t be fully experienced.

The current student body has also created and laid a time capsule to mark the milestone for next generation.

MEMORIES SHARED: Seeing how the school has changed were Chris

from 1984-1985) and Dan

from 1986-1991).

Norris (principal

O’Flaherty (principal

150 YEARS: Kevin Hammond, Kathy Dobson and Carolyn Slijkerman were there for the special birthday.

MORNING TEA: Stacey Sgarioto, Miranda Perkins, Geraldine Perkins and Louise Tilson prepared the scones for everyone to enjoy.

PLAY TIME: Luca Sgarioto, Audrey Hester and Hannah Hester had fun indoors.

CELEBRATION: Ava Zabiaowicz and Willa Johnson enjoyed the day at school.

FUN TIMES: Bella Zabiaowicz and Lucy Galloway welcomed everyone along.

MAJOR MILESTONE: Former students Craig Peters and Janet Naish also joined the party.

CATCHING UP: Among those at the celebration were former students Fay Ramsay and Noreen Roberts.

Community vigil ignites hope

Si

A PASSIONATE group of 70 people gathered in King George Gardens last Thursday evening for the Community Vigil Against Violence.

A moving event held to remember lives lost to violence, and to strengthen the commitment to building a safer, more compassionate community, the vigil was one of many events conducted globally as part of the 16 Days of Activism (November 25 to December 10).

The vigil began with a Welcome to Country and a Smoking Ceremony led by Jaara Moran, from Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation.

His words set the tone, offering healing and grounding as attendees reflected on the devastating toll violence continues to take on families and communities.

Conor Pall, a 21-year-old advocate and deputy chair of the Victorian Victim Survivor’s Advisory Council, shared his personal journey of resilience.

er, we can make real change.

“Please remember that help is always available. Noone should ever feel they are alone in their journey.

“Together, we are united against violence.

“Let’s continue to build a future where everyone feels safe, respected, and supported.

“There is always hope, and together, we can make that hope a reality.”

CAV has training opportunities available thanks to funding through Give Wangaratta, to help community leaders and influencers learn more about creating open and honest conversations with young men and boys. Programs delivered by The Man Cave aim to build trust, encourage kindness, and create spaces in which asking for help is not just accepted but celebrated.

The audience was further moved by Sarah Treloar, board director at Centre Against Violence (CAV), whose lived experience of family violence shaped her determination to rebuild her life and advocate for others.

Sarah’s story reflected hope and strength, reminding eve-

Conor’s story of navigating the impact of violence and finding his voice as a survivor was both heartbreaking and inspiring, and his call to action for systemic and cultural change resonated deeply with those present.

It is through the strength of our community that we can support victims, advocate for survivors, and prevent future violence.

- Mary Reid, CAV chair

ryone that healing is possible, and that community support is vital in this journey.

As the group observed a

this year; their memory was honoured not only with sorrow, but with a resolve to take meaningful action.

Mary Reid, chair of CAV, closed the evening, highlighting the importance of people working together.

“It is through the strength of our community that we can support victims, advocate for survivors, and prevent future violence,” she said.

“Each of us has a role to play, and by standing togeth-

The Centre Against Violence extended its gratitude to event supporters including the Rural City of Wangaratta, Respect Victoria, and local partners such as Zonta Wangaratta, Mungabareena Aboriginal Foundation, Northeast Health and Victoria Police, all committed to a future where violence is replaced by connection, compassion, and respect.

For more information on upcoming training or to access support, visit www.centreagaintviolence.org.au

UNITED: Mel Hulm, Rebecca Latham, Jaara Moran (Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation), Joanne Metzger (Zonta board member), Conor Pall (guest speaker), Mary Reid (CAV board chair), Robin Gardner (CAV acting CEO), Sarah Treloar (CAV board member and guest speaker), Jess Widdop (Northeast Health Wangaratta), Lucy Lee (CAV intake and therapeutic services manager), Nicole McFarlane (Zonta board member), Georgia O’Connor and bub (Rural City of Wangaratta). PHOTO: Adrian Vaughan

minute of silence, they remembered the 86 women who have tragically lost their lives to gender-based violence

Rodney Vincent to bring in New Year at Da Vinci Club

COME meet one of the region’s most popular entertainers, Rodney Vincent, who will celebrate New year’s Eve at the Da Vinci Social Club.

Vincent was born in Wangaratta and spent his teenage years growing up in the town and was voted “Victorian Entertainer of the Year“ in 2006 and is a member of the South Australian Country Music Hall of Fame.

Vincent is recognised as your complete entertainer who caters for everyone.

His show is a blend of country, comedy, old time favourites, rock and roll and storytelling that cannot help but make people laugh.

His journey has taken him from his first paying gig in an old-time dance band at his local hall to some of the biggest venues, clubs, and theatres in Australia.

New car taken away

A “FOOLISH” decision by a Melbourne man and his friend left the pair stranded in Wangaratta, a court has heard.

Appearing virtually at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Monday, the court heard on August 21 this year police observed a silver Hyundai driving along the Hume Freeway near Byawatha with no number plates affixed.

Officers intercepted the vehicle near the Great Alpine Road and found the Doveton-based driver’s licence was suspended

due to an infringement notice served in April.

Defence counsel Hayden Brodie said the 25-year-old flew up to Sydney on a one-way ticket and planned to drive back to Melbourne in the recently purchased vehicle from the city with a friend.

Mr Brodie said his client’s friend had driven six hours straight along the freeway without a break and became fatigued.

The defendant took over driving for a short period of

He has toured and been special guest with The Delltones, The 4 Kinsman, Col Elliott, Lucky Starr and American rock and roll legend Gene Pitney.

Vincent was special guest on five Australian tours with Gene, and wrote and recorded two songs with him.

within hours

time, knowing his licence was suspended, and the pair intended to stop at Wangaratta before they were pulled over by police.

Following their intercept, police impounded the Hyundai, stranding the pair in Wangaratta until the defendant’s girlfriend drove to pick them up in the middle of the night from Melbourne.

Mr Brodie said his client couldn’t reclaim his vehicle as issues were found with how the Hyundai was “auc-

tioned off” in previous sales.

“Their trip was essentially for nothing in the end,” he said.

Mr Brodie said his client had learnt valuable lessons following the incident, including the privilege of holding a drivers’ licence.

Magistrate Ian Watkins imposed a $750 fine without a conviction and said it was “foolish” to allow his friend to drive for six hours straight without a break.

“You rolled the dice, and it was your unlucky day,” he said.

Along with his shows he hosts holiday tours all around the world from Canada, USA, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Vietnam, and the Cook Islands.

For Vincent, there is no better time to return to his hometown and catch up with the locals and enjoy their company.

Just recently he was honoured to have a number one song, a remake of a 60’s classic “Speak to the Sky” on the CMR FM independent top 40 chart in Tasmania.

It is a gospel version with the talented Lisa Edwards as special guest.

A fun show is always what Rodney is about and there is no better medicine than to see people laughing, smiling, dancing and enjoying themselves.

So, if you haven’t seen one of his shows here is your chance to enjoy celebrating New Year’s Eve at Da Vinci Social Club.

Doors open at 7.30pm, tea, coffee and supper is included in the ticket price.

Contact Pip 0409 307 606 or dvsc. wang@gmail.com to purchase tickets.

Tourism North East industry forum

THE final Tourism North East industry forum for 2024 will be held online on Tuesday, December 10.

The forum will “review the year that was” with some key data insights and emerging trends across Victoria’s High Country.

A guest speaker from the State Revenue Office will also speak on the short stay levy.

The forum is free to attend and will be held via Zoom from 10am to 11.30am, with registration at tourismnortheast. com.au/latest-news/register-now-for-ourdecember-industry-forum/.

MERRY MELODY MAKER: Join popular entertainer Rodney Vincent to celebrate New Year’s Eve at Da Vinci Social Club.

WHAT’S ON

Marcia Hines performs in Wangaratta

AUSTRALIAN queen of pop Marcia Hines will perform at the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre tonight at 7.30pm, as part of her Still Shining concert tour.

Accompanied by musicians and a production crew, Marcia will play songs from the early days of Fire and Rain, to the Discotheque album, through to the 2022 release of The Gospel According to Marcia.

Tickets for the two-hour plus show of music and memories are available at wpacc.com.au.

Christmas Tree lighting and market postponed

THE Rural City of Wangaratta has advised the Lighting of the Christmas Tree event scheduled for Friday, December 6 has been cancelled due to recent rain and the forecast inclement weather.

The Christmas Market, which was running alongside the Lighting of the Christmas Tree, will now go ahead on Friday, December 20 in Apex Park.

Council says it will have a presence there to help the community get into the Christmas spirit.

Friends of the library book sale

THE Friends of Wangaratta Library are holding a book sale on Saturday, December 7 from 9.30am to 12pm at Wangaratta Library.

There will be a large range of secondhand adult fiction, non-fiction and children’s books to choose from, with all money raised to assist the library in providing programming and events.

Photographs

celebrate a natural wonder

AN exhibition of large scale photographs by Jan Osmotherly which capture the majesty and wonder of the Warby Range, curated by the Wangaratta Art Gallery, is showing in the foyer gallery at the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre.

Looking beyond the benign appearance of the range, Jan says there are many awe-inspiring wonders to behold, as the Traditional Owners have always known, including the precious Grey Grass Trees.

The official opening will be celebrated during a gathering hosted by Wangaratta Landcare and Sustainability and Friends of Warby-Ovens National Park at the Wangaratta Uniting Church Hall in Rowan Street tonight from 7pm to 9pm, which will include a presentation by the artist.

True homecoming for Dallas and her ‘Force of Nature’

AFTER a busy year of touring and promoting her new album, Dallas Frasca said the chance to play at this weekend’s Folk Rhythm & Life Festival was tailormade for her final show of 2024.

The former Wangaratta resident will take the stage at Eldorado’s Bilyana property on Sunday night from 9.30pm, and is more than ready for the homecoming.

“I think I’ve played every one of these (FRL) festivals since the ‘90s, except one,” she said.

“It is like coming home, like walking into the arms of a big family.

“I remember going out to the festival first when I was 18, and it opened my eyes, to all the different people who were there, and to the music; it was like a portal into the world.

“It’s magical, and not bound by genres or anything. I’ve played hundreds of festivals, and this is in my top three.

“It’s that feeling of home and feeling a part of something,

BY SIMONE KERWIN skerwin@ nemedia.com.au

feeling a part of the FRL family; everyone who goes there comes away with their cup full.”

Dallas has played 60 shows this year, visiting every state in Australia to promote her album, ‘Force of Nature’, in what she describes as her favourite tour in her 30-year career.

“There was a long period when we couldn’t play shows (during COVID restrictions), which is when I got a uni degree and spent time mentoring emerging artists,” she said.

“This itch began, and I thought, ‘I need to get back out there’.

“I thought, what do I sound like as an artist with nobody else around me, so I picked up my guitar in my room like a 13-yearold.

“It was almost like starting again, but all of this year and all

the shows I’ve done on tour have been worth it.”

Dallas describes ‘Force of Nature’ - which reached number two on the ARIA jazz and blues album chart in its first week of release - as an eclectic, multi-dimensional record.

“It is me. I wrote it over a threeyear period, did long hikes by myself in the bush and connected with nature and so many other things I didn’t realise until I got to the other side; I had the microscope on everything,” she said.

“The industry has changed a lot in the last few years; the empire has crumbled a bit, and the idea that the only way to release an album is through a major label is not the case anymore.

“I was like - ‘I wonder if I’ve got enough people out there who’ve supported me and connected with me that I can do this from my home office’.”

The answer was yes - and having taken her new songs around Australia, Dallas is looking for-

ward to sharing them locally at Folk Rhythm & Life this weekend.

It will be the “cherry on top” of a huge year, before she takes a breather with her guitar ahead of an exciting 2025 which will include touring in April and May with ZZ Top, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, The Living End, Baby Animals and Rose Tattoo.

“I feel like I’m 16 freaking out - ZZ Top would be one of my alltime favourite bands,” she said.

“I’m also playing with (Australian guitarist, singer and songwriter) Orianthi in January, which will be amazing.”

Dallas is part of the line-up of 60 acts performing at the Folk Rhythm & Life Festival from Friday, December 6 to Sunday, December 8 at the Bilyana Natural Amphitheatre in Eldorado, in an event which celebrates music and the bush.

Tickets are available at www. bilyana.com.au

CHERRY ON TOP OF A BIG YEAR: A homecoming at the Folk Rhythm & Life Festival is the perfect show to finish off 2024 for former Wangaratta resident Dallas Frasca.

