High Country Herald - July 4, 2017
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CHRISTIAN COMMENT<br />
When life bites you<br />
By NOEL WILCOX<br />
Pastor <strong>High</strong>fields Baptist Church<br />
Where do you go when life<br />
bites you in the tail?<br />
Just before Jesus was arrested<br />
and subsequently was crucified,<br />
He said to His followers:<br />
"Strike the Shepherd and the<br />
sheep of the flock will be scattered."<br />
(Mark 14:27)<br />
It happened just as Jesus had<br />
prophesied with even one of his<br />
closest followers, Peter, who<br />
fled the scene when the inevitable<br />
happened. He said that even<br />
if everyone else was scattered,<br />
he wouldn’t. But he did.<br />
You can imagine Peter would<br />
have slunk away like a chastised<br />
dog with his tail between his<br />
legs.<br />
But there is more!<br />
After Jesus was crucified, buried<br />
and raised to life, He went<br />
looking for Peter.<br />
Why?<br />
To restore him to fellowship.<br />
To say, "Sure you failed, but failure<br />
is not final."<br />
Jesus described Himself as the<br />
Good Shepherd, the One who<br />
cares for His sheep.<br />
Where do you go when life<br />
bites you on the tail? If you are<br />
one of His sheep, you go to your<br />
Good Shepherd.<br />
In Him you will find healing,<br />
wholeness and protection.<br />
Winter garden school<br />
The <strong>2017</strong> Leafmore Winter Garden School was held at the City<br />
Golf Club on June 14 and 15. Toowoomba supplied perfect weather<br />
for the many attendees from South East Queensland, the west,<br />
Northern New South Wales and South Australia. They were greeted<br />
by the committee who had worked for 18 months to ensure they<br />
had an enjoyable two days. The President's Room was decked out<br />
in succulent arrangements and native flowers while the perimeter<br />
was lined with stalls offering a wide variety of garden related or<br />
fascinating objects and plants.<br />
Guest presenter was Sophie Thomson who is a dynamic and<br />
inspirational speaker. As dinner speaker, she helped us reach our<br />
record attendance at Wednesday night's gathering. During the two<br />
days attendees were entertained, educated and inspired by Sophie<br />
and six other speakers on a great selection of subjects. Brian Sams,<br />
Tim Rival, Leo O'Reilly, Debby Birach-Mayer, Anne Gibson and<br />
Barbara Wickes gave practical presentations covering a wide variety<br />
of interests.<br />
Thanks to the generosity of individuals and businesses and hard<br />
work by the committee members, Leafmore Garden Society managed<br />
to raise over $3000 with multi draw raffles. These funds will<br />
be shared between the Kidney Support Network and Understand<br />
Alzheimers Educate Australia.<br />
As chair of the Winter Garden School committee, I would like<br />
to acknowledge the support of the Regional Council and thank<br />
businesses and the loyal attendees of this, our ninth, Winter Garden<br />
School. - Joan Cahill.<br />
LOCAL<br />
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TRC budgets for pest management<br />
Toowoomba Regional Council’s budget for the next 12 months<br />
continues a program of conservation and pest management.<br />
Council activities this year will continue to help both the council<br />
and landowners gain ground in the battle against invasive weed<br />
species and pests that can be damaging to bushland and productive<br />
agricultural areas.<br />
The council is continuing with a co-ordinated biosecurity surveillance<br />
program from August 1, <strong>2017</strong> to <strong>July</strong> 30, 2018 with priority<br />
surveillance areas identified at Gowrie Junction, Bowenville (north<br />
of the Warrego <strong>High</strong>way), Irvingdale, Upper Yarraman, NEWS Mt Tyson,<br />
Rossvale, Purrawunda, Mt Irving, Westbrook, Wellcamp, Glenvale<br />
and Scrubby Mountain.<br />
Officers will continue to deliver baiting programs, firebreak maintenance<br />
and prescribed burning programs, attend regional shows<br />
and industry events to help increase awareness and ways in which<br />
everyone can play a part in controlling invasive pests and weeds.<br />
Business submission could refocus<br />
town centre development<br />
