Herald 20171205

TO THE EDITOR
Volunteer firies seek financial support
Volunteer Rural Fire Brigades
are a vital service in communities
such as ours.
There are more than 36,000
volunteer firefighters across
Queensland alone, men
and women willing to drop
everything and put themselves
in danger to protect our homes
and businesses from fire.
Apart from the Government’s
supply of vehicles and their
maintenance, many country
and rural fire brigades across
Australia are largely selffunded,
so that each volunteer
brigade relies mostly on private
donations and fundraisers
to purchase even their basic
essential equipment.
There are brigades throughout
To find out more details,
please call 131 872 or
visit www.tr.qld.gov.au
Queensland using private
vehicles and/or outdated,
patched up or improvised
equipment in order to serve their
communities.
Volunteer firefighters Mark
Boddington and Paul Outen of
the Closeburn Volunteer Brigade
decided this shortfall needed to
be resolved.
Together with legal advisor
Kerrin Andersen, whose
husband Chris is a member of
the Dayboro Volunteer Brigade,
they have spent the past year
jumping through the legal
administrative hoops of setting
up a charity to directly address
this issue.
Unlike other better known
charities whose donations are
Farmers create employment
At a recent public meeting
in Oakey, farmers were condemned
for not employing onfarm
labour, therefore, not creating
any jobs in comparison to
mining.
This perception is wrong. Every
product sold off a farm creates
flow-on employment.
Dairy - Daily tanker transport
to factory, processing, transport
to retail, retail jobs, transport to
wharf for export, wharf jobs.
Beef - Transport to and from
saleyards, saleyard workers ,
stock agents, feedlots, transport
to abattoirs, processing at abattoirs,
transport to retail, or wharf
or airport for export.
Grain - Transport, merchants,
feed mills, ethanol plants, flour
mills, bakeries, breweries, wharf
for export.
Contractors are used for harvesting,
hay making, silage,
fencing and dairying.
Every vehicle or piece of
machinery has to be driven,
serviced, fuelled, tyred and repaired.
Administration, research,
agronomists, nutritionists, accountants,
feed mill workers,
seed, fertiliser, machinery suppliers,
electricity, personal living expenses
and the list goes on.
These jobs are all long term
Council library arrangements
Toowoomba Region libraries
will close for the Christmas period,
Sunday to Tuesday, December
24 - 26 inclusive. All region
libraries will not be accepting
2 - HIGH COUNTRY HERALD, DECEMBER 5, 2017
Updates from the
Toowoomba Region
Council Meetings
The next meetings of Council’s Standing
Committees will be held on 5 and 6 December
commencing at 9am. The next Ordinary Meeting of
Council will be held on 12 December commencing
at 10am, and a special meeting will be held on 6
December commencing at 2pm. All meetings are
at City Hall, 541 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba.
‘Tis the Season
Release your Christmas cheer! The region is
coming alive with the Christmas spirit and there
are events for the entire family. Check out
what’s on in your town at www.tr.qld.gov.au/
christmasevents
MBAC Maccas Mini Meet
The Waves Swim School will be finishing off the
year with an afternoon of fun events, mini races
and activities for the children on 8 December
from 4 - 5pm. There will be heaps of prizes and
giveaways. Free entry for all Waves Swim School
clients of all levels. RSVP by calling 4688 6330.
THRIVE
The new Thrive project aims to inspire and
encourage women and girls of all ages to lead
healthy and happy lives by participating in a
range of fun and social activities now available
throughout the Toowoomba Region. To view the
full activity schedule or to join online visit www.
tr.qld.gov.au/thrive
swallowed up in administration
costs or used primarily for
political lobbying, the Australian
Volunteer Firefighter Service
Fund, Volunteer Firies for short,
will ensure that your donations
are channelled directly where
they are required to buy much
needed equipment for volunteer
brigades across Queensland.
Initially, the AVFSF will
target businesses with requests
for contributions, however
individuals are actively
encouraged to make a donation.
If you are interested in helping
with donations please contact
Kate on 0478 016 025 who will
guide you through the process.
Our website www.avfsf.org.au
is currently under construction.
sustainable as long as there are
farmers.
So no, we are not selfish individuals
living our life with no
consideration for anyone else.
Surely, the jobs associated
with agriculture, and the people
who are employed in them, have
the same value in society as jobs
associated with mining.
Most farmers support local
businesses. Take these businesses
out of local towns, especially
ones like Oakey, and the results
will be devastating. - Desley
Spies, Kulpi.
library material returns during
this period.
Toowoomba City Library will
resume normal operating hours,
and Highfields and Oakey libraries
will be opening with reduced
hours from Wednesday, December
27. All libraries will re-open
on Tuesday January 2, with
usual opening hours.
Coalbank
Christmas tree
Coalbank Christmas tree on
Saturday, November 25, was a
successful event with a barbecue
and Christmas tree.
Children entertained throughout
with singing and dancing on
stage all night.
A big thank you to Jennifer
and all the wonderful community
minded people who helped
out making it the success it was.
Thank you Herald for your
support with advertising. -
Eileen Nothdurft.
Oakey carols
The Oakey Combined
Churches’ Choir will perform
their Christmas Cantata at 3pm
this Sunday in the Oakey Uniting
Church. Celebrate the Child
Who is the Light, a Christmas
Cantata, uses arrangements of
carols and music written by Tom
Fettke as well as narration to tell
the Christmas story.
Those attending will also have
a chance to sing carols. Accompanist
will be Mrs Sue Batzloff,
as Mrs Shirley Bernays, who accompanied
the choir for 61 years
is not available to play.
