YOUTH OF THE YEAR REPORT 2023

The Lions clubs of Australia have been promoting the Youth of The Year (YOTY) Quest since 1964 so this year is the sixtieth time the quest has been run. The aim has always been to find an outstanding all-rounder among the 15 to 18 year-olds in the nation and Territories, not just one with particular sporting or academic strengths.

Tens of thousands of students have taken part in this great quest over the decades. The quest is run at four stages, the local club, then a Zone, followed by a District competition leading to the State level. From here the six or seven State candidates go to the Lions National Convention to compete for the National title of Australian YOTY. in 2021, local student Zoe Peters was selected as the National Youth of The Year winner.

Last Sunday the Mount Panorama Lions ran their Club round at their premises in Stanley Street. In the morning, four remarkable young ladies from local schools were interviewed to assess their suitability by the judges, Lesley Bull, Angus McKibbin and Millaine Longmore, before taking part in a public speaking event in the afternoon. In front of an audience of parents and Lions members they were asked two impromptu questions about mobile phones at school and where in the world they would like you travel. Each then presented a five minute prepared speech on such diverse topics as the threat to privacy of smart devices, the importance of music, access to legal representation, and why we strive for perfection. These were both informative and entertaining.

The four girls, Hannah Howes, Ella Kay, Ava Meares and Chloe Tayler, stunned the judges and audience with their personalities, knowledge, passion, confidence and ability to express their ideas and hopes for the future. In a very close decision Ava Meares was selected as the Public Speaking winner and Ella Kay as the overall club representative. Ella will represent the Mount Panorama Lions Club at the District Final in Gilgandra on March 11th where a small contingent of club members will be there to support her. The club wishes Ella all the very best for this round.

Literature trivia with a twist of glamour at Bathurst Library

Bring your book knowledge and sense of humour to the library on Friday 17 February as Mardi Gras celebrations take centre stage at a special Literary Trivia & Bingo, hosted by local performer Betty Confetti.

Starting at 6pm the night will feature a pub-style trivia set up where participants may work as a team or individually to play Trivia through a free app called Mentimetre. Special guest and host of the night Betty Confetti will lead participants in Trivia, Bingo and will delight the audience with a special performance.

Bathurst Library is delighted to be included in our community Mardi Gras celebrations, and thus showcasing the library as a welcoming and vibrant space for all members of the community, and a place for nonjudgemental learning and entertainment.

Patou Clerc, Manager of Bathurst Library, is eagerly anticipating the community event. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to work closely with Betty Confetti on this wonderful, fun and inclusive event. It is important that we reflect the communities we are part of. Libraries are places for everyone, and we wanted to reflect this in our programming”, she said.

Friday 17 February will also feature a special Rainbow Families Storytime with Betty Confetti as the special guest reader. Starting at 10.30am the library team, along with Betty, will read stories, and sing songs and rhymes. Aimed at pre-school aged children and their families, the storytime will be a fun and colourful chance for families to build on their children’s early literacy skills.

The Literary Trivia and Bingo night is an adult only event. Tickets are $5 per person. Bookings and payment can be made over the phone on 6333 6281 or by visiting the staff at the library front desk. The Rainbow Families Storytime is a free event, bookings essential.

A Point of View - by Stuart Pearson

Council is Adrift

Over the last few months, a number of people have spoken to me about a lack of a vision for the Bathurst region. Others have used phrases like “a lack of forward thinking” and a “lack of goal setting”. They are all the same thing – a lack of STRATEGIC PLANNING.

Even a very senior member of the National Party lamented to me recently that Bathurst Regional Council had “lost its direction and didn’t know what it’s priorities were”. Again, symptoms of a lack of Strategic Planning.

I am reminded of the famous scene out of Alice in Wonderland, where the Cheshire cat says to a disoriented Alice, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there!”

