Wangaratta Chronicle 290523

GRAND PERFORMANCE

RURAL City of

(centre) with

Valley roads void

TWO major roads in the Rural City of Wangaratta that provide a major access ways for locals and tourists have missed out on funding in the 2023/24 State Budget.

It comes at a time the condition of the roads is severely deteriorating in numerous locations, while

BY STEVE KELLY skelly@ nemedia.com.au

tourist traffic to the King Valley continues to grow.

However, roads funding overall for the rural city

has increased in the state budget for 2023/24 by $294k (compared to 2022/23) to $8.44 million.

Rural city CEO Brendan McGrath said there was a good chunk of money in the budget for regional and rural roads.

“I haven’t seen how much

will be available for grant rounds versus how much of it is funding in Regional Roads Vic maintenance activity,” he said.

“This is one where the devil will be in the detail but certainly, across the state, the roads following the really wet season are in dire

need of work.

“Any funding at all that we can secure up here will be well received, but there doesn’t appear to be any mention of WangarattaWhitfield Road or BenallaWhitfield Road which are the two key priorities for us.”

Funding for these two

major roads in the rural city could come from either state or federal coffers, and while funding for the former was more likely to come from the state, the Federal Government has contributed to key road projects in the past.

■ Continued page 2

Wangaratta Mayor Dean Rees

(front) seven year old Fiona Oon and (back) 14 years old Ivy Thomas, is pleased to support the 2023 Wangaratta Piano Competition, where both Fiona and Ivy will be among the entrants to play the city’s Steinway Grand piano.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

■ See story page 4

Future direction of Wangaratta Historical Society to be discussed

WANGARATTA Historical Society (WHS) will hold a general meeting on Monday, June 5 and all are welcome.

The meeting will provide an opportunity for WHS members and interested community members to meet the new committee, and to share ideas for the future direction of the WHS.

The meeting will be held on Monday, June 5 from 6pm - 7pm at Uniting Church Hall, Rowan Street, Wangaratta and will be followed by light refreshments.

For more information contact WHS president Prue Noble on 0428 454 303.

WEATHER

Cold and wet weather sparks police safety call

A SHIFT to dreary winter weather has prompted a call to action, with local police urging motorists to reassess their driving habits and remain visible in challenging conditions through the North East.

Fog and frost has descended on the Wangaratta region in recent weeks, with increasingly colder and darker mornings expected to pose significant risks to local motorists, particularly on narrow two-lane highways and rural mountain roads.

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Senior Sergeant Mick Savage said it was vital road users adjust their driving according to the conditions they are presented with whenever they’re behind the wheel.

He noted it was particularly

BY RYAN MALCOLM rmalcolm@ nemedia.com.au

important darker-coloured vehicles used their lights wherever possible to ensure they were visible to other motorists.

“Drivers need to reassess their driving coming into winter with the increased possibility of fog, wet roads and icy roads in the mornings,” Snr Sgt Savage said.

“Drivers need to drive to the conditions of the environment they are in and ensure that they are seen by other motorists and pedestrians - utilise your driving lights, especially during foggy conditions, and lessen your

speed to a comfortable level if the conditions of the road are challenging.

“Just because there is a 100kph speed limit does not mean that you have to drive at 100kph.”

So far this year, 123 people have lost their lives on Victorian roads, 53 of which have occurred in Victoria Police’s eastern region, which includes the regional North East, Gippsland and alpine areas.

The state’s road fatalities represent a 28 per cent increase on last year’s figures to May 23.

Some 16 people have lost their lives within the Wangaratta Police Service Area since the start of the year, twice the number killed to the same time in 2022.

Snr Sgt Savage said police had

noticed a spike in behaviours resulting in serious injury or fatal crashes, particularly among the region’s motorcycle cohort.

“Drivers are continuing to be complacent on the roads, with distractions and speed being the main reasons for the collisions occurring,” he said.

“We are seeing a lot of offroad collisions, mainly with motorbikes, that are incurring serious injuries and fatal injuries.

“Riders need to ride to the conditions and consider slowing down when approaching corners, unstable sections of the tracks/roads and consider their current skill set when riding.

“If you haven’t taken your bike out for a while, take some time easing back into it and enjoy your ride safely.”

Funding for roads in Rural City of Wangaratta increases $294k to $8.44m in state budget

■ From page 1

Roads funding in the rural city does tend to fluctuate and Mr McGrath said it always errs depending on specific road projects that are in it compared to council’s normal roads program.

“This council has consistently increased the funding for gravel resheeting, and we certainly haven’t reduced expenditure on roadside drainage and gravel resheeting,” he said.

of the Australian Press Council.

If you believe the standards may have been breached, you may approach the Chronicle itself or contact the council by email at info@presscouncil.org.au or by phone on (02) 9261 1930.

“We might have a major intersection or road upgrade patch and reseal project somewhere and that can make it look a bit lumpy from year to year depending on whether one of those is in the budget or not.”

There is money in the budget for Services Victoria, which is an arm of State Government, and Mr McGrath said Wangaratta council has worked with them in the past to automate application processes and digitise content.

“Anything they can do to continue to give people greater access through digitising processes to enable people to do that independently online is a good thing.”

Council was one of several dozen councils across the state also looking for the government to fully fund the School Crossings Program as they are only funded $80k for 11 crossings across the shire, but there doesn’t appear to be any obvious

offers in the budget to cover this.

It’s been a crunch of numbers since the Victorian Government introduced the Fair Go Rate Cap so every ounce of funding support helps local government.

Mr McGrath welcomed money in the budget for upgrades to several key organisations.

Northeast Health Wangaratta will be funded about $5 million for a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner that can diagnose cancers, heart disease and brain disorders earlier.

Planning work for the Wangaratta High School’s $11.7 million upgrades will commence, and there’s money for the tech school in the city.

The tech school in Wangaratta, which will be one of six new education facilities costing $116m, will be based around science and technology as distinct from the former tech school which was based around trade.

BE CAUTIOUS: Senior Sergeant Mick Savage and Senior Constable Clinton Griffiths expect rain, frost and fog to pose significant challenges to motorists throughout the North East during winter.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

BUMBY RIDE: The main road to the King Valley, Wangaratta-Whitfield Road.

MPs share their views on budget

Northern Victorian members have varying views on funds Nor hern V ic orian members have var ying views on funds

By STEVE KELLY

ONE Nation MP Rikki Lee Tyrrell has heavily canned the 2023/24 State Budget, labelling more taxes on mum and dad investors as “punishment”.

The member for Northern Victoria believes property tax will inevitably have a knock on effect to renters who will end up wearing further rental price hikes in the future.

“The release of the 2023 budget has further reinforced how short-sighted, unimaginative, and incapable the Labor Government is at managing an economy,” she said.

“The city centric budget does very little for our regions.

“What Andrews is calling a ‘covid debt levy’ is nothing more than an effort to justify further harming hard working, tax payers in an effort to recuperate the losses sustained by his own governments reckless spending.

“More tax on business and mum/dad investors who worked hard to get ahead and purchase an investment property.

“Now they will be slugged with additional, annual property tax as punishment.

“As a matter of necessity this will be passed on to consumers, ie tenants, therefore further exacerbating the rental crises.”

Mrs Tyrrell also claimed the contribution to road maintenance was half of that committed to previous years.

She said this was already insufficient as is reflected by the state of our roads.

“Half the expenditure means we can expect roads to deteriorate twice as much in the coming years,” she said.

“The most evident indicator that the premier has very little understanding of economics is the early closure of

Sex offender “oblivious” to his actions

FORMER Wangaratta chef and local Dylan Egan has been sentenced to a total of 11 months of imprisonment for sexual abuse of a 14year-old girl early last year.

Appearing at a Melbourne County Court from custody in Ballan, Mr Egan, 32, pleaded guilty to three charges relating to sexual offending on a girl under the age of 16.

Judge Elizabeth Gaynor said after much anxious consideration it was an inexcusably self-indulgent act and Mr Egan “should be ashamed” of his actions.

“It is in my view you had a very poor understanding and under appreciation of how young she was and how entering any intimate relationship, especially a sexual relationship, was beyond her maturity in her life,” Judge Gaynor said.

The court heard Mr Egan had first met the victim in May 2021, while Mr Egan worked with the victim’s mother, developing a close relationship with the family and becoming a “father figure” to the victim.

is withdrawn and is constantly hurt over his actions which left her devastated and betrayed.

A psychology report on Mr Egan in the aftermath of the offending observed he was “oblivious” in his role in the relationship with the victim and rationalised her maturity in order to gain consent, with a lack of understanding around the laws of consent and the damage he had caused the victim and her family.

Judge Gaynor recognised the prior good behaviour record of Mr Egan and his upbringing in Wangaratta and considered him unlikely to re-offend.

Oral evidence was given from former employer at the Railway Hotel, Greg Brown, a former policeman who vouched for his former employee.

Judge Gaynor said in no way does his prior history provide a basis for what he did.

WHAT ABOUT US: MP Rikki-Lee Tyrrell spoken out about her perceived lack of funding for regional

the timber milling industry in Victoria.

“It’s heartbreaking to see so many loose their livelihoods in an industry that when regulated/managed properly is renewable, sustainable profitable.

“All to appease a few city centred, vitriol spitting, green voters whom have no idea about the flow on implications of these decisions on our state and national economy.”

“Over $16 million dollars was dedicated to animal protection in the State Budget.

To have companion animals and wildlife recognised as deserving of such support is a huge win.”

Meanwhile, Upper House Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell had different take on the budget, noting funding for animal rescue and cheaper vet care.

“Acknowledging the fact the budget on covid debt recovery, this is a win that demonstrates animals are being heard and considered in Victoria,” Ms Purcell said.

“The Animal Justice Party as animal advocates in par-

liament, can create a kinder state - this budget is evidence of that.

“Protection of wildlife is one of my highest priorities.

“$6.4 million dollars will go a long way to contribute to rescue and rehabilitation, and supporting our hardworking volunteer carers.

“I am especially grateful that Regional Community Vet Clinic will have a permanent home here in Northern Victoria - in line with my work to make veterinary care more affordable and accessible across the state.”

In October 2021 Mr Egan opened a food trailer business where the 14year-old girl went to work for him on weekends and school holidays, eventually being permitted to stay at his residence on weekends by her mother to help with work.

Their relationship grew to where Mr Egan began cuddling and kissing the victim, ultimately leading to performing sexual acts on the victim and having her do the same on him.

The offending was discovered on the victim’s laptop a day later when they had exchanged a number of sexually charged messages, which were reported to Wangaratta police.

