Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen 11 July 2014

War ragul & B aw B aw

Citizen

F R E E / / M O N T H L Y / / F ri d a y 1 1 J u l y 2 0 1 4

w a rra g u l c i t i z e n . c o m

f / w a rra g u l c i t i z e n

Jay Birchall, Ruby Birchall and Glenda Trevaskis harvest radishes at Warragul's new community garden, presently under construction in Eastern Park.

GROWING COMMUNITY Climate campaign Isolated youth Page 4 Page 8

Forgotten soldiers Page 10

PAGE 7

2 | THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN 11 JULY 2014

LOCAL NEWS

Have a news tip? Email editor@warragulcitizen.com

Seasoned campaigner not green to The Greens

By William Kulich.

YARRAGON doctor Malcolm McKelvie has been chosen to contest the seat of Narracan for the Australian Greens in Nove­ mber's Victorian state election.

If the name "McKelvie" sounds familiar it's probably because he has stood as a candidate for The Greens in elections three times before.

Those three previous campaigns were however for federal parli­ ament seats. Dr McKelvie told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen the move to a state campaign was not a compromise.

"I'm interested in getting greater greens representation in parlia­ ment, so whether that's state or federal we need it everywhere," Dr McKelvie said.

"I'm keen to do my bit to get there."

Dr McKelvie will take on incumbent Liberal MP Gary Blackwood. It's a contest he feels he will not win, but while he campaigns for himself he will also be campaigning for the party's upper house candidates.

"There were no other people putting up their hand for preselection for Narracan, that's true, and it's not a seat that's considered winnable by The Greens," Dr McKelvie said.

"The upper house seat candidacy was contested [by more than one person] and the inner­Melbourne seats that were winnable were certainly contested.

"I don't mind being the underdog in these elections and my aim in this campaign is really to raise the Greens vote to help Andrea Millsom

Malcolm McKelvie believes protection from unconventional gas mining is important to Narracan voters. Photo by article author.

to get elected in the upper house.

"I'm really hopeful that we can make the seat of Narracan marginal, because I think in all of Gippsland, where we've got conservative politicians right through, Gippsland misses out and that's because we don't have marginal seats.

"This election I think we've got a really good chance of at least making Narracan marginal."

Dr McKelvie said Narracan voters were becoming sick of major party politics.

"People are more and more sick and tired of the major party politics they're seeing writ large through the media at the moment," Dr McKelvie said.

"The Craig Thompson issues, Geoff Shaw, the corruption that's become evident in New South Wales politics and the whole issue of big business funding political party campaigns and expecting payback through policy."

Dr McKelvie highlighted uncon­ ventional gas mining, which includes coal seam gas extraction,

as being a key issue in the upcoming election.

"The coal seam gas, onshore gas mining through Gippsland and western Victoria is a threat that more and more people are seeing as a danger we ought not to take on," Dr McKelvie said.

"The Hazelwood mine fire is one more example of the environmental disasters that happen [in Gippsland] with [damage to] the freeway and the obvious health effects on the population.

"More and more people are

seeing it's perhaps more sensible to move away from coal, we can do that without losing lots of jobs, we can build a new industrial base in the Latrobe Valley and throughout Gippsland creating lots of jobs for all of these very skilled workers that we've got.

"I think local jobs remain a top issue and everyone needs to be focused on making sure that everyone who can work can work in a job that's fulfilling and worthwhile and that they are contributing to their own wellbeing and their community's wellbeing."

But Dr McKelvie said the biggest issue faced by all politicians this election was voter apathy.

"The level of apathy and disengagement of the population, that's the biggest issue," Dr McKelvie said.

"The current state of politics just feeds that apathy and disenga­ gement, which is really unfortunate because I think people ought to be getting angry and motivated and active and engaged and making sure that they vote for people who are going to represent them and their interests.

"Tapping into that is the real challenge."

Dr McKelvie said he thought "the people of Narracan and Gippsland really deserve to have people in politics who are truly representing them, and getting away from this business of making donations to political parties [and] getting payback through policies that don't make sense, that don't represent the common good and are not in the interests of long­term sustai­ nability."

11 JULY 2014 THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN | 3 Stay updated with email updates: warragulcitizen.com/email

Temps mean for Baw Baw

|

Find us on Facebook: /warragulcitizen

|

Get tweeting: @WarragulCitizen

VFF warns against small subdivisions

By William Kulich.

Six month mean temperature deciles map from the Bureau of Meteorology. Dark orange areas indicate highest average temperatures on record, lighter orange areas are "very much above average".

By William Kulich.

DATA from the Bureau of Meteorology shows the last six months in Baw Baw have been the hottest on record.

The mean temperature deciles map printed above plots the temperature ranges for the 1 January to 30 June 2014 period, with Baw Baw clearly in the highest on record range.

But it's not just the last six months that have broken records ­ data for the 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 period shows most of Baw Baw in the record­breaking range.

The mean maximum temper­ ature for the region over the same one year period was 21 degrees celcius, while the mean minumum was between 12 and 9 degrees.

The mean temperature was 15 degrees.

Fire Brigade calls out statistics THE Warragul Fire Brigade has released statistics on the number of fire calls it has attended this year so far.

As of Monday, the brigade has attended 152 calls in 2014.

The number is surprisingly average ­ the brigade had attended the exact same number of calls at the same time last year.

BAW Baw's councillors are divided on whether small blocks with residential development in active farming areas are good for local producers and rural areas.

At a council meeting last month a motion allowing a house to be built on a one hectare subdivision in Ellinbank narrowly won council approval. Mayor Murray Cook and all three Warragul ward councillors voted against the development while all other councillors voted in favour.

Although the motion seems insignificant in isolation, the shire has seen a number of proposals for small mixed farming and residential developments come before it in recent years.

Councillors have expressed interest in finding out if small farms are viable, unanimously passing a motion at a meeting in April to investigate lobbying for smaller far­ ming zone block allowances.

The size of those smaller blocks, often discussed in relation to hobby and niche farming, is the big issue.

Traditionally small blocks are not seen as viable for any kind of agricultural production, however when discussing the motion calling for investigation in April Warragul ward's Gerard Murphy said "I think it's exciting when you can do some­ thing on 10 acres or five acres or 15 or 20."

"It creates something for the markets and for the outlets and it's important to nurture industry and nurture individuals."

At the same meeting Cr Cook said due to Gippsland's "high rain­ fall and good soil we should be able to do more intensive farming."

The reason for the Ellinbank subdivision's rough passage appears to be the size of the block ­ for just under half of Baw Baw's councillors, one hectare in a farming zone was too small.

For Victoria's peak farming body, the Victorian Farmers' Federation, the fact the council is even considering smaller blocks for hobby farmers is alarming.

"Certainly the VFF have had a good long look at how [such small] subdivisions could work, and really the best way to do it is with very

small allotment sizes on the edge of town... I'm talking maybe 100 acres (40.5 hectares), but it certainly becomes very expensive for shires to maintain those blocks," VFF president Peter Tuohey told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen.

Encouraging and coordinating small title holders to engage in proper land management could also be a sticking point.

"There's added problems with those lots and setting up dams for water collection and other things," Mr Tuohey said.

"Weed and pest management can become costly too."

For all the effort that goes into securing a small farming block, Mr Tuohey said the farming life was not always what people thought it was.

"Certainly there always is an appetite for people on the edge of metropolitan areas to go rural for a while," Mr Tuohey said.

