Macedon Ranges 2021 Youth Award winners have been announced. The ceremony was presented online on 28 October. This year received a total of 33 nominations across our six award categories.
Willpower: young people who show real character and perseverance, especially in the face of adversity
Good deeds: young people who give their time and energy to activities that support the wellbeing of another individual, group or community.
Pure imagination: young people pursuing their passion for creativity through the arts.
Nicely played: young people kicking recreational and physical activity goals.
Skilling it: young people excelling in a mentorship program, workplace or business.
Well aware: young people who shine light on important issues/social causes, and raise awareness in the community.
The 2021 Macedon Ranges Youth Award winners are:
Willpower – Lara Vicente
Nicely played – Hugo Lobb
Good deeds – Siena Payne
Skilling it – Gisborne Family Dental Trainee Dental Nurses: Melanie Horvath, Lorissa Koleceg and Abbey Raynor
Well aware – Molly Consiglio
Pure imagination – Mount Players Youth Theatre Leadership Group
Macedon Ranges Shire Council Mayor, Cr Jennifer Anderson congratulated all the nominees and winners in the award categories.

“These last 18 months have been tough with almost everything having to be done differently and I know that young people in the Macedon Ranges are really leading the way in adapting to all these changes. “You’ve missed out on so much that would be normal rites of passage and other things you would do but instead of just sitting there, you’ve innovated, you’ve done different things, you’ve supported one another. “That’s why it’s just so great that Council can support these awards and we get to see and hear about all the wonderful achievements of young people in the shire. It’s really, really impressive,” she said.
The awards are available to watch on Macedon Ranges Youth Facebook and Council’s website, mrsc.vic.gov.au/youth

The Victorian Government is encouraging people doing it tough to apply for the one-off $250 Power Saving Bonus.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio has announced that 300,000 payments, totalling $76.6 million, had been made to Victorians since the program was established 12 months ago.
Eligible households include those receiving payments through the Pension Concession, JobSeeker, Austudy, Abstudy or Youth Allowance programs, or who hold a Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card.
The program provides a $250 payment to those who need it most with the payment typically transferred electronically into bank accounts or provided by cheque on request.

People who may not have a computer or need help applying can get help through community outreach partners − Brotherhood of St. Laurence, Consumer Policy Research Centre, Good Shepherd and Neighbourhood House, Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria, Consumer Action Law Centre, and State Trustees Limited.
The Power Saving Bonus is part of the Government’s $797 million household energy affordability package. It is delivered through the Victorian Energy Compare website which helps people find the best energy deal, with data showing seven out of every ten users save money by switching – typically saving around $330 a year.
The program closes 31 January 2022. To apply for the bonus visit compare.energy.vic.gov.au. If you need assistance with your application phone 1800 000 832.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio said there were still many Victorian households who are eligible for help with their energy bills through this bonus.
“This one-off $250 payment provides immediate financial relief for those struggling to pay their power bills.”
“We want to help as many vulnerable households as we can − whether that’s through a quick call with the Victorian Energy Compare helpline or by a visit to one of program partners.”

In an Australian exclusive, Bendigo will celebrate the life and legacy of the “King of Rock’n’Roll” Elvis Presley with a major exhibition travelling from Memphis, Tennessee to Victoria in 2022.
Elvis: Direct from Graceland, curated by Bendigo Art Gallery in collaboration with Graceland and supported by the Victorian Government, will run from March to July and draw visitors from around Australia.
The latest feature in the successful Bendigo International Collections series, the exhibition will feature 300 artefacts owned by Elvis including his military uniforms, a 1976 Red Bicentennial Custom Harley Davidson and some of his famous jumpsuits.

