The Chin Wag November 4 2020

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CHINCHILLA RACE CLUB RACING TOWARDS NEW SEASON WITH NEW IMPROVEMENTS ZOE BELL zoe@thechinwag.com.au When Don Critch and Kirty Mitchell joined the Chinchilla Race Club committee as president and secretary respectively, two and a half years ago they didn’t take the decision lightly. With a desire to run the club correctly and take it to the next level the pair can confidently say through a lot of hard work and stress they have achieved this with some recent projects. Last Saturday, October 31, past and present members, sponsors and special guests all gathered for the grand reopening of the racecourse where they were able to see significant upgrades that have recently been completed. The club has managed to secure $471,000 in grant money and undertaken nine projects. “The first grant we achieved was from the Department of Racing and was about $150 000 to secure a brand new inside and outside running rail for the track and a couple of new sheds,” Mr Critch said. “One of which will house our new barriers.” Usually having to use generators on race day, so they were able to hold race meetings, the club also secured a $5000 phase three power upgrade through the Stronger Communities grant. They also received a second grant as part of the Stronger Communities grant given out by David Littleproud which was $20,000 to allow them to cement one of the horse’s stables. “Earlier this year Samantha Leutton came on board as our coordinator, and she has hit the ground running,” Mr Critch said. “She has been very diligent in chasing down grants to benefit the club. “One of the significant grants she got was for $66,000 for shade sails which I think are a great addition to our club. “We were also able to secure our marque.” However, growing up and around racehorses and racetracks, Mr Critch said the most significant grant for him was the $149,000 from the Department of Racing for brand new barriers on a transportation trailer. With the old barriers used for the past 50 years, they were more than coming to the end of their life. They had no padding meaning horses could cut themselves and had no lower barriers so the horses could kick each other or even duck underneath them, both of which are safety features the new barriers have. “This grant is probably one of the most important safety-wise for our club,” Mr Critch said. “On behalf of the club, trainers, jockeys, horses and barrier staff, we have to say thank you to Wally Gleeson for his tireless work of hunting down the barriers.” The final major project the local club has achieved this year was their kitchen upgrade. Thanks to a QGC grant, a Western Downs Regional Council grant and the Gambling Fund Grants they were able to fix the building itself and upgrade the equipment inside. “We are a community club, and we support many clubs in town with our racing days and events from Apex to Scouts and Rotary to Lions,” Mr Critch said. $7000 WORTH OF PRIZES UP FOR GRABS ZOE BELL zoe@thechinwag.com.au Residents could receive the perfect early Christmas present for simply shopping local after the Chinchilla Community Commerce and Industries (CCCI) have launched their annual campaign. Launching just a week and a half ago, President of the CCCI said the Use Your Melon Buy Local Campaign serves as an annual encouragement to shop local and in a year were almost all businesses were effected dramatically by the pandemic, it might be the most important year to get involved. “The CCCI are dedicated to raising awareness of the importance to shopping local and supporting our local retail sector,” she said. “The Use Your Melon Buy Local Campaign has been running for quite a few years now and has a history of amazing prizes donated by local businesses to reward people for Shopping in Chinchilla.” The initiative works by CCCI providing participating businesses with prize draw entry forms they can then offer their customers as an incentive to shop locally. These entries then go into raffle prize draws and with a record amount of prize money up for grabs, residents are going to want to shop till they drop and get as many entries as they can. “This year we have worked with some of our larger members Origin, MPC Kinetic and QGC to provide $7,000 worth of vouchers as our prizes taking the pressure of retailers,” Ms Haig said. “We will be drawing $1,000 winners in both October and November and our Major Prize of $5,000 voucher on Christmas Eve which can only be spent at participating stores in Chinchilla. “Shop at one of the participating businesses listed on our website to enter.” The major prize draw will be run a little differently this year due to COVID-19. Usually drawn at the annual Christmas Street Party, this event is looking unlikely to go ahead this year so all 2020 draws will be video “What many people may not be aware of is the racing club doesn’t get one cent from the canteen takings on race days. “It’s just one way we give back the community”. Pouring her blood sweat in tears into the grants process and upgrades, Mr Critch said Kirty needed to be thanked for making the enhancements possible and seeing them come to fruition. “Kirty is the backbone of the race club,” he said. “The work she does is unbelievable, and I’m very proud and in awe of what she does for the club.” The general public will be able to make full use of the new projects at the first race with patrons since COVID this Saturday, November 7 with six races to take place. Gates at the Chinchilla Race Club open at 12pm, however, no tickets will be available at the gate. Patrons wanting to attend must prepurchase their tickets by visiting www.trybooking.com/BLWJW. streamed on social media. Also, in the past, winners had to be present at the Street Party for them to receive the prize and it would redraw until they found the present winner. However, this year as a result of there being no guarantee of a live draw there will be no ‘be there to win it’ requirement for the Major prize making all shoppers eligible. If your business would like to be part of the initiative or your eager to know what shops to spend your money at, visit https://chinchilla. com.au/ or contact the chamber directly. Pictured: Chinchilla Race Club committee members Wally Gleeson, Kirty Mitchell, Samantha Leutton and Don Critch. Advertise in The Chin Wag NOW - Call 0411 896 004 THE CHIN WAG - WEDNESDAY November 4, 2020 - Page 6