PHOTO: Marty Philbey

COMMUNITY CELEBRATION:

Carols to bring joy in Cheshunt on Saturday

By ANITA MCPHERSON

THE community is invited to get into the festive spirit when the Cheshunt Baptist Church hosts a night of carols and family fun at the Cheshunt Hall this Saturday, December 7.

The event starts at 5pm with a community barbecue and kids activities including free face painting, a puppet show and a jumping castle. Cheshunt Baptist Church’s Car-

ART GALORE

A GROUP exhibition which features the artwork of 15 resident artists from the Art Gallery on Ovens, including Jacki Macleish (pictured) has opened at the gallery in the laneway off Murphy Street. The final exhibition of the year is an opportunity for visitors to see a wide variety of original artworks created by these talented local artists, showcasing their individual styles and practices, and to shop for locally made Christmas presents. The gallery will be open Monday, Thursday and Friday from 10am to 4pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm until December 23 and entry is free.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

oline Zomerdijk said while the church held a small event in 2020 which was subject to restrictions at the time, this one is expected to be a lot more open and relaxed.

“This is the first time we’re making it bigger and more familyfriendly,” she said.

“It’s been quite a tough year for a lot of people, but Christmas is a time to let it go, sing a carol or two and have some fun; to focus on positive things like family, faith and friends.

“We’re really hoping it will be a good time of joy for people.”

Among the attractions this year will be the Wangaratta Concert Band with feature soloist Jane Still performing both traditional and fun carols, along with a string quintet.

Everyone can sing along, with flameless flickering candles on hand to add to the festive atmosphere.

The event will also be emceed by the fabulous Judy Walker - a

well-known local comedian, author and entertainer who everyone is bound to enjoy.

“If the weather is great we’ll be outside, but if it’s not, we’ll be inside the hall - so we’ve got all our bases covered,” said Caroline. The Carols in Cheshunt event will be held at the Cheshunt Hall on Saturday, December 7 with entertainment from 5pm and carols from 7.30pm and everyone is welcome.

Christmas Party Races in Wangaratta

THE Insite Real Estate Christmas Party Races will be held at Wangaratta Turf Club on Saturday, December 7 from 12pm.

Get friends, family and workmates together and enjoy all the fun of the races with a variety of packages available, general admission, live music and entertainment throughout the day and free Wangaratta bus transportation to and from the venue. To find out more or book tickets visit country.racing.com/wangaratta/ calendar/christmas-party-races.

Eldorado Gold Flag Trail Day tomorrow

LOCAL businesses of Eldorado will host their Gold Flag Trail Day this Saturday, December 7 from 10am until 4pm.

Participating businesses will fly a gold flag, welcoming visitors to explore art studios, cellar doors and farm-gate shops, taste and purchase local wine and fresh produce and browse the art and craft.

An event guide is available at eldorado.org.au.

Regfest returns to Wangaratta

THE Rural City of Wangaratta is pleased to be supporting the return of RegFest this weekend at the Wangaratta Events Precinct (rodeo grounds).

The two-day family-friendly event features some of Australia’s best country music artists and rodeo riders including Lee Kernaghan, Casey Barnes, Amber Lawrence, and local talent Jade Gibson.

There will also be a wide range of food and drinks, with tickets and event information at www.regfest. com.au/wangaratta-event-info.html.

Wangaratta community market

THE Wangaratta community market runs every Sunday at Moore Than Swimming, located at 11-13 Mason Street in Wangaratta, from 8am until 1pm.

There are a wide range of stalls to browse with new and used items, plants, fruit and veg and more, with refreshments also on site.

Stalls are available for just $20 each (no bookings required) and car boot sales are welcome for $15, with more information via the market’s Facebook page or call Sheree on 0401 665 886.

The Wangaratta Concert Band will play carols by candlelight at the Cheshunt Hall on Saturday, December 7, as part of a fun, family event.

Cost-of-living support for water bills

NORTH East Water (NEW) has urged its customers in the Rural City of Wangaratta facing financial challenges to explore the range of support options available to help manage their water bills.

Eligible customers could receive up to $650 in government grants, alongside additional financial assistance programs designed to ease the strain.

NEW general manager customers and culture, Marni Jones, acknowledged the challenges many people are facing.

“Life can be expensive and unpredictable, and financial difficulties can arise when least expected,” Ms Jones said.

“NEW is committed to offering caring and flexible support to our customers when they need it most.

“This includes government grants of up to $650, flexible payment plans, financial support payments and water leak rebates.

“Eligible customers can even receive a free water audit, and if leaks are found, a plumber can complete minor repairs such as adjusting leaking taps, replacing old shower heads or fixing inefficient toilets.”

Ms Jones said the number

of customers requiring assistance had been growing over several years.

“Over the past three years, we’ve supported approximately 1000 residential and small business customers, providing over $250,000 in financial assistance,” she said.

“We aim to connect with customers who may need assistance as early as possible, so we can explore support options together before the

situation becomes urgent.

“This proactive approach not only takes the stress out of paying a bill, it also helps prevent additional fees being added to your account.

“Our team loves to chat, and no matter your circumstances, we encourage you to call us – you might be surprised what you are eligible for.”

Ms Jones said customers experiencing family vio-

Gates close on campus: Growth in class numbers means all Cathedral students will be at Murdoch Road

Friday, December 5, 2014

By SIMONE KERWIN

CATHEDRAL College reached the end of an era yesterday, with the completion of classes at The Close campus.

Year 10 and 11 students finished their year at the campus, and will be part of the move to the school’s Murdoch Road base next year, where the whole school will operate in 2015.

Principal Adrian Farrer said significant development in Murdoch Road had enabled the move to a single campus, and enrolment would rise from 390 to 500 next year.

“For the parents, it’s a great relief, and it will be wonderful to have all of our teachers and re-sources in the same place,” Mr Farrer said.

with a presentation night and carols service.

lence were also encouraged to contact the team on 1300 361 633 for financial support.

“We offer confidential support, and will assign a dedicated case manager who will listen and respect people’s circumstances,” she said.

For more information on North East Water’s customer support program, visit www. newater.com.au/help

“It means we’ve got a real sense of drive and direction, we know where we are and where we’re going, and we’ve got the best facilities we can get.

“Our younger students are able to use the older students’ facilities, and have access to those state of the art facilities, which is a great start for their learning.”

While the senior students finished yesterday to signal the end of use of The Close campus, younger students will complete their year at the end of next week

And then it will be on to the next stage of development –improvement of the Murdoch Road car park, and development of a sports oval that will be available for junior and possibly senior sport in Wangaratta.

The car park is expected to be ready for the start of the new school year, while the oval will be available for use in winter.

Meanwhile, the school will maintain a room at The Close, as they will travel each week for assembly and chapel at Holy Trinity Cathedral, which Mr Farrer described as the school’s “spiritual home”.

Other buildings will be taken on by other Anglican groups, including Anglicare, which moves into its adjoining development on Monday.

CLOSING THE CLOSE CAMPUS: Cathedral College chair of school council Mike Noble (left) and principal Adrian Farrer close the gates to mark the end of an era.

PHOTO: Luke Plummer

MASKED WOODSWALLOW - A FAIR WEATHER FRIEND

By IAN DAVIDSON & CHRIS TZAROS

OCCURRING throughout most of inland Australia, the Masked Woodswallow is one of Australia’s six species of woodswallow.

As a group, these birds have a very neat and tidy appearance, with soft-looking plumage and clear-cut lines and patterning to their feathers.

Though all woodswallows are gregarious, living in social family groups, two species – the Masked Woodswallow and its closely related cousin the Whitebrowed Woodswallow, routinely flock in great numbers, often numbering in their hundreds and sometimes thousands.

These two species are commonly found in close association with each other, sometimes even establishing mixed breeding colonies, and they wander nomadically throughout their range in large swarming flocks.

In Victoria, Masked Woodswallows are spring-summer visitors, migrating from inland regions from around October (or whenever the first warm northerly winds occur), remaining through until around Easter.

However, they are not regular annual visitors.

In some years, invasions of numerous birds can occur yet in other years, we may scarcely see a single bird.

This is dependent on environmental conditions.

In good seasons further inland, the birds have little reason to migrate vast distances, instead choosing to breed more locally.

However, when the going gets tough and dry periods cause a reduction of their food supply, they wander far and wide in search of a suitable environment in which to breed. Currently, favourable conditions right across vast areas of inland southern Australia have resulted in few Masked and White-browed Woodswallows visiting Victoria, and currently they are virtually absent from the North East.

Like all woodswallows, Masked Woodswallows are primarily aerial insect feeders, consuming prey whilst on the wing.

At times, however, flocks may descend to the trees and shrubs, and sometimes even to the ground, to feed on any available masses of food.

They are occasionally known to take nectar, especially from flowering Yellow Box, but they also feed on the insects that are attracted to this blossom.

They prefer lightly timbered woodland habitats, and generally avoid dense forests and open farmland.

Typical nest sites are low broken-off spouts, stumps or amongst dense sticks and bark beside a trunk or branch, often within a few metres of the ground.

Nests are a shallow bowl built from fine twigs and grasses.

Typically, two or three eggs are laid which take around two weeks to hatch.

Young are in the nest for a further twothree weeks, after which young are able to take to the skies with their parents and they disappear from their breeding area as quickly as they arrived.

WHO’S A PRETTY BOY THEN?

Handsome – a male Masked Woodswallow up close.

PHOTO: Chris Tzaros (Birds Bush and Beyond)

Oxley celebrates its bicentenary at the hall

MEMBERS of the Oxley community gathered to celebrate the township’s bicentenary at the historic Oxley Hall on Saturday, November 30.

The event, which included the unveiling of a commemorative plaque, was moved from the Oxley Memorial Park to the hall due to the forecast wet weather.

About 120 people attended including Oxley residents and visitors from Milawa, Wangaratta and the King Valley; some of whom had been at the Oxley Primary School in the morning to help celebrate of its 150 year anniversary.

Those in attendance enjoyed a barbecue cooked on the hall’s verandah and sweets made by community, also taking in a display of Hume and Hovell and early Oxley history.

Oxley Plains was named by the explorers Hume and Hovell on November 25 in 1824 on their overland journey through the region.

Centennial celebrations held in 1924 saw Beechworth councillor Mr Lot Diffey take the lead in commemorating the community of Everton.

Lot Diffey is the grandfather of Graeme Vincent, who still lives at the Vincent property

BY ANITA McPHERSON amcpherson@ nemedia.com.au

in Oxley today, and Mr Vincent was given the honour of cutting the 200-birthday cake at the event on Saturday.

Mr Vincent’s sister Betty also came along to support the celebrations in her hometown of Oxley.

Mr Vincent was among those in attendance who had been part of a committee set up in 1978 to save the Oxley Hall, which was in danger of being demolished at the time.

Local resident Neil Brock said the hall committee thought it fitting a lifetime resident, who had both a connection to the hall and Oxley’s centenary (through his grandfather), be given the honour of cutting the commemorative cake.

Mr Brock said it was a lovely afternoon, a highlight of which was an engaging and informative address by Indi federal Independent MP Helen Haines, before the official unveiling of the plaque at 2pm.

Two days later when the weather had cleared, the plaque was installed in its permanent place at the Oxley Memorial Park.

WANGARATTA YOUNG WRITERS AWARD

Alone: A tale of gasping survival

CAITLIN TALBOT took third place in the 2024 Wangaratta Young Writers Award year 7/8/9 story category with this piece. The competition was jointly run by the Rotary Club of Wangaratta, and the Rotary Club of Appin Park Wangaratta.

‘I stand here. Staring at the wreckage. The only thing that remains of Mum and the car, but it doesn’t hurt. Reality hasn’t set in yet. I’m alone, in the middle of nowhere but I’m not scared. I’m burnt but it doesn’t ache. I’m hungry but I don’t care.’

Beth took a deep breath and forced her eyes away from the charred remains of the car. The sun beats down furiously on the asphalt road, making it burn like a fire.

‘I’m a city kid, so I don’t know a thing about the land. But we hadn’t seen any traffic either for days. I could set out on foot or stay by the road where there won’t be any cars anyway. Either way, I guess I’m doomed to death. At least I’m sensible, a stupid

kid wouldn’t last a minute out here.’

An eagle soaring overhead cried out suddenly, bursting Beth from her thoughts. She scuffed at the red dirt with the toe of her sneaker. She turned to leave, trusting her instincts by going. Slowly she walked on, until the road appeared as just a speck in the distance.

***********************

Still Beth ambled onwards. ‘But to where? This is suffering.’ A wave of pity came over her. ‘You either go all-in or not at all, Mum used to say. This is for Mum. Toughing it out was what she would’ve done, wanted me to do. I have to keep going.’

But she couldn’t. Beth stumbled into a sitting position. Clutching her head, until the agony stopped. The pounding eventually subsided a little. The sun is relentless; every part of her is sweating, so she can feel it running down her back. There is no shade and no water. The sun is just sucking all the hydration out of her.

