Pomona business turns 104

FROM little things, big things grow.

That has certainly been the case for Pomona’s SpillDEBeans.

From its humble beginnings as a pop-up coffee shop in the Pomona Newsagency, owner Deb Vassallo has grown the business into the thriving cafe it is today.

And now, 11 years later, long-time local Deb said it is time to pass the baton.

“It’s time to move on and let someone else take the reins.

“It has been a wonderful journey and it's been so nice to have the following I’ve had.

“Some people have followed me from space to space ever since the beginning.

“The cafe has always been about families: we are a family, we have families come in, and now we have a lovely new family taking over.”

Local family Leila and Jason Pinnell are the new owners of SpillDEBeans.

The couple, who grew up in Pomona and Cooroy respectively, said they bought the cafe because there is something wonderful about giving people good coffee and food.

“When you cook a great meal for someone and they love it, you give them comfort.

“Jason has a background in pastries and baking and will be cooking in the kitchen, I’ll be front of house, and all the current staff will be staying on.”

Drop into SpillDEBeans at 12 Memorial Ave, Pomona and say hello to Leila and Jason and goodbye to Deb.

POMONA’S longest-running business has celebrated a new milestone.

Furniture manufacturing company Page Furnishers celebrated its 104th birth- day on 21 February.

What started as a small cabinetry business in 1919 by Herbert Page has, over the past century, grown into a multimillion-dollar manufacturing plant. Today, the company on Factory Street continues to be one of the largest employers in the Noosa hinterland.

THE closure of general practice medical clinics at Pomona and Imbil by a Brisbane-based corporation worryingly leaves these communities without local access to general practitioners.

The Wide Bay electorate has an ageing demographic, many of whom are pensioners and suffer from chronic health conditions which require regular visits to their GP.

In December last year, I wrote to the Minister for Health and Aged Care alerting him to the pressures faced by general practices and seeking additional support for them. I also raised these closures in a speech to Parliament in February.

In particular, changes the federal government has recently made to Distribution Priority Area classification have made it easier to recruit doctors to metropolitan areas. As the pool of doctors is limited, this change makes it much harder to attract them to

Llew O’Brien

Federal Member for Wide Bay

regional communities like Wide Bay.

Disappointingly, the reply I received from the Minister’s chief of staff indicated no intention to change this policy.

I continue working with the Central Queensland, Wide Bay, and Sunshine Coast Primary Health Network (PHN) to facilitate ongoing access to primary health care for the Pomona and Imbil communities. The PHN is an independent organisation funded by the federal government which works to streamline health services, increase access, and address gaps in primary care.

Initially, the PHN has advised that it will engage with the community to develop long-term solutions to meet local needs.

The PHN is currently investigating the options available to facilitate ongoing access to primary health care for affected residents, including commissioning a short-term primary care hotline for the residents of Imbil and Pomona, to enable the availability of GP telehealth consults for residents without leaving their community. The aim is to provide a multidisciplinary model of care that works with other healthcare businesses in the area such as pharmacies and pathology providers, and may include other healthcare professionals such as nursing, pharmacy, and allied health, to support residents to access care alone, and those who need assistance with accessing a technology solution. However, these measures aren’t a substitute for having local access to general practitioner services where and when people need them, and I will continue to work with the PHN and encourage the government to implement solutions for our communities in Wide Bay that have been left without local primary health care providers.

Llew

IN exciting news for our community, construction of a new multipurpose facility at Noosa District Sports Complex on McKinnon Drive, Tewantin, has started. Completion is due late June 2023, weather permitting. The new multipurpose facility will provide additional facilities to support several sports clubs based at the complex, including cricket, netball, pickleball and car clubs. Specifically, the facility will include four-player change rooms including toilets, a kitchen, six spectator unisex toilets (two disability compliant), storage space, first aid and umpire rooms and a large multipurpose area along with solar panels. This $1.8 million investment is funded jointly by the Australian and Queensland governments in association with Noosa Council and the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund.

The current lack of available and affordable accommodation in Noosa is well known and because of this, a few weeks ago, on behalf of Noosa Council, I wrote to hundreds of non-resident ratepayers, urging them to put their short stay property or vacant holiday homes onto the permanent rental market. It’s among the many avenues that council is pursuing to help boost the availability of affordable rental properties in Noosa to help ease the shire’s housing crisis. Clearly, the choice is up to the owner of the property but all councillors remain committed to trying to do as much as we can to help ease the many challenges around housing availability and affordability.

As we move out of the holiday season, please continue to make the most of Noosa Council’s free weekend bus trial. The trial includes existing Translink services 626, 627, 628, 629 and 632 covering Tewantin, Sunshine Beach, Sunrise Beach, Noosa Heads, Parklands, Noosa Junction, Noosaville, Cooran, Cooroy, and Pomona. The program’s success will depend on the uptake and patronage of the weekend buses so we’re encouraging everyone to get out of their cars and on the free buses and take full advantage of the initiative.Noosa Council’s successful Living Well Noosa program now caters for workers, with special lunchtime classes. Take a break from your desk and join the team every Wednesday for free yoga at Zenko Yoga Studio in Noosaville. For more information or to book a session, please email love@zenkoyoga.com.au Speaking of connection, members of council’s Community Development team will be on hand each week to help link local residents and community groups with key community and social services. Please feel free to visit the Cooroy Library every Tuesday from 9 am to 2 pm to have a chat and coffee. With an aim to make spaces at the library more useable and offer better sun protection, works have begun on two new cantilevered shade structures and new synthetic turf. The work is happening in the children’s outdoor area and will take about five weeks to complete, depending on weather. The area will be closed during construction but other outdoor courtyard spaces are available. We thank you for your patience while we carry out these improvements. Clare

Frank Wilkie Deputy Mayor for

DEVELOPMENT and progress are fine but what about character, environment and history? How different would the hinterland towns appear if heritage buildings and iconic design features were not recognised and valued over time? What landmarks, views, trees, parks and architecture contribute to your village’s unique identities and need to be preserved?

