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Volume 15, Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Heated competition at bake off

Vicky Harris had the best lamingtons at the Roxby Downs Community Club’s Australia Day Bake Off. INSET: Some of the lamingtons entered in the bake off.

T

he Roxby Downs Community Club held its first ever Australia Day Bake Off on Friday night.

Local home cooks were encouraged to bake their very best sausage rolls and lamingtons for the judges and crowd.

Geordie De Lisen from the Roxby Downs Community Club said it was a lot of fun.

“It was a good turnout; we had

IN THIS

about 40 people in the courtyard bar and then more in the sport bar, so there was a lot of people there,” she said.

“We had four sausage roll entrants and three lamingtons.

“There were people who didn’t know about it and were here having dinner but then got to have a little pre-dinner treat.”

Miss De Lisen was surprised with the quality of the baked goods.

“We were very impressed with the

EDITION

quality,” she said.

“All in all it was a good skills set from the people in the community.”

Winners on the night included Amber Van Wageningen’s sausage rolls, and Vicky Harris’s lamingtons.

Mrs Harris – who won both the people and judges choice for her lamingtons – was very surprised to hear of her success.

“I was pretty surprised, because I haven’t made them before, this was

Australia

Day Out & About photos Page 4 & 5

my first attempt,” she said.

“Ben Vandeleur [from the Roxby Downs Community Club] wanted me to enter, so I thought ‘why not?’.

“I actually used a Thermomix and followed a recipe to make them because I am pretty useless at cooking.”

Mrs Harris’s lamingtons are now in popular demand, and she plans on re-entering the bake off competition next year.

“Apparently I have to make more

because the leftovers were taken to my husband’s work and they’ve demanded more,” she said.

“I probably will come back next year, it was a lot of fun.”

Miss De Lisen doesn’t see a reason why there won’t be a second bake off next year.

“With the way it turned out this year, I think we will do another one,” she said.

“It brings people together and it got everyone involved.”

Raine & Horne celebrate 10 years

Page 3

Locals join forces in new team

Page 12

Monitor NEWS The

Roxby celebrates Australia Day winners

L

ocal residents kickstarted their Australia Day long weekend by taking part in the Roxby Downs Australia Day Awards.

Despite the weather being over 40 degrees, over 600 people attended the event and enjoyed a free swim and barbecue, as well as the awards ceremony.

Roxby Council’s Administrator Geoff Whitbread was pleased to see so many people come together for the special occasion.

“I think given the weather conditions, it was excellent,” he said.

“We had 609 people attend [on Friday] compared to 613 last year, so by any stretch of the imagination it’s a very good attendance.

“Last year we had the soft opening of the Splashpad, and whilst it was open this year, we didn’t have it as an added attraction so it was a terrific attendance.”

Mr Whitbread – who was also on the judging panel for the local awards – said it wasn’t easy deciding on this year’s winners.

“If we had the opportunity, we would have liked to have given more [awards] because there were a lot of worthy recipients,” he said.

“My concern is that some people who put into the community over many years may never get the recognition because there’s so many people doing it. “[But] that’s one of the hallmarks of living in Roxby Downs; the community participation is high and extraordinary things happen behind the scenes which makes it a great place to live.”

Mr Whitbread thanked everyone who helped organise Friday’s event.

“These events aren’t put on without a lot of work.

“There’s a group of staff at council and volunteers who put this together; they were here at 6am [on Friday], so they deserve a big thanks.

“It went off without a hitch.”

FOR MORE ON THE LOCAL SPORT AND RECREATION AWARDS WINNERS, HEAD TO PAGE 11.

Jordan Dillon (on behalf of Tommy Hannigan), Jennah Laister, Sister Patricia Hogan and Peter Price cutting the cake.

Winners of the local Australia Day Sport and Recreation Awards Charlee McDonald, Millie Thomas (Roxby Rockets), Michael Gobbie, Scott Gaskin (Roxby Downs Scouts Group) and Bev Zeptner.

Roxby Council CEO Roy Blight addressing the crowd.

POLICE BRIEFS

P

Camp cars olice are urging residents to not leave their cars unlocked in public areas.

There’s been a number of recent issues involving ‘camp cars’; cars that are shared by drivers, particularly fly in fly out workers.

“We’ve had some camp cars either stolen, or other vehicles taken by drivers when they aren’t camp cars because they are generally older cars with poor security aspects,” Senior Sergeant First Class Steve Griggs said.

