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Miscellaneous

Letter to the Editor

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Dear Editor,

I have lived in St Marys for the past 14 years and have always walked up Richardsons Road past the recently drained dam.  I understand the dam was drained because of one complaint to TasWater that the water was gushing down the creek.  I have never seen the creek gushing! I rang TasWater, then the Council, and was told that a platypus put a hole in the structure. It’s concrete! Maybe I am wrong but I find this ridiculous. The Council told me they won’t reconsider refilling the dam till they know the structure is sound.

So are we indefinitely left with this dangerous smelly eyesore? And of course no one considered the poor animals and birdlife that drink and live at the dam.

Kate Almond, St Marys

Editions

46.19 February 27th, 2014

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Liberals Commit $2500 To St Marys Woodcraft Guild Inc., ‘Aware’, St Marys and Claude The Lawnmower Man, Lions Club Christmas Parade Report,  FVNH Op Shop Trips, Exciting Times For Break O’Day – Labour Party Announcements, Transmogrified,  Wrapped In St Marys Official Entry Form, AMIC, Fingal Valley Festival, Book Review, PMG Workers Way Back, Cagerattler…

Miscellaneous

The Say

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By Cagerattler.

Last week I was walking around town and was disturbed to see how overgrown the parks and general public areas were, and wondered what any visitors would have thought as they passed through or stopped for a spell. At one time I was a greenkeeper and know that this is the peak growth period of the year, but it’s also leading into the busy season and our Council has to be ready for this.

In contrast it seemed that the coastal areas were not to any great extent as overgrown in the public areas, as evident  earlier in the week.

On a slightly similar theme we talked at work about who is responsible for nature strips. Two or three different opinions came forth, all with valid points, but after issues recently dealing with workplace safety and occupational health and safety matters a whole can of worms appears i.e. legally, if whilst in the process of mowing your (Council owned) nature strip you injure  person/s, property of even yourself. As one of my workmates said, he found it difficult to understand why you wouldn’t want your strip to look its best and this was one of the few places that council maintains these areas…fair point indeed and as a couple of others said that if an indemnity existed to protect the householder, ratepayer or renter they’d have no issues mowing sometimes largish areas adjacent to their house. Is this the case though?…Is there an indemnity for such work and if not can our council seek to address that? For the record I generally run the mower over the small bit outside my property but given recent pedantic rules and regulations (bordering on insanely ridiculousl over the top rules on less serious risks) it made me wonder more about mowing and the real risks involved with that in a public area.

On the main point though, regarding the parks, Town Hall area and roadside verges not associated with properties, I hope the BODC will try to be a lot more vigilant than of late with this very basic and fundamental service that our rates must surely partially finance. Thankfully in the past few days some of this work is being addressed prior to Christmas…that’s good.

Finally, as this is the last Valley Voice for the year, I’d like to thank Wendy Dawson, our hard working editor,  in her first year in the job for being so amazing to deal with. She’s been great.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas/New Year break, not least Wendy and her fabulous crew, and all things being equal, see you in 2014…

What do you think? Rod McGiveron.

Miscellaneous

The Say

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By Cagerattler…

As we approach Christmas,  the warmer weather and holiday makers I  never cease to be amazed by the inconsiderate acts of some people out there. I do a lot of walking in the bush and all too often I come across  evidence of those who choose to dump their trash in the bush, even farm animal carcasses. Why can’t these idiots be caught and prosecuted? What about the native wildlife that can injure themselves, get caught up or eat remains that’ll make them sick? Then there’s others who visit our area and see the trash scattered in the bush or rest areas; that must make them think twice about us. A couple of years ago there were only a few places, mainly on Mt Nicholas that I found such rubbish, but now I’ve come across all sorts of stuff in at least four other places…If you are one of these people too lazy or cheap to use a skip bin or visit the tip, please stop – it’s no good for anyone.

Now the good news. I was fortunate to spend a few minutes last weekend with Heather at the Mad=Mudd, a new business in town in the old clothing store premises. What an interesting and enthusiastic lady she is and the variety of high quality crafts was incredible, all hand made and sometimes using materials that would otherwise not be  considered of great value, such as crushed glass. The other exciting thing is that Heather and Steve will be running classes later on to share some of these skills and will feature a kids’ corner for our talented local kids. Let’s hope the new  business flourishes. Heather also mentioned that it was important to cater for local clientèle as much as tourists so go and have a look – you won’t be disappointed.

Finally to the respondent to my comments two issues back. I hope your questions were answered in the most recent Valley Voice on the Streetscape issue. Whilst I don’t agree with all your response I can see some good points you make and appreciate your time to write in and express your views..That’s great, and thanks.