That’s what the upcoming Local Heritage Register Review is all about. There will be community sessions at Cooroy, Pomona, Kin Kin, Boreen Point and Cooran, plus an online survey in early March. Taking stronger collective and personal responsibility for waste and finding innovative ways to transform it is the focus of the new Waste (resource recovery) Strategy. Help reduce your future waste charges by guiding council towards the innovative resource recovery, waste-to-energy projects you would support in Noosa Shire. Noosa’s landfill is finite. The state government has set more ambitious

Noosa

recycling targets. Domestic property owners will likely be joining commercial ratepayers in sharing the cost of each tonne going to landfill. Help guide the future by completing the online survey or meet experts at one of the community information sessions being held in March: yoursay.noosa.qld.gov.au/ noosa-waste-strategy

Ron West, the man forever associated with the world’s longest-running silent film theatre The Majestic at Pomona, celebrated his 90th recently. For decades, Ron has entertained tens of thousands by matching theatre organ music to the actions of silent films featuring icons like Buster Keaton and Rudolph Valentino. Pomona Arts Inc, the community group that reinvigorated and now manage the Majestic Theatre, hosted Ron’s milestone event. The Majestic was Noosa Shire’s only picture theatre until 1984.

If you’d like to discuss council matters, please contact Frank.wilkie@noosa.qld.gov. au or 0413 530 587. Frank

YOUTH repeat offenders, their crimes and behaviours across Queensland understandably have brought forward calls for greater punishments as part of further deterrence and consequences for their actions, with 75.9 per cent saying that youth crime was their greatest concern in our latest Noosa MP Annual Survey. This is not surprising, with visiting teenagers stealing cars and demonstrating appalling behaviour on New Year’s Eve at Noosa Heads. As I recently shared on a Noosa 360 update, the solutions are not as simple as we would like to think; however they are there. The update includes insights from public hearings relating to youth recidivism in areas such as Mt Isa, Townsville and the Gold Coast in 2021. Whilst you read this, we will have been debating in Parliament a bill on greater deterrence. All of my speeches are available at SandyBolton. com/Parliament/Speeches. The survey also brought

Sandy Boulten Independent State Member for Noosa

forward some changes in ‘community think’, with the decriminalisation of cannabis and the reduction of commercial fishing licences seeing a decline in percentages, with a consistent majority of nearly 80 per cent seeking an end to political parties and MP’s data harvesting from postal vote applications and utilising constituent details to campaign via text, email and ‘robo calls’. The full results and analysis have now been published at SandyBolton.com under the ‘Connect Tab’. Thank you to all Noosans who took part as we have had the highest response rate ever which is vital in working towards the future you seek.

Congratulations to Kin Kin volunteers, businesses, stall holders and attendees who created an awesome vibe and welcoming atmosphere for our mobile office aka ‘Moby’ last week. There were much-appreciated hugs, diverse conversations and many laughs including with Matt Golinski and his gorgeous Tillie who is now one year old! Thank you to all including our youngest store owner Chloe, who painted my face beautifully. The next ‘Moby’ will be in Cooroy on March 2.

Speed reductions are never popular unless you are someone who has been directly impacted by higher speeds. As our traffic volumes increase and a greater emphasis is placed on the safe use of our roads, speed limit reviews are conducted to ensure the needs of all are being considered, including those who may have had driveways installed along these routes before traffic volumes reached today’s levels. In response to a recent review by the Department of Transport and Main Roads and considered by the Speed Management Committee which includes local Police and Noosa Council, Louis Bazzo Drive has been reduced to 80 kph. Further information on the review process is available at SandyBolton.com/Noosa360.

With so much time between columns and so much to share, please stay ‘in the loop’ via Noosa 360 with updates on a range of important issues including heavy haulage and other matters such as Lake Macdonald which I should have information on shortly. In addition, follow ‘Sandy Bolton MP’ on Facebook to receive information as soon as available including the Friday ‘Wrap’ with news and grant information, and don’t forget to subscribe to our e-newsletter at SandyBolton.com/Newsletters. Always, if you have any questions or require assistance regarding state-related matters, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 5319 3100 or email noosa@parliament.qld.gov.au. Even though at the time of writing we have had a bit of rain to add some moisture to our scorched plants, we need more. I cannot believe I am saying this given February last year I was praying for the flood waters to recede, in hopes of stopping our plants from drowning! Yes, we live in great extremes, in paradise. I look forward to seeing everyone at the next Sconetime!

Sandy

Happy Birthday