“Be mindful of your car’s security, as often they can be used as camp cars unlawfully.”

Early bird catches the worm

P

olice have recently been targeting early morning motorists for speed detection.

Last week, over 15 expiation notices or fines were issued for speeding offences.

“We remind motorists to obey the speed limit regardless of the time of day,” Snr Sgt Griggs said.

Page 2 -- Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Local winners Peter Price, David Brown, Millie Thomas, Scott Gaskin, Michael Gobbie, Charlee McDonald, Sister Patricia Hogan, Bev Zeptner, Jordan Dillon and Jennah Laister.

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Monitor NEWS The

Milestone 10 years for Sumsions

C

raig and Sandy Sumsion will reach a milestone this week, celebrating 10 years as owners of Raine & Horne Roxby Downs.

The couple took ownership of the business on 1 February 2008 after moving to town from Adelaide.

While owning the business has had its challenges, particularly in recent years, Mr and Mrs Sumsion have loved the experience.

“On a whole, it’s been mostly good,” Mr Sumsion said.

“The market has been all over the place.

“The last five years have been a bit tough, but it’s been tough across the board in the whole town, so it’s good things are [picking up again].

Mrs Sumsion said there’s been a lot of positives to owning their own business.

“I suppose the positives are that we enjoy working for ourselves, we are still married even though we’ve been working together for 10 years, and I think that is basically due to the fact that you have to be honest with what your strengths and weaknesses are,” she said.

“In our case, we have different areas of involvement in our business; Craig as the Principal is the selling agent, so he focuses on all things related to sales.

“I am more focused on our commercial and industrial properties that we manage, and to lend sup-

port to the property managers who work for us in a residential area.”

Despite a challenging few years, Mr and Mrs Sumsion have continued to be successful.

In 2014, Raine & Horne Roxby Downs was named the town’s ‘Best Small Business’ at the local business awards, and they’ve also won awards at Raine & Horne’s Business Awards.

“In the heydays when the market was good, Craig was in the top 10 sellers in the state numerous times,” Mrs Sumsion said.

“We’ve won ‘Top Property Management Office’ for the country area in South Australia, and we’ve had two property manager [awards] for South Australia over the years.

“We’ve also had Top Property Manager for Raine & Horne across Australia,” Mr Sumsion added.

Last year, Mrs Sumsion was named in the top four Business Development Managers in Raine & Horne Australia, which is something she is extremely proud of.

“It was really humbling to be in that league, because you’re up against opposition from some of the northern suburbs of Sydney, Port Douglas, and places like that, so it’s like ‘wow’,” she said.

As well as success within their business, Mr and Mrs Sumsion have enjoyed getting involved in the community where possible.

They have supported sporting clubs and competitions, the Roxby Downs Race Day, and the Roxby Downs Community Christmas Pageant.

“If you are expecting success in business, particularly in a small town, you need to have some sort of social responsibility to that community as well,” Mr Sumsion said.

“We have taken that view of things right from the start.

“The main thing about us moving here was that we didn’t just move here to run a business and take from the community,” Mrs Sumsion added.

Another thing they’ve enjoyed having the opportunity of doing through their business is helping out school students.

“Every year we get asked to go to the school and sit on the panel for mock interviews to help with the next generation, and teach skills with regards to interviews and things like that,” Mrs Sumsion said.

“Over the years, we’ve had a number of kids from the Roxby Downs Area School come and do work experience here, but we have also had some who do their schooling outside of Roxby come and do their work experience here.

“I love nurturing the next generation because I think in this world

Sandy and Craig Sumsion (centre, with Archie) are celebrating 10 years owning Raine & Horne Roxby Downs with current staff members Karena Scott and Zak Zeptner.

you can use every bit of help you can get, and it’s not that we have all of the answers, but we have had a mixed bag of experiences.

“And also because we are a team and we have other staff here, they can learn things from [them] as well.”

Reflecting on their 10 years owning Raine & Horne Roxby Downs, Mrs Sumsion said they have no regrets and no plans to retire yet.

“It’s actually one of the things we’ve reflected on over the years when the market was tough; we’d sit down and go ‘what are we do-

ing?’ and we’d reflect on whether we’d rather be sitting in Adelaide working for someone else, and of course the answer is no,” she said.

“Our business is our baby, our staff are our family, and that’s the whole attitude we have to our business.

“This is where we are meant to be and that’s what’s kept us going and kept the passion in what we do.”

