November 8, 2021 Issue 240 STIHL going strong...
The Local - The Heart of the Highlands
2 About Us
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Front cover: Dave Osborn, Emma Hall and their children, Aiden and Seth, made Daylesford their home five years ago. They also took over the STIHL Shop Daylesford - and it's going strong! Read their story on page 5.
The Local is an essential service and all our staff are double VV vaxxed! November 8, 2021 Issue 240 STIHL going strong...
The Local is a fortnightly community publication covering the Central Highlands of Victoria. The next edition is out on Monday, November 22, 2021. Or online on Sunday, November 21 at www.tlnews.com.au Space bookings: Wednesday, November 17 Copy deadline: Thursday, November 18 Editorial deadline: Thursday, November 18
Image: Kyle Barnes
Editorial: 0418 576 513 | Advertising: 0416 104 283 news@tlnews.com.au | sales@tlnews.com.au The Local - The Heart of the Highlands
Managing editor | Donna Kelly VV General manager | Kyle Barnes VV Sub-editors | Nick Bunning VV and Lindsay Smith VV
The Local is a registered trademark of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd. The Local is a member of the Victorian Country Press Association, with editor Donna Kelly, a director.
Writers | Kevin Childs VV, Tony Sawrey VV, Jeff Glorfeld VV, Narelle Groenhout VV, Sandy Scheltema VV, Carol Saffer VV & Donna Kelly VV Photographers | Kyle Barnes VV, David White VV & Louise Gay VV Graphic designer & HLH coordinator | Dianne Caithness VV
The content expressed within this publication does not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Local Publishing Group Pty Ltd. The Local Publishing Group's editorial guidelines and complaints-handling process can be found at www.tlnews.com.au We welcome all feedback.
Contributors: Glen Heyne VV (gardening), Darren Lowe VV (gigs), Matthew Richardson VV (money) & Jen Clarke VV (recipes) Accounts | Julie Hanson VV
Delivery | Tony Sawrey VV
Did you know bushfires kill from 200m away? The flames of bushfires can reach temperatures of up to 1100°C. Long before the flames reach you, the wave of radiant heat can kill you from 200 metres away. Planning for bushfire is the only way to survive it.
Plan. Act. Survive. Go to vic.gov.au/knowfire
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Our kids 3
Susie O’Neill and how tragedy can turn to triumph
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HEN Susie O’Neill was writing When Bad Things Happen...Good Things Can Grow, to be launched in Daylesford next month, she couldn’t believe how her title turned into reality.
Thieves ransacked her children’s foundation, even stripping it of 28 years of history, but up stepped donors with $50,000 in cash. Dr O’Neill, who holds a doctorate in education, is a former kindergarten head and primary teacher who founded KIDS Foundation to work with and support children at risk. She came up with the idea of selling the foundation’s big building in Ballarat and using the money. Then she got council permission to renovate an old Department of Defence building, a rabbit- and rat-ridden structure at the local airport. Over the past 18 months, she says, it has been turned into a beautiful place. Covid meant the building was empty for two and a half months. Excitement was high when Dr O’Neill and her team returned, champagne in hand for an end-of-day celebration, only to find there was no power. And no computers, no screens, laptops or coffee machine. Even the lawnmower had been stolen. All up, $20,000 worth of equipment was gone, as well as the foundation’s history backed up on computer drives. The next blow came the following night when a $50,000 trailer was stolen, later to be found dumped, damaged and spray-painted. A foundation board member got Dr O’Neill on Neil Mitchell’s show on 3AW in Melbourne. Among those listening was Mark Ward, who runs the Mill Markets in Daylesford, Geelong and Ballarat (and soon in Bendigo). He could scarcely wait to find a place to pull over on the Western Highway and ring Dr O’Neill to ask: “How much do you need?” His $10,000 went in that afternoon. The owner to the Australian rights to the Pokemon trading card game then offered $10,000. His wife overheard him on the phone and said: “Double it”, he did. A racing stables tipped in another $10,000. Someone even gave a coffee machine. For Mark Ward, helping a foundation for children means a lot. Leaving school at 12, he built a highly successful business and then at 54 became a father for the first time to Archer, now eight. So has he donated before? “All the time,” he says. “It means you can go to bed with a warm heart.” In her book, Dr O’Neill tells of her car crash, bike accident in Bali, an agonising broken finger, shoulder reconstruction and knee surgery, all before she was 60. In 2008 she had a rare heart tumour that required open heart surgery. Six months later she competed in the World Ironman Championships in Las Vegas, swimming 3.8km, riding 180km and running 42.2km. Over 10 years her foundation raised more than $1.5 million through events created with Ironman Australia. She even raised $150,000 from a young ironman contestant after talking to him during an event. And while many not-for-profits are criticised for the amount of money spent on administration, she gives her salary to the foundation, thanks to the success of her husband Brett’s plumbing business. Their home is a converted church, with a diningroom that seats 20 (her family of 18 is about to hit that number). What this money means is a safety program in 10,000 kindergartens, including 465,000 books on safety, some in four languages. Then there are the five camps around the country, connecting like-minded children who have been abused or experienced violence. When Covid hit, Dr O’Neill was determined to find something positive, so she wrote Let Kids Be Kids, a soon-to-be-published book on raising happy, healthy and safe children.
Another book, SeeMore Bug Safety – the tiny germs we can't see, explains Covid to small children. Along the way she helped set up a scheme, suspended during Covid, by which small children visit people in aged homes. Much of this began when she and Brett renovated a place for a child who was unwell but had to share his care with two elderly people. Her When Bad Things Happen...Good Things Can Grow book will be launched at the Çonvent Gallery on December 21 by Dr Richard “Harry” Harris, hero of the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018. And he's a KIDS Foundation patron. The book’s subtitle reads: "Survivors’ stories of hope from the aftermath of unimaginable trauma, abuse and burns." As Mark Ward said of Dr O'Neill's her foundation during our interview: "If it’s going to save one kid’s life, it’s worth it, and you are saving thousands."
Words: Kevin Childs | Image: Kyle Barnes
AUSTRALIA’S ALREADY INVESTED OVER 35 BILLION IN CLEAN ENERGY. AWESOME. Last year we reached 24% of our electricity with renewables alone!
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Advertorial 5
Celebrating five years at STIHL Shop Daylesford
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S A youngster Dave Osborn would spend time with his grandfather who was in the logging trade. He learnt how to use a chainsaw and a passion for power garden tools, and particularly the STIHL brand, started to grow.
Fast forward to 2016 and Dave was working at STIHL Shop Dandenong but he and partner Emma Hall were wondering what it would be like to run their own business. They looked around the state; as former Gippsland residents they wanted a small community where they could raise their family, and found the STIHL Shop Daylesford up for sale. It ticked all the right boxes and Dave made the move, six months before Emma who had a toddler Aiden and was pregnant with their second son Seth, who was born in Ballarat just a few weeks after the family arrived. "It was probably the sixth or seventh dealership we looked at but we felt that Daylesford would give us the opportunity to raise our kids in a rural setting with a small community feel," Emma said. "But it was chaotic. It was peak season and Dave just had to hit the ground running. The business had been run with just one person but Dave quickly employed another mechanic and then Rob Yoxall joined us and then Bryce and Rob T. We also have two spring casuals and a junior who comes in after school and on Saturdays." Coming up to their fifth anniversary with the business, Emma said it had grown from a one-man band to eight people, including herself most days. And the couple are far from resting on their laurels. They have added the factory next door, which will become the workshop, and in early 2022 their showroom will double in size - a great asset for the community. So there are significant changes happening, and Dave remains as passionate as ever about his work and the products he sells and services. This is a culture the couple has instilled in their employees. "We will only sell products that are fit for purpose and that will last the test of time in this region. We go to great lengths to have quality conversations with our customers, often asking them to bring in a video of the terrain they are mowing or their garden landscape, just to make sure we sell them the right product for the job," Emma said.
