The Great Southern Star - November 3, 209

Page 1

Published at Leongatha for South Gippsland

36 McCartin Street, Leongatha 3953 PHONE: (03) 5662 2294, FAX: (03) 5662 4350 ACN 006 507 580 ABN 61 318 952 541 PRINT POST 336735 10006 Email - news@thestar.com.au advertising@thestar.com.au

$1.20

PAGES 43 - 47

The Great Southern

Star

INSIDE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 Page 3

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PUBLISHED TUESDAY 68 PAGES

Page 3

More road tragedy

Page 7

Bridge gone

Supermarket back

Halloween has Coal Creek laughing HALLOWEEN at Coal Creek was an absolute sell-out last Saturday evening.

Scary stuff: There’s nothing like Halloween to scare people; council’s transport connections officer Kathryn Cousins with daughter Chloe are doing their bit on the night.

It was believed to be the biggest crowd that had ever turned up at Coal Creek and unexpected, with visitors coming from Melbourne, Latrobe Valley and Bairnsdale. Some people stayed overnight in motels just to attend. Organisers estimated some 2000 children and parents descended on Korumburra’s favourite heritage village to take part in several free activities, including a monster bash disco, roving performers and apple bobbing. There were food stalls and the Pig and Whistle cafe was kept busy. The train rides were also much in demand and the scarecrow competition was a big hit. Entries will be on display until November 8. The trick or treat for kids was running out of tickets. Only 600 had been printed but the demand was much more than that. The event was “the talk of the market” at Kongwak on Sunday morning. South Gippsland shire council staff members were kept on their toes. One staff member said the day was “absolutely awesome”. “A great night was had. We had over 2000 people through the gate,” a pleased Coal Creek co-ordinator Rowena Ashley said. “It was wonderful to see the streets of Coal Creek filled with families.”

MILK MONEY

Step-up puts cash in struggling dairy farmers’ pockets By Brad Lester and Jane Ross DAIRY farmers could get an extra $28,000 in their pockets in time for Christmas, after two companies announced further price increases last week. Murray Goulburn and Burra Foods both announced step-ups of 30 cents a kilogram for protein and 12 cents a kilogram for butterfat, payable in November. Fonterra will continue to assess the market before initiating more increases.

The price rise will help farmers’ cash flow after 10 months of financial hardship when dairy prices were slashed as world export prices plummeted. Farmers’ annual incomes were reduced by between $150,000 and $250,000. The South Gippsland economy stands to benefit, especially as the busy pre-Christmas trading season begins. The rise equates to an increase of between 1.5 and 2 cents a litre. Based on the average farm producing 1.4 million litres of milk per year, the stepup results in a cash boost of about $28,000. Third generation Korumburra dairy farmer Colin Dowel, welcomed the second Burra Foods step

up since the end of August. “We certainly needed it,” he said. Mr Dowel hopes the latest rise would be “the first of a few more”, but said it gave some confidence the industry was improving. “All reports are that things are moving forward,” he said. Mr Dowel said the two step-ups resulted in a total of 19 cents more for butterfat and 47 cents more for protein. Leongatha Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Darryl McGannon welcomed the economic boost. Continued on page 11.

Looking good: Korumburra dairy farmer Colin Dowel is happy with the news.


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