There’s been nothing since the wreckage, just red dirt, dead tussocks of grass

and a couple of kangaroos, lounging in the only shade for miles. If they’d been dogs their tongues would’ve been hanging out. Beth laughed, remembering the disdainful look they’d given her. At least there was something to laugh about.

***********************

Beth splashed the water onto her face, the cool relief was a shock and at that moment she almost broke down into tears. Before stumbling

upon this gorge, things only seemed to be getting worse. She was hungry, scorching and thirsty. A week ago, she wouldn’t have touched, let alone drank the shadowy water at the bottom of the gorge. But right now, it was a lifesaver.

‘I’m missing Mum,” she realised abruptly. Finally, she could think straight. She waded into the shallow depths, the rocks slimy beneath her feet as she grappled for a foothold. She sighed happily, letting the cool water encase her. A brief moment of relief from the sun’s hot rays.

When she’d been with Mum visiting Aunty Kath, in a remote community, it’d been hard to endure being hundreds of miles from anywhere, far removed from technology and her friends. But this? ‘The whole thing is just crazy. I should’ve stayed by the wreckage and died there near Mum, under the agonizing sun. I feel as if the whole world is suddenly huge, and that’s an overwhelming concept. Every direction feels like north, and to be honest I just feel

as if I’m walking in circles, never to get anywhere. Even if I knew where I was going I’d still be lost. I guess I was lost in the first place; without Mum.’

The sun was beating down ruthlessly as Beth dragged her feet through the red sand. She stopped and pulled off her sneakers. Not long ago, the soles had started to give way. Now they weren’t helpful, they were more of a burden. She moved on, leaving her sneakers behind her, half buried by the sand. She looked back, a burning sensation at the back of her throat. At some stage, she would collapse under the fiery sun and lie there as they did, waiting for death to knock. Now her every thought was shadowed by the constant reminder of death, haunting her every step. It’s hotter than usual, she can feel the sweat rolling down the back of her neck, and her once-clean shirt is filled with grime and dust. Nothing seems to change. Beth paused, taking a deep breath of sticky air before

moving onwards. The sky is cloudless and she can feel herself blistering. There’s still no sign of existence anywhere, just endless red dust and treeless plains that the sun beats down on. ‘The sun just kills everything out here, as it’s slowly killing me.’

But then as she tops another rise, much to her surprise lays a road. A week ago she wouldn’t have noticed it. The tones of red just all blended together, but now they contrast significantly. Her spirits lift a little, but slowly sink again. ‘It’s just as lifeless as the rest of this forsaken place.’

She sits down dismally and puts her head into her weathered hands. She’s determined to ignore the anxiety, but somehow it just keeps creeping back. Determined not to bawl, she takes a deep breath. Her throat is crying for water and the rest of her is burdened to exhaustion. She just wants to lie down and die in this forlorn place. But she mustn’t. Part of her knows that somewhere out here there must be life. Only to find it.

PUBLIC SERVICE: Helen Haines MP came prepared for the conditions, as she unveiled the plaque in Oxley, which has now been installed in its permanent location at the memorial park. PHOTO: Neil Brock

SPECIAL MOMENT: Graeme Vincent had the honour of cutting the 200 year cake at the Oxley celebrations. PHOTO: Neil Brock

SOCIAL OCCASION: Committee members and event organisers Lexie Rickards and Janet Heath welcomed everyone to the event.

PHOTO: Mandi Chrystal

SPECIAL GUESTS: Former Oxley resident Betty Simpson, with brother Graeme Vincent, were among those to gather at the Oxley Hall for the 200 year celebration. PHOTO: Mandi Chrystal

Caitlin Talbot

Community enjoys Moyhu’s historic celebration

By ANITA MCPHERSON

MORE than 300 people turned out to help the Moyhu community celebrate 200 years since Hamilton Hume and William Hovell journeyed through the area, and 150 years of the Moyhu Primary School.

Vintage vehicles and horse riders embarked on a street parade from

the Carl Schulz Reserve to the Moyhu Primary School where fun for all ages was in store, with historical demonstrations and displays, music and dancing and games for children.

Coordinated by Regina Callaway with support from the school, local community groups and businesses, the event held on November 23

was an opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate its history, how it has developed and where it is today.

An entry fee charged on the day not only covered costs, but made a $400 profit, which will be donated to the Moyhu CFA towards the purchase of a new tanker.

IN:

the

New updates on local schools now on My Schools website

PARENTS, carers and wider school communities can now access the latest information on schools in the area on a national website.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) My School website has been updated with 2024 NAPLAN data and other school-level information.

ACARA CEO Stephen Gniel said with detailed information on around 10,000 schools right across Australia, ACARA’s My School is the only website that provides parents, carers and the community with clear and transparent information on every Australian school.

“ACARA’s role is to provide detailed, accessible, timely and meaningful school education

performance information,” he said.

“ACARA’s My School provides that through the publication of nationally consistent, school-level data for all Australians to see.

“We need to know how our schools are doing, but it is also important that this information is presented in a way that considers the individual circumstances of a school, especially its level of socioeducational advantage, which our reporting takes into account.

“That’s why the full suite of data on ACARA’s My School is so valuable for Australian parents and carers as well as the broader community.”

The December 2024 My School update includes:

 2024 NAPLAN results for schools;

RESULTS ARE IN: Check out how your children’s school has been performing with the My School website now updated.

 2024 school profile and enrolment data;

 2024 school attendance data for semester one;  2023 school financial

information, including recurrent funding and capital expenditure;

 2023 vocational education training participation and outcomes; and

 2023 year 12 certifications.

“On ACARA’s My School, you can look up any school to find out information about the school from the principal and look at how many students and teachers are at the school. As well as its NAPLAN results, you can also explore attendance rates, as well as financial information for 2023, including funding levels and sources,” Mr Gniel said.

“This helps parents and carers understand the full value and quality of a school, inclusive of NAPLAN results within the broader context in which each school operates.”

Find out information about schools in the region at www. myschool.edu.au.

SETTLING

Hay bales were provided for

audience to watch the unveiling of the storyboard.

GRAND UNVEILING: Peter Shanley and special guest, Ovens Valley Nationals MP Tim McCurdy, cut the ribbon before the new Hume and Hovell storyboard was revealed in Moyhu.

SPECIALIST SKILLS: Mark Tricket demonstrated wool spinning at the country fair at Moyhu Primary School.

MAKING MUSIC: Band Snow Road Troopers entertained the crowd in the grounds of Moyhu Primary School.

ON DISPLAY: Vintage tractors caught the eye during the procession from the reserve to the Moyhu Primary School.

HISTORIC EVENT: Horse riders in the street parade included Teagan Callaway, dressed as Ned Kelly.

CYCLING ALONG: Peter Shanley, on a vintage bicycle, and Andy Pleming on a penny-farthing, joined the street parade to the school. PHOTOS: Lisa Turner

150 year celebration

Oxley Primary School

THE school community recently celebrated its 150th birthday, with a morning tea attended by about 150 people.

There were former principals, teachers and students at the event, along with current families, staff and friends.

The event included the opening of the school’s new garden and a time capsule has also been buried to commemorate the historic milestone, with a specially made plaque to mark the spot.

PAST AND PRESENT: Students including (from left) Sid McAninly, Sadie Cashman, Annie Panagiotakis and Harriet Day helped put together a time capsule which has been buried in the new garden at Oxley.

UPBEAT: The Wangaratta High School Symphonic Band’s final performance of the year was in the King George V Gardens in front of family and friends.

Band on tour

Wangaratta High School

THE Wangaratta High School Symphonic Band hit the road in questionable weather for the start of this year’s annual tour.

With fingers crossed for a sunny change, they gave an upbeat performance at Anglesea Primary School on Monday afternoon.

Tuesday saw them hit the beach in the morning before heading to the Geelong Botanic Gardens for their second performance of the tour.

Wednesday was spent in Melbourne –a trip to the museum, a tour at the Arts Centre, and off to Tina Turner the Musical that night.

Thursday was a full day in the recording studio, and to finish the tour, the Symphonic Band brought it back home for their final performance of the year in the King George V Gardens in front of friends and family.

Lexi Clark, Elliane Hunkin, Jimmy Radeski and Roczen Hilton have been part of the fundraising effort, selling raffle tickets to support Ollie.

Fundraising effort

Cathedral College Wangaratta

STUDENTS in year four Docker showcased incredible generosity and compassion when they came together to organise a fundraiser to support classmate, Ollie Humphries.

Ollie has been travelling and spending a large amount of time in Melbourne as part of his treatment as he prepares for a kidney transplant.

Ollie is an avid reader, and the students wanted to raise money to purchase him a Kindle.

Campaspe Downs camp

Wangaratta Primary School

STUDENTS from years three to six recently attended an exciting camp at PGL Campaspe Downs, where teamwork and resilience were paramount.

Throughout the camp, students tackled a variety of challenging activities, including archery, canoeing, abseiling, and the thrilling flying fox and giant swing.

They also bonded over raft building, rock climbing, and enjoyed hearty, delicious meals.

The camp provided an opportunity for students to push their personal boundaries, build confidence and strengthen friendships. By working together and cheering each other on, they returned with unforgettable memories and a greater sense of achievement and camaraderie.

COURAGEOUS EFFORT: Students including (back) Darcy Wheeler, Vihas Wasala and Mark Henschke, with (front) Charles Jones, Ryan VanDerPoel and Archie Barret, were among those to enjoy the challenging activities at camp.

SETTLED IN: Students George Newman, George Wilson, Cypress Morton, Sadie Pye, Archy Nottingham, Macey Wiliams, Milly Richardson, Harmoney McBean won the cubby building challenge on activity day

Activity Day

Carraragarmungee Primary School

STUDENTS enjoy an activity day, which followed the F-2 school sleepover.

A group of students won the cubby building challenge that was both fun and perfect for those who were tired on a lovely warm day.

1What is the planet Jupiter named after? Is it a) the Roman god of thunder, b) the Persian harvest god, c) the Norse god of stone, or d) the ancient Greek god of money?

3Which of the following is NOT a real chemical? Is it a) angelic acid, b) vibranium, c) miraculin, or d) Sonic Hedgehog?

4

How many gigabytes are there in a petabyte? Is it a) 1000, b) 1 000 000, c) 1 000 000 000, or d) 1 000 000 000 000?

5What is a bearcat? Is it a) a type of bear, b) a type of cat, c) neither, but it smells like popcorn. For more CSIRO Double Helix science visit www.csiro.au/helix or call 02 6276 6643. QUIZ ANSWERS: 1. a) Jupiter was the

HELPING HAND: CCW students including Kirby Florence, Maddie Van Der Zalm,

$3.85M Alpine Health operating deficit

Staff, volunteers celebrated

A NUMBER of Alpine Health staff and volunteers were celebrated for their dedication and hard work during the annual general meeting last week.

AWARD RECIPIENTS

• CEO Award for Outstanding Demonstration of the Alpine Health Values - Di Dalbosco and Ashley Chalmers;

• CEO Award for Outstanding Contribution to Quality and Safety - Fiona MacPhee;

• Board Chair Award for Excellence in Customer Service - Erin Graves;

• Person Centred Care Award - Myrtleford Acute Nursing Team;

• OH&S Award - Lisa Exley.

STAFF SERVICE AWARDS

• Jeanette Adams - 30 years;

Mayor

By PHOEBE MORGAN

• Michelle Honeman and Wally Wabbis25 years;

• Lee-Ann Winiata, Ann Grundy, Maureen Ryland, Judy Napier, Sue Hertzog, Carolyn Jinette, Lisa Lukey, Binnie Neale - 20 years;

• Bec Kneebone - 15 years;

• Amanda McGurgan, Sharon Bursill, Miggy Andrade, Charm Hierco, Jan Vedra, Kristy Hinton - 10 years.

• Pauline Wiffen and Marie Lucas-Gear from Mt Beauty Gardening Girls and Peter Robbers from Barwidgee Lodge/ALG Bright were awarded a 10 year volunteer service award.

• Myrtleford Hospital Op Shop, Bright Hospital Op Shop, Mount Beauty Hospital Op Shop were recognised for their contribution to Alpine Health in 2023-2024.

By LEAH ANDERSON-BYRNE

ALPINE Health recorded an operating deficit of $3.85 million for the 2023/24 financial year.

The result, revealed at the annual general meeting last week, was in stark contrast to a surplus of $12,000 the previous year, with the difference attributed to funding reductions and the current economic operating environment placing financial burdens on health services across the country.

Alpine Health’s operating revenue of $35.8M for the year was one per cent below budget - largely due to a reduction in private patient fees, and nursing home fees as a result of reduced occupancy due to a six-month bathroom renovation across two sites.