Pictured from left, Robert Yoxall, Carson White, Robert Tolhurst, Bryce Greenwood, Emma Hall and Dave Osborn Absent, Juno Harley and Tommy Craig
"We are just so happy to be celebrating five years in business and also five years in Daylesford. We are so thankful to the community for being so welcoming and supporting us on this journey. "It has also been very rewarding to contribute back to the community. This is all the perfect fit for our family."
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Santa's little helpers Charades Tin Game $13.95
Seinfeld Mug & Sock Pack $12.95
daylesfordtradingco.com.au
Ceramic Chicken Trivet $8.95
Aust Geographic Kits $13.95
Local jams and relishes $7.50
42 Vincent Street Daylesford
Stories of the Storm
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ANDY Scheltema's Stories of the Storm series is supported by Hepburn Shire Council, Trentham & Districts Community Bank and the Trentham Lions Club. The series showcases stories of courage, tenacity, bravery and resilience within the community from people who experienced the terrifying storm of June 10, 2021. This piece features veterinary nurse Eva Evans who was with her 11-yearold daughter Lily on her 60-acre mixed animal farm just outside Trentham when the storm hit. Her 13-year-old son George and husband Scott were at the Royal Children’s Hospital, due to return home on Friday, but couldn’t because of the blocked roads. “I picked Lily up from the school bus and the weather was getting pretty wild. When we got home, I said to her ‘Let’s secure the animals’. (Eva has ducks, chickens, horses, sheep, goats and a calf named Snickers). We moved the animals into a paddock with the most shelter. The wind was vicious. After we’d secured the animals we hid inside - we had to really push the door closed - the wind was howling from a direction it doesn’t normally come from. “We made dinner, then lost power just on sunset. I remember thinking ‘Thank God I’ve cooked.’ We had a lovely dinner by candlelight. The wind was coming from a different direction; it was like a jumbo jet flying over the house. So much so that Lily came into bed with me. We had no power, no lights, we lost wi-fi. “I woke six or seven times during the night and thought ‘jeez, it’s still windy, the power's still out’. As soon as it was light, I checked to see if the trampoline was still there - I was surprised that it was. There was a message from the school bus driver saying there’d be no school bus today. “The weather was still wild. I’d noticed there were a lot of trees down in the paddock - all of our shelter trees were uprooted. At 7am the weather seemed to settle. I went up my driveway to see if I could get out and to check the stock. “It was like God had played pick-up sticks and walked out halfway through the game. The adrenaline kicked in once I saw how many trees had fallen, there were over 30 down over the perimeter fences. I thought ‘We have to find all the animals and move them into a secure location’, because all the boundary fences were gone. “Trying to catch six flighty horses in a storm was challenging. We managed to get the rugs off two of them, they were flapping and scaring them. Lily was opening gates and I was herding them through. We could hear massive trees crashing down around us and realised it wasn’t safe to assess the boundary fences. We managed to get the stock in an internal paddock that still had fencing. “We decided to just sit it out. Both driveways were impassable and there was no way I could get out on my own. We ended up with 10 chickens and 15 quail inside because they’d got wet.
“We sat it out until 4pm on the Thursday. About 5pm the storm died down and we walked the 500 metres to our neighbour’s house. We saw utter devastation there. It was horrific, seeing the bush lying on the ground. We’ve all prepared our houses for bushfires, which helped prevent damage from this storm. Our neighbours have earth moving equipment and were already out clearing the roads that were impassable. They put in a solid 10 hours with their equipment and got about a kilometre. “We found our missing sheep under a branch that had come down in the storm. She was dead. As we went down the drive, we found one of our goats had tried to jump the fence and got caught. We got the car, the wire cutters, and cut her out. She was wet, cold, and miserable. Unfortunately, she never recovered. “George and Scott couldn’t get home from hospital in Melbourne because roads were still blocked. George was supposed to continue treatment with ‘Hospital in the Home’ via the Hepburn District Nursing Service. Because of the lack of power and road access they made the decision to keep George in the Royal Children’s Hospital until the power and services were restored, which didn’t happen until Tuesday, six days after the storm. I was happy he was safe and not involved with what was happening. “We put on the generator for our 100-litre chest freezer which had last season's four lambs and a steer. Once the roads were clear Scott and I made the decision to swap places because I didn’t know where to start with the clean-up of the property. He felt frustrated and useless being stuck in a hospital room in Melbourne knowing how much work was ahead of us. I felt useless not being able to do the heavy work. “I went to Melbourne to the hospital and came home and was just awestruck by the devastation. We felt overwhelmed by the amount of work to clean up, we were just grateful no-one was hurt. Family and friends from Melbourne were offering to help but because of Covid they couldn’t get here, which made things overwhelming. “In situations like this it’s important to be in contact with your neighbours, friends and family. Without my neighbours and their amazing earthmoving equipment I’d still be cutting wood out of my driveway. If they hadn’t had a 20-tonne excavator, I wouldn’t have been able to leave my property for days. But it wouldn’t have been the end of the world, we had enough food. “This storm has made us question our impact on the environment, and question how to mitigate our impact. I feel like extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. It’s important to be prepared to be self-reliant in events like this. Don’t get angry if they can’t turn the power back on in six hours. It doesn’t help being angry. “When I came home from hospital with George he complained he’d missed everything. I took him for a walk to show him all the damage and George found a mountain brushtail possum stuck in a tree hollow. We pulled him out, he was weak and it was six days after the storm but he had enough fight in him that we made the decision to release him.”
To read Sandy's final seven features in the series head to www.tlnews.com.au
Flowers of joy
From left, Jill Teschendorff, Sue Mucke and Denise Robinson Image: Kyle Barnes
T
HE shopfronts of Daylesford and surrounds will come alive later this month with 120 beautiful floral installations designed to celebrate spring and move towards a better future.
Sprout is a collaboration of many local groups and individuals, spearheaded by the Daylesford and District Horticultural Society in association with the Friends of Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, designed to lift the spirits of traders and shoppers alike after long Covid restrictions. Spokesperson Jill Teschendorff said the group's members would be commandeering the Daylesford Town Hall on Friday, November 19, making "beautiful foliage installations for every shop keen to be involved". They would be delivered to shopfronts by noon that day and remain on display for the weekend. "It has been a hard time for everyone but particularly for the traders who have done it really tough, so we are going to use spring produce to bring people into the towns and also just spread happiness and joy." Jill said the response of traders had been phenomenal.
19th-21st NOVEMBER 2021
Celebrating Spring with a weekend of stunning floral displays in the shopfronts of Daylesford and surrounds Enjoy the magic of 120 gorgeous floral installations created by talented floral stylists and over 40 local community groups
"They love that it is something they don't have to do, we are doing it for them, and we have also been able to listen to their stories and how much they have suffered. That has been important as well. "We then appealed to individuals and more than 40 local groups to see if they would like to be involved. We applied for and received grants from both the Hepburn Shire Council and the Community Bank Daylesford District. We are working with a tight budget but we will get there because of the support of the community. It really is the community helping the community." Jill said floral artist Denise Robinson would head up the team making the floral installations with many other florists also involved. "There are just so many positives. The 'Horties' working with the Friends, meeting people, finding gardens we didn't know about, and so many people donating produce. By the end of our event there will be new friendships made, new skills learnt and everyone will have a good time. We are going to come back to life and look forward to the future again."
