Established in 1981 as the
proudly serving Sunbury and Macedon Ranges
24 SEPTEMBER, 2024
New garden honours Mel Sunbury Heights Primary School unveiled a new music garden, funded by the school community to commemorate a former staff member. The garden was built to honor Mel Brand, a beloved education support staff member who died two years ago. She was the driving force behind the school’s choir and performing arts program. The music garden features a xylophone with a sheet music stand and other garden-themed percussion instruments. School business manager Liz O’Donovan described Ms Brand as a “colourful, bright, bubbly, loud, and loving woman” who greatly enhanced the school’s performing arts. The garden was funded through various community events, including Mother’s and Father’s Day stalls, a colour run, and cookie and pie drives. Principal Laban Toose said it was a passion project to memorialise Ms Brand’s memory, as she was a keen performer and musician. “It was one where an idea grew into a reality through the goodwill and the efforts of a number of different people,” Mr Toose said. Oscar Parry
Sunbury Heights Primary School principal Laban Toose, event organiser Liz Troost, and students Edie, Orlando, Nash, Ella, Autumn, and Dallas. Damjan Janevski) 431988_02
Pokie policy disappoints Kyneton bowlers say they are “deeply disappointed“ with Macedon Ranges’ new gambling policy, which will force the club to get rid of its poker machines. Under the new Gambling Harm Mimimisation policy those leasing council-owned or managed land will be forced to divest themselves of electronic gambling machines (EGMs) and their EGM licence. Kyneton Bowling Club committee chairperson Paula Adams said the divestment clause “ultimately puts us in a really challenging position”. “We simply don’t have the volunteer capacity to take on the extensive amount of work that’s required to … run the club without the gaming machines,” Ms Adams said. “We’re about to commence some strategic
planning, and we’ll look at all sorts of options but … a club like that cannot function on cake stalls and sausage sizzles. We’re happy for people to give us some suggestions, but nothing sort of jumps out at us immediately.” She said hospitality as a revenue source is not a viable alternative and that the club’s bistro is contracted to a third-party vendor. Ms Adams said the community will “miss out” as revenue from the bowling club’s gambling machines has funded sponsorships for sporting clubs, a community bus service, and in-kind support to charity events at the club premises. Ms Adams said community consultation on the policy was “very lacking” and would have preferred more direct consultation with the club as the key organisation affected by the
policy. “I’m happy for their policy … [but] it’s more about us being targeted, and I don’t think removing them from the bowling club is going to have the desired effect … it’s more about taking it out of their backyard.” The council put its draft policy out for community consultation in March through its YourSay platform. Of the responses, 31 were supportive and 36 were unsupportive. Councillors discussed the draft policy at their meeting on August 28 including the controversial clause requiring those leasing council-owned or managed land to divest themselves of EGMs and their EGM licence. The policy required council to discuss the divestment implications with organisations leasing council-owned land two years prior
to the lease expiring, with a new lease stating conditions and a timeframe for an agreed transition period. At the August 28 meeting, councillor Mark Ridgeway raised an amended policy that only required discussing the implications of the policy with lessees and encouraging them to plan for and relinquish their EGM licence and divest themselves of EGMs over an agreed timeframe. Then mayor Cr Annette Death said the change created “zero obligation for action to be taken”. Cr Jennifer Anderson also voted in favour of the original rather than the amended policy. Continued: Page 3.
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