2015

Councillor blind sided

A controversial vote of “no confidence” and a call for retirement was brought against Campaspe Shire councillor Carol Howell last week in a tense Kyabram District Residents Ratepayers and Development Group Meeting.

Thirty-two people, including councillors Howell, Neil Pankhurst, John Zobec, Adrian Weston and Mayor Leigh Wilson were in attendance when a motion from the group was made and voted upon.

The motion put before Cr Howell read:

“That councillor Caroll Howell be advised in writing that at the meeting of KDDRADG held on Wednesday, May 20, a vote of no confidence in her position as Campaspe councillor was proposed. Councillor Howell is to be further advised in writing that should she decide to retire from council, no further action should be taken by this group.

Speaking in her defence, an emotional Cr Howell expressed her shock and indignation at the motion.

“I would like to hear what I have done because as far as I am concerned, I have given seven years of my life to this community and the Shire of Campaspe and if you’d think I go to the Shire of Campaspe ‘yes, yes, yes’ to Echuca and other places. Of course, we work together and of course all the councillors do support me in what I do, and I support them in what they do, but you have to remember that Kyabram has for 7000 people and Echuca has got 13,000.”

***

Uniting for ice fight

Could a united front finally be formed in Kyabram’s fight against the drug ice?

More than 20 community leaders gathered at Kyabram Community Learning Centre last week to brainstorm ideas and form a united action group to tackle the insidious drug problem that is sweeping across regional Victoria.

Representatives from Teen Challenge, St Augustine’s College, Kyabram P-12 College, Tongala Community Health, Tongala and Kyabram football and netball clubs, Kyabram police, councillors Carol Howell and many more spoke in depth about how the problem is affecting the town, and what should be done to stop it.

The meeting ranged from first-hand accounts of drug addiction and its effect on families and the community, to a brainstorming session about what would be the best approach to fight the problem.

The consensus among the group was that if it wanted to truly join the fight, then it had to focus on prevention and rehabilitation.

***

Ky golfer to make history

Former Parkland and Valley View golfer Lisa Jean will be the first woman to contest the men’s Victorian PGA Championship.

Jean was selected for next year’s championship after scoring an even-par 72 at Melbourne’s Eynesbury Golf Club in the PGA Professional Championship of Victoria.

She managed to finish second on the day, two shots behind the winner, with her finish making her eligible to compete in the PGA event because the overall winner was a club manager and not a professional.

Jean, who is the head professional at Horsham Golf Club and the only woman in the field, said she was shocked when she heard the news.

“I think they never expected a female to be in that position maybe,” she said.

“It was a bit of a shock really, but probably really food for the job in general.”

***

1995

Move on stadium

The possibility of an indoor sports stadium for Kyabram moved closer with two decisions by Campaspe Shire Council on Wednesday night.

Council awarded a contract for design and construction supervision of the stadium to Recrosport Pty Ltd of Box Hill.

The tender price of $68,400 was the lowest of seven companies who were invited to tender.

The council also let a tender for subdivision of an area of land at Kyabram showgrounds to provide a suite suitable for construction of a stadium.

The former Kyabram Town Council has provided $600,000 toward the stadium and another $200,000 is available through a government grant.

***

Working in high places

Many Kyabram and district residents, this week, may be sporting strained necks after looking skywards at those ‘magnificent’ men hanging off the Telecom tower seemingly oblivious to Newton’s theory of gravity.

Four men, for the past two days, have been atop the 60-metre structure positioning and bolting another base station of 10m as well as a paging antenna.

And mobile phone users will no doubt be pleased with the men’s efforts, as it is certain reception around Kyabram will improve.

The 30-tonne general crane, which was shifted from Melbourne for the job, has barely been at its full extension of 85m, and by all accounts, there are none too many taller in Victoria.

Such is the size of the crane that it takes two to three hours to pull it apart when the job is finished.

***

Bomber badge find sparks guessing game

Graham James, of Kyabram, has started a guessing game with a badge he produced, with the Kyabram Football Club rather ironically promoting a brand of cigarettes.

The mystery is that badge – which suggests Stick To A Standard – displays Kyabram’s black and red colours in horizontal black and red bands and not the black with red sash as it is today.

Graham found the badge when demolishing a house in Haslem St several years ago.

Despite some investigative work, he has also been unable to find out when the Kyabram colours were horizontal on the jumpers – and if they ever were.

***

1975

Football claim ‘exaggerated’

A claim by the Kyabram Football Club was exaggerated and had made a mountain out of a molehill, Tuesday night’s meeting of Kyabram Town Council was told.

Some councillors and the engineer took exception to the Football Club’s letter, which claimed the toilets at the recreation reserve were in a “filthy condition”.

The letter pointed out that during a recent match, the club had received many complaints, especially from females, about the filthy condition of the toilets.

Cr K.W Andrews said the letter was a surprise to him as a complaint had been attended to before the match in question.

Cr A. Pollard said he felt the matter had been exaggerated, and it was a case of making a mountain out of a mole hill.

***

Daniel and ‘Mac’ hit it off fine

They call him Mac (short for McTaggert) and he’s a purebred St Bernard.

And, Mac’s best playmate is eight months old, Daniel Green, son of Mr and Mrs Ken Green of Haslem St.

Mac is just 10 months old, and despite his immense size, does not eat a great deal of food.

He was brought up on baby cereal and now consumes just eight cups of dry food each day.

The dog and baby have been together since their infancy, and, as the picture above shows, they are really very good friends.

***

United prove they’re on the way back

United are a definite finals' contender. Tongala aren’t at this stage.

They were my two conclusions after watching the reigning premiers eclipse Tongala by 5 goals – 18.13 to 13.14 – in perfect football conditions at Tongala last Saturday,

Tongala was far from disgraced in defeat, but from the first bounce, one gained the impression that United would win the game.

Tongala’s inexperience showed out at vital stages, and it was the ability of the United side to beat off each enthusiastic home team challenge as it arose that got the Demons the points at the final siren.

Tongala made several lunges throughout the game in an endeavour to wrench the initiative, but each met with failure.

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