"They think it's fantastic to live out in the 'real' environment, but usually they find it's not quite as good as they first thought.

"There's issues around sounds and smells and chemicals that are normal farming activities that they find they quite often don't like.

"There's always been an appetite out there, but we're concerned around the realities about what happens when they do start to subdivide those lots up.

"They (small hobby farms) have

an impact on the commercial farms that are already operating, they want the commercial farms to change their activities to suit the hobby farmers, which is not really the ideal."

The Australian Farm Institute is also concerned.

In 2012 the organisation held a conference on managing farm land into the future, which concluded "rural subdivision is a cancer for profitable agriculture close to cities."

The group highlighted develo­ pments in western Sydney as an example of subdivisions gone wrong and said there were two effects of councils allowing small rural subdivisions: elevated land prices and a larger number of unpro­ ductive lots.

Mr Tuohey agreed.

"It's been quite good farming land, but because of the urban sprawl [non­farming people are looking to buy it]," Mr Tuohey said.

"Certainly people are entitled to have a rural lifestyle, but they've moved out of those areas and had an impact on that really good agricultural land.

"I think it's certainly their right if they're going to pay for that land, but I think that a council trying to subdivide properties to affect that needs to look at the cost structures and see how it's going to affect them and how they're going to

deliver services to those pop­ ulations."

The problem of farming subdivision pressure is not unique to Baw Baw. Mayor of East Gippsland Shire and chairperson of multi­council lobby group the Gippsland Local Government Network, Richard Ellis said finding the right balance between farming and development was "going to be a challenge" for Baw Baw. "I think the councillors are up to it, but they certainly need the support of the community behind them to say 'look, we understand that it's not a sleepy hollow, it's going to be a very active, changing community,'" Mr Ellis told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen.

"Population growth brings lots of advantages of being able to get other levels of funding involved, but it will involve a lot of change and decisions need to be made.

"I look forward to seeing how Baw Baw rises to that challenge."

When it comes to managing growth, one group with more expe­ rience than most is the state government's Metropolitan Plan­ ning Authority.

The group has been assisting the Baw Baw Shire Council in the creation of Precinct Structure Plans for Warragul and Drouin. The plans plot where residential and comm­ ercial growth should occur while attempting to maintain rural char­ acter.

MPA CEO Peter Seemer told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen subdivision of farming land would not be easy for the community.

"If you're outside of the urban areas [and] you want to have successful farming you need farm­ ing land, and obviously if you end up with something that was 1,000 hectares [being] divided up into 100 little [blocks] you're not going to have a successful farming oppor­ tunity unless it's farming much smaller things," Mr Seemer said.

"A lot of people have expec­ tations they can put in a lot of little things they can maximise their dollars from, and that's always an ongoing source of friction and that's the sort of thing councils work their way through.

"The rural areas... will always be a point of friction, I'm sure."

4 | THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN 11 JULY 2014

LOCAL NEWS Kostos makes noise over barriers

By William Kulich.

MOUNT Worth ward councillor Peter Kostos has called on council staff to provide a report outlining options for a sound attenuation walls and barriers policy.

Speaking to his motion calling for the report to be produced, which was supported unanimously by councillors at Wednesday's council meeting, Cr Kostos said he hoped such a policy would help avoid "ugly" sound barriers being erected along the Princes Freeway.

"My personal take on this stems from a long time ago seeing these sound attenuation walls going up along the Monash Freeway," Cr Kostos said.

"They are ugly and get uglier as they weather, though the ones [you see locally] are a little better looking.

"But more recently at the new subdivision in Trafalgar, a new wall was put up.

"It [was] a condition [from] VicRoads, council can't say no.

"We don't want it, but what I want to see is some kind of policy where we can present to developers options that are more beautiful and less intrusive, because anyone driving either to or from East Gippsland comes past Trafalgar, [which has] the beautiful Strzleckis to the south and what do they see?

The sound wall.

"It's not a particularly ugly one... but we need to work on making them less visually [obtrusive]."

North ward councillor David Balfour said the construction of sound barriers should be discussed while planning developments, not

after.

"What we've got to do here is make the community aware that these planning (decisions) could be happening right now and we need to be discussing them," Cr Balfour said.

Speaking in support of the motion mayor Murray Cook said the barriers had a negative impact on smaller towns which sell themselves based on their rural appeal.

"Having been in Trafalgar quite a long time I keep hearing our residents saying they want to maintain and protect the rural aspect of our town," Cr Cook said.

"VicRoads are a big player in this, but they also have other levers they can pull [to change how freeway and highway sound is managed], like speed restrictions and the road surface.

"These days you can get a number of different road surfaces that reflect the noise differently."

"For the developers, yes, the set back from the road is another aspect to consider.

"There are a number of things we can do to protect our residents from something that is necessary (noise management)... but maybe the sound walls we see at present aren't the answer."

Despite seconding the motion, Drouin ward councillor Terry Williamson was pessimistic about how useful the report might be.

"We are asking for a report, and most of the time it's VicRoads who makes the decisions, not us," Cr Williamson said.

"That means the report will probably just say that."

For breaking news between issues visit warragulcitizen.com

Al Gore inspires climate action campaigner

Maggie Riddington is keen to talk climate change with West Gippsland.

Photo by article author.

By William Kulich.

inspiring to see someone who has obviously dedicated [so much] time to the cause," Ms Riddington said.

"I got to meet him. It was pretty crazy to see so many people getting really excited."

The goal of the program was to train people in how to talk about climate change to their local communities.

"The training was not only learning the practical side of climate science, but it was also about how to deliver it to the community, how to have one­on­one conversations and just being able to talk to people and get the message across," Ms Riddington said.

"When people understand the message and really understand what's at stake and also how hopeful we are and all the good things that can come from [climate action], that's when they really get on side and start taking action as well, and obviously action is what we're really striving for in the end."

Ms Riddington said she planned to engage with a wide variety of community members, but would start with groups she was familiar with.

"I know that the Baw Baw Sustainability Network would be interested and has a lot of people who would like to know more and who would like to be spreading the word further among their com­ munity as well," Ms Riddington said.

"I've also got a fond place in my

heart for Warragul Regional College and Warragul Primary School... and I think it would be really good to be talking to the young people of Warragul.

"I think it would be really important to be speaking to the people of Gippsland who can be doing things from their own homes, who can be a really active part of their community for a really positive thing.

"I don't just want to tell people my point of view, I don't just want to presume I know the most because of this training, I want to ask them [what they think]."

Ms Riddington said she would approach local politicians after she had got a feel for what the concerns of the area were and the kind of response to climate change the people of Baw Baw wanted.

"I would like to be a messenger to politicians," Ms Riddington said.

Interestingly, the focus of her talks will not solely be on the negatives of climate change, but also on what positives could be brought from a bad situation.

"Climate change tends to get a really, really negative place in the media," Ms Riddington said.

"Obviously there are negatives, it's not a good thing, but I think there are a lot of positives to take from it," she said.

"There's a lot of room for growth and a lot of room for economic development and jobs in the renewable energy sector."

ADMINISTRATION

ADVERTISING

NEWS TIPS

Editor: William PJ Kulich editor@warragulcitizen.com Also designer, journalist, advertising and owner.

For advertising, please contact admin@warragulcitizen.com Please support those who support WBBC.

Know something you think WBBC should cover? Please email editor@warragulcitizen.com with your suggestion.

