Bits n Pieces Newsletter - Nov/Dec 2018

Bits ‘n Pieces A FREE Community Newsletter for the Upper Ross Upper Ross Community Centre 1/43 Allambie Lane Rasmussen, 4815 Ph: 4774 0144 Fax: 4774 0909 Email: communitycentre@communitygro.org.au A division of Community Gro Inc. Volume 13, Issue 6

November/December 2018 CONTENTS Ÿ

Child Health

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Community Courses

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Celebrate local business

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Free Legal Advice

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Free Wifi

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JP

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No Interest Loans

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Kids Club

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Big Breakfast

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Annandale Vacation Care

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Playgroup

Container Refund Scheme Containers for Change has been established to help increase recycling and reduce the number of drink containers that litter our environment. The scheme will also provide social enterprises, community organisations, schools and sporting clubs the opportunity to fund raise through donations.

Community GRO Upper Ross and Garbutt Community Centres are donation collection points. Containers can be either dropped at the Community Centres or taken to one of the collection points across Townsville. If you choose to take you containers to a collection point you can nominate Community GRO to receive the refund by quoting our Scheme ID No. C10005794.

Not all containers are eligible for a refund however they can still be recycled through the normal kerbside recycling collection.

For info on what drink containers are eligible or excluded visit: https://www.containersforchange.com.au/how-it-works Join the recycling movement and at the same time help Community GRO by donating your containers.

Start Making a Change Today

Centre Opening Hours Monday - Friday 9.00 am to 4.00 pm Christmas Closure 21st December 2018 - 14th January 2019

To advertise in the newsletter contact Community GRO Phone 47740144

www.facebook.com/communitygro

What’s on in your community ...

November 7.00pm FREE Dive-in Movie Night @ Riverway Lagoon 9.30pm Screening: FERDINAND Annual Santa Parade - Willow’s Shopping Centre’s annual Santa Parade starts FREE Parade will start from Hinchinbrook Drive and ends at the Coffee at 6.20pm Club entrance. Fireworks will be at 9pm FREE Fri 23rd Bluewattle’s Xmas Movie in the Park- Bring your picnic blanket 5.00pm Nov and join in as we wrap up another great year at Bluewattle with a 8.00pm Christmas Movie in the Park. This year's event will include Christmas carols, free face-painting and a jumping castle, and an outdoor screening of Saving Santa after dark. Food and drinks will also be available for purchase; and keep an eye out for our special guest visitor!

A parking area will be available at the end of Parsonia St 5pm FREE Every Mon Youth Drop-in @ the Upper Ross Community Centre Night If you are aged between 12-18yrs, come join us for a chilled night 8.30pm in and get to meet others. Plenty to do and light meal provided.

FREE Every Tues Drop in Tuesday @ the Upper Ross PCYC (for ages 10-17yrs) 2.30pm Drop in at the PCYC for some Tuesday afternoon for some fun. 4.30pm Play the Xbox, play pool, listen to music, do some art, play Basketball, Netball, Table Tennis or Touch Football.

Every 6.00pm FREE Thursday Night Sports @ the Upper Ross PCYC Thurs 7.30pm If you enjoy sports this might be just what your looking for.

Fri 16th Nov Thurs 22nd Nov

December Sat 1st Dec Christmas in the City - Kick start the festive season in Townsville 5.30pm -

FREE

Sun 9th Dec

FREE

with an evening of FREE festive family entertainment in our 8.30pm beautiful city center. Under the twinkle of Christmas lights enjoy carols with local band Cranky Pants and a whole array of roving entertainment and free amusements.

Fri 21st Dec Mon 31st Dec

5.00pm Carol By Candle Light @ Riverway Stadium 9.00pm Bring the family and come join in singing or listening to the beautiful of Christmas.

7.00pm Dive-in Movie Night @ Riverway Lagoon 9.30pm Screening: SHERLOCK GNOMES 9.00pm New Years Eve Fireworks @ Riverway Bring the whole family and enjoy a night swim, have a BBQ or join in the fun activities while you wait for the fabulous fireworks to kick off.

FREE FREE

Bits 'n Pieces is changing...

