Senior Lifestyle

The birth of the Magic Of Voice Eumundi (MOVE Choir)

IT wasn’t until I was in my early forties that I was trundled off somewhat reluctantly to a community choir by one of my girlfriends who had been pestering me for six months to attend. Within a few sessions I was really hooked…hooked on the feeling good that went with it. It was a bit of a dark time in my life then and going to choir was an unexpected highlight of my week. Each time I went (and there were plenty of times I truly didn’t feel like it) within 20 minutes or so, I felt happy and like myself again.

After gaining a new perspective on life, greater confidence and making new friends through choir, it became obvious to me that singing in a choir was not just a flash in the pan and it was a component that I needed. The natural progress was to share the benefits and joy of one of life’s simple pleasures with others. And that is the short version of how it all began.

After 13 years as an active choir director in the Bli Bli and Pomona communities, I decided (with help from a pandemic) that I would be happier working in my own community of Eumundi. The rest is history and every Tuesday we get together to sing, laugh, share and connect with a broad demographic of beautiful humans that are also ‘hooked’.

MOVE is a community choir, open to anyone between 14 and 114. No audition or experience is required, a sense of humour and flexibility is beneficial as is enjoying multiple musical genres. If you want to have fun and possess a bit of patience you’re in! And that’s about it really…shower and car singers welcome! Joanne Deguara CWA Hall, 78 Memorial Drive, Eumundi. Tuesdays 4 – 5.30pm (during school terms unless otherwise advised). Contact Joanne Deguara – 0403 841 856

GET INSPIRED WITH ADFAS (AUSTRALIAN DECORATIVE & FINE ARTS SOCIETY)

ADFAS ( Australian Decorative & Fine Arts Society ) is a non-profit organization promoting the enjoyment of the arts in the local community. It is an extensive network of 38 societies throughout regional and metropolitan Australia, where illustrated and informative talks are presented by leading experts from a broad spectrum of the arts and cultural sectors. The talks cater to all levels of interest and knowledge and cover topics such as architecture, fine arts and famous personalities, to mention but a few.

Noosa ADFAS meets monthly on a Saturday at St. Mary’s Church, 17 William St, Tewantin at 3.45 for a 4pm start.

Drinks and canapes are provided after each talk. There is also a raffle, the profits of which help to sponsor young arts.

Topics for this year can be viewed on our website www.adfas.org.au/societies/ noosa monthly meetings. Visitors pay $25 to attend but a half- yearly membership of $75 is available for the talks of July, August, September and October.

The talk is convivial and entertaining and a worthwhile way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

SCONE TIME

Tuesday July 12 - 10.00 to 11.30 am Cooroy Memorial Hall, $8 Tickets can be purchased online www.trybooking.com/BZVEU

THE return of sunshine radiated into a month of joyful occasions! At our Noosa Qld Day Awards, we recognised Noosans who go above and beyond, giving back to our community through voluntary services! Always such a special night, with 39 recipients acknowledged, all of whom I finally got to congratulate with a hug after 2 years of COVID-19 restrictions! Thanks again to all our worthy recipients who do so much for our community, and to Cooroy RSL who have become a sponsor of this annually! We also were excited to notify the not-for-profit organisations who were successful in their applications for our Seeds for Change grants! To find out who was successful and their initiatives, head to my Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/SandyBoltonNoosa.

The cleanup of the polystyrene from the floods is an ongoing issue and the vacuum deployed by Noosa Council has been busy at work trying to rectify the situation! Next month, Council will be hosting a round table to discuss the issue and future measures, alongside Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) and the Department of Environment and Science (DES) - we will update to 360 the key outcomes.

With the court case between quarry operators and Council now awaiting determination, I ask all travelling the impacted roads to be mindful of the conditions, as well the delays expected as major works commence on the Kin Kin side of the range and Six Mile Bridge #7.

In response to our 3 years of advocacy, the CSIRO have released a research paper on the dioxin testing of Noosa River. The paper indicated that there is a strong correlation between our dioxins which have a unique ‘signature’ and the amount of kaolinitic clay in the sediment samples. If you are interested in reading, please head to 360 at www.sandybolton.com.

At time of writing, I am in Parliament trawling through the pages of the justreleased QLD 22-23 budget. It was wonderful that one of our relentless advocacies regarding the School Transport Assistance Subsidy (STAS) has been successful, and will now include students from shared care arrangement families. My usual summary of my ‘trawling’s’ will be posted to Noosa 360 at www.sandybolton. com/noosa360/.