LOCAL environmentalist Maggie Riddington will be speaking to Baw Baw residents about climate change after receiving training from former US Vice President­ turned environmental campaigner Al Gore.

Ms Riddington was one of 400 people chosen to take part in the Climate Reality project for the first time last month, which involved a three day training seminar in Melbourne.

"Al Gore's been running it for quite a number of years now and has been expanding it around the world," Ms Riddington told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen.

"For instance, at our training there were 32 countries repres­ ented. That was the 25th training session and there were over 525 people present.

"The Australian Conservation Foundation really, really was pushing the Climate Reality project and Al Gore to come to Australia this year. It's a really important year and we really need that kick up the bum to be taking action now."

Speakers at the seminar included a number of scientists trained in climate science, psychology, marketing, communications and public relations.

"Al Gore spoke to us for a full day. He was teaching us, he was interacting, there were question and answer times and it was really

About Formerly The Warragul Citizen.

11 JULY 2014 THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN | 5 Stay updated with email updates: warragulcitizen.com/email

|

Find us on Facebook: /warragulcitizen

|

Get tweeting: @WarragulCitizen

Baw Baw brandishes branding in Tour of Gippsland support

By Sarah Muschamp.

THE Baw Baw Shire Council will contribute up to $2,500 toward ensuring the first stage of the Tour of Gippsland cycling race will begin in Warragul later this year.

Councillors approved the spend at Wednesday night's council meeting, arguing the event would boost tourism and help promote the new Visit Baw Baw brand.

The Warragul Business Group approached Baw Baw seeking a partnership funding agreement late last month, asking the council to match the group's own $2,500 contribution.

The funds will see stage one begin in Warragul.

North ward councillor Debbie Brown told councillors the oppor­ tunity to promote Baw Baw's new tourism branding was a good one.

"This will give us a good oppor­ tunity to work in partnership with the Warragul Business Group... and gives us the opportunity to promote our Visit Baw Baw brand," Cr Brown said.

"I think this is two­and­a­half thousand well spent."

SBS will broadcast the tour, a fact not lost on councillors keen to pro­ mote the region.

Councillors were also pleased

Warragul would host the first stage of the race in particular.

"This is a significant event around Victoria and Australia," Cr Brown said.

"We've managed to secure stage one, which is great. Stage one and the final stage are the best parts of the race to be hosting."

Drouin ward councillor Terry Williamson noted the potential economic benefits for Warragul in hosting the tour's first stage ­ tens of thousands of dollars expected to be spent by visitors, athletes and their teams in the days leading up to the event.

"The fact that we are starting the

tour here means the teams, approx­ imately 300 people, have to find ac­ commodation," Cr Williamson said.

"Around $50,000 might be spent, which is why the Warragul Business Group is supporting it."

In a letter to senior council staff, Warragul Business Group executive member and Promotions Comm­ ittee convenor Peter Nicholson said the group thought "the benefits far outweigh the small cost."

"The WBG supports the event being started in the CBD, and if this involves partial street closures then we feel that is even better."

The event will begin on 3 September.

Council to investigate surplus land

New members appointed to arts committee

By William Kulich.

COUNCILLORS have approved the appointment of four new community members to the Baw Baw Arts and Cultural Advisory Committee.

Jo Watt, Marion Byrne, Kim McFarlane and Caroline Hammond will serve for three years.

The new appointees will join existing community members David Lyons, Carol Harvey, Rhona Hendrick, Bec Van Dyk and Sally Alsop, who have been reappointed with the same three year term to simplify future committee changes.

The committee provides comm­ unity input on matters affecting the arts and cultural development in Baw Baw with committee members required to be active in the arts to be appointed.

Changes have also been made to the group's terms of reference, which committee chair and councillor representative Mikaela Power said would put the group in line with other advisory comm­ ittees.

"The committee have been through their terms of reference and have updated it to be consistent with all the council's advisory committees, and also to [clarify] what the group does," Cr Power told councillors at Wednesday's public council meeting.

Cr Power thanked outgoing committee members for their contributions.

"I would like to draw councillors' attention to the hard work they and the existing committee members have done," Cr Power said.

"The new appointees are a number of people from different walks of life.

"They have attended a meeting already and their contributions were good at that point."

Jo Watt is a new Baw Baw resident who runs a professional dance studio in Melbourne.

Marion Byrne has worked in both public and private arts sectors for 40 years and in her retirement holds a number of voluntary community positions.

Kim McFarlane has had experience in the performing arts and has an interest in increasing the number of young people engaged in the arts in Baw Baw. Caroline Hammond runs the Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort Arts and Culture program, which has been growing in recent years.

The new appointees, term changes and modifications to the committee's terms of reference were supported unanimously by coun­ cillors.

By William Kulich.

Got his goat David 'Wombat' Lyons of Yarragon Goats holds an under­one­week­old boer kid at his farm. Mr Lyons' does began kidding early last month and the young goats are now exploring his paddocks. You can find more pictures of the super­cute kids at warragulcitizen.com.

Photo: William Kulich.

Petition opposes Maternal and Child Health Centre move

By William Kulich.

A PETITION asking the Baw Baw Shire to revise its decision to move the Warragul Maternal and Child Health Centre from William Square to Normanby Street has been presented to councillors.

Over 430 people signed the petition, which was presented to the mayor on Wednesday.

Petitioners asked the council to either reconsider the move or "pro­ vide the community with an appro­ priate feeding and changing area within the (Warragul) CBD." The request stipulated that such replacement facilities should be of "acceptable cleanliness" and be similar to parent rooms found in shopping centres.

The centre's move was

announced in March as one of a raft of council leasing changes, which included moving all Baw Baw staff at the Smith Street Warragul offices to Drouin.

The council does not own the William Square or Smith Street buildings.

Shortly after the move was anno­ unced Baw Baw CEO Helen Anstis told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen councillors had instructed officers to look for savings.

"This council has asked us to… look at all the properties we lease from others... to make sure they are commercial, that they are providing a community benefit and that we’re not utilising funds inappropriately," Ms Anstis said.

Mayor Murray Cook said the pet­ ition would be noted.

COUNCIL staff will investigate a number of properties owned by Baw Baw to find which can be sold.

At a meeting held earlier this week councillors voted unani­ mously to authorise CEO Helen Anstis to investigate which blocks are surplus to the council's needs.

Level of use, location in relation to other nearby open spaces, level of access, master plan inclusion and maintenance costs will be cons­ idered during the review.

In the firing line are: • Lots 85 & 86 Blackwood Court, Drouin, • Lots 69 & 70 Forrest Street, Drouin, • 158 Hopetoun Road, Drouin, • 1688 Mt Baw Baw Tourist Road, Icy Creek, • Nilma Tennis Courts, Pollock Street, Nilma, • Lots 1 & 2 Depot Lane, Trafalgar, • Linear Reserve, Trafalgar com­ prising of Lot 85 and 2 Rose Court and 1­3 and 4 Edward Crescent, • 1 Saleyards Road, Trafalgar, and • 272 Sutton Street Warragul.

Warragul ward councillor Mikaela Power told councillors car­ eful consideration would need to be made if land were to be removed.

"If we do remove a park... we need to ensure we have footpath access to neighbourhood parks," Cr Power said.

Council staff have suggested funds raised from any sale would be invested in infrastructure.