Operating expenses totalled $39.40M for the year, compared to $38.32M in the prior year, which Alpine Health said was largely due to historical salary and wages payment required at the end of 2024.

Capital purchases made for asset additions included colonoscope equipment, patient televisions, patient all-purpose chair, ICT server, increased ICT security, kitchen equipment, air conditioning units, signage and hot water units.

The year also saw a number of grants and donations, with capital grants of $770k including funding for new ensuites for residential aged care, installation of outdoor fitness equipment and an air quality project and donations from the community totalled $508k.

Alpine Health interim chief

executive officer Rhys Gloury said this year had been defined by significant challenges.

“Yet our collective efforts have yielded much progress and many advancements across our organisation,” he said.

“Within a rapidly evolving landscape, Alpine Health has focused on maintaining essential health service geared to rural communities, whilst simultaneously proactively shaping the future direction of health for the Alpine and district community.

“The first year of implementation of Alpine Health’s Strategic Services Plan has drawn a focus on improved access, service integration, and the sustainability of health services.

“We have invested strongly in a series of health initiatives to afford the Alpine and district community access to comprehensive and quality services across acute, residential aged care, community aged care, and health promotion and early intervention programs, establishing improvements in the care and health of individuals and community.

“The health environment has however unquestionably become increasingly challenging.

“The sector has experienced significant cost escalation in the provision of services, access to workforce has remained a persistent difficulty, and the adjustment to a COVID-19 influenced work environment that is now considered business as usual has required a level of change and adaptation.”

Mr Gloury said Alpine Health confronted each of these challenges in an active and considered way, relying on sound planning and the commitment and flexibility of the many people engaged in our services to navigate a changing health environment.

“One of the more immediate actions emerging from the organisational service review was the decision to cease the operations of the Alpine Institute,” he said.

“The current environment is no longer conducive to a public health service engagement in the delivery of nationally recognised qualifications and training.

“The advent of free TAFE and the shift in the regulatory environment for international nurses seeking registration in Australia has seen a steep decline in demand for Alpine Institute courses and a consequential impact on the Institute’s viability.

“The Alpine Institute enjoyed 13 years of operation under Alpine Health, generated significant income for Alpine Health, and most significantly increased health skills and knowledge across the Alpine community and directly within Alpine Health’s workforce.

“Looking ahead, let’s continue to innovate and collaborate to uphold our commitment to delivering exceptional healthcare services.

“The future holds exciting opportunities, and I’m confident that Alpine Health will continue to lead and excel in meeting the healthcare needs of our communities.”

Nicholas, with Cr Smith voted in as deputy for Alpine Shire Council

COUNCILLOR Sarah Nicholas has reprised her role as Mayor of the Alpine Shire after a unanimous vote received from all councillors at the new council’s first meeting last Tuesday, November 26.

Nominated by Cr Dave Byrne and seconded by Cr Ga-

reth Graham, Cr Nicholas was elected unopposed to serve as mayor for the next 12 months.

She thanked all councillors for showing their trust and supporting her in this role, as the new council commences its four year term.

“Everyone so far has shown that they want to make a difference and work with the

whole municipal community for continual improvement,” Mayor Nicholas said.

“I’m really looking forward to being part of a productive, proactive and constructive councillor leadership team, with the executives as well.

“What I’m hoping to do for this next year is to help set the team up for the next four

years, to enable a really good working relationship with our community.

“And therefore, seek and find a strong community, engaged with council activities, supported by a smart economy, healthy environment, sustainability and service excellence.

“To do that won’t just in-

volve working with this team, it’ll include building relationships and reaching out across the region and to state and federal departments and representatives of elected representatives.

Peter Smith was elected deputy mayor after being nominated by Cr JeanPierre Ronco and seconded

by Cr John Andersen. Cr Smith said his main goal is to do his best over the next 12 months.

“I have no four-year plans at this stage,” he said.

“There’s a good mix of backgrounds and skills within the group.

“I’m really excited for the next six to 12 months.”

Jenny Zamperoni

Cheers to victorious local vintages

By PHOEBE MORGAN

A NUMBER of local winemakers have been celebrated at this year’s North East Victorian Wine Challenge (NEVWC).

Hosted at the Myrtleford Bowls Club on November 22, some 16 awards were presented to winemakers from the five different wine regions of North East Victoria: Alpine Valleys, Beechworth, Glenrowan, King Valley and Rutherglen.

The NEVWC is a regional wine show dedicated to

showcasing and celebrating the magnificent wines of the region.

Alpine Valleys Vignerons hosted this year’s challenge, receiving 286 entries, which were judged by a range of different experts in the wine industry.

Beechworth winemaker, Mark Walpole from Fighting Gully Road Winery, submitted the 2023 Verdicchio and came away with five trophies: ‘Best White Table Wine’, ‘Best Alternative White Wine’, ‘Best Wine of Region: Beechworth’, ‘Viti-

culturalist of the Year’ and above all, the ‘Wine of Show’ trophy.

Alex Phillips, a winemaker from Mount Beauty’s Spring Spur, entered the Spring Spur 2023 Shiraz and collected both the ‘Best Red Table Wine’ and ‘Best Wine of Region: Alpine Valleys’ trophies.

Winemaker, Grace Douglas, from Porepunkah’s Feathertop Winery, also won the ‘Best Prosecco’ award with the Feathertop 2019 Prosecco.

“There was a really amaz-

ing variety of wines this year,” said Bridget Phillips, secretary and treasurer of Alpine Valleys Vignerons.

“It’s really exciting that our whole region is getting more recognition for alternative variety wines.

“With more recognition, tourists have more reasons to visit the area.

“Award shows such as these lift the profile of the whole region and it encourages more people to buy our beautiful wines.

“We had a lot of great sponsors this year and so

many people were involved; all of the volunteers were amazing.

“Keep an eye out for next year’s challenge, as it’s going to be bigger and better than ever.”

Jo Marsh, another AVV member, said the Regional Shield Challenge was the closest it’s ever been.

“The Alpine Valleys won the shield by only eight points, with the King Valley coming in a very close second,” she said.

“The shield is awarded based on the number of ag-

gregate points for all entries tallied up from each region.

“Interestingly, this is the first year of the challenge where the five finalists eligible for ‘Wine of Show’ came from each of the five different wine regions.

“Any of the five regions could have won it this year.”

Beechworth will host the NEVWC next year.

The NEVWC also ran a free Wine Trade Tasting at Wangaratta’s Quality Hotel Gateway to November 27, seeking to get more local wines on more local shelves.

Off to a good start at the Mount Beauty Arboretum

By PHOEBE MORGAN

THE Grand Opening Day of the Mount Beauty Arboretum last Friday, November 29 has been hailed a tremendous success with more than 30 people in attendance.

Upper Kiewa Landcare Group (UKLG) members, with funding from Alpine Shire Council, have spent the past year planning and building the first stage, and with funding from AGL they will complete the next stages in 2025 - with a path to be added, more native vegetation and tree ferns for wetter areas.

UKLG leader, John Gib-

bons, said those in attendance were told about the unique nature of Mount Beauty; where it sits in the Alps and its flowering season of six to eight months, which is far longer than in other areas.

“We’ve got such a variety of plants up on the high plains with over 200 species and something like 100 in the hinterland and foothills,” he said.

“I also outlined the catchment and surrounding mountains; Mt Hotham, Feathertop and Razorback and it was well received.

“We thanked a lot of the people that participated

including contractors and called on our new Alpine Shire Mayor Sarah Nicholas, and Simon Kelly who is the head of the AGL in Mount Beauty, to plant some shrubs to conclude the ceremony.”

Mayor Nicholas said it was a fabulous project and really exciting for Mount Beauty.

“From the initial vision, to what’s there now and the plans for the future, you can tell it’s a terrific program,” she said.

“Having the local plants showcased like this will help people understand vegetation communities and therefore help to protect them.”

PROSECCO: NVWC chief judge Steve Flamsteed, presented Feathertop winemaker Grace Douglas with the award for ‘Best Prosecco’. PHOTOS:

BEAUTIFUL TROPHY FOR MOUNT BEAUTY: Kauri representative Josh Lynex (left) and ‘Best Wine of Region: Alpine Valley’ winner winemaker Alex Phillips.

BOTTLED BOUNTY: Enjoying the wine show were (from left) TAFCO representative Rupert Shaw, multi-award winning winemaker Mark Walpole, and NVWC chief Judge Steve Flamsteed.

LOCAL LANDSCAPE: President of Kiewa Valley Landcare Group, Rowan Wallace (left) spoke with Alpine Shire Mayor Sarah Nicholas about the variety of native plant species in the area.

PHOTO: Ian Cohn

THIS property is ideally located just 15 minutes drive to Wangaratta CBD and only minutes to Tarrawingee.

Boasting a 3.5 acre allotment with beautiful, manicured gardens and mature trees this home is worth inspecting.

The 1980s brick veneer home consists of three bedrooms, study, one bathroom and open plan kitchen living/dining and double carport.

The kitchen has been recently renovated featuring new cabinetry, electric cooktop and electric oven.

The main living area is impressive, showcasing raked ceiling with exposed

Wangaratta branch

76 Reid Street

Open weekdays

Lifestyle opportunity in Tarrawingee township

beams and pine lined ceilings.

The main bedroom is a great size with BIR’s, while the additional two bedrooms are both fitted with BIR’s and ceiling fans.

The main bathroom has also been upgraded with modern tiling, vanity and shower and separate toilet.

A second toilet is in laundry.

Heating and cooling are well catered for with split system, combustion heater and well insulated stramit ceilings.

Other notable features of the property include generous shedding with workshop shed/carport (7.6Mx11M) and

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

1300 004 863 humebank.com.au DECEMBER 6 - DECEMBER 12 |

machinery/hay shed (8Mx3M) plus lean to.

There is a rainwater tank for drinking and bore water for all outside use.

Gardens are in immaculate condition along with great mature trees.

The property zoning is township (TZ), offering great investment opportunity for the prospective purchaser to sub divide into smaller lots (STCA).

If you are currently in the market for a lifestyle property with these features look no further.

Contact Hugh Amery to book your private inspection 0487 777 311.

42b Arlington Park Avenue, Wangaratta

For sale $839,000

Exceptional buying. Don’t miss it!

8 Wisteria Parade, Wangaratta

For sale $740,000

Spacious and modern. Fine family living.

•Craftsman built. Contemporary styling and luxury.

•Four bedrooms. Two bathrooms. Split level.

•Dream kitchen boasting quality appliances and a view.

•Spacious front and rear outdoor-living. Fully established.

•Premier Wangaratta estate. Is this the buy of the year?

Available for private inspection. Call us for more.

Stunning home. Central location.

•Two-storey with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

•Award-winning builder. Absolute quality throughout.

•Chef’s kitchen with large butler’s pantry.

•Low maintenance living. Minimal mowing.

•For the discerning buyer who insists on the best. •Creek / bush outlook. Close to Wang Base Hospital. Available for private inspection. Call us for more.

•Four years old. Fully established. Private/secure rear yard.

•Large bedrooms. Two separate living spaces. Spacious alfresco.

•Chef’s kitchen with large walk-in pantry. Quality appliances.

•Solar. Ducted reverse-cycle heating/cooling. Ceiling fans.

82 Greta Road, Wangaratta For sale $543,000

Ideal for the “tradie”. House and shedding.

• •Solar system. Ducted evaporative cooling. Ducted gas heating.

•One owner since built. Live / work from home opportunity.

• 83 Appin Street, Wangaratta For sale $475,000

Renovated and ready for new owners

•Move-in ready. Renovated inside and out.

•Modern kitchen. Open plan style.

•Second living / sunroom at rear.

•Cladded exterior. Roof resealed and re-pointed.

•Easy living on small block. Close to West End shops.

1/103 Phillipson Street, Wangaratta For sale $379,000

Charming West End weatherboard

• opportunity.

•Open-plan kitchen/dining/living. Quality

‘Falcon’ oven.

•Gas heating. Split system heating/ cooling.

•Secure corner

(approx.).

•Close to schools and neighbourhood shops.

84 Swan Street, Wangaratta For sale $439,000

Swan Street renovator

•Brick home with excellent potential to improve.

•Lounge plus additional rear sunroom under roof.

•Separate shower and bath. Separate toilet and laundry.

•Original kitchen with adjoining dining area.

•589 square

RUTHERGLEN PRIME FOOTPRINT

•

•

•

•

•

Kia Stonic GT- Kia line blends style with substance

■ THE WHOLE PACKAGE: The KIA Stonic range has an excellent range of safety and tech equipment, is easy to drive and park and is very competitively priced.

GT-Line steps up to LED headlights, DRLs, front fog lights and rear brake lights.