The exhibition will also include personal items like baby clothes from his daughter Lisa Marie, his first job application and his first-grade crayon box he took to school.
Elvis’ wedding tuxedo and wife Priscilla’s wedding dress will also be on display along with a stage costume from the acclaimed TV performance known as the ‘68 Comeback Special, and garments from his eclectic home wardrobe.
Elvis never visited Australia but his appeal was global and the exhibition is expected to attract thousands of local and interstate visitors to the Bendigo region. The exhibition will run from 19 March-17 July 2022.
Previous Bendigo International Collections exhibitions at Bendigo Art Gallery include Grace Kelly: Style Icon in 2012 and Bendigo Art Gallery and Twentieth Century Fox present Marilyn Monroe in 2016, which delivered an economic impact of $2.8 million and $2.6 million respectively to the state.
The exhibition is supported by the Government’s Major Events Fund, which was boosted by $152 million this year to provide an annual pool of $100 million to ensure Victoria continues to secure the best cultural and sporting events.
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said landing this exhibition was a major coup for Bendigo and Victoria and thousands of Elvis fans will be marking the dates in their diaries right now.
“Whether people come for the jumpsuits, the Harley or just to celebrate one of the great figures in recent history, the benefit will extend to cafes, restaurants and hotels across the region.”

Victoria’s aviation industry will benefit from an influx of new jobs as the sector begins to recover from the effects of the pandemic and looks to the future of flying.
With support from the Victorian Government, Australia’s largest independent aerospace composites manufacturer Quickstep Holdings Limited is expanding its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations at Tullamarine, having recently acquired the capabilities from Boeing Australia.
The company’s $3.94 million investment will expand the facility at Tullamarine and create 63 full-time jobs, including 51 jobs in aircraft maintenance and engineering. By strengthening local capabilities and skilled jobs, domestic airline operators will be able to carry out aviation maintenance that had previously moved offshore.
Returning jobs to the aviation sector will support growth and recovery from the pandemic, with the benefits to flow through Victoria’s local supply chain.

As a specialist MRO service provider, Quickstep is planning to expand its offerings with upgrades to the Tullamarine facilities, equipment and business processes.
The company aims to provide industry-leading advanced composite, bonded and conventional metal aircraft structures and MRO capabilities for local airlines and airlines across the Asia Pacific region.
Victoria’s aviation sector employs around 6,700 people and contributes approximately $1.7 billion to the economy each year. The sector’s revitalisation will be an important part of the state’s economic recovery.
The Victorian Government is backing industry-led economic growth including through the Manufacturing Industry and Development Fund that is supporting Victorian manufacturers to expand their operations and implement new technologies.
Building advanced manufacturing capabilities in the state will help create innovation, local jobs and economic growth.
For information on the Manufacturing Industry and Development Fund, visit: business.vic.gov.au/grants-and-programs.
Minister for Industry Support and Recovery Martin Pakula said new investments were boosting maintenance and engineering jobs, and providing confidence for a steady recovery in the aviation sector.
“The benefits will flow beyond Quickstep to supply companies and their workers, and the growth in jobs and manufacturing capabilities will entrench Victoria as a regional leader in the sector.”

Schools in Macedon will be able to pick the mental health tools that best match the needs of their students, with the Victorian Government’s Schools Mental Health Fund providing a suite of options to give students tailored support.
Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas has revealed the interim menu of resources and initiatives to be available to government schools in Macedon as part of the $200 million Fund, designed to better support students’ mental health.
Schools will be able to select evidence-based programs and initiatives from the online menu across three tiers of intervention:
· Tier One: positive mental health promotion, including initiatives like Active Schools, mental health first aid, anti-bullying programs and therapy dogs as whole-school investments to help create a positive, inclusive environment, as well as mental health literacy training to ensure mental health issues are addressed early
· Tier Two: early intervention and cohort-specific initiatives including cross-cultural responsiveness training, Arts Therapy or trauma informed care, ensuring programs cater to all students
· Tier Three: targeted support for those experiencing mental health issues such as additional mental health professionals, additional Headspace counselling, or suicide related support
As per the recommendations of the Royal Commission, the Fund will be implemented in all government schools across regional Victoria from mid-2022 and will be in every state school by 2024.
This comes on top of the Government’s completed rollout of a mental health practitioner in every government secondary school. Further, an additional 74 primary schools across Victoria will join the Mental Health in Primary Schools Pilot in 2022 – bringing the total number of schools in the pilot to 100.
A partnership with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, the Mental Health in Primary Schools Pilot provides schools with funding for a Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead to implement a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing aimed at younger children.
Work to reform the state’s mental health services is well underway, with a record $3.8 billion allocated in the Victorian Budget 2021/22 to deliver every single recommendation of the Royal Commission and build a system that works for every Victorian.
To access the menu, visit https://www.education.vic.gov.au/mental-health-menu-for-schools