6 | THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN 11 JULY 2014

PROPERTY

For more articles visit warragulcitizen.com

11 JULY 2014 THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN | 7 Stay updated with email updates: warragulcitizen.com/email

|

Find us on Facebook: /warragulcitizen

|

Get tweeting: @WarragulCitizen

Waterford attracting more locals than tree changers

By William Kulich.

THE massive Waterford Rise development between Warragul and Drouin is attracting more people from the towns around it than from Melbourne.

Statistics released by one of the estate agents involved in the project suggest 61 per cent of Waterford home owners living in the new estate at the start of the year had moved from either Warragul or Drouin, a massive increase from from 30 per cent in 2013.

Almost all other new residents had come from Melbourne localities including Ashburton, Berwick, Cranbourne, Narre Warren, Don­ caster, Somerville and Dandenong.

Waterford Rise general manager Glenn Sanford puts the growth in locals moving to the estate down to the completion and opening of the on­site early learning centre and high speed internet access; a surprising conclusion given the activation of the estate's fibre optic connection took place very late in the period over which the statistics were gathered.

The early learning centre did however almost certainly have an influence on those moving to the estate, with 78 per cent of residents considering the proximity of childcare and educational facilities either important or very important when deciding to buy at the estate.

Unsurprisingly, families and cou­ ples make up 78 per cent of occupants.

The number of owner occupier residents, as opposed to owners who purchased land or property as an investment, is surprisingly high at 87 per cent. Approximately two thirds of those owner occupants were not first home buyers but people looking for a larger house.

Demographic data available for occupants of the new estate is surprisingly specific, even showing the occupations of those who live there. Tradies make up 46 per cent of buyer occupations, 29 per cent are "professionals" while managers and the unemployed each represent eight per cent of buyers.

Notably, 77 per cent of occupants considerd access to public transport to be either important or very important to them. Like most of Warragul and Drouin the estate has poor access to buses. The Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen is calling for improvements to local bus services ­ you can find an editorial exploring that issue on Page 10 of this paper.

The proximity to public transport would however likely be important to the 44 per cent of residents who did not consider workplace prox­ imity important when purchasing.

When completed the estate will house up to approximately 5,000 people.

Infographic: key stats >

LOCAL LIVING

Bad weather no dampener for community gardeners

By William Kulich.

A DEDICATED group of volun­ teer gardeners has made great pr­ ogress on the construction of the Eastern Park Community Garden.

Over 25 people braved cold, wet conditions last weekend to attend the fourth monthly working bee on the site just behind the Warragul Community House.

Group leader Donna Hallam told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen that number was average for a working bee and the group's dedication to finishing construction of the garden was strong.

"That's how many people usually come. Last month on a pouring, cold, rainy day we actually had 30 people turn up and work hard that whole time," Ms Hallam said.

"We had (garden) beds we rented on George Street from the Mawarra Community Gardens, and by runn­ ing working bee and workshop days there we've built a membership of 200 people."

The community is continuing to grow, pulling volunteers and respect from those living near the park.

"People have helped just because they've walked past, seen that there are a lot of people here building the garden and end up coming to the next working bee," Ms Hallam said.

"We've had locals bake us cakes and walk past and ask 'what do you

Volunteers at the Eastern Park community garden last weekend. Photo and front page photo by article author.

need?'

"We've said 'yes, paint would be great' and so we've been donated paint.

"We've been donated lots of things from people who are just living around the Eastern Park area."

Volunteers are learning valuable construction and gardening skills while helping out.

"We've worked on building this

garden with community help and volunteer time just so the comm­ unity feels they are a part of owning the garden," Ms Hallam said.

"They can come through in the years to come and say 'hey, I built that bed, I built that stone wall.'"

"We've run a few workshops, like... we had stone wall craftsman John Champion come down and show people how to build a stone wall, so all the stone walls you see

were built by volunteers."

The garden is overseen by Growing Together Baw Baw, which was granted $118,000 by the state government and $39,400 by the Baw Baw Shire to build the site.

The funding means there is a concrete completion date for the gardens.

"We've got to have this finished by the end of October because our grant funding means we have an

end date. We have to have things done by then," Ms Hallam said.

"We're having a grand opening on Sunday 26 October as part of Gardivalia, and we're hoping every­ thing can be done by then so we can really showcase the garden."

The designs of the garden have been updated during the build process to improve access to the garden with input from disability support services Scope and Vision Australia. Changes include the inst­ allation of a tactile map and wayfinders around the garden.

The introduction of aquaponics to the garden was another change ­ fish will be kept to help add nu­ trients to the garden.

Ms Hallam called out for anyone able to help with construction to come along to a working bee.

"We need people with hands and time to spare who can come down, even if it's just for an hour or half a day to help build the garden," Ms Hallam said.

"It's all very well we've got these working bees to help building the garden, once the garden's finished then the fun really begins because then we start running gardening workshops."

Anyone interested in voluntee­ ring can visit the group's website, growingtogetherbawbaw.org.au.

The group can also be found on Facebook.

8 | THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN 11 JULY 2014

FEATURE STORY

For more features, visit warragulcitizen.com

Putting the 'space' in Headspace Isolation a factor in regional youth mental health

By William Kulich.

You can listen to an audio version of this report online at warragulcitizen.com.

Mental health issues in regional areas are commonly associated with farmers, but how do youth fare in rural and semi­rural areas? Distance and the attraction of the city for young adults sometimes means those left behind have limited social options. This article looks at a key issue in youth mental health and how to address it: isolation.

Sally Walker is the centre manager at Headspace Central West Gippsland. Her branch of the organisation provides 12 to 25 year olds in Baw Baw and the Latrobe Valley with mental health support through drop­in centres and organised events to help combat a range of mental health issues, many related to feelings of isolation.

"What we know is isolation for young people is a big trigger around a decline in mental health, and we certainly know one of the protective factors against suicidality is ensuring that connectedness for a young person, so we know we hold that responsibility," Sally says.

The issue is big and so is the area the branch covers. Headspace is one of the most visible services for youth suffering from mental health issues.

In Warragul, the government­run service fronts onto Queen Street.

But while the group does its best to provide services for the youth in the region, there are issues reaching people in the large coverage area while coping with rapid residential growth in Baw Baw. "What we find, particularly as a Headspace centre in a regional area, is we hold a great responsibility around ensuring access for young people," Sally says.

"What we know is young people will engage in help seeking behaviour if they feel the service is going to be easy for them to access and safe for them to access, so the advantage we have currently in our Warragul centre is we are right near the train station, so that does help many young people to access our service.

"It probably doesn't assist for all of the area."

Headspace Central West Gippsland centre manager Sally Walker says isolation is a big issue for youth living in regional areas.

In trying to overcome the issue of distance Headspace has embraced social media and technology to reach out to youth unable to reach drop­in centres.

"If we are the first service that a young person has attended, we ask how do we engage them and ensure that they stay engaged. [Sometimes] that means via our Facebook page [or via] other social media and resources we have.

"We have the capacity for outreach, so it really ensures the remoteness doesn't impede them (youth with mental health problems) accessing [our] service and ensuring that connectedness occurs.

Surprisingly for a rapidly growing area with a large percentage of the population made up of youth, the Warragul Headspace centre is only open a few days a week.

"We currently see the challenge in Warragul is there [has been] a massive growth in the population," Sally says.

"We would certainly be happy to run a service full time should there be the appropriate resourcing that

facilitates that. We would certainly have plenty of young people coming through the doors, and we do notice already that over a third of the young people we see as a service in total [come to us] from the three days we are at Warragul, so there definitely is a demand.