KIA Stonic is the smallest of the Korean carmaker’s four conventional SUV range sitting below the Seltos, Sportage and Sorento.

There are also three fully electric SUVs: EV5, EV6 and EV9.

Stonic was released in 2017 and arrived in Australia in 2020.

It was upgraded in May 2024 with a more powerful three-cylinder turbo engine, added safety and tech features and a price hike.

Stonic is built on the same platform as the now discontinued Rio hatchback.

It competes against vehicles such as its Hyundai Venue sibling as well as the class-leading Mazda CX-3 and Toyota Yaris Cross.

Three variants are available: S, Sport and GT-Line.

Prices, before on-road costs, are $25,460, $28,590 and $31,780 respectively.

STYLING

The MY2025 Stonic lags behind most recent Kia models in terms of its relatively conservative appearance.

All variants get Kia’s traditional ‘Tiger Nose’ grille, with the GT-Line getting chrome surrounds as well as a body kit that adds chrome beltline, gloss black radiator fill, chrome side mirror surrounds, rear diffuser, and a tilt and slide sunroof.

The S and Sport variants have halogen headlights and daytime running lights.

The MY2025 upgrade also switched wheels from steel to alloy, 15-inch in the S and 17inch brushed chrome on the Sport and GT-Line.

There are eight exterior colour options.

Only one, Clear White, is standard, the others are $520 options.

INTERIOR

Inside, it’s functional and neat without much of the bling of its competitors.

There are the usual twin screens, an 8.0-inch colour infotainment touch screen in the centre of the dash and a neat sculpted instrument screen in front of the driver accessed through controls on the steering wheel.

There are two cupholders in the centre console and bottle holders for each of the doors.

Stonic S has key-in-ignition start, Sport and GT-Line have a push button smart key.

The driver’s seat is height adjustable and the steering wheel has both reach and height adjustment but there is no power adjustment in any model.

The gear lever is an oldstyle T-Bar shifter that takes up much of the space in the centre console with two drink holders behind it.

One big plus is that there are four physical knobs below the screen, two for audio controls and another two for the air conditioning. They are within easy reach

of the driver and can be operated with minimal distraction from the road ahead.

So much safer than the worrying, and dangerous, trend towards all features being accessible only through touchscreens.

Rear seat legroom is quite restricted for anyone from 1.8 metres upwards.

Headroom is reasonable while a slight transmission tunnel intrusion will cause a problem for passengers in the centre seat.

So not recommended for three adults.

There are 352 litres of boot space with the rear seatbacks in place expanding to 1155 litres with them folded.

A space saver spare wheel is located under the boot floor.

ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS

All three variants are powered by a 1.0-litre threecylinder turbo petrol engine that delivers 74kW at 4500 rpm and 172Nm from 1500 to 4000 rpm paired with a seven-speed dual clutch style automatic transmission.

A previous six-speed man-

ual gearbox was dropped with the latest upgrade.

All models are front wheel drive.

SAFETY

Stonic hasn’t been tested by ANCAP since 2017 when, as Rio, it received the maximum five stars.

Although the test criteria has been tightened since then, so has the Stonic’s safety equipment so it should retain that top rating.

Standard across the range now includes six airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that includes car, pedestrian and cyclist detection. cornering brake control, front and rear parking sensors, driver attention alert, lead vehicle departure alert with lane keeping assist, lane following assist, rear occupant alert, blind spot alert and collision avoidance and hill start assist.

There are three child restraint anchor points as well as two ISOFIX mounts in the rear.

DRIVING

The previous Stonic S and Sport models came with a fairly sluggish 1.4-litre petrol

AT A GLANCE

MODEL RANGE

Stonic S: $25,460 (automatic)

Stonic Sport: $28,590 (automatic) Stonic GT-Line: $31,780 (automatic)

Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local Kia dealer for driveaway prices.

engine that’s now been replaced by the 1.0-litre turbocharged unit that was only available in the GT-Line.

That engine has now been re-tuned and it has made a noticeable difference to the performance of the little SUV.

It’s still not sporty by any means but more than enough especially for routine urban conditions.

It’s compact dimensions together with front and rear sensors make for easy parking.

The steering is nicely weighted, not too light and it locks down on centre without constant need for adjustment.

On the motorway Stonic cruised comfortably and handled the hilly terrain at the northern end of our drive route without too much effort.

Stonic comes with three drive modes: Eco, Normal and Sport. Eco rather than Normal is the default setting which is a bit presumptuous.

We’d prefer it to start in Normal and then switch up or down depending on conditions.

As the case with most Kia/ Hyundai vehicles, the Stonic’s ride and handling are excellent.

Fuel consumption is listed

at 5.4 litres per 100 km on the combined cycle, 6.2 L/100km around town where most will spend most of their time. We averaged 7.2 L/100km over our usual mix of urban, rural and motorway roads – disappointing for such a small vehicle although regular unleaded fuel does soften the blow.

SUMMING UP

It’s hard to fault this little Kia SUV.

It has an excellent range of safety and tech equipment, is easy to drive and park and is very competitively priced.

Add the seven-year standard warranty and it will tick most boxes for singles, young families or seniors.

RATINGS: Looks: 7/10

Performance: 7/10

Safety: 8/10 Thirst: 8/10

Practicality: 7/10

Comfort: 7/10

Tech: 6/10

Value: 8/10

STANDARD WARRANTY: Seven years / unlimited kilometres

By Alistair Kennedy, Marque Motoring

Rural City Connection

EVENT CANCELLED

EVENT CANCELLED: Due to the recent rain and expected weather on Friday in Wangaratta, this event has been cancelled. The Christmas Market will go ahead on the 20th of December in Apex Park. We’ll see you there.

Mental Health First Aid Scholarships

Applications closing soon for the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Scholarship Program! This initiative provides fully funded training to help businesses create supportive, mentally healthy workplaces. Applications close December 13, 2024. The training itself will take place in March 2025. For more information and to apply https://www.wangaratta.vic.gov.au/MHFA

Road Works

Intersection closure and detour Green Street and Roy Street West. Work for the Inland Rail project will be carried out by McConnell Dowell at the intersection of Green Street and Roy Street West from Tuesday 10 December to Friday 13 December. Detours will be in place via Dixon and Cusack streets.

Pet Elfies Festive Photos

Enter our festive community photo competition! We want to see your pets in a Santa suit, wearing reindeer antlers, or tinsel. Choose from one of four categories: Cat, Dog, Farmyard and Other. Submit your photo via Connect Wangaratta by 5pm, 12 December connect.wangaratta.vic.gov.au/pet-elfies

Our community will vote for their favourite in the lead up to Christmas. Each category winner will receive a fantastic pet-friendly prize pack!

Council Meeting

The next Council Meeting is at 3pm on Tuesday 10 December in Council Chambers at the Wangaratta Government Centre. Questions can be asked by those in attendance and can also be submitted before 10am on the day of the meeting by emailing council@wangaratta.vic.gov.au. An agenda will be available on Council’s website.

Please contact Customer Service if you have accessibility requirements to attend in person. For those unable to attend, the meeting will be available to view live online, via Council’s YouTube channel. You can also or view a recording of the meeting. Visit our website for more info.

New Years Eve

Ring in 2025 with a night of live music and family activities at the Wangaratta Showgrounds. This year’s line-up: Teeny Tiny Stevies, Pierce Brothers, Scott & Amanda Band, AND Joe Camilleri & The Black Sorrows! Entry is free, so bring your friends and family along for a night to remember with great music, food, and two fireworks displays to welcome the New Year. For more information visit our website.

Registration Renewal Notice

If your business has recently received a registration renewal notice for food or health related services, remember the renewal is due by 31 December 2024. To speak to one of our Environmental Health Officers about your application please call customer service on 03 5722 0888.

Tenders

Council Plan

We need your feedback to develop our new Council Plan. The Plan reflects the voice, experiences, ideas, and aspirations of our whole community. Complete the survey and find out how to get involved at: connect.wangaratta.vic.gov.au/council-plan

Planning Applications

Application No PlnApp24/132

Location Smith St Oxley

Proposal 3-lot subdivision and variation of restrictive covenant.

Submissions close 6 December.

Application No PlnApp24/163

Location 10 Ely St Oxley

Proposal Buildings and works for the construction of a domestic outbuilding.

Submissions close 6 December.

Application No PlnApp24/103.01

Location 3 Browning Street WANGARATTA

Proposal Change the permit condition for the operational hours of the permitted land use under PlnApp24/103: an indoor recreation facility (dance studio) Submissions close 20 December.

These applications can be viewed on Rural City of Wangaratta’s website under Development, Planning, Current Applications. Any person who may be affected by the granting of a permit may object or make a submission (must be in writing). For more information, please contact the Town Planning Unit on 03 5722 0888.

Positions Vacant

For further information on these positions please visit wangaratta.vic.gov.au/Your-Council/Careers

37 Rowan Street, Wangaratta 3677

WHENTO BOOK BYEMAIL

BLUE CHRISTMAS SERVICE

Wangaratta Uniting Church, Wednesday, December 18, 7.30pm

You are warmly invited to this special service, to take time out of this busy pre-Christmas period,

loved ones and other losses you may have suffered this year.

To Visit Visited

TOOLS, fishing, household, furniture, pop-top caravan, 3m tinny, camping. Saturday, December 7, STRICTLY 8am start, 690 WangarattaYarrawonga Road, Waldara.

To Visit Visited

VINTAGE, household, craft, odds and ends. Sunday, December 8, 8.30am-12noon, 10 Colleen Close, Wangaratta - please respect opening time.

MARK’S Mowing, reasonable prices, ride on mowing, edging, clean up, spraying and any waste removal. Ph 0472 603 156.

TILING, wall/ floor, bathrooms, renovations. Phone Claude 0435 945 513.

WHEELER Earthworks, available for all your earthworks needsyard clean ups, stump removals, driveways, material supply and spreading, rural work and more. Call Marcus on 0491 094 545.

CONCRETING, big or small jobs, paths, driveways, shed slabs, verandahs, 15 years experience. For a free quote phone Trev Anderson on 0422 200 761.

DANIEL’S Carpentry and Maintenance Solutions. Servicing Wangaratta and surrounds. For a free quote and examples of my work find us on Facebook or www. danielscarpentry. com.au or phone 0413 660 636.

FRANK’S DOG TRAINING, qualified, professional dog behaviourist, nationally accredited, obedience training, behavioral solutions, $70 a session. Ph 0418 314 610. Check out my dog tricks on Facebook.

JACK RUSSELL PUPS

2 boys, ready to go Microchipped, wormed, vaccinated - all up to date

$800

Microchip numbers: 95600160801510 956000016078820 Source number: MB265002 Ph 5727 1429

THIS

Phone 0435 287 393

CHERRIES – Pick Your Own!

$5kg bring your own containers

Open 8am-5pm daily (closed Fridays)

SMITH’S GLENROWAN ORCHARDS 0408 597 770

APRICOTS AND CHERRIES, fresh picked, available on Sunday at the Wangaratta Community Market, 8am-12pm, Moore’s Swimming, Mason Street, Wangaratta. For orders, phone 0447 257 300.

FACTORY 2NDS

SLIDES, Playground slides 3 lengths available 2.0m $140 2.5m $180 3.1m $220 various colours pic up only. Phone 03 5729 5556

FREE Range Hens, ISA Brown Pullets, POL, $30 each. Phone Becky or Hugh on 5798 1868.

TYRES new and secondhand, trailer, rims, wrecking. New hours 9am to 5pm, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 44 Newman Street, Wangaratta. Ph 0428 257 221, Adzam Tyres.

DECEASED ESTATE Clearing sale. All items must go! Saturday, December 7, 9am - 2pm 14 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Road, Milawa VIC.

2019 Toyota Corolla Accent auto, RWC, Vic plates, Reg 1MC-5HL, 22,500 km, services. Mum can no longer drive, Wangaratta. $21,500. Ph Geoff after 5pm 0408 089 276.

TOYOTA GXL KLUGER AWD. 7-seater, registered 5/2025, 190,000km, SUV auto, 6cyl 3.5L petrol, tow ball fitted, black interior, 2017 built, garaged, 1 owner car, reg (1JA9NI) $22,000, located Milawa. Phone Jess 0429 859 208.

2010 Ford Falcon XT sedan, 130,000km, very good condition and well looked after vehicle, reg (1FH9AX), rwc, $7500. Phone Dave 0431 685 549.

2010 Mazda CX7 SUV, auto, sold with RWC, 163,000km, reg till Jan 25 (YBD451), $7900, LMCT9246, 44 Newman Street, Wangaratta. Ph 0428 257 221.

2015 green manual Mitsubushi Mirage, towbar, 167,000km, rego till Feb 25 (1GH7HB), RWC, $3500. Ph 0428 257 221.