Mr and Mrs Sumsion thanked their past and present staff, landlords, vendors, and good tenants, as well as each other for their support over the years .

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Wednesday, January 31, 2018 -- Page 3

Ebonee Vandenberg and Dani Helm.

Colin Williamson and Jordan Curtis.

Elli, Kristie and Laci Reschke.

David and Theresa Bunyon.

Bernadette, Brittany and Brett Syvertsen.

Nicole Johnson, Lisa Johnson, Erin Johnson, Josh Kirpensteyn and Taylor Allen.

George Aitchison, Byron Aitchison, Degan Vardy and Matilda Aitchison.

From bottom left- Phoenix, Hunter, Kirstie and Maddox Denman, Courtney Tanner, and Vicky, Nakita and Chloe Harris.

Page 4 -- Wednesday, January 31, 2018

www.themonitor.com.au

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Deb and Peter Price.

Phoenix, Sam, Tim, Stella and Jaslyn Corneliusen with Mikaela Wedding and Harlow Shields.

Maya and Rebecca Cooke.

The Collins and the Bakers.

Isabella and Amelia Price.

Mary, Hank and Jesse Reyes.

Larry Fowke and Brian Smith.

Tony Weir and Cameron Macleod.

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Theresa, Renee, Angie, Josh, Hannah, Erika, Hayley and Gina.

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Wednesday, January 31, 2018 -- Page 5

& ABOUT

OUT

PHOTOS: Amanda Astri & Jody Gow-Smith

Em and Sam Secker at The Club.

Lily, Ben and Bonnie out celebrating Ben’s birthday at The Club.

Clint GowSmith and Kelly at The Club.

Shania Spurr.

Zooey and Phill Metcalfe.

Melissa and Dakota Spurr.

Page 6 -- Wednesday, January 31, 2018

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Monitor NEWS The

RoxFM replace AT40 with ‘Aussie’ version R oxFM will no longer be broadcasting ‘America’s Top 40 Countdow n with Ryan Seacrest’ (AT40), replacing it instead with ‘The Aussie Chart Countdown’, a show that focuses on the Australian music charts.

For more than 12 months, ‘AT40’ has aired on RoxFM on Sundays from 12-4pm and Wednesdays from 4-8pm, but Station Manager Jordan Curtis didn’t think it was the best fit for Roxby Downs’ community radio station.

“When I came into this job, one of the first things I wanted to do was get rid of [the ‘AT40’] because bringing in a show from Hollywood in America didn’t really scream community radio,” he said.

“We still have the same content [except] I’ll be getting all of the songs from the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Charts and counting them down.

“It’s cheaper for us to run as well instead of the American Top 40, which is good because we will be saving some money and having lots more community engagement.”

Mr Curtis hopes the new show will allow the station to play more Australian music.

“There’s probably not much [difference between the US and Australian music charts],” he said.

“There could be more Australian music which is a good thing, because that’s one thing I have been trying to stress since I got here, [which is] that we need to play 30 percent Australian music.

“It’s very important to the station and Australian artists.”

Listeners tuning into ‘The Aussie Chat Countdown’ may also hear some familiar voices.

“What I’ve been doing is taking around my recorder and visiting people in town and getting them to read the numbers on the countdown,” Mr Curtis said.

“During [a recent] ‘A-Z with AZ’, there were some 12 year old kids hanging outside the studios, and I put them to work by getting out my recorder and making them read some lines.

“Maybe throughout the year we will record some more [voices] to freshen it up because it could get a bit repetitive after a while, but I just want to get it in place first and then we can improve it as we go along.”

Mr Curtis hopes to introduce

more new shows to RoxFM in 2018.

“Hopefully we will have some more new programming, but nothing is set in stone yet,” he said.

“I’ve been contacted by someone from Andamooka who wants to set up a program at least once a month on RoxFM talking about space and what’s happening in Andamooka.

“I want to be able to increase membership as well, so we are doing different things like on Valentine’s Day, where we are giving away a prize donated to us by Roxby Hourglass Jewellers.”

RoxFM will be broadcasting ‘AT40’ for the last time this afternoon (Wednesday 31 January), with ‘The Aussie Chart Countdown’ starting this Sunday 4 February.

RoxFM’s Jordan Curtis is keen to launch ‘The Aussie Chart Countdown’.

