NEWSWATCH
ORANGE CITY
LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED WITH — INTEGRITY — WISDOM — BALANCE Saturday 31 October, 2020
www.orangecitylife.com.au
“GO WEST” FOR RING-ROAD, AND GROW WITH ORANGE!
“Go West” they told the pilgrims; and former councillor Neil Jones believes it is the only solution to Orange City Council’s Southern Feeder Road dilemma. Current Council work on Ploughmans Lane to upgrade it to eventually link to the Southern Distributor will simply not work. Bold plans involving moving the whole Southern Feeder bypass west of the city, he believes, is the only effective way to overcome the current proposal’s short-comings.
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Council in the mid-2000s had failed to plan ahead by buying land and protecting a corridor that could have made the Orange ring-road a reality and were now trying to fudge the problem with ad hoc solutions involving suburban streets. “These are unsuitable urban roads not designed for heavy traffic, I mean Ploughmans Lane does not have approval for B-doubles for starters.” A Greens councillor from 2008-2017; he said the fatal error in Council’s plans occurred when they failed in not tying-up land that subsequently became the Wentworth Estate and where the ring-road could have had a seamless route unimpeded by direct access from residential and other developments.
For our full report, turn to page 3.
ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN — THE 2020 AMERICAN ELECTION Turn to pages 16–17 for our US election wrap
HE
RTS
FOR ORANGE
ISSUE No. 24
FREE
Talking POINTS
with DAVID DIXON Newswatch must be doing something right (or very wrong!) if our increasing correspondence with readers is any sign. This week we feature two full-pages of Letters to the Editor spilling from our Back Page onto page 19. While the singular views of columnist, Jeanine Bird, continues to divide readers, (see Birds Eye View on page 12), we at Newswatch still support that rather-quaint old-fashioned concept of “freedom of speech”. The truth, as it normally does, will eventually all come-out in the wash. Have you noticed that each weekend and, even during the week, the increasing numbers of well-heeled visitors — often over-dressed for our rather mild spring weather with layers of anoraks, scarves, beanies, and overcoats — enjoying the sights, sounds, food, and heritage of our fair city. With visitor numbers on the up by about 40 per cent from previous years, is it not time that some of our finest eateries started looking towards staying open on Mondays? Everyone knows the long hours and struggle to survive that hospitality has endured these past eight months, but even a roster system to keep a few going, or switching to Tuesday closings, would be preferable to tourists forced to munchdown fast food before heading for home. If you’re not doing anything Saturday (today) and want to get-out in the fresh air for a good cause, Ploughmans Wetlands Care Group are having a community planting day from 10–12noon. The event will be followed by a free barbecue with those interested asked to meet at the Picnic Shelter in Ploughmans Lane. Everyone is welcome but should wear a hat, gloves, and sturdy shoes. For more info, call Neil Jones on 0419 224 461.
We need to “better” SUPPORT OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES. Paying lip service won’t cut it, we need to live it! All of us, from our local government, our civic leaders, our major businesses right down to our neighbours and ourselves, we all need to spend EVERY DOLLAR POSSIBLE here in Orange - no excuses! Like us on Facebook for your chance to win great prizes