Front page news: June 27-July 3, 2007-2015
A snapshot of news from across the years
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July 3, 2007: Northern Grampians Shire Council has taken a leadership role in planning for the closure of the Stawell Gold Mine and believes community input is the key to a successful outcome.
Almost 30 people attended the first Stawell Gold Mine Focus Group meeting, with community members, councillors, gold mine staff and Northern Grampians Shire staff gathering at the Stawell Entertainment Centre on June 19.
Perseverance chief executive officer, Mark Mitchell, said the mine will seek to extend the life of its profitable operations through successful exploration and exploitation of current high gold prices.
However, the shire’s chief executive officer Glen Davis said the closure plan was important.
‘‘The day will come, whether it’s three years or longer, that Stawell must continue to thrive without ongoing gold mining,’’ Mr Davis said.
June 27, 2008: McDonald’s Australia is confident its development proposal will work in Stawell, even though it has been described as somewhat of a test case for the company.
Development manager real estate with McDonald’s Australia Limited, Chris Morgan said Stawell was one of the lowest population sizes that the company had ever targeted for a restaurant development.
‘‘It is one of the lowest areas in population size that we have applied to develop in, so we see it as a big test for us,’’ Mr Morgan said.
‘‘The development will test us, but we have enough faith in the community of Stawell and the region to suggest it will work.’’
Mr Morgan said the site location, on the corner of Seaby Street and the Western Highway, was ideal for a McDonald’s restaurant.
He said the plan was to attract highway traffic, as well as attract locals to the restaurant.
July 1, 2008: Northern Grampians Shire Council has sent a strong message about the need to change the way rates are calculated, when adopting the 2008-09 budget.
Councillors spoke out against the archaic system of rating which was forcing massive increases on ratepayers each year.
Cr Wayne Rice moved at council’s meeting last Thursday in Stawell, that the budget be formally adopted, with the rate increase remaining at seven percent.
‘‘There is a seven percent rise over the next year and that is something we don’t actually enjoy doing, but it is a reality,’’ he said.
‘‘We may suffer some criticism for it, but neighbouring shires have gone higher than what we have.
‘‘It is reality, we are in for some fairly tough times. When you watch the news, you see the oil crisis and what is going on throughout the world, you just cannot avoid these things.
‘‘Unfortunately rates have to go up and so do general charges. When we look at those general charges, the cost of removing rubbish and recycling just can’t be avoided. It’s out of our hands.’’
Cr Kevin Erwin lashed out at the system of rating when commenting on the budget.
‘‘We don’t like making huge jumps in rates, but that’s the system we have to deal with,’’ he said.
‘‘I have said it on a number of occasions that it is an archaic system and it is a real deterrent for people to improve their properties.
‘‘Until governments comes up with a better way of funding, we will have to put up with this system.”
July 3, 2009: Damaging winds in excess of 100kmhswept across the region this week resulting in property damage and widespread power outages.
Tuesday’s storm swept through Stawell at 2.38pm, with winds up to around 90kmh.
After an initial heavy downpour it rained on and off all day, continuing into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
By 8am, 10.4mm of rain had been recorded.
Across Victoria, State and Emergency Service volunteers responded to more than 600 requests for assistance.
Almost 60 per cent of the tasks undertaken involved clearing trees from public roadways, blocked driveways and damage to vehicles and private property.
Stawell SES Controller Alan Blight and his crew began responding to call outs almost immediately after the storm hit.
‘‘We ended up with about 15 call outs altogether, finishing up around 9.30pm,’’ Mr Blight said.
‘‘These ranged from trees down to minor structural damage. A power line was brought down in Patrick Street, but there wasn’t much we could do about that because of the power.’’
June 28, 2011: Frewstal is preparing for a significant boost in production after receiving the green light for an export licence.
Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQUIS) visited the abattoir a fortnight ago to assess company’s policies and procedures and will present management with a licence number early next month.
The announcement has proven timely for Frewstal which is currently experiencing an unusual downturn in production due to a shortage of stock.
Staff have been working four days a week in the main process area since the beginning of February as the company operates at just 50 percent capacity.
Plant manager, Greg Nicholls said the export licence would help create extra work and increase business.
“It’s a big boost for us. It will mean we have a lot more to do and hopefully we’ll be able to get everyone back on five days’ pay,” he said.
June 29, 2012: Farmers in the Joel Joel area are reeling after being delivered the news that applications for flood assistance grants had been rejected by the Federal Government.
Landholders who were devastated by the December 18 floods - some who face damage bills close to $200,000 - had been hopeful of Category C funding applications being approved by the government, giving them an opportunity to access grants of up to $25,000.
However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard rejected the applications this week.
Northern Grampians Shire Council has been dismayed by the Federal Government’s lack of understanding and compassion, describing the decision as a ‘psychological kick in the guts’.
Mayor, Cr Dorothy Patton said the council was extremely disappointed with the decision, as it meant farmers affected by major floods in December last year would miss out on vital assistance.
The approval of Category C funding assistance under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) would have given the farmers access to a $25,000 grant.
July 3, 2012: Deputy Premier Peter Ryan is pushing for national disaster assistance reform, in the wake of the decision by the Federal Government to reject an application on behalf of farmers in the Joel Joel area.
Mr Ryan said under the reforms presented at a national emergency management meeting convened in Melbourne last Friday, farmers and businesses would get fairer and more transparent disaster assistance.
The Police and Emergency Services Minister was vocal about the Federal Government’s rejection of funding assistance to farmers in Joel Joel.
The State Government had approved the application for funding under the National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, which would have provided farmers with grants up to $25,000 to assist
with their recovery from the December floods.
At least 100 farms, 64 homes and 16 community assets in the upper Wimmera catchment area, which covers parts of Northern Grampians and Pyrenees shires, were affected on December 18 when around 125mm of rain fell in just two hours.
The impact of the event was greater than the January 2011 floods with the rapid water rise far more devastating.
Council records show that up to 415 properties in the shire have been affected by floods more than once since the first major flood in September 2010.
June 28, 2013: Northern Grampians Shire Council has vowed to continue lobbying government at both state and federal level for increased funding support, to boost the economy once Stawell Gold Mines closes.
Council has been disappointed with the level of support offered to date, since the announcement was made by Crocodile Gold that the mine would close, starting with the winding down of underground mining operations.
Voting unanimously in favour of lobbying state and federal governments for support to mitigate the economic and social impact on the community due to the closure of the Stawell Gold Mine, councillors used the example of how much money was being ‘thrown’ at the Geelong community after Ford announced it was closing the city’s manufacturing plant.
Cr Kevin Erwin said he was shocked that the federal government in particular had not made contact with council, or made any offers of financial assistance, regarding the mine closure.
“Ford represents one percent of Geelong’s entire workforce and the federal government has committed millions of dollars to assist the community,” he said.
June 30, 2015: A funding injection from the state government has lifted the hopes of St Patrick’s Primary School Principal Kate Harney that a new building will be operational next year.
Mrs Harney welcomed a visit last week by Education Minister and Deputy Premier James Merlino, who confirmed his government’s $500,000 commitment towards a major redevelopment at the school.
The money will allow for the demolition of old and dilapidated portable buildings which will be replaced by new modern classrooms.
Mrs Harney said the redevelopment would allow the school to continue to grow and would be an excellent asset for the Stawell community as a whole.
“This will be a great development for the school and for the Stawell community,” she said.
“It will allow us to provide modern classrooms and improve the way we deliver education to our students.”