A submitted statement on behalf of the victim said she still cries often,

“It’s inexcusable and utterly self-indulgent of you to not realise how inappropriate it was,” she said.

“This is a hurtful and thoughtless breach of trust... you completely failed to appreciate the immaturity of your complainant.”

Upon release Mr Egan was sentenced to serve two and a half years of a corrections order which Mr Egan must undertake 300 hours of unpaid community work, a sexual offenders education program, mental health and alcohol rehabilitation and is restricted from leaving the state.

It was noted the sentence would have been two and a half years imprisonment if he pleaded not guilty and it was acknowledged 15 days of the sentence had been served in pre-sentence detention.

Victoria in the state budget.

HARD AT WORK: Jim Doyle and Warren Anker are creating a masterpiece.

PHOTOS: Kurt Hickling

Wangaratta Woodies chip away at craft

“WANG Woodies” is the home of the Wangaratta Woodworkers Inc.

They are an active and social club open to all who share an interest in woodwork of any kind, and who enjoy a good cuppa.

Located at the Woodies Shed 4F Evans Street Wangaratta and open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings from 9am to 12pm. For more information, got to their website www. wangwoodies.org.

Plenty of adventures celebrated at 40th birthday social occasion for Wangaratta 4x4 Club

THE Wangaratta 4x4 Club recently celebrated its 40th birthday, with a celebration dinner held at the Wangaratta Club.

Four Wheel Drive Victoria member Dave van Zanten was on hand to present a 40 year plaque to the group on the evening, while inaugural Wangaratta 4x4 Club president David Williams shared the story of how the group of passionate four wheel drivers came to be.

with the club.

Incumbent president Sue Abotomey took the opportunity to present life membership to Barry Richardson, while 10-year service certificates were presented to Damien and Kerry O’Connor, as well as their son Tom.

“All were kept entertained by tales and visual presentations of many of our trips - some quite hair raising,” Ms Abotomey said.

CREATIVTY:Ken Plattfuss loves his hobby.

Also in attendance were life members Craig Cheetham and Neville French, 40 years after attending their first meeting

For more information or to explore joining the club, contact Manfred Wagner on 0468 386 031 or email manfredw@bigpond.com.

City has new piano competition

BY ANITA McPHERSON amcpherson@ nemedia.com.au

A PIANO competition designed to foster the talent and ambition of young, local musicians will be held at the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre on Friday, June 23.

Presented by the Wangaratta Festival of Dance (WFOD) with support from the Rural City of Wangaratta, the event is an extension of the WFOD committee’s commitment to actively engage and encourage all aspects of performing arts for children and youth in the region.

Committee member Cathy Nesbitt said WFOD was formed in the final year of the Wangaratta Eisteddfod, and they were delighted to have secured funding from council through its community grants program to hold a piano competition in the city.

She said the committee decided to apply for the funding after noticing an increase in competitor numbers at other events and a growing demand for piano teachers on social media platforms.

“The committee successfully ran a piano competition in 2015 and we thought if we could fund this, we could do it again,” she said.

“Dance has been our focus for the past 25 years, but the performing arts covers so much more than just dance.

“An event such as this is beneficial for a young person’s musical education and

their overall development - a healthy competitive environment goes beyond musicianship to teach valuable life lessons, improve motivation and promote creativity.”

Ms Nesbitt said Wangaratta was also fortunate to have a state-of-the-art facility in the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre, providing the perfect stage for competitors to experi-

ence what it is like to perform in front of an audience.

She said In addition to the perfect venue, it also had perfect equipment, with competitors to play on the magnificent Steinway grand

piano.

Rural City of Wangaratta mayor Dean Rees said council was pleased to support the initiative, providing $4470 through its community grants program, to help the Wangaratta Festival of Dance expand their program, run a competition and give local piano students the opportunity to perform.

“There are many students playing piano in the Rural City of Wangaratta and the Wangaratta Festival of Dance has given them a great opportunity to showcase their craft,” he said.

This year’s event will be held on Friday, June 23 at the Wangaratta Performing Arts and Convention Centre and the judge will be Helena Kernaghan.

Ms Nesbitt said Helena Kernaghan had established herself as one of the most versatile pianists and musicians of recent times.

“Helena has forged her own unique path in the Australian music scene and we are excited to have her join us,” she said.

Entries are still open for this event and if you would like to enter or find out more, email wfodance@ gmail.com.

The 2023 Wangaratta Piano Competition is free to watch and members of the public are encouraged to come along and support the young, aspiring musicians.

NOTE PERFECT: Fiona Oon and Ivy Thomas have are passionate about playing the piano and relish the chance to play the city’s Steinway grand piano.

DECADE OF SERVICE: Wangaratta 4x4 club president Sue Abotomey (left) acknowledged Damien, Tom and Kerry O’Connor’s 10 years of membership, presenting the family with a certificate.

CLOSE-KNIT GROUP: Members of the Wangaratta 4x4 Club celebrated the group’s 40th birthday with a recent dinner at the Wangaratta Club.

By RYAN MALCOLM

A COMMUNITY in Chicago which established an open-door policy for those sleeping rough has inspired the next phase of a Wangaratta initiative’s response to homelessness.

Having run each of the previous four winters, the Wangaratta Night Shelter initiative will formally cease this year, in favour of individual ‘warming centres’ dotted throughout the community where those facing hardship can receive food, warmth and care free of charge.

Night shelter member

Di Duursma said instead of requiring masses of volunteers to service the night shelter initiative, local churches and community groups would take turns opening their space to those in need.

“The idea of this is that the door to a place stays open, they can get warm, they can have food, they can sit down on the couch, and it becomes a safe space to shelter from the elements and experience the same community they would when they’re in the night shelter,” Ms Duursma said.

“It means that people, who can’t commit to being in a space with other people

By SIMONE KERWIN

A GALEN Catholic College student recently raised more than $5000 in honour of his beloved late grandfather, as part of this year’s Leukaemia Foundation World’s Greatest Shave.

Not only did Will Styles fulfil a promise to his grandfather Joe Poidomani, that he would continue taking part in the annual fundraiser as Joe had done until his passing from acute myeloid leukaemia in July 2021, he also inspired a group

for that amount of time, can come and go as they please and as they need to.

“If they’re connecting with other places for a meal they can come later in the evening if they want to.

“If they suddenly end up on the streets at 3am, they know the door of the warming centre is open to them.”

of mates to follow suit by shaving their heads as well.

Last year, Will and cousin Oliver Poidomani took part in the World’s Greatest Shave and raised just over $2000 to help beat blood cancer and raise awareness.

For this year’s shave on March 25, Will was joined by friends Angus Aggenbach, Tom Rebbechi, Machlan Corrigan, Max Mullavey, Luca Campagna, Charlie Philpotts, Dylan Browne and Rotary Club of Appin Park Wangaratta exchange

The night shelter’s daily headquarters at Zac’s Place on Wills Street is set to host the first warming centre of the winter on June 1, while Wangaratta’s Wesleyan Methodist Church will open its doors on June 5.

Ms Duursma said a number of other local organisations were still determining

when they would open as part of the initiative.

“Our hope and our prayer is that every night will be covered, and people can just come and find a place to keep warm whenever they need to - it’s all about keeping dignity and choice and the offer of community for people,” she said.

“In one sense we feel that the foundation we had with the shelter has really come into its own this year, and that we can have a new idea like the warming centres that can be thrown out widely and anyone can take up that idea it becomes contagious.

“We’re relationally sup-

porting and working together with all of the warming centres, but it’s an idea that is decentralised and can be viral, like all good ideas.”

Zac’s Place recently secured a new microwave to warm food for guests during the winter months, courtesy of a donation by Harvey Norman Wangaratta after year nine students from Wangaratta High School’s Community Leadership Challenge (CLC) program approached the local business.

Ms Duursma said the show of community support for the initiative continued to surprise her.

“That was just a wonderful thing (the microwave donation), I didn’t know that they were going to do that, so I got a fantastic surprise when it happened,” she said.

“What we wanted with the night shelter is that every community could set up a night shelter, but if they can’t do that then they could open a warming centre for a few hours or for a night and see what happens and see how it grows.

“Hopefully we’ll have warming centres dotted all over the place.”

To find out more about the warming centres initiative, search ‘Wangaratta Night Shelter on Facebook’.

student Henning Gortzan.

Through the fundraiser, Will and his friends raised $5249.

“My Pop was my idol, the person I looked up to, the person I want to be like, and most importantly he was the person who was always in my corner, no matter what,” Will said.

“In the months leading up to his unfortunate passing, I promised him that I would shave my head like he did every year to raise awareness and help those families that are going through what we went through with Pop.”

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MY IDOL: Will Styles as a child with grandfather Joe Poidomani.

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HEATING BOOST: Wangaratta High School Community Leadership Challenge (CLC) students Naomi Roberts, Hannah Dods, Bethany Tanner and Amarina Huggins played a key role in sourcing a new microwave for Wangaratta’s Zac’s Place warming centre, approaching Harvey Norman Wangaratta for a donation to the initiative.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Night shelter to be replaced by ‘warming centres’ for locals facing homelessness

ALL IN: Will Styles (holding the clippers) with friends who shaved their heads alongside him as part of the Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave.

Will holds true to pledge for Pop, raising $5k for Leukaemia Foundation

New property tax worth a watch

THERE have been mixed reactions on the 2023/24 Victorian State Budget from different persuasions of politics. We run several articles in today’s Wangaratta Chronicle looking into how aspects of the budget will affect the Rural City of Wangaratta.

A lack of direct funding announced for two key roads in Wangaratta will be disappointing for the thousands of people who use the roads, especially locals who regularly commute the Wangaratta-Whitfield Road.

Two MPs for Northern Victoria, One Nation’s Rikki-Lee Tyrrell and Animal Justice Party’s Georgie Purcell also weigh in with their thoughts.

One thing is for sure, the State Labor Government has to reign its spend given the massive debt the state has accumulated during the pandemic.

One aspect is the new property tax which will replace stamp duty.

Land transfer duty (stamp duty) on commercial and industrial properties will be abolished and replaced with an annual property tax.

From July 1, 2024, commercial and industrial properties will transition to the new system as they are sold, with the annual property tax to be payable from 10 years after the transaction.

The annual property tax for commercial and industrial property will be one per cent of the property’s unimproved land value.

These measures have to be approved by the Victorian Parliament before they can start.

Time will tell as to the extent of the significant State Revenue Office change.

The Quiz No. 37

1. Jason Day won which one of the four golf major championships in 2015?

2. Which Charles Dickens novel features the character, Miss Havisham?

3. In May 2009, who became the President of the Western Australian Legislative Council, a position still held as at August 2015?