This will be the final edition of our Bits 'n Pieces Newsletter in its current format. Following a review of our current newsletter and feedback from our readers we are moving to an online newsletter in 2019. To ensure we cater for readers who prefer to read a hard copy newsletter we will continue to print a paper newsletter. What this will look like is still to be finalised... It may be a single or double page flyer that comes out fortnightly so it has more current up to date news.. keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates. facebook.com/upper.centre

Enrol now for HIPPY 2019 Hippy team are now taking enrolments for the 2019 program. HIPPY is a 2 year homebased early childhood enrichment program.

The program builds confidence and skills of parents/carers to create a positive learning environment to prepare parents/carers for their child’s schooling. The program is open to families from the Upper Ross area (Condon, Rasmussen, Kelso) and eligible children must be aged 4 by 30th June 2019.

HIPPY is FREE. Join in the fun.

Staff Profile...

Hi my name is Pepper Radford and I am a Newstart Volunteer at Community Gro’s Upper Ross Community Centre. I have lived in the Upper Ross area now for twenty-five years. I don’t claim a home town, as my family were constantly on the move, however I was born in the Northern Rivers area of NSW. My formal education only took me to year 10 but I love to learn. Through the years I have attained certificates in Retail & Business Administration, signed English, Telephone Counseling and in what seems to be another lifetime, I studied Theology for Six years. My previous work endeavors have seen me in the roles of Farm Hand, Machinist and Bar Attendant. I enjoy my workdays here at the centre because it allows me to update my computer skills, and I love working in a community situation. I have quickly grown comfortable in an environment of care and respect. My spare time sees me curled up with a good book or writing poetry, also attempting to write a book.

“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for...”

Shield of H.E.R.S. (Honour, Empower, Respect, Survive)

To celebrating NAIDOC this year the Shield of H.E.R.S Aboriginal & Torres Strait I s l a n d e r Wo m e n ' s G ro u p wo m e n marched proudly with their banner and had a stall at the family fun day event. The stall gave the women an opportunity to showcase their amazing scrapbook albums to the community. The women also promoted the Shield of H.E.R.S program to educate other women in the

co m m u n i t y a b o u t t h e g ro u p a n d encouraged women to join and be empowered, inspired and honored for the great work they do within their family and community. This year's NAIDOC theme' Because of her, we can' is such a powerful statement and bought to the forefront the incredible and amazing work women in our community are doing and continue to do.

Community Visitors Scheme

If you are interested and you have a few hours spare a week or fortnight please contact Tina at Upper Ross Community Centre on 4774 0144.

The scheme partners volunteer visitors with an elderly resident of an aged care home who may be lonely and do not receive regular visitors. We make every effort to match the visitor with an elderly person who has similar interests.

WOMENS GROUP Every second Friday 11am-1pm (during school term) The women's group is a unique opportunity to socialize with other ladies just like yourself. The ladies meet up for 2 hours and participate in range of different activities, including self defense sessions, cooking classes, parenting education and craft.

We provide free child minding, we do ask however that you book the day before so that we can be organised and have the day well planned. If you would like more information please contact Jean on 4774 0144 or 0428 399 293.

The COMEBACK is always stronger then the SETBACK...

Improving digital literacy for older Australians

Be Connected is an Australian Government initiative aimed at increasing the confidence and skills of older Australians in using digital technology. The program aims to empower everyone to use the internet and everyday technology to thrive in our digital world. Older people with low internet skills can often feel isolated from their community and family at a time when feeling connected is increasingly important. Community GRO, in partnership with Be Connected aims to bridge the digital divide by providing free face to face one-on-one hour long computer lessons.

Through Be Connected, older Australians can also access a range of online selfpaced learning resources to help them to learn the basics of how to connect online, including how to: * Use a digital device * Be safe online * Send emails * Connect with family and friends who live far away, share photos, find new friends * Learn how to use Facebook and other social media * Keep up to date with what's happening in your community and around the world * How to shop and sell online safely and securely; and much more.

Book your free lessons now by phoning 47740144 or join our Be Connected Program online by visiting www.beconnected.safety.gov.au and selecting Community GRO Upper Ross Community Centre.

Get Online Week For the first time ever Get Online Week was held in Australia recently. The idea behind Get Online Wee was to encourage older Australians to find our about what being online is about and to challenge them to learn one new thing.

The participants really enjoyed the morning's activities, with a number of participants signing up to the Be Connected Program and booking computer lessons with our tutors.