$880 support for energy-efficient heating / cooling hot water insulation draught-proofing blinds & curtains* For more info contact Tim: assessor@hepburnznet.org.au phone: 0490 436 264 hepburnznet.org.au/home https://bit.ly/2NfhOcG
Scan QR Code
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*Eligibility conditions apply - for Hepburn Shire homeowners and renters in energy stress, low income earners, concession cardholders, and people with chronic or ongoing medical conditions or mobility issues and carers. An $880 co-contribution is also required to receive subsidy amount.
STORM AND FLOOD
BULLETIN RESIDENTIAL STORM AND FLOOD CLEAN-UP PROGRAM Thank you to everyone who registered for the Residential Storm and Flood Clean-up program. Registrations are now closed. In partnership with Johns Lyng Group, BRV’s Residential Storm and Flood Clean-up program covers the demolition and removal of structures that were damaged beyond repair on 9 and 10 June. The program also dismantles hazardous trees that are still standing to keep residents and work crews safe. Although we have closed the program to new registrations, crews will still be working hard to attend the remaining clean-up jobs that are underway or waiting for works to begin.
This bulletin provides regular updates and stories about recovery and clean-up from the June 2021 storms and floods both in our local community and across Victoria’s affected areas. Bushfire Recovery Victoria proudly works in partnership with council and the local community to support recovery.
GET HELP TO STABILISE YOUR FINANCES Financial counselling is now available through the Storm and Flood Recovery Hotline. Call 1800 560 760 today to access a financial counsellor who can help you stabilise your finances, reduce stress and allow you to focus on other areas. The Recovery Hotline is a single state-wide number Victorians impacted by the June 2021 storms and floods can call for assistance, including financial counselling. The hotline can connect you to a financial counsellor to help you: • access relief for utility bills and other payments • understand your government income and other entitlements • negotiate with your bank on debt issues
Over the past few months, our team have been capturing video footage from storm-affected properties that are registered with the Clean-up program, and interviewing residents themselves. We were humbled to spend time with the people who were impacted by the June 2021 storms and floods and help them share their stories
Speaking to a financial counsellor early can help stabilise your finances, reduce stress and allow you to focus on other areas.
Check out some of the videos on the Bushfire Recovery Victoria YouTube channel, use the QR code to go straight there.
Call the Storm and Flood Recovery Hotline on 1800 560 760 between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).
• identify if your insurance outcome is fair and appropriate • explore your options and advocate on your behalf.
For more information about clean-up call 1800 560 760 or visit www.brv.vic.gov.au/cleanup
AN UPDATE FROM HEPBURN SHIRE COUNCIL We held a Community Information Session via Zoom on Thursday 14 October. The meeting was hosted by Hepburn Shire Council and BRV. Representatives from Council, BRV, DELWP, Telstra, Powercor, Parks Victoria, CFA and SES were in attendance. Agencies delivered reviews of the storm, the clean-up, their learnings and their follow up. This was a chance for residents to have their say and to ask questions of the agencies and to share their concerns and queries following the storm event. The storm recovery team hope to be able to meet and engage with the community through in-person events in the coming weeks.
DISASTER RESILIENCE FOR BUSINESS Did you know that most disaster preparation is the same regardless of what the situation is? It might seem hard but preparing your business for disaster is easier than you think. A disaster recovery plan will enable you to adapt more quickly to change so you can minimise the risk of disruption to your business. Make sure to share your plan with your staff so they know what to do. The more you know about what could disrupt your business, the more you can do to prevent it. Visit business.vic.gov.au and search Disaster Resilience for Business to get the guidance and support you need to prepare your business for disasters.
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Sport 9
Daylesford Bowling Club holds open day
D
AYLESFORD Bowling Club held its open day for the 2021/2022 season on Saturday, November 6.
The current ladies' champion Anne Bremner sent down the first jack/kitty and the current men's champion Pat Torpey put down the first bowl. The newly-named Ballarat Highlands Bowls Region Saturday pennant commences on November 13 with a slightly shortened season due to Covid-19 restrictions. Daylesford Bowling Club has entered three Saturday teams. Tuesday pennant starts on November 16 with Daylesford having two teams. Play will continue with a break for Christmas/New Year with the finals scheduled during March. Full details regarding participating clubs can be found at www.ballarathighlands.bowls.com.au New bowlers are always welcome at Daylesford and any enquiries should be directed to the president Ken Marshall on 5348 3313 or secretary Joan Field on 5348 3030.
Pictured, Pat Torpey, Ken Marshall and Anne Bremner on the green for the new season Image: Kyle Barnes
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News 11
Power lines jeopardise World Heritage bid
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The proposal is still in its draft phase and any heritage listing, if successful, would not be ratified for another five years. However, the bid stands a good chance of being accepted and with it a potentially huge boost to local economies. The bid process is supported by 13 local governments, led by the cities of Ballarat and Bendigo and now has as its patrons former premiers John Brumby and Denis Napthine. "I left some detailed information on the Goldfield World Heritage Bid website," says Greg, "expressing my concerns about how the WVTNP development could Therein begins a glowing description, on the WVTNP website, of the huge high impact the bid but still haven’t received a reply." voltage power line development proposal extending 190 kilometres from Bulgana Meanwhile, the power line development process including consultation, public near Stawell to the outskirts of Melbourne. submissions, environmental studies, not to mention the distractions of federal and The project is intended to connect the Western Victoria Renewable Energy state elections, is slow and may push construction several years down the road. Zone with its (predominantly) Melbourne-based consumers. Local opposition to That could see the entire development dovetailing with the progress of the World the project has been immense and highly visible especially through areas such as Heritage bid. The result could see the Victorian Government in a peculiar situation Kingston, Newlyn, Blampied and Dean. The principal issues being the ongoing where it has approved the desecration of the same landscape it has been actively disruption to farming and the height of the towers (85m). seeking to protect through a UNESCO heritage listing. Their vast size creates some serious visual pollution to what is considered highly It is a glaring contradiction that anti-tower activist groups are keen to exploit. valuable, significant and unspoiled country. And this aspect could potentially draw World Heritage efforts would result in more eyes on the region and such attention additional state and national attention to what, so far, has been a regional squabble; would be a significant incentive to convince the government to place the lines as Greg May (pictured) from the Kingston and District Power Alliance explains. underground. Underground lines, while considerably more expensive, are the “There has been a UNESCO World Heritage bid project under way for several preferred option across the region. years now to have the historic Central Victorian Goldfields recognised as culturally “I’m a small-scale organic farmer who has lived in Blampied for all of his 65 significant and while it could take many years before getting approval, it is still years,” says Greg, “and I’m buggered if I want to see these towers built across our particularly important. countryside. “The area around Kingston and Smeaton where these lines are proposed are one “We want to get this message out far and wide so the more people that know of the most important parts of the World Heritage bid with more intact mine sites about it the better. Most people, I think, would be appalled if they thought that this than anywhere else in that whole region.” The idea of giving World Heritage status to the Goldfields region has been around World Heritage bid might be in jeopardy due to power line construction.” The Local sent emails to the Goldfield World Heritage Bid website contact page in its current form since the late 1980s with momentum increasing in the past few but did not receive replies by press time. years. They represent, according to World Heritage experts, “the most extensive, coherent and best surviving landscape anywhere, that illustrates the global gold rush Words: Tony Sawrey | Image: Kyle Barnes phenomenon of the second half of the nineteenth century”.