More Victorians will be given the skills to identify and respond to gender inequality and family violence, with two new courses added to the Victorian Government’s Free TAFE program from 2022.
Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney today announced the new skillsets, which meet key recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence and support the Gender Equality Act 2020.
They include Course in Gender Equity, the first accredited training program of its type in Australia, to give workers the tools to promote gender equity in the workplace and understand Victorian legislation.
Identifying and Responding to Family Violence Risk will help upskill community services workers with key risk assessment, risk management and referral skills to provide an initial response to family violence.
The Government has made training more accessible through the signature Free TAFE program, offering eligible students fully subsidised courses that directly lead to jobs now and into the future. Ninety-three thousand students have started courses – saving $150 million in the first two years.
A further seven new Free TAFE courses will be offered in 2022, including in veterinary nursing, tourism and health and aged care to meet key government priority areas and skills demands while also boosting the Victorian economy.
Last year, the Government announced an investment of $631.4 million to drive economic recovery and increase access to training, which includes $163 million for a Skills for Economic Recovery package announced in July 2020.
This investment will create up to 60,000 new training places over four years in Free TAFE courses and builds on the additional 10,000 Free TAFE places announced in July 2020 as part of the Skills for Economic Recovery Package.
The Government has made a record $3.2 billion investment in TAFE and training to ensure Victorians have access to high quality education and rewarding career pathways.
Explore your options with Free TAFE at freetafe.vic.gov.au.
Women’s Health Victoria CEO Dianne Hill said the courses would help people responsible for services and programs, management and leadership to build their understanding of how they could lead transformational change, address gender inequality and family violence.

The Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ) is going from strength-to-strength with five new tenants bringing more than 150 new jobs to the precinct – cementing BWEZ as an engine room for growth in regional Victoria.
Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas today visited the BWEZ headquarters of Office Vision, which is expanding its operations to the manufacturing hub.
Office Vision is a family owned and operated business that specialise in fitting out office spaces. Its expansion into Ballarat will provide a large showroom space for clients, creating 10 new full-time jobs.
Civil infrastructure contractors Sovereign Civil will also join BWEZ as well as steel aluminium manufacturer Chris’s Body Builders and agriculture machinery specialists Cervus and Michael’s Group.
BWEZ is a $30 million joint initiative between the Victorian Government and the City of Ballarat to support the region’s economic growth over the next 20 years. BWEZ is being delivered by Development Victoria on behalf of Regional Development Victoria.
Once established, the new tenancies will create 152 new jobs for Ballarat, contributing to more than 450 jobs across a range of businesses through Stages 1 and 1B at BWEZ.
The new tenants will join laboratory equipment manufacturer Westlab, Findlay Engineering, Milestone Benchtops and freight company Kane Transport on site.
Victorian producer Luv-a-Duck has also set up at BWEZ, working from a recently-completed state-of-the-art facility. Luv-a-Duck has invested $20 million in its Ballarat operations with 30 workers producing retail-ready duck meat products including flavoured pre-roasted cuts in addition to the company’s operations in Nhill.
The precinct delivers 400 hectares of industrial land to attract large-scale businesses to Ballarat, which will build on the region’s existing strengths and help boost the local economy.
It has been designed to enhance business productivity, with an intermodal freight hub on site, access for high productivity freight vehicles, top quality infrastructure and access to the adjoining Ballarat airport.
For more information visit development.vic.gov.au.
Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas said the Ballarat West Employment Zone was living up to its promise to be an engine room for growth over the next 20 years, backed by strong government support.
“BWEZ is vital to the growth of manufacturing jobs in Ballarat – jobs that can sustain generations of workers – and the benefits flow across the region.”