Musical Director for the past
21 years, Mrs Daphne Webster,
will conduct the group. The soprano
soloist will be Mrs Anji
Cain. Mrs Jenny Gordon will
read the narrative.
An offering will be given to St
Monica’s School to buy resources
for the school’s Religious
Education program. Children
from all denominations attend
the school. A shared afternoon
tea will follow. All are invited.
- Daphne Webster.
Get Moving
We’ve introduced a new class to the change
project at Highfields! Get moving at the $3
Fitness bootcamp classes, Mon & Wed, 9-10am,
Highfields Sport & Recreation Park, contact
Sammy 0499 911 556, sam_thompson_18@
hotmail.co.uk to join in!
Plus there are heaps of free and low-cost
opportunities to get active in both Crows Nest
and Highfields each week. To join or find out
more call 131 872 or visit www.tr.qld.gov.au/
change
Magical Parks
Discover the fun of Christmas at Peacehaven
Park Highfields, Pioneer Park Goombungee,
Centenary Park Crows Nest and Errol Munt
Sports Reserve Yarraman from 1 December
to 7 January. Get the kids outdoors to play a
new augmented reality game with a Christmas
theme. Bring your smartphone or tablet to life
by downloading the free Magical Park App and
discover a digital fantasyland for children and
families to explore.
Meaningful Mulching
Now is the perfect time to mulch your gardens
before the hot weather sets in. All of our waste
facilities in the Toowoomba Region have
beautiful mulch available for collection. For a list
of waste facilities where you can get your free
mulch, call 131 872 or visit www.tr.qld.gov.au
TRC_SEC_061217_HCH_16x4
Political candidates
Watching the recent State
election and the increasing dissatisfaction
of regional voters
around the State that are noticeably
giving their votes to the One
Nation Party, it was interesting
to see that even though there is
a growing number of One Nation
supporters, largely due, I
suspect, to an accruing loyalty
for Pauline Hanson herself, that
her party was unsuccessful in
converting this shift in votes to
actual seats in Parliament.
After witnessing One Nation
candidate Frank Ashman
stumble and balk with obvious
ignorance, unable to answer relative
questions repeatedly asked,
about how he would best represent
Oakey on several important
issues, like the water contamination,
local business, housing and
real estate, I can see why One
Nation struggles to secure seats.
Mr Ashman stated he wanted
to address drug problems in the
area.
When challenged on the fact
that by taking immediate jobs
out of the area that are providing
local families with financial security
and community stability,
he would only be adding to the
problem.
I was appalled by his reply “a
good person comes from a good
family upbringing.”
A response I believe, to be a
ridiculously misinformed and
insensitive retort to the issue of
drugs, alluding, that if you are
somebody that has been affected
by drugs that you are a bad
person from a poor family upbringing.
A response that understandably
invoked a reaction of personal
emotions from locals.
This forum together with One
Nation’s inability to secure any
electorates has highlighted several
things for me.
Men's Shed
A show of interest meeting
with a view to establishing a
Men’s Shed/Community Shed
in Crows Nest will be held at the
Crows Nest Community Centre
at 2pm on Thursday, December
7.
Men’s Sheds are community-based,
non-commercial organisations
that address social
inclusion, participation and
community capacity building.
Becoming a member of a
Unfortunately, due to the
weather forecast for Sunday,
December 3, we have postponed
the PEACE Cedar
Gift Certificates available
for Christmas
• Shoes • Clothing • Handbags
• Hats • Jewellery
SHOES • CLOTHING • HANDBAGS • HATS • JEWELLERY
Firstly, that Pauline Hanson
and her One Nation Party need
to more thoroughly screen their
prospective candidates in an effort
to providing representatives
who are better informed, have
extensive knowledge of local
and surrounding issues, possess
the ability and willingness to
genuinely and unselfishly serve
all of the constituents they stand
to represent and that these candidates
permanently live in the
electorate for which they stand,
not just visit for a week-end here
and there as it suits.
For your information Mr
Ashman, there are plenty of upstanding
community members
throughout our nation, who have
raised their families instilling
strong family morals, Christian
beliefs and high community values
that for many reasons have
become vulnerable and have
succumbed to the evil predators
spreading the scourge of drugs.
Drug abuse is not just specific
to the youth in our communities
and it is not always because of
neglect or reckless behaviour.
Drugs can affect anyone and
for a range of reasons, despair
and helplessness due to drought,
job losses, financial stress, mental
illness to mention a few.
Few of us have the luxury of
being Frank Ashman with bucket
loads of money and not a care
in the world.
Perhaps if your fanaticism of
shutting down the New Acland
Mine wasn’t the only agenda
pushing your political aspirations,
you could become better
informed about the real issues
that are affecting the many communities
in the Condamine electorate.
- Maree Scheuerle
Men’s Shed gives a man that safe
and busy environment where he
can find many of these things in
an atmosphere of old-fashioned
mateship.
And, importantly, there is no
pressure. Men can just come and
have a yarn and a cuppa if that is
all they are looking for.
Come along, we need your
support. - Peter Long 0423 276
810.
PEACE Christmas party postponed
Christmas Party until this
Sunday, December 10, at
Laurel Bank Park. - Genevieve
Allpass.
Shop 6, The Village Green, 10475 New England Hwy,
HIGHFIELDS, Qld. 4352 – Phone (07) 4615 5803
Open 6 days
- closed on
Tuesday
To advertise phone 4615 4416