Community GRO participated in the event by holding a morning tea. Seniors attending enjoyed a lovely morning tea, followed by an informal discussion about all the different things that are available online.

Participants took part in a fun activity where they had to use Google to search for answer to complete a questionnaire.

Our lucky prize winners from our Get Online event: Ian Nicholson (Samsung tablet), George Clark (digital camera), Sus Smith and Merle Trembath ($50 Harvey Norman Voucher).

Owner - Mick Vietch Having worked in the meat industry for over 20 years Mick made the decision to take the step into small business and purchased the butcher shop 18 months ago.

Born in Townsville, Mick spent a number of years in Sydney and Brisbane before returning to Townsville with his family to provide a better lifestyle for his family. In Feb 2018 Mick extended his business interests by taking on the takeaway shop, re-opening the store in May after doing a refurbish of the shop.

Feedback from community has been overwhelmingly positive.

Mick puts his success down to providing quality products, a large product range and great customer service. Customers come from all over Townsville, with out of town customers as well.

Mick is always looking for new ideas, products and recipes to share with customers. When questioned about the redevelopment of the existing shopping precinct and what that looks like for his shops Mick says he is excited about the opportunity of moving into a new shop once the complex is finished. He added “It has been a long time coming and great for the Upper Ross Community to finally have a new modern shopping precinct�.

Mick is very passionate about the community and about providing employment opportunities. From taking over from the previous owner of the butcher shop the staff has grown from one to seven and the takeaway store now employs eight people.

Mick and his staff are always ready to serve with a smile and positive

Mitchell & Darren attitude. Serena (who manages Riverway Eats) is awesome, she is positive, upbeat and keen to succeed.

Having only recently moved to Townsville, she has proven herself to be a great employee.

Specials are advertised on their facebook page and also on the footpath blackboard so make sure you keep an eye out for these.

The shop is now gearing up for Christmas. To help customers with the cost of Christmas Mick has a pre-payment system in place where customers can contribute to their account each week (or as often as they can afford). Unlike Chrisco, customers can use their savings to purchase products of their choice.

CARDS - 500 We are looking for people who are interested in playing cards (The game 500). If you are interested in playing and would like to join a couple of lovely ladies play on a Thursday morning please contact the office on 4774 0144 for more information.

Dear Resident As 2018 comes to an end, I would like to express my sincere thanks to you all for your patience during the Riverway Drive Duplication upgrade. There was many a frustrating moment when lanes were cordoned off and detours changing regularly and a backup of traffic when the additional traffic lights were installed.

However, we can now all breathe a big sigh of relief and enjoy a less stressful drive to and from work and school. Dept of Transport and Main Roads and their contractors did a great job and I commend them for their professionalism and communication to residents and the community of whole when addressing issues that arose at times.

to the party. Riverway Plaza (Woolworths) will be moving ahead with their long awaited revamp and there have been applications made to Council to build a Coles Shopping Centre off Riverway Drive and another shopping centre off Beck Drive. We now wait for the outcomes from Council's Planning & Development.

To all year 12 students who are finishing up this year, I congratulate you and wish you all the best for your future journey.

Lastly, Merry Christmas Everyone! Have a safe and happy festive season and I look forward to serving you again in 2018.

Warm regards Aaron Harper MP State Member for Thuringowa

Due to the improvement of the infrastructure to the “Upper Ross” we now see that private investors are keen to come

HIPPY’s Big Day Out - On Wednesday 24

th

October the HIPPY families went on an excursion to Billabong Sanctuary. We were escorted by Ranger Renee and Ranger Will. We got to pat Wanda the Wombat and looked at Christine the Koala and her baby. We saw lots of whistler ducks, magpie geese and turtles in the billabong. We even saw a crocodile been feed and got to pat a baby crocodile. We saw the white dingoe’s and lots of native birds like the big huge eagle and corellas and cockatoos. But those naughty magpie geese snatched a bag of food from Ruby and kept following us all day trying to steal the bags of feed from the children. A big thank you to Hippy Australia, Community Gro, Billabong Sanctuary and Campbell Coaches for a wonderful day.