4. What is the currency unit of Finland?

5. Who was the main star of the TV series, Walker, Texas Ranger?

6. Which company makes the Time Out chocolate bar?

7. How many players take to the court in a basketball team?

8. The Persistence of Memory is a 1931 painting by which famous artist?

9. Which Australian actor married former tennis champion, Pam Shriver, in 2002?

10. In relation to the statutory authority of the Western Australian Government known as EPA, what do the letters EPA stand for?

11. Which country won the 2015 Netball World Cup?

12. which movie?

13. In which year of the 2000s was Facebook launched?

14. Which sport is played by Perth Thunder?

15. All About That Bass was a hit in 2014 for which person?

16. Ronald Reagan was a Governor of which US state?

17. Which cartoon character chewed oxy-gum to help him breathe underwater?

18. On what date did the 2008 Summer Olympics start?

19. Who was known as the ‘King of Ragtime’?

20. David Fleay Wildlife Park is a popular tourist attraction in which Australian state?

FACEBOOK users this week commented on local Renee Kosch and her ambitions for gold in Germany as she prepares for the 2023 World Dwarf Games in July where shill compete in boccia and badminton.

• John Barker: Enjoy your beautiful experience Renee PS i mentioned to Brett and Karen the owners of Apco/ Iga when you have coffee to spoil you next time all the best.

• Coral Lynch: Renee, enjoy the experience and good luck

• Paul Knowles: Go get em Renee Kosch !!! Good luck to you and the team!!

• Kyle Cogan: Good luck renee kosch

• Alec Anne Phillips: Good luck Renee. But I bet you will enjoy a wonderful experience no matter the outcome. Anne

• Bec Nevinson: Help get her there by donating to her gofundme page

High school funding needed now

WANGARATTA High School has been allocated funding in the 2023-24 Victorian budget for upgrades to the school precinct, albeit not in the 2023-24 financial year.

The upgrades will ensure that Wangaratta continues to deliver affordable public education in facilities that will help develop student learning.

With a growing population, Wangaratta deserves the facilities for the future.

This funding will help to deliver important upgrades to Wangaratta High School, and ensure that our students, the leaders of the future, are being educated in facilities that meet our expectations.

Students in the Ovens Valley deserve quality education and should be given the environment to thrive.

I am a firm believer that a strong indicator of a community’s maturity is how public education is catered for, and Wangaratta is spoilt for choice.

As we educate future generations, this final piece of the puzzle for Wangaratta High School - which is long overdue - will add to that rich tapestry of choice in the community.

The staff and administration at Wangaratta High School do a stellar job with the students to deliver a well-rounded education.

I commend the local leadership of the school to achieve this outcome, and I look forward to working with principal Dave Armstrong to deliver this final stage.

Tim McCurdy, Ovens Valley MP

Duck hunting economy survey is biased

DUCK and quail hunting provides benefit to very few Victorians while imposing costs on many.

Ending native bird hunting would have a minimal impact on the economy and would provide substantial benefits to residents and businesses near hunting areas.

Time and again, surveys show that in the absence of duck hunting, hunters spend the same amounts of money on very similar activities.

This has been the experience in other states where duck hunting has been banned with no economic impact.

Claims that hunting is economically significant rely on biased survey results and economic modelling techniques that make no consideration of environmental costs.

https://www.gofundme. com/.../help-renee-get-tothe-world...

Facebook users also commented on the release of the latest edition of the North East Living magazine, where readers can take a peek in Guy and Robyn Robertson’s heritage-listed red-brick home.

• Norma Sumner: Is this house on the corner of Roger and Harper Street. It was owned by the

Osmotherly family. I grew up across the road if it is.

• Maureen Walker: Norma Sumner Murdoch Road

• Norma Sumner: Maureen Walker Thanks I recognise it now. Not far from Val’s house. There are some beautiful old homes in Murdoch Road

• Tania Hardman: Susan Bolton loll i just sent this to you guys before seeing your comment. I’d def pay to have a tour !

Like the Wangaratta Chronicle Facebook page to have your say.

NOTE: Comments as they appear online, without corrections. Our follower total is

14,166

The use of such flawed studies by Victoria’s Game Management Authority shows that it has learned little from the 2017 review that found it was failing in its statutory obligations.

It is time to do what a majority of Victorian people, and presumably birds, want and end this cruel and economically damaging practice.

Rod Campbell, research director, The Australia Institute

Braille library still plays a critical role

BRAILLE House last week announced the launch of their “End of Financial Year Fundraising Campaign” for the 126-year-old charity.

Braille House began in 1897 as the Queensland Braille Writing Association by the Governor’s wife Lady Lamington (yes - the lady the Lamington is named after - but that’s another story).

Braille House’s mission has not changed in 126 years - “To provide Braille tuition and reading material to empower people who are blind or who have low vision to live with dignity and independence.”

Vision is the most dominant of our senses and plays a critical role in every facet and stage of our lives.

We take our vision for granted, but without vision, we struggle to learn to walk, to read, to participate in school, and to work.

Vision loss can have serious consequences for an individual across their lifetime.

Braille House empowers people who are blind or have low vision to be literate and to be able to read whatever they want.

These tiny dots support them to live independently, attain their desired level of education, increase their chances for employment and enable them to interact with communities just like everyone else.

This campaign is running nationally, and Braille House hopes to get the message to people who can help them to produce more Braille.

To find out more visit www.braillehouse.org. au or https://www.givenow.com.au/eofy2023.

Richard Barker, general manager, Braille House

WE welcome your letters to the Editor. Priority is given to typed/emailed 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

MILLION PAWS WALK: It was a case of break out the wet weather gear and just go with it at the Million Paws Walk in Wangaratta yesterday. Pictured are Ellen McDonald and Bernadette Constantino with their Jack Russells, Molly and Zoe.

PHOTO: Steve Kelly

Aus-UK Free Trade Agreement creating opportunities for local wine producers

By ANITA McPHERSON

LOCAL wine producers have welcomed the federal government’s announcement of a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom, believing it will lead to more wine heading to the UK.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced May 31 as the date of entry into force of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA), which will see no tariffs on over 99 per cent of Australian goods exported to the UK, including wine, rice, honey, nuts and manufactured products such as auto parts, electrical equipment and cosmetic products.

The Australian Trade and Investment Commission says in 2020, Australia was the UK’s third largest supplier of wine (eight per cent/US$359.7 million), with France the largest supplier (31%/US$1.3 billion), followed by Italy (18%/US$809.5 million) (UN Comtrade 2021).

While local wine businesses are relatively small players in the UK market, Wines of the King Valley president Dean Cleave-Smith said the removal of tariffs would help level the playing field.

“Traditionally the UK has been an expensive market for smaller producers when you factor in tariffs, exchange rates, shipping and price-sensitive UK consumers, however a number of our wineries do export there,” he said.

“The removal of tariffs will help level the market compared to the European wine producers and I would expect export volumes to in-

crease as a result.”

Brown Family Wine Group CEO Dean Carroll said while the A-UKFTA will improve the price of product, it was likely to be offset by changes to the UK Government’s alcohol by volume (ABV) duty rates which come into effect later this year, impacting traditional varieties such as Shiraz.

But he said when it came to lower alcohol products,

there are expected to be tangible benefits.

Mr Carroll said while the UK market was the group’s biggest export market 10 years ago, it had backed away five years ago due to lack of profitability and had only recently re-entered market.

“We’ve been back in there the last nine months so while it’s only small now, we have big aspira-

tions for it,” he said.

“We’re taking our differentiated offerings over there including Orange Muscat & Flora, Tarrango and Durif.

“The English have seen some of those varieties before - Brown Brothers are recognised for doing things differently - and that’s the path we’re going to pursue over there.”

Mr Carroll said with Shiraz and Chardonnay the two

biggest varieties in the UK for Australian producers, the removal of tariffs should make those varieties more competitive against those produced in other countries.

He said while the UK market is developing for the Brown Family Wine Group, countries in Asia including South Korea and Singapore have become increasingly strong for the Brown Brothers brand in particular, while its Tasmanian brands are growing in the USA.

“The Asian market fits our portfolio strongly and we’re really working hard with our partners in those markets to build Brown Brothers wines there,” he said.

Mr Carroll said he believed the Australian wine industry in general was facing challenging times, with supply exceeding demand when it comes to dry red wine and some tough vintages experienced in many regions over the last few years, leading to higher costs of production.

He said the company’s recent focus on sustainability was responding to growing market and consumer demand for businesses to be conscious of their carbon footprint, while its presence in Tasmania - and the state’s growing reputation as a wine region - was exciting.

Wangaratta

SPEAKERS:

Hon

John

GOOD FOR BUSINESS: The Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA) should mean greater volumes of locally made wine will be heading to the UK.

Frost continues to set in throughout North East

DURING the past four weeks there has been many places which have had their lowest temperatures on record for May or their lowest temperatures for May for several decades all mainly in Eastern Australia.

Just recently Maryborough recorded 2.4 degrees the coldest for May since 2.2 in 1960 and the second coldest in 113 years of records.

Dubbo recorded minus 3.4 on May 24th. This was the coldest for May since minus 4.0

WHAT’S UP WITH THE WEATHER?

By Peter Nelson Peter Nelson, Retired CSIRO climatologist

in 2017 and the second coldest for May in 116 years of records .

Other very low May temperatures in Dubbo were minus 3.3 in 1918, minus 3.2 in 1987, minus 2.8 in 1907, 1927 and 1957.Interestingly, four of those past cases led to warmer days during the second week

of June. and then the spring season in Victoria and NSW warmer and drier than usual.

To date there has been frosts on 12 days in Wangaratta, 15 days in Rutherglen and only five days in Albury this month, more than the total days of frosts in May last year.

The biggest surprise has been at Alice Springs where frosts have occurred on 11 days to date this month.

This is much more than the average number of frosts

during May in Alice Springs which is usually two or three days.

It is also more than the average number of frost days in July .

At Alice Springs over the last 144 years there were a greater number of frost days during the month of May; these were 13 days in 1879, 23 days in 1976 and 13 days in 2012.

By the end of this May with another widespread cold outbreak due before next

weekend, the total number days of frosts at Alice Springs for this month will overtake the 13 days in both 1879 and 2012 but will not overtake the record 23 days in 1976.

The mean minimum temperature up to May 24th at Alice Springs sits at 4.3 degrees nearly four degrees below the May normal.

