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Page 8 - Wednesday, May 13, 2020
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DEATHS Mosley, Anna: Murrindindi Shire Councillors, Management and Staff would like to express their deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Anna Mosley who passed away last week. Ms Mosley worked as a Maternal Child Health Nurse for Council from July 2013 to December 2015. Ms Mosley was a much-valued member of the Maternal Child Health team. Her professionalism and friendly nature will be missed by her peers and clients alike. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this difficult time. Mayor, Councillors and staff Murrindindi Shire Council
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Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Page 9
GRAND RE-OPENING ■ Premier Daniel Andrews has this week announced the gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions. On Monday (May 11), Mr Andrews said: “Following the biggest coronavirus testing blitz in the nation, the Victorian Government has announced it will gradually ease restrictions – while we continue to ensure the safety of our state. “This announcement builds on new investments to further boost our ability to test, trace and monitor the virus in our community, with rapid response outbreak squads, expanded testing and support for additional research. “These measures – combined with the commitment shown by Victorians – has given health authorities vital insight and information, allowing some restrictions to be safely and cautiously lifted. “Under the changes, it means that there will be five reasons to leave your home: ■ shopping for food and supplies that you need ■ care and caregiving ■ exercise and outdoor recreation ■ work and education – if you can’t do it from home ■ visiting friends and family – if you really need to “These new arrangements will come into effect at 11.59pm on Tuesday, May 12. Until then, we’re asking Victorians to continue to comply with the existing restrictions. “As we introduce these changes, we're also asking Victorians to use their judgement and common sense. Lives are counting on it. “Our message remains the same: if you can stay at home, you must stay at home. “Aligning with the outcomes of National Cabinet, that means: ■ outdoor gatherings being permitted with up to 10 people ■ indoor gatherings at home are permitted, with 5 visitors able to visit the normal residents of a household ■ the ability to leave the house for exercise will be expanded to include outdoor recreational activities. These activities can occur in groups of up to 10 people outside, but the requirements on physical distancing remain ■ for weddings 10 guests are allowed, plus the couple and the celebrant ■ for funerals, 20 people will be allowed at an indoor ceremony and 30 people at an outside ceremony. This is in addition to the minimum people required to conduct the funeral ■ religious gatherings and ceremonies will be permitted with up to 10 people, plus those required to perform the ceremony A comprehensive set of question and answer responses is being developed. This will be made available on the DHHS website.
Premier’s statement
“Over the past two weeks, we’ve tested more than 160,000 Victorians for coronavirus. I want to thank each and every one of them for playing their part in protecting our state. “The job isn’t done yet – and that size and scale of testing will continue to be a big part of our response in the weeks and months to come. But because of that initial data, we’ve been able
Observations
with Matt Bissett-Johnson
● Daniel Andrews, Victorian Premier
41 new jobs in Murrindindi Shire
■ The Victorian Government has agreed to fund 41 positions within the Murrindindi municipality for a period of six months, in a total investment of $1.51 million. Shire CEO Craig Lloyd said this is a welcome boost for local people and the local economy. “We were thrilled by the prospect of partnering with the Victorian Government to help deliver this initiative. “We successfully sought funding support for 41 new six-month positions to work across a range of Council's activities. “These positions span a variety of roles, skills and experience, including environmental health, waste management, communications, nursing, outdoor operations, finance and human resources. “A full range of the positions on offer are listed on our website at murrindindi.vic.gov. au/workingforvictoria”, said Mr Lloyd. “To be successful in winning one of these jobs, applicants will need to meet the minimum criteria for the role, like for any other appointment process. “But we are giving preference to applicants from within our Shire or neighbouring Shires so we see the full benefits of these appointments flowing through to our area. “We want these jobs to go to local people, but locals need to register for that to happen. “If you haven't done so already and you are interested in these positions, please check out the 'Working for Victoria' webpage at www.vic.gov.au/workingforvictoria and click on the 'Looking for Work' link. “Please note that all applications for these roles must come through this website - Council cannot accept applications directly,” Mr Lloyd said.
to get a better understanding of the way the virus is moving through our community. And with it, greater insight into how we can respond. Today – thanks to the efforts of Victorians – I can announce our cautious next steps. “As we have worked to flatten the curve, we’ve been telling Victorians there’s only four reasons to be out: shopping for food and supplies, care and caregiving, exercise, and study or work – if you can’t do it from home. “From 11:59pm this Tuesday night, there’s now a fifth reason to leave home: visiting friends and family – with a maximum gathering of up to ten outdoors and having up to five visitors in your home. “I know this will come as a welcome relief, but I need to be clear. Although these are our first steps back towards normalcy – they are not an invitation to host a dinner party every night of the week. “It's not about having a rotating roster of acquaintances and associates – or your third best friend from primary school – over for a visit. This is about seeing those you need to – if you need to. “We're asking Victorians to limit their circle to just family and friends. That means that when we do have outbreaks and positive cases – and we will – we can test and trace and effectively contain the spread. “I want to be clear: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. For our family, that means I won't see my Mum for a little while. “She's in her 70s – and she has a number of conditions that would put her at risk. So, for now, we're going to have to stay connected in different ways, with FaceTime calls, gifts in the mail or an old-fashioned letter. As hard as that is, no visit is worth putting her safety at risk. “I’m asking all Victorians to think about these things when you’re making your own plans with the people you love. “We’re also able to make some changes to rules for some of the most significant gatherings in any of our lives: weddings will now be able to have 10 guests and up to 20 people will be able to attend funerals held indoors and up to 30 if they’re outdoors. “More of the outdoor recreational activities that so many Victorians have been missing will also be allowed: walking groups, fishing, hiking – and yes, even a game of golf. These activities will be subject to physical distancing to help keep people safe. “These new restrictions and a renewed State of Emergency will be in place until 11.59pm on Sunday, May 31. “As we go through this month, we’ll keep reviewing the situation and our case numbers – and hopefully, we’ll be able to make further announcements then. “But with more freedom comes more responsibility. I’m asking Victorians to use common sense – you should only spend time together if it’s safe. “And you should only be undertaking these activities if you really need to. If it’s integral to your health and wellbeing. “Use your judgement. And think about the health of your fellow Victorians,” MrAndrews said.
Special teams for virus outbreaks ■ New rapid response teams will be established to prevent, respond to and limit outbreaks as part of a major coronavirus surveillance boost announced this week by the Victorian Government to coincide with the first step in easing restrictions. Jenny Mikakos, Minister for Health, announced $20 million for a range of measures that will continue beyond the recent testing blitz, which has seen 161,000 Victorians tested over the past two weeks. To limit these cases and keep Victorians safe, the Government has outlined its plan for a new ‘outbreak unit’ within the Department of Health and Human Services’ public health team. The unit will include new rapid response outbreak squads, staffed by public health specialists and clinicians.
As we were saying before we were so rudely interrupted EDITORIAL COMMENT ■ The Local Paper will soon return to print, following the announcement this week by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews of a gradual return to re-opening society. Since mid-March, Victorian community life has been virtually closed, with the clear message that people should stay at home to prevent the spreading of the Coronavirus. In some areas, up to nine out of 10 retail businesses have been shut. Some of those most affected have been restuarants, cafes and tourist locations. In Murrindindi Shire, many businesses that have stayed open have reported that their turnover is 50 per cent or less, prior to the time of the lockdown. Many local small businesses have been totally closed. Churches were shut. Office workers have done their tasks from home. Schools were open on a limited basis, with home schooling becoming the norm. In Murrindindi Shire, there has been just one diagnosed case of COVID-19. Elsewhere in the North-East region, latest figures (as at Sunday) have been varied: ■ Banyule, 87 (4 active cases) ■ Whittlesea, 27 (5) ■ Nillumbik, 25 (3) ■ Yarra Ranges, 22 (1) ■ Mitchell, 9 (0) ■ Mansfield, 3 (0) ■ Strathbogie, 2 (0). Across the state, the total number of cases has been close to 1500. Some 18 people have died. There have been 157 confirmed Coronavirus cases in Victoria that may have been acquired through community transmission. Currently seven people are in hospital in Victoria, including six patients in intensive care. Some 1336 people have recovered. As at the weekend, the total number of Victorian cases had been 874 men and 693 women, with people aged from babies to their early 90s. Of the total 1477 cases, there have been 1217 in metropolitan Melbourne and 222 in regional Victoria. More than 145,000 swabs have been taken as part of Victoria’s testing blitz. The Local Paper has been publishing editions online only since late March. Clients with discounted all-year advertising have received their ads without charge during this time. The Local Paper is soon returning to full print and online publication in a number of stages. First publication date could be as soon as May 20, as soon as arrangements are completed. First stage will be austerity editions for some weeks, followed by a return to full-size editions as soon as possible.
Page 10 - Wednesday, May 13, 2020
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Regional Briefs Gin joint at L’dale
■ Yarra Ranges Council has received an application for a hotel, lavender farm and associated ‘gin experience centre ‘in Lilydale. The development is at at 483-489 Maroondah Hwy, Lilydale and 169 Nelson Rd, Lilydale. This includes: ■ A residential hotel (including ancillary conference centre, gymnasium, restaurant, bar and spa), ■ A lavender gin experience centre (in association with a lavender farm), ■ Sale and consumption of liquor, ■ Removal of vegetation, ■ Subdivision into two lots.
Whittlesea works
■ Two big road projects to improve road usability and safety for motorists in the City of Whittlesea are on track and due to be completed this year, weather permitting. Works to install traffic lights at the intersection of Yan Yean Rd and Hazel Glen Drive started this month to improve traffic flow and reduce delays during peak mornings. Funding for the traffic lights has come from the Australian Government’s Black Spot Program, as there have been six casualty crashes in the past five years all relating to uncontrolled right hand turns at this intersection. Once the traffic lights are installed, a traffic island will be constructed at the intersection of Yan Yean Rd and Mitchells Run, to prevent right hand turns. This road safety improvement was part of the original plan for Mitchells Run estate. he installation of traffic lights at the intersection of Findon Rd, The Lakes Blvd and Ferres Blvd is going ahead. All underground services have been relocated and drainage works are about to be finished. The installation of conduits, pits and poles for the traffic lights is continuing. There will be some traffic changes during these works. Motorists are asked to allow some extra time to get where they need to be and observe on-site signage and instructions from traffic management staff.
Creative package
■ The Victorian Government has announced a $16.8 million funding package to provide immediate support to Victorian creative organisations and individuals to sustain employment, develop new works and provide opportunities for creative community participation, in the face of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Food collective
■ The Whittlesea Food Collective is asking for donations to provide free food and other essential household items for individuals and families experiencing insecurity and hardship. Donate through CrowdRaiser or find out more at www.givenow.com.au/whittlesea foodcollective
Pets: new rego date
■ There has been an extension to the due date for pet registrations in Murrindindi Shire. Instead of April 10, the date has been extended until June 30. The Council says this move is an effort to assist residents who may be financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Animal registration renewals can be paid by BPAY or sending a cheque to Council, PO Box 138, Alexandra.
Alexandra tenders
■ Alexandra Showgrounds and Recreation Reserve Committee of Management has requested tenders for construction of a multipurpose community facility, delivery of car parking, upgrade the stormwater infrastructure, and provision of electrical supply infrastructure. Tender documents are available from Ray Steyger, Committee Chairman, phone 5772 2627. Tenders close at 2pm on Thursday, May 21.
● Home-grown local talent can be heard in ‘The Dindi Sessions’ this Saturday (May 16) when local band Satis Intent perform their premiere track Cherry River. This can be viewed on the Murrindindi Shire Youth Facebook page. There are releases of original music from talented young artists across the MurrindindiShire. 'The Dindi Sessions' is an initiative by Murrindindi Shire Council and aims to build the music profiles of talented young artists who participated in the recent songwriting workshops, and more recent recording sessions with Montville Lane Sessions. The program is supported by Creative Victoria and the Victorian Government's FReeZA youth development program.
Writers’ festival goes ahead ■ The month-long Yarra Valley Writers Festival has been reimagined in a digital format, catering for the restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Playwright David Williamson, Stella Prize-winner Charlotte Wood and songstress/writer Claire Bowditch are some of the big names in this year’s festival. The festival features weekly chats with well-known authors, book clubs, and an all-day event that was live streamed last Saturday (May 9). The live streamed event featured backto-back interviews and panel discussions on the author’s work, and a deep-dive into important social topics such as the environment, family and others. Local talent, such as Indigo Perry, Eliza Henry-Jones, Alice Bishop and Michael Veitch were also part of the festivities, along with Karen Viggers who grew up in the Yarra Ranges. Mayor of Yarra Ranges, Richard Higgins, said he was thrilled the festival was proceeding and looked forward to experiencing the new format. “The creative industry is doing it tough at the moment, so we’re proud to be partnering with the Yarra Valley Writers Festival to help this year ’s program go ahead,” Cr Higgins said. “I know it’s taken a lot of work to get the festival online this year in light of the COVID19 pandemic, however the online environment brings new
Local News Virus testing day
● Richard Higgins, Yarra Ranges Mayor opportunities for us to In attendance were invite creativity into Crs Leigh Dunsour homes and par- combe (Chair), Marticipate in a commu- garet Rae, Jackie nity event. Ashe, Charlie Bisset, “This year’s pro- Eric Lording and gram is full of big Sandice McAulay. names and I encourCr Bec Bowles age anyone with an apologised for not beinterest in books, writ- ing able to attend. ing or those who just Joining the Counwant to support the cillors were Shire ofcreative industry, to ficers: Craig Lloyd, join in on the fun.” Chief Executive OfTo book, for more ficer; Michael Chesinformation or to see worth, Director Corpoa list of all events tak- rate and Shared Sering place at this year’s vices: Shivaun festival, visit yarra Brown, Director Comvalleywritersfestival. munity Engagement: com Vito Albicini, Director - Contributed Assets and Development: Tara Carter, Manager Governance and Risk: and Adam Dennis, Customer First Project Coordi■ Murrindindi Shire nator. Council conducted a A report was given meeting by video last on the Coronavirus Wednesday (May 6). pandemic.
Council by video
“As the declared Stages of the pandemic began to roll out, the Chief Health Officer began to provide written directives, and Council made changes to its service delivery, implemented its Business Continuity Plan and stepped up community information,” said a report to Council. “At a very early stage senior officers of Council were isolated from each other to ensure business continuity, we enhanced separation and started additional cleaning programs. “Council officers also formed a Critical Incident Team, chaired by the Chief Executive Officer and comprising key members of the organisation’s leadership and key specialists. “Council also enacted its Pandemic Plan and commenced meetings with other key agencies, community groups and community representatives.
Fruit fly in Yea
■ The Queensland Fruit Fly has made its way to Murrindindi Shire, with three confirmed cases in the last several months – one each in Trawool, Yea and Murrindindi. There is a call for backyard gardeners and commercial growers to maintaining good garden hygiene.
■ A drive-clinic to test local people during the COVID-19 lockdown was held by Alexandra District Health between 10am1pm on Thursday (May 7). There was a line-up of cars at the old Alexandra Hospital site entrance (Myrtle and Cooper Sts), with waiting time up to one hour. People who are asymptomatic (do not have symptoms), were able to attend, and testing was undertaken in the car park by Alexandra District Health staff, with traffic management assistance from Murrindindi Shire Council. People were required to present their Medicare card and complete a consent form at the time of screening. Temperature and symptom screening were undertaken prior to testing. People do not need to self-isolate if they are tested without COVID-19 symptoms. A nurse from Alexandra District Health will contact anyone who volunteers to be tested with their results. Results may take up to five business days t oreach patients.
Live streamed
■ Council meetings are now able to be livestreamed completely, following changes to the Local Government Act to adapt to the COVID-19 situation. The Yarra Ranges Council meeting on Tuesday last week (May 5) was the first to be held completely online, with Councillors, Council Officers, Directors and the CEO dialling in to a video conference. This temporarily removes the requirement for Councillors to be physically present for their meetings. These meetings will be livestreamed on the Council website from 7pm on their respective dates.
Eildon project
■ Murrindindi Shire is asking for responses to its online survey for the Eildon Reserve Precinct including Walter Moore and Thomas C. Marr Reserves, and the Council needs input. To view the concept plans and provide feedback, go to https://bit.ly/2KfonY4 or phone on 5772 0333. The survey is open until Friday (May 15).
Budget feedback
■ Whittlesea Council is seeking public feedback on its 2020-21 draft budget. submissions will be considered at an Advisory Committee meeting to be held on Thursday, June 11.
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Ticks & Crosses
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Praise for Flowerdale Community Spirit which has been providing hampers for local people who have been struggling financially or needed to know that someone cared. David Littleproud, Agriculture Minister, usually does not score good publicity in this neck of the woods, especially from farmers concerned about water supply. However, credit where it is due. Mr Littleproud announced the surprise $123,970 grant for the Yea Grandstand. It will be gratefully received and faithfully applied.
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Flowerdale resident Doug Golden has not let the Coronavirus travel restrictions get in the way of lifestyle. Doug has business interests in Townsville and attended his Ivanhoe lodge meeting by Zoom last Thursday night (Mar. 7). ● Doug Golden A good word for ... the Kinglake Pub which has advertised its home delivery service with the theme ‘food, alcohol and a smile’.
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Jack Russell, of Yea, asked sev eral questions to last week’s meet ing of Murrindindi Shire Council. One question, about the Yea streetscape, said: “What is the current status of the announced streetscape – revisit process and as the subject of minutes release of recent public meetings conducted by Council?” Shire CEO Craig Lloyd replied: “The project has since been tendered and a contractor awarded. Council is in the process of arranging contract signing and seeking approval to proceed by the relevant road and utility authorities. Works are expected to commence over the coming weeks. Council will release a project start date as soon as all approvals are in place.”
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Murrindindi Shire Council now looks to be facing an annual deficit of $94,426, rather than a predicted surplus of $8564. “This is predominately due to additional costs expected to be incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said a report to Council. “An amount of $150,000 has been added to fund additional items which includes IT infrastructure enhancements to enable staff to work from home. Income has been reduced to reflect the decisions taken to refund fees and to provide rental relief. Some of these costs are offset by savings from delayed or cancelled programs that were identified as difficult to deliver in the current circumstances.” The proposed Snodgrass St scheme in Yea will not go ahead. This will save Council an amount of $60,000 according to a report at last week’s Shire meeting.
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Murrindindi Council will receive $75,155 reduced interest income from its investmenets due to falling interest rates. The Council will receive $44,733 less than budgeted due to rental waivers for businesses impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.