Destiny & Serenity with the Crocodile Statue

Destiny & Jacqueline feeding the Kangaroo’s Rowan patting Wonda the Wombat

FREE LEGAL ADVICE SERVICE @ Upper Ross Community Centre Tuesday’s from 4pm Face to face or phone appointments.

Bookings are essential Please Ph. 4774 0144

Santa’s Reindeer - Word Search BLITZEN COMET CUPID DANCER DASHER DONNER PRANCER RUDOLPH VIXEN

OPEN 7 DAYS Mon - Fri 8am - 8pm Sat 9am - 3pm Sun & Pub Hols 9am - 1pm Ÿ Locally Owned and run business Ÿ Easy access and plenty of parking at front and rear

Cnr Riverway Drive and Gollogoly Lane, Rasmussen Phone: 4755 4654 Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, It comes from what you do consistently.

“Specialising in the Upper Ross”

RASMUSSEN RASMUSSEN MECHANICAL MECHANICAL

www.rossriver.com.au

Repairs Repairs && Tyres Tyres Unit Unit22/ /1231 1231Riverway RiverwayDr Dr Rasmussen Rasmussen

Next Next to to Puma Puma Servo Servo

Ph: Ph: 4789 4789 1299 1299 Guaranteed GuaranteedMechanical Mechanical Repairs Repairsto toall allvehicles vehicles

UPPER ROSS MEDICAL CENTRE 11 9 9 R I V E R W AY D R I V E , R A S M U S S E N - P H . 4 7 7 4 0 2 9 9 Open 7 days - Extended weekday hours

PINNACLE MEDICAL CENTRE 9 7 5 R I V E R W AY D R I V E , C N R G O L L O G LY L A N E - C O N D O N - P H . 4 7 7 3 5 1 7 0 Open Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

www.urmc.com.au FAMILY ORIENTATED - BULK BILLING FOR ALL PATIENTS Female Doctor available, experienced GP's Special interests include - Skin & Health Checks, Women's Health, Chronic Disease Management, Aged Care Other services we provided are - Mental Health Nurse, Exercise Physiologist, Dietitian, Diabetes Educator, Psychologist Phone for an appointment – walk in's also accepted

Bits ‘n Pieces is a Department of Communties Initiative

Disclaimer: This newsletter is produced with assistance and contributions from the community. The contents of this publication do not, therefore, necessarily reflect the views of the organisation.

WHAT’S ON AT THE UPPER ROSS COMMUNITY CENTRE Regular weekly Activities Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

9:30 - 11:30am 12:00 - 4:00pm 9:00 - 11:30am 9:30 - 11:30am 12:00 - 4:00pm 4:00 - 5:00pm

Craft Group Free Computer Lessons U3A Craft Group Timeout - Games/Cards Free Computer Lessons Free Legal Advice

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

9:00 - 11:00am 11:00 - 1:00pm 12:00 - 2:00pm

Free JP Service ATSI Women’s Group ATSI Men’s Group

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

9:00 - 12:00pm 9:00 - 11:30am 9:30 - 11:30am 3:00 - 4:00pm

Child Health Clinic Social Cards Group Playgroup Children’s Arts & Craft

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11:00 - 1:00pm

Women’s Group (Wk 2)

Mondays

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Tuesdays Wednesdays

Contact Karl McKenzie 0417735336

Thursdays Fridays

Centre Opening Hours Monday - Friday 9.00 am to 4.00 pm Christmas Closure - 21st December 2018 - 14th January 2019

WHERE TO PICK UP YOUR COPY OF BITS ‘n PIECES Our Bits’n Pieces newsletter is available online at our website http://www.nqcs.org.au OR you can grab a copy at the following places: *Kelso Fish Shop *Carlyle Gardens *Thuringowa RSL *Gumvale Mini Mart *Riverway Chemist *Riverway Snackbar *McDonalds Rasmussn *Woolworths Rasmussen *Salvation Army Beck Rd *Upper Ross Medical & Pinnacle Medical Centres OR you can call into the Upper Ross Community Centre to pick up a copy and stay for a chat.

Thinking of renting appliances or furniture. STOP. Consider how much the cost of these contracts are over the term of the agreement (usually 3-4 times the original purchase price).

NILS (No Interest Loans Scheme) is a great alternative to rental arrangements and payday lenders. Loans can also be used for car repairs, rego and tyres.

Contact the Community Centre on 47740144 or drop into the centre.