The records show overall lower readings were 3.4 in 1879, 3.9 on 1894 , 4.2 in 1913, and only 1.4 in 1976.

Closer to home Melbourne recorded maximum temperature not exceeding 15 degrees on six successive days the longest in May since 1981.

It was the wettest winter on record in North East Victoria in 1981 ( which wont happen this coming winter ).

The spring of 1981 was warmer and drier which is more likely to happen this coming spring and maximum temperatures in mid 40s expected late next January.

Local students take their artwork outside the gallery

BY ANITA McPHERSON amcpherson@ nemedia.com.au

BOLD artworks have recently popped up in public spaces as part of the Wangaratta Art Gallery’s 52 Actions exhibition, which explores art as action.

The paste-up works are by Patricia Piccinini, known for her fascinating hybrid “animalian” sculptures, exploring the evolution of humanity and our interaction with contemporary technology.

Curator Ashlee Laing said along with three artist’s films currently being screened at Harvey Norman, the paste-up is part of active public programs being held to complement the current exhibition.

One of Patricia Piccinini’s sculptures is featured in 52 Actions; the Melbournebased artist having also been inspired to paste up posters of her artwork around the city, after noticing bill posters disappearing during COVID when the live music scene ground to a halt.

“She noticed an absence of the kind of imagery in the city which used to compete for attention, but had been taken for granted, and started to photograph her workputting it with text and pasting it up around town where

THE ACROSS

the posters used to be,” explained Ashlee.

“We wanted to extend Patricia Piccinini’s sculpture work (and 52 Actions) into the public space in Wangaratta too, getting permission from a few local venues and spaces and then working with students from Galen Catholic College and Artmania to paste them up.”

Ashlee said it was about activating public spaces with interesting work, while also enticing more people into the gallery to see what it was all about.

There are now paste-up works outside Gallery 2, in the Commonwealth Bank laneway, in the laneway near The Strand in Reid Street and at the back of the Sussan retail store.

Ashlee said it caused a bit of a commotion when the high school students began to paste them up; some of the students unfamiliar with the process and confronted by what seemed a radical move.

He said while the action of posting bills may technically be illegal, the gallery had

sought necessary permissions and these paste-ups are temporary, to be taken down when the exhibition is over.

“This is an artist’s work

2 X FAMILY PASSES (4 TICKETS EACH)

Wangaratta Performing Arts & Convention Centre

Monday 5 June 6pm

For more information and tickets contact the WPACC on 03 5722 8105 or www.wpacc.com.au

Roald Dahl’s gruesome twosome The Twits are ready to delight and disgust, in equal measure. Mr and Mrs Twit are the nastiest couple you could ever hope (not) to meet. Both are on a quest to be meaner than the other – but is there someone out there who can out-twit the Twits?

Full of trickery and wickedly-funny pranks, Dahl’s adored classic encourages us to treat others with love and care and proves that if you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams.

your details and post or deliver to our Wangaratta Chronicle

The Twits by Roald Dahl competition

37 Rowan Street

Wangaratta VIC 3677

Full Name: Address:

Email Address:

Entries Close: 5pm Thursday June 1

- it’s how they’ve chosen to show it - and as the public, we are able to engage in public spaces,” he said.

“We’re questioning what we can do it that space, what

those boundaries are and it’s really what this work is also exploring.”

Ashlee said the participants were keen to learn and be part of the process and

they found it quite exciting, gaining an understanding that artwork can be enjoyed in a variety of forms and doesn’t necessarily need to be inside a gallery.

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES: Artmania students including (from left) Edie Neary, Jayde Millington and Bianca Paola have helped install the paste-up artworks in laneways around town.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Judy to speak about ‘You Talk, We Die’

JUDY Ryan drew on the values learnt while growing up in Wangaratta when she began campaigning for a safe injecting facility near her current home in inner-city Melbourne.

This week, Judy will return to the rural city, to speak at the Wangaratta Library on Thursday evening about her experience of the fight for a safe injecting room.

She will discuss her book, ‘You Talk, We Die’, a highly personal, yet practical account of how an authentic local voice and an inclusive campaign can change the minds of people to improve the lives of everyone in a community.

It was with the belief that

someone needed to “do something” about the overdosesmany resulting in death - which Richmond residents witnessed all too often near their homes, that Judy set about gaining community support for a safe injecting facility.

Having discovered the extent of the addiction situation after moving in 2012 to Abbotsford from Wodonga with husband John, Judy witnessed the death of a young woman to heroin overdose as she walked home one day in May 2017.

“As I reflected on this incident, and on residents managing drugaffected people as part of their

daily lives, I was convinced that the growing call from the local community for a better solutiona trial of a safe injecting facility, as recommended by two coroners - was, absolutely, the right thing to do,” Judy writes in ‘You Talk, We Die’.

Judy began educating herself about the benefits of safe injecting facilities for people with drug addiction and for impacted communities, learning from those who had been involved in the space for many years.

“I met so many people who were saying, ‘This is well overdue’, and people who wanted it to happen in their community,”

she said.

“Coroners were saying there was a need for it, police were saying the issue of addiction should be treated as a medical issue, and that we need to stop putting people through the courts, that they should be in hospital instead,” she said.

With safe injecting facilities in Melbourne remaining a hot topic, Judy’s author talk is sure to offer an interesting, thought-provoking evening. It will be held at the Docker Street library from 6pm to 7.30pm on Thursday, June 1. For details or to book, visit https://bit. ly/3DsR5Rd or contact the library on 5721 2366.

We need to love the game, not the odds

OPINION

By Shane Lucas, CEO Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation

SPORT has always played an important role in shaping Australia’s cultural identity.

Often the glue that holds a community together, sport unites people from different walks of life.

It encourages teamwork, leadership, health and wellbeing and - perhaps most importantly - social interaction.

And it is just plain fun.

That was my experience growing up.

In 2023, however, I am concerned that sport is no longer just sport.

It has been monetised by the gambling industry.

Various national codesAFL, cricket, rugby league - have multi-million dollar deals with betting agencies.

Children are growing up to believe that the value of sport is measured by the odds, that ‘betting with mates’ is just what you do, that gambling is a rite of passage into adulthood.

On free-to-air TV alone, around 346,000 gambling ads were shown in Victoria in 2021, more than half between 9 am and 8.30 pm.

The ads are slick, funny and well produced.

They show kids that betting on sport is entertain-

ment and that there are no risks, because everybody seems to win.

Sports betting is the fastest-growing form of gambling in Victoria and we know that 38 per cent of Victorians who bet on sport

more than once a month experience gambling harm.

Young men aged 18-24 are the largest group of sports bettors (32 per cent) in the state and participation by young women is rising.

Surely it’s no coincidence

PUT THE BRAKES ON BURGLARS AND CAR THIEVES!

that this is the first generation to have been bombarded by gambling ads since childhood.

We need to help young people understand that there is a harmful side to sports betting, a side not

depicted in the ads, and equip them with the skills to think critically about the risks.

Whether you’re a parent, a coach, a teacher, an elite sportsperson or another influential adult - we are all

role models for the young people in our lives and we can all play a part in showing kids that sport shouldn’t be about betting.

The Love the Game program in Victoria has more than 700 professional and community club partners in various codes that refuse to take sports betting sponsorship, while similar programs such as Reclaim the Game in NSW and Here for the Game in SA are gaining momentum.

The Love the Game Challenge, supported by AFL stars such as Trent Cotchin, Scott Pendlebury, Ben Brown, Jeremy Cameron, Mitch Lewis and Harry McKay, involves actions like turning off your phone during live matches, finding ways to talk about sport that don’t refer to the odds, and deleting betting apps from your phone.

These players - and the 10 Victorian AFL clubs that are Love the Game partners - are rivals on the field.

But on the issue of sports betting they stand united in prioritising the wellbeing of young people, and helping us all to remember to love the game, not the odds.

Anyone negatively affected by their own or someone else’s gambling can access free and confidential advice, support and referral by calling the 24/7 Gambler’s Help line on 1800 858 858.

LOVE THE GAME: Three-time All-Australian and Geelong premiership player Jeremy Cameron encourages people to love the game, not the odds.

COUNTRY VALUES: Former Wangaratta resident Judy Ryan will return to the rural city on Thursday for an author talk at the Wangaratta Library about her book, ‘You Talk, We Die’.

New local dementia care support pathways

NEW resources are available in the North East to support people who have been diagnosed with dementia or are experiencing cognitive decline, their family, and carers.

For some people, there are barriers to diagnosis that can include the belief that memory problems are a normal part of ageing, the perceived stigma attached to dementia and fear about the future.

However, early diagnosis is important to enable a person with dementia and their family to receive help in understanding and adjusting to the diagnosis.

A two-page brochure and fourpage information booklet detail where people can go for further help and advice and include a new online Dementia Directory.

The directory has been developed to make it easier for people to find trusted sources of information and advice.

It lists the contact details for regional assessment services and support groups, with information all in one place.

The booklet briefly outlines the process of getting a dementia

NOW AVILABLE: A two-page brochure and four-page information booklet detail where people can go for further help and advice and include a new online Dementia Directory.

diagnosis, initial and ongoing management options, and tips such as having a support person at appointments, taking notes and some questions that people can ask their doctor.

The resources, which have been distributed to local general practice clinics and council offices, can be viewed online, any time, at murrayphn.org.au/ dementiapathways/.

Murray Primary Health Net-

Autumn outing at Apex Park

work (PHN) chief executive officer Matt Jones said people need to be supported to live well in their community for as long as possible.

“Current estimates show that almost half a million people live with dementia in Australia and as more people live longer, this number is expected to increase,” Mr Jones said.

“In times of need, it can be overwhelming for people to know where to go for support, which is why access to easy-to-understand information in a central location is vital.”

As part of this project, clinical management and referral pathways have been updated and training will be provided to support health professionals in caring for their patients with dementia. Funded by the Federal Government, as part of the response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, these resources have been developed by six PHNs - Murray, Eastern Melbourne, Gippsland, North Eastern Melbourne, Tasmania and Western Victoria - in partnership with Dementia Australia.

AN autumn outing calls for time out at Apex Park to wind down and enjoy some quality time with family and friends.

Local filmmakers encouraged to enter Benalla Shorts

ENTRIES are open for the ninth annual national and international Benalla Short Film Festival; a celebration of short story-telling using the medium of film.

With films already entered this year from as far away as Brazil, United Kingdom, USA, Spain, Australia and Germany, local filmmakers within a 100 kilometre radius of Benalla are being encouraged to get their entries in and be in the running for a cash prize.