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A bare minimum of expenses was claimed by Murrindindi Shire Coun cillors for the March financial quarter. Each Councillor claimed an allowance of $5762. The Mayor, Cr Leigh Dunscombe, claimed $17,214, plus $1642 travelling (he lives at Kinglake, the shire office is at Alexandra. Cr Dunscombe also claimed conference and training expenses totalling $1866. Cr Lording claimed $183.64 for similar expenses. Readers’ contributions to the ‘Ticks & Crosses’ column are welcomed. Send your contribution to: editor@LocalMedia.com.au Contributions will be published at the sole discretion of the Editor.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Page 11
Local News
Principal at Rotary ■ Middle Kinglake Primary School Principal Meagan Callander was guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Yea ‘virtual’ meeting held last Thursday (May 7). “The Club hosted another Zoom meeting with guest speaker, local Meagan Callander, who is the Principal of Middle Kinglake Primary School and has been for six years,” said a Club spokesman “Meagan gave an insightful view into current education amid Stage 3 COVID-19 restrictions. “The school has 65 students. “Meagan's passion for her staff, students and families was obvious and her team are doing a wonderful job of keeping families connected whilst all learning 'on the job' and coping with the various challenges that occur. “Middle Kinglake Primary School is lucky to have you looking out for them,” the Club spokesman said. ■ The Rotary Club of Yea meets weekly, at 7pm, usually at the Yea Golf Club.
Player survey
2021 enrolments
● Meagan Callander
● Cr Jackie Ashe “'The arts community is doing it tough right now. “That's why it's important that we find new ways to support the arts industry, not only for the artists themselves, but for our community as a whole so this industry is still there for us post-pandemic. “We are so excited to be working with artists to create weekly online art sessions to help keep our communities connected, without the need to
leave the house,” said Cr Ashe. “The first performance will feature renowned country music duo Carter and Carter. You can tune in on Council's Facebook page at 6.30pm on Friday (May 15) to see the performance go live. “The Dindi Live program will complement a fantastic initiative called The Dindi Sessions, an online initiative by Council's Youth Services team which aims to support emerging young artists across our Shire by releasing original music each week. “This is a great opportunity to enjoy and discover amazing talent within our Shire. “We're keen to hear from local artists, performers and community arts organisations who would like to be involved in the project - please don't hesitate to get in touch,” Cr Ashe said. ■ For more information about Dindi Live, including upcoming online event details or to register interest to take part, visit the website at murrindindi.vic.gov.au/ dindilive or phone Council on 5772 0333. - Contributed
Surprise $123,970 grant ■ The Yea Showgrounds are to get a $123,970 upgrade under a special Regional Agricultural Show Development Grant from the Federal Government announced last Friday (May 8). The funds will be used to upgrade power facilities including power to three cattle sheds, and major repairs to the heritage grandstand comprising underpinning of two side walls and renewal of exterior cladding on these walls. The grant is part of a $20 million program over two years to support agricultural shows. This funding is being delivered through the Regional Agricultural Show Development Grants program (AgShows). The details were announced by David Littleproud, Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management. The AgShows program provides grants of up to $500,000 to eligible regional show societies and their state and territory peak bodies. This funding can be used to repair, upgrade, build or buy showground infrastructure or attractions in regional areas. Nearby, Euroa Agricultural Society Inc. has
■ People thinking of standing for the Murrindindi Shire Council elections due to be held in October, are encouraged to participate inan interactive workshop presented by the Victorian Local Governance Association Inc in collaboration with Murrindindi Shire Council from 3pm-4.30pm thisFriday (May 15).For more information and to register, go to https://bit.ly/cand15may ■ AFL Outer East this week concluded a survey of players/parents’ thoughts on a possible return to play for the competitions in 2020. Parents of players who are Under 18 were asked to respond on their child's behalf. The responses were due by last Monday (May 11).
Dindi Live launched ■ Murrindindi Shire Council is launching a series of online events which feature local artists and performers as well as guest performances from talent outside the region. Council's Tourism and Events Portfolio Councillor Jackie Ashe said Council's new initiative, Dindi Live, will see Council work together with community groups and performers to create engaging online content, such as live music shows, art shows, artist interviews and cultural performances. “Arts and cultural activities are an important part of Murrindindi Shire's annual community calendar and an important connection with our arts community - and it's something that I think we are all missing at the moment,” CrAshe said. :We usually host a wide range of live music, art shows and theatre performances in our Shire. “While we all understand the need for cancellations during the COVID-19 crisis, everyone is disappointed that these great events can't take place.
Local Briefs Candidate info
■ Hurstbridge Primary School is working via remote learning ... but is already working on its 2021 enrolments. Video chats with the principal and prep teachers are being arranged with parents. Enrolment packs are being posted to parents.
Kinder memories
■ Families and educators past and present of McLeans Road Kindergarten are invited to share their memories before the start of construction of a new bigger facility later this year. Whittlesea Council will soon start building a two-room (66 place) kindergarten on the Bundoora site, replacing the single room, 40-year-old facility. Built in 1977, the launching pad for fouryear-olds has seen many, including generations of families, play and learn, and with an ever-increasing population it’s time for the facility to expand. Before the existing building is farewelled, current and former students, families, educators, staff and the local community are invited to share their memories of McLeans Road Kindergarten. If you have any photos, newsletters, newspaper articles or other gems that showcase the history of the kindergarten since it opened in 1977, Council would love to see them. Email your submission to kinderplanning@whittlesea.vic.gov.au by June 19.
Meeting on May 27
■ The next meeting of Murrindindi Shire Council is due to take place at the Yea chamber at 6pm on Wednesday, May 27. However, the meeting might instead be held by videoconferencing, depending on the Coronavirus restrictions.
Fees refunded
■ ‘Statutory fees and fines’ totalling $83,735 in health registration fees have been refunded by Murrindindi Shire Council to assist businesses impacted by COVID-19, last week’s meeting was told.
Dump site works
■ Some progress has been made on removing an industrial-sized waste dump at Newbridge Estate, Wallan. Mitchell Shire Council has received confirmation the Environment Protection Authority Victoria will continue to monitor the site to meet the requirements of the clean-up order. Recent wet weather has delayed further progress at the site, says Mitchell Shire Council.
Works commence
● Yea Grandstand won a grant worth$121,551 to uppgrade works to the Euroa Showgrounds pavilion, including connection of natural gas, electrical system upgrade, install solar panels, heating and cooling systems, wide doorways and accessible toilets.
■ Construction stages of theYea Recreation Reserve female friendly change rooms project and the Kinglake Memorial Reserve netball court re-development have begun, last week’s Murrindindi Shire Council meeting was told. The Council also commenced the 2019-20 Pathway program with 60 per cent of the program completed.
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incorporating Murrindindi Citizen, The New Free Press and The Phoenix Vol. 5. No No.. 18 9 Wednesda y, Ma y 13, 20 20 ednesday May 2020 Published W ednesda y s Wednesda A ddr es s: 74 High S t, Y ea, V ic 3 71 7 ddres ess: St, Yea, Vic Local Phone: 5797 2656 ocalP aper Web: ww w.L .LocalP aper..c om.au E-Mail: Edit or@L ocalP aper ditor@L or@LocalP ocalPaper aper..com.au L ocal P os t: PO Bo x 14, Y ea, V ic 3 71 7 Po Box Yea, 37
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inc orpor a ting Melbourne A dv ertiser orpora dvertiser ertiser,, Melbourne Seniors News, Melbourne Trader and Victorian Rural News Vol. 5 2. No . 177 9 52. 1779 Wednesda y, Ma y 13, 20 20 ednesday May 2020 Published W ednesda ys ednesday Phone: 9439 9927 e rr..com.au Web: ww w.MelbourneObserv .MelbourneObserve E-Mail: Edit or@MelbourneObserv e rr.. ditor@MelbourneObserv or@MelbourneObserve com.au Post: PO Box 1278, Research, Vic 3095
Our Team Editor: Ash Long Features Editor: Peter Mac Columnis ts: L en Bak e rr,, Ma tt Bis settolumnists: Bake Matt BissettJohnson, Da v d Ellis, R ob F oenander Dav Rob Foenander oenander,, Mike McColl Jones, Peter Kemp, Aaron Rourke, John Rozentals, Jim Sherlock, an, Cheryl T hr eadgold, K evin Ted Ry Ryan, Thr hreadgold, Ke Tr ask, G a vin W ood Ga Wood Honorary Reviewers: Juliet Charles, Martin Curtis, Sherryn Danaher e tte er Danaher,, P Pe Gr een, L yn Hurs t, K athryn K eeble , Beth Green, Lyn Hurst, Ka Keeble Klein, Ai Diem Le, Deborah Marinaro, David McLean, Graeme McCoubrie, Maggie Morrison, Jill Page Elizabeth Semmel Distribution (Observer): Sam Fiorini, All Day Distribution Logistics: John Parry (Whittlesea) Credit Manager: Michael Conway OAM, Fas ction Debt R ov ery astt A Action Ree cco ery,, 040 04022 142 866
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Cash available at Nillumbik ■ Nillumbik Shire Council has launched a special initiative through which local community groups and not-for-profit organisations can obtain one-off grants for projects that address some of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants, which range from $500 to $5000, aim to encourage innovative community led initiatives that assist in the response to any of the range of issues brought on. Mayor Cr Karen Egan said she looked forward to seeing the initiative and innovation to emerge. “There is a strong desire within the Nillumbik community to help during difficult times – we’ve seen that time and again over the years – and Council’s COVID-19 Quick Response Grants aim to nurture and support this desire,” she said. “Along with its direct threat to health, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected ours and other communities in a number of ways, including financially and socially. I strongly encourage groups and organisations who would like to lend a helping hand during these trying times to apply,” Funding is available to assist with initiatives such as: ■ Virtual events ■ Online training ■ Social networking ■ Relief efforts Applications are now open until June 14 or when all funds have been allocated. They can be submitted at nillumbik.vic. gov.au/covid-19QRG.
Long Shots
with Ash Long, Editor Previous winner, Victoria’s best local reporter
Now in his 51st year of local newspapers. “For the cause that lacks assistance, ‘Gainst the wrongs that need resistance For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do” Phone: 1800 231 311 Personal Web: www.L ong.com.au
Cr must pay
● Cr Fiona McAllister ■ Cr Fiona McAllister has been ordred to pay $3173.20 within 90 days to Yarra Ranges Shire Council. This follows a decision last month by Jeanette Rickards, Senior Member of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tri-
bunal for the whole of the application and costs application fees and daily hearing fees in a VCAT proceeding. The Tribunal had found that Cr McAllister had breached the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme by the removal of native vegetation without a planning permit. The subject land is 2 Kalamunda Terrace, Healesville. The Council had applied for $7450 costs, plus $1213.80 and $1011.60. Cr McAllister had sought $6094 in costs against the Council. The Tribunal was told that Cr McAllister tried to negotiate a tree plannuing offset on site, but the Coiuncil indicated that she should buy a $17,000 vegetation offset.
Wallan d’ment
■ Potential changes to a planning permit for developments at Wallan were due to be heard at a Mitchell Shire Council meeting on Monday night (May 11). Developments at 625 and 646 Northern Hwy, Wallan, adjacent to Hidden Valley are involved. Discussion was due to take place at the ‘Community Questions and Hearings’ meeting at the Broadford chambers, as this edition went to press. The matter is also listed for discussion at the ordinary meeting of Council to be held at Broadford o n Monday next week (May 18). The current approved development plan allows for a total site area of 130 hectares to provide for 938 lots. The proposal is to increase the total number of residential lots from 938 to 994
Lit in blue
■ Whittlesea Police Station has been lit in blue to honour the four members tragically killed on April 22. In honour of the members the station will remain bathed in blue as a sign of respect. Vale: ■ Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor ■ Senior Constable Kevin King ■ Constable Joshua Prestney ■ Constable Glen Humphris
Yea: tea spoon collection
Online www.L ocalPaper. com.au www.MelbourneObserv er. com.au You can rread ead our paper fr ee on the free internet. Our online news service is egularly or our upda updatted rregularly egularly.. Details ffor advertisers - and how to contact them are also available at our website. F ac ebook: L ocal P aper acebook: Paper aper,, Melbourne Observer Group
Editor Ash Long first started newspaper work in 1969. He began writing for local newspapers in 1973. Over those 47 years he has kept extensive diaries and local photo files.
From Our Files - 30 Years Ago Wednesday, May 9, 1990
Hutchinson quits
■ Kinglake’s Ray Hutchinson resigned as a Yea Shire Councillor. Mr Hutchison’s letter of resignation was read to the Council meeting by Shire President Cr Bill Wilson. In his letter, Mr Hutchinson said he believed that the Yea Shire Council could be acting “outside the parameters of the Local Government Act”. He said his resignation was also due to ‘time constraints’.
Push for rail land
■ Cr Don Lawson suggested that Yea Shire Council acquire former railway land in Yea township. He told the Council meeting that the Shire should take a “positive approach” to taking over the land between Oliver and Station Streets. He said the Yea Station was a major eyesore and the Government had l;eft the building to a stage of dereliction.
Cars still not sold
■ Yea Council was losing thousands of dollars in interest while four Ford cars remain unsold, Cr Ken Olcorn told the Shire meeting. Council heard that the four Ford vehicles, replaced by the controversial Holden Calais and Berlina sedans, had yet to be sold.
Communication gap
■ The Regional Director of the State Emergency Service, John Glass, spoke at the Yea Shire Council meeting. Mr Glass said there had been a ‘communication gap’ between the SES and Council: “That happens everywhere.” He said there had been misconceptions about the role of the Service.
McLeish not standing
■ Yea identity Don McLeish confirmed that he would be standing for the 1990 Council elections. Rumoured to be standing, Mr McLeish told the Yea newspaper that he had already “had his time”. Mr McLeish served for 12 years, including a stint as Yea Shire President.
Tourism plan
■ The Victorian Tourism Commission developed a comprehensive marketing strategy for the Dandenong Ranges and the yarra valley aimed at realising the full tourism potential of the region. State Tourism Minister Steve Crabb launched the $250,00 promotion drive at the Fergussons’s Winery in Yarra Glen.
Kinglake shooting
■ A 25-year-old was seriously hurt when he was shot in the chest at Kinglake West. Police say a prank almost turned into tragedy when a man thought he was firing blanks at his friend.
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Editor’s Diary
Another Captain
● Alan Thorley of Yea and District Historical Pages has been displaying Yea tea spoons from his collection.
■ Being a Fire Captain ran in the Drysdale family, we reported in 1990. With news of re-election of Cr Dougal Drysdale to the post of Captain of Yea Rural Fire Brigade, comes the information of son John as Captain at Yarck. John was the nfifth captain of Yarck succeeding J. Blakeney (1939), W.J. McGuigan (1940), A.V. Blakeney (1947) and John Cameron (1976).
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Your Stars with Kerry Kulkens ARIES: (March 21- April 20) Lucky Colour: Blue Lucky Day: Friday Racing Numbers: 7.8.9.3. Lotto Numbers: 4.12.23.24.35.41. Health should be good, however a lot of upheavals going on around and although it should not involve you personally, it is having an effect. Travel is indicated and romance is also. TAURUS: (April 21- May 20) Lucky Colour: Red Lucky Day: Wednesday Racing Numbers: 7.8.9.3. Lotto Numbers: 1.6.8.23.35.22. Most will be making the right moves to improve their financial picture. Romantic and passionate period is indicated. A missed career opportunity will come back. GEMINI: (May 21- June 21) Lucky Colour: Silver Lucky Day: Saturday Racing Numbers: 6.3.4.6. Lotto Numbers: 3.5.45.13.39.40. A romantic and busy period although family could create a problem. Old friends getting in touch and a contact from your past may annoy. Health matters should improve. CANCER: (June 22- July 22) Lucky Colour: Orange Lucky Day: Tuesday Racing Numbers: 7.3.1.5. Lotto Numbers: 6.12.24.34.45.11. A very important period coming up and those in a position of responsibility and or authority may have to spell their mind to keep control. Do not listen to gossip or pass it on. LEO: (July 23- August 22) Lucky Colour: Green Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 9.7.6.4. Lotto Numbers: 9.4.5.45.33.21. A friend you helped in the past could surprise you with a reward. Career opportunities are around and some could find hidden talent. An important person could make a big interest in your ideas. VIRGO: (August 23- September 23) Lucky Colour: Lilac Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 6.7.3.4. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.24.34.41.11. Unwise to take people in your confidence, however, keep your ears turned into all around you. Luck is on your side and the past will have a big impact on your future decisions. LIBRA: (September 24- October 23) Lucky Colour: Cream Lucky Day: Wednesday Racing Numbers: 8.9.5.4 Lotto Numbers: 1.14.23.34.42.33. This should be a very good period for money and love, perhaps a new romance could bring exciting highs. A surprising upturn in career and good news in business. SCORPIO: (October 24- November 22) Lucky Colour: Violet Lucky Day: Tuesday Racing Numbers: 2.4.3.7. Lotto Numbers: 2.4.12.23.31.22. A partner could disagree with your point of view and another's plans might have to be considered. Do not take sides to avoid being caught in the middle of trouble. SAGITTARIUS: (November 23- December 20) Lucky Colour: Green Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 8.9.3.4. Lotto Numbers: 5.12.23.34.45. Fortunate trends for romance and social activity. Love is in the stars for the looker. A f inancial matter could turn out much better than you expected. CAPRICORN: (December 21- January 19) Lucky Colour: Blue Lucky Day: Tuesday Racing Numbers: 8.4.5.6. Lotto Numbers: 1.13.24.34.42.22. More satisfaction in your love affairs. After a period of lethargy most will be inclined to over spend so guard against any indulgence. You should be feeling on top of the world soon. AQUARIUS: (January 20- February 19) Lucky Colour: Red Lucky Day: Friday Racing Numbers: 4.5.6.2. Lotto Numbers: 1.3.12.24.34.45. Be more cautious with money wiser to spend on necessities. Your confidence and vitality rises. However, do not express your opinions too candidly and lose support. PISCES: (February 20- March 20) Lucky Colour: Silver Lucky Day: Wednesday Racing Numbers: 7.8.3.4. Lotto Numbers: 2.13.23.34.41.11. Home improvements and time spent among good friends should make this a lively period. Many will be starting a new and much happier way of life. KERR Y KULKENS PS YCHIC LINE 1300 2 46 244 CALL COST: $5.50 INC G.S.T . PER MIN. MOB/PAY EXTR A. VISIT KERRY K ULKENS MAGIC SHOP AT 1693 BURWOOD HWY BEL G RAV E PH/FAX 9754 458 7 WW W.KERRY KULKENS. C OM.AU Like us on Facebook
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Local News
Free immunisations ■ Murrindindi Shire Council's Maternal and Child Health Service is providing free immunisations for children,five years and under, and has implemented a number of changes to the service during COVID-19 restrictions to help keep children and families safe and healthy. Council's Early Learning Portfolio Councillor Sandice McAulay said that although it's a busy and challenging time of year for many parents due the COVID-19 pandemic, immunisations are important not only for the health of our children, but for the health of our community. “All of our immunisation sessions are now being run by appointment only to help us maintain safe physical distancing requirements,” Cr McAulay said. “An immunisation schedule is available on our website, and this provides details on locations, dates and times for each session. “You can get in touch with one of our wonderful nurses to make an appointment by calling 0436 936 677. “We have sessions in Yea at the Yea Shire Hall, in Kinglake at the Kinglake Ranges Children's Centre, and in Alexandra at the Alexandra Shire Hall. “The changes to the normal location for immunisations in both Alexandra and Yea gives us a bit more space in which to run the sessions safely. “Sessions in Kinglake will remain at the Kinglake Children's Centre as there is plenty of space to support physical distancing,” said CrMcAulay. “Along with the scheduled immunisations available for children, we also provide free flu
Items provided by Murrindindi Shire Council. The Local Paper makes no charge for this space.