THE Western Victoria Transmission Network Project (WVTNP) is a critical upgrade of the state's transmission network which will ensure Victoria's successful transition from coal generated energy to sustainable, affordable and reliable renewable energy. It will connect largescale wind and solar in the west into the grid to power more than half a million homes across Victoria.”
LIFE AFTER LOCKDOWN Free online webinar
When: 10th November @ 7 pm Where: Online via Zoom As we re-emerge from COVID-19 lockdowns we invite the community to attend a 1hr online event to hear from mental health professionals about issues we may be facing. Discussions will include but are not limited to, managing anxiety, alcohol and drug use and re-engaging with work and life matters.
Host: Central Highlands Rural Health Presenters: Namita (Psychology) Mary (Social Work) Lee (Alcohol and Other Drugs) Registrations: www.trybooking.com/BUVHZ
How to get your proof of vaccination There are five ways you can show COVID-19 proof of vaccination to gain entry to businesses and venues in Victoria. • COVID-19 digital certificate via the Service Victoria app. • COVID-19 digital certificate saved to a smartphone wallet. • Printed copy of COVID-19 digital certificate together with a valid photo ID. • Printed copy of immunisation history statement together with a valid photo ID. • Medical exemption together with a valid photo ID. For more information on the five ways to show your COVID-19 proof of vaccination, visit: www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/get-your-covid-19-vaccine-certificate
Vaccination Rates Hepburn Shire
Macedon Ranges
First dose vaccination rate (15+)
First dose vaccination rate (15+)
>95%
86.6%
>95%
93.5%
Second dose vaccination rate (15+) Second dose vaccination rate (15+) Source: https://covidlive.com.au/report/ vaccinations-by-lga/vic on 1/11/2021
Childhood Sleep Would you like to know more about how to get your baby and/or toddler to sleep, how much is enough sleep and the signs our children show us when they are getting tired? Did you know your Maternal and Child Health Nurse is a childhood sleep specialist, who can help you learn more about childhood sleep patterns and needs? Like to know more? Call 53216550 to book a sleep assessment with one of our childhood sleep specialists. For more information please visit the Central Highlands Rural Health website: www.chrh.org.au Clunes I Creswick I Daylesford I Kyneton I Trentham 5321 6500 www.chrh.org.au www.facebook.com/CHRHorgAU
Community News MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
This month marks a year since the new Council was sworn in. As you all know, it has been a tumultuous year for all of us. Just to recap – we have lived with the ongoing see-sawing of various lockdowns with the impact on all of us – children’s schooling disrupted, businesses restricted, events postponed or cancelled and working from home the standard way of operating. Then there was the June storm impacting on 35% of the Shire’s footprint, responding to that emergency and now the ongoing recovery phase. Then more damage with the rain and wind this week. All in the context of Council change – with 6 of 7 new Councillors elected and the resignation of the then CEO in January, and the appointment of Bradley Thomas to the CEO role. Throughout all of this Council has continued to provide its day to day services – pretty impressive when you consider the requirements to work from home unless providing essential services, and when the workload for the storm recovery (with its estimated cost being a third of the Council budget) has been added to that. I want to again publicly acknowledge and thank all those Council staff who have stepped up and responded to the storm emergency (it was our responsibility as part of the co-ordinated response to run the Relief Centre in Trentham, as well as ensure that our roads were cleared and safe) and then again in assisting with the popup vaccination centre at Victoria Park to respond to a COVID emergency. That we were able to do so is evidence of both being well prepared and a commitment to community. Cup Weekend saw the return of visitors from metropolitan Melbourne, and there was certainly a buzz in towns around the Shire. It was great to walk around Lake Daylesford on Sunday evening and see our local young people hanging out together on their bikes and swimming in the Lake. And seeing several visiting families taking the chance to get together, picnic and even brave the water. The return of visitors seems to have gone well and with over 95% of residents having received at least one vaccination we have all done our part in keeping our community safe. We need to continue to follow the Chief Health Officer’s instructions in relation to mask wearing, social distancing and requirements for vaccination before returning to work locations, eating out, going to the pub and all the other things we enjoy. We’re living with COVID now and need to continue to be mindful of reducing our risk. Some of the other achievements in the last year include the development of a Community Engagement Policy, the adopting of the Community Vision and Council Plan, the adoption of the C80hepb Planning Scheme Amendment, the opening of a customer service desk at the Trentham library, an organics bin trial at Clunes, distribution of free firewood to residents, the opening of the refurbished Clunes Town Hall, and grants of $8 million for projects across the Shire. There will be a Statutory Council Meeting to elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor on 16 November at 6pm. COVID restrictions have meant that the Mayoral role has been conducted virtually for most of the year. I expect that with the Victorian COVID roadmap that will be different in the next year and I want to take the opportunity to thank the community for their support during the last year. Cr Lesley Hewitt, MAYOR
CONTACTS
General enquiries
5348 2306
@
Mail Email Website
Aged & disability services enquiries - 5345 8399
PO Box 21, Daylesford 3460 shire@hepburn.vic.gov.au hepburn.vic.gov.au
ACCESS TO COUNCIL FACILITIES
Under the Victorian Government’s COVID roadmap, anyone over 16 years must show proof of vaccination to enter Council facilities. This includes our libraries, hubs, Duke Street Customer Service and Visitor Information Centres. We understand that this may be difficult for some residents. Thank you for your understanding and compassion for our staff, who are simply doing their job and following the mandated requirements. For information on how to get your proof of immunisation contact the Australian Immunisation Register on 1800 653 809 or follow the links from www.servicesaustralia.gov.au.
COMMUNITY AWARDS OPEN
Do you know someone who goes above and beyond for our community? Council is inviting nominations for the 2022 Community Awards, which recognise and celebrate significant contributions from local citizens and groups. Nominate now for Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, and Event of the Year. Nominations close on Monday 29 November 2021. Find out more at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/communityawards.
FREE GREEN WASTE DISPOSAL
Residents can dispose of green waste for free at our three transfer stations in Creswick, Trentham and Daylesford throughout November. This is to help you get your property ready for the fire danger period. Please ensure that green waste is free of noxious weeds and is separated from other items. Visitors to the transfer stations must comply with COVID safety requirements. For details on transfer station opening hours visit www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/transferstations.
SUSTAINABLE HEPBURN
Sustainable Hepburn is a new strategy that will be Council’s updated commitment to environmental sustainability. Community consultation activities will kick off during November with the formation of a Sustainable Hepburn Community Reference Group. This will comprise four technical working groups including: - Beyond Zero Emissions - Biodiversity and the Natural Environment - Low Waste and Resource Recovery - Climate Resilience. Expressions of interest to join the groups will open on Tuesday 9 November and close on Friday 26 November. Find out more at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/sustainable-hepburn. For after hours emergencies please call: Animal Control - 0419 587 955 Other Council Emergency - 0419 583 573 hepburncouncil
14 News
Just briefly CresFest 2022 will be a joyful celebration of music and dance set in the beautiful town of Creswick and featuring local and national artists.
Tickets recently went on sale for the event, from April 1-3 next year, and an official launch will be held at Creswick Town Hall on Saturday, December 4 from 7.30pm. Celebrations feature Central Victoria’s The Ugly Uncles, fiddle and banjo duo Kat Mear and Craig Woodward, and the Creswick Swingalong Orchestra. Bookings: www.trybooking.com/BSRIS Thanks to CresFest 2022's partnership with The Local, readers get a special discount - at checkout use the code TLCF2022.
