Needless acts costs ratepayer funds

WANDERING animals, illegal dumping and vandals are keeping council officers busy across the region, and costing ratepayers valuable funds at the same time.

Vandalism is rife in Mareeba, with 73 reports of damage and graffiti reported to the shire council since the start of the financial year, costing ratepayers more than $22,000, while Tablelands Regional Council (TRC) has been more fortunate, spending $7000 on repairs.

Most of the vandalism is centred around public toilet facilities.

“Council endeavours to remove graffiti on council facilities as soon as it is reported,” Mareeba Mayor Angela Toppin said.

“Council receives support from graffiti removal programs run by Youth Justice and Mareeba Community Centre Inc, and with the support of these programs, graffiti vandals are made accountable for their behaviour by doing unpaid graffiti removal work in our community.”

Last week Atherton police advised there had been a sharp increase of graffiti vandalism across the town this month.

Police have charged a 15-year-old Millstream boy with two counts of wilful damage and one count each of possessing a graffiti instrument and a knife in a public place after he allegedly graffitied his name across two Silo Road businesses on 10 March.

A 19-year-old man has been charged with three counts of graffiti after he allegedly graffitied a mural on a Grace Street sports ground between 4-7 March, while police are still seeking the culprit who graffitied the door of a house on Cecily Street between 9-12 March.

TRC also has a growing number of abandoned vehicles to deal with, with 76 left on local roads to date this financial year.

“In addition, we have had 28 requests across 16 locations for illegal dumping – generally pig carcasses, tyres, household waste and camps,” a TRC spokesperson said.

The main locations for dumping were around Atherton, Tolga, Lake Eacham and Jaggan/Glen Allyn. In contrast, Mareeba Shire has dealt with 36 reports of illegal dumping in a range of locations around Kuranda, Mt Molloy, Biboohra, and Mareeba.

“It was pleasing that there has actually been a reduction in illegal dumping this year,” Mayor Toppin said.

When it comes to wandering animals, council officers from Mareeba have impounded 166 dogs and 162 cats since the start of the financial year, while

School braves the shave

THE old parade area was converted into a barber shop at Mareeba State High School last week all for a good cause, with students and teachers waxing their legs and shaving their heads for the World’s Greatest Shave.

Overall, students and staff raised over $600 for the Leukemia Foundation – a charity organisation whose aim is to help cure and conquer every blood cancer.

The annual fundraiser had students buzzing as teachers Tim O’Sullivan and Travis Cummings shaving off their luscious locks alongside students Matthew Davies (Grade 7), Alexander Morgan (Grade 7), Daniel Boldero (Grade 8).

Student council coordinator Laurette Seddon has spent the past few weeks helping the “senior 11” organise the event and was proud of the outcome.

“This year’s event was a great success as always, with many students actively participating in the events presented, which included the shave, coloured hairspray, and leg waxing. Students and staff went out of their way to donate what they could, and to create awareness of this great cause,” she said.

“It is very good to know that every student is developing some compassion for other people’s health and wellbeing, as well as actively contributing to it financially.

“I commend those students who were willing to stand up and physically become the symbol for understanding and awareness. It takes a lot of character as adolescents to put yourself out there in such a manner. Well done to you!”

TRC has picked up 71 dogs and 31 cats. Wandering animals are mainly picked up around the streets of Mareeba, while most of TRC’s reports come from Atherton (71 dogs, 31 cats), followed by Malanda and Ravenshoe with 28 dogs impounded from each of the towns.

But the good news is that officers managed to rehome or return to their owners 84 dogs out of the total of 104 impounded, with 41 cats rehomed or returned to owners out of the 65 picked up, noting that 16 of these were feral animals.

Mareeba officers also had success in dealing with its impounded animals, with 71 dogs rehomed or returned to their owners, and 63 cats rehomed.

Mareeba Shire last week announced it would not increase its fee for dog registrations this year in a bid to encourage pet owners to register their animals.

Walkability priorities set

PRIORITIES to improve the walkability of Mareeba and Kuranda have been identified as part of walking network plans that will involve providing more footpaths and safer ways to cross busy intersections.

The Mareeba and Kuranda Walking Networks Plans aim to encourage more people to walk by boosting safety and providing missing links in footpaths to create more connectivity and increase the ability of people, such as those using mobility scooters, to travel around more easily.

“The Walking Network Plans are intended to provide a future Master Plan of the area’s walking network, and these documents allow council to develop a works schedule and an asset management plan,” Mayor Angela Toppin said.

“The Priority Works Program has been developed based on a combination of high-level criteria and assumptions, and council will progress with the projects as budget allows.”

Council has now endorsed the priority plans which contain more than 70 projects for Mareeba, sorted into short-term, mediumterm and long-term categories.

In the short-term category (1-3 years), some footpaths have been identified as needing replacement while others have missing links, and several intersections have been identified for crossing improvements.

MAREEBA works include:

• Missing links in footpaths in Hastie, Rankin, Herberton, Walsh, Lloyd, Middlemiss and Constance streets.

• Replacement of substandard paver footpaths in Lloyd St (northern side), Walsh St (western side), Atherton St (south side), and Constance St.

• Footpath widening to 2m along Anzac Avenue

• A shared path from Rankin St to Kennedy St to connect schools with the town centre and residential areas.

• Wayfinding signage showing primary routes in the town centre and surrounds, and

• Crossing improvements at Hastie/Constance St intersection, Rankin/Walsh St roundabout, Atherton/Constance St intersection, Herberton/ Constance St intersection, and Lloyd/Walsh St roundabout.

KURANDA works include:

• A new footpath in Arara St (from Barang St to Kuranda Library/Community Precinct), and along Therwine St (northern end to River Walk access).

• Crossing improvements on Coondoo St (east and west of Thongon St), and at the Barang/ Thongon St intersection, and

• A footpath upgrade for the Jumrum Walk (Coondoo St to Barron Falls Rd).

CHOO, CHOO! Historic train trips kicks off

AFTER years of work by volunteers, the official launch of the Atherton Herberton Historic Railway’s steam train and carriage was held last week, heralding the start of trips from the town’s old railway station to the Herberton Historic Village.

The group’s fully restored 1905 Peckett Steam Locomotive, along with its 1910 historic wooden passenger carriage, have begun hosting passengers, with trips operating on the second and fourth weekends of each month, on both Saturday and Sunday. Patrons can now book online via the website (www.athrail.com), or can just turn up at the railway station, however, booked customers have priority.