Dindi CEO’s report
vaccinations for children from six months to five years at these sessions. “Adults and children aged six years and over can access flu vaccinations from their local GP. “While COVID-19 is top of everyone's mind right now, I'd encourage people to also keep on top of their immunisations. “And of course, please see your GP if you have any concerns about your health or your child's health',” Cr McAulay said. ■ For more information and to view our immunisation schedule please visit murrindindi.vic.gov.au and search 'immunisation' or give the Maternal and Child Health Service a call on 0436 936 677.
Mayor introduces Budget ■ Murrindindi Shire Mayor Cr Leigh Dunscombe spoke on the 2020-21 Budget at last Wednesday’s Council meeting. “Tonight we have officially launched the 2020-21 draft budget for public consideration and submissions,” Cr Dunscombe said. “There has been a lot of serious soul searching by all councilors in the preparation of this budget made necessary by the unprecedented circumstances in which we all find ourselves. “Extraordinary circumstances however call for extraordinary measures and with the wellbeing of our communities and businesses top of mind this is what this budget delivers. “This budget goes way beyond what you would expect from a normal “business as usual” budget and delivers what we expect will be the key to Murrindindi Shire’s future prosperity on the other side of this Pandemic. “It is not a ‘pretty’ budget in terms of the bottom line but with so many of our communities facing the battle of their lives I make no apology for that. “Having said that, this budget is manageable, and it still achieves all the primary objectives of a council budget in terms of operations, services, maintenance and infrastructure while also providing rate relief for our residents and businesses. “It features increased funding for infrastructure to keep our economy moving, a zero per cent rate increase for our residents and the abolishment of the 25 per cent differential
Murrindindi Matters
■ Murrindindi Shire Council’s CEO Craig Lloud offered a report to last week’s meeting: “Officers’ focus over the past month has clearly been the continued delivery of Council services, heightened community information sharing and support, as well as supporting our staff through adapting to the changes of working conditions,” Mr Lloyd said. “Council has been working hard to maintain as many essential services as possible, and adapting existing services. “The introduction of new services such as our Book Butler Service, Print and Post, extended Customer Service hours and far more frequent cleaning of public places and toilets. “I have covered much of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the earlier report, but want to highlight a few specific matters. “Currently we are living with Stage 3 restrictions which will hopefully be eased in coming weeks. “As a community we have seen significant adherence to these directions and it has resulted in just the one confirmed case in our Shire. Businesses, particularly in the tourism, accommodation and hit. “In a recent survey commissioned by Council, 38 per cent of businesses who responded have fully closed, with 64 per cent of businesses having lost 50 per cent or more of their revenue. “Officers, Councillors and members of our newly formed Dindi Business and Tourism Advisory Committee have been hard at work finding ways to support our local businesses, and support local employment. “I would ask everyone, where possible, to shop local. The newly launched Dindi Directory.com.au is a great place to find out about local businesses that are operating and how to support them. “Finally I just want to thank our community for their patience, support and community spirit during this period, and a special thank you to all of our staff who have gone above and beyond to keep delivering for our community,” Mr Lloyd said.
Mitchell Shire Shire buys property
● Cr Leigh Dunscombe rate for our commercial and of our communities in the ‘Here and Now’ and to provide industrial businesses. “We have also allocated a pathway to recovery. “It’s not going to be easy, it $500,000 for Pandemic related recovery projects and main- doesn’t come without consetained funding for our commu- quences and it’s not going to nity and business grants and solve all our problems but it is necessary. contributions fund. “I commend this budget for As I said, this is not a “Busipublic consideration and look ness as Usual” budget. “It is a budget specifically forward to submissions,” Cr designed to address the needs Dunscombe said.
Family violence cases
■ Victoria Police has detected hundreds of family violence offences as it continues its efforts in protecting victims during the coronavirus pandemic. A state-wide family violence operation dedicated to preventing and reducing family violence involves specialist detectives from the Family Violence Investigation Units checking in regularly with victims and monitoring high-risk perpetrators. Operation Ribbon, which commenced on April 13, was set up to prevent the anticipated increase of family violence incidents as people stay at home with limited opportunities to access support.
■ Mitchell Shire Council has purchased of the property at 27 Keith St, Seymour. The site, which has a building in poor condition, is said to be an ideal location for expanding future services to the Seymour community because of its proximity to large areas of existing residential land. “It also accessible by public transport as well as significant foot traffic in the area and its proximity to Seymour College and Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre, are a natural fit for further community use,” said a Council spokesman. “Because of the condition of the building, it will be demolished in the coming weeks, with the site landscaped until a future decision is made on a permanent use. “Fences will be installed soon so that demolition works can take place. Council asks that the community stay clear of the area until works have taken place. Mitchell Shire Mayor Cr David Lowesaid: “The opportunity to purchase 27 Keith Street in Seymour will have long term benefits for the Seymourcommunity. “This strategic land purchase will allow Council to consider a range of community uses for the area,” he said. “Until we have decided on the long-term use for the area, Council will carry out demolition works and tidy up the area. This will take place in the coming weeks. “This purchase already supports a significant community precinct within Seymour and with this land now in Council’s hands we are well placed to support future developments that will have direct community impacts.”
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What The Papers Say Lotto winner
■ A Chirnside Park woman has declared she is feeling ‘so alive’ after watching her numbers come up in last night’s Lotto draw, scoring her a division one prize of $1 million. The Victorian player held one of the two division one winning entries across Australia in Monday and Wednesday Lotto draw 3970, drawn Monday May 4. They each take home a division one prize of $1 million. As well as winning the coveted division one prize, the winner’s System 8 entry also scored her division three 12 times and division four 15 times, bolstering her total prize to $1,006,218.85. - Mountain Views Star Mail
Dam underway
■ Eagle-eyed Buller snow cam watchers will have noticed plenty of activity up on the Boggy Creek webcam this last week as the team race to keep ahead of the looming winter weather and complete the important water storage project for the resort. The breathtaking scale of the new 100 megalitre reservoir was highlighted by the tiny ant-like people spotted working on the dam floor. If you wondered what they were doing, the team have been installing the aeration system that will keep the water moving once the dam fills. - Mansfield Courier
Parents struggle
■ When Angela Wood witnessed women doing it tough in her neighbourhood – she decided to start up an organisation that donates baby and parenting goods to disadvantaged families. “I started losing sleep thinking about articles I’d read about pregnant asylum seekers in Australia sleeping on floors and even seeing women in my neighbourhood struggling,” Ms Wood said. “A few of my friends were throwing out good quality prams and pre-loved baby items and I thought – there must be a way to get these items to women in need.” - North Central Review
Euroa land sale
■ A lot of 165 acres sold is one of the largest to change ownership in Euroa in recent times, with plans to establish an amount of low density housing property in the area. The land, which has been sold for an undisclosed sum, will be developer Jayland Group’s first foray into regional Victoria outside the growth belt of out Melbourne. “We are looking at coming in straight away with a planning permit and have a mixture of acre and half acre lots within an upmarket prestigious estate masterplan,” managing director of Jayland Group, Jason Giarrusso, said. - Euroa Gazette
Alex. cricketers
■ The Alexandra Cricket Club has announced its individual award winners for the 2019-20 season. The club was unable to host its awards night due to the coronavirus pandemic but was determined to recognise performances from throughout the season. B-grade Batting award: Shane Parker – 305 runs at 61. He also won the SDCA batting award. Bowling award: James Kidd – 28 wickets at 9, including 6-17 against Puckapunyal. Captain’s award: Will Ellis. C-grade Batting award: Tim Orgill – 446 runs at 44, which included two centuries. Bowling award: Jordan Ferrier – 22 wickets at 9.95, including 5-28 against Broadford. Fielding award: Toby Ward. Captain’s award: Daniel Crane. Under-16s Batting award: Jacob Bourke – 311 runs at 38.8. Bowling award: Forest Ryan – 13 wickets. Fielding award: Leo Cianter. - Seymour Telegraph
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80 Years Ago
Local News
Budget open for comment ■ Murrindindi Council endorsed the draft 2020/21 Budget for public exhibition at its Special Meeting on Wednesday last week (May 6). The meeting was held online and livestreamed via Council's Facebook page, following the passage of new legislation allowing online council meetings to occur during COVID19 restrictions. Murrindindi Shire Council Mayor Cr Leigh Dunscombe said the draft Budget provides a range of new measures to help our community recover from the pandemic over the next year. “We understand that many individuals and businesses in our community are experiencing hardship due to the Coronavirus pandemic,” Cr Dunscombe said. “One of the goals of this draft budget is to help our community recover from the crisis. “The Draft Budget proposes a 0 per cent property rate rise for the coming financial year even though the Victorian Government has set the cap on rate increases at 2 per cent. “We just don't think we can reasonably seek increased revenue from property rates this year. “But while we are committed to a freeze on those costs we control, that doesn't mean there will be no changes on your rates bill, as the rates bill includes a range of charges Council collects on behalf of the Victorian Government. “You will still see changes resulting from recent property valuations (as set by the Victorian Government as at January 1, 2020). There will also be changes to waste and recycling charges, which are a cost-recovery charge. “Helpfully, we understand the Victorian Government will not increase the Fire Services Levy next financial year, and has also deferred its planned Landfill Levy increase until January 1, 2021. “Council is also proposing to remove the 25 per cent premium differential rate paid by commercial and industrial property owners for 202021, to help support business recovery. “'The Draft Budget also includes a substantial relief and recovery package, which is funded by a draw-down of $500,000 remaining from the 2009 bushfire government assistance funds, provided by the State Government to Council to support its ongoing operations. “These funds are currently held in reserve, but under current circumstances we think it appropriate to make them available for initiatives to support community and business recovery in our Shire,” Cr Dunscombe said. “Given the adjustments we are proposing in the Draft Budget, there will now be a slight budget deficit next financial year. “We believe this is a reasonable trade-off, if it helps to achieve the goal of assisting our Shire's recovery. “Importantly, while the measures we are proposing will help support local suppliers, contractors and the community to recover from the pandemic, this Draft Budget will allow us to keep delivering our normal services too. “It will help us to implement a range of new initiatives to help Council meet the goals we set at the beginning of our term to ensure the continued economic prosperity of our Shire. “These include ■ an increased Capital Works Program delivering a range of important projects across the Shire, including ■ $3.86 million on roads and paths including reseals, re-sheeting, footpath renewals and improvements to unsealed roads ■ $175,000 to improve safety at the Kinglake West Primary School crossing and surrounds ■ $479,000 on Marysville Swimming Pool renewal works ■ $160,000 on Kinglake Public Toilet Renovation (Aitken Crescent) ■ $350,000 on a new public toilet in Kinglake Memorial Reserve ■ $45,000 on solar hot water showers for male and female amenity blocks at Eildon and Marysville swimming pools ■ $40,000 to replace bi fold doors at Yea Recreation Reserve Clubrooms ■ $189,000 to improve connectivity to Kellock Lodge (William St to Johnston St , with connection to Leckie Park) ■ $45,000 for additional shade sails at the Yea Swimming Pool ■ $100,000 for the extension of the footpath in
From Our 1940 Files
Footballers’ ball
■ The Alexandra Football Club's ball, held in the Shire Hall on Wednesday night, passed off very enjoyably. There was an attendance of over 200 dancers, including a good contingent from Marysville. So many unusual factors are at work this season that it is difficult to forecast the probable trend in re.gard to attendances at social functions. However, Wednesday night's crowd was satisfactory, although a few more would have pushed the profit up a bit, as the catering arrangements provided for a larger attendance. Zarf Rivers' band provided the dance music, and the ladies supplied a splendid supper. The stage was nicely decorated, the deft work of Mrs. N. Stillman being in evidence.
Eildon Weir bridge
■ Sir.-We extend congratulations to our Council for its decision to include in its application for funds from the Federal Aid grant, a claim for £2,250 for the creation of a bridge at Eildon Weir. We presume that items for grants required are not in order of preference. Indeed we hope that the last shall come first when the grant is allocated because the proposed bridge is much more urgent and will meet a far greater need than the Devil's River road, which in list submitted holds pride of place. ©PUBLICITY COMMITTEE. E. W. & D. P. A. Falls Rd, Marysville (Stage 1 - Gallipoli Park to Goulds Terrace) ■ $50,000 for bridge renewal at the entrance to the Yea Caravan Park ■ free public entry to our Swimming Pools in Alexandra, Eildon, Marysville and Yea. ■ a one year trial of late-night pool openings on Fridays and Saturdays at our busiest Swimming Pools in Alexandra and Yea ■ the addition of an arborist to our staff and a $100,000 increase to funding for tree works ■ funding to implement the recently adopted Murrindindi Shire Tourism and Events Strategy “We're very pleased to be able to commit to a Draft Budget which delivers important works and services next financial year, while also providing some relief for ratepayers to assist recovery from the pandemic. “Our aim is to deliver services equitably across the Shire and respond to the needs of our community as they change and evolve. “This draft budget is about making sure all available funds are going to the areas where they will have the most impact,” Cr Dunscombe said. The Draft Budget will be available for viewing on the website at murrindindi.vic.gov.au/ publiccomment until June 3. If you would like to make a submission to Council about the Draft Budget, you must do so in writing by no later than 1 pm on June 3. Submissions can be sent via email to governance@murrindindi.vic.gov.au, or posted to Manager Business Services, Murrindindi Shire Council, PO Box 138, Alexandra, Vic., 3714. People making submissions will have an opportunity to address Council at a Special Meeting of Council to be held at 6 pm on June 10. urther details about meeting arrangements (to accommodate any COVID-19 restrictions) will be available closer to the time on Council's website. Those who have made submissions will also be contacted directly in advance of the meeting date.
Draft budget, plan at Whittlesea City
■ Whittlesea Council’s proposed 2020-21 Budget and CouncilAction Plan is now open for consultation. Residents are invited to have their say until May 29 on our website: https:/ /bit.ly/2wSPEwl The Draft Budget considers the evolving COVID-19 challenges while delivering critical major projects and continuing services for the community. It includes a $2 million COVID-19 Community Recovery Fund.
Kilmore trounces Lancefield
■ This match was played on the Lancefield ground on Saturday last before a good crowd in ideal weather. Lancefield being a new team in the competition, the match was eagerly awaited, but after the first few minutes of play it was apparent that they were hopelessly, outclassed. Kilmore raced.away to.a lead of.41 points by half time, Lancefield scoring only a solitary point. After the long interval the game evened up in general play, but Kilmore always .had the upper hand.
Lilydale Lullaby
■ Ken. Barnett was again in evidence on Saturday. Always handy picking up the crumbs, he is a danger when within shooting range. Johnny Huston, known as the live wire, at home in any position, earns his reputation as a versatile player, Reg. Poynton and Ted Robinson were in the thick of the fray. Reg. is a tiger for work, while Robby has pace a-plenty, and make full use of it. The 'Dale has two excellent recruits in Hansen and Walker. Both boys make the ball their objective at all times, and have pace. The fair player will always have a big advantage over the play-the-man artist.
Alecandra Mothers’ Club
■ The School Fair recently held in the Parish Hall was very successful, resulting in a profit of £15/15/8. This money will gotowards the cost of purchasing forty school lockers that the club have decided to install for use by High School children. At the close of Friday's meeting a competition arranged by Mrs. Hendry, on bo.tanical knowledge of the members, was held, and very much enjoyed. A warm welcome is extended to all mothers to join the club. It would be very gratifying to have as a member, the mother of each child attending school.
Broadford death
■ A former well-known resident of Broadford in the person of Mr. Andrew Muir Johnston, of "Boondilla," passed away at the Kilmore Hospital on 12th May, at the age of 60 years. He was the fourth son of the late Rob ert and Agnes Johnston, of Ballan, who selected a well-known property, "Yarragam," on the Tallarook flats.
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Local News Phased return to classroom
■ Victorian Government school students will begin a phased return to classrooms before the end of May, following advice from Victoria’s Chief Health Officer that it is safe for the community to do so. A Government statement said: Since the beginning of Term 2, most children in Victoria have been learning remotely, limiting the number of people moving around our state every day to help slow the spread of coronavirus. The Government thanks parents, teachers and staff for their incredible efforts in helping deliver remote and flexible schooling this term and, in doing so, playing a vital role in flattening the curve of this pandemic. These efforts, and the biggest testing blitz in the country, mean Victoria is now in the position to begin moving back to face-to-face learning in the classroom. From Tuesday May 26, all Prep, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students, specialist school students, as well as VCE and VCAL students will return to on-site learning at government schools. The next fortnight, and a pupil free day at all schools on May 25, will give staff, schools and families time to prepare for the change. Vulnerable students in years 3 to 10, and children in those years whose parents or carers cannot work from home, can continue to attend school on-site as needed during this period. Students in the broader year 3 to 10 cohort will continue to learn remotely until Tuesday June 9, to give the Government and the Chief Health Officer time to monitor and evaluate the effects that the return to school by other year levels has on the increased movement of people and transmission within the community. The Government will invest up to $45 million for enhanced cleaning.