Hepburn Shire Council has begun distributing free firewood from the June storm to community groups and organisations.
They include the Clunes Angling Club, Trentham Primary School, the Creswick Railway Workshop and the Hepburn Football Club. Community groups keen on free firewood can contact Inga Hamilton on ihamilton@hepburn.vic.gov.au
Macedon Ranges Shire Council is hosting free online training to help people deal with difficult customers titled Dealing with Aggressive and Abusive Customers. The session is provided by the National Retail Association. Limited spots are available and bookings are essential. Details: mrsc.vic.gov.au/business-events or call 5421 9654.
The 2021 Macedon Ranges Youth Award winners have been announced.
They are Willpower – Lara Vicente, Nicely played – Hugo Lobb, Good deeds – Siena Payne, Skilling it – Gisborne Family Dental trainee dental nurses: Melanie Horvath, Lorissa Koleceg and Abbey Raynor, Well aware – Molly Consiglio and Pure imagination – Mount Players Youth Theatre Leadership Group. The awards are available to watch on Macedon Ranges Youth Facebook and council’s website at mrsc.vic.gov.au/youth
Let’s support our community and shop local! “Locals supporting Locals”
Restaurants, Bakers, Butchers, Cafe’s, Local vineyards, Distillers, Brewers and of course each other.
Remember we offer free delivery, T&Cs apply. Delivery times are Monday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm. We accept credit cards over the phone or we have an on-board eftpos machine. You will need to be at home for the delivery with proof of age if asked by the driver. Give the Foxxy team a call on 5348 3577. Keep safe, everyone.
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Out & About 15
The Good Grub Club: Sharing food and love
W
E MIGHT be seen as the wellness, spa and foodie capital of Victoria, but behind closed doors many people continue to be supported each week thanks to the efforts of Daylesford's Good Grub Club volunteers and community support.
The first lockdown 18 months ago highlighted the need for residents to be nurtured, cared for and fed. When jobs were lost, businesses closed and income became limited for many, it was a revamped the Good Grub Club that went from a weekly sit-down meal to a local foodbank ensuring people didn’t go without. Over that time the Good Grub Club has continued to evolve, it’s back to a threecourse sit-down meal on a Thursday, a light meal on a Tuesday and food pickups and deliveries on a Thursday. And now given the region's numerous tier one Covid exposure sites, the club has become a much-needed food delivery service for many self-isolating. Supported by FoodBank and Bendigo Food Share, a host of local businesses and organisations including Bakers Delight, Wombat Hill House café, Daylesford Rotary, Coles and Istra Smallgoods, the Good Grub Club has proven itself to be the model of a circular economy, according to volunteer Cathy Walker. “Through lockdowns, job losses, storms and Covid, we are a smaller version of a major foodbank. This is a group by locals, for locals, supported by locals and this is what a circular economy looks like. It reminds us of the importance of helping one another and at the end of the day no one in our community needs to worry about food and food insecurity,” she said. “We are all volunteers, from all walks of life coming together with the support of other vital local groups, like the Community Op Shop, to help and support anyone without judgement or bureaucracy. If you ask, you receive.” Natasha Hall has been one of the volunteers that helped move the club into the Covid phase and while a number of wonderful community members have been involved in that time, Natasha has ensured the volunteers, kitchen, delivery drivers and community support continues. “We are a local foodbank and we need people to understand that and that we are a registered charity providing food security now for Hepburn Shire,” she said. “We want to be known as a place to go to connect, to have a chat and to feel connected again after so many months isolated. At the height of the first lockdown we were delivering more than 360 care packages a week. While that number has dropped, we continue to deliver parcels to those that can’t make it into town and we have parcels available for residents to pick up weekly.” The club has around 15 volunteers. Some have been around since its inception, while others have been giving back for a few months. For Natasha, the hours people volunteer is irrelevant, it’s the simple act that counts. “We love seeing new volunteers but we don’t ask for hours and hours a week. It might be for an hour on a Monday packing up eggs and veggies or setting up on a Thursday. It’s not about the time but the fact that we are all working to make sure everyone in our community is cared for and has food. “Although we have been operating all through lockdown, we are certain there are some people that just don’t know we are here and can provide food support. It’s a matter of sharing the information and getting the word out that this is a community group for the community. Providing beautiful healthy food and care packages and providing a place to connect is our focus.” The Good Grub Club continues to be supported by businesses and individuals and when snap lockdowns occurred, businesses including Splinters Café, Farmers Arms Hotel, Cliffy’s and Hepburn Pavilion Café are among those who have sent food the club’s way so none would be wasted. The club works closely with Daylesford Primary School, taking excess veggies from the kitchen garden, while Daylesford College students work in the kitchen.
For Natasha, Cathy, the committee members and the volunteers, the Good Grub Club is seen as an important part of the community, underpinning the basic necessities of food and company as its main motivator. "No-one should ever feel they have to go without food to pay a bill. We are there for you, now and into the future. For a one-off or ongoing support. We are just a phone call away," Cathy says.
Want to volunteer?
From an hour or two a week, volunteers are welcome and needed. The club would love to expand its offerings and to do that more volunteers would be great. Phone Sue on 0475 430 326.
Donate
The Good Grub Club is grateful for all donations. A great and thoughtful Christmas gift would be to donate on behalf of a family member or friend. The gift giver and recipient will both receive thank you letters from the club. BSB 633 A/C 173 753 609.
Drop in excess food
If you find yourself with excess fruit and veggies, the Good Grub Club will gratefully accept the produce. If you are having a pantry declutter, any unwanted packaged and tin food can be donated at the little hall next door to the Uniting Church in Central Springs Road or the food box at the community garden.
Above, from left, Robyn, Vivienne, Jackie and Rose prepare a roast lunch and take-home meals in the Good Grub Club kitchen Words & image: Narelle Groenhout
A PUB FOR THE LOCALS Come in, grab a drink and be local. Join us for STEAK NIGHT every Thursday $25 and our locals’ favourite SUNDAY NIGHT ROAST $25.
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16 Homes & Gardens
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Do you keep gardens tidy? Advertise here.
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To market, to market
Y
OU can find everything you need at weekend markets, from fresh fruit and veg to handmade jewellery and wares, throughout the Central Highlands and surrounds. Here are just a few.
Space invaders? Maybe not.
But these UFOs (ugly foreign organisms) are certainly as unwelcome and maybe as destructive as any invasion of "little green men" from Mars. They are, in fact, grubs of one of the native wasps called sawfly and, in this case, called “spitfire grubs”, so-called because of their nasty habit of spitting out a skin- irritating substance when in danger of attack. They also cluster in a swarming mass as a protection from birds and other predators. Spitfire grubs leave their groups at night to feed on the leaves of their host tree. When fully grown they move to the ground to pupate into their last stage of development as wasps. Unfortunately for them this finger-sized bunch who, after feasting on my enormous eucalyptus tree, decided to congregate on the adjacent gravel path, which may as well have been concrete. They were quickly dispatched in a shower of pyrethrum spray and were then added to the compost heap. Normally, established trees need little protection from these caterpillars although young trees can often be severely affected. This usually applies to most eucalyptus feeders as eucalypts have tremendous powers of recovery from most invasions and will usually grow out of them in no time. Infested young trees can be protected by simply removing any grubs or hitting them with a dose of pyrethrum or similar organic concoction. In most cases it is better to live with our native insects rather than fight against them and risk harming the good guys.