Over 150 grassroots football and netball clubs across Victoria will share in more than $1 million as a reward for playing their part in keeping our roads safe.
The Victoria Government will provide clubs with up to $10,000 through the Transport Accident Commission’s Club Rewards Program aimed at supporting clubs that have promoted road safety throughout the season.
The rewards are a welcome boost to grassroot clubs following major disruptions to the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to the pandemic limiting opportunities to raise funds.

The program is part of the TAC’s 30-year partnership with AFL Victoria and provides a platform to speak directly to Victorians travelling hundreds of kilometres on the state’s roads every year for training and games.
So far this year, 182 people have lost their lives on the state’s roads, compared with 169 at the same time last year.
Clubs will use the money on initiatives including safety improvements, launching a women’s team, updating equipment and facilities, upskilling members, coaches and providing medical training and information sessions on topics such as mental health.
AFL Victoria affiliated clubs from across Victoria were able to apply for the program by showing their support to road safety throughout the season, including taking part in the TAC’s Band Together campaign.
Hundreds of clubs took part in the campaign by taking to social media to show they were wearing blue armbands for TAC’s Road Safety Round, despite the Round being cancelled due to Covid restrictions.
Clubs also shared personal stories of how road trauma had affected their club, including campaign ambassador St Kilda coach Brett Ratten.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll said grassroot football and netball clubs had struggled with interruptions to the past two seasons due to Coronavirus and the loss of important fundraising events.
“This program is an opportunity to support clubs and reward them for their dedication to promoting road safety and keeping their members and the community safe on our roads.”

The North Central Catchment Management Authority has created a new program aimed at facilitating and enabling NRM investment in local projects, and is looking for community ideas

The Business Development Program is about turning community ideas into action, by working together to identify, develop, and deliver NRM projects for the region.

“This is an exciting initiative for our catchment,” North Central CMA Business Development Manager Matt Dawson said.

“It provides an opportunity for community groups and investors to partner with us and leverage our capability, tap into our knowledge, and lean on our successful partnerships.

“It means locals can use our experience and reputation to deliver natural resource management projects in their communities, we can help them with funding, and we can attract funding for further projects the community has already identified as priorities for us.”

Mr Dawson said the North Central CMA has listed 12 projects ready for investment and wants the community’s help to develop more.

“We want the best outcomes for our environment and our communities,” he said

“The Business Development program is also about pointing the community towards investment opportunities for our region, even if we’re not the lead agency.

“We want to hear about your project ideas and how the CMA can help you get these projects delivered.

“We’ve created an online form so community members can submit their ideas and also identified themes to make identification easier.”

The strategy areas are those identified in the North Central CMA’s 2021-27 Regional Catchment Strategy: carbon offsets, connected nature, soil health, sustainable farming, and Traditional Owner engagement.

“We’re hoping to increase the potential scale of projects – covering larger geographical areas and attracting previously untapped sources of investment – and to create a consolidated pipeline of priority natural-resource management opportunities,” Mr Dawson said.

“Jump on our website at www.nccma.vic.gov.au/collaborate-innovate-invest-0 to find out more, and submit your ideas by Friday, 12 November.”

Nominations are now open for the 2021 Volunteering Awards, which celebrate the extraordinary efforts of Victoria’s hard-working volunteers.
The awards are an opportunity to recognise the incredible support volunteers have given to others during a difficult year – whether it’s delivering essential food relief and medical supplies or helping seniors video call loved ones, volunteers are the backbone of our community and we say thank you.
The efforts of volunteers, leaders and organisations will be recognised across eight awards categories, including for leadership, service, impact and teamwork.