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Showbiz People Dom Italiano
Observer
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Books Sandie Docker
Published statewide weekly in the Melbourne Observer and all editions of The Local Paper. Phone: 1800 231 311. Email: editor@MelbourneObserver.com.au
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2020
POPPY CHERRY ● Dom Italiano ■ A prophetic new single from Melbourne singer-songwriter Dom Italiano saw him debut in the top 30 of the iTunes Country Songs chart late last week. The Arsonist, a duet with Golden Guitar finalist Gretta Ziller, was released last Friday ahead of Dom’s new album in June. The song explores the idea that everyone on earth works in opposition to everything – we need the bad to appreciate the good. “It’s about how we exist in conflict with everything and that’s why we struggle through life and we don’t understand why that is,” he said. “The song seems to be an eerie forecast, because I wrote and recorded it a year ago but it’s very much in line with what we’re going through. One of the lines is ‘the sickness hides its secrets in the cure’ which is pretty prophetic.” It’s not all doom and gloom, though, with lines of positivity including, ‘nothing lifts the gaze as much as hope. The miracle it seems, is that so many learn to cope’. “It’s about understanding that that’s what happens everywhere, anyway and it is something to be embraced, whether you like it or not; that’s how stuff is,” Dom said. “Humans, for the entire history of the human race, have managed to plough through, and we are capable, as a collective of dealing with it, making the changes even though it’s not pleasant and not nice, but we can do it. The song said that before we were faced with this pandemic.” Dueting with Gretta, the song comes alive and Dom said “it was the best”. “Although this is a good song, Gretta gives it a real lift when she comes in and it’s also symbolic to have a male and female voice on a song that talks about how everything is in opposition to each other,” he said. “It’s about Yin and Yang; men and women are in opposition, but when they come together, they create new things.” Continuing this theme, Dom is a full-time muso who is currently out of work playing gigs, but has made the best of the situation and is doing two online gigs a day, playing more of his original songs than ever, and taking supporters on a virtual world tour. Dom also invites his supporters to be part of his music-making by becoming patrons through Patreon where supporters can pledge whatever they can afford and they see everything he makes in one place including originals, covers, podcasts, and live streams. By becoming a patron, supporters will get first look/listen, at a new song and a live stream each month, a podcast each week and new music videos as they are made. Dom is currently writing and recording a new song each week in 2020, with new material now in double figures. The Arsonist is now available on AMRAP https://bit.ly/3d2Mgys ahead of Dom’s upcoming album, The Hurt Party, out in June. - Cheryl Threadgold
● Poppy Cherry with Burlesque students. ■ Moving an entire physical dance school burlesque performers have lost work as a result online in less than a week due to COVID-19 of COVID-19. Maison Burlesque is able to keep their staff was a big task, but the entire team of staff and teachers at Maison Burlesque have adapted employed as for most of them this is now their quickly and are delivering a personalised and sole income. Their instructors are working hard setting up their home studios, and have been interactive dance experience online. Maison Burlesque is located on Bridge Rd creative behind the scenes. Whether it's Classic Burlesque, Neo Burin Richmond, and with over 30 classes per week and five showcases performing for close to 500 lesque, Vintage Dance, Retro Dance or Vintage people, is one of the largest burlesque studios Hair and Makeup, all is on offer at Maison Burlesque. in Australia and possibly the world. Learn from some of Melbourne's top BurThe studio prides itself on creating a strong sense of community with interactive virtual lesque performers and dance instructors in inclassrooms, Facebook groups for current and teractive online classrooms. All Maison Burpast students, fortnightly shows just for the ‘fam- lesque classes (whether in person or online) are ily’, and regular sewing bees to keep everyone’s run in small groups (max 10-15 students) for people from all walks of life! hands busy. Date: Term Three commences May 25 The potential to reach a wider audience who may not normally be able to access classes in Cost: Single Drop-in Class $25, 4-class-pass $90, the Melbourne studio was an unexpected silver Full 6-week course $125 Venue: Register online at lining with the move online. The space (virtual and physical) is a space to get creative, unwind www.maisonburlesque.com.au . All classes are and get in touch with your inner burlesque bomb- run via Zoom and are recorded for use when convenient. shell. - Cheryl Threadgold Working in the entertainment industry, most
Adam performs magic ■ Magician Adam Axford has created a selection of online virtual shows to "take our minds off the news". Here are some points from Adam regarding these sessions using platforms like Zoom and WebEx to entertain family, friends and the work team: ■ Fully Interactive ■ Sophisticated magic and mentalism ■ Gift a personal one-on-one show ■ Bring entertainment to the Corporate Meeting ■ Get the family online for a shared experience ■ Fairly priced and accessible to all ■ Shows are available from 15 minutes to 40 minutess duration. For queries or bookings call 0434862442 or email magic@adamaxford.com.au - Cheryl Threadgold
● Sandie Docker ■ Lovers of sagas spanning generations are in for a treat with author Sandie Docker's latest book, The Banksia Bay Shack. It follows the intertwining lives of the family of investigative journalist Laura and Banksia Bay lifelong resident Virginia, over the course of 60 years. Back in 1963 in the idyllic coastal village of Banksia Bay, something happened to Laura's grandmother Lillian, involving a lie that changed the lives of many people. So years on, granddaughter Laura starts uncovering the secrets of that tragic summer, while Virginia wrestles with the decision of whether to keep what she knows secret, or set it free. Docker has a particular interest in the social issues of the 1960s, and grew up in a small town, yet her life as an author was started by her lecturer in Mandarin at university who suggested that Docker had a gift for writing. While homesick in London, she started writing her first novel, which she says was comprehensively rejected because it was terrible, but it started the writing bug. "From that first terrible manuscript to my debut novel The Kookaburra Creek Café hitting the shelf, was about 18 years. Kookaburra then got picked up by German publisher Goldman and I signed another two book deal with Penguin," Docker said. Docker sees her role as an author to give people some hope and cheer, while still dealing with heavy issues, but always having an uplifting ending. "The message in fiction like mine, is that no matter what we face together we can get through it and we will be alright in the end - in fact, we will be better than alright," she explained. Docker said it is always important to remember there is hope, no matter how bleak things seems. "And it's dark times like these we are living through now, that we need these stories the most," she said. So if you need something uplifting in your life at the moment, try The Banksia Bay Beach Shack but Sandie Docker, published by Penguin Random House. - Julie Houghton
Big Night In
● Magician Adam Axford
■ Australian entertainer Rhonda Burchmore, Welsh singer, radio and television presenter Aled Jones and popular singer/ songwriter Ricki-Lee are set to entertain during this week’s episode of live variety digital show, Arts Centre Melbourne’s Big Night In with John Foreman tonight (Wed., May 13) at 7pm. Australian comedian, television presenter, media personality and author Gretel Killeen will also be a special guest. This week’s show will conclude with a spectacular performance of a much-loved song by Ricki-Lee, who will be joined (virtually) by the Aussie Pops Orchestra.
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Melbourne Arts Blender Studios
■ "I remember looking at the empty warehouse, there was rubbish and dust everywhere, it was hard to convince anyone that this space could be anything more than a demolition site,” says Adrian Doyle. “I was about 22 at the time (2000) and it was a massive investment. We divided the space into 22 open studios. “The first year was very hard. We had trouble filling the studios and people we were getting were difficult and hardly ever there. “I always dreamt of a hard- working productive studio. It was after about a year that the Studios started to develop a personality. “A number of street artists had taken up studios as well as a few people from my masters' course at the VCA. It was a true blend of artists. “It was at this time the name Blender Studios was given. “We were sitting around having beers trying top come up with names, and Kames Dodd came up with the Blender. It became a mission statement of sorts". “The mostly full studios were a blend of different artists, philosophies, beliefs and socio-economic backgrounds and education. “The studios began attracting an underground element, and in mis 2001 the Melbourne street art scene burst from its doors and onto the streets. There was a real political element to the early Melbourne stencil scene, this was partly because if the US invasion of Iraq and I think that many id us young artists felt we had co voice and that the Australian art scene had been hijacked by pretention. “The Blender Studios became the intellectual heart of the early Melbourne street movement. Research artists became highly influenced by the street movement, many making it part of their common practice. It was here too, that the seed was planted, which would later lead to street artists taking a more commercial and research approach to their work. In 2002 Regan Tamuanui aka Ha-Ha, Dan Sibley aka Dacism and James Dodd aka Dlux set up Early space in Collingwood. This was run through the Blender Studios and was the first street gallery in Australia. It set the scene for the commercial side of street art to take off. This was cemented in 2004 when Andy Mac assisted the National Gallery of Australia in the acquisition of a large selection of stencil work for its works of paper collection. The Blender Studios continued as the centre of the Melbourne street scene and was making great roads on the contemporary art scene with some of the artists achieving international stardom. Roh Singh, Emma Van Leest, Louisa Jenkinson, and Anthony Lister to name a few, are among some of the early alumni. In 2004.a few things happened that change4ed the Melbourne street movement forever. The first was the preparation for the Commonwealth Games. This meant that the government and the City of Melbourne changed its graffiti policy. A police task force was set up and a large section of important street art was whitewashed. And some of the most prolific artists went on the run. They are still on the run today, create street art. In April 2004 the Blender Studios also shut down. This had a diasporic effect on the street art movement With the meeting place gone many of the street artists disappeared back into the world. It was at this point that there was an aesthetic shift from stencils to freehand spray painting, and the Melbourne street scene changed forever. The fine artists moved on in the dame fashion, to many degrees of success., If you bring something to the studio you have to show them everyone's space. This makes us a much stronger collective and community. The Studios are not for profit, it makes no money, it's all about art. Your correspondent thanks Adrian Doyle for the history and bacjground of Blender Studios. Blender Studios Level 1.Docklands Art Precinct Harbour Town, Docklands - Peter Kemp
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Confidential Talk is cheap, gossip is priceless
● Local actors enjoying an online play-reading from top left: Dru Bartlett, Trish Carr, Tony, Hazel and Richard Green, Trish, Alannah Guthrie-Jones, Lyn Alexander, George Boyd, and Colleen. Melbourne thespians have been keeping active enjoying their craft in various ways, including Zoom online play-reading sessions, hosted by director Trish Carr. These sessions are becoming so popular that Trish has no trouble casting all roles in the selected plays. Trish can be contacted at 9720 1177.
Lockdown Monologues ■ Malthouse Theatre has announced that it has commissioned playwrights Jean Tong, Jane Harrison and Tom Holloway to create a series of monologues based around life in the current pandemic. Made possible by a grant from the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the three writers will research and interview Melburnians from all walks of life who have uncanny, humorous, strange, personal and political stories to share—creating a time capsule of these six months in Melbourne. Malthouse Theatre’s Director in Residence, Bridget Balodis, will direct the project, with Mark Pritchard as dramaturg.
Observations Staying Alive
■ Theatre hasn’t died – it has simply gone into a quiet hiatus. Our memory of it lingers; the audience breathing as one, the recognition of something said that is prescient or thought provoking. The spirit of theatre cannot be quelled – and to that end, the Abbey Theatre in Ireland have commissioned a series of plays on YouTube entitled Dear Ireland. The playwright Carmel Winters has composed a monologue, Staying Alive, that is both comic and touching. Set inside the enclosed confines of a tent, the character (Licianne McEvoy) has self isolated within her own home. The frustrations of an indolent husband and lazy children has all the comic dimension one could imagine – don’t butter the bread as it will catch when being passed under the door. But there is poignancy as well for in a phone conversation, she discovers her friend’s mother is confined to a home. What good is Facetime with one’s deaf, blind, dying mother? There is a delicate balance between pathos and humour that all families face in the current climate. McEvoy delights in the shifting nuance between the two. Her criticism of family is the endearment that comes with familiarity. The advice she gives to her friend expresses the challenge of addressing the unknown. The energy within the theatre community hasn’t dissipated. It is simply looking for other forums and outlets where an appreciation and understanding of the human condition can continue to be conveyed. More than ever, we need such voices to keep us grounded and aware. Google Dear Ireland for this play and others like it. Well done, Abbey Theatre. - Review by David McLean
Kings of the High C
Once each playwright has written three 5-minute monologues, Malthouse Theatre will begin casting local actors to perform in the nine monologues. The performances, staged as three monologues per epi-
sode, will be live streamed on June 3 and 17, and July 3. The monologues will be free to watch, but audiences will need to register via malthousetheatre.com.au to receive the streaming link to watch.
Red Stitch’s appeal ■ Red Stitch Actors Theatre in St Kilda was established in 2001, and since its first play presented in 2002 has presented more than 100 contemporary plays and quality entertainment for many patrons. The coronavirus pandemic has now had a serious financial impact on Red Stitch. To ensure the company's future, the following appeal has been made to supporters of the theatre: "Dear Friends of Red Stitch, “In the last few weeks, our world has been turned upside down by the coronavirus. As a community, we still don’t fully understand exactly how this will end. This is especially true for the arts industry in Australia, and companies like Red Stitch. “Yet, we do know that this time will pass, and Red Stitch will return to the stage. “While everybody at Red Stitch has done everything we can to guarantee that the show will go on in the years to come, we want to make sure that the work we present in the future is as good as it was before the pandemic changed our world. If not better. “Over the past almost two decades, and with your help, Red Stitch has built its program from very little. Each year gaining more ground, giving everything we have to bring exceptional plays to our audiences and nurture artists. “While we intend to resume producing the most challenging and exciting contemporary theatre for you when health authorities say it's safe, the coronavirus pandemic has had a seri-
ous financial impact on Red Stitch. Our ability to invest in new productions will be enhanced by your continued support. “Please give a tax-deductable contribution to help us continue into the future. We welcome gifts of all sizes. “Thank you for your support. We look forward to sharing the magic of our big little theatre with you again as soon as we can. “Warm regards, Red Stitch Actors Theatre" Website: www.redstich.net - Cheryl Threadgold
Cowboy Junkies
■ David Roy Williams Present is pleased to advise that the May 2020 Australian tour of Cowboy Junkies, postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic has been rescheduled to February, 2021. Whilst refunds are available for any ticket holders who are not able to attend the new dates, they recommend that if at all possible, ticketholders show their support for Cowboy Junkies by attempting to reschedule rather than cancelling tickets. Refunds can be requested from the ticketholder’s point of sale, providing transaction number, before Wednesday, May 6. Performance dates in 2021 are at the Recital Centre on Thursday, February 4 and at theAthenaeum Theatre on Saturday, February 6.
■ Frankston Arts Centre continues to share arts experiences with patrons via free online performances at home. The next performance in their digital series is Kings of the High C which will be available to stream online for free from Friday (May 15), at 10.30am. Featuring the talents of Roy Best, Alison Jones and Chris McKenna, Kings of the High C celebrates the stories and songs of Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras. For details of this free performance, visit the Frankston Arts Centre website https:// artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au/
● Roy Best, Alison Jones and Chris McKenna in Kings of the High C.
Big Bucket Rattle
■ The Victorian Actors’Benevolent Trust pledged to support artists and arts workers in need over the upcoming months with the hope to raise $50,000 in donations via the VABT Virtual Big Bucket Rattle last night (Tues., May 12)/. VABT President Sally-Anne Upton said this donated amount would really help performing arts professionals in need. “The money raised by donations will be available to actors and entertainers in need to help pay for essentials such as food, utilities, and other necessities such as ongoing medical expenses. The VABT is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers to support, listen and advocate for members who have fallen on hard times or need a helping hand. They provide a wide range of crisis relief services such as emergency financial assistance.”
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Magazine
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Page 37
Stateside with Gavin Wood in West Hollywood
Healthcare workers are heroes ■ Hi everyone, from my suite at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites comes this week's news.
Out and About
Ramada lends waiting room
15 years of YouTube
■ With the Coronavirus pandemic that is raging all around the world our first responders and other critical frontline healthcare workers need safety zones so as not to succumb to this deadly virus. The Ramada of West Hollywood is one of the hotels stepping up and offering accommodation to the doctors, nurses and first responders so that they have a safe environment in which to relax and keep their focus. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a State of Emergency for all of California. The local hospital is Cedars Sinai and with liaison with the LA City and LA County these measures have been put in place. Sergeant Jon Kraus, Operations Supervisor for the West Hollywood Sherriff's Department is the Ramada Hotel's liaison for help in the smooth operation of support.
Sexy top doctor ■ "Make Dr.Anthony Fauci People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive," says a petition posted on the Change.org website. The 79-year-old Fauci is among the experts leading the nation's evaluation of and response to the COVID-19 outbreak, frequently appearing at the White House coronavirus news conferences. He was a strong and early advocate of social distancing. The petition reads: "DrAnthony Fauci is America's top expert on infectious diseases. “His tireless work to educate and support Americans has affected all of us. His comforting and intelligent demeanour has helped to lessen our national anxiety. He speaks truth to power, a strength few have at this time. His kind face and manner of speaking bring calm during the storm. For sapiophiles and many others, he is the definitive Sexiest Man Alive in 2020. “ As of early Friday morning, almost 4000 people had signed the petition. Amid the bipartisan adulation for Dr Fauci, press reports said he's also received threats, prompting the Health and Human Services Inspector-General's office to provide him with a security detail.
● Alan Johnson, Managing Director of Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites with Sergeant Jon Kraus, Operations Supervisor for the West Hollywood Sherriff's Department.
New York subway
King of Pop helps out ■ The Michael Jackson Estate has announced that it is donating $300,000 to coronavirus response efforts to help three communities that have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 virus. Broadway Cares, Three Square Food Bank (Southern Nevada's largest hunger-relief organisation) and Music Cares will each receive a $100,000 donation. "This virus strikes at the heart of the communities we are close to," said John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the Estate of Michael Jackson. "We learned today that the legendary Manu Dibango [a key influence on Jackson's hit Wanna Be Startin' Somethin) passed away from the virus. Other performers and support staff in music and on Broadway are sick or have been left without work and are facing an uncertain future. And in Las Vegas, which has been so welcoming to Michael Jackson, the entire city has been shut down leaving thousands of workers and their families devastated and without an income. "Michael's spirit of generosity and helping others during his lifetime is legendary. These donations are inspired by him," they said.
GavinWood
From my Suite at the Ramada Plaza Complex on Santa Monica Blvd
■ The New York City subways are only supposed to be for essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic, but conductors say the trains are filthier than ever. The MTA says only about 5 per centof its regular ridership is taking the subway during this pandemic, and that's made up of people who work in hospitals, grocery stores, and every other essential service. But conductors say the subway has become a homeless shelter and social distancing is nearly impossible. Cell phone video shows subway cars lined with people passed out, using shoes as pillows, not wearing masks, with trash piled in shopping carts. "There is an astronomical amount of homeless people now in the subway," MTA train conductor Tramell Thompson said. "The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is now the Metropolitan Transmission Authority. They are transporting this virus."
Take a slow walk ■ Taking an extra 4000 steps a day might reduce our risk of dying prematurely, even if those steps are not swift, according to a large-scale new study of moving and mortality. At a time when so many of us are confined to home and worried about whether we are being active enough, the study is especially inspiring in that the added steps do not have to come from running or other vigorous exercise. It finds that for every additional 4000 steps someone takes in a day, even if it's just ambling around the block or across the room, his or her risk of dying early from heart disease, cancer or any other cause drops by 50 per cent or more.