CARAVANS & CAMPERS

BARGAIN!

TRAVELLER Australia Penthouse (Y32913),

ENGINEERING MANAGER

Fulltime

About us: Brown Family Wine Group is one of Australia’s most loved and respected wine companies built on over 130 years’ experience in quality winemaking, market leading innovation and family values that are at the heart of everything we do as a business.

Our portfolio has grown over time to now include market leading wine brands such as Devil’s Corner from the East Coast of Tasmania, Tamar Ridge and Pirie from Tamar Valley Tasmania, Innocent Bystander from the Yarra Valley and of course Brown Brothers from Milawa Victoria the spiritual home of our business.

We are a proud and passionate business who are strong on values and culture. Most recently we have identified by workplace culture authority Great Place to Work as one of the 100 Best Workplaces in Australia for 2024. We have also maintained our certification as “A Great Place to Work” for the sixth year in a row and are committed to honouring this recognition throughout all aspects of the business.

CAMPER TRAILER, in very good order, REG and ready for camping, (bought a caravan so n o longer needed) $2400. REG T48 771. Phone 0407 316 788.

Ascent Hatchback (TIZ667) May 15. 126,000km, manual, 17" alloy wheels, TRD upgrades, tinted windows, excellent condition $8000. Ph 0438 988 608.

About the Role: Reporting to the Head of Viticulture and Sustainability, the Engineering Manager will Lead the Engineering Department and team to plan, establish / develop, maintain, and improve Brown Family Wine Group (BFWG) sites and assets to best meet the needs of BFWG and our customers and consumers. This role ensures operational excellence, cost efficiency, and high product quality through continuous improvement initiatives, team leadership, and collaboration with cross-functional departments.

Role responsibilities include:

•Lead and manage the Engineering Department.

•Manage the operation of site services and infrastructure.

•Manage engineering projects from concept to completion.

•Overseeing budget planning & compliance.

•Ensure engineering and maintenance processes comply with industry standards, regulatory requirements, and company quality objectives.

•Play a lead role in the HACCP team to ensure all HACCP requirements are implemented and maintained.

About the person: We are looking for a skilled and experienced Engineering Manager who has:

126,000km, manual, 17" alloy wheels, TRD upgrades, tinted windows, excellent condition $8000. Ph 0438 988 608.

KAWASAKI KDX 250 SR, great bike, in VGC, currently REC REG1993 md, $3400. Phone 0407316788.

•Minimum 5 years of experience in a Management/ Supervisory role.

•Well-developed leadership skills.

•Proven experience in rolling out strategic plans across facilities.

•Engineering qualifications or extended qualifications in facility management.

•Strong analytical, project management, and communication skills (verbal, written, interpersonal, negotiation).

•A current driver’s license.

What’s on Offer:

•Work with a well-established, rapidly growing organisation.

•Generous employee benefits including discounts on all products.

•Flexible work arrangements.

•Career Development and growth opportunities.

More Information: Further information and a position description may be obtained by emailing Allyce Henwood at careers@brownfwg.com.au or calling (03) 5720 5500.

SWIM COACH

JOB OPPORTINUTY

im Cl mingswimmin motiv

The Wangaratta Stingrays Swim Club is a well established, community focused swimming club with over 40 swimmers . We are seeking a motivated coach to join our dynamic team and help guide our swimmers to reach their full potential.

As a WSSC coach you will be required to:

Uphold core values of clubfun, fair, inclusive, flexible

Prepare swimmers for competitions and assist in goal setting.

Build strong, positive relationships with swimmers, parents and wider community.

EMAIL

oin dyn d r o n p h ll lKSkill

Essential Key Skills include: Valid Working With Children's Check

Current First Aid & CPR. Foundation coach or equivalent certification. Advance Coaching qualifications preferred.

BENALLA

RURAL CITY COUNCIL

Administration Officer

Part-Time (0.6 EFT 22.8 hours per week)

We are seeking applications from enthusiastic and suitably experienced people for the position of Administration Officer- Economic Development and Sustainability.

The position will be responsible for providing quality service through the provision of administrative and technical support, including the development and maintenance of appropriate systems and records.

Download an Employment Information Pack at www.benalla.vic. gov.au or obtain a pack from Human Resources Coordinator Rhonda McDonald, telephone 03 5760 2662.

Applications addressing key selection should reach us by 5pm Wednesday 11 December 2024.

For a confidential discussion on the position, telephone Acting Manager Economic Development and Sustainability Eric Nash on 03 5760 2679. Benalla Rural City Council is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Child Safe Organisation.

www.benalla.vic.gov.au

BURNS, Noel Alexander.

Beloved husband of Annette.

Dearly loved father of Kerry, Dianne, Christine, Wendy and Julie. My heart is breaking As I whisper low, God bless you darlin I loved you so.

BURNS, Noel Alexander. Dearly loved brother of Claude and Jenny (dec). Loved Uncle of Leanne, Julie, Rodney, Sandra, Glenn, Jaden (dec) and families.

All our love to Nettie, Kerry, Dianne, Christine, Wendy, Julie and families.

pggy@g for a

presidentwangarattastingrays@gmail.com for a full Position Description and application process

Join our amazing team of educators and a professional environment that is passionate, collegial and

We are currently seeking applicants for the following ongoing positions for 2025: VCE History or Junior Humanities Teacher

Mathematics or Science Teacher

Applications close on Tuesday 17th December at 12pm.

Our school community promotes the safety, Galen Catholic College embraces diversity and social inclusion

EMPLOYMENT

Sales Merchandise – Nutrien Ag Solutions Myrtleford Branch

•Join Australia’s leading agribusiness

•Competitive salary and career progression

About the role:

Reporting to the Branch Manager the focus of your role will be to develop strong customer relationships. You will:

•Perform stock control, ordering, receipting, and dispatching of goods

•Assisting customers with pricing and product queries & process counter sales

•Loading and unloading trucks, dispatching, and unpacking orders and deliveries

•Occasional on-farm deliveries

What we’re looking for?

•Experience working within a sales environment

•A proactive approach to work and practical organisation skills

•Excellent attention to detail

•Problem solving skills and empathy to resolve customer issues promptly

•A current driver’s license is essential and a forklift ticket is highly advantageous and you must be willing to obtain.

In return, we’ll be offering a competitive remuneration package, an additional day of leave, gender neutral parental leave policy and we’ll support you in your career development and growth.

THE ROLE OF PUBLISHERS

Advertisers please note!

Much hardship and difficulty is caused to job seekers by misleading advertising placed in the employment columns.

BURNS, Noel.

The President and Members of the Wangaratta of the Wangaratta Central Combined Probus Club are deeply saddened by the passing of our Past Foundation Member, Noel Burns. He was the first President of our Club. Also in 2010 and 2016. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family from all Club Members on this sad occasion. He will be sadly missed.

FOX, Dawn Elizabeth. Passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 5, 2024. Aged 86 years.

Brian farewells his wife and dearest friend Our wonderful mother and a most respected lady of Wangaratta. A devoted wife to Brian for 68 years. Beloved mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother of Adrian and Leanne, Jennifer, Damian and Glenice, Milton and Carol, and families. To know her is to love her.

For further information or to apply visit https://jobs.nutrien.com/Australia/ job/Myrtleford-Sales-MerchandiseVIC-3737/584636417/ Nutrien Ivone Agencies 17-19 Myrtle Street, Myrtleford.

Our Employment column is reserved for advertisements which carry a specific and genuine offer of employment. Ads for 'Business Opportunities', 'Commission Only' training courses and employment services should be submitted under those headings. Placing misleading ads is an offence against the Trade Practices Act and state/territory fair trading acts and all advertisements are subject to the publisher's approval. For further advice, contact: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on

HARGREAVES, Stewart James “Jim”.

The Milawa FNC would like to send its condolences to the family of Stewart James “Jim” Hargreaves, on his sad passing.

Jim was our oldest living past player. Rest in peace.

DEATH NOTICES

LEACH, Peter.

The Wangaratta Concert Band Inc. was saddened to hear about the sudden recent passing of, Peter Leach (Santa for the Lions Club Carols).

We wish his family all the best and want them to know that we appreciated Peter’s contribution to the Wangaratta carols.

MACKLAN, Kevin James.

20/2/1937 – 1/12/2024

Eldest son of Arnold and Bertha Macklan (both dec). Loving husband of Wendy. Proud father and father-in-law of Darren and Susan, Gayle and Scott, Stephen and Penny. Pop of Georgia, Abbey, Sam and Bridie, Hayden and Jess, Josh, Sophie and Luke.

Always so loving, thoughtful and kind, What beautiful memories you leave behind. You may have left this world behind you, But you will never leave our hearts and minds.

MACKLAN, Kevin.

The Staff and residents of Illoura Residential Aged Care are saddened by the recent passing of Kevin. We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Kevin during this difficult time.

MACKLAN, Kevin.

Loved brother-in-law and friend of Glenda and Noel Wise. Uncle of Russell, Cheryl, Alison and Their families. Will miss your smiling face.

MACKLAN, Kevin.

Members of the Wangaratta West Combined probus Club, extend our heartfelt sympathy to Wendy and family on the passing of Kevin. Kevin was a valued member of our club for many years.

May he rest in peace.

GIGGINS, Robert Bruce. 1/12/1932 – 9/12/2022

Sadly missed, loved always. Not a day goes by where the bell doesn’t ring for you. Your loving family, ~ John, Belinda, Thomas, Nicholas and Tayla, Emily and Jordan Taylah and Marcus. xxx

McDONALD, Karl. 10/1/1970 – 7/12/2023

FUNERAL NOTICES

MACKLAN

The funeral service to celebrate the life of Mr Kevin Macklan will be held in the Mason Park Chapel, 95 Mason Street, Wangaratta on Monday, December 9, 2024 commencing at 2pm. Burial will follow this service at the Wangaratta Lawn Cemetery.

Mason Park Funerals 5721 5060 masonpark.com.au

IN MEMORIAM

GIGGINS, Robert Bruce. 1/12/1932 – 9/12/2022

My dearest love Robert Bruce Giggins, Your life was our blessing your memory I will treasure, you are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure. RIP my love until we are all together again.

~ Your loving wife Merle Irene xoxo

GIGGINS, Robert Bruce. 1/12/1932 – 9/12/2022

Dad,

Two years today our lives changed, The sorrow never disappears The silent tears still flow, The pain is never far away, Because we loved you so. But you’re always in our hearts, We think of you every day and warm memories so often come our way. Dad you always had a smile to spare, love to give and time to care.

Miss you dearly, “Until we meet again” ~ All our love forever, your son Bruce, Sharon and families. Xxx

In loving memory of Karl. Always with us, But now gone fishing. We hope the cod are biting well up there! Never forgotten, loved always. ~ Mum, Mick and all his family.

SEAGER, Bronwyn. Passed away November 30, 2023. Much loved wife to John. Loving mother to Graeme, Glenda, Daryl, Denise and Yvonne. Sadly missed by all that knew her.

Summer exhibition has returned to Bright Art Gallery

By LEAH ANDERSON-BYRNE

BRIGHT Art Gallery has officially opened its Summer ART Awards Exhibition, with local artists last month applauded for their talent and skill across a range of mediums.

Gallery exhibitions coordinator Annemarie Wiegerinck said the panel of three judges - Kathy Ellem, Mieke Boynton and Elizabeth Masters - had a difficult time choosing the winners from the many amazing entries.

“We had many attend the opening night, locals and visitors alike enjoyed the evening,” Ms Wiegerinck said.

“The Grand Acquisitive Prize went to a ceramic antique ware mosaic piece by Jessie Yvette Journoud-Ryan.

“The judges said it was a quirky, clever, original and confidently crafted piece with bold colour and an expression of joyous whimsy and had been masterfully constructed.

“They said all the individual elements provide enjoyment but when viewed as a whole, the cockatoo is clearly evident, with its inherent cheekiness and sass, it is a brilliant piece.

“The winner of the Oils and Acrylics was ‘Sacred Ground,

Mt Pilot Chiltern’ by Wodonga artist Astrid Bruning.

“The Watercolour and Pastel was won by talented Mount Beauty artist Shirley Hall.

“Mixed Medium was won by local artist Anne McCallum with a highly commended going to Danielle Dalkin from Mount Beauty for an amazing pictorial assembly.

“Bright’s photographer Helen Brecknell took out the

photography prize and the Sculptural Art was won by Rosemary Brigden for the amazing ‘Ned Kelly Chess Set’.

“The Best Ceramic Art was won by Glenrowan ceramicist Sue Haag.”

The highly anticipated winner of the Youth Art Prize - Age 12 to 17, was ‘Lost’ by Lennie Rae.

“The judge’s commented that the artist demonstrated a sensitive affinity with the

subject,” Ms Wiegerinck said.