Last year, filmmakers Tim Brown (from Shepparton) and Michael Portway took our major prizes, with their film “The Sanctuary” winning both Best Documentary and Best Local Film.

All short films must be original works, produced within the last five years and suitable for screening up to a MA15+ classification,

but they can be in wide variety of genres including animation, documentary, drama and comedy.

The duration of submitted films must not be longer than 15 minutes (including the title and credit sequence).

Judges include well-known Australian actors Tony Bonner AM and Krista Vendy, who will announce the winners in person during a gala screening later this year.

Prizes will be awarded in categories including Best Australian and Best International Films, along with a Local Encouragement Award, People’s Choice, Student Award and Best Documentary.

Festival director Anna Smith said while entries are steadily coming in, they would like to see more local filmmakers get involved and share their talent with

a wider audience.

She said local businesses or organisations interested in supporting the event are also encouraged to get in touch by calling 0429 367 236.

Since its inception, the Benalla Short Film Festival has had a close association with local community groups including LUEY Inc. (Let Us Entertain You), the Rotary Club of Benalla, Benalla Gliding Club and the Friends of Benalla Performing Arts and Convention Centre, and the committee thanked the many local businesses and individuals for their support over the years.

To find out more or to enter see Benalla Shorts on Facebook or go to https://filmfreeway.com/BenallaShorts with entries closing on June 30.

AFTER SCHOOL: Freya Stead relaxes after a big day.

CHILL TIME: Millie Kaye embraces some time on the playground.

UPSIDE DOWN: Sumayah Al-Masri imitates being a fruit bat.

SWINGING AROUND: Jarvis Kaye loves the monkey bars.

HIGH IN THE SKY: Anika Stead feels on top of the world.

PICNIC AT THE PARK: Leyla Akkurt, Tasha Al-Masri, Laura Knight and Christina Stead kick back with friends.

ALL SMILES: Luca Sgarioto enjoys some fun after school.

BEST FRIENDS: Dulcie and Ted Lonsdale pause for a quick photo.

PHOTOS: Kurt Hickling

LOCAL FOCUS: Tim Brown (from Shepparton) and Michael Portway were among the winners at last year’s Benalla Short Film Festival for their short film called “The Sanctuary”.

The latest book recommendations

With PAULINE MONCRIEFF,

The Book Circle

THE May gathering of The Book Circle was held on Wednesday, May 10 and a variety of books were shared.

• NON-FICTION

Call the midwife

by Jennifer Worth

The first in the series of memoirs by a district nurse and midwife working in the East End of London in the 1950s.

Shadows of the workhouse

by Jennifer Worth

A touching account of the harsh life experienced by inmates of English workhouses, as told to the author by those who had experienced it.

We see Joseph, a Boer War veteran, who has lost his entire family in wars, and siblings Frank and Peggy, orphans who were separated in the workhouse.

The narrative continues with descriptions of the lives of the very poor in the 1950s, some twenty years after workhouses had been abolished.

This book formed the basis of the second in the BBC series, Call the Midwife.

History of the Australian Light Horse

by Roland Perry

An account beginning with the First Australian Light Horse Regiment at Gallipoli, led by General Henry George Chauvel, a great tactician and battlefield leader, and continuing to his leadership of the Fifth Light Horse in Egypt.

Of the 130,000 Australian horses which were on the battlefields in WWI, only one returned home.

Banjo Patterson also makes an appearance in the narrative.

Bill the Bastard

by Roland Perry

The true story of a great Australian war horse, who saw service at Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine.

So cantankerous was he that only one soldier was capable of riding him.

The forgotten rebels of Eureka

by Clare Wright

The author has researched the lives of little-known women who were present with their menfolk at the Eureka Stockade. There is also an excellent YouTube series, Gals on the Goldfields, featuring stories of individual women who came to the Victorian goldfields.

The maddest place

by Jill Giese

on earth

Melbourne was booming in the Gold Rush, but Victoria also had the highest rate of insanity in the world.

The author sets out to explain the reasons for this, and gives details of the building of ‘Lunatic Asylums’ and some early advances in the treatment of the mentally ill.

Crimes against nature: capitalism and global heating

by Jeff Sparrow

Jeff Sparrow is an Australian writer, broadcaster, editor and award-winning journalist who yearns for a more sustainable world.

Here he discusses the ways in which ordinary people can be a powerful force for climate action.

• FICTION

Trust

by Chris Hammer

Corruption and privilege in modern Sydney.

The third novel by this author, and some in the group feel he should have stopped at two!

A song for the dark times

by Ian Rankin

The 23rd in the Rebus series. Inspector Rebus, now retired, needs to prove his daughter’s innocence when her husband disappears.

All the broken places

by John Boyle

This is a sequel to The boy in the striped pyjamas.

An elderly woman with a deeply disturbing past life in Nazi Germany is living in a London apartment block, where she befriends a young boy living in unsafe family circumstances. If she helps the boy, secrets from her own past may be revealed. Is she willing to take the risk?

Hidden in plain sight,

by Jeffrey Archer

This is Archer’s second novel featuring De-

tective William Warwick, who has been assigned to the Drug Squad, where he is investigating a drug dealer operating a drug factory in South London.

Twists and turns abound in this gripping novel.

All our shimmering skies,

by Trent Dalton

A Darwin gravedigger’s daughter is growing up in difficult circumstances, but shows resilience and resourcefulness in making a life for herself.

The author’s writing style is rather unusual, and to get the most out of this book, one member suggests reading Boy swallows universe first, to get a feel for his technique.

Apartment 303

by Kelli Hawkins

A slow-burn psychological thriller featuring a girl who seldom leaves her apartment, and from where she watches the world, but she, too, is being watched.

In the blink of an eye

by Jo Callaghan

A senior police detective is persuaded to work with a new ‘buddy’, an AI Hologram, in an experiment to see if AI can be of use

in solving cold cases.

The machine uses pure logic, so has no concept of the need for tact or any understanding of human emotions.

This creates some awkward and amusing scenes as the story unfolds.

Judgement day

by Mali Waugh

The story is set in the Family Law Courts in Melbourne, and explores some murky problems in the justice system.

It begins with a judge found murdered in her chambers.

Is it the work of a disgruntled client, or an inside job by a legal rival?

The author’s background as a lawyer helps give the story a ring of truth.

Maid’s courage

by Rosie Goodwin

The author is a born storyteller, and creates interesting character studies.

A mother’s shame is another enjoyable book by this author.

Stanley and Iris (Union Street)

by Pat Barker

The lives of women in a deprived workingclass neighbourhood in northern England. The film of the book stars Jane Fonda and Robert de Nero.

On beauty

by Zadie Smith

A story loosely based on Howard’s End, by J M Forster.

The lives of mixed-race families in the UK.

It is an engaging and well-observed novel.

The mother

by Jane Caro

A gripping novel dealing with some serious social issues.

The reader is warned that there are some disturbing scenes of domestic violence in the book.

1979 and 1989

by Val McDermid

These two thrillers explore the changing world of newspapers.

In 1979, the Press Council was strong and there were few computers.

By 1989, the newspaper world is dominated by the Murdoch Empire, and everything has changed.

Be sure to read 1979 first, as a chronicle of the times, and the beginning of the newspaper career of our protagonist, Allie Burns.

By 1989, with her career as an investigative journalist well-established, she is called upon to take up a difficult and dangerous investigation that could put her life at risk.

These two novels are also available on audio from the Library.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CROSSWORD

ACROSS

3 What are prizes to be won in competitions (8)

7 Name a form of stylised exercises based on Chinese martial arts (3,3)

8 What is a body of troops stationed in a fortified place (8)

9 What is an angle in a golf-links fairway (6)

10 Name a group of eight related items (8)

11 Which term describes a warning or caution (6)

14 Name some nocturnal carnivores that feed chiefly on carrion (6)

17 What might we call a plasterer (8)

18 Who created a former method of hypnosis, Franz Anton ... (6)

19 Name an extended musical composition (8)

20 What is a type of long, narrow pasta (6)

21 What describes one deserving of distinction, especially for poetic merit (8)

DOWN

1 Name a cylindrical rocket-launcher (7)

2 What is an altar attendant of minor rank (7)

3 Which English jockey won the Derby nine times, Lester ... (7)

4 Which planet is nearest the sun (7)

5 Name the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet (7)

6 Which instrumental compositions are usually in several movements (7)

11 Who wrote Alice in Wonderland, Lewis ... (7)

12 Which Pacific republic was formerly New Hebrides (7)

13 What is propanone also known as (7)

E-QUATIONS

Letters A to Z have a number value. Some are shown in the right-hand cells. Create remaining values using clues in centre cells.

SUDOKU

14 Which substance is secreted by an endocrine gland (7)

15 Name the process by which the earth is worn away (7)

16 What is an alternative term for a halo (7)

MINI WORD FIND

Find the following words in the grid. They may be read in any direction, even diagonally. Some letters are used more than once.

WHICH WORDS

BIYWORD

Build it yourself using the clues and each of the twenty-four letters once only to form ten words: five across and five down. A key word (bold clue) builds on the letter set in the grid.

CLUES:

Bull-fighting cheer (3)

Eurasian bird: Jack ... (3)

Fearfully (7)

Military priest (5)

Nap: ... off (3)

Rewritable disk (3-2)

Swedish auto maker

Vacation

Very

QUICK THINK

Solve the crossword. Each answer has four letters.

SOLUTIONS

MAKING A SPLASH: Goulburn-Murray Water reported a significant inrease in responses to their 2023 Land and on Water Recreation User Survey from last year as they look through the results to help guide future works.

GMW to act on recreational feedback

GOULBURN-Murray Water (GMW) recently completed several projects to improve the recreational offerings at its storages and is looking to customer feedback to help guide future works.

GMW received feedback from 629 people in the 2023 Land and on Water Recreation User Survey, up significantly from the 372 responses in last year’s inaugural survey.

GMW Water Storage Services general manager Martina Cusack said the data from the survey would be highly beneficial.

“We want to thank everyone who took the time to share their thoughts with us,” she said.

While the main purpose of GMW’s storages reservoirs is to capture, store and release water to customers, people also enjoy them

for recreational activities such as fishing, boating, swimming and camping.

“The feedback we received is really valuable, not only to us, but to the other agencies we work with to fund and deliver projects improving our recreation areas.”

Since the initial survey in 2022, GMW has undertaken significant upgrades to its all-abilities facilities.

The results from the surveys show awareness of all-abilities recreational facilities at GMW’s storages has risen considerably from 2022 to 2023.