Pot sales soar
Pandemic scam busted ■ Thousands of people who tried to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to make a quick buck have been banned from selling on Amazon. The company said a dedicated team has been working to identify and investigate "unfairly priced" products that are in high demand during the outbreak, such as protective masks and hand sanitiser. In a statement, Amazon confirmed 3900 selling accounts had been suspended for price-gouging. "We are also proactively sharing information with state attorney's general and federal regulators about sellers we suspect have engaged in egregious price-gouging of products related to the COVID-19 crisis," the company said. Amazon also confirmed that it had pulled well over half a million offers from its online marketplace.
■ It's been 15 years since YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded the platform's first-ever video, 18 seconds of him pontificating about elephant trunks at the San Diego Zoo. Here's a brief timeline on what's happened since: ■ 2005: YouTube launches its public beta in May, and with $3.5 million from Sequoia Capital it goes beyond beta by the end of the year. ■ 2006: Google acquires YouTube for $1.7 billion. ■ 2007: Charlie bit my finger becomes the first viral video, proving babies are cuter than cats, and YouTube goes mobile-friendly the same month the first iPhone hits stores. ■ 2008: Evolution of Dance gets a record-breaking 100 million views. ■ 2009: Justin Bieber. Vevo. The music world is never the same. ■ 2012: Psy's Gangnam Style gets a historic one billion views. ■ 2014: Susan Wojcicki becomes YouTube's third CEO. ■ 2017: The Adpocalypse and Elsagate throw the platform under public scrutiny. As of last year, 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube ... every minute. There's no sign of that number going down.
● Dr Anthony Fauci
Come and visit us ■ If you are considering a move to Los Angeles or just coming over for a holiday then I have got a special deal for you. We would love to see you at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites, 8585 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood. I have secured a terrific holiday deal for readers of the Melbourne Observer and The Local Paper. Please mention 'Melbourne Observer' when you book and you will receive the 'Special Rate of the Day'. Please contact: Jennifer at info@ramadaweho.com
www.gavinwood.us
■ More people stuck at home has led to a higher demand for cannabis. Aphria is one of the best-positioned companies to take advantage of that trend, an analyst at Bank of America said. "Our checks across North America were consistent: regardless of region, cannabis purchases have accelerated," analyst Christopher Carey said in a note. "While likely on pantry loading, it's not unreasonable to think there will be some boost to per capita consumption as people stay at home longer." This implies that pot is a defensive category, like alcohol and tobacco. Carey upgradedAphria to buy from neutral, although he cut his price target to $5 from $8 to reflect the impact of market turbulence on cannabis shares. The company "could increasingly take a disproportionate share of increased demand" as its peers struggle, he said. - Gavin Wood
Page 38 - Wednesday, May 13, 2020
■ My first memory of seeing Richard Widmark in a film was as a giggling gangster who pushed an old lady in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs in Kiss Of Death. I thought what a rat! Then, as a 10-year-old who knew everything, I saw him in a film titled The Frogmen where he played a ‘goodie’ and I immediately changed my mind - what a guy! I thought to myself. From that time on I was a fan of Richard Widmark. Richard Weedt Widmark was born in Minnesota in 1914. His father was a travelling salesman and the family moved to various locations during Richard's childhood. He studied acting at college and made his radio debut at the age of 14. He tried to enlist during the war years but was rejected because of a perforated ear drum. Richard worked in radio and appeared in many popular shows including an ongoing role in the serial Front Page Farrell. In 1942 he married Jean Hazelwood and they had a daughter. The following year he appeared in the Broadway comedy, Kiss And Tell. Richard Widmark made his film debut in 1947 as Tommy Udo, the giggling killer in Kiss Of Death, the film that impressed me as a child. The role must have also impressed others as he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Richard was in demand and his film roles
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Magazine Whatever Happened To ... Richard Widmark
By Kevin Trask of 3AW and 96.5 Inner FM
over the next few years included The Street With No Name, Yellow Sky, Down To The Sea in Ships, Panic In The Streets and Don't Bother To Knock (in which Marilyn Monroe played a small role). After his contract with Twentieth Century Fox studios expired Richard became a freelance actor and even appeared as himself in an episode of the television series I Love Lucy. During his career Richard Widmark starred in more than 60 films. He worked for various studios and starred in films such as Hell And High Water, Broken Lance, The Last Wagon, How The West Was Won and Murder On The Orient Express. One of my favourites was Judgment At Nuremberg. Richard played the prosecuting at-
● Richard Widmark torney, Col. Tad Lawson, and his performance was outstanding. Many of the actors in the film worked for a fraction of their normal salary because they felt
the subject matter was very important. He also starred opposite Doris Day in the romantic comedy The Tunnel Of Love which was a complete departure from his ‘tough guy’ roles. The film was directed by Gene Kelly, but it was not a success at the box office. In 1968 Richard starred in the successful film Madigan which was later produced as a television series. His acting idol was Spencer Tracy and he became a good friend of Sidney Poitier afterthey made three films together. From everything I have read about Richard Widmark during my research it seems that he was a decent human being. In his later years he enjoyed being at his farms in California and Connecticut. His final film was True Colours with John Travolta in 1991. Sadly his wife passed away in 1997 and Richard married again in 1999. Richard Widmark passed away in Connecticut, after a long illness, in 2008 at the age of 93. Kevin Trask Kevin can be heard on 3AW The Time Tunnel - Remember When Sundays at 10.10pm with Philip Brady and Simon Owens. And on 96.5 FM That's Entertainment - Sundays at 12 Noon. www.innerfm.org.au
Life as normal on Elliot Island
■ While the world stays at home, life on and around Lady Elliot Island on the Southern Great Barrier Reef is continuing as normal for the giant manta rays, the turtles, the seabirds and the incredible coral surrounding the cay. With the world pausing for the time being, the eco-resort's skeleton staff are bringing the island to the world instead with their new video series Island Talks. Meet the people who work on this wildlife haven, including marine biologists and divers, and learn the amazing stories of the island's flora and fauna, its importance as a breeding and feeding ground, and its history of rehabilitation under the ecoesort's management. Visit www.ladyelliot.com.au
Travel
Ritz Carlton
with John Rozentals
■ The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company will open its fifth hotel in Japan, this time in a partnership with the Tobu Railway. The new luxury hotel will be located in Nikko, which is famed for its pristine nature, historical and cultural significance and as a sacred pilgrimage destination. Located in the Oku-Nikko area (Deep-Nikko), theRitz Carlton Nikko sits on the banks of the iconic Lake Chuzenji. Nikko is famous for some of the world's best autumn leaves and lies just under a two-hour journey north from Tokyo with the Tobu Railway. The hotel has been built to show views of the nearby Mount Nantai, that stands 2486-meters high and is a five-minute walk from one of Japan's three most beautiful waterfalls Kegon Falls. Ritz Carlton luxury hotels are also located in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Okinawa. Visit www.ritzcarlton.com
Virtual art
■ TheArt Gallery of Queensland is conducting part of a virtual exploration of the state. Amid the global COVID-19 crisis, travellers around the world are staying home, staying safe and eagerly waiting for life to return to normal. And while traditional travel may
From the comfort of the couch: viewers can learn winemaking with the Willy Wonka of viticulture, Chester Osborn, and purchase their wines; cook alongside one of Adelaide's best chefs, Africola's Duncan Welgemoed, as he tackles everyday pantry ingredients to make a restaurant quality dish and order takeaway from Africola for the first time in the restaurant's history; or simply unwind to a picturesque backdrop of South Australia. Visit www.southaustralia.com
Metro deals
be out of the question for now, Queensland is inviting travellers to explore virtually today to help plan their next unforgettable holiday. To inspire their next holiday, travellers are invited to a sensory journey of Queensland that will bring the Sunshine State into their home through sight, sound, smell and taste. Visit www.queensland.com
Watch SATV
■ As borders and movement are restricted around the world and people's lives are confined to virtual spaces, the South Australian Tourism Commission is bringing South Australia into living rooms across the country via a new online platform, SATV. SATV features local tourism operators and businesses that have adapted how they operate during COVID-19 restrictions to offer new innovative ways to still purchase, experience and enjoy their product or service from the confines of home. The platform will also act as a livecontent hub, showcasing some of South Australia's most iconic regions and charismatic operators, keeping couped-up travellers and the community inspired while in self-isolation or adhering to social distancing rules. SATV will showcase content from South Australia's wide range of businesses that champion the destination's best qualities.
■ During the COVID-19 epidwmic, Metro Hotels is offering at its Perth, Darwin, Darling Harbour and Aspire Sydney properties a solution for guests seeking a safe haven to self-isolate or simply looking to move out of share accommodation to work solo in a quiet, comfortable and spacious guest room for a longer-than-average stay. Parking is available for all hotel guests. A room at the Metro Aspire Hotel Sydney is $89 per night plus 10 per cent off with promotion code ISOLATE or MEDICAL. The property offers spacious rooms, many with private balconies. All rooms have king zip beds, fresh contemporary furnishings, smart TVs where guests can access their Netflix accounts and high-speed internet. The hotel has its own secure underground carpark. Visit www.metrohotels.com.au
Coral trips
■ Coral Expeditions has a series of new voyages next year named 'Small Islands of the World'. The collection features the isles of the Southern Pacific (including Tahiti, the Marquesas and Pitcairn), Micronesia and New Guinea (Yap, Chuuk Lagoon, Palau), Japan (Saipan, Iwo Jima and the Ryukyu chain) and the Philippines (Catanduanes, Biri and Palaui). Visit www.coralexpeditions.comor phone 1800 079 545. ■ Potential travellers should check the status of individual events and establishments with regard to the coronavirus outbreak.
OK. With John O’Keefe Really noice idea
● Kath and Kim Colouring Book available. ■ If you’re in isolation and bored senseless here’s a really noice way to while away the time before you pop the cork on a bottle of Chardy. Download the Kath and Kim Colouring Book for $6 and colour in all your favourite characters from one of Australia’s most watched tv sit coms . To buy a copy ask Google to look for the Cactus site and order online.
Comeback Kid
■ You may remember Steve Jacobs on the Today show on Nine. For 15 years he told us what the weather would be and got the push when formats changed. Since then Steve has dabbled with other media gigs and travel. Now he is up for his biggest challenge as host of the breakfast program on revamped Magic radio , heard in Melbourne and sister stations Australia wide. The new Magic format started April 27 – music of the 70’s onwards. The challenge is to boost ratings from a zero base. Current owners, Nine Radio, have inherited a station that in the past has broadcast full-on sport, lifestyle and now music. Big job ahead.
Is silence a virtue?
■ Maybe it’s me but I can’t hack watching football on TV without any crowd noise. Likewise watching comedy without all the laughs – it’ eerie, spooky and a turnoff. The brave attempt of Ten to show the Graham Norton Show was a disaster without audience giggles and effect s –it was a cruel injustice to both presenter and guests and poor programming.
Doctor, doctor
■ Dr Norman Swan does a great job in his segments on the ABC by explaining the Coronavirus in a understandable way. But the good doctor has been copping heat from all quarters accusing the Doc of having a conflict of interest . He is a Executive Director of Tonic Health Media, a promotional/marketing company in Sydney. In my opinion the easiest way is to make a brief statement at beginning of each segment explaining the good Doc’s bio. Problem solved - a storm in a teacup.
Financial challenges
■ The media scene will be a very different landscape when life returns to normal. With no exception all mediums will be in varying degrees of financial strife, already sporting radio network SEN is openly appealing for funds from shareholders . - John O’Keefe
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Magazine
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Page 39
Movies, DVDs with Jim Sherlock, Aaron Rourke What’s Hot and What’s Not in Blu-Rays and DVDs FILM: THE LIGHTHOUSE: Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Horror. Cast: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Valerila Karaman. Year: 2019. Rating: MA15+ Length: 109 Minutes. Stars: ***½ Verdict: Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. Immensely gothic, darkly comic and chillingly mesmerising tale of claustrophobia, isolation and madness is a supremely intense and haunting psychological character driven showcase brought even more vividly to uneasy life with its unique use of black & white cinematography, a deeply disturbing effects soundtrack and square frame presentation, a mix of elements you would expect from the mind of "Eraserhead," "The Elephant Man," "Blue V elvet" and "Twin Peaks" director David Lynch. Stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson unleash a gripping and disturbing intensity as the two lighthouse keepers, both equally captivating and devilishly foreboding in two dynamic and hypnotic tour-de-force performances with extraordinary conviction and unforgiving realism. Strikingly photographed by Jarin Blaschke, co-writer and director Robert Eggers has created a cold, meticulously textured, highly atmospheric, quirky, surreal and sinister tale that manages to surprise as much as shock, a cinematic experience as ominous as the coldly isolated isle, the mysterious fog, the ice cold winds, the wailing cry of the warning siren and the lonely beam from lighthouse, all combining to unleash a uniquely original and salty yarn that is the perfect antidote for those in search of an alternative to the more traditional Hollywood movies on offer. FILM: THE TRUTH (French): Genre: Comedy/Drama. Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke. Year: 2019. Rating: PG. Length: 106 Minutes. Stars: *** Verdict: When an aging star of French cinema publishes her memoirs, her daughter returns from New York to Paris with her husband and young child, however, the reunion between mother and daughter quickly turns to confrontation as truths will be told, accounts settled, loves and resentments confessed. Engaging melancholic family melodrama succeeds in no small part to the almost spellbinding charismatic performance by legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg/ 1964, Repulsion/1965, Belle De Jour/1967) in a self satirizing role as an aging French screen star, who, at 76, proves she's still got it, and then some, and aided superbly by Juliette Binoche as the daughter, Ethan Hawke as her husband, along with a fine supporting cast. In his first film made outside his native country, Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda, whose previous credits include the 2018 Best Foreign film Oscar nominated "Shoplifters," has adopted a solemn, softer and low key approach during which some of the emotional drama and deeply rooted drive stalls at moments, but nonetheless, despite any flaws, this is an exquisitely made and handsome character driven family drama with wonderfully realized idiosyncratic characters. Funny, sad, meditative, grounded and ultimately refreshing, there may be an abundance of familiarities in this family comedy-drama, but it is filled with enough charm, wit and captive scene stealing performances by two screen greats still at the top of their game to satisfy those lovers of European cinema, and the perfect antidote to the bigger Hollywood studio films on offer.
Rourke’s Reviews A Hidden Life ■ (PG). 174 minutes.Available on DVD May 13. Once one of the most celebrated film-makers in the world, Terrence Malick has now become one of the most divisive, and his latest film, A Hidden Life, will either exhilarate or infuriate, depending which side of the fence you sit on. Set in the early 1940s, the story centres on Franz and Fani Jagertatter (August Diehl and Valerie Pachner), an Austrian couple who earn a living as farmers. The effects of war are getting closer, with young men sent to training camps so they can be ready to serve Hitler at a moment's notice. When all Austrians are asked to swear an oath to Hitler, Franz refuses, as he rejects the leader's monstrous beliefs and predilection for war, and as time goes on, his fellow neighbours begin to turn on him, as toxic, pure blood nationalism starts to stain and distort their way of thinking. Franz's pacifist views will soon put he and his family in harm's way. Malick achieved legendary status with just two films in the 1970s, Badlands (1973) and Days Of Heaven (1978), before disappearing from view for two decades, resurfacing in 1998 with the outstanding WWII drama, The Thin Red Line, but it was unfortunately overshadowed by the infinitely inferior Saving Private Ryan, which came out the same year. Since his Palme d'Or winning feature The Tree Of Life in 2011, Malick has certainly become more prolific, frequently experimenting in ways that have left some audiences cold. However, for fans who appreciate the director's fearless, freeform approach, in an attempt to capture not just the inner thoughts of his characters, but also how they (along with the human race) figure in the grander scheme of things, then his works offer incredible joy, awe, and wonder. Like all of his films, A Hidden Life is extraordinary to look at (thanks to cinematographer Jorg Widmer, who should have received an Oscar nomination for his gorgeous lensing), and the entire cast immerse themselves fully in the world Malick has convincingly recreated. It really says something about Malick's lengthy, meticulous editing process when one of the cast members is Michael Nyqvist (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), who passed away in June 2017. A Hidden Life probably won't win Terrence Malick any new admirers, but for those who cherish his unique, heartfelt vision, A Hidden Life may be seen as one of this
film-maker's best artistic endeavours, and it's a real pity that this stunning achievement isn't getting a blu-ray release. RATING - *****
The Day Shall Come ■ (M). 87 minutes. Now available on DVD. Successfully straddling that fine line between comedy and social commentary with Four Lions in 2010, British director Christopher Morris finally returns with his second feature, and while it doesn't hit a complete bullseye, The Day Shall Come again offers a fascinating tonal mix, where a sad truth lies underneath the knockabout hijinks. Marchant Davis stars as Moses Al Shabaz, dedicated leader of an urban farm organisation he calls 'The Star Of Six', which is only made up of his immediate family and a couple of local friends. A devout pacifist, Moses wants to overthrow the government, but a serious lack of members and finances means his plans are currently falling short, to the point where his landlord is threatening eviction. His flamboyant behaviour is brought to the attention of FBI agent Kendra Glack (Anna Kendrick), who convinces her boss Andy (Denis O'Hare) that he is a possible terrorist threat, and should be arrested via a typical sting operation. Even after Kendra realises that Moses is no terrorist, the agency still want to take him down, as it will look like the authorities are continuing to win the war on terror. Those expecting sledgehammer moralising and over-the-top, scattergun humour in the vein of Adam McKay's The Big Shortand Vice, will be bitterly disappointed, with Morris keeping everything refreshingly low-key, even when character antics become either delusional or desperate. Though he puts a comedic spin on events, Morris doesn't make the mistake of condescending to, or making fun of, Moses, especially when it gradually becomes clear that he is suffering some level of mental illness. Performances are nicely judged throughout, with Davis, Kendrick and O'Hare proving to be particular stand-outs (Jim Gaffigan makes an amusing appearance late in proceedings). Though not as laugh-outloud funny as Four Lions, and lacking real savage bite, The Day Shall Come is still more thoughtful than other satires that have come our way recently, and confirms that writer/director Morris continues to be a talent to watch. RATING - ***½ - Aaron Rourke
Huge Thriller FILM: THE STAR CHAMBER: Genre: Crime/Mystery/Thriller. Cast: Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto. Details: 1983. Rating: M . Length: 109 Minutes. Stars: ***½ Verdict: Hugely entertaining thriller of an idealistic young judge who is constantly disgusted and sickened with criminals escaping the judicial system via technicalities, and is invited to join a secret society of judges who plan and execute an alternative method for punishing the guilty outside the courts. Now available to purchase on Blu-ray in a pristine new transfer, "Capricorn One," "Outland" and "2010: The Year We Make Contact" director and co-screenwriter Peter Hyams keeps the tension tight, the thrills high on-the-edge and the action fever pitch, enough to make sure your nails are shorter at the end than they were at the beginning.
