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Joy unites in Harmony Square Tahlia Rielly and Elias Salas-Miles from Dandenong North were among audience huddling under light rain as they enjoyed bright, festive Christmas Carols on Friday 6 December. Harmony Square Dandenong was filled with a spectacular three hours of song, lights, entertainment and free activities.
(Gary Sissons: 447005) (Gary Sissons)
Pool power wins Once set for the scrapheap, Doveton Pool has now been officially saved. With a $7.5 million federal injection, the historic pool’s $14.7 million revitalisation is said to be fully funded. After a fierce community fight to save the venue, now the task is to breathe new life into it. Currently, the outdoor 50-metre pool set in vast lawns is sporadically open only on 25-de-
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gree-plus days from November-March. On a hot but overcast Friday afternoon last week, few were attracted to the venue. And on Monday (22 degrees forecast) and Tuesday (21 degrees) this week, the gates were closed. Last summer, there were an average of 136 visitors during 43 days of operation – a figure thought to be dampened by a lack of extremeheat days.
Next year, Casey Council is set to rebuild the outdoor pool and splash pad facilities as part of the redevelopment’s $7.9 million Stage 1. There’s talk of providing slides and toddler pools once again. Stages 2 and 3 include a possible beach sand pit, plaza, canopy tree planting, upgraded splash pad, playground, outdoor fitness equipment, barbecue, toilets and upgraded pool building.
Casey mayor Stefan Koomen has actively campaigned for saving the facility, including retaining a childrens pool. “It’s a huge outcome,” Koomen said of the federal grant. “The funding is there to complete all of the upgrades and make the pool a destination for families.” More on the story, turn to page 3