Monitor OPINION The

COMMUNITY CARTOON

Community Calendar FEBRUARY 3 – Roxby Downs Junior Basketball competition resumes 17 – Pink Stumps Day 23 – Roxbylink LAN Party – Community Youth Centre 25 – Olympic Dams Barbarians Pub Olympics – Roxby Downs Golf Club MARCH 16 – World’s Greatest Shave Fundraiser Show N Shine at Autopro Roxby Downs 17 – Rox FM’s Rox Around the Clock

To add your event to the calendar, email editor@themonitor.com.au or phone 8671 2683.

The Community Calendar is restricted to the basic details of an event (what, where, when).

The friendly staff of your Community Newspaper

The Monitor Newspaper 6 Richardson Place, Roxby Downs

PO Box 72, Roxby Downs SA 5725

Phone (08) 8671 2683 www.themonitor.com.au news@themonitor.com.au editor@themonitor.com.au sales@themonitor.com.au

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Wednesday, January 31, 2018 -- Page 7

Roxby Council

www.roxbydowns.sa.gov.au COUNCIL MEETING

Waste Services Cats & Dogs Parking Parks & Playgrounds Development By-Laws Health Services Youth Services Bushfire Prevention Citizenship Community Calendar & more

Council Services

The next Roxby Council meeting is 28th February, 2018 at 4pm in the Council boardroom. All welcome.

Richardson Place Open: 9am - 5pm Weekdays Ph: 8671 0010 roxby@roxbycouncil.com.au

Water and Power Invoices due for payment by 15th February, 2018. If using BPAY please make sure the transaction is made at least two business days before the 15th.

REMINDERS

Little corella control talks

L

ittle corella’s (cacatua sanguinea) have occurred in Roxby Downs for many years, however their numbers have increased since 2014. The flocks have grown so large in size that they are causing concern due to damage of town infrastructure, sporting and recreation grounds, and noise complaints.

Little corellas have also caused concern in other regional towns across South Australia, with many residents having mixed opinions on the birds. A number of Councils across South Australia are undertaking various corella management programs with varied levels of success.

Roxby Council is taking

a pro-active approach to managing corellas within the town, and is planning several options for managing the growing numbers including engaging staff and volunteers to control corellas with a stock whip. Other options currently being considered include audio deterrents, where a loud noise is emitted at peak corella feeding and roosting times, and in locations where they are most prevalent.

Council will endeavour to keep residents up to date with what control measures are being trialled and when they will take place. Keep an eye out on the Roxby Council Facebook page and website for updates.

Ph: 8671 0500 WWW.ROXBYLINK.COM.AU

Ph: 8671 0010 in the Council Offices Open: 9am - 4.30pm Weekdays Visitor Information Centre Ph: 8671 5941or visit roxbylink @RoxbyCouncil @RoxbyLink @VisitRoxbyDowns

A little corella.

Roxby successfully obtains Youth Week grants

R

oxby Council has been successful in receiving a small grant to host ‘South Australia Youth Week’ events for our youth in April this year.

The theme for the 2018 Youth Week is ‘Your Future, Your Way’! The SA Office for Youth describes this theme as putting a focus on young people’s role in shaping their lives and, in doing so, shaping directions for South Australia. “The theme emphasises the value

of young people’s ideas, skills and resilience in local communities, and champions…their wide variety of unique backgrounds, interests, identities and perspectives,” (SA Office for Youth).

This year’s National Youth Week seeks to inspire youth to achieve their goals in ways that suit their unique circumstances and needs.

During Youth Week 2018, the Roxby Downs Community Youth Centre will be holding youth self-development workshops featuring

local speakers on a variety of topics with the emphasis being around the ‘Your Future, Your Way’ theme.

The week runs from the 13th April – 22nd April.

‘South Australia Youth Week’ will launch in Roxby Downs with an outdoor cinema event on Friday 13th April, which is open to all young people between the ages of 12-25 years living and studying in Roxby Downs.

The evening will screen an upcoming mov-

ie with outdoor games, sumo suits, local DJ, burgers, and a chance to be outdoors and chill with one another.

South Australia Youth Week events in Roxby provide wonderful opportunities for the local community to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of our young people, listen to them, and provide support.

Stay tuned for more info, via the ‘Roxby Youth’ and ‘Roxby Council’ Facebook pages and ‘The Vibe’ on RoxFM.

How we can continue improving our waste and recycling

K

erbside recycling bins continue to be regularly audited in Roxby Downs.