Top 10 Lists
MAY 10-16 THE DVD AND BLU-RAY TOP RENTALS & SALES: 1. BAD BOYS FOR LIFE [Action/Comedy/ Will Smith, Martin Lawrence]. 2. MISS FISHER AND THE CRYPT OF TEARS [Mystery/Drama/Essie Davis]. 3. LIKE A BOSS [Comedy/Salma Hayek, Rose Byrne, Lisa Judrow]. 4. JUST MERCY [Biography/Crime/Drama/ Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx]. 5. THE RHYTHM SECTION [Drama/Thriller/ Blake Lively, Jude Law]. 6. RICHARD JEWELL [Biography/Crime/ Drama/Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm]. 7. THE LIGHTHOUSE [Drama/Fantasy/ Horror/Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson]. 8. A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD [Drama/Biography/Tom Hanks]. 9. MIDWAY [War/Action/History/Drama/ Aaron Eckhart, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans]. NEW HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK: A HIDDEN LIFE [War/Drama/Biography/ Romance/August Diehl, Maria Simon]. BIRDS OF PREY [Action/Crime/Adventure/ Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead]. SEBERG [Biography/Drama/Kristen Stewart, Jack O'Connell, Zazie Beetz]. THE WAY BACK [Drama/Ben Affleck, Hayes MacArthur]. UNDERWATER [Sci-Fi/Action/Horror/ Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel]. DVD AND/OR BLU-RAY NEW & RE-RELEASE CLASSIC MOVIES HIGHLIGHTS: ANZIO [War/History/Drama/Robert Mitchum, Peter Falk, Robert Ryan]. NEW RELEASE TELEVISION, DOCUMENTARY AND MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS: THE VIKINGS: Collection. UNDERGROUND: Seasons 1 - 2.
DVD COLLECTION: Specialising in Classic and Hard to Find Movies, and Latest Releases Classics, Comedy, TV, Drama, Thriller, Action, Music, Adventure, Cult Classics, Horror, Documentary. All Genres for All Tastes - Box Sets and Limited Editions Collections SHOP 43, THE WALK ARCADE, BOURKE STREET, MELBOURNE. PH: 9654 3825. HOURS: Mon-Thurs 10am to 6pm. Friday: 10am to 7m. Saturday and Sunday: 10am to 5pm.
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M & A McCormack FUNERALS Also trading as Bamfords F.S. Murrindindi 1800 080 909 Family owned and operated
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ABOUT ALL THINGS NATURAL & ORGANIC All Things Natural & Organic is located in the scenic region of North East Victoria at the foot of Mount Buller. We have been in operation since 1999, with the current owner, Di Leydon taking over in 2005. At All Things Natural & Organic we offer our customers Mansfield’s largest range of Organic products. Our friendly staff are more than happy to help you find the best product for your needs. And if we don’t have it in stock we will try to get it in for you. We have a large range of products and try our best to cater to our clients requirements. We have a vast range of Health foods, and a large range of bulk foods for the customer to save money. Our fridge is full with great organic produce including meat, milks, cheeses, yogurts, butter, wine and free range eggs. WE CURRENTLY STOCK SOME GREAT HEALTH RELATED BOOKS, WITH KETO BEING THE BIG LIFESTYLE CHANGE MOST PEOPLE ARE FOLLOWING. WE ALSO HAVE A LARGE RANGE OF KETO PRODUCTS, INCLUDING ICE CREAM, PROTEIN POWDERS, CRACKERS, AND CHOCOLATES. FUSION REWARDS PROGRAM Our Fusion rewards club is the first of its kind in Australia, where we record all of your Fusion products that you buy with us and when your total reaches $300 we will reward you with a free 30 tab bottle of any Fusion product of your choice NO CARDS FOR YOU TO CARRY WE KEEP THIS ON FILE FOR YOU. GIFTS & JEWELLERY - GEMSTONES & BOOKS Our large range of new age, spiritual and unusual gifts are sought out buy many of our customers who travel large distances to visit our unique shop. We carry a large range of spiritual, health and self-help books, for those wanting to research more. We are constantly updating our Jewellery range which includes Sterling Silver, Costume, Tibetan and Gemstones. We also have a large range of Himalayan Salt Lamps, in many different designs.
25 HIGH STREET MANSFIELD PH: 57791705
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WATER BORING No water, no charge after free site inspection. Phone Des Murray
0428 518 159
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Crossroads
By Rob Foenander info@countrycrossroads com.au
Kerrigan albums ■ Pastor Kerrigan La-Brooy has released his long awaited two gospel albums. The father of six and founder of the Gethsemane Church and Charity Berwick is donating with each sale 50 per cent to the unrivalled charitable work Gethsemane does in the community. More info at www.kerriganlabrooy.com
Horns of Leroy ■ The Memo Music Club St Kilda presents The Horns Of Leroy as part of their live stream series. Joined by soul songstress Thando, the outfit are a punked-out seven piece raucous street band that take brass band music to a whole new level. From humble beginnings, the band has evolved from playing the streets of Melbourne to some of the biggest festivals and stages across the country says the Memo. Sat. May 30 at 7.00pm. Tickets at the Memo. https://www.memomusichall.com.au/
Keri’s new singles ■ Multi-award winning international artist Keri McInerney has released her new single Waiting On The Other Side. Whilst always having her roots in the blues, Keri has amazing diversity in her songwriting and performance. This has allowed her to build a wonderful and successful multi genre music career says her website. Info at www.kerimcinerney.com - Rob Foenander
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Magazine
Lucky country for affordable merlot
■ John Rozentals looks at how lucky we are in Australia to have a reasonably priced merlot. Chateau Petrus is a dry red wine that's very nearly mythical and spoken of in hushed tones. It is made from 100 per cent merlot in France's Bordeaux of Pomerol and fetches some $2600 per 750ml bottle - yes, that's right, some $2600 per 750ml bottle - making it one of the world's most expensive wines. And before you think that I've lucked it in again, a bottle hasn't just lobbed on my desk. In fact, I've never even tasted the stuff. What has just lobbed on my desk is a bottle of Shaw Wines 2017 Canberra Merlot, priced at quite an affordable $28 per 750ml bottle. Australian vigneron, Graeme Shaw, based near Murumbateman in southern NSW, wouldn't claim I don't think in an eon that his wine is quite in the Petrus class. Yet I find it quite a charming red in its own right, with heaps of soft red-berry flavours. "We use a Select Harvester with a de-stemmer and sorting table attached, so just berry and juice is collected. I'd argue that the quality achieved is better than hand-harvesting and has the added bonus that we can do it all at night," said Graeme. WINE REVIEWS Chateau Martinolles 2018 Limoux Chardonnay ($19): a bright, old-vine chardonnay from
Crossword Solution No 20
● Graeme Shaw: making high-quality Australian merlot at an affordable price. Jean-Claude Mas, the creator of noir (10 per cent, 28-year-old vines) let the bottles sit in our cellar for a France's popular, outrageously and mourvedre (5 per cent, 18- little longer. Because of all the flavour compounds in this wine i cheap Arrogant Frog range. year-old vines. The dry white is creamy, fullThe estate is named after Jean- takes a while to settle so we tend to flavoured and stylish enough to sit Claude Mas's father, with whom release it the year after production The acid balance is such that thi on its own, but at its best with he started making wine at a young wine lovely in its youth, but if you creamy-sauced white meats served age. Take to a bistro and match with have is the will power not to drink it with plenty of mushrooms. any hearty red-sauced dish. then it also has great ageing poten From the Limoux region of WINE OF THE WEEK tial and will cellar over the next 15 southern France. Shaw Wines 2019 Canberra years." Chateau Paul Mas 2018 Riesling ($30): I love this crisp Potential travellers should check Languedoc ($21): an earthy dry red mouthful of citrus, floral flavour but the status of individual events and blended from syrah (85 per cent, I'll let Graeme have the final word: establishments with regard to the 12-22-year-old vines), grenache "As well as picking later we also coronavirus outbreak.
Observations
with Matt Bissett-Johnson
Mike McColl Jones
Top 5
THE T OP 5 TOP UPD ATED MO VIES. UPDA MOVIES. 5. A story about a dreary man who lives in the woods –“Forest Grump”. 4. A man who rides side-saddle on a BMW – “Lawrence of Braghtan”. 3.Two plastic surgeons go “toe to toe” – “Scar Wars”. 2. A major restaurant reinstates an old dish – “The Lambshank Redemption”. 1.My Whippy becomes a gynaecologist - “Coldfinger”.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Page 61
Bleak House - by Charles Dickens He goes downstairs, and Mr. Guppy tries to compose himself before the fire for waiting a long time. But in no more than a minute or two the stairs creak and Tony comes swiftly back. "Have you got them?" "Got them! No. The old man's not there." He has been so horribly frightened in the short interval that his terror seizes the other, who makes a rush at him and asks loudly, "What's the matter?" "I couldn't make him hear, and I softly opened the door and looked in. And the burning smell is there—and the soot is there, and the oil is there— and he is not there!" Tony ends this with a groan. Mr. Guppy takes the light. They go down, more dead than alive, and holding one another, push open the door of the back shop. The cat has retreated close to it and stands snarling, not at them, at something on the ground before the fire. There is a very little fire left in the grate, but there is a smouldering, suffocating vapour in the room and a dark, greasy coating on the walls and ceiling. The chairs and table, and the bottle so rarely absent from the table, all stand as usual. On one chair-back hang the old man's hairy cap and coat. "Look!" whispers the lodger, pointing his friend's attention to these objects with a trembling finger. "I told you so. When I saw him last, he took his cap off, took out the little bundle of old letters, hung his cap on the back of the chair—his coat was there already, for he had pulled that off before he went to put the shutters up—and I left him turning the letters over in his hand, standing just where that crumbled black thing is upon the floor." Is he hanging somewhere? They look up. No. "See!" whispers Tony. "At the foot of the same chair there lies a dirty bit of thin red cord that they tie up pens with. That went round the letters. He undid it slowly, leering and laughing at me, before he began to turn them over, and threw it there. I saw it fall." "What's the matter with the cat?" says Mr. Guppy. "Look at her!" "Mad, I think. And no wonder in this evil place." They advance slowly, looking at all these things. The cat remains where they found her, still snarling at the something on the ground before the fire and between the two chairs. What is it? Hold up the light. Here is a small burnt patch of flooring; here is the tinder from a little bundle of burnt paper, but not so light as usual, seeming to be steeped in something; and here is—is it the cinder of a small charred and broken log of wood sprinkled with white ashes, or is it coal? Oh, horror, he IS here! And this from which we run away, striking out the light and overturning one another into the street, is all that represents him. Help, help, help! Come into this house for heaven's sake! Plenty will come in, but none can help. The Lord Chancellor of that court, true to his title in his last act, has died the death of all lord chancellors in all courts and of all authorities in all places under all names soever, where false pretences are made, and where injustice is done. Call the death by any name your Highness will, attribute it to whom you will, or say it might have been prevented how you will, it is the same death eternally—inborn, inbred, engendered in the corrupted humours of the vicious body itself, and that only—spontaneous combustion, and none other of all the deaths that can be died. CHAPTER XXXIII Interlopers Now do those two gentlemen not very neat about the cuffs and buttons who attended the last coroner's inquest at the Sol's Arms reappear in the precincts with surprising swiftness (being, in fact, breathlessly fetched by the active and intelligent beadle), and institute perquisitions through the court, and dive into the Sol's parlour, and write with ravenous little pens on tissuepaper. Now do they note down, in the watches of the night, how the neighbourhood of Chancery Lane was yesterday, at about midnight, thrown into a state of the most intense agitation and excitement by the following alarming and horrible discovery. Now do they set forth how it
Charles Dickens will doubtless be remembered that some time back a painful sensation was created in the public mind by a case of mysterious death from opium occurring in the first floor of the house occupied as a rag, bottle, and general marine store shop, by an eccentric individual of intemperate habits, far advanced in life, named Krook; and how, by a remarkable coincidence, Krook was examined at the inquest, which it may be recollected was held on that occasion at the Sol's Arms, a well-conducted tavern immediately adjoining the premises in question on the west side and licensed to a highly respectable landlord, Mr. James George Bogsby. Now do they show (in as many words as possible) how during some hours of yesterday evening a very peculiar smell was observed by the inhabitants of the court, in which the tragical occurrence which forms the subject of that present account transpired; and which odour was at one time so powerful that Mr. Swills, a comic vocalist professionally engaged by Mr. J. G. Bogsby, has himself stated to our reporter that he mentioned to Miss M. Melvilleson, a lady of some pretensions to musical ability, likewise engaged by Mr. J. G. Bogsby to sing at a series of concerts called Harmonic Assemblies, or Meetings, which it would appear are held at the Sol'sArms under Mr. Bogsby's direction pursuant to the Act of George the Second, that he (Mr. Swills) found his voice seriously affected by the impure state of the atmosphere, his jocose expression at the time being that he was like an empty post-office, for he hadn't a single note in him. How this account of Mr. Swills is entirely corroborated by two intelligent married females residing in the same court and known respectively by the names of Mrs. Piper and
Mrs. Perkins, both of whom observed the foetid effluvia and regarded them as being emitted from the premises in the occupation of Krook, the unfortunate deceased. All this and a great deal more the two gentlemen who have formed an amicable partnership in the melancholy catastrophe write down on the spot; and the boy population of the court (out of bed in a moment) swarm up the shutters of the Sol's Arms parlour, to behold the tops of their heads while they are about it. The whole court, adult as well as boy, is sleepless for that night, and can do nothing but wrap up its many heads, and talk of the ill-fated house, and look at it. Miss Flite has been bravely rescued from her chamber, as if it were in flames, and accommodated with a bed at the Sol'sArms. The Sol neither turns off its gas nor shuts its door all night, for any kind of public excitement makes good for the Sol and causes the court to stand in need of comfort. The house has not done so much in the stomachic article of cloves or in brandy-and-water warm since the inquest. The moment the pot-boy heard what had happened, he rolled up his shirt-sleeves tight to his shoulders and said, "There'll be a run upon us!" In the first outcry, young Piper dashed off for the fire-engines and returned in triumph at a jolting gallop perched up aloft on the Phoenix and holding on to that fabulous creature with all his might in the midst of helmets and torches. One helmet remains behind after careful investigation of all chinks and crannies and slowly paces up and down before the house in company with one of the two policemen who have likewise been left in charge thereof. To this trio everybody in the court possessed of sixpence has an insatiate desire to exhibit hospitality in a liquid form
Mr. Weevle and his friend Mr. Guppy are within the bar at the Sol and are worth anything to the Sol that the bar contains if they will only stay there. "This is not a time," says Mr. Bogsby, "to haggle about money," though he looks something sharply after it, over the counter; "give your orders, you two gentlemen, and you're welcome to whatever you put a name to." Thus entreated, the two gentlemen (Mr. Weevle especially) put names to so many things that in course of time they find it difficult to put a name to anything quite distinctly, though they still relate to all new-comers some version of the night they have had of it, and of what they said, and what they thought, and what they saw. Meanwhile, one or other of the policemen often flits about the door, and pushing it open a little way at the full length of his arm, looks in from outer gloom. Not that he has any suspicions, but that he may as well know what they are up to in there. Thus night pursues its leaden course, finding the court still out of bed through the unwonted hours, still treating and being treated, still conducting itself similarly to a court that has had a little money left it unexpectedly. Thus night at length with slow-retreating steps departs, and the lamp-lighter going his rounds, like an executioner to a despotic king, strikes off the little heads of fire that have aspired to lessen the darkness. Thus the day cometh, whether or no. And the day may discern, even with its dim London eye, that the court has been up all night. Over and above the faces that have fallen drowsily on tables and the heels that lie prone on hard floors instead of beds, the brick and mortar physiognomy of the very court itself looks worn and jaded. And now the neighbourhood, waking up and beginning to hear of what has happened, comes streaming in, half dressed, to ask questions; and the two policemen and the helmet (who are far less impressible externally than the court) have enough to do to keep the door. "Good gracious, gentlemen!" says Mr. Snagsby, coming up. "What's this I hear!" "Why, it's true," returns one of the policemen. "That's what it is. Now move on here, come!" "Why, good gracious, gentlemen," says Mr. Snagsby, somewhat promptly backed away, "I was at this door last night betwixt ten and eleven o'clock in conversation with the young man who lodges here." "Indeed?" returns the policeman. "You will find the young man next door then. Now move on here, some of you." "Not hurt, I hope?" says Mr. Snagsby. "Hurt? No. What's to hurt him!" Mr. Snagsby, wholly unable to answer this or any question in his troubled mind, repairs to the Sol's Arms and finds Mr. Weevle languishing over tea and toast with a considerable expression on him of exhausted excitement and exhausted tobacco-smoke. "And Mr. Guppy likewise!" quoth Mr. Snagsby. "Dear, dear, dear! What a fate there seems in all this! And my lit—" Mr. Snagsby's power of speech deserts him in the formation of the words "my little woman." For to see that injured female walk into the Sol's Arms at that hour of the morning and stand before the beer-engine, with her eyes fixed upon him like an accusing spirit, strikes him dumb. "My dear," says Mr. Snagsby when his tongue is loosened, "will you take anything? A little— not to put too fine a point upon it—drop of shrub?" "No," says Mrs. Snagsby. "My love, you know these two gentlemen?" "Yes!" says Mrs. Snagsby, and in a rigid manner acknowledges their presence, still fixing Mr. Snagsby with her eye. The devoted Mr. Snagsby cannot bear this treatment. He takes Mrs. Snagsby by the hand and leads her aside to an adjacent cask. "My little woman, why do you look at me in that way? Pray don't do it." "I can't help my looks," says Mrs. Snagsby, "and if I could I wouldn't." Mr. Snagsby, with his cough of meekness, rejoins, "Wouldn't you really, my dear?" and meditates. Then coughs his cough of trouble and says,