Last year, 9.4 per cent of respondents knew “where or what all-ability recreational facilities are provided at GMW’s storages”, compared to this year, where 27 per cent of responses said they knew where the all-ability

$200m package for timber industry

A TIMBER industry lobby group has hit back at the State Government for announcing it will bring an end to native forestry by January 1, 2024, six years ahead of its 2030 target.

Forest and Wood Communities Australia said the decision was a “devastating blow” for thousands of regional Victorian families who counted on the industry.

facilities were located.

Various other projects have also been completed since last year’s survey, including boat ramp upgrades, navigation aids and car park improvements.

“We are very fortunate in the support we receive from the likes of Better Boating Victoria, the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) in bringing these projects to fruition,” Ms Cusack said.

“The Recreational User Survey helps us understand which projects we need to prioritise to ensure visitors are getting the most out of our storages.”

People can view the results from the Recreational User Survey at www. yoursay.gmwater.com.au/ recreational-survey-results.

Director Mick Harrington said the ramifications of this decision are dire as there are people already on the edge thanks to the 2019 announcement and the relentless assault on sustainable native forestry since then.

“These are people who have been caring for our forests and ensuring they continue to provide a renewable resource, but are now wondering how to feed their families and keep their homes,” he said.

“There has been zero credible scientific evidence to support this decision which comes when we need to embrace renewable resources.

“Internationally forestry is heralded as a climate change solution.

“But in Australia, where we have the strictest policies governing native timber harvesting, it is derided by unaccountable activism which exists in our universities, media and Labor governments.”

The government reported that its Free TAFE program will retrain workers, helping them get jobs in growing regional industries like construction, agriculture, transport, and manufacturing through TAFE Gippsland and other key TAFE campuses in

timber communities.

This will be supported by up to $8000 in retraining vouchers for courses inside and outside the TAFE Network.

The State Government announced a $200 million package in its 2023/24 budget on Tuesday, “in support for workers and their families to transition away from native timber logging earlier than planned”.

Premier Daniel Andrews said, “It’s not good enough for us to just cross our fingers and hope for the best”.

“We need a plan to support workers, their families and support local jobs,” he said.

Minister for Agriculture Gayle Tierney said the government’s focus is on workers and their families.

“We absolutely do not take this lightly, but the uncer-

tainty cannot continue.”

“We will back local communities with the financial support, secure jobs and training, and one-on-one case management they need.”

The Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) has welcomed the announcement.

“After decades of campaigning to protect Victoria’s native forests from statefunded native forest logging, we’re elated to hear the Victorian Government show leadership on this issue,” VNPA executive director Matt Ruchel said.

“We’re keen to see the detail and better understand how these forests will be managed and protected into the future, and welcome the commitment for a full assessment of forest suitable for new national parks.”

LIVELIHOODS AT STAKE: Forest and Wood Communities Australia director Mick Harrington.

INPERSONBYPHONESELLING

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COPRICE WANGARATTA ARE HIRING!

CopRice is the animal foods division of SunRice and is a leading supplier of nutrition products to the companion animal and livestock sectors. CopRice has been supplying quality feeds for animals for over 30 years through plants in NSW and Victoria.

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Over 2,100 employees, 30 brands, an unrelenting focus on innovation, and a commitment to our people, our communities and environment, we’re SunRice - an iconic Australian company and a great place to work. SunRice Group provides a real opportunity for passionate people to make a difference. Our CopRice Wangaratta facility has some excellent opportunities for experienced, dedicated individuals to make a difference. Vacancies currently exist for the following full time permanent positions.

North East Media is looking for a dynamic Customer Services/Administration Support Officer to assist in our Wangaratta office. You will be responsible for a broad range of tasks including providing outstanding customer service to our valuable customers, answering incoming calls, data entry, classified sales and admin support.

To be considered for this role you will need:

with working in a team environment

Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word

high attention to detail a must ability to prioritise a busy work schedule deadline and work well under pressure skills

Are you DFFH/FSV/612645

The successful candidates for all roles will have a personal commitment for their safety and can look forward to working with an experienced, friendly and close-knit team of colleagues.

www.sunrice.com.au

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SunRice is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. SunRice will consider qualified applicants for employment based on their merit, individual skills, qualifications, and other appropriate criteria relevant to the role for which they are applying.

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CATHEDRAL COLLEGE WANGARATTA

A school of The Anglican Schools Commission (Inc.) The College seeks applications from suitably experienced persons for the following full-time Term 3 replacement positions:

Secondary Maths & Science Teacher

(The ability to teach VCE Maths and/or Physics would be advantageous. This position has the potential to be ongoing.)

Secondary Humanities Teacher

The College also has positions available for:

Casual Relief Teachers

(Primary and Secondary)

Please refer to our website for more information. Applications are to be forwarded to:

The Principal, Mr Nick Jones at: principal@cathedralcollege.vic.edu.au by Monday June 5, 2023.

Cathedral College Wangaratta is a Child Safe School and an Equal Opportunity Employer

EMPLOYMENT

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The Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) is an and advocates for the Aboriginal Community. VACCA

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House Manager, Residential Services

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VACCA or email at recruitment@vacca.org or call us at (03) 9287 8800.

EMPLOYMENT

Wangaratta Chronicle

Cadet Journalist Career Opportunity

North East Media, publisher of the award winning Wangaratta Chronicle, is currently seeking expressions of interest from motivated candidates to join the team in Wangaratta as a cadet journalist.

The cadetship is ideally suited for a Year 12 graduate.

It is for three years, including course study by correspondence from Deakin University.

The successful candidate will learn how to write clear, concise and interesting news, sport and feature stories for our newspaper and associated digital and social media platforms.

We are searching for a budding writer who has the skills, passion and determination to be a journalist of the future.

Candidates must have excellent verbal and written English, sound computer skills, solid general knowledge, a genuine interest in the local community, and an ability to build rapport and networks quickly.

You will need to be well organised, able to work to deadlines, and have strong attention to detail.

Candidates must hold a valid driver’s licence, be available to work flexible hours, and photography and social media skills are desirable.

North East Media is a leading independent family-owned media group with a commitment to community journalism.

Applications, including covering letter and resume, should be emailed to Group Editor Jeff Zeuschner at jzeuschner@nemedia.com.au

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WINNERS AND LOSERS

OVENS AND MURRAY SENIORS LADDER

SCOREBOARD RESERVES RESULTS

GOALS: No goal scorers have been posted. BEST: No best players have been selected.

NETBALL SCORES THIRDS RESULTS

A GRADE Wangaratta 46 def by Lavington 50

BEST: WANGARATTA: Brooke Pryse 3, Ellie Cooper 2, Leah Jenvey 1.

LAVINGTON: Tayla Furborough 3, Stephanie Clancy 2, Olivia Sanson 1.

GOALS: WANGARATTA: Georgia Clark 28, Amanda Umanski 9, Kellie Keen 7, Amy Byrne 2. LAVINGTON: Hidden Player 41, Olivia Sanson 9. Wodonga 61 def Wangaratta Rovers 50

BEST: WODONGA: Lisa French 3, Cassi Mathey 2, Lily McKimmie 1.

WANG ROVERS: Hidden Player 3, Molly Murray 2, Samantha Kreltszheim 1.

GOALS: WODONGA: Lisa French 37, Cassi Mathey 24 .

WANG ROVERS: Rebecca Kreltszheim 29, Samantha Kreltszheim 21 . North Albury 27 def by Myrtleford 42

GOALS: NORTH ALBURY: Lily Kelly 13, Annalise Barlow 7, Milli Withers 7.

MYRTLEFORD: Rebecca Piazza 29, Sally Botter 13.

Albury 44 def by Wodonga Raiders 48

B GRADE: Wangaratta 44 def by Lavington 48; Wodonga 51 def

Wangaratta Rovers 46; Albury 33 def by Wodonga Raiders 41; North

Albury 66 def Myrtleford 54. C GRADE: Yarrawonga 38 def Corowa-

Rutherglen 31; Wangaratta 41 drew with Lavington 41; Wodonga 45

def Wangaratta Rovers 40; Albury 32 def by Wodonga Raiders 37;

North Albury 27 def Myrtleford 26. 17 & UNDER: Yarrawonga 42 def

Corowa-Rutherglen 22; Wangaratta 53 def by Lavington 40; Wodonga

67 def Wangaratta Rovers 49; Albury 31 def by Wodonga Raiders 80;

North Albury 55 def Myrtleford 29. 15 & UNDER: Yarrawonga 17 def by

Corowa-Rutherglen 32; Wangaratta 25 def by Lavington 28; Wodonga

52 def Wangaratta Rovers 31; Albury 14 def by Wodonga Raiders 40;

North Albury 28 def by Myrtleford 33.

Wodonga 4.3.27 def by Wang Rovers 12.9.81

BEST: WODONGA: Etienne Tshijika, Reuben Bourke, Declan Kurnof, Joseph Rawson, Isaac O’Neill, Riley Thompson. WANGARATTA

ROVERS: Ned Turner, Harry Nolan, Charles Ledger, Cormac McNamara, Sam Nolan, Judd Schubert. GOALS: WODONGA: Daniel Finnimore 1, Riley Gill 1, Jack Mathey 1, Isaac O’Neill 1, WANGARATTA ROVERS: Ned Turner 5, Lachlan Barbour 2, Cooper Gracie 2, Riley Allan 1, Jai Dal Zotto 1, Trey Vincent 1. North Albury 9.10.64 def Myrtleford 8.7.55

BEST: NORTH ALBURY: No best players have been selected.

MYRTLEFORD: Harry McKerral, Brody Bouker, Mathew Schulze, Jack Hazeldine, Tyler Thomason. GOALS: NORTH ALBURY: Jackson Carey 6. Liam Hetherton 2, Alexander Tremonti 1. MYRTLEFORD: Cy Banks

3, Brody Bouker 3, Lachlan Stripeikis 1. Wangaratta 8.5.53 def by Lavington 10.13.73

BEST: WANGARATTA: Josh Styles, Harry McMonigle, Ned O’Kane, Hugh Canning, Cooper Newton, Dylan Browne. LAVINGTON: Xavier Russell, Alain Mutela, Harryson Barber, Jack Daly, Jordan Croker, Ryan Lord. GOALS: WANGARATTA: Charley Holland-Dean 3, John Blake 1, Ned Gorman 1, Hunter Graham 1, Oscar Roberts 1, Josh Styles 1. LAVINGTON:, Harryson Barber 4, Jack Costello 2, Corby Robertson 2, Ryder Corrigan 1, Alex Swinnerton 1. Albury 3.6.24 def by Wod. Raiders 5.6.36

BEST: ALBURY: Rory Parnell, Fraser Bennett, Zachariah Packer, Oscar Feuerherdt, Joseph Muller, Dominic Gibbons. WODONGA RAIDERS: Finn Gray, Angus Quinn, Archer Scammell, Bailey Smith, Lincoln Reed, Baxter Jones.

