BendigoWeekly www.bendigoweekly.com.au
issue 1057 friday, february 16, 2018
pool fight Council, committee at odds again
By joel peterson
FACED with the possibility of another community campaign to save the Golden Square Pool, volunteer committee chair Bernadette Wright’s message is simple: “We’ve done it before and we can do it again.” Council will next week vote on whether to close and decommission the facility, which has been operated by a committee of management since 2013. That was the point at which the council decided to keep the pool open, but only until the proposed Kangaroo Flat pool was open. Prior to that, the Golden Square community had launched a campaign to help save the pool from closure as council looked to cut costs following the review of aquatic centres in the municipality. That review led to council’s decision to push for a new indoor pool at Kangaroo Flat – which has become the $31 million Gurri Wanyarra Wellbeing Centre, expected to be open mid-year. Since then Ms Wright said the pool has flourished, with strong patronage and a host of community events being well attended and the second largest VicSwim enrolment of any regional pool in Victoria. Ms Wright said she was not surprised by the news on Wednesday, but had hoped council would have recognised the success the pool has had in operating under the volunteer committee’s stewardship.
proud moment: Brad Orton and Dennis O’Hoy present the baton to the crowd. Photo: ANDREW PERRYMAN
Baton tours town on way to games BENDIGO’S CBD came to a standstill on Wednesday as the Queen’s Baton Relay passed through town on its way to the 2018 Commonwealth Games. A total of 19 baton bearers carried the Queen’s message through the city’s streets, as
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school children lined up to cheer the community heroes on. And while the streets were hardly lined with people and it caused traffic chaos, the baton bearers were beaming with a sense of community pride. – Full coverage Pages 14 and 15
Data reveals Bendigo rail woe – Page 3
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“We knew the lease was coming up for renewal, I guess I felt that with the way the pool has been utilised – with over 66,000 people through the gate – that council would see sense and see that it is a pool that is used,” she said. “We knew that it was a possibility because that’s been over our head since 2013, we’ve had three leases since then. “We did know it was possible but based on what we believe is evidence
We see that we can co-exist with the new pool that shows this pool is a community hub, it offers many other things that other pools don’t offer. “We see that we can co-exist with the new pool.” Council provides the Golden Square pool with a $50,000-a-year grant to help with operating costs, and has also contributed a now chlorination facility. But council says the facility, built in the mid-1960s, is approaching the end of its life and the costs to keep it and similar facilities open are stacking up.
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