Daylesford Sunday Market – every Sunday (pictured) Wesley Hill Market - every Saturday Trentham Neighbourhood Centre Makers Market - first Saturday Golden Plains Farmers Market - first Saturday Woodend Farmers Market - first Saturday Castlemaine Artists’ Market – first Sunday Trentham Community Group Market - second Saturday Kyneton Farmers Market - second Saturday Ballan Farmers Market - second Saturday Kyneton Rotary Community Market – second Saturday Maldon Market – second Sunday Clunes Farmers Market - second Sunday Trentham Farmers Market and Makers Market - third Saturday Glenlyon Farmers Market – third Saturday Leonards Hill Market - third Saturday Creswick Market - third Saturday Talbot Farmers Market – third Sunday Woodend Lions Market - third Sunday Rotary Daylesford Farmers Market - fourth Saturday Trentham Station Sunday Market - fourth Sunday Buninyong Village Market - fourth Sunday Check for any restrictions...image below, pre-Covid
Fruitful harvest
After recent good rains and intermittent warm, sunny days the new season’s fruit on pome (apple and pear) and stone fruit trees should be filling out rapidly. Where the set of fruit is good some trees could be really overcrowded and although Mother Nature frequently rectifies this by allowing some fruit to drop it is not really wise to rely on this. In some severe seasons of floods or drought nature can go a bit too far and cause a crop failure but this usually indicates that the trees are not happy, possibly due to either not enough or way too much water. We can, at least, make sure of large, well-formed fruit by thinning out the surplus leaving only one or two fruits on each growth and burning the surplus - to prevent the ever-present fruit fly infection. Peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and similar fruit will benefit from a periodic dressing of garden lime because, if this is deficient in the soil when the fruit begin to form, the fruit will begin to drop. Soils with a high pH (alkaline) seldom require such a dressing but it is worthwhile noting in seasons of high rainfall such as we have been experiencing this spring.
Deadheading
This is the term commonly used when we remove the spent flowers from annuals and perennials. Its real purpose is to prevent, as far as possible, the formation of seed as well as keeping the flower bed looking tidy. Once a plant has formed several seed pods it will direct its energies into maturing and nourishing those instead of producing more new growth or flowers. After all the provision of future generations of the species is always utmost in the plant's being. Another benefit in keeping the beds seed free is that many annuals can feed seed early and if that is left to ripen and drop and germinate they will only serve to choke existing plants, adding nothing to the display. Worse still, stray seeds can often find their way onto adjoining garden areas and become no better than weeds. After all, weeds are only plants that shouldn’t be there.
Got a gardening question? Email glenzgarden@gmail.com
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18 News
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Kate Taylor imagines no more disability tropes
I
MAGINE there’s no disability tropes. I wonder if you can.
And I don’t mean to hijack the lyrics to one of the most recognised songs of all time, here. I think it’s more just another verse that Lennon totally would have got to, once he sorted out imagining no heaven and no religion, no possessions and a brotherhood of man. And women. And gender diversity. Okay so he had a bit of a way to go there but you know where I’m going with this, yeah? Sometimes it’s nice to imagine. To imagine a world where I don’t have to fit the stereotype of disability. Because at the moment, I feel like I have to live a trope. I’m blind, therefore I have to appear happy all the time. I can be sad, yes, but only because I’m blind. Not for any other reasons. Certainly not sad because I accidentally booked in to give nine guest lectures at uni in one day. Nope. Not that. Just sad about being blind. Or back to happy. We do it to other people, too. Judge them. On appearance. I listen to a podcaster who was saying that because he’s 6’7”, he can’t approach women in bars. Ever. He has to sit down and wait for them to come over to him. Because otherwise? He’s seen as threatening. Someone that tall is clearly always up to no good. I have another friend who is tall and he, like me, must never be angry. Ever. Once, he met a very high-up politician. And it didn’t matter that he was standing there in a suit, that he has lovely manners and is eye-wateringly intelligent and empathetic. The first words out of the pollie's mouth were ‘Wow I’d hate to run into you in a dark alley’. Because he’s tall. Therefore threatening and violent by his appearance. What is happening? I thought that, as a world, we were moving forward. Making great gains in diversity, equity and inclusion. But I was imagining that. Another great example of how we are told we must appear by society is the #blacklivesmatter movement. Amid all the progress, society still heavily criticised a woman of colour who did an amazing video comparing slavery in America to the game Monopoly and it went viral and everything…yet she was criticised for ‘being angry.’ Look, ‘Angry Black Woman’ as a trope even has its own Wikipedia entry: Angry black woman Wikipedia.
Michelle Obama talks about copping it too. In her biography Becoming she describes how she gave a ‘passionate’ speech in the early days of her husband’s election campaign…but was told by his campaign managers to tone it down because they were seeing voter backlash against her appearing as an ‘angry black woman’. And if there’s one thing American voters don’t like, apparently, it’s an angry black woman. In years past, we’ve had to market ourselves as ‘palatable’. Which is repugnant in itself. But when you look back over history we have done some pretty rubbish things all over the world. There have been laws prohibiting people with disability from working, from earning money at all. There have been laws prohibiting marriage. We have been locked away from society. We have been killed by our parents out of shame. Does that make me angry? Yes. And do you know what? I’m allowed to be angry. Yep. Me. Blind. And angry. And you can’t stop me. Not anymore. Because I’m no longer just disabled. On Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, I have a voice. I’m educated. I’m capable of independent thought. I have opinions. And I’ve thought about this. About you ascribing your social expectations, your stereotypes, your tropes to me about how I must appear and act and behave to meet your standards for inclusion into your society. And you know what? I’m choosing not to go for litigation. Not to make you pay for each and every time in history you have tried to crush us. To hold us down. To hide us. To hurt us. I’m not seeking redress, reparations, liability. Instead? I want a deal. You have to stop trying to make me into a disability trope. No, scratch that, you have to stop trying to make anyone into a trope based on their physical or intellectual attributes. If you let me be who I am, then I’ll let you be who you are. It’s as simple as that. Do we have a deal? Because…you may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one. I hope someday, you’ll join us. And the world will be as one.
Kate Taylor is an award-winning journalist…and she’s also blind. In this series, she explores world issues through the lens of living in regional Victoria with a disability. Sometimes dark, sometimes funny, her stories will always make you think.
E adve very ha lf-pa rtise m a so ent re ge shou cial me ceives d t 700 -out to ia 0 Now follow our ers. th influ at’s loca l ence !
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Get your message in front of our 15,000 readers Contact Kyle on 0416 104 283 | kyle@tlnews.com.au
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Happy & Healthy 19
Hepburn House residents out and about
I
F YOU think it's been a long 20 months or so, put yourself in the shoes of the residents of Hepburn House.