Keep up to date via our Facebook and our monthly newsletter, which you can subscribe to via https://www.sandybolton. com/. If you have any questions regarding state related matters, please don’t hesitate to contact our office at 5319 3100 or email noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au.

PS. Remember it is flu season, so please don’t forget your free shots! Sandy x

NICKLIN RECEIVES RECORD FUNDING IN QLD BUDGET

The Queensland State Budget was handed down last month by the Palaszczuk Labor Government.

I’m thankful we have received record level funding across the Nicklin electorate including $11.7 million to go towards school infrastructure, delivering new halls at Noosa District State High, Burnside State High, and Yandina State School. We’re also spending $1.7 million to refurbish classrooms at Noosa District State High, Nambour State College, Woombye State School, and Burnside State School.

The new $9 million Nambour Police Station will be opening any day now and $4 million has been put aside to start on replacing the Cooroy Police Station. Our RFS units have received a boost in funding to $62 million annually which means new stations and facilities, as well as the installation of cabin deluge systems for around 200 medium attack appliances, co-designed with the Rural Fire Brigades Association Queensland.

This is a budget that delivers for the people of Nicklin ensuring we have good jobs, better services, and a great lifestyle.

COMMUNITY CENTRE FUNDING

Earlier this year the Community Support and Services committee - of which I’m a member - recommended the Government increase the base level of funding to neighbourhood and community centres. I’m pleased to say the government has listened and delivered on the recommendation increasing base funding from $124,000 to $230,000 per annum, resulting in an extra $106,000 per year!

This additional funding allows centres to hire new staff, buy equipment and deliver additional services and support for people who need it most – including those experiencing domestic and family violence, social isolation and loneliness, homelessness, and financial stress. For vulnerable people in our community, this support can be life changing.

HEALTH FUNDING

We’re putting the health of Queenslanders first and foremost with our record investment in health of $23.6 billion. Delivering three new hospitals, a new Queensland Cancer Centre, 11 hospital expansion projects across Queensland, 2,200 new beds, new doctors, and nurses, we’re supporting our frontline heroes to get their jobs done.

This includes $1.64 billion over five years to improve mental health and wellbeing and combat substance abuse, representing the single largest investment in Mental Health in our State’s history

It will focus on rehabilitation care, additional community care units, adolescent day programs and Step-Up StepDown services to help people transition out of our hospital system or avoid it in the first instance altogether. Find out more here: https://budget.qld.gov.au/

CLARE STEWART Noosa Mayor

AS we tackle school holidays there is plenty happening at Council’s facilities such as Noosa Leisure Centre, Noosa Library Service, Noosa Regional Gallery, Peregian Digital Hub and the NAC to keep the kids entertained. Some of the activities on offer include 3D printing, Lego workshops, basketball clinics, jewellery design, swim schools, teen gym, plus kids playroom and more. For further details please see www. noosa.qld.gov.au

Council has approved more than $350,000 for community groups, events and projects in the first Community Grants round of 2022/2023. Noosa is home to more than 300 community groups and this funding is one way Council is supporting the many local organisations that help enrich our residents’ way of life. Council has also approved $216,087 to contribute towards Signature and Festive season events as well as Alliance projects. As well as this, acknowledging the importance of art and artists work in our community, six local artists and art community groups have shared in more than $25,000 worth of funding in the latest Noosa Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) grant to help them develop their projects. For further information on the latest list of recipients please see www.noosa. qld.gov.au/community/grants/councilgrants

Similarly, Council has awarded seven Environment Project Grants and 10 Environment Organisation Alliance Grants this round worth a combined $211,751. Council is also providing an additional $254,000 during the 2022/23 financial year through the Multi-Year Environmental Collaborative Grants program.

It’s been all about the budget over the past few months, and highlights include a $42 million capital works program, a $117 million operating budget and a modest surplus to remain financially sustainable. The $42 million capital program includes $17 million for the road and transport network, a $5.3million reseal program, $5.3 million for bridges plus $1 million worth of stormwater upgrades, $4.4million for parks, playgrounds and sports fields and $1.9 million for hinterland pathways and boardwalks. Key budget initiatives include affordable housing investigations and continued advocacy, improved service levels for hinterland road verge mowing and pathway cleaning, continuations of the Go Noosa free weekend bus trial and continuation of Living Well Noosa program across the Shire, plus development of the new Corporate Plan and Destination Management Plan. Council greatly appreciates the input from everyone who took the time to have a say during the budget consultation period. Until next month, stay safe, Clare