By Amanda O’Hal loran

Executive Manager Strategic & Economic Development

SHIRE SNIPPETS

November 2011

OUTDOOR CINEMA — ON THE ONLSOW TOWN OVAL!

We have a huge new outdoor film screen!

All are welcome to come and see the

award winning family film ―Red Dog‖,

this years biggest Australian Film which

has made more than $21million at the box

office since opening in early August.

Based on the legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a

disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in

search of his long lost master. The Movie is set in Dampier and

tells a tale of ―true aussie spirit‖.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry—enjoy it with friends and family this Saturday

night On the Onslow Oval at 7.30pm! Bring a rug and a picnic and

make a night of it!

This is a free community event sponsored by the Shire of Ashburton

Hi Everyone, Christmas and the end of the year is upon us!! We have been reflecting in the Office today and Wow what a year, no wonder we are all a little exhausted! Chevron put on a lovely ―do‖ on Friday and the town turnout was good, the beginning of many new changes to Onslow. The children looked well catered for and happy. The band was great always nice to have live music in town. Cr Whites speech was very appropriate, asking Chevron to respect the Onslow way and respect our traditions and Onslow

way of life.

Council Meeting was held in Onslow Last week and was a very busy day, we had a few visitors to the meeting and a couple of public questions asked. There were a number of key items relating to Onslow that will see some changes to the way we can develop, increasing the developable capacity of lots of a particular size – look up the Shires Website for more information. A significant development application was passed by Council that will see an 8 unit multiple dwelling constructed in Anketell Court , this is a great outcome for rentals in the community and an example of the ability to increase the density in town. Council also agreed to rent out the old pink house for the next 18 months, to see it used rather than left idle. Vince Catania MLA visited Onslow last week and showed off our Multipurpose Centre to the Exmouth and Carnarvon Shires (they were very impressed and hoping to build something similar in their shires), they also attended the Ear bus launch a fabulous initiative sponsored by Chevron. We have a number of events coming up over the next few weeks – Screening of RED DOG!! The first of the Shires premier Movie nights, we have a new large screen so should be a great night, Carols by Candlelight and float parade – hope your all getting organised!!!! Christmas Lights Competition and the Australia Day Boat Regatta in Jan! Loads of things to get involved in, help out or simply enjoy!!! Hope to see you around over

the Festive Season

It is very sad to note that there has recently been some significant damage of the community facilities in Onslow. Many of you would be aware that the Water Park was recently closed after a water cannon was vandalised and needed to be removed and sent to Perth for repair. The closure caused a lot of inconvenience for members of the general public, however, on the weekend of November 18th - 20th, only days after the Park was reopened, another spate of serious vandalism occurred. On this second occasion, the damage was far more wide spread, and two of the water cannons at the Water Spray Park were broken, rocks and toilet paper were used to block some of the public toilets, pipelines were pulled away from the walls of the disabled toilet, rubbish bins were knocked over and torn from their holders at the basketball courts and broken glass was put in the sand pit of the play area. As a result of this damage, the broken cannons must be removed and sent to Perth for repair, result-ing in the closure of the Park for safety reasons, for at least two weeks. In addition, the damage to the toilets has now reached a stage where the toilets are likely to be closed as some of the plumbing needs to be taken up and replaced due to stones and other debris that have been forced into the sys-tem and are causing blockages. The Shire is very aware of the impact this has on the community and sincerely apologises for the inconvenience this will cause to the vast majority of the community members who use these facilities in a responsible and thoughtful manner. If any member of our community has any information about this, or sees anything suspicious in the future, it would be greatly appreciated if you could contact either the Shire or the local police as we would really like to try and prevent this from happening again.

Shire Clos ing Dates for Chris tmas !

Th e Sh ire Offices will be clos ed for Ch r is tm a s b rea k

a s of Clos e of Bu s in es s 22n d Decem ber a n d will

re-open on 3 rd J a n u a ry.

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The Minister for Environment and Water, Mr Bill Marmion announced Onslow and the Shire of Ashburton’s Waterwise Council Status late last week.

The Shire of Ashburton along with the Town of Cottesloe and the Shire of Mundaring have joined the 14 other local governments endorsed as Waterwise. This endorsement is the first for a North West Council and the Shire is very proud of its achievement. ―This program has been a great help in assisting the State Government to manage the growing pressure on our valuable ground and surface water resources, and I congratulate all three local governments on their achievement‖ Mr Marmion said The Shire has demonstrated its commitment to sustainable water practices through the following achieve-ments: • Enhanced water efficiency through improved irrigation practices employed in the watering of green space; • Improved water efficiency at community centres and other public facilities controlled by the SOA; • Improved household average annual water consumption in those dwellings owned by the SOA, through such programs as the H2ome Smart Program & water wise gardens; • Working on cost effective re-use and efficiency of treated effluent water waste and groundwater for irrigation; • Waterwise gardens; • SOA support and encouragement of water efficiency awareness programs; and

Monthly review of Council’s water consumption on all sites controlled the SOA. These hands-on achievements have also supported the implementation of the Onslow Water Spray Park, by reducing water use in one area it allowed for some of the saved water to be used to benefit families and provide a family space for the community to share. The SOA is keen to take waste water re-use further and has recently appointment Josh Byrne and Associ-ates Water Sustainability experts as chief consultants in this area. Together with Water Corp the Shire is keen to see all public open space watered by re-use water, freeing up Onslow’s valuable potable water for ongoing development of the town. We would like to thank Project Manager Megan Walsh, and Leading Hand Ken Grant for their support of the program and their hard work in helping the Shire reach this milestone.