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From Previous Page "This is a dreadful mystery, my love!" still fear fully disconcerted by Mrs. Snagsby's eye. "It IS," returns Mrs. Snagsby, shaking her head, "a dreadful mystery." "My little woman," urges Mr. Snagsby in a piteous manner, "don't for goodness' sake speak to me with that bitter expression and look at me in that searching way! I beg and entreat of you not to do it. Good Lord, you don't suppose that I would go spontaneously combusting any person, my dear?" "I can't say," returns Mrs. Snagsby. On a hasty review of his unfortunate position, Mr. Snagsby "can't say" either. He is not prepared positively to deny that he may have had something to do with it. He has had something— he don't know what—to do with so much in this connexion that is mysterious that it is possible he may even be implicated, without knowing it, in the present transaction. He faintly wipes his forehead with his handkerchief and gasps. "My life," says the unhappy stationer, "would you have any objections to mention why, being in general so delicately circumspect in your conduct, you come into a wine-vaults before breakfast?" "Why do YOU come here?" inquires Mrs. Snagsby. "My dear, merely to know the rights of the fatal accident which has happened to the venerable party who has been—combusted." Mr. Snagsby has made a pause to suppress a groan. "I should then have related them to you, my love, over your French roll." "I dare say you would! You relate everything to me, Mr. Snagsby." "Every—my lit—" "I should be glad," says Mrs. Snagsby after contemplating his increased confusion with a severe and sinister smile, "if you would come home with me; I think you may be safer there, Mr. Snagsby, than anywhere else." "My love, I don't know but what I may be, I am sure. I am ready to go." Mr. Snagsby casts his eye forlornly round the bar, gives Messrs. Weevle and Guppy good morning, assures them of the satisfaction with which he sees them uninjured, and accompanies Mrs. Snagsby from the Sol's Arms. Before night his doubt whether he may not be responsible for some inconceivable part in the catastrophe which is the talk of the whole neighbourhood is almost resolved into certainty by Mrs. Snagsby's pertinacity in that fixed gaze. His mental sufferings are so great that he entertains wandering ideas of delivering himself up to justice and requiring to be cleared if innocent and punished with the utmost rigour of the law if guilty. Mr. Weevle and Mr. Guppy, having taken their breakfast, step into Lincoln's Inn to take a little walk about the square and clear as many of the dark cobwebs out of their brains as a little walk may. "There can be no more favourable time than the present, Tony," says Mr. Guppy after they have broodingly made out the four sides of the square, "for a word or two between us upon a point on which we must, with very little delay, come to an understanding." "Now, I tell you what, William G.!" returns the other, eyeing his companion with a bloodshot eye. "If it's a point of conspiracy, you needn't take the trouble to mention it. I have had enough of that, and I ain't going to have any more. We shall have YOU taking fire next or blowing up with a bang." This supposititious phenomenon is so very disagreeable to Mr. Guppy that his voice quakes as he says in a moral way, "Tony, I should have thought that what we went through last night would have been a lesson to you never to be personal any more as long as you lived." To which Mr. Weevle returns, "William, I should have thought it would have been a lesson to YOU never to conspire any more as long as you lived." To which Mr. Guppy says, "Who's conspiring?" To which Mr. Jobling replies, "Why, YOU are!" To which Mr. Guppy retorts, "No, I am not." To which Mr. Jobling retorts again, "Yes, you are!" To which Mr. Guppy retorts, "Who says so?" To which Mr. Jobling retorts, "I say so!" To which Mr. Guppy retorts, "Oh, indeed?" To which Mr. Jobling retorts, "Yes, indeed!" And both being now in a heated state, they walk on silently for a while to cool down again. "Tony," says Mr. Guppy then, "if you heard your friend out instead of flying at him, you wouldn't
Magazine fall into mistakes. But your temper is hasty and you are not considerate. Possessing in yourself, Tony, all that is calculated to charm the eye—" "Oh! Blow the eye!" cries Mr. Weevle, cutting him short. "Say what you have got to say!" Finding his friend in this morose and material condition, Mr. Guppy only expresses the finer feelings of his soul through the tone of injury in which he recommences, "Tony, when I say there is a point on which we must come to an understanding pretty soon, I say so quite apart from any kind of conspiring, however innocent. You know it is professionally arranged beforehand in all cases that are tried what facts the witnesses are to prove. Is it or is it not desirable that we should know what facts we are to prove on the inquiry into the death of this unfortunate old mo—gentleman?" (Mr. Guppy was going to say "mogul," but thinks "gentleman" better suited to the circumstances.) "What facts? THE facts." "The facts bearing on that inquiry. Those are"— Mr. Guppy tells them off on his fingers—"what we knew of his habits, when you saw him last, what his condition was then, the discovery that we made, and how we made it." "Yes," says Mr. Weevle. "Those are about the facts." "We made the discovery in consequence of his having, in his eccentric way, an appointment with you at twelve o'clock at night, when you were to explain some writing to him as you had often done before on account of his not being able to read. I, spending the evening with you, was called down—and so forth. The inquiry being only into the circumstances touching the death of the deceased, it's not necessary to go beyond these facts, I suppose you'll agree?" "No!" returns Mr. Weevle. "I suppose not." "And this is not a conspiracy, perhaps?" says the injured Guppy. "No," returns his friend; "if it's nothing worse than this, I withdraw the observation." "Now, Tony," says Mr. Guppy, taking his arm again and walking him slowly on, "I should like to know, in a friendly way, whether you have yet thought over the many advantages of your continuing to live at that place?" "What do you mean?" says Tony, stopping. "Whether you have yet thought over the many advantages of your continuing to live at that place?" repeats Mr. Guppy, walking him on again. "At what place? THAT place?" pointing in the direction of the rag and bottle shop. Mr. Guppy nods. "Why, I wouldn't pass another night there for any consideration that you could offer me," says Mr. Weevle, haggardly staring. "Do you mean it though, Tony?" "Mean it! Do I look as if I mean it? I feel as if I do; I know that," says Mr. Weevle with a very genuine shudder. "Then the possibility or probability—for such it must be considered—of your never being disturbed in possession of those effects lately belonging to a lone old man who seemed to have no relation in the world, and the certainty of your being able to find out what he really had got stored up there, don't weigh with you at all against last night, Tony, if I understand you?" says Mr. Guppy, biting his thumb with the appetite of vexation. "Certainly not. Talk in that cool way of a fellow's living there?" cries Mr. Weevle indignantly. "Go and live there yourself." "Oh! I, Tony!" says Mr. Guppy, soothing him. "I have never lived there and couldn't get a lodging there now, whereas you have got one." "You are welcome to it," rejoins his friend, "and—ugh!—you may make yourself at home in it." "Then you really and truly at this point," says Mr. Guppy, "give up the whole thing, if I understand you, Tony?" "You never," returns Tony with a most convincing steadfastness, "said a truer word in all your life. I do!" While they are so conversing, a hackney-coach drives into the square, on the box of which vehicle a very tall hat makes itself manifest to the public. Inside the coach, and consequently not so manifest to the multitude, though sufficiently so to the two friends, for the coach stops almost at their feet, are the venerable Mr. Smallweed and Mrs. Smallweed, accompanied by their granddaughter Judy. An air of haste and excitement pervades the party, and as the tall hat (surmounting Mr.
Smallweed the younger) alights, Mr. Smallweed the elder pokes his head out of window and bawls to Mr. Guppy, "How de do, sir! How de do!" "What do Chick and his family want here at this time of the morning, I wonder!" says Mr. Guppy, nodding to his familiar. "My dear sir," cries Grandfather Smallweed, "would you do me a favour? Would you and your friend be so very obleeging as to carry me into the public-house in the court, while Bart and his sister bring their grandmother along? Would you do an old man that good turn, sir?" Mr. Guppy looks at his friend, repeating inquiringly, "The public-house in the court?"And they prepare to bear the venerable burden to the Sol's Arms. "There's your fare!" says the patriarch to the coachman with a fierce grin and shaking his incapable fist at him. "Ask me for a penny more, and I'll have my lawful revenge upon you. My dear young men, be easy with me, if you please. Allow me to catch you round the neck. I won't squeeze you tighter than I can help. Oh, Lord! Oh, dear me! Oh, my bones!" It is well that the Sol is not far off, for Mr. Weevle presents an apoplectic appearance before half the distance is accomplished. With no worse aggravation of his symptoms, however, than the utterance of divers croaking sounds expressive of obstructed respiration, he fulfils his share of the porterage and the benevolent old gentleman is deposited by his own desire in the parlour of the Sol's Arms. "Oh, Lord!" gasps Mr. Smallweed, looking about him, breathless, from an arm-chair. "Oh, dear me! Oh, my bones and back! Oh, my aches and pains! Sit down, you dancing, prancing, shambling, scrambling poll-parrot! Sit down!" This little apostrophe to Mrs. Smallweed is occasioned by a propensity on the part of that unlucky old lady whenever she finds herself on her feet to amble about and "set" to inanimate objects, accompanying herself with a chattering noise, as in a witch dance. A nervous affection has probably as much to do with these demonstrations as any imbecile intention in the poor old woman, but on the present occasion they are so particularly lively in connexion with the Windsor arm-chair, fellow to that in which Mr. Smallweed is seated, that she only quite desists when her grandchildren have held her down in it, her lord in the meanwhile bestowing upon her, with great volubility, the endearing epithet of "a pig-headed jackdaw," repeated a surprising number of times. "My dear sir," Grandfather Smallweed then proceeds, addressing Mr. Guppy, "there has been a calamity here. Have you heard of it, either of you?" "Heard of it, sir! Why, we discovered it." "You discovered it. You two discovered it! Bart, THEY discovered it!" The two discoverers stare at the Smallweeds, who return the compliment. "My dear friends," whines Grandfather Smallweed, putting out both his hands, "I owe you a thousand thanks for discharging the melancholy office of discovering the ashes of Mrs. Smallweed's brother." "Eh?" says Mr. Guppy. "Mrs. Smallweed's brother, my dear friend— her only relation. We were not on terms, which is to be deplored now, but he never WOULD be on terms. He was not fond of us. He was eccentric—he was very eccentric. Unless he has left a will (which is not at all likely) I shall take out letters of administration. I have come down to look after the property; it must be sealed up, it must be protected. I have come down," repeats Grandfather Smallweed, hooking the air towards him with all his ten fingers at once, "to look after the property." "I think, Small," says the disconsolate Mr. Guppy, "you might have mentioned that the old man was your uncle." "You two were so close about him that I thought you would like me to be the same," returns that old bird with a secretly glistening eye. "Besides, I wasn't proud of him." "Besides which, it was nothing to you, you know, whether he was or not," says Judy. Also with a secretly glistening eye. "He never saw me in his life to know me," observed Small; "I don't know why I should introduce HIM, I am sure!" "No, he never communicated with us, which is to be deplored," the old gentleman strikes in, "but I have come to look after the property—to
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look over the papers, and to look after the property. We shall make good our title. It is in the hands of my solicitor. Mr. Tulkinghorn, of Lincoln's Inn Fields, over the way there, is so good as to act as my solicitor; and grass don't grow under HIS feet, I can tell ye. Krook was Mrs. Smallweed's only brother; she had no relation but Krook, and Krook had no relation but Mrs. Smallweed. I am speaking of your brother, you brimstone black-beetle, that was seventysix years of age." Mrs. Smallweed instantly begins to shake her head and pipe up, "Seventy-six pound seven and sevenpence! Seventy-six thousand bags of money! Seventy-six hundred thousand million of parcels of bank-notes!" "Will somebody give me a quart pot?" exclaims her exasperated husband, looking helplessly about him and finding no missile within his reach. "Will somebody obleege me with a spittoon? Will somebody hand me anything hard and bruising to pelt at her? You hag, you cat, you dog, you brimstone barker!" Here Mr. Smallweed, wrought up to the highest pitch by his own eloquence, actually throws Judy at her grandmother in default of anything else, by butting that young virgin at the old lady with such force as he can muster and then dropping into his chair in a heap. "Shake me up, somebody, if you'll be so good," says the voice from within the faintly struggling bundle into which he has collapsed. "I have come to look after the property. Shake me up, and call in the police on duty at the next house to be explained to about the property. My solicitor will be here presently to protect the property. Transportation or the gallows for anybody who shall touch the property!" As his dutiful grandchildren set him up, panting, and putting him through the usual restorative process of shaking and punching, he still repeats like an echo, "The— the property! The property! Property!" Mr. Weevle and Mr. Guppy look at each other, the former as having relinquished the whole affair, the latter with a discomfited countenance as having entertained some lingering expectations yet. But there is nothing to be done in opposition to the Smallweed interest. Mr. Tulkinghorn's clerk comes down from his official pew in the chambers to mention to the police that Mr. Tulkinghorn is answerable for its being all correct about the next of kin and that the papers and effects will be formally taken possession of in due time and course. Mr. Smallweed is at once permitted so far to assert his supremacy as to be carried on a visit of sentiment into the next house and upstairs into Miss Flite's deserted room, where he looks like a hideous bird of prey newly added to her aviary. The arrival of this unexpected heir soon taking wind in the court still makes good for the Sol and keeps the court upon its mettle. Mrs. Piper and Mrs. Perkins think it hard upon the young man if there really is no will, and consider that a handsome present ought to be made him out of the estate. Young Piper and young Perkins, as members of that restless juvenile circle which is the terror of the foot-passengers in Chancery Lane, crumble into ashes behind the pump and under the archway all day long, where wild yells and hootings take place over their remains. Little Swills and Miss M. Melvilleson enter into affable conversation with their patrons, feeling that these unusual occurrences level the barriers between professionals and non-professionals. Mr. Bogsby puts up "The popular song of King Death, with chorus by the whole strength of the company," as the great Harmonic feature of the week and announces in the bill that "J. G. B. is induced to do so at a considerable extra expense in consequence of a wish which has been very generally expressed at the bar by a large body of respectable individuals and in homage to a late melancholy event which has aroused so much sensation." There is one point connected with the deceased upon which the court is particularly anxious, namely, that the fiction of a full-sized coffin should be preserved, though there is so little to put in it. Upon the undertaker's stating in the Sol's bar in the course of the day that he has received orders to construct "a sixfooter," the general solicitude is much relieved, and it is considered that Mr. Smallweed's conduct does him great honour. Out of the court, and a long way out of it, there is considerable excitement too, for men of science and philosophy come to look, and carriages set down doctors at the corner who arrive with the same intent, and there is more learned talk about inflammable gases and phosphuretted hydrogen than the court has ever imagined.
To Be Continued Next Issue
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Amble Inn Cafe BP Endweavour Country Club Hotel Foodworks Giddy Goat Grand Central Hotel Marmalades Mint and Jam Peppercorn Hotel Provender Bakery Renezvous in Yea Royal Mail Hotel Yea Bakery Yea Newsagency Yea Take-Away
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To register online please visit WESBURN WOLLERT https://www.smseymour.catholic.edu.au/ • Warburton Hotel • Wollert General Store WONGA PARK YARRA VALLEY enrolment-information/introduction/ • IGA Supermarket EDITION WOORI YALLOCK COLDSTREAM or contact the College Office • Woori Yallock Newsagency • Coldstream PO/Sub-News • Hillcrest Store CROYDON NORTH on 579 22 611. YARRA GLEN • North Croydon Newsagency HEALESVILLE
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STILL OPEN
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Kelly Wilsmore provides an essential service: eycare. Available any time. Local, community-based practitioner. Number of people kept to minimum to comply with laws. Co-manages with Ophthalmologists.
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Heavy Duty 4mm Galvanised Wire For your local distributor please call: 1300 360 082 Fax: 9308 5822 Email: sales@emuwire.com.au Website: www.emuwire.com.au
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Rural News
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2420 Plenty Rd, Whittlesea. Phone: 9716 2226 Trading hours. Back to normal and here to stay. Mon-Fri 7:30am-5pm. Saturday 8:30am-3pm. Sunday 9am-1pm These hours are subject to change. Please keep up to date on changes via our website and Facebook page.
Like us on our Facebook page Whittlesea H Hardware, Timber and Hire www.whittleseahhardware.com.au
FIREWOOD AVAILABLE NOW
SEASON SPECIAL - ORDER 6 CUBIC METRES AND HAVE IT DELIVERED FREE* TOTAL PRICE $800 (*Suburbs Surrounding Whittlesea - Call to see if that applies to you) Otherwise $140 per cubic metre (plus very reasonable delivery rates) FREE BUCKET OF KINDLING with every firewood purchase
Call 9716 2226
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during business hours to place an order
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We provide contact-free transactions, where you can pay by Credit Card over the phone and have it delivered to your door.
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Rural News
STOP PRESS STOCK CLEARANCE NOW ON - MAY All Steel Products 1st Grade and 2nd Grade Personal Shopping Recommended
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Eddy’s Towing and Transport
WE HIRE, BUY AND SELL 20FT SECONDHAND SHIPPING CONTAINERS SHIPPING C ONT AINERS CONT ONTAINERS A-Grade, Premium, B-Grade, C-Grade *Fr ee Car R emo v al, All Ar eas* *Free Remo emov Areas* (S H D Licensing shd-0016319) err ous, orbik e, F Truck, Mot Ferr errous, Motorbik orbike Non-F err ous, F arm Clean Up errous, Farm Non-Ferr * Conditions Apply* Tractor Earth Moving Equipment, Caravan, Boats (Up to 4.5 tons) Full Tilt Tray Service TR ADE T OWING TRADE TO METRO /COUNTR Y METRO/ OUNTRY
P: 0407 849 252. E: eddystowing1@gmail.com 3877 Melba Hwy, Glenburn, Vic 3717 24 HOURS - 7 DAYS A WEEK
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Firewood Redgum 5 METRE LOADS DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR
Quality, cut and split, moisture meter tested, ready to go ...
Call for a quote today ... 0448 921 304
Delivering in your area Can deliver before and after hours to suit you REALLY WANT TO SAVE? Order 6 Tonne
PEPPERCORN TREES
5-6 foot high $10 each Limited stock. Delivery available
✹ ✴ RUN A BUSINESS? BULK WOOD AVAIL ABLE 6, 12 or 26 Tonne Bagged Wood Available Also
Dave’s Dirt Works Firewood and Garden Supplies 209 High St, Broadford 0427 921 304 5784 3330 Still stocking all garden supplies
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Trades & Phone Services Directory 1800 231 311 Ads from just $5 per week PROMOTE your business.. Your ad will appear in the weekly print issue. Your ad will also be seen - at no extra charge - in our online edition. This can improve your Google ranking at no extra charge.
AIR CONDITIONING
Authorised service
Lloyd Refrigeration and Air Conditioning 1 Palmer Court Yea Victoria 3717
Ph: 5797 2797 Mob: 0425 731 265 Installation and repair all brands. AU 32863 Licence No. 43498
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COMPARE OUR ECONOMICAL PRICES (includes GST): $12.50 per insertion for casual clients (4-issue minimum). SAVE! $10 per insertion for 13-issues. ($130 package) SAVE! $7.50 per insertion for 26-issues. ($195 package). SAVE! $5 per insertion for 44-issues. ($220 package). ● All advertising packages are pre-paid. We accept payment by Visa, Mastercard and American Express, with no surcharge. Or Direct Debit 033091 260131.