What do you think?  Rod McGiveron.

Miscellaneous

Letter to the Editor

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Dear Editor

I was very pleased to see nearly 40 people come to  St Marys Town hall on 10th November for the screening of  “Mary Meets Mohammad”. It was a great opportunity for people to become more educated on the asylum seeker issue occurring in Australia at the moment.  Did you know Australia is the only western nation that has mandatory indefinite detention for asylum seekers arriving by boat?  Did you know Australia receives only 0.3% of the world’s refugees?  Did you know that it costs $450,000 a year to detain someone on Nauru or Manus Island, but only about $30,000 a year if they were  allowed to live in the  community while being processed?

Many thanks to Melanie Norton and her wonderful team from the Salvation Army (Don and Stuart) for providing the electronic equipment for the screening, and thanks to the lovely ladies (I believe it was Michelle, Brittany and Wendy) who helped set up the chairs.  Also, thanks to the Break O’Day Council for providing a fee waiver for the hire of the hall.  Several people have suggested a local group should be formed that could find ways to encourage asylum seekers to come to our area – anyone interested?

Remember, it is not illegal to seek asylum, even if arriving by boat.

Hannah Rubenach, St Marys.

Miscellaneous

The Say

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By Cagerattler…

I try to look at things half full not half empty but I think two things need to be prioritised in the beautiful valley we live in. Both are   related to local government – Streetscape and Camping Grounds (not forgetting Fingal). GET ON WITH IT!

It’s annoying when things stall, even if only  temporarily, but after all the work done by a dedicated crew of  locals and  Councillors it seems that it’ll be a while yet before much more happens on the Streetscape in particular…Is it all to do with the row over parallel/angle parking or sufficient funding?  Time is ticking people…We have major investment happening in the valley over the next few years through mining and tourism, and we need this to be reflected in the continual upgrading of the towns most concerned, Fingal and St Marys, not down the coast somewhere.  I’d love a representative from Council to come out and say that the projects  involved in Streetscape are still well and truly going to happen and that Fingal will not be forgotten either…let’s hear it!

With the Camping Area improvements at the Recreation Ground over recent years the Council should take a lot of credit, well deserved for what we all knew was going to be a winner. There’s still an awful lot to consider and do over there, and these issues can’t be left forever; small steps can lead to huge leaps.  Surely the same applies to  Streetscape? Recently the Campervan people revisited and were catered for  fantastically by the St Marys Sports Centre, which was great for their profile.  It was a terrific weekend all round…this is how it can be done and now it’s time for Council to look at the ‘big picture’ for our valley towns and market and accommodate for needs accordingly.  After all isn’t that what  they’re supposed to be doing anyway…?

What do you think? Rod McGiveron.

Miscellaneous

The Say

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By Cagerattler

A few weeks ago I was talking to a person who was for a time quite heavily involved in the St Marys Streetscape. He was concerned that the Streetscape may well be delayed further. I hope that this doesn’t mean that it will NEVER happen – that would be a terrible thing. Small towns like ours need to not be forgotten and over the years, not just here of course, but in lots of small communities things get put on the backburner.

The Streetscape goes back quite a way. Without researching dates and so on I’d suggest 15-20 years since the first design plan was done by a dedicated group of locals and a group of young planners from Hobart. The SMACD  (St Marys Association for Community Development) team and the town planners of those days created what most people thought was a plan that would enhance this town as a place where people would not just want to ‘pass through’ but would be a place to “go to” or “stop at”.  Whilst a few improvements have been made here and there, the overall nuts and bolts of the original Streetscape or the more recent Streetscape concepts have not been implemented.

One of the major sticking points for any of it to work is of course  the issues and red tape over car parking. The age old debate over angle or otherwise types of parking cars has to have a direct bearing on whether any street improvement plan can go ahead. I wonder if we could resolve such a sticky issue for the greater good or if in five years’ time we will still be arguing over the same matters and wondering too if any street improvement plan, to make this 156 year old town a more attractive place, will still be under debate.

I also hope that someone from Council would like to fill us in on the current status of the Streetscape – whether it’s scheduled, delayed, scrapped or otherwise… Gee it’d be nice to know wouldn’t it?

One other quick mention…To the idiots who once again dumped their rubbish in the bush rather than putting it in the skip bin or spending a couple of bucks at the tip…SHAME ON YOU.  I can’t believe how stupid and thoughtless you are. I’ve seen two glaring examples of fresh rubbish being dumped around the Mt Nicholas tracks in the past couple of weeks and I hope one day you get caught and fined if you keep doing it.

GIVE IT A REST PLEASE…

What do you think ? Rod McGiveron.