The majority of the community are doing a fantastic job at providing wonderful, clean recycling, however there is still room for improvement.

The ideal outcome is for 100

percent of Roxby’s kerbside recycling to be clean with no contamination so that all of our recyclable waste can be sorted and utilised to produce new products. For this to happen, we need to be conscious of the materials that we put in our yellow lid recycling bin.

Common culprits for contamination include soft plastics such

Page 8 -- Wednesday, January 31, 2018

as plastic bags, cling wrap, and bubble wrap. These cannot be recycled as they are difficult to sort from other materials, and can get caught in the machinery and bring the entire sorting process to a sudden stop.

Lids and bottle caps left on bottles and cartons also cause issues.

Leaving the tops on the bottles www.themonitor.com.au

means there is air trapped inside which can cause the bottle to pop back, resulting in the recycling bales falling apart and having to be re-baled. To ensure that you do the right thing, simply remove the lid before placing bottles and containers in your recycling bins.

Roxby Council praises the Roxby Downs community on their

recycling efforts and encourages people to refer to the guide on the kerbside collection calendar.

There are also a number of very helpful websites with detailed information regarding what can and cannot be recycled including this one at ‘Think Recycle’ - http:// thinkrecycle.com.au/a-to-z-guide

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The

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St Barbara’s Parish School Roxby Downs 2018 Relief Teachers Required Please register your interest on 8671 3207 or email info@stbarbs.catholic.edu.au PUBLIC NOTICES OPEN 7 DAYS

Classifieds P: 8671 2683 E: sales@themonitor.com.au PUBLIC NOTICES

SITUATIONS VACANT

Board Meetings Members of the community are invited to attend the 2018 meetings of the South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resources Management Board, which are held in Port Augusta on the following dates:

Face painter Available for private parties and community events.

21-22 February 16-17 April - Leigh Creek 20-21 June 22-23 August 17-18 October 12-13 December

Visual artist Specialising in name art for individual clients.

Meeting details are available from the Natural Resources SA Arid Lands office on (08) 8648 5300 and are published on the Board’s website www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au/aridlands

Special effects make-up Popular for Halloween and costume parties.

Any changes to meeting dates or locations will be readvertised on our Website and Facebook page.

Post Ofce & Motel

Janet Brook Presiding Member SA Arid Lands NRM Board

Kr ^ irl ^ •■Mvi

For more information, phone Bree on 0438 863 958.

HeU) 5MAU.» oM ? " LARGkf o w t k t io»KfcO SvJua \s weY KOOk I IiJ TM£ PARK MIGHT/ AT TtA6 8R\GttT s SHWiAiG Ai^D Tt^£ s t a r S-HoV AT Trie • STAR -» 1 ''3MAU-. LOOK

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Behind the Famous Bottle House

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Opal Creek Boulevard, Andamooka & after hours by appointment

Ph: (08) 8672 7007 Fax: (08) 8672 7062 www.andamookaopal.com.au Email: peter@andamooka.au.com

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We love photos! Send us a picture along with details of the photo and event and we’ll be more than happy to share them.

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More than 8 out of 10 people relax and enjoy reading a physical copy of their local newspapers.

Stay on top and informed.

Check out the weekly lisiting of vacant positions in our employment classifieds.

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Readers are heavily reliant on their local newspaper, making them an extremely valuable audience for advertisers.

Think local. Regional newspapers work.

For the advice and price, contact your local advertising consultant today on 8671 2683 or sales@themonitor.com.au.

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Wednesday, January 31, 2018 -- Page 9 The Barossa’s Favourite Newspaper

Monitor SPORT The

Swimmers make a splash at Quorn carnival

T

hree young swimmers from Roxby Downs recently competed in a two day swimming carnival in Quorn earlier this month.

Liam Miller, Georgie-Lee Kroon, and Madelin Kroon all participated in the event on 13 and 14 January, and competed against swimmers from Port Augusta, Port Pirie, Whyalla, and Clare.

Secretary of the Roxby Downs Swimming Club Cindy Kroon was

pleased with how the local swimmers did in what was their first competition for 2018.

“They all swam really well, they all did personal bests (PBs) and that which was all we could ask for,” she said.

“Liam Miller aged 12 swam very well, and got PBs for 50 metre freestyle and 50 metres breaststroke.

“Georgie-Lee Kroon aged six swam in her first ever competitive carnival, and got two official times in freestyle and breaststroke.

“She even swam faster than some seven year olds.”