"The young people that are in our Youth Advisory Group certainly indicate... the value of the service to us, so we certainly again would be able to resource that in terms of delivery if there were the appropriate funding that makes it sustainable."

Responding to the immediate effects of mental health issues is one thing, but identifying problems and providing long­lasting treatment is where things get tricky.

Melanie Krop is a clinical psychologist based in Warragul with around 25 years of experience in child and adolescent mental health services and in private practice. In her opinion, isolation is less of an issue than it used to be thanks to technology.

She identifies mood disorders as being the most common youth

mental health issue in the region.

"Mood disorders are the biggest target group in people we see, both privately and in the public system," Melanie says.

"That's anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorders [and] things like that.

"Often we also see a smaller proportion of early psychosis, eating disorders and personality difficulties.

"I don't think isolation is a huge problem for young people in this day and age. With the access to social media, isolation's actually less [of an issue], however in saying that it's also difficult in that people only seem to communicate through social media sometimes which I think is a disadvantage for young people."

Nonetheless, physical isolation can make treating other mental health problems more difficult.

"Obviously travel is an issue, especially in the outlying areas, but I'm not really sure. Young people depend on their parents to get them to appointments and some parents are more willing than others to do

that than others.

"I think it's a credit to young people to seek help. If your tooth hurts you go to a dentist, so if your head hurts, so to speak, you go to a psychologist.

"But then I suppose I'm used to talking to people about their problems so I don't think stigma is such a big issue. I do know that a lot of the local schools employ psychologists and councillors and young people often find it difficult to access them because people see them walking in."

Melanie says many services have waiting lists and she often gets questions about parenting support or group programs.

"I think there's not many of those programs in Warragul."

But when it comes to local treatment there is a curve ball option. Literally. The Baw Baw YMCA offers plans for good mental health through physical fitness. The issue, according to manager Michael Casey, is knowing who needs those programs.

"The identification of an issue is probably a major problem. It's an issue here, but I would say it's a societal problem," Michael says.

"We would have a very small percentage of people come to us and say 'I'm suffering from this' or 'I'm experiencing this, what have you got?' Tends to be that those things are hidden and I don't think that's surprising to anyone. But if we are able to work with those people long enough in our programs and services then there perhaps comes a time when we can identify those things and it gives us the opportunity to look at ways we can help develop that person.

"I think there certainly is some work that we can do as part of the Baw Baw Shire to encourage that first step. We're an access for all centre, we're an access for all community, we really promote that and look at further reducing any barriers that still exist.

People wanting to contact Headspace to discuss mental health issues can call 5136 8300 or visit 34 Queen Street, Warragul.

People requiring assistance with personal anxiety, depression or stress can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, or at beyondblue.org.au.

An ad this size in the

Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen

would cost you just

$57.20

That's full colour in 4,000 copies of the paper and includes GST. Interested?

Email admin@warragulcitizen.com

GIPPSLAND

Bass Coast

East Gippsland

Information centres disability accredited

Fighting paint with paint

WORK to improve accessibility at Bass Coast Shire's Visitor Information Centres has seen them accredited as Commun­ ication Accessible by Scope Victoria.

The accreditation was important to mayor Neil Rankine, who noted the area's tourism name was a key reason the council needed to imp­ rove accessibility.

"Considering Bass Coast is a key Australian tourist destination, it is important that we are welcoming and accessible to all, and this acc­ reditation shows how committed we are to do that," Cr Rankine said.

The Visitor Information Centres are now able to display the Comm­ unication Access Symbol, which helps identify places that are trained in communicating with people who can’t speak or are difficult to understand.

EAST GIPPSLAND Shire Council has commissioned a number of students to produce works of art in a graffiti hotspot in an attempt to reduce vandalism.

The murals, one seen above, were created as part of the Lanewayz Artz Blitz program managed by the shire with funding from a Department of Justice Graffiti Prevention and Removal Grant.

Five murals were created through

the program, which was delivered as part of the Personal Development Skills VCAL program.

Students from Federation Training (TAFE), Bairnsdale Secon­ dary College, East Gippsland Speci­ alist School and Nagle College worked on the murals.

The project aimed to give some specific creative training and development opportunities for the students while providing some positive role modelling in an effort to reduce illegal graffiti.

East Gippsland Mayor Mark Reeves said the project and the murals were something locals could be proud of.

“This project will see the delivery of some beautiful murals of which the participants in the project and the broader community can be proud,” Cr Reeves said.

“It is also hoped that the strong level of ownership and participation by young people in the project will have a significant impact in reducing the incidence of illegal graffiti throughout our shire.”

11 JULY 2014 THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN | 9 Stay updated with email updates: warragulcitizen.com/email

Wellington Agriculture position paper approved WELLINGTON Shire councillors have approved the council's 2014 Agriculture Position Paper, which aims to improve representation of farmers in local government.

Two thirds of Wellington is made up of farmland with the agricultural industry ranking as the second largest employer in the region.

The paper was developed with the aid of an independent cons­ ultant through discussions with pr­ oducers and a comprehensive survey.

Key issues identified through the development of the paper included a general concern about the future viability of farming, with a lack of confidence in younger generations choosing agriculture as a career path.

Despite that, around half of resp­ ondents agreed there were still opportunities for increased agri­

cultural production in the Welli­ ngton Shire area.

The paper will be used by the council when discussing agri­ cultural issues with state and federal governments, industry and other organisations.

It has already been used in a submission to the Federal Gov­ ernment Agricultural Competit­ iveness Issues Paper. Wellington was one of a small number of local governments in the country to make such a submission.

The way the council engages with farmers will however change. Well­ ington has removed its Farmers' Group meetings, replacing them with annual industry­wide meetings covering the whole shire.

But the council argues the paper will help represent farmers. In a media release a spokesperson said it had provided "a snapshot in time of the short, medium and long­term issues that farmers believe are impacting agriculture" so the cou­ ncil can better focus resources.

Stories by William Kulich.

ENVIRONMENT

Nature Note: local winter flora Words and photos by 'Gouldiae'.

Why wait for spring to see examples of our wonderful Victorian wild flora? There are plenty out there right now.

Many of our native wildflowers and shrubs are adapted to being at their best during the colder months.

Some wattles, hakeas, heaths and correas can all be found in flower at this time of year.

Look closely at ground level and many of the terrestrial orchids will have their strange flower heads open.

Mosses and ferns often look their best during periods of cold temperatures.

Victoria is home to about sixty species of ‘greenhood orchids’ and most of them flower in autumn

and winter. Greenhoods are terrestrial orchids belonging to the genus Pterostylis and grow in a wide variety of habitats and climates.

Greenhood orchids are pollinated by insects that are attracted to the plant and crawl inside the hood to get to the nectar and become momentarily trapped. As they crawl and fly around to escape, they collect pollen on their bodies before flying to the next plant and repeating the process, ensuring fertilization.

Any piece of heathland at present more than likely contains some of Victoria’s floral emblem, the Common Heath.

Epacris impressa was declared our floral emblem in 1958. Epacris means "upon a hill," describing the elevated habitat often preferred by

the species and impressa is Latin for ‘indented’, referring to the five small dints at the base of the flower.

Common Heath flowers can vary in colour from brilliant scarlet to soft pink to pure white and it is not unusual to discover a full range of colours in one location.