GOALS: WODONGA: Oscar Willding 2, Jack Chesser 1, Joshua Mathey 1, Noah Spiteri 1. WANGARATTA ROVERS: Ryan Hebron 4, Thomas Boyd 3, Toby Murray 2, Thomas Baulch 1, Alexander Marklew 1, Dylan Stone 1. BEST: WODONGA: Joshua Mathey, Matthew Wilson, Matthew Soroczynski, Jack O’Sullivan, Jack Chesser, Mitchell Dinneen. WANGARATTA

ROVERS: Michael Clark, Cody Schutt, Thomas Boyd, Samuel Murray, Ryan Hebron, Brodie Filo.

GOALS: NORTH ALBURY: Nathan Dennis 3, Joshua Minogue 3, Layton Taylor 2, Julian Hayes 1, Jack Penny 1, Ryan Polkinghorne 1. MYRTLEFORD: Ryley Bouker 3, Ryley Sharp 3, Kyle Winter-Irving 2, Jake Sharp 1, Elijah Wales 1. BEST: NORTH ALBURY: Jack King, Cayden Winter, Julian Hayes, Hayden Cooper, Cody Gardiner, Nathan Dennis. MYRTLEFORD: Austin Wickes, Simon Curtis, Levi Young, Elijah Wales, Alex Jacobs, Ryley Bouker.

GOALS: ALBURY: Lucas Conlan 3, Riley Bice 2, Jeff Garlett 2, Jim Grills 2, Alex Jones 2, Brayden McMenamin 2, Tom O’Brien 2, Luke Daly 1. WODONGA RAIDERS: Nelson Bowey 2, Tom Bracher 1, Ned Conway 1, Cameron Ellis-Yolmen 1, Charlie St John 1. BEST: ALBURY: Jim Grills, Isaac Muller, Luke Daly, Max Byrne, Elliott Powell, Alex Jones. WODONGA RAIDERS: Liam Hickey, Hayden Clarke, Cameron Ellis-Yolmen, Tom Bracher, Nelson Bowey, Cooper Daly.

ROUND 8 -JUNE 3

WANGARATTA ROVERS vs YARRAWONGA

WODONGA vs ALBURY MYRTLEFORD vs WANGARATTA LAVINGTON vs WODONGA RAIDERS COROWA-RUTHERGLEN vs NORTH ALBURY

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Wangaratta ...............8.6.54

Lavington ...............11.14.80

BEST: WANGARATTA: Lachlan Bray, Harrison Smart, Daniel Tidball, Matthew Kelly, Xavier Norden. LAVINGTON: James Oeser, Nick Brennan, Jake Hockley, Hunter Galvin, Charlie Sanson, Judd McLeod. North Albury..............3.7.25

Myrtleford .................6.4.40

BEST: NORTH ALBURY: Angus Maclean, Joshua Mercieca, Connor Bradbury, Kade Brown. MYRTLEFORD: Damon Harrington, Charlie Crisp, Mitchell Botter, Nicholas Ferguson, James Mcpherson, Tom Laspina. Wodonga ...................6.2.38

Wangaratta Rovers ....6.11.47

WODONGA: Gus Jones, Jack Yelland, Daniel Wortmann, Aaron Reichman, Joel Heiner, Rhys Venturoni. WANGARATTA

ROVERS: Justin Lewis, Sam Henderson, Fred Wilkinson, Joshua Newton, Darcy Booth, Kyle Smith. Albury ..................24.15.159

Wodonga Raiders .........1.3.9

ALBURY: Bailey Hodgson, Chas Retallick, Harry Cameron, Zachary Gigliotti, William Blomeley, Cooper Page.

WODONGA RAIDERS: Thomas Gibbs, Declan Rochow, Finn Gray, Fraser Jensen, Wade Knights, Tyrone Ellis.

*Ladder correct at time of print from Ovens and King website.

OVENS AND KING SENIORS LADDER ROUND

NETBALL SCORES

A GRADE:

Benalla All Blacks 40 def by Tarrawingee 63

Whorouly 40 def by Bonnie Doon 56

Bright 18 def by Greta 52

B GRADE:

Benalla All Blacks 58 def Tarrawingee 34

Whorouly 46 def by Bonnie Doon 51

Bright 30 def by Greta 56

B RESERVE:

Benalla All Blacks 49 def Tarrawingee 23

Whorouly 34 def by Bonnie Doon 58

Bright 43 def by Greta 23

C GRADE:

Benalla All Blacks 38 def Tarrawingee 28

Whorouly 3374 def by Bonnie Doon 40

Bright 34 def Greta 33

UNDER 15s:

Benalla All Blacks 21 def Tarrawingee 7

Whorouly 28 def by Bonnie Doon 29

Bright 16 def by Greta 32

SATURDAY, JUNE 3

WHOROULY VS TARRAWINGEE

BONNIE DOON VS NORTH WANGARATTA

BRIGHT VS MOYHU

GRETA VS KING VALLEY

MILAWA VS GOORAMBAT

BENALLA ALL BLACKS - BYE

KING’S BIRTHDAY

LEAGUE BYE - JUNE 10

SCOREBOARD RESERVES RESULTS

GOORAMBAT

GOALS: MOYHU: Jett Roberts 4, James Kelly 3, Harrison Bell 2, Harrison Grant 1, Jared Lea 1, Bailey Zimmermann 1. GOORAMBAT: Dylan Beavis 2, Tim Colville 1, Darcy Edgar 1. BEST: MOYHU: Jett Roberts, Brady Bartlett, Xavier Wales, Bailey Zimmermann, Josh Coonan, Private player. GOORAMBAT: Robert Wilson, Alexander Moloney, Kobe Black, Jamie Dunne, John House, Curtis Anker.

BENALLA ALL BLACKS

3.10 7.13 8.17.65

TARRAWINGEE 2.3 5.5 9.6 12.7.79

GOALS: BENALLA ALL BLACKS: Chelton Orchard 2, Damian Broughton 1, Reuben James 1, Jake Jones 1, Tom Levy 1, Dylan Sinclair 1. TARRAWINGEE: Ethan Roach 5, Matt Seymour 2, Hugh Amery 1, Sam Findlay 1, Danyon Hearne 1, William Saritschniy 1. BEST: BENALLA ALL BLACKS: Cody Crawford, Chelton Orchard, Kyle Collisson, Jesse Walker, Kieran Linke, Jake Jones. TARRAWINGEE: Ethan Roach, Sam Findlay, Hugh Amery, Joshua Smart, Brandon Igri, Thomas Salmon.

WHOROULY 0.2 2.3 2.3 2.4.16

BONNIE DOON 4.4 10.4 16.10 19.16.130

GOALS: WHOROULY: Riley Calvene 1, Andrew Newton 1. BONNIE DOON: James Law 5, Matthew Hedin 3, Joel Sanford 3, Luke Murray 2, Al Bennett 1, Jayjay Curtin 1, Will Foster 1, Jack Kirley 1, Patrick Revell 1, Beau Smith 1. BEST: WHOROULY: Matthew Vescio, Harrison Colville, Darcy O’Shannessy, Samuel Piazza, William Allen, Andrew Newton. BONNIE DOON: Matthew Hedin, Joel Sanford, James Law, Zak Bailey, Sean Campitelli, Patrick Revell.

KING VALLEY 1.3 3.5 6.7 8.10.58

NORTH WANGARATTA 2.3 6.6 10.8 10.8.68

GOALS: KING VALLEY: Beau Wheeler 4, Aaron Cheong 1, Anthony Ciancio 1, Jack Sloan 1, Thomas Stewart 1. NORTH WANGARATTA: Tyler Nanson 5, Daniel Williams 2, Jack Brown 1, Brandon Fitzpatrick 1, Patrick Kelly 1. BEST: KING VALLEY: Sam Evans, Beau Wheeler, Bradley Collihole, Tim Roman, Ryan Wait, Jack Sloan. NORTH WANGARATTA: Adam Enever, Kyle McQuade, David Killen, Tyler Nanson, Tyler Schulze, Brandon Fitzpatrick.

BRIGHT 3.5 5.7 5.11 5.17.47

GRETA 3.6 5.10 7.11 7.12.54

GOALS: BRIGHT: Cooper Thomason 3, Tom Crozier 1, Nathan Lyons 1. GRETA: Daniel Cassidy 3, Lachie Kennett 2, Brenton Newbold 1, Ned Rohrt 1. BEST: BRIGHT: Samuel Dalbosco, Nathan Lyons, Alexander Dalbosco, Michael Elliott, Max Stevens, Riley O’Shea. GRETA: Mark Wettern, Cam Green, Joshua Bell, James McClounan, Lachie Kennett, Jarrod Morham.

Moyhu....................25.9.159

Goorambat ................2.3.15

BEST: MOYHU: Leroy Dowling, Jacob Beattie, Darby West, Will Johnson, Harry Verdon, kiangkai Douangphosay. GOORAMBAT: Aiden Phillips, Todd Haslam, Max Buckley, Jack Trevena, Declan Lawford, Brenton Doig. Benalla All Blacks ..21.10.136 Tarrawingee ..............3.7.25

BEST: BENALLA ALL BLACKS: Harry Moran, Dylan Norman, Dylan Bell, John Hughes, Anthony Wilkinson, Joshua Kotvas. TARRAWINGEE: Tyler Heywood, Jackson Jones, Jordan Stana, Ethan Ryan, Harry Gorman. Whorouly ....................0.1.1 Bonnie Doon .........14.19.103

BEST: WHOROULY: Ryan Harris, Jacob Penn, Adam Pascoe, John Stirling, Peter Sang, Peter Gilbert BONNIE DOON: Matthew Cocks, Jackson Sole, Andrew Marshall, Shane Polkinghorne, Samuel Bennett, Codie Cummins. King Valley ..................0.2.2 North Wangaratta .21.17.143

BEST: KING VALLEY: Bradley McPoyle, David Lang, Tyson Mcpoyle, Noah Stone, Joel Burchall, Tomas Newton. NORTH WANGARATTA: Joshua Ismale, Corey Dagoli, Jay Barker, Rhory Day, Dylan Fischer, Connor O’Brien. Bright ......................10.8.68 Greta ........................4.8.32

BEST: BRIGHT: Paul Harrison, Joseph Crawley, Regan Alexander, Sam Buckley, Bailey Jennings-Allen, Thomas Gray. GRETA: Brodie Pearson, Ben Monaghan, James Sutton, Craig Williams, Jesse Collier, Trent Whitecross.

