Town &
Y! L K E E W E F RE
25th May 2023
CountryJournal smallnewspaper.com.au/country-journal/
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TV Guide inside! p.21 Footy Tipping Comp. p.14 Weather outlook p.6 p.6 p.8 p.25
History of The Centaur remembered.
More than fairy floss in Ballandean last Sunday.
News from the golfing greens.
What deems a park, a park? “Our youth are the future leaders of our communities... we must get it right for them," said Mayor Pennisi Staff Reports editor@thedailyjournal.ink
P
lay equipment that has been deemed unsafe in Arcoola Park, in Wilkinson Street, Warwick, was removed on the morning of Monday May 22. Residents of Wilkinson Street phoned our newspapers saying that they were given assurances in 2015 that Arcoola Park would remain a play area for children, in a meeting in the presence of
the then Councillor, Vic Pennisi. Contacting the now, Southern Downs Regional Council Mayor (Pennisi) about the 2015 meeting, he confirmed that he did give assurances about the future of Arcoola Park, "at the time". "I did meet with those residents (in 2015)," Mayor Pennisi said. "(And) it was a council decision at the time to leave Arcoola Park alone." Currently, all the playground equipment has been removed and the future of the space as a home for other playground
structures, is unknown. The title "green space" has been flagged by council as needing to be addressed in a future context within parks. Mayor Pennisi concluded on Monday May 22, that he "keeps stressing that council have not made a decision about the future of Arcoola Park", in the current-day. As reported last week, SDRC said that safety is their “priority”. “Playgrounds are important spaces for the community to
enjoy recreationally and socially, and Southern Downs Regional Council has a duty of care to maintain equipment so it is safe to use and compliant with Australian standards and guidelines,” SDRC’s Manager Parks and Operations Chris Collingwood said. “Following a high level and considered examination, playgrounds in the following parks will require playground removal … when dry conditions prevail – Apex, Meadow Bank Estate, Shilliday, Arcoola, Mountain
View and Pennant.” Asking SDRC if there was consultation before the removal of the structures, this was the response: “There was no community consultation about addressing safety deficiencies and removing non-compliant structures,” Mr Collingwood said. “However, before final plans are made to reinstate any playgrounds in the future, there will be community consultation as required.” Continued on page 13....
Armed with knives
Kim Hanson-Ross
kimberley.hansonross@icloud.com
P
olice are looking for a group of offenders after a robbery took place at Harvey Norman on May 18. The suspects were allegedly armed with knives and
stole several electrical goods at 12:30pm, with one member of the group damaging a
door upon exiting the store. There were no injuries. They left the scene in a blue Mazda hatchback with false registration plates, which was later spotted at 12:45pm the same day, travelling north on the New
England Highway in Allora. Police pursued the vehicle for a short period but abandoned the pursuit due to the dangerous way the suspects drove. The vehicle was last sighted in the Ipswich area. Police are asking anybody with information to come forward.
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