Visitors have been restricted during the many periods of lockdowns in accordance with government guidelines and specified reasons. But they have kept busy with the Lifestyle team thinking up lots of games and activities including the very popular armchair travel. Lifestyle coordinator Lily Bof said afternoons of armchair travel had been one of the most enjoyable activities with fake passports and airline tickets, and slideshows of countries including Spain and Italy. Even the kitchen staff got involved, cooking up some exotic meals to add to the atmosphere. But with the latest lockdown lifted at the end of October, residents are now seeing family and friends again, enjoying entertainment and visiting gardens and cafes. "With the lovely warm weather we have been enjoying we have been able to have picnics at gardens around Daylesford, Trentham and Castlemaine," Lily said. "It has definitely been hard to remain upbeat but now everyone is really excited to see their families coming in for a visit, or going out for a coffee, or just seeing their grandkids and great-grandchildren for the first time. That is really nice. "We also had entertainer Vanessa Craven in last week - they really love her being here again." Hepburn House manager Dianne Jones said it was fantastic to be able to open the aged care facility again, and also for residents to be able to get back into the community. "We have been running a group called Ageing (Dis)gracefully for a couple of months now but residents have not been able to take part. Now they can join everyone for morning tea on a Thursday at the Convent Gallery. It is just lovely that we can be out and about finally." Ms Jones said there were some restrictions still in place and anyone who wanted to visit was encouraged to be double vaccinated. If not they would have to undergo a rapid antigen test. Visitors must wear masks and are not allowed in communal areas, she said. "Anyone with any queries can call us on 5348 8100. We still have to be careful." Advertorial
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Dr Rondla has joined the team at Springs Medical Kyneton. Please visit our website for a full list of our GPs.
www.springsmedical.com.au Daylesford Kyneton Trentham 10 Hospital St 89 Piper Street 22 Victoria St tel: (03) 5348 2227 tel: (03) 5422 1298 tel: (03) 5424 1602 Follow us
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Toys and vouchers needed for Christmas
E
VERY year Hepburn Regional Community Cheer collects toys and gift vouchers to make sure every child receives a toy for Christmas.
The toy age groups are 0 to 2 years, 3 to 5 years, 6 to 9 years with vouchers for those older. Toys should preferably be unisex. Toys can be dropped off at the Daylesford Community Health Centre and the Daylesford District Community Bank. Secretary Wendy Berry can also collect them, just call 0408 410 403. Cash donations be made to the Daylesford District Community Bank with BSB: 633 000 and Account: 162 925 689
Email wendyberry200@gmail.com to receive a tax deductible receipt. Every year Hepburn Regional Community Cheer distributes toys and gift vouchers, hosts a Christmas Day lunch for 50 locals to provide a fun and socially inclusive event, auspices other iniatives that support its mission statement and provides hampers for pensioners and gifts for Daylesford Aged Care Facility and Lumeah Lodge residents. Money is raised through a Christmas in July lunch and fundraising auction, raffles, collection tins, street stalls, sausage sizzles and grants.
The next edition of House.Land.Home.Premium is out December 6. For bookings contact Kyle on 0416 104 283 or kyle@tlnews.com.au Everything house, land and home. Don't miss out!
Catherine
KING MP
Federal Member for Ballarat 03 5338 8123 Catherine.King.MP@aph.gov.au CatherineKingMP @CatherineKingMP
Standing up for our Community!
www.catherineking.com.au Authorised by Catherine King, Australian Labor Party, 5/9 Sydney Avenue Barton ACT.
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THERE’S A MILLION REASONS TO GET VACCINATED.
Mine’s getting back out in our community, what’s yours? Mary-Anne Thomas MP LABOR MEMBER FOR MACEDON
Shop 14, Nexus Centre, 9 Goode Street, Gisborne, VIC 3437 E: mary-anne.thomas@parliament.vic.gov.au P: 5428 2138 Authorised by MA Thomas, Shop 14, Nexus Centre, 9 Goode Street, Gisborne.
Pork Chops and Crackling (with golden potatoes and fluffy apple sauce...) BY RICHARD CORNISH
I love Daylesford Meat Company pork chops and here’s a little trick I learned to get tender chops AND perfect crackling. What you do is take the skin off, cook it separately to make the crackling AND cook your potatoes in the fat that renders off. Then you grill the chop until it is just cooked and beautifully grilled. Golden potatoes, crisp crackling and tender pork! Oh, and try this tangy, fluffy apple sauce you make with baked apples. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Start the sauce by placing one granny smith apple for each person on a tray and roast in the oven for 45-60 minutes or until soft. Remove and set aside. Allow one chop per person. Use a sharp knife and remove the pork rind from the chop taking some of the fat with it. Preheat the oven to 250ºC and liberally salt the skins. Lay them flat, fat side down, on a heavy baking tray. Place them in the oven and cook for 20 minutes to start the crackle process and render some fat. Allow one medium potato per person. Peel the potatoes and cut into 5mm thick slices. Lift the pork rind and place the potatoes underneath. Lay rind over the top of the potatoes and cook for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 180ºC for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the potatoes and rind which will now be a delicious crackling.
Meanwhile, season the chops with salt and pepper. Grill them on the BBQ or a grill plate by cooking on medium heat for 4 minutes, flip, cook another four minutes, flip, cook for three minutes, flip and then another three minutes. Allow to rest, covered, in a warm spot. While the pork is resting, carefully spoon out the cooked flesh of the apples and thoroughly mix with one tablespoon of olive oil for each apple, one teaspoon of wine vinegar and a little salt and pepper to make a sauce. Arrange potatoes, pork chop and crackling on a plate together with a side dish of the apple sauce. Serve with a side of fresh garden greens and a glass of Chardonnay, Gamay or Pinot Noir. Richard Cornish, award winning journo, food writer and author, is writing a series of recipes for his favourite local butcher, The Daylesford Meat Co. For more recipes, visit daylesfordmeatco.com.au
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22 Opinion
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Just sayin’...
Local Lines
By Donna Kelly
The Awakening
W
ENT to a function the other day. It was pretty exciting. I even washed my hair. It's not that hard once you get around to it.
Anyway, it doesn't really matter where and what, but I arrived to find a bloke in a wheelchair stuck at the entrance to the function. In front of him was a step. Quite a big step. So he was stuck. As in, he couldn't join the party. Someone had already asked the venue if they had a wheelchair ramp and the answer was no. So another guest and I brainstormed a bit and I called the Daylesford Regional Visitor Information Centre. Someone thought they had a few ramps there and it would have been pretty easy to go and pick it up. No go. They do have one but it was rented out already. Rented? Do you really make money on wheelchair ramps? Hmmm. (Need to check this one. See below.) So then I called Springs Medical Centre but the person who answered the phone said they were disability compliant with fixed accesses. Makes sense. Next I called Hepburn Shire Council and listened to the options. I pushed 3 for aged and disability services. No go again. The person who answered said they had nothing available and I should try Central Highlands Rural Health. By this stage the bloke was pretty over the whole affair and said he would just go home which seemed pretty sad. He had, after all, made a real effort, more than anyone else when you think about it, to be there. And if we don't have wheelchair access in 2021 something is wrong with the system. He ended up staying, in the corner, by the big step, and sort of watched proceedings until the rain started. You see, the bit with the step was outside, in the rain. You may remember the torrential downpour early last week. Yep, that rain. I don't know the answer but I do have another story. In the 80s I lived in Japan and worked as an English teacher at a junior high school. So think Year 7, 8 and 9 or if you are really elderly, like me, Form 1, 2 and 3. The school was three storeys if you count the ground floor as the first storey. So maybe it was two storeys and a ground floor. Doesn't matter. The youngest students had the first or ground floor, the next youngest had the next floor and the oldest had the top floor. Anyway, one of the kids in Year 9 or Form 3 was in a wheelchair and every morning his classmates carried him in his chair up to the third floor of the school. (No lifts or ramps.) And there he stayed until the end of the day when they carried him back down again. No outside play, no taking part in sports, just spent the entire day on the third floor. I talked to one of the other teachers about this and said it seemed a little unfair. He disagreed, feeling the student was lucky to be at school, and then added that Japan was lucky because they had very few people in wheelchairs. I tried to explain that maybe there were very few people in wheelchairs who were out and about, more likely stuck in their homes, like that kid was stuck on the third floor. Just like that bloke was stuck in the corner in front of that step. Surely in 2021 we can do better? Just sayin'... OK, a bit of checking done. Thanks to Hepburn Shire Council for providing this information. Daylesford Visitor Information Centre has two ramps, a metal ramp and a heavy duty rubber wedge. You do hire them but they are free of charge. You just have to fill out a form. On another note, did you know there is just one wheelchair access toilet in the Daylesford CBD - also at the Daylesford visitor centre. There is another but it is at the Duke Street council offices, so only open during office hours and maybe not during Covid. And we all know until The Rex is completed in 2030 (joking) that the only public toilets are also up at the info centre. I have been stopped numerous times while outside Coles - I must look approachable - by people looking for toilets. One was a very pregnant woman, one was a woman with a child clearly needing to go and another was an older woman with a walking stick. Their faces fell as I told them the only public toilet was a good five-minute walk, uphill. With The Rex a way off maybe it's time for council to provide another toilet or two somewhere in the CBD area. Festivals seem to manage portable toilets, as do building sites, so it doesn't seem too far out of the realm of possibility. Perhaps they could get friendly with Coles and open up those down that little laneway? Pay for the cleaning etc. Once again, I don't know the answer, but with Melbourne out and about again, someone is going to get caught short.