Georgie-Lee’s nine year old sister Madelin also had some great results.

“Madelin got PBs in 25 metre butterfly, 25 metre breaststroke, 25 metre backstroke, and 25 metre freestyle,” Kroon said.

“She improved nearly five seconds off her best time, nearly going under 20 seconds with a time of 20.81 seconds.

“Madelin also got a gold medal in the BBB (breaststroke/backstroke/

butterfly) open 25 metre handicap.”

The next swimming carnivals the three swimmers are looking at competing in will be held in Crystal Brook in February, and Whyalla and Clare in March.

Meanwhile, swimming lessons have resumed for 2018 at the Roxby Downs Swimming Club.

The club is still looking for new swimming coaches, and Kroon said if they’re unable to find more, their 2018/19 season may not go ahead.

“Our main coach does about

Liam Miller and Madelin Kroon.

everything for us,” she said.

“Our [current] season will finish up in March, and if we can’t find coaches by October, we won’t be able to hold [the next season].

“We are happy to be flexible; even if people are on the 7/7 roster and they can only do once a fortnight, we are happy for any interest really.”

For more information on becoming a swimming coach, email roxbydownsswimmingclub@gmail.com or contact Kroon on 0420 305 024.

Madelin and Georgie-Lee Kroon.

Madelin Kroon.

Photos- Cindy Kroon.

Roxby makes a return to country cricket carnival

L

ocal cricketers will be heading to Adelaide in the coming days to compete in the South Australian country cricket carnival next week.

The Roxby Districts Cricket Association (RDCA) has entered a combined cricket side into the annual tournament, which will be held from 5-9 February.

Vice President of the RDCA James Beenham has played in the carnival on numerous occasions and said it’s always a lot of fun.

“This carnival, it’s not your big boys getting to the zone sort of thing,” he said.

“It’s still taken seriously, but I think there’s a lot more fun to it and a lot less seriousness.

“Considering it’s not zoned, any club or association can play; there’s two clubs from the Port Augusta league, there’s combined sides from Roxby, Le Hunte, and there’s two teams from Tatiara way, so it’s made up of a few different teams.”

While it may not be taken as seriously as other competitions, a lot of cricket will be played at the country carnival.

“We play five days cricket; four days are 50-52 overs each, so we are playing 100 overs a day, and then the last day is a bit shortened for the guys who want to get home and play club cricket on the weekend,” Beenham said.

“Depending on how you finish the year before affects how your draw will turn out. “[Scoring] is worked on batting and bowling points; you get 0.01 for a run and 0.1 for a wicket, so ideally you’ll get 400 runs and take 20 wickets and it will be happy days.”

Although the RDCA’S team

didn’t go as well as they would have liked last year, they have had previous success at the tournament.

“Last year wasn’t our best, we [only] had the two wins on the Thursday and Friday,” Beenham said.

“Before that we went two years undefeated only to finish second which was pretty disappointing.

“In the early 2010’s, the guys went back to back wins, then didn’t win it the year after, and then had one more [win], so Roxby has definitely won it and has come close in recent years.”

Beenham has not been able to finalise the local team’s squad, but he is hopeful there will be players from the Olympic Dam Devils, Hornridge Wanderers, East Roxby Roos, and Roxby Miners participating.

“The team chops and changes with the shift work; you get a few guys locked in like my faithfuls Lucas and Seb Holbrook, they sign up every year.

“You get a couple of good new ring-ins which is good.

“We do rely on a couple of Adelaide guys who commute but keep turning up for us so we always ask them to play.

“It’s hard, but once you get the guys to commit it’s always good.”

Apart from the cricket, Beenham said the best part of the country carnival is the banter with his teammates.

“We’ve got a pink hat in our bag for dropped catches, and somehow I end up with that most years,” he said.

“We all get along with each other and have a ball.

“And with the other teams, we’ve got a couple of mates who played here but they’ve obviously gone

Page 10 -- Wednesday, January 31, 2018

James Beenham and Lucas Holbrook are looking forward to next week’s country cricket carnival.

back to their club back home, so it’s nice to catch up with those guys.”

Beenham hopes the Roxby side will be competitive next week.

“Some of the guys we’ve got in [the side], they can perform, so it just comes down to luck really,” he www.themonitor.com.au

said.

“Some days you’ll make a ton and then the next you make zero.

“We will give it a red hot crack.”

Beenham thanked the RDCA’s sponsors Redpath Mining and Roxby Bakery.