Doggies break winless drought

By BAILEY ZIMMERMANN

TARRAWINGEE have the monkey off their back.

The Dogs recorded their first win in the 2023 season on Saturday in thrilling fashion, defeating Benalla by 14 points 12.7 (79) to 8.17 (65) at Friendlies Oval.

The evenly matched sides were locked in a duel for the whole four quarters, with the Dogs only kicking clear with a three goal to one last quarter to punish the inaccurate All Blacks who failed to properly put their dominance of play on the scoreboard.

Dogs co-coach Evan Benton said it was a fantastic team effort to see through the end of their seven-game losing streak to start the season.

“Our backline with Josh Smart, Brandon Igri and Patty Byrne were steady down back and kept propelling the ball out of our back half and Hugh Amery, Danyon Hearne and Tom Salmon were fantastic through the midfield,” he said.

“We’re rebuilding, we have a good bunch of blokes out there sticking together week after week, at least we’re fielding a team together in both grades.

“Over the next month we’ve got a good chance of winning a few games.”

Ethan Roach was the star of the show backing up his four goals against Moyhu with five on the weekend and a best on ground performance, while Sam Finley showed out in his first senior game for the club in the midfield along with usual suspect Hugh Amery.

The Dogs are fancying themselves to carry on the winning momentum as they eye off scalps against Whorouly this week before taking on King Valley and Goorambat after the King’s Birthday bye.

Benton said the likes of Roach and Smart boys Tyson and Josh have brought a reenergised outlook on the team since coming up from Geelong in the past few weeks.

“Ethan is a good talented player, he played years ago around Wang and it’s good to get him back; he’s keen to play and bring some of his mates from Geelong who come up every few weeks like the Smart boys,” he said.

“They’re all loving it, there’s less pressure playing in the O&K which is different to O&M so they’re enjoying getting up here and having a kick.

“We’re training really well, the last few weeks in particular have been good; the older blokes around the club who are here week in and week out are motivated to keep rocking up to training each week when they are seeing them come up and give us a hand.

The All-Blacks were unable to sendoff ruckman Jake Jones’ 150th club game with a win despite the best efforts of Cody Crawford, Chelton Orchard and Jones himself who impressed in his milestone match.

Benton said the team will look to continue on the confidence building win as they push through a rebuilding year.

“We knew what we had ahead of us at the start of the season, we knew it wasn’t going to be an easy season and as a group we’re just putting our head down, bum up, putting in the work and doing what we have to,” he said.

“We’ll come up against the big teams and probably not win, but we’ll give them a run for their money and they’ll know they’ve played us which is the main thing, put our bodies on the line and that’s all we can do.”

Greta remain unbeaten after eight point Bright thriller

■ From back page Newbold said the team isn’t getting carried away with their unbeaten record and current top of the ladder standing, as its depth continues to be tested with injury.

“Personnel wise we’ve had to get through a bit in the past five or six weeks with key personnel being unavailable through injury, so we’re really rapt to grit our way through and find a way to win - it gives our guys great hope and belief,” he said.

“At the same time we’re not a dominant team over these other quality teams so those games are going to be 50/50.

“We want to win every quarter of footy we play and on Satu rday we led at every change and it means the way we tr y to play and the way we’ve been trying

to play for a number of years can be successful.”

“Eight wins means we’re two or three short of a finals spot and that’s one thing to tick off along the way.

Bright captain Samuel Dalbosco and Nathan Lyons were the standouts for Bright while Cooper Thomason built on his great season in front of goal kicking three in the first half; but the Mountain Men remained goaless in the second half kicking a costly 0.10.

Around the grounds on Satu rday saw Moyhu jump King Valley for fifth spot on the ladder with their win over Goorambat and the Roos’ narrow loss at home against North Wangaratta, while Bonnie Doon proved far too strong for Whorouly, winning by 114 points.

HUNTING DOWN: Brenton Newbold in pursuit of Max Stevens with the footy as the Blues grinded out an eight-point win over fellow top two side Bright at Pioneer Park. PHOTOS: Charlotte Paton

NOTHING IN IT: Ruckmen Kieren Jamieson and Mark Wettern compete for the footy

CLEARING KICK: Ethan Roach was instrumental for Tarrawingee as he helped the Dogs break a run of seven losses to start their season with a win at Benalla.

LOOKING FOR OPTIONS: David Button assessing the field as Benalla went down to Tarrawingee at Friendlies Oval.

BREAKING CLEAR: Brandon Igri gets a kick away under pressure as the Dogs recorded their first win of the 2023 season on Saturday against Benalla by 14 points.

PHOTOS: Garry Jones

Rovers hand Wodonga first defeat

WANGARATTA Rovers are back in business. The Hawks produced their best display of the season to dazzle to a 42-point victory over the previously undefeated Wodonga at John Flower Oval.

GWS VFL captain Ryan Hebron showed his class as he returned to Rovers colours, booting four majors in the 12.6 (78) to 5.6 (36) victory.

“We identified parts of their game we wanted to take away and we were disciplined enough to do that early,” Rovers coach Sam Murray said.

“We owned most of the game, played a lot of it in our half and defended really well when the ball came in.

“They kicked five goals and three of them came from 50-metre penalties so we could have kept them to an even lower score.

“It was our most complete performance from start to finish.

“It helps when you bring back four or five really experienced players; we looked a lot more competitive in our forward line, our back line and our structures were good.”

The Hawks burst out of the blocks jumping to a 20-point buffer at the first break but two missed set shots from Alex Marklew before the first change kept the Dogs close enough to pounce.

A two-goal to none second term in favour of the Rovers all but put the game to bed with the away team leading by 34 points at the main change.

Rovers’ star backman Michael Clarke made an outstanding return and was arguably his side’s best player, while Tom Boyd impressed with three majors.

“We’ve got really good leaders as well, who drive standards consistently,” Murray said.

“Pup Clark coming back in didn’t lose a one-on-one, Ryan Hebron’s a great player, and Stuart Booth plays a role, so our leadership improved a lot.”

Magpies building with 42-point win over Lavington

By WILLSON MACK

WANGARATTA is just one win off the top of the ladder after its fourth straight win.

The Magpies proved far too strong for Lavington at Norm Minns Oval, saluting by 59 point in a one sided affair.

Magpies’ gun Jackson Clarke continued his purple patch of form with a dazzling 25 disposals, four goals performance in the 14.18 (102) to 6.7 (43) win.

Wangaratta coach Ben Reid said inaccuracy cost his side a bigger win.

“We were a little bit slow out of the blocks and inaccuracy probably hurt us a bit in the first quarter,” Reid said.

“We kicked 18 behinds for the game so if we kicked straighter we probably would have had an even bigger win.

“What I was pleased about was that we kept playing our way all the way through, even though we were missing some shots at goal we didn’t drop our heads and we kept playing the way we wanted to.”

Reid was all praise for Clarke.

“The last two of three weeks ‘Jacko’ has been back to his best,” Reid said.

“We’ve been playing him a little bit more forward which has been good and we know what he can do when he gets the ball in his hands in the middle with his burst of speed.

“He’s been really good for us.”

The midfield battle was a solid clash all day with Lavington’s gun ruck Tim Hanna and star onballer Billy Glanville going head-to-head with the ‘Pies

“I thought our mids were fantastic,” Reid said.

“Daine (Porter) was great in there, ‘Dools’ (Daniel Sharrock), ‘Jacko’ (Clarke), ‘Squid’ (Brad Melville) were all really strong in there.

“Even Braeden Marjanovic went in there at times to give the boys a chop out and he was really strong considering it was only his second or third game.

“They had one of their most complete performances just in terms of the way they went about if for the whole game.”

Wangaratta now hits the bye in fourth position just a win behind Yarrawonga, Wodonga and Albury who occupy the top three spots on five wins each.

“We’ve certainly been building over the last three or four weeks,” Reid said.

“We’d like to think we still have our best footy in front of us.

“Myrtleford up there next week will be tough, it’s always tough going there but once we play that game we’re nearly halfway through the season.

“I think the biggest thing for us will be finish off next week and then we have two weeks off so we’ll reset ourselves and then attack the back half of the year.”

WARRIOR: Daine Porter tries to break a tackle.

QUICK HANDS: Brad Melville fires a handball off

GUN: Callum Moore finds space.

PURPLE PATCH: Jackson Clarke was best on ground in Wangaratta’s win over Lavington. PHOTOS: Kurt Hickling

PRESSURE: Ryan Hebron dishes a handball off under pressure.

ON THE RUN: Paddy Murray evades an opponent.

SNAP: Dylan Stone kicks a snap at goal.

PINPOINT: Dylan Wilson sends a kick forward in Wangaratta Rovers’ win over Wodonga. PHOTOS: Melissa Beattie

Blues stay on top

Greta grinds out an eight point win over Bright in top two battle to remain unbeaten. G g i d igh p i i B igh i p b l i b

GRETA firmed their status as the mid-season flag favourites with a gritty eight-point road win over an inaccurate Bright on Saturday 7.12 (54) to 5.17 (47).

The top two teams going into the round played up to the hype at Pioneer Park with just three points separating the sides going into the main break.

BY BAILEY ZIMMERMANN bzimmermann@ nemedia.com.au

The Blues asserted their dominance on the game in the third quarter but were unable to truly reflect their hold on the game on the scoreboard with a two-goal lead at three quarter time.

A goaless last quarter from both teams saw Greta add a solitary behind to their score, but it was an inaccurate six behinds from Bright in the last quarter which robbed them of any chances of dismantling the ladder leaders.

Greta coach Greg Newbold said the eighth straight win of their season showed a lot of character from his side to

grind out the victory against quality opposition.

“It was a good, gritty win, which is probably what you expect from two evenly matched sides and it could’ve gone either way,” he said.

“Our opportunity to take control was in the third quarter and we sort of felt we went into three quarter time a couple of goals behind where we should’ve been

- the stats we were taking showed we could’ve been three or four goals up.

“I think we had around 40 uncontested marks in the last quarter so the players went into a defensive mode and Bright did well to stop us from rebounding out of our backline.

“Bright are always a hard team to beat on their home deck, it was a bit of a battle

and we were able to get out on top.”

Mark Wettern was named best afield while Cam Green and Josh Bell were standouts for the Blues with Daniel Cassidy standing up with the absence of leading goal kicker Frazer Judd booting three goals, despite battling through back issues after half time.

■ Continued page 18

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