When comes the awakening, the realisation of self-worth? Does it happen gradually or hit us in an instant? Is there a defining moment in our lives when we suddenly realise that we possess a talent or group of talents unlike that of any other, that within ourselves lies a creature worthy of their place in society? - Gary Wilkinson Gary is enjoying life away from full-time work and is catching up on the many duties around the family's small farm. An early riser, he often sits and reflects on life with poetry. Local Lines comes mainly from a group of local poets but other submissions are always welcome. To have a poem considered for publication contact Bill Wootton at cottlesbreedge@gmail.com
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Opinion 23
Kyle’s Rant
I
KNOW I should thank my lucky stars living the life I live and being born into a first world community, having hot dinners on the table every night and a reliable car to run around in.
I know there are a lot of others worse off than me, there are famines and plagues around the globe, climate change is snapping at our heels and countries and families are torn apart by dictators and genocide. Yes, my life is pretty privileged when I look at the world that way, however I only have my own reality, which is the small community I wander among and the feelings of fatigue and frustration they have experienced over the past two laborious years. The obvious frustrations that spring to mind are the lockdowns and the separation from family, friends and visitors from Melbourne who form one of our local major economic drivers. The second, among a growing list, is the state of the electricity. I have had many messages from Powercor stating that the power is out at my address (duh) and will be restored in two, four, oh no, make that eight hours, but the message I received today was particularly frightening and damning of the corporate conglomerate. And yes, it is a conglomerate. Powercor and CitiPower are simply subsidiaries of parent companies Spark Infrastructure, Cheung Kong Holdings and Victoria Power Networks Pty Ltd. The company owns and maintains power lines, substations and street lights and also manages the largest electricity distribution network in Victoria. But to my point, the message that I received was tantamount to a little bureaucrat running down the street throwing their hands up in the air and screaming from the top of their lungs “I give up”. The message was: "We#re (sic) facing significant challenges with widespread faults and extensive damageon (sic) our network. We are continuing to respond to faults but may not be able to restore power to you today. We apologise for this inconvenience and will provide more information as soon as possible." Now to put this into context the power at my joint was fine and going strong and there was no rhyme nor reason for this message, except maybe it was a sign of things to come later in the day. With that in mind I quickly topped up the generator which allows us here at TL HQ to limp along on pared-down power. It seems that we may only be a little over an hour's drive from Melbourne CBD, who for the most part enjoy an uninterrupted supply, but we are about 50 years behind in infrastructure with barely an underground powerline in sight or as it turns out, out of sight. This begs the question, what is to happen to us as our community grows with all the new treechangers running away from the 'burbs to our piece of Utopia and leaning heavily on our power supply? Get it together Powercor rant over…
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24 Crossword
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Classifieds
REQUEST FOR TENDER Responses are invited for Panel of Suppliers – Facilities Maintenance Services (Contract No. HEPBU.RFT2021.212). Service Categories: • Plumbing, Gas fitting Maintenance and Repairs • Electrical Maintenance and Repairs • Electrical Capital Upgrades and New Installations • Painting Services • Heating, Ventilation and AirConditioning (HVAC) Services Suppliers can bid for all categories or only those they consider applicable. Response must clarify the categories you intend to subscribe for. Request for tender (RFT) documents can be obtained from www.hepburn.vic.gov. au/tenders, or by contacting Victoria O’Halloran on 0429 374 821. Quotations must be received by 2pm Thursday 18 November 2021.
HEPBURN SPRINGS GOLF CLUB Inc The Annual General Meeting of the Hepburn Springs Golf Club Inc., will be held on TUESDAY 7 DECEMBER, 2021 at the Clubhouse at 7.30pm. All members are invited to attend and AGM notices will be posted on the Clubhouse notice board. B Jones (Sec)
To keep up with all the events happening again around the region head to www.tlnews.com.au and click on What's On. (Want to add an event? It's free.)
Appointments to the Board of Directors Central Highlands Rural Health
All applications will be considered however the Central Highlands Rural Health Board of Directors would particularly welcome applicants with expertise in Financial Management and Accounting, Registered Clinicians and Law to fill identified gaps in their current board skills profile. Please refer to the Position Description for more details about the competencies needed. These positions provide an exciting opportunity for members of the Victorian public with relevant experience and qualifications to contribute to the strategic leadership of public health care delivery to the community. Safe and high quality healthcare for all Victorians is a priority of the Victorian Government. The Victorian Government is committed to ensuring boards and committees broadly reflect the diversity of the Victorian community. Applications are welcomed from women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people of all ages, people with disabilities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender diverse and intersex people. Applications close at Midnight on Monday 29 November 2021 Further information including how to apply, please visit www.health.vic.gov.au/governance
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The Minister for Health, Martin Foley MP, is pleased to invite applications for part time board positions of Central Highlands Rural Health with terms of office commencing from 1 July 2022.
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Have your Say: Daylesford Hospital Community Consultation In the coming weeks, Central Highlands Rural Health will be seeking input from the Daylesford community on its local health service. Daylesford Hospital has a long and distinguished record of serving the people of Daylesford and surrounding districts, however its facilities need to be upgraded to be able to continue to meet contemporary standards and community expectations. The hospital was opened in 1862 but since then a lot has changed, including the addition of a residential aged care facility and community health services, both of which have become increasingly important to our communities. Central Highlands Rural Health wishes to engage the community on the development of a roadmap (or Masterplan) for the Daylesford campus. Our aim is to canvas opinions and seek ideas about plans to upgrade the Daylesford Hospital. We are very grateful for the $100,000 that has been raised from the local community to undertake the preparation of a roadmap to the future. The Masterplan will include a physical assessment of the condition of the existing buildings and engineering infrastructure, a review of the services we have been providing, and those that might be important in the future. Central Highlands Rural Health will invite the community to ‘have their say’ via the following methods: - - - - -
community forum (either in person or online, depending upon restrictions) online survey paper survey email telephone
Central Highlands Rural Health strongly values local input so that we may understand stakeholder and community views and needs. More information on how you can get involved will follow on our website in the coming days:
https://www.chrh.org.au/get-involved/community-engagement/
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Support local businesses! Clement F Mooney
Email: c.mooney@bigpond.net.au Available to assist with all general accounting services and preparation/electronic lodgment of Tax Returns and BAS for Individuals, Sole Traders, Partnerships, Trusts and Companies.
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