Correa lawrenceana, or Moun­ tain Correa, is an understory shrub or small tree that prefers wet forest habitat and flowers in winter and spring.

Its tubular flowers are mostly green­yellow.

There are seven or eight forms of Mountain Correa with the green flowering variety the most abundant in this region.

The species is endemic to Australia and is found on the wetter slopes of the Great Dividing Range

Common Heath at Erica

in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and in Tasmania.

Another Correa species that flowers at this time of year, Common Correa or Correa reflexa, is more likely to be found on the lower country and in more ‘heathy’ habitat.

Common Correa is a variable species and there are numerous hybrids and variations developed for the nursery trade. It is always a delight to come across the scarlet flowers on a low shrub, often hidden among other understory plants.

Many ferns look their best during winter. Coral Fern, Gleichena sp, is found growing in moist, usually highly humid conditions – creek banks, waterfalls and so on.

Mosses too like cooler wetter

habitats of course and will often grow on different substrates – dead logs, live trees, rocks, leaf litter, etc.

Dawsonia superba, Giant Moss, is the tallest moss in the world and grows to 60cm tall.

Mosses are flowerless plants that produce spores from a spore capsule. Giant Moss spore capsules appear on tall slender stalks above the canopy and at ‘fruiting time’ provide a fascinating image of a minuscule forest.

This is a great time of year to rug up and get out to see some of Victoria’s most wonderful floral species, and we have plenty of fine examples on our doorstep.

For more from the author visit warragulcitizen.com for nature blog articles and links to Gouldiae's blog.

Common Correa in the Won Wron State Forest

Mountain Correa in Bunyip State Park

Coral Fern in Nangara Reserve at Jindivick

Cobra Greenhoods in Uralla Reserve at Trafalgar

Giant Moss in Glen Nayook Reserve at Neerim Junction

10 | THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN 11 JULY 2014

COMMENT

Bus services more stop than go

Philip Radford of Warragul Bus Lines

EDITORIAL William Kulich WARRAGUL and Drouin are frequently touted by state and local governments as key regional growth hot spots.

The towns are becoming increasingly busy and populations are growing rapidly with people moving from Melbourne to settle in the country. Many are happy with the move.

But the question Warragul Bus Lines general manager Philip Radford is asked most often by these new residents is 'why is there no bus where I live?'

Mr Radford has lobbied successive governments to do for Baw Baw what has been done for the Latrobe Valley and create a viable commuter bus service.

While the Latrobe Valley has its services increased Drouin goes without a town bus service; the largest regional town in Victoria without one.

Warragul's weekday services are not much better, running from 9.15am to 2.45pm with only one bus in operation.

While services connecting the towns do run throughout the day they only make three stops.

A detailed report presented to the Brumby government in November 2010 suggested enormous improvements to Baw Baw's bus services. The document is not well known ­ even Mr Radford had to go through Freedom of Information to get a copy from the present government.

The report was comprehensive, highlighting issues including: • a "lack of coverage to... residential areas in Warragul and Drouin," • "limited service frequencies [and time] span," • "a lack of direct services from

all areas to the West Gippsland Hospital," • a "lack of coverage to outer­ lying communities [including] Buln Buln, Crossover, Jindivick and Poowong," and • a "lack of weekend services... and services to Noojee."

The report's authors even drafted new timetables for improved services, which included Drouin town services running from around 7am to around 8pm and Warragul town services running to a similar schedule.

Mr Radford told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen the present timetable was "abysmal" and discouraged people from using public transport.

"It (the Warragul town service) has been designed around the utilisation of a school bus between school runs," Mr Radford said.

"Town service starts at 9.15am, finishes 2.45pm and we run over four routes [with] a couple of trips on each.

"Every second day someone's ringing up about the town bus saying 'well how do we get back?' and we say 'you can't, you can catch a bus down the street and only have one option to come back.'"

Mr Radford highlighted poor parking availability in Warragul and Drouin as key reasons to improve services.

"Parking in the CBD in Warragul has always been a problem, yet that's the only option for people; to drive down the street to do the shopping," Mr Radford said.

"If there was a regular bus service they could leave their car in the driveway."

Public transport funding comes largely from the state government, and in a growing electorate represented by the Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, Gary Blackwood the inadequate

Poll dancing • Excellent How do you rate the provision of bus services • Okay in Baw Baw? • Poor • Abysmal

timetable is surprising.

The new bus interchange under construction at the Warragul Railway Station is, according to Mr Radford, unlikely to host any extra services any time soon.

"No one has said anything about it. I assume it will just be another stop for our existing services," Mr Radford said.

What is the point of the interchange, an extra stop under construction just east of Drouin and a new stop on the Noojee route if the bus services remain so limited?

A large percentage of people living in Baw Baw are youth under driving age. On Page 8 of this paper a story details how isolation can have a negative effect on youth who do not live close to town centres. On Page 7 statistics show public transport is important to people moving to new estates not presently on bus routes.

Mr Radford said the Baw Baw Shire Council was failing to ensure new developments like Waterford Rise and Crystal Waters had access to buses.

"I don't know what consideration they give to it because... there's been no provision," Mr Radford said.

"There are buses running right past.

"Residents who have just moved to the area see the bus go past, [call] and and ask 'why does it not stop here?' Well, there are no bus stops.

"I think the only person longing for it is me, the council doesn't seem to be interested."

While improvements are not made, Baw Baw will remain an inaccessible, car­heavy region stranded between the relatively well­serviced Latrobe City and Cardinia councils. The Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen calls on the state government to take another look at public transport in the region and fill the gap.

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY? Send a letter to: editor@warragulcitizen.com Text: 0457 971 103 Tweet to: @WarragulCitizen

Vote now at warragulcitizen.com

GUEST COLUMNIST Linda Mullett Kurnai elder

Our forgotten Aboriginal soldiers NATIONAL Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week is held every year during the first week of July. This year's celebrations focus on remembering and honouring our Aboriginal servicemen and women.

Although many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been strongly devoted and loyal to Australia, fighting alongside settlers in both world wars and other conflicts, our indigenous soldiers were not even considered Australian citizens until the 1960s.

They weren’t counted in the census, they couldn’t vote and were strongly discriminated against, but when the war broke out many Aboriginal people still tried to enlist in the army. While some were rejected purely because of their race or were simply kicked out during military training in spite of what was going on, approximately 1,000 Aboriginal soldiers were enlisted and fought in World War I. This set a precedent for World War II, in which an estimated 3,000 Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders served for their country.

There was also the Boer War in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It remains unclear how many Aboriginal soldiers fought in that war as many were so desperate to serve for their country they did not identify when they enlisted. Who knows how many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men served in the wars or how many were turned away, desperately wanting to serve for their country?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander people were there on the battlefield willing to sacrifice themselves for their country. The indigenous and non­indigenous soldiers fought and died alongside each other with race never causing issues on the battlefield.

However when they returned to Australia the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander soldiers still faced discrimination. Going to war still didn’t improve how they were treated in Australian society as a whole.

Government and public opinion saw legislation which ensured Aboriginal soldiers who served in the wars were not entitled to the same rights as the European soldiers and Aboriginal soldiers who went to war were not allowed to apply for the Returned Servicemen's Settlement Scheme.

