BendigoWeekly Bendigo ISSUE 1040 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2017
www.bendigoweekly.com.au
Mayoral race down to...
MARG MATT or
By SHARON KEMP
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Amy McMillan and Asha. Photo: ANDREW PERRYMAN
Legally Blonde and ready to roll THE cast of Bendigo Theatre Company’s latest production, Legally Blonde will be performing at the Ulumbarra Theatre next week. Since the show was cast in May, the cast and crew have been rehearsing a minimum of 10 hours per week
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for the Broadway musical, based on the 2001 novel by Amanda Brown, and subsequent movie starring Reese Witherspoon. “It’s an all-singing, all-dancing, high energy show,” the show’s lead actor Amy McMillan said.
“Dress rehearsals started this week, so we are ahead of schedule. Everyone in the cast and crew are really bonding and being supportive. At rehearsals we have so many laughs.” For more information go to www. bendigotheatrecompany.org
Pool name game continues – Page 3
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THE City of Greater Bendigo mayoral contest shapes as a two-way battle, with the city’s next leader set to be chosen on Monday. Eppalock ward councillor Margaret O’Rourke will make Bendigo council history if she is voted in next week to wear the mayoral robes for back-to-back terms. But she faces competition from Lockwood ward councillor Matt Emond, who like Cr O’Rourke, is in his first stint on council. Bendigo has a tradition of electing a new mayor every year but two former councillors have weighed in to speculation before the vote to suggest there may be little reason to change mayors at all. Wayne Gregson and Barry Lyons challenged the notion of sharing the role if the incumbent mayor was performing well. Mr Gregson described the tradition as a potential waste of skills. “If you get a person who is doing well in one year and they are really starting to hit their potential in the last part of the year, then why should they change?” Mr Gregson said. “I don’t know the in-
tention of any other candidates, but I think that (Cr O’Rourke) has been a really good mayor. “I think she has had a really sharp learning curve in that she was mayor in her first year as a councillor, which I would say is a hard ask.” Mr Lyons said commitments such as Regional Cities Victoria which were the responsibility of the mayor,
If you get a person who is doing well... then why change? took at least two meetings to build up knowledge about. He nominated for consecutive terms as mayor four years ago and was defeated by the vote. Mr Lyons said the benefit was continuity and Mr Gregson said sharing the role could lead to less than creative outcomes. Continued Page 6
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