AUTOMOTIVE Kinglake Automotive Services Wheel Alignments, Tyre Sales, Fitting and Balancing Available ■ All mechanical repairs ■ Handbook servicing ■ Scan tool diagnostics ■ Windscreen/ battery sales Email – admin@kinglakeautomotice.com.au
● All Trades & Services Directory ads are in full-colour, at no extra charge. ● No cancellations or refunds are available for discounted pre-paid advertising packages. ● No proofs or previews on discounted package ads. ● Free copy changes are welcome at any time during the run of your ad, at no extra charge. Phone 1800 231 311 before 5pm Fridays.
29 Jorgensen Pde Pheasant Creek (2 doors up from the gym) Contact Luke: 0427 300 865 5786 5744 (bh)
• Kitchens • Bathrooms • Renovations
Business Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm SATURDAY BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
AUTOMOTIVE
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• Extensions • Verandahs • Carports BUILDING FOR OVER 30 YEARS
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Offering services out of the Seymour Toyota Service Dept. Car, Truck Campervan & 4WD Rentals
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Call 5735 3050. Bendigo TATA: 5442 9564. Shepparton: 5823 5888
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CertificateIIIIII General General Constriction. Certificate Construction. Extensions/Renovations. Verandahs Extensions/Renovations. Verandahs&& Pergolas.Assisting Assisting Owner Owner Builders. Pegolas. Builders.
ANTENNAS
BIN HIRE
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CARPENTRY
info@chris-tv.com.au
AUTO ELECTRICS
BIN HIRE
CARPETS
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Trades & Services Directory CARPET CLEANING CARPET CLEANING EMERGENCY WATER DAMAGE RESTORATION SERVICE 24 HOURS PREFERRED RESTORER TO ALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES • Move out clean a specialty • Residential air duct cleaning service www. • Tile and grout/high pressure cleaning steamatic. • Upholstery and rug cleaning com.au
5797 2555 DIRECT 0438 354 886
CLEANING
CONCRETING Alexandra & Yea
EARTHMOVING
ELECTRICIANS
EARTHMOVING
ELECTRICAL
PREMIX Ready mix concrete
Serving the Shire of Murrindindi for 25 years
sand • screenings • reinforcing steel • plastic
5772 1815 or 0408 576 129 hollis@virtual.net.au
Lot 8 Peterkin Pl, Alexandra. 6 Grevillea St, Yea.
CONSTRUCTION CONCRETE & TIMBER RETAINING WALLS
Domestic, Commercial & Industrial
Civil - Commercial - Domestic Contact: 0438 123 273 aceconstructionfencing.com
CONVEYANCING
ELECTRICAL
Debra Loveday 5772 2500. 71 Grant St, Alexandra debra@sargeantsm.com.au Conveyancing throughout Victoria
CHIMNEY SWEEP
CONVEYANCING
ELECTRICAL
ELECTRICS
Buying or selling property? SERVICES PROVIDED • Buying or selling property - residential or commercial • Off the Plan house, unit, apartment - buying or selling • Off the Plan Land - buying or selling • Transfer of Land - between related parties, spouses and more • Subdivisions. • Refinances • Updating a title (i.e. registering a death) Maria Tomlinson Licensed Conveyancer 0429 290 061 conveysolutions@bigpond.com
REC: 13433. AU27974 Brad: 0411 875 207 apolloelectrics@hotmail.com Specialises in: • All electrical service and installation • Melbourne’s BEST Split System Installation. • Free home site inpsection and quote • 24/7 Emergency break down service EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AND WORKMANSHIP FROM LOCAL FAMILY BUSINESS
www.conveyancingsolutions. online
CLEANING
COUNSELLOR
ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING
Counselling, Clinical Hypnotherapist. Medium Bette Phillips-Campbell, AACHP
Ph. 0409 788 883 CONCRETE PIPES
Ken Dickson
CRANE TRUCK HIRE
10 Peterkin Pl, Alexandra I christie.kirley@hotmail.com
ELECTRICAL
T&J MITCHELL EXCAVATION TRUCK TRAILER 5 Tonne and 25 Tonne BOBCAT track machines concrete driveways and sheds site excavation - site cleaning low loader hay and silage cartage and silage grab. dams and driveway constructions experienced tradie Tony ph 0408 584 854
Concrete Pipes
rejects 225mm-1200mm in stock other sizes available
0407 298 636 Maroondah Hwy, Merton
CONCRETING
EXCAVATION
CURTAINS AND BLINDS
ELECTRICAL
EXCAVATION & EARTHMOVING
Dingo Mini Digger
Call the team today
Easy Access To Tight Spaces • Trencher • Posthole Digger 100-600mm • Rotary Hoe • 4-in-1 Bucket • Leveller • 3 Tyne Ripper For all your gardening, fencing & building needs
Call Will Mob: 0432 991 992 EXCAVATIONS Ph: 03 5797 2235
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Trades & Services Directory EXCAVATIONS
FENCING
HIRE
LEGAL AND PLANNING
KITCHENS
LEGAL SERVICES
All general farm fencing, cattle yards, sheep yards, vineyards, on site welding and oxy work. Tree plantation ripping. 5 hydraulic post drivers and pneumatic drivers. HAY CONTRACTING: Mowing, raking, round and square bales, cartage, loading, unloading. GRASS SLASHING: 4 extra heavy duty slashers. GENERAL FREIGHT: Hay, timber, wool, steel, grapes, machinery
GLEN (HORACE) McMASTER 5797 2921. Mobile 0417 529 809
GARAGE DOOR SPECIALISTS
BARRISTER & SOLICITOR ‘Riverview’ 1560 Goulburn Valley Hwy, Alexandra Phone 5773 2298 Fax 5773 2294
EXCAVATIONS All general earthworks and excavations. Free quotes dams, houseand shed sites, farm tracks driveways, trees, fence lines and scrub clearing. Wide range of machines available. Give us a go we won't disappoint. AH 5796 9129
Garage Door Specialists P/L
LAND SERVICES
MAINTENANCE
Sales and service off all types of garage doors, remote controls
Phone Jason 0419 899 057 www.gdsdoors.com.au
EXCAVATIONS
GARAGE DOORS
LANDSCAPES
MOTOR HOMES
EXCAVATION, EARTHMOVING
GUTTERING
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NATUROPATH Women’s Health & Hormone Imbalances Thyroid & Auto Immune Conditions Persistent Fatigue & Illness Digestive & Gut Concerns Stress & Anxiety Relief Ongoing Skin Issues
Gutter cleaning - single and double storey houes,sheds, barns and industrial, Solar panel cleaning.
HAIRDRESSING
LEGAL SERVICES
PAINTING
Interior and Exterior Painting • Experienced Painter • Free Quotes • Fully Insured • Competitively Priced
John 0400 917 218 5725 4513
jdhome1@optusnet.com.au
EXCAVATIONS
STRAYCAT EXCAVATIONS Bobcat, 4.5 Tonne Mini Excavator with Rock Breaker, Truck & Trailer, and Kato 15 Tonne Rock Breaker
Paul 0408 367 071
HANDYMAN
PARTY HIRE
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Trades & Services Directory PEST CONTROL
PLUMBER
RECYCLING
SCRAP REMOVAL
PLUMBER Simon Young 0429 052 166 I am a local guy who has lived in the area for more than 34 years and have 20 years’ plumbing experience. I pride myself in quality workmanship and reliability. • All areas of plumbing • Drainage • New Homes • Hot water installation • Renovations • Gas fitting • Roofing and Gutter • Maintenance and repairs • Septic tanks • Water tanks and pumps • Free quotes
Give me a try, I won’t let you down!
PHOTOGRAPHY
PLUMBING
PLASTERING
POWDER COATING
SECURITY DOORS
REMEDIAL MASSAGE
SEPTIC TANK CLEANING
R&J
SEPTIC TANK CLEANING SEPTIC TANK CLEANING TREATMENT PLANTS PORTABLE TOILETS GREASE TRAPS, TRIPLE INTERCEPTOR AND EPA LICENSED SERVICING THE MANSFIELD & MURRINDINDI SHIRES. CALL RYAN
0409 511 268
PLUMBERS
PROPERTY MAINTENANCE
RENEWABLE ENERGY
SEPTIC TANK CLEANING SEPTIC TANK CLEANING BOB WALLACE & SONS Serving the Kinglake Ranges and surrounding areas for 25 years. Family owned and operated business.
Property Maintenance Group PH: 0458 205 637
• Septic Tanks • Treatment Plants • Grease Traps • Portable Toilets • EPA Licensed • Yarra Valley Water Approved Disposal Site
info@rpmg.com.au
˜ 19+0) ˜ &)+0) ˜ 475* 766+0) ˜ #4&'0 #56' '/18#. ˜ 470+0) ˜ '&)' 4+//+0) ˜ 7.%* 24'#&+0) ˜ ''&+0) ˜ 24#;+0) ˜ .#06+0) ˜ '0'4#. #+06'0#0%' ˜ '0%+0) ˜ #6' '2#+4 14 '2.#%' ˜ #0&5%#2+0) ˜ '6#+0+0) #..5
ALL HOURS: 0419 131 958 yarravalleyseptics.com
˜ ˜ ˜
PLUMBERS
PUMPS
ROLLER SHUTTERS
SERVICES
PLUMBING
QUARRY
ROOF PLUMBING
STIHL SHOP
REIKI
ROOFING
TANKS AND GARDEN BEDS
(A CFA recommendation)
PLUMBERS
Reiki Healing Karli Chase: 0425 794 838 7 The Semi-Circle, Yea www.reikiinsight.com
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Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Page 83
Trades & Services Directory TERMITE CONTROL
TREE SERVICES
TRIMMING
WATER CARTAGE
THERAPIES
TREE SERVICES
UPHOLSTERY
WINDOW CLEANING
Crystal Pine Tree Services
Maxwell’s
Pruning Tree Removal Bob Cat Truck Hire Insured and Experienced
PHILIP 0417 055 711 or 5772 1665
TREE CARE
TIMBER
Upholstery
Lounge, Dining, Repaired and Recovered, Chairs and Sofas Made tto o Or d e rr.. Lar ge Range of Ord Large Fabrics, Car and Boat Upholstery
Max Ewert
T: 5774 2201 M: 0417 321 781 E : max@maxwellsupholstery.com.au W : www.maxwellsupholstery.com.au Skyline Rd, Eildon
WATER
WINDSCREENS
WATER BORING
YOUR BUSINESS
MARK’S TREES BROADFORD
ABN: 40 971 066 598 Reliable, safe, quality work at an affordable price. FULLY INSURED - WILL BEAT ANY REASONABLE WRITTEN QUOTES
0416 245 784 or 5784 1175
TOWING AND TRANSPORT 0407 849 252
3877 Melba Hwy, Glenburn eddystowing1@gmail.com 24 HOURS-7 DAYS A WEEK 20 FT SECONDHAND SHIPPING CONTAINERS A-Grade,Premium, B-Grade, C-Grade FREE CAR REMOVAL, CASH PAID SOME CARS Truck,Motorbike,Ferrous,Non Ferrous ,Farm Clean Up Conditions apply Tractor,Earth Moving Equipment,Caravan,Boats (Up To 4 1/2 Tons) Full Tilt Tray Sevice
TOWING, PANELS, CUSTOMS
5 MELALEUCA ST, YEA PETER & LORETTA TRIM B: 5797 2800
M: 0428 390 544 petertrim@westnet.com.au F: 5797 2295
TREE SOLUTIONS
Global Tree Solutions Pty Ltd
Professional, Reliable & Competitive Qualified Tree Specialist Fully Insured & Over 30 Years Experience No-Obligation Free Quotations Mulch and Firewood for Sale Tree Felling Hedging Uplift Pruning Crown Weight Reductions Dead Wooding Stump Grinding Mulching Insurance Work
0439 721 943
w w w.globaltreesolutions.com.au E:globaltreesolutions@bigpond.com
H-G17
EDDY'S TOWING & TRANSPORT
TREE SERVICE
Star Tree Services QUALIFIED ARBORISTS • • • • •
Tree Removal Tree Surgery & Pruning Consultations & Reports Elm Leaf Beetle Control Mulch & Firewood Sales
5783 3170
Free Quotes. Full Insurance Cover www.treeser vices.com.au mail@treeservices.com.au
Looking to improve your business? Advertise your business in this newspaper. Ads from just $5 per week. No extra charge for artwork. Call our Ad-visor today. Phone 1800 231 311
Page 84 - Wednesday, May 13, 2020
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Metropolitan and Regional Victoria
GARNET BAILEY 5799 2007 ALL HOURS Offering a caring and professional service throughout the Mitchell and surrounding Shires A LOCAL, WHO KNOWS LOCAL NEEDS
Prices start from $2500 • Kilmor e • Br oadf or d•W allan • R omse y Kilmore Broadf oadfor ord Wallan Romse omsey • Whittlesea • Lanc efield • R omse y Lancefield Romse omsey • Nagambie • Ale xandr a •Y ea & Dis tricts Alex andra Yea Districts
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Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Page 85
Page 86 - Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Marysville
Opportunity awaits • Large level block measuring 1017m2 approx • Views over Marysville surrounding hills • Power, Water & telecommunications ready to connect to • Walking distance to Marysville town centre $220,000
Alexandra NEW PRICE
Light and Bright first home:• 3 bedroom weather board home on approx. 800sqm • Living area with Open fire place, free standing wood heater and split system • Superb back yard with in ground pool and undercover BBQ area $375,000
www.LocalMedia.com.au
Taggerty
Alexandra
Stylish Living:• 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom brick home on approx. 800sqm • Open plan living with split system, gas log fire & ducted vacuum system • Under cover outdoor area, double garage and huge lockup shed $480,000
Nestled amongst beautiful established trees and gardens with your own little river meandering through is this delightful country home. Positioned on 2 acres with room for a pony the home offers 3 bedrooms, master with ensuite, 2 living areas with central hostess kitchen, split system heating and cooling and combustion wood heater for year round comfort. Large outdoor entertaining deck with adjacent outdoor spa and your own wood fire pizza oven. There is a double lock shed and separate timber cabin, perfect for those extra guests or art studio. Offering a wonderful country lifestyle walking distance to the Taggerty General store and local weekend markets. Under 2 hours from Melbourne. Inspection will delight. Price by Negotiation $645,000 - $695,000
Alexandra
Maintongoon
LA ST L OT LEFT LAS LO
UNDER C ONTRA CT CONTRA ONTRACT
Views for Miles:• Delightful weekender nestled on appx 10AC 4Ha • 2 bedroom cottage with spectacular views of Lake Eildon • Central wood heater, open plan living & timber floors • Large outdoor deck to enjoy the views $420,000
Unique Investment Opportunity:• 3 refurbished 2 bedroom units all on one title • Situated on just over 1100sqm of land • Each with own private courtyard, front balcony & split systems • All currently tenanted with a return of over $30,000 pa $450,000
Nutrien Harcourts Alexandra 56 Grant Street, Alexandra I 5772 3444
UNDER OFFER IN 4 DAYS!
Bright & Sunny home on just over half an Acre A bright and sunny 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home on just over half an acre in the heart of Flowerdale. An inviting wraparound veranda to the front of the house, open plan living with split system and cosy Conara and a lovely private master suite with huge ensuit bathroom to the rear of the house. The garden has lovely established shade trees, a large garage, 2 green houses, raised veggie garden and espalier fruit trees set on 2270 m2 in a quiet street. Flowerdale has many drawcards for all sorts of tree-changers. Hikers, bird watchers and mountain bike riders will love the national park that surrounds Flowerdale. Families and retirees will be interested to note there is a Community house, local fishing club, line dancing classes, fund raising and volunteer groups and good food at the local Flowerdale Hotel. $440,000
49 Moores Road, Castella
SOLD
Build your dream home:• Located in a quiet cul-de sac is this parcel of land measuring 825m2 • Ready to build your dream home. • Great views of the surrounding hills, with northerly aspect. • Power, town water, sewerage and telecommunications ready to connect to. $115,000
Director/ Sales Specialist- Belinda Hocking 0418 115 574 Sales Specialist- Jody Murphy 0422 184 231 40 Riverside Crescent, Flowerdale
Alexandra
$1,100,000
Live happily ever after in this storybook home This enchanting house was built with love. For the first time on offer is this gorgeous 2 story home with open floor plan, beautiful timber & stone finishes and thoughtful touches throughout. Enter through custom made double doors into the formal living room with vaulted ceiling, random limestone flooring, open fireplace with stunning mantle; this area leads directly into a generous kitchen with modern appliances, farmhouse sink, wood fire ager, walk in pantry and stunning timber benchtops. The master suite is on the ground floor plus a formal dining area. Upstairs you will find a 2nd sitting room, 2 queen size bedrooms that open onto a sundeck. The 6.3 acre property also offers a single bedroom cottage with open plan living room/kitchen & a 2nd cottage that is currently used as a commercial kitchen / workshop that could easily be converted to a guest house. Both cottages have the potential to generate a rental or air B & B income. $1,100,000
20 Lyons Street, Yea
$480,000
Inviting home with breathtaking views Inviting home with breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. Set back on this large block to take in some fantastic views is this charming, well-presented home. The ground floor consists of: open plan living, dining, kitchen all with views through large light filled windows. There is a family bathroom, laundry and one bedroom with robes: Upstairs are two large bedrooms with robes and there is access to a large balcony for relaxing and taking in the magnificent views of the old township & ranges surrounding Yea. Outdoors is a double carport that is partially enclosed, Covered Alfresco area to the back garden, garden shed and a well- loved, established garden which explodes into colour most of the year. $480,000
33 Carey Road, Yea
$498,000
Lifestyle Rural Land ready to build (STCA) on 8 acres Located only 4 minutes to the heart of Yea Township is this absolutely stunning parcel of fertile land with softly undulating hills and tranquil views over Killingworth & the Highland ranges beyond. 8 acres approx. with good fencing, a grand double gated entrance way, power available plus an ideal flat building site to take advantage of uninterrupted views of 280 degrees to enjoy sun up & sun down. Only a short walk to High Street Yea with amenities such as schools, childcare, medical service and world class eateries. $498,000
Real Estate Sales Professional – Kerryn Rishworth 0412 346 346 169. 169. kerryn.r@landmarkharcourts.com.au Rishworth 0412 Real Property Management Management –– Sharon Butcher 0402 0409 113 439 927 805. Property Sharon Contact Landmark Netrien YeaYea forfor allall of of your Stock, Merchandise, Insurance & Financial Services 5797 2799 Contact Merchandise, Insurance & Financial Services 5979 2799 your Stock,
Nutrien Harcourts Yea 52 High Street, Yea I 5797 2799