There is an Aboriginal War Memorial plaque based in Canberra. This acknowledgement was set up not by the government but by a private citizens. It is quite hard to find and is about 10 minutes' walk from the Australian War Memorial.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have played a significant part in the military over the past century and they deserve the honour of remembrance, but they have truly been forgotten. Now the long­forgotten service of these men and women are beginning to be acknowledged and celebrated.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to serve in the Australian Navy, Army and Air Force.

Advertorial policy THE Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen is pleased to advise readers the paper will not publish unmarked advertorial content.

While uncited positive news coverage of advertisers is common in the news industry, WBBC feels it is important to acknowledge when

paid content is published so readers can make informed decisions.

Paid articles will be avoided, but if needed to fund the free paper will be clearly marked as advertorial.

Positive stories on local busi­ nesses will be run when the editor sees fit, not when advertisers pay.

11 JULY 2014 THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN | 11

ARTS & RECREATION

Jason Lives: Life after Trek

The ABC of Gippsland radio RADIO GA GA with Greg Pretty COMEDIAN Jerry Seinfeld said "somebody just gave me a shower radio. Do you really want music in the shower? I guess there's no better place to dance than a slick surface next to a glass door."

But that’s the thing about radio; it can go just about anywhere you do, even the shower. The portable medium is in the car, at work and in every room of the house, connecting us with the affairs of the day.

The radio landscape in Baw Baw includes community, commercial and publicly­funded stations, all of which approach the medium in very different ways and will be explored every month in this column.

ABC Gippsland content manager

Joe Menzel, Luke Woodhouse and Gav Jacobs are back in the studio. Photo by interviewer.

Three years after releasing The Star Trek Conspiracy, Warragul­based punk band Jason Lives is back in the studio recording a new CD. The Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen caught up with Luke Woodhouse, Gav Jacobs and band newcomer Joe Menzel to talk about it.

MARKETS

William Kulich (WBBC): What have you been doing since Trek?

Gav Jacobs: Six months after we released the last CD our previous guitarist, Ross, decided he wanted to move on. So from then on we were sort of stuck for a while.

Then I bumped into Joe at a wedding and we got talking and he was like 'oh, I'd be keen to play.'

Joe Menzel: Luke and I used to be in another band in high school, 1999 to 2001, Squeezer Juice we were called, and for a few reasons we stopped playing but we didn't break up. I thought playing music again with Luke would be cool.

Luke Woodhouse: This band has a real complicated, incestuous background I think. The original version of this band was formed in 1996 and broke up in 1999, and when that broke up Joe and I formed Squeezer Juice which went from '99 until sort of 2001, and then myself and Ross talked about getting Jason Lives back together.

WBBC: Recently you have been involved in some band competitions in Melbourne. How have they gone?

Luke: They've gone pretty good in many respects. For us it's been a fun opportunity to play with bands we hadn't heard of before and reach a whole new audience that wouldn't usually show up to a punk show. A lot of them might show up to see an acoustic performance... and they get stuck with us three guys playing punk music and carrying on like fools and they actually like it.

Joe: We've been playing a lot of

SATURDAY 19 JULY 2014 Civic Park, Drouin Phone: 0419 428 564

shows lately. It's all been really great experience getting back on stage.

Luke: I think the hard thing for us is being a band that is in many respects out of the loop. You could say Warragul­based... but we're not really ingrained into the Melbourne scene, so we're always looking for opportunities to break in.

WBBC: Where do you see the band being in the next few years?

Gav: Pretty much every show we've done for the last two years has been Melbourne­based. We're just going to push as hard as we can and just flog ourselves, basically, around Melbourne and do as many shows as we can... and just keep plugging away until hopefully it takes us somewhere.

Luke: The problem for this band has always been we've all got busy lives... and it's really hard for us to keep the momentum going. We've found in the past we've had a good run where we've even done shows interstate and something happens that makes us have to put a hold on things for about six months or whatever, and when we come back all the bands we used to play with have broken up or the venues have closed down. Once we get this new CD done and under our belts it will be time to really get out there and start doing as many shows as possible. This is the time for us to really push it further than we have before but, at the end of the day, so long as we enjoy doing what we're doing we will keep on going.

Listen: www.jasonlives.net

Try this on for size...

An ad this size in the

Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen

would cost you just

$79.20

That's full colour in 4,000 copies of the paper and includes GST! Interested?

Email admin@warragulcitizen.com

and breakfast presenter Sian Gard says "radio allows a person, wherever they are, to be connected to the issues and stories that impact them.

"We live in a global community where the politics, war, social issues and more of one country can have a direct impact on the way we do business and live our lives locally.

"Radio can connect you with the bigger picture and... allow the local issues to be examined in interesting, entertaining and in­depth ways."

ABC Gippsland broadcasts locally­produced Breakfast and Morning programs on 100.7 FM. "The beauty of Local Radio is that it’s local," Ms Gard says.

"Voices which might never get a chance to be heard on a metropolitan station tend to be the

lifeblood of the content that is produced in regional Australia.

"The global media landscape is changing so quickly that sometimes it’s hard to keep up with those changes.

"Radio is one medium that is evolving, but the core stays the same: tell stories that are relevant, interesting, entertaining and most importantly, tell stories that matter."

Of course some listeners just want to be entertained and amused.

Commercial stations like 3GG and Star FM can meet that need, depending on a listener’s music taste and whether they think the drive­time comedians are actually funny.

Greg has worked in the radio industry for 38 years.

What's on Swamp Juice

Drouin Craft and Produce Market

The Australian Ballet Presents: The Dancers Company ­ Classical Triple Bill

Warragul Famers' Market SATURDAY 19 JULY 2014 Civic Park, Warragul

Web: warragulfarmersmarket.com.au

Yarragon Market SUNDAY 27 JULY 2014 Yarragon Public Hall

Longwarry Fire Brigade Market

SUNDAY 3 AUGUST 2014 Bennett Street, Longwarry

EVENTS

Back to Yarragon ­ History Meets Art exhibition WEDNESDAY 2 JULY until SUNDAY 27 JULY Yarragon Station Gallery

MONDAY 14 JULY West Gippsland Arts Centre Swamp Juice: a shadow puppet comedy, about one man's romp through a swamp. Swamp Juice is the second production from acclaimed Canadian­born performer, Jeff Achtem. Using bits of rubbish and household items, Jeff creates stories in shadow puppetry. All of the puppetry is performed in front of the screen, so the audience gets a peek at how each silhouette is made.

An exhibition of Yarragon memorabilia, old photos and artwork have been curated to celebrate the opening of the Baw Baw Arts Alliance's new Yarragon Station Gallery. The BBAA moved to the new address earlier this month.

wgac.com.au for deets

The Phantom of the Opera

THURSDAY 17 JULY and FRIDAY 18 JULY West Gippsland Arts Centre

FRIDAY 11 JULY and SATURDAY 12 JULY West Gippsland Arts Centre

Sophisticated, macabre, visceral and uncompromising, Sweeney Todd nevertheless has a great sense of fun, mixing intense drama with howlingly funny moments of dark humour: audiences find themselves laughing hysterically one moment and gasping in surprise the next.

Warragul Theatre Company is back with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera.

Backed by a fabulous orchestra, you will truly feel the power of the music of the night as this piece of musical magic takes the stage. wgac.com.au for deets

Baw Baw Blues Club Jam SUNDAY 13 JULY 2pm ­ 6pm Darnum Hotel Free Monthly jam session for lovers of blues music. New players are encouraged to jam alongside some more seasoned blues hounds to learn and enjoy the fun of playing with other musicians.