“They said there is a soft wistfulness in the gaze of the dog which complements the free and immediate brush strokes of the artist.

“The colour tones and use of a restrained palette of colour gives a feeling of tender care.

“Highly commended awards in this category went to Laura Feltrin, Daisy Stonehouse and Ebony Langley and

the Youth Art Prize – Age 6 to 11 was awarded to ‘Uma II’ by Uma Sanchez del Rio.

“Judges called it a whimsical, magical creation with a strong story-telling element and a lovely composition.

“The colour contrasts work beautifully and the expression on the animal’s face is simply delightful.

“Highly commended in this category went to Cohen Favier-Domingus, Elsie

The summer exhibition will run until Monday, January 27 with the gallery open five days a week from Thursday to Monday 10am to 4pm.

The gallery is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday and there will be a Christmass break from Tuesday, December 24 to re-open on Thursday, January 2.

Family history honoured

Research uncovers 104-year-old unmarked grave in the Beechworth Public Cemetery Research uncovers unmarked grave in the Beechwor th Public Cemeter y

BY CORAL COOKSLEY ccooksley@ nemedia.com.au

FAMILY research for more than a decade has led to the discovery of a 104-year-old unmarked grave in the Beechworth Public Cemetery with a granite memorial headstone linked to history now in place.

Melbourne’s Debbie Williams researched family history for more than 15 years sparked by questions from her late father about his heritage.

Ms Williams said she had researched her entire family tree finding the grave of her great, great grandfather William McFeeters.

“I did bring Dad up here six years ago to look for William’s grave,” she remarked.

“I said to Dad we’ll get back here one day but he passed away a couple of years ago, and this was something I wanted to do for him and to get William’s name on his grave.”

Ms Williams said she found a beautiful large stone for the headstone on the McFeeters farm where another descendant lives who she visits.

“I think it is lovely now that there is that connection to the farm, stone and William,” she said.

“A well-known identity, William lived in a little shack at Reids Creek, had a horse and cart and drove to Chiltern and Rutherglen and all around the area selling his fruit trying to make ends meet.”

Born in 1839

Beechworth cemetery is full of his descendants.

“Every time I drive down the hill towards the McFeeters’ farm, I always think of him because he had a heart attack on his cart when returning to the fam-

ily farm from a day’s selling and didn’t make it home.

“He died on April 27, 1905, and luckily, his wife and daughter were on board to take his body back to the farm.

“I admire William and his tenacity, because it would have been very hard back then.

“It’s been a culmination and full circle of my research on William and finding everything I could about him, his life, children and family.”

Ms Williams said family members would now visit his gravesite as well as other gravesites of family members in the cemetery too.

The family history researcher also had a plaque made at the Broadford Cemetery where William’s wife is buried.

“I know their stories now and feel really happy with names on their graves,” she said.

Ms Williams said William McFeeters’ legacy lived on as his family members had multiplied with many spread across different areas including Broken Hill. Beechworth Public Cemetery

Trust chair Rosemary Barnett said the cemetery has policies and guidelines for clarity, among them memorial headstones on its website, as well as a noticeboard near the main entrance gate.

She said in this instance the special rock to be used prepared by a stonemason with the plaque had been approved by the trust.

All cemeteries have policies and guidelines for compliance with more details available at the Victorian Department of Health website.

HAT TRICK: Kye Haynes pictured with his photograph ‘Hat Trick, my three legged best Friend’.

WINNER: Exhibition coordinator Annemarie Wiegerinck, with the three exhibition judges Kathy Ellem, Elizabeth Masters and Mieke Boynton with the Grand Acquisitive winning peice.

Felton, Essie Beatson, Ellie Chhon, Lilly Mitchell and Kye Haynes.”

in Northern Ireland, William had migrated to the region with his wife Isabella in 1862.

“He and Isabella had nine chil-

dren - one died when a baby and another at aged three,” Ms Williams said. “The rest married and the

MARKED AT LAST: Melbourne’s Debbie Williams organised a special headstone for the previously unmarked grave of her great, great grandfather Beechworth Public Cemetery.

SCOREBOARD

JUBILEE GOLF CLUB

December 1

Stableford 9 hole

A Grade Winner: Mick Reidy 18. Ball winners: Matthew Nunn 18. Monday, December 2

Veterans 18 hole stableford

A Grade Winner: Allan Sands 37.

B Grade Winner: B Richards 38.

C Grade Winner: P Bebbs 37.

Ball winners: Chris O’Keefe 37, M VanRhee 35, Bill O’Brien 33, Brian Carr 33.

NTP: 4th B Slade, 13th B Grealy. Wednesday, December 4

Men’s 18 hole stableford

A Grade Winner: Kenneth Beitzel 33.

B Grade Winner: Gary Dinsdale 36.

C Grade Winner: Doug Ritchens 33.

Ball winners: Peter Geldens 2 balls 34, Brian Wallace 2 Balls 34, John Fitzgerald 33, Ian Dinsdale 33, Martin Hill 33, Steve Fisher 32.

NTP: 4th N Hogan, 8th B Essex, 13th S Fisher, 17th G Butler.

WANGARATTA GOLF CLUB

WGC Competitions: Week ending December 1

Men’s Competition : Wednesday, November 27

18 Hole Stableford Event

Winner: Habib Moukachar 40 points.

Runner Up: Dean Campagna 38 points.

Indoor fun at at Wangaratta Supa Bowl Bowl

WHILE the weekend’s rainfall forced outdoor sports to cancel, the party was going strong at Wangaratta Supa Bowl.

The lanes were packed with families and people looking to have some fun on the weekend without getting soaked by the torrential rain.

Wangaratta Supa Bowl is open seven days a week, from 10am on Monday, Friday and Saturday, and 3pm all other days.

Ball Winners: Scott Thompson, Matthew Walsh, Chris Oates.

NTP: 4th Dean Campagna, 7th Stephen Smith, 11th Lachy Moore, 16th Seb DeNapoli.

9 Hole Stableford

Winner: Peter King 14 points.

Runner Up: Rodney Godde 12 points.

Women’s: Thursday 28

18 Hole Stableford Event

Winner: Glenda Dodson 34 points.

Runner Up: Susan Miller 25 points.

Ball Winners: Carolyn Sullivan, Dona Harper.

NTP 11th: Glenda Dodson.

9 Hole Stableford

Winner: Jill Halbwdl 14 points.

Runner Up: Sue McCall 13 points.

Medley Competition: Friday, November 29

9 Hole Stableford

Winner: Phillip Winnell 17 points.

Runner Up: Ben Clarke 17 points.

WANG CROQUET

RESULTS for Monday, December 2

are as follows:

Maureen O’Keefe and Elise Downes d Janet Kelly and Cheryle Beckley 7/4, Gavan Kelly and Nathan Reynolds d Gabi Heywood and Joan Dyson 7/6.

Also on Monday, Janet Kelly and Cheryle Beckley each achieved a hoop-in-one.

Last Thursday and Friday Andy Barbero and Nathan Reynolds

competed in the Victorian Handicap Doubles Tournament held in Melbourne finishing third in their block with the same number of games won as another pair, but missing out on a semi-final berth by having a lower hoop count.

The winners were Mary Cockett and James Turton of Drysdale club with Richard Hingst and Dominic Moss of Williamstown runner-up.

Last Saturday, no play was possible due to the ongoing wet conditions, however, by Wednesday we were back to normal with both morning and evening sessions operating.

We are involved with the Summer in the Parks program run by Council and members of the public are welcome to Come and Try croquet on any Monday, Wednesday and Saturday until December 14.

Please wear flat soled, covered footwear.

Play is at 9am on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, with twilight play from 6.00pm on Wednesday evenings.

Please arrive 15 minutes earlier to allow for a draw to be undertaken.

The club is located at 46 Ryan Avenue, Wangaratta.

For further information please contact President Susan Fischer on 0417217009 or Secretary Terry Wilson on 0417326739.

SMASHED: Jason McCoy hits a drive.

PHOTO: Melissa Beattie

Christie and Zoe Jose.

Isla, Will, Jack and John Conroy.

Georgia and Derik Cjepa.

LEFT: Brent and Max Hansen, Charlotte Blair, Lucy Hansen, Lyla Allan, Freddie Allan and Cooper Van Der Hansen.

PHOTOS: Kurt Hickling

WHILE

NIC MORSE AND LILLY ROSE

Soak up turf club’s Christmas party vibe

NOT even forecast showers on Saturday will dampen the festive atmosphere of this year’s Insite Real Estate Christmas Party Races.

Wangaratta Turf Club

president Neil Membrey said marquee and umbrella packages would be arranged on dry ground with cover in the event of rain, and there would also be plenty of undercover space for the general public.

With the track having dried out well from rain earlier this week, the scene is set for an enjoyable day of racing and entertainment, no matter the weather conditions.

“Last year, the crowd was around the 2000 mark, and we’re aiming for something

BY SIMONE KERWIN skerwin@ nemedia.com.au

similar this year,” Membrey said.

“It’s not just about the Christmas parties eitherthere is lots of room for individuals to come along and enjoy the day.”

There will be live music from The Glen Star Band, Red Brick Road, and Marc Paola, and the launch of the turf club’s new cocktail bar will be another attraction.

For the kids, there will be a range of activities including face-painting, and Santa and Mrs Claus are expected to pay a vis-

it between 1pm and 3pm.

“It’s a great chance to bring along a picnic rug and enjoy a relaxed, casual day of racing with the family,” Membrey said.

“The day is all about community; it’s a great way to come out and connect with the Wangaratta community in the lead-up to Christmas. The races can really bring people together.”

Gates open at 12 noon on Saturday, with an afternoon full of racing on offer, and free buses running all day around Wangaratta.

“We are looking forward to a fun-filled day, and encourage everyone to come along and enjoy it,” Membrey said.

LOCAL TRAINERS TARGET HOME MEETING

By WILLSON MACK

A HOST of locally trained gallopers will grace the hallowed Wangaratta Turf Club turf for tomorrow’s Christmas Race Day.

Eight races will feature on the card with two maidens, four benchmark 52s and two 0-58 races to entertain a strong crowd of Christmas party goers.

Andrew Dale will have the largest team of runners with seven accepted, along with two emergencies, while Craig Weeding (6), Ben Brisbourne (4), Ledger Racing (4) and Chris Davis (3) will all feature as well.

Dale said he’s hopeful a little bit of rain over Friday and Saturday will bring his runners into their races after wide draws.

“We haven’t had much luck with draws so maybe the rain will mean the barriers don’t play as much of a role come Saturday,” Dale said.

“There’s 20-40mm forecast for Friday and 1-5mm on Saturday so if we get that you’d think we’ll be racing on a soft seven, heavy eight type track.

“And with an eight race card there could be plenty of wear and tear come those later races.”

Rushford is Dale’s only runner to draw a single figure barrier (3) and is gunning for three straight wins in race five’s benchmark 52 (1300m).

Just two starts ago Rushford saluted at Wangaratta on Melbourne Cup Day in the same grade and will be one of the main threats tomorrow.

“That’s his (Rushford) grade that reverse ballot benchmark 52,” Dale said.

“He’s drawn well, has a good

hoop on board and has been racing really well lately.

“He only won at Wangaratta in a similar race two starts ago so he’ll be a chance.”

Dale’s Hells Son has been in solid form of late with two top two finishes from his past three starts but will have to do it from a wide draw (14) in race four’s 0-58 (1590m).

“Hells Son has been in good form recently but with an

awkward draw and wet weather we’ll have to wait and see whether we run him,” Dale said.

“He gets out to a mile for the first time though, he ran at 1450m last start at Tatura but we think he’ll appreciate a little bit further.”

Dale’s stable will be eager to see what new recruit Noci Di Cocco can do after crossing from the Joseph Burges stable in the Hunter region.

The five-year-old gelding will

■ From back page

“Having a facility which supports their needs to a greater extent than the current facilities is something we really think will be a generational change.”

The plan at this early stage was to break ground at the conclusion of the Ovens and Murray home and away season, with the facility completed in time for the 2026 season.

“That was our project plan that we submitted, the idea being that we would try and have minimal interruption to the football and netball seasons, and it would run from mid-August right through until the start of the following season,

tackle race eight’s benchmark 52 (1100m).

“It’s his first run for the stable so it’s a real ‘lets see what he can do’ type run,” Dale said.

“He comes back from 58 grade up at Muswellbrook which is pretty handy racing.

“Hannah Edgley is booked to ride and she’s ridden him in trackwork but like most of our runners he’s drawn wide (barrier 11).”

where we would hope we’d have made significant progress in its completion,” Squires said.