<strong>High</strong>fields Community Heart Project has met to finalise its submission in response to Toowoomba Regional Council’s Draft<br />
Cultural Precinct Master Plan. ABOVE: Wendy Allen, Activate Events, Ged Brennan, GenEngSolutions, Rev Phil West, manager/chaplain<br />
Brownesholme Retirement Home, and Sonny Lynn, Kat and Sonny Photography.<br />
Submissions on the Toowoomba<br />
Regional Council’s plans<br />
for a town centre and library<br />
precinct at <strong>High</strong>fields close this<br />
Friday, <strong>July</strong> 7, and a <strong>High</strong>fields<br />
business group will lodge a substantial<br />
critique of council plans.<br />
The <strong>High</strong>fields and District<br />
Business Connections submission<br />
will highlight the positive<br />
aspects of the council’s plans,<br />
but also the deficiencies.<br />
More than a month ago, a<br />
meeting of almost 300 <strong>High</strong>fields<br />
residents debated the<br />
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council’s town centre and library<br />
plans.<br />
The meeting had been called<br />
by <strong>High</strong>fields landholders affected<br />
by the plans, and it appeared<br />
that more than 90 per cent of<br />
those who attended the meeting<br />
were opposed to the council’s<br />
plans.<br />
The meeting was attended by<br />
council Planning leader Cr Chris<br />
Tait, and following the outcry<br />
from the crowd, he announced<br />
that the consultation period<br />
would be extended by a month.<br />
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While the reaction of <strong>High</strong>fields<br />
residents might have<br />
“stunned” councillors and council<br />
managers, the local people<br />
and their representative groups<br />
are moving to seek a better outcome.<br />
Jim O’Dea, President of <strong>High</strong>fields<br />
and District Business Connections<br />
remained positive that<br />
good outcomes could emerge<br />
from the issue.<br />
But he said there had to be an<br />
acknowledgement that there are<br />
deficiencies with the council’s<br />
• Our apologies for the non-appearance of the crossword last week - Ed.<br />
draft town centre and library<br />
precinct plans.<br />
He said it appeared that the<br />
council acknowledged that its<br />
approach to community consultation<br />
was not adequate.<br />
The HDBC submission would<br />
identify where the council process<br />
seemed inconsistent with<br />
accepted approaches to community<br />
consultation.<br />
“It is unfortunate that some<br />
council procedures were not best<br />
practice,” Mr O’Dea said.<br />
Toowoomba council’s plans<br />
for the centre of <strong>High</strong>fields are<br />
of vital interest to members of<br />
<strong>High</strong>fields and District Business<br />
Connections which has had<br />
a steering committee working<br />
with local leaders on ideas for<br />
a <strong>High</strong>fields town centre since<br />
<strong>July</strong> 2016.<br />
The group is in the process of<br />
developing a “community heart”<br />
which will breathe life into<br />
<strong>High</strong>fields, for both business and<br />
the community.<br />
It is aware that <strong>High</strong>fields<br />
State Secondary College and<br />
Mary MacKillop Catholic College<br />
will soon be graduating<br />
year 12 students, and without<br />
business, industry and community<br />
development, these students<br />
will have limited opportunity<br />
locally.<br />
The group is also aware that<br />
there is an opinion within Council<br />
that <strong>High</strong>fields will forever<br />
be a “dormitory” suburb of<br />
Toowoomba, without any opportunity<br />
to provide a sustainable<br />
community with employment<br />
for the growing population of<br />
<strong>High</strong>fields, and the nearby communities<br />
of Meringandan, Kleinton,<br />
Cabarlah and others.<br />
<strong>High</strong>fields and District Business<br />
Connections members have<br />
an opportunity this morning,<br />
Tuesday, <strong>July</strong> 4, to review and<br />
approve the group’s submission<br />
to the council due this Friday.<br />
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6 - HIGH COUNTRY HERALD JULY 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />
Phone: 07 4615 4416 - Email: herald@highcountrynews.net.au<br />
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