If anyone would like to make a donation towards the RDCA’s country carnival trip or to the association itself, contact Beenham on 0448 425 357 or jbeenham92@ gmail.com

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Sport and recreation achievements recognised in Australia Day awards

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ocal athletes and sport and recreation groups’ 2017 successes were recognised on Friday at the local Australia Day Awards.

Bev Zeptner was named female Senior Sportsperson of the Year, Robby Sutton was awarded male Senior Sportsperson of the Year, Charlee McDonald and Michael Gobbie were the female and male Junior Sportsperson of the Year, Roxby Downs Scouts Group took out Organisation of the Year, and the Headland Roxby Rockets won Team of the Year.

Zeptner was recognised for 20 years of outstanding contribution to sport in Roxby Downs, where she has been involved with the Roxby Downs Junior Basketball Association, Roxby Downs Junior Football Association, Far North Football League, and the Roxby Districts Sporting Club.

She was “overwhelmed” to receive the award.

“It’s a very big surprise,” she said.

“Lots of people deserve this award, not just me.

“I don’t play sport anymore, but I like a lot of sport so I try and help out wherever I can.”

Zeptner was around when the Roxby Districts Sporting Club started up in the late 1980’s, and said her involvement with the club has brought her a lot of joy.

“My sons play for Roxby Districts, and seeing them two play together and seeing it start in 1986/87 to where it is now [has been a highlight].”

The Roxby Downs Scouts Group (RDSG) was named Organisation of the Year due to their involvement with the community’s youth.

Group Leader Scott Gaskin was excited to accept the award on behalf of the RDSG after a busy 2017.

“It’s excellent, I’m ecstatic,” he said.

“We’ve had group camps, a big state camp with the Joey camp in Adelaide, and we’ve got quite a few new

Members of the Roxby Downs Scouts Group.

members as well which is great.

“One of the mottos of Scouts is ‘today’s youth, tomorrow’s leader’, and that’s obvious at the award ceremony because we’ve got two Scouts (Jennah Laister and Michael Gobbie) receiving awards which is awesome.”

Millie Thomas accepted the Team of the Year award on behalf of the Roxby Headland Rockets.

The Rockets’ Trent Headland and Daz Whetstone won the award for their outstanding achievements in 2017, which included winning the Australian Sidecar Championships, fourth place at the 2016/17 FIM World Cup, and taking out the Mildura Sidecar Spectacular.

Thomas said the award capped off an amazing few years for the local sidecar team.

“We are really thankful and happy that we’ve had a huge amount of recognition for how busy we have been over the last couple of years, it’s been wonderful,” she said.

“Winning the Australian Championships, that’s been a dream of Trent’s and Daz’s for their whole lives, so that was huge.

“We had a really great year of fundraising, we had a registered lottery which was quite successful, and [we’ve been] putting plans into motion for the next few years.”

Thomas expects 2018 will be another big year for the Rockets.

“Trent is constantly developing his bike which is getting the results,” she said.

“The boys have just come back from three weeks in New Zealand, we are heading to Tamworth for the Australian Titles over Easter, and of course we will look at the World Cup again this year where Trent wants to go one better and take the whole thing out.

“We will see how he goes with that!”

Roxby Downs Scout Group’s Jennah Laister, Scott Gaskin and Michael Gobbie.

Bev Zeptner.

Max Headland and Millie Thomas, accepting the Team of the Year award for the Roxby Rockets.

Women basketballers return Men’s basketballers reach semi final to Country Championships

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oxby Downs’ senior m e n’s b a s k e t b a l l team reache d the B-grade semi-final of the South Australian Country Championships.

WRITTEN BY ABBY TELFER

F

or the first time in over 20 years, Roxby Downs’ senior women’s basketball team competed in the South Australian Countr y Championships in Adelaide over the Australia Day long weekend.

We were playing in B-grade, however our pool was a mix of A and B-grade.

We had three games on Saturday, two versing tough A-grade teams and one versing an aggressive B-grade side.

Unfortunately we finished the day with three loses.

We had a major injury in the first quarter of the first game, with Maddy Rhodes sent to the emergency department with a severe ankle injury.

The girls regrouped to play a fantastic game against Murray Bridge, and also played a very strong game against Eastern Hills.

Due to the tough pool we were placed in, we managed to still secure a B-grade semi-final spot on Sunday.