CELEBRATING TEACHERS IN A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER ZOE BELL zoe@thechinwag.com.au It's been an unprecedented year for so many but for teachers across the state they have continued to show their support and professionalism and resilience, striving everyday to do their best for their students. On Friday, October 30, Queensland teachers were acknowledged and celebrated for all their hard work on World Teachers Day. Chinchilla State School celebrations included a breakfast put on by the P and C and a special morning tea which was organised by the teacher aids at the school. During the morning Principal, Chris Gilbert handed out certificates to four teachers to recognise their teaching milestones. The longest-serving teacher to be recognised on Friday was Andrew Dixon who has been with the school for 30 years in various roles such as a music teacher, classroom teacher and currently as Head of Curriculum. "My job involved everything curriculum from the connections about what is taught in the classroom, supporting teachers with professional development and working with students," Mr Dixon said. "My job mostly is about working with teachers and making sure they understand the curriculum they have to teach, offering them different approaches and ways to teach in their classrooms to deal with the student's needs that they have in the classroom." Initially having a passion for geography and music, Mr Dixon thought the only way to teach both of those was to become a teacher. After trying the high school route, he found he didn't like it and was more targeted towards younger students and as a result changed his major to primary music. He taught music for nine years, then became a classroom teacher, spent two years away as a Principal at Hopeland before returning to administration after the school closed. He says the best part of his role has to be the students and the relationships he has created with them. "That's probably the best part of my day is when I'm working with students," Mr Dixon said. "Every day, they make you smile, and there is something that makes you want to come back every day and work with them. "They will say something, do something or make a strong connection with you. "Some of the kids I'm working with now, I worked with their parents when they were here. So there's a lot of connections for me at the school after so long. "I see our job has become much more significant than being a teacher. "Family environments and structures have changed so much, and for some students, the teacher is the only constant person they have in their lives. "They feel safe and comfortable with those people. "So not only is there the teaching aspect, but there's also that connection you make with students as a person as well." During his time Mr Dixon has fallen in love with the school and the way they pull together in adversity and difficulty and in the good times as well so he says he isn't going anyway yet. "I've still got a few good years of teaching left in me and I look forward to the years to come at Chinchilla State School," he said. On the other end of the spectrum is year two teacher Erin Fitzpatrick who has only been at the school for fourteen short weeks since the beginning of term three. Starting at an unusual time with students coming back from at-home learning due to the pandemic, Mrs Fitzpatrick said it was a challenging time however, it still has been enjoyable. "Coming in after COVID it was a challenging time to start, but it's been going well," she said. "Getting them back into the flow was challenging and then catching them on concepts they might have missed when learning from home which also made it hard to figure out where they were at and meet their needs. "However, my time has been excellent. "I'm in grade two, and I love my students, and they are the most rewarding part of my day. "Just seeing those lightbulb moments and developing those relationships with them has been rewarding." It has been a long journey for Mrs Fitzpatrick after starting in prosecutions it was a career change; however, once she found the perfect time to enrol in teaching at university, she has never looked back. "It's a very tight-knit group of people at the school, and everyone seems to know everybody, and it's friendly, so they welcomed me with open arms when I came in," she said. "I also really enjoyed getting to know the students and their families and teaching some siblings this year. "Teaching is challenging, but if you love it, it is the best job you can have, and I can't imagine myself doing anything else." Pictured above (L to R): Miriam Grace and Rebecca Drummond who celebrated 15 years of teaching with Andrew Dixon who celebrated 30 years of teaching Pictured left: Andrew Dixon cutting the celebration cake Advertise in Chin Wag NOW - Call 0411 896 004 Pictured above (L to R): Year 3 teacher Anna Hunt, Year 5 and 6 teacher Taryn Price and Year 2 teacher Erin Fitzpatrick THE CHIN WAG - WEDNESDAY November 4, 2020 - Page 7
Page 1 and 2: Chinchilla House N Tea Pre loved fu
Page 3 and 4: WESTERN DOWNS WINDFARM GETS PLANNIN
Page 5: CHINCHILLA DISTRICT POLICE NEWS A P
Page 9 and 10: ZOE BELL zoe@thechinwag.com.au It
Page 11 and 12: COUNCIL SUPPORTS YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR
Page 13 and 14: Public Notices, Tenders, Funerals,
Page 15 and 16: WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 4 ABC 6:00 News

The Chin Wag November 4 2020

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