In the opinion of many, Bathurst has been drifting for years, not knowing what it wants to be, let alone how to get there. Without an agreed upon Strategic Plan for the long-term future, Bathurst Council has instead given approval for the demolition of a number of heritage houses; sanctioned trees to be felled overnight without public notice; divided the community over a proposal for a go-cart track on scenic and sensitive for playground equipment in Bathurst

Aboriginal land; and authorised the ever-expanding urban sprawl instead of preserving our vital and productive rural land.

The Councillors of Bathurst are effectively sitting as the elected Board of Directors of a major corporation. A major corporation that in the case of Bathurst Regional Council, has an annual turnover of $120m, assets of $1.6bn and employs over 400 staff.

Bathurst Council needs to imagine, and then lead the development of how Bathurst would look like in 30, 40, and 50 years’ time. Yet there is little, or no evidence of Council being led in any particular strategic direction. So, like a rudderless ship, Bathurst Regional Council is adrift on an ocean, heading nowhere in particular.

Unless Bathurst has a Council of intelligent, experienced and forward-thinking people who SET A CLEAR PATH FOR THE FUTURE, then the drift may continue and the community, like Alice, will not know where it’s going.

√ $954,250 for construction of Bathurst Rail Museum

√ $650,000 for replacing footpaths in Bathurst

√ $300,000 for upgrades to the Civic Ballroom at Lithgow for use as an evacuation centre

√ $205,000 for upgrades to Machattie Park

√ $54 million for the CSU Medical School

Bathurst 12 Hour Drives Visitors To Bathurst

Ducking In For A Cuppa

I always enjoy our summer weather and checking out what our small businesses are up to. On the weekend I stopped in at George Street’s Drake & Duck Cafe!

Arecord crowd of 53,446 turned out for the Bathurst 12 Hour!

Congratulations to all the hardworking staff at Bathurst Regional Council for this wonderful achievement and building this race into the international success it has become!

Congratulations also to SunEnergy1 Racing for going back-to-back and defending their crown and drivers Jules Gounon, Kenny Habul and Luca Stoltz!

Drop In To The Neighbourhood Centre

It was great to catch up with the team from Bathurst and Oberon Neighbourhood Centre at the recent Oberon show. The Neighbourhood Centre does great work connecting people, resources and ideas to support people and strengthen the local communities.

If you are not sure where to go for help or you would like to become more active in the community, The Neighbourhood Centre has a huge array of information about local associations, interest groups, leisure activities, self-help groups and community services.

The Neighbourhood Centre has a jam packed event schedule for 2023. Check out their Facebook page for details. The Neighbourhood Centre is open Wednesday to Friday morning and is located at 12 Ross Street, Oberon.

JOIN ST JOHN AMBULANCE, MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Do you want to learn skills that could save a life, go to different events and administer first aid, and be part of your local community?

Join the St John Ambulance! They offer free training, free uniforms and, most importantly build friendships for life.

They help out at major incidents like floods, fires, droughts.

The Bathurst Division of St John Ambulance meets every Tuesday night 7:00pm-8:30pm at the Old Raglan Public School or call today on 0407 594 478.

Great to catchup with the amazing team at the Neighbourhood Centre

Local Soil Science Yields Big Carbon Dividends For Farmers

Did you know that the Central West is home to the second biggest soils analysis lab in Australia?

In a humble-looking shed on the outskirts of Orange, you’ll find an international team of top scientists looking at how soil (yes, soil!) can help farmers earn some extra dough, and give the planet a bit of a hand, too.

Recently, I got the chance to visit the lab and meet the team at Loam Bio, who are developing soil products that make it easy for cropping farmers to participate in carbon farming. The team have developed a seed treatment which enables soil to store more carbon, cutting the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Farmers can then sell carbon credits, and also increase their yield per acre.

Loam is one of Australia’s fastest growing agritech companies, with offices and labs in Canada, the US, and Central Western NSW! A big thank you to Tegan Nock, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Loam, who gave a fascinating presentation and tour of the labs! It’s great to see worldleading innovation taking place in the bush!

The Australian Government is supporting Loam Bio support our farmers with a $9.3 million grant through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. I was very impressed with what I saw there during my visit. This is a game changing opportunity for our local farmers and our country.