Fronting up on Sunday morning was quite difficult for us old girls, and unfortunately we went down two a very strong former state and national filled team.

We fought to the end and now

Player and coach Cody Kenny was pleased with the team’s performance.

“We won two out of three in the playoff games which put us into a qualifying final,” he said.

“We won that which put us into the B-grade semi-final which we lost.

“I’m very happy with how we went, the lads played well.”

Kenny said their results were

on par with how they have gone in previous years.

“It’s definitely one of the best teams that we have taken down for the carnival,” he said. “[Our results] were about the same as in previous years; we’ve won C-grade before but because we won so many games we got bumped up a grade.”

Kenny said his team’s Most Valuable Player was awarded to Jack Rigden, and the runner up was Lachlan Munro.

He thanked the Roxby Downs Senior Basketball Association for their support.

The Roxby Downs senior women's basketball team at the Country Championships in Adelaide. Photo- Abby Telfer

know coming back next year that we will be playing against teenagers and will need to be a lot fitter.

We had a ball representing Roxby Downs for the first time in 23 years, and we plan on competing again next year.

Between here and now, we will be hitting the gym and potentially going

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away again to compete in the Barossa tournament mid-year.

A big shout out to Jess Telfer who was a great coach, team manager Adele Rhodes for making all ends meet, and Jada Wellgreen for stepping up as a junior to fill the gaps we had due to early injury. www.themonitor.com.au

Roxby Downs’ senior men’s basketball team. Photo supplied.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018 -- Page 11

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Local talents join forces

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ocal junior motocross rider Taj Gow-Smith has joined forces with senior off road racer Riley Graham to form the first junior/senior off road and motocross team in South Australia.

While competing in individual events in their respective classes, Gow-Smith and Graham will compete together in the Australian Off Road Championship, South Australian Off Road Championships, and Hattah Desert Race.

Gow-Smith said he is very excited to be in this partnership.

“This team is so exciting because Riley has taken me on and chased all of our sponsors to create it, which I really appreciate,” he said.

“I’m really looking forward to the season ahead and learning from one of the best motocross and off road racers in the country.

“It’s going to be fun year!”

Taj’s father Clint Gow-Smith is equally thrilled about the new team.

“2017 was a tough year personally for Taj, and on assessment of the current Yamaha Junior Racing (YJR) setup, and it was agreed that YJR and Taj would part ways after three years of full time motocross.

“Taj has always expressed a love for riding the sandy trails around Roxby, and as he has grown, he has found this to become a real passion.

“To have Riley create this team from nothing and take Taj on is really cool, and the timing of it just feels right.

“We first met Riley back in 2010 when he was involved in the motocross club here then he moved away.

“We stayed in touch, and now working alongside him and his brother Allan again this year supporting his goals to create a Yamaha team out of South Australia is really exciting.”

Graham, who lived in Roxby Downs for five years, said he sees this new team as an “opportunity”.

“It’s something new for me,” he said.

“I have a lot on my plate trying to compete for Australian titles whereas most other racers in my spot wouldn’t think about anything else other than themselves, but it was an opportunity for us both being from Roxby.

“I can see a good future for Taj and his racing, and it’s something that a lot of people don’t do as well – a junior rider and a senior rider who are competitive in their respective classes - and I think it will look cool to sponsors.

Training has commenced for 2018 with Riley’s brother Allan, and GowSmith has been working hard.

“Al brings a real positive energy around training off the bike, and I have definitely done more physical training this summer than ever before,” he said. “[I] feel really good coming in to a long tough season doing a lot more races over longer periods.

“Once the weather cools, we will step up the on-bike training which will be awesome fun as well.”

Graham hopes both himself and Gow-Smith will have a successful year.

“I know Taj’s skills and capabilities and think he will go well,” he said.

“I’ve got nearly five riders I will be competing against, and all they do is ride their bike and train, whereas I have got to work, juggle things and also race.

“I’ve got a tough year ahead of me, but I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t get podium results again.

“My goal is to get some podiums and win some races, and hopefully both of us can get some good results.”

Gow-Smith and Graham thanked the partnership’s sponsors Yamaha Australia, Ficeda Accessories, TRG Transport, SK Designs, RAM Trailers, Secker Real Estate, and Coast Yamaha.

If you would like to sponsor their team, contact Graham on 0488 228 809 or Clint Gow-Smith on 0437 546 758.

Local motocross rider Taj Gow-Smith is in a new partnership with Riley Graham.

Photo supplied.

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