“The predominant infrastructure in terms of water, sewerage and electricity are where the Hogan Stand currently is, so we’ll be looking to place it adjacent to the current main site and take up part of where the Hogan Stand is - we’ve got some plans about potentially relocating part of that Hogan Stand.

“There’ll be an enormous amount of groundwork to be done before then, with final designs and final sign-offs and appointment of contractors and works we will undertake ourselves as part of our in-kind contribution.”

CHANCE: Andrew Dale’s Hells Son looks one of the main chances in race four.

PHOTO: Racing Photos

ENTIRE FAMILY FRIENDLY: Wangaratta Rovers members with Indi MP Helen Haines (centre) after being successful in a grant for $1.45m for a new facility for netballers and female footballers.

READY FOR FUN: Sponsors Sonia and Angelo Pomponio from Insite Real Estate are looking forward to the festive atmosphere of Saturday’s Christmas party races.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

One-dayers back on the menu for menu Magpies Wangaratta

& District Cricket Association

THE red-ball section of the 2024/25 A grade season faced an abrupt termination with a washout last weekend, which means it’s back to a white ball and big hitting. After torrential rain forced the cancellation of all WDCA matches last weekend, the scheduled twodayers for the A grade were shortened to 40-over matches to be played this weekend, with two other one-dayers to close out the year.

While a washout is any cricketer’s worst nightmare, Wangaratta Magpies skipper Cooper Matheson admitted they dodged a bullet when the heavens opened up a week ago.

“It went in our favour, more or less – we had a few unavailabilities so we were

BY NATHAN DE VRIES ndevries@ nemedia.com.au

kind of happy that it rained,” he said.

“We had Rhys Grant, Cal Honey, and there were another three A res boys who were out.

“From our whole teams of 22, I think we had probably seven out for the week.

“The washout really helped us.

“Everyone’s back, we’ve got two of our strongest sides for the year, so it’ll be good.”

The ‘Pies sit in the middle of the table with two wins and two losses, a split record in both the long and short formats.

Matheson said his side is

IN COLOURS:

more white-ball oriented, with explosive hitters and economic bowlers much better suited to the 40-over game they face this weekend.

“We see ourselves more of a white ball side, we’ve got a lot more people whose natural game is to score.

“We’ve held up pretty well with the two-day stuff though, but within our group, we believe one-day cricket is our best cricket.

“A lot of Benalla’s blokes are more slow scorers,

they’re more two-day cricketers - hopefully we can tie them down, bowl two-day lengths and tie them up a bit.”

It will be up to the Magpies’ bowlers to combat a hot-and-cold Benalla squad, who have a strong list but are yet to win a match in the 2024/25 season.

“The biggest wicket is Brayden Stepien - he hasn’t made many runs this year so he’s ready to fire, and when he does I think he’s going to make a bucket-

load,” Matheson said.

“Hopefully we can get him out pretty cheaply.

“Jimmy Thewlis is back in our side, he’s moved back from Melbourne, so he’ll bowl a few overs. It’ll be good to see him bowling his tweakers.

“Rhys Grant has been working really hard in the nets, so hopefully he can get some results from the hard work he’s been putting in.

“He’s been changing his run up and action a little bit so he doesn’t bowl as

AFTER a washout on day one, City Colts’ tactics will change to one-day mode against Ovens Valley United tomorrow.

Going off one-day form, Colts go into the clash 1-1, while the Tigers are 1-2 setting up for an evenly matched contest at Barr Reserve.

But with 20-40mm of rain forecast for Friday and 1-5mm on Saturday, the weather threatens to put a stop to cricket for the second weekend in a row.

City Colts skipper Mitch Giggins expects a tough test tomorrow.

“Ovens Valley United have proven time and time again that they’re a good one day side so it’ll be a good test,” Giggins said.

“We’re happy with how we’re going at the moment though, we haven’t been relying on one person to make runs so hopefully that continues.

“If one or two of our top five can stay in we know we’ll go at a good clip and make a decent score.”

The Colts will be relying on taking the early wicket of Ovens Valley coach Geeth

erratically at times.

“He’s worked really hard on it and he’s been bowling really well in the nets so hopefully it can work out on game day for him.”

Wangaratta Magpies head down to Benalla’s Gardens Oval this Saturday to take on the Bushrangers in their one-dayer.

In other A grade fixtures, Yarrawonga Mulwala host Beechworth at Stan Hargreaves Oval, and the Colts take on the Tigers at Bill O’Callaghan Oval.

Alwis who has already made 395 runs at a whopping 131.67 with two centuries from his five digs.

“Geeth’s the obvious one,” Giggins said.

“What we’ve noticed with him is that he doesn’t blaze away, he’ll bat all day if we don’t get him out earlier.

“He hangs around and makes it easier for the new batter that comes to the crease so if we can get him out early I’d like to think we’ll have them on the ropes.”

City Colts sits atop of the A grade ladder with three games left to play with Giggins hoping they can stay there heading into the Christmas break.

“We want to keep the momentum going,” he said.

“Sitting on top going into the Christmas break would be huge and would set us up nicely for the back end of the year.

“We’ve always said early wins are key so we need to keep ticking them off.”

LEADER: City Colts vice-captain Josh Nanson will be looking to lead from the front tomorrow.

PHOTO: Melissa Beattie

BACK

Wangaratta Magpies will take

Benalla Bushrangers

PHOTO: Marc Bongers

Wangaratta golfers tee off to make a difference Stability at the top for Rovers

By NATHAN DE VRIES

EVERYONE enjoys a lovely day of golf, but how far would you be willing to go to test your endurance and raise money for cancer research and treatment?

Wangaratta Golf Club secretary Tracey McKinnon is one of many around the club and state who, over the next two months, will take part in Cancer Council’s The Longest Day.

The Longest Day is the ultimate test of golf skills and stamina, challenging golfers to take on 72, 54 or 36 holes of golf in one day while raising money to help reduce the impact of cancer for all Australians.

This year, The Longest Day will officially take place on Monday, December 9, but participants can take on the challenge at their local golf club anytime during December and January.

McKinnon said the loss of her brother to cancer was what drew her to participate.

“I did 36 holes last year just on my own - I didn’t have any affiliation with the club, I just registered on my own – purely because I lost my brother to cancer,” she said.

“I’m only new to golf, so I thought 36 holes would probably be my starting point

“From there, other members have said to me ‘why has the club not registered’ and I said I didn’t know but I’ll do it next year.

“I registered the club, we’ve got about four teams underneath our club that are doing it on different days in December and I think there might be a group that are playing in January.”

The club has set a $4000 fundraising goal, with McKinnon’s group set to tee off next week, and will complete their 54 holes no matter what it takes.

“I’m coming back from having carpel tunnel surgery – I thought I should just do 54 and see how we go, but if I feel OK I’m going to continue and do the 72,” she said.

“My husband said to me I’m going to put a fair bit of pressure on because I haven’t played in 12 weeks because of the wrist.

“People with cancer don’t go ‘I don’t think I’ll have cancer today’

- whether it’s rain, hail or shine, they’re fighting, so if I can fight through a little bit of soreness, if I’ve got to crawl over the line, then I’ll crawl over the line.

“It’s the least I could do anyway, that’s my theory - it’s been 23 years without my big brother, it’s (cancer) a terrible thing, so if we can raise any money, then it’s good.”

With golfers almost 2.5 times more likely to develop skin cancer in their lifetime, Cancer Council Victoria is encouraging all golfers to keep sun safe and slip on sun pro-

tective clothing, slop on SPF50 or higher sunscreen, slap on a broadbrim hat, not just on The Longest Day, but every day.

Cancer Council Victoria’s head of fundraising and communications Lyrian Fleming-Parsley said all Victorians will be affected by cancer at some point in their lives.

“By working together, we can all play a part in reducing the impact for cancer for all Victorians,” Fleming-Parsley said.

“Participants in The Longest Day will be making a difference as all

RACEWAY PROFILE – ZACK ERICKSON

ZACK Erickson, 14, will be one of the locals to beat at the up and coming SSV Victorian State junior title.

Zack, car Wang 28 from Springhurst, is a rising star in SSA Junior Sedans at Wangaratta City Raceway and is club champion for the SSA Junior top division.

Driving his Mitsubishi Lancer CE Coupe, Zack has racked up five feature race wins in just two seasons, showcasing his talent and passion for speedway.

A member of Wangaratta City Raceway for five years, Zack loves the track and its community.

“It’s close to home and full of great people,” he shared.

He admires the dedication of volunteers like ‘Kenno’

(Kenneth Mankey) and is inspired by his dad, Shaun, as his most respected driver.

For Zack, racing is about more than just wins.

“It’s not just a competition - everyone’s here to have fun, both on the track and in the pits,” he said.

Still, he’s determined to achieve his goal of winning as many titles as possible.

Off the track, Zack is fully committed to his racing career.

With support from sponsors Erickson Automotive, Smooth Suspension, and Ripper Sticker, he keeps his car raceready and competitive.

Zack also supports other classes, especially Sports Mods, and loves being involved in the broader

speedway scene.

One of his favourite racing memories is competing in the 2024 Victorian Title, an experience that pushed him to aim even higher.

“Every race win is special,” Zack said, and with his talent and dedication, there are surely many more to come.

Fans can follow Zack’s journey on social media as he continues to build his career at Wangaratta City Raceway and beyond.

Keep an eye on car Wang 28 - he’s just getting started!

FOLLOWING a successful 2024 year on the field the Wangaratta Rovers Football Netball Club is set for continuity in 2025 with their management structure.

The recent annual general meeting of the club saw the return of copresidents Wendy Lester and Wally Pasquali.

Some 50 members attended the meeting which re-elected Graeme Taylor as secretary and Mario Antonello as treasurer.

Co-president Wendy Lester was pleased in retaining stability on the committee.

“Overall, season 2024 was an outstanding year for our club with senior and thirds football premierships and further good results across all grades in netball and women’s football,” she said.

“We are fortunate to have a strong list of sponsors and a sound membership base, that bodes well for the future.”

Financially, the club returned a positive operating result for the reporting year.

The AGM also saw the appointment of the following members to the committee: Barry Sullivan, Paul Squires, Barrie Henderson, Chris Shanley, Geoff Allen, Lauren Flynn, Chris Doyle, Andrew Smith, Gabrielle Grant, Sandy Newman, Ben Hayes and Dan Smith.

funds raised will go towards funding Cancer Council Victoria’s worldclass cancer research, helping save lives and bringing us closer to a cancer-free future.

“Thanks to investment in research to date, amazing advancements have been made in cancer prevention, screening and treatment – helping increase survival rates from 51 per cent in the late 1980s to around 70 per cent today.”

To donate, visit www.longestday. org.au/fundraisers/WangarattaGolfClub.

BRING IT ON: Wangaratta Golf Club’s Tracey McKinnon is looking forward to testing herself in a full day of golf to raise money for the Cancer Council.

PHOTO: Nathan de Vries

RISING STAR: ZACK ERICKSON AND CLUB PRESIDENT KENNETH MANKEY.

FESTIVE RACE DAY

Sponsors Angelo and Sonia Pomponio raise a toast to Wangaratta Turf Club’s Insite Real Estate Christmas Party Races, which will be held on Saturday.

■ Stories and fields pages 36+37

Level playing field

Wangaratta Rovers receive $1.45m federal grant to build new facility for female g$gyppparticipants

WANGARATTA Rovers

FNC will use a $1.45 million federal grant to build new women’s football and netball changerooms at W.J. Findlay Oval, to help cater to the club’s growing number of female participants.

BY NATHAN DE VRIES ndevries@ nemedia.com.au

Announced by Independent MP Helen Haines at the club’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, the club received funding through the Federal Government’s Play Our Way program, which seeks to provide greater opportunities for women and girls to access, participate and remain involved in sport and physical activity.

Co-president Wendy Lester said the club had

grown to a point where their current set up for netballers and female footballers was not sustainable or suitable for participants.

“We obviously have three male football teams, we have four female football teams and we have five netball teams, so our club’s pretty much at capacity in regards to members and facilities we’ve got,” she said.

“At this stage the netballers use part of the community centre, which currently on game day is shared with umpires as well, which is not ideal.

“Their own facility would be much better, and more appropriate for us.”

Club committee member Paul Squires has been a driving force behind the grant application, and said a facility like this was on the cards for a long time.

“It’s been part of our master plan for W.J. Findlay Oval and part of the broader Barr Reserve master plan for a number of years,” he said.

“As we’ve developed the women’s football and netball programs over the years, it’s become more and more evident our current facilities don’t meet the needs that are general and specific to female sports participation.

“It’s been quite significant, the growth and development in both netball and our women’s football.

“In terms of women’s football, we have been leaders in that field for the last five to six years - we are the only women’s football team in the Rural City of Wangaratta, that once again has grown over that period of time.

■ Continued page 37

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling