2015

Kids swim for life

Kyabram students are taking part in a trial program aimed at reducing drowning in an attempt to bring about better water safety programs from the Victorian Government.

The trial comes after alarming statistics from Life Saving Victoria revealed that regional Victorians were twice as likely to drown compared to those in urban areas.

Some 60 per cent of children leaving primary school also can’t swim 50m (the national safety benchmark) and 40 per cent cannot remain floating for two minutes.

Students from Kyabram P-12 College are among a select few to take part in the LSV organised and part-funded ‘Before School Swim Trials’, which aim to pressure the government to fund water safety initiatives and swim lessons for primary school-aged children.

LSV education services general manager Kate Simpson told the Free Press that Kyabram P-12 was approached to participate for three reasons — because its in a regional area, the high number of drownings in the Murray-Darling region, and because the trials were designed to target areas that could have socio-economic challenges.

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Cancer care set to come to Kyabram

Kyabram and District Health Service will soon welcome same-day oncology services after being one of the few regional groups to receive funding in the latest Victorian budget.

KDHS received a commitment from the government under the $200 million Hospital Beds Rescue Fund to establish the service but is awaiting advice from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Specifics of the funding being provided are yet to be confirmed, but KDHS has said it estimates the new service will treat 461 local people annually.

KDHS chief executive Peter Abraham said he was extremely delighted with the outcome.

“KDHS has long recognised the need for a local chemotherapy service as a key plank in our cancer services programs,” he said.

“This is an excellent outcome for our health service and more importantly for our community,” board chairwoman Maureen Atkins said.

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True Roo Hobbs to play astounding 400th game

Brett Hobbs will run on to the field this weekend with his head held high as he reaches an incredible 400 games for the Girgarre Football Club.

Brett, who will fittingly play his milestone match at Girgarre Recreation Reserve on Saturday against Merrigum, started his football career with Girgarre in 1993 after friends talked him into it.

“Coming to Girgarre Football Netball Club has been a great move for me and my family,” he said.

“When I first arrived, it was just myself and my girlfriend. Now I am married and have two children who both now play at Girgarre, Branden in the thirds and Sharni in he 15-an-under netball.”

During his stellar 22 years in the game, Brett managed to play 269 senior games and 130 reserve games.

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1995

Brenton back at school after the shock of his life.

“The first minute I was up there playing around with the beater, then the next minute I was on the group getting zapped.”

Readers may recall our story two months ago on how 11-year-old Brenton Cahill had a run in with an electric beater, resulting in him copping a 240-volt electric shock and third-degree burns.

Since Brenton’s harrowing experience, the young Tongala St Pat’s student hasn’t been up to too much.

“My only option has been the mattress in front of the television, so I have been watching videos mostly,” he said.

Brenton has been out of action after undergoing surgery to repair the damage caused by the burns to his hands.

Next time, Brenton says he’ll be more careful when tinkering with electrical appliances and he warned any youngsters who were thinking of delving into the mysteries of electricity to not bother.

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Chance to support band

Kyabram and district people get the chance tomorrow night to support a young group of local musicians, who have been bestowed the honour of representing their country at an international music festival.

The group Odyssey, made up of pupils from last year’s Kyabram Secondary College’s music group, heads for Sweden on May 24 to represent Australia at the International Music 4 Youth Festival.

A variety concert at the Plaza Theatre tomorrow night gives locals the chance to acknowledge the magnitude of the selection of the group to make the trip. But above all, it provides the opportunity to raise funds to make the trip possible.

A variety of entertainment has been organised for tomorrow night’s concert, and it will be a great night — if the public supports it.

***

Bombers blend beautifully

Bomber coach Chris Stuhldreier has a problem — keeping his charges up for nearly another 18 weeks.

It is just five weeks into the season, but you wouldn’t have thought that watching the Bombers destroy Mooroopna by nearly 25 goals on Saturday with a premiership-winning brand of football.

The Bombers blended beautifully for most of the game to overrun — not to mention embarrass — their leaden-footed rivals.

Stuhldreier couldn’t be happier with the way the new players have fitted into the Kyabram lineup, and with the clockwork precision in which his charges destroyed their rivals, particularly in the first and last terms, on Saturday.

It is early days yet, but its obvious the Bombers, at the moment, are an exciting football side.

1975

We may get natural gas

Towns such as Kyabram, Tongala and Mooroopna could eventually be supplied with natural gas.

This has been revealed by the Minister for Fuel and Power (Mr Balfour) in answer to a question raised in the Legislative Assembly last week by Mr Eddie Hann, Member for Rodney.

Mr Hann said the minister, in his second reading speech, had stated, “The major capital project to be carried out during the year is the supply of gas to the Albury-Wodonga area and to Seymour, Benalla, Wangaratta, Shepparton and Mooroopna.”

Mr Hann said, “I should like an assurance from the Minister that when the pipeline is constructed to the Albury-Wodonga area to serve these towns, its capacity will be sufficient to enable to corporation in the future to extend the pipeline to other towns along the route in neighbouring areas.

“I refer to areas in my electorate such as Kyabram, Mooroopna and Tongala where there ara a number of dairy factories which could utilise natural gas. It would be a boon for the industries in those areas and those in the Echuca and Rochester area.”

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Schools in crisis

Kyabram and district primary schools are anticipating a shortage of teachers for the second school term.

An advertisement in the Free Press this week called for any qualified registered primary teachers who were prepared to teach, should vacancies occur in district schools, to contact the school principal.

Haslem St Primary School principal Mr Barrie Winzar said the Education Department had advised there was no list of qualified staff to draw on should the shortage occur during the second term.

Mr Winzar said the state was adequately staffed for the required teacher-pupil ratios, but a shortage could occur during the winter months.

At the Haslem St school, four teachers will be absent during the second term.

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Another lesson for the pupil?

Rochester coach Kevin Radley should still be learning after his team takes on Peter Lyon’s all-conquering Bombers in tomorrow’s GVL round.

Lyon coached both Radley and Rochester’s assistant coach Don Cook when he led Portland a few seasons back.

Some of the critics are suggesting that pupil Radley might have the last laugh over tutor Lyon after tomorrow’s game.

Of course, they are basing their prediction on Rochester’s form of the last week when it surprised previously unbeaten Mooroopna.

Rochester’s players will certainly have their tails up and will give a lot of cheek, but when the chips are down, Kyabram will have the answers.

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