Back line is provided so just bring your instruments and your love of blues.

Warragul Regional College presents Sweeney Todd

Call 5623 3300 for tix

Planet Ark National Tree Day in Neerim South SUNDAY 27 JULY 10am ­ 3pm Neerim South Wetlands Free

TUESDAY 29 JULY and WEDNESDAY 30 JULY West Gippsland Arts Centre The Dancers Company is the regional touring arm of The Australian Ballet, featuring guest artists from The Australian Ballet and graduating students from The Australian Ballet School. The company will dazzle West Gippslanders with a triple bill of ballet gems. Triple Bill includes Swan Lake (Act 3), Rimbombo and Paquita. wgac.com.au for deets

Walhalla Vinter Ljusfest

FRIDAY 1 AUGUST until SUNDAY 31 AUGUST Free for lighting displays The Valley of the Gods shines in August with special lighting, moving images and sound. The display occurs every night starting at 6.30pm. The theme for 2014 is 'China'. visitwalhalla.com for deets

The Delltones SATURDAY 2 AUGUST 8pm West Gippsland Arts Centre

Join other volunteers at Neerim South Wetlands for some tree planting and a BBQ.

More than 50 years on The Delltones are still enchanting and entertaining audiences playing and celebrating Rock ’n’ Roll.

tinyurl.com/jwhxwcz for details

wgac.com.au for deets

12 | THE WARRAGUL & BAW BAW CITIZEN 11 JULY 2014

SPORT

More news online: warragulcitizen.com

Warragul United out of grounds

By William Kulich.

WARRAGUL United Soccer Club president Peter O'Dea is pleased with how his club is performing having finally completed its move to the Metropolitan League at the start of the year.

The Seniors and Reserves teams made the switch from the Gippsland League over a decade ago, but the Women's and junior teams only made the switch recently.

Mr O'Dea told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen the final move had been made because "we felt it was time to bring the rest of the club down [to Melbourne] with us."

"I think it's been the best move for the club," Mr O'Dea said.

"We moved all our juniors and women to go into Melbourne with our seniors.

"So far our Under 14 Boys have [played] really well and our girls are up near the top of the ladder, and a couple of other junior teams are getting up there.

"The Women's team has scored something like 58 goals for and only two against, so they've really gone ahead leaps and bounds this year, and they're going to do very well this year as far as getting promotion is concerned."

Mr O'Dea said the club had outgrown the Gippsland League.

"The Gippsland League has deteriorated a little bit, not bagging the Gippsland league either, but we as as a club thought it would be better to have all of us in together,"

Warragul United Soccer Club president Peter O’Dea and secretary Paul Sheean. Photo by article author.

Mr O'Dea said.

Club secretary Paul Sheean said "that's why we've been able to attract so many better Gippsland kids to come and play for Warragul."

"They're getting that better exposure from playing in metropolitan competitions," Mr

Sheean said.

"It has been a great move and something we didn't know if we were going to get through, but... it's been good," Mr O'Dea said.

The next big challenge for the club is finding room to expand, with the present Baxter Park facility now considered too small.

"The facility itself is good here but we don't have enough grounds to have the whole club together all the time," Mr O'Dea said.

"The club's looking in a positive matter (sic), the only downfall for us is the lack of extra grounds.

"We've got kids playing on a different area, duty of care makes it

CITIZEN OF THE MONTH

hard [and] segregates the club. It's hard from that point of view.

"We are landlocked here and I think we have outgrown this clubroom facility as it is now. We have lobbied the council, we do have a potential new location in the pipeline, and that's where we intend to push our soccer club out to.

"Hopefully we'll get the four grounds and everything we need, we need it for our club to survive."

Facilities have not been able to accommodate the growing club.

"We don't have lady referee change rooms [and] the higher we go up in Metropolitan League the worse our conditions are," Mr O'Dea said.

"You have to cater to stringent rules. We do have to improve or relocate to make our club prosper."

But looking at positives with the season just over half completed, Mr O'Dea hopes many Warragul United teams will be promoted soon.

"I would like to think the seniors would hopefully get promotion into State 1, that's one of our major aims at the moment.

"I would like to see our women get promoted from State 4 into State 3. I would also like to see our Under 14 Boys get up near the top half... of the A League.

"The highlights for the year have probably been the amount of quality we have picked up right across the board.

"We're still up near the top two or top three clubs in State 2, which is a pretty high standard."

Know someone whose work or story you think deserves highlighting?

Email editor@warragulcitizen.com

Helen Sibley and DAWGG Animal welfare can be difficult to get right, a fact which drove Darnum resident Helen Sibley to form Domestic Animal Welfare Group Gippsland. Under her leadership a small group of volunteers help protect animals, even when funding is short.

The organisation has grown from humble beginnings, starting as a Facebook group before expanding into a fostering service.

"There were several reasons why DAWGG started," Helen told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen.

"In the beginning it was just a Facebook group that was going to campaign for better conditions for misplaced animals in the Baw Baw Shire as well as do some work toward some desexing programs.

"However two years ago some cats came into our care, three kittens that had nowhere to go, and we took them in and worked with the owner to get their mother desexed so there would be no other unwanted kittens.

"From there the [animals] started coming."

The group acts as a safety net for unwanted animals and Helen often negotiates with people giving unw­ anted animals away "free to a good home," concerned they will not undergo desexing and vet checks.

Desexing is a big issue for the or­ ganisation.

"Desexing is the primary interest

for me," Helen said.

"I'm frustrated that we're still euthanasing 200,000 domestic pets every year in this country. They're the ones that are unwanted and quite often those litters can be pre­ vented if animals are desexed.

"At the moment we're happy being a funnel so that a lot of the animals that would otherwise not be vet worked are.

"We're trying to get more foster carers involved so that we can take care of more animals and also to get some more finances flowing through the organisation so that we can cater for more animals."

The organisation presently has around 20 cats and kittens in care.

In the past it has coordinated the care of 38 cats and three dogs at the same time.

Around 150 animals have been re­homed by DAWGG. Every animal that leaves the organisation has had a health check and been desexed, vaccinated, micr­ ochipped, treated for fleas and wormed.

The scale of the operation does have its costs, but that does not

deter the volunteers.

"We do have donation bins in the Bendigo Bank (Warragul) and Boomtown Pets in Drouin and we certainly accept used towels and blankets," Helen said.

"We do have people who gift cat food into those bins and we're cer­ tainly happy to take small cash gifts.

"Our vet bills are enormous, we've spent over $15,000 in the last 12 months at the vet. Any shortfall is made up by myself and my family.

"We're trying to expand the organisation and get a committee of management up and running so that the responsibility is shared and some of the paperwork we find ourselves immersed in is shared... instead of the majority of it falling to one person."

Those interested in helping can contact Helen and other volunteers online.

"People can help by joining the Facebook page to see what we're doing," Helen said.

"We also have a Pet Rescue profile.

"At the moment it's about promoting what we're doing, and I

Helen with daughter Kamryn and kittens Lewis and Lorenzo.

Photo and article by William Kulich.

guess [also having people who are] willing to give up some time when the opportunity arises to move forward.

Helen is keen that animals adopted through DAWGG find their "forever home," offering a two week adoption fee back gurantee so

animals who don't settle in at their new homes can be returned.

You can find DAWGG online at facebook.com/groups/dawgg.

Citizen of the Month features locals with a story to tell. Know someone deserving of a profile?

Email editor@warragulcitizen.com.