Pictured: Onslow’s Leading Hand Ken Grant, and Project Manager Megan Walsh

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The Australia Day Boat Regatta is fast approaching and we would like to encourage everyone out there to

get involved and be in the running for $1000.00 prize money!!

Man made and man powered rafts of any description are the go - over the years we have had some very

innovative ideas hit the start line (alas not all make it to the finish!) But having a go is the Motto!!

If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact our Community Development Team

9184 9300.

Help keep our traditions alive!!

THE ONSLOW COMMUNITY GARDEN PROJECT

WINS AWARD

The Regional Achievement & Community Awards were held in Perth on Friday 11th November.

The Shire of Ashburton took out first place in the Department of Local Government’s Best Practise

Award for the Community Garden Project in Onslow.

SHIRE OF ASHBURTON created the Onslow Community Garden

and coordinates its maintenance. The Garden, built next to the school grounds by volunteers and the local work start program, encourages togetherness and celebrates community spirit. The TAFE, school and community groups all actively support the Garden and busy bees often see 40-50 volunteers attend. The garden is used for festivals, markets and events and is a unique setting that encourages healthy active lifestyles. Numerous

programs have been established to compliment the Garden.

*Representatives from Shire of Ashburton being presented by Tim

Fowler (middle) from Department of Local Government

I am very proud to be Patron of the Regional Achievement and Community Awards. The aim of the Awards is to identify, recognise and pay tribute to the achievements of individuals, organisations and communities that strive to make regional Western Australia a better place. The nominees will inspire us with confidence in their abilities, leadership skills and the contributions they make in our communities. These awards give important recognition to our community contributors and I encourage individuals and groups from all walks of life to nominate and get involved.

The Hon Brendon Grylls MLA

The Regional Achievement & Community Awards for Western Australia are about recognising

rural and regional achievers in your community.

Amanda O’Halloran and Pearse Herbert

accept the first place cheque from Tim

Fowler, Department of Local Govern-

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2011 Regional Achievement and Community Awards Winners

with the Hon Brendon Grylls MLA, Minister for Regional Development and Patron of the Awards

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NEWSLETTER DROPS The Shire of Ashburton is supporting the community by giving a different not-for-profit group from each town, every month, the chance to deliver its newsletter (the Inside Ashburton). If you would like to find out more please contact the Shire of Ashburton Tom Price office for further details on 91884444

Inside This Issue:

Shire President Report

Tom Price Community News

Onslow Community News

Paraburdoo Community

News

Pannawonica Communtiy

News

Out and About

INSIDE ASHBURTON

November edition is now online www.ashburton.wa.gov.au

If you would like to receive the Inside Ashburton electronically, subscribe to our e-list,

send an email to soa@ashburton.wa.gov.au.

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Its great to see more and more people using and enjoying our new Gym at the MPC. We would like to remind all users of their signed membership contract which states

that all users:

must have a towel with them for workouts

must wear appropriate footware (this means trainers - dirty work boots are

not appropriate, nor are bare feet or thongs)

a shirt must be worn at all times (you may have rippling muscles well worth

viewing but the shirt soaks up a little of the sweat…)

Please use the cleaning stations provided in the gym and wipe down all equipment

you use, this is extremely important for other users in maintaining a healthy environ-

ment for all to workout in.

Gym members are responsible for their access card. Shared gym access with a non member will result in forfeiture of membership effective immediately as will non com-

pliance with the rules above. Random CCTV and physical audits will be undertaken to

evaluate access card usage and membership compliance. If you see a member using

the facility inappropriately, please contact the Shire of Ashburton Administration

office in Onslow on 91846001.

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Hello Onslow,

You may have already heard that the Shire has engaged Josh Byrne & Associates (JBA) to work on some

projects, including landscape design for Four Mile Creek and the Cemetery. An important part of this work

will be engaging with the community. We want to make sure that you are fully informed and have the op-

portunity to provide feedback and ask questions. We also want to make sure that there are opportunities

for the community and local businesses to be involved.

We expect that as Onslow begins to grow and change you will be invited to many workshops so we have

decided to take a different approach. Instead, we will be using a combination of innovative communica-

tion tools and community events.

To kick this off, we will be holding a community event at the Sports Club. This is an informal way for you to

see the landscape concept plans for Four Mile and the Cemetery, ask questions and provide feedback.

Community Event:

Date: Thursday December 8, 2011

Time: 6.30 – 8.00 pm

Location: Sports Club

We hope to see you all there!

What happens if you can’t make it to the Community Event?

The JBA Team will be in town for a few days and you will also find us at the following places on Saturday,

December 10:

Cemetery: 8.30 – 9.30 am

Four Mile: 10.30 – 11.30 am

Community Garden: from 4 pm

Or, if you would like to arrange a meeting, or if you have any questions about these projects or other work

that JBA will be involved in, please contact our :

Community Relations Manager Davina Boyd (email: davina@joshbyrne.com.au phone: 0415912211)

or our Landscape Manager Morgan Gillham (email: morgan@joshbyrne.com.au phone: 0422864600).

The concept plans for Four Mile Creek and the Cemetery will be available in the Shire administration

building. We are looking forward to being involved in these projects and working with you.

The JBA Team!

JBA Team (L to R): Davina Boyd (Community Relations Manager), Stewart Dallas (Environment

& Sustainability Manager), Robyn Cook (Landscape Architect), Morgan Gillham (Landscape

Manager), Josh Byrne (Director), Yvette Canét-Gibson (Communications Manager)

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