A highlight is the Premier’s Volunteer of the Year, who is recognised with the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Award. The winner will receive a $10,000 prize to donate to a not-for-profit organisation of their choice.
This year Volunteering Victoria will combine its awards with the Victorian Government’s Premier’s Volunteer Champions Awards.
Nominations for the 2021 Volunteering Awards will close on January 14, 2022. Finalists will be announced on 23 February 2022 and winners will be acknowledged at an official ceremony in March 2022.
For more information or to nominate someone, visit volunteeringvictoria.org.au/events/volunteering-awards-2021.
Following consultation with volunteers and community organisations, the Government is currently developing a Victorian Volunteer Strategy which will underpin efforts to ensure volunteers are supported and make volunteering more accessible.
Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers James Merlino said if anyone knew a volunteer doing extraordinary work, he encouraged them nominate that person.

The state government is delivering the state’s biggest ever social housing build and calling on all community housing agencies to put forward proposals for new social housing in regional Victoria.
Funding of up to $300 million will be provided as grants to fund about 1,000 new homes across regional Victoria – to help address housing affordability challenges for families in regional Victoria and give more Victorians the stability of a home.
This is an opportunity for community housing agencies to work together with private, non-profit and local government partners for their communities and create stable and secure housing for low-income Victorians.
Local councils that identify opportunities such as underutilised council land, will be encouraged to partner with community housing agencies to develop proposals together.
These new developments, when completed, will be allocated to people who have applied for housing through the Victorian Housing Register.

This program is in addition to the recent $80 million in funding made available to developers and landowners in regional Victoria to put forward any developments or vacant land that could be turned into social or affordable housing – which has now closed for applications.
Further funding programs will be released in late 2021 and through 2022. These funding programs are part of the Labor Government’s $5.3 billion Big Housing Build, with $1.38 billion earmarked to provide up to 4,200 new social housing dwellings.
The Big Housing Build will provide more than 12,000 new social and affordable homes across the state – boosting social housing stocks by 10 per cent and creating 10,000 jobs a year.
This regional funding round is now open and will close at 2pm on Thursday, 24 February 2022.
To find out more visit the Homes Victoria website vic.gov.au/social-housing-growth-fund.
Minister for Housing Richard Wynne said the Big Housing Build would deliver new social housing homes across regional Victoria where families were facing housing affordability challenges.
“This is a huge opportunity for local communities, councils, community housing agencies and the private sector – to come together and develop housing projects for those who need them the most.
“This funding will not only deliver more homes but create local jobs.”

Victorian sheep producers are being urged to have a plan for how they will manage flystrike and seed contamination issues in their flocks this spring.
Agriculture Victoria sheep specialist Lyndon Kubeil said recent warm and wet weather was conducive to flystrike and seed contamination issues in sheep.
He said while timely shearing and crutching is commonly used to manage these, expected delays in securing shearers this year would require producers to have a solid “Plan B”.
Flystrike is a condition that costs the Australian sheep industry approximately $173 million annually, as a result of lost production, treatment costs and deaths.

Mr Kubeil encouraged sheep producers to consider other management strategies such as chemical options but warned that withholding periods that apply to those chemicals would need to be taken into consideration.
“Some sheep producers may have alternative crutching options such as the use of handlers or crutching trailers,” he said.
Alternate grazing strategies to manage potential grass seed risks was also an option for producers unable to secure shearing contractors at the optimal time.
“Farmers forward plan under normal circumstances, but it really has become a lot more critical this year, especially in terms of managing shearing and ensuring your farm business is COVIDSafe,” Mr Kubeil said.
Agriculture Victoria’s BESTWOOL/BESTLAMB network and livestock extension and animal health team continue to support the state’s sheep graziers to be proactive, flexible and highly organised to ensure this year’s wool clip goes ahead, factoring in seasonal animal health issues and the ongoing impacts of the pandemic.
“It is important for farmers to understand COVID-19 requirements and their obligations as employers,” Mr Kubeil said.
As authorised workers, farmers and shearers can continue to work during lockdown restrictions, however, a permit is required and agricultural workers must be able to show evidence of their vaccination to their employer in order to continue working outside their home.
Authorised workers need to have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Friday 15 October, or have a booking to receive their first dose by Friday 22 October, in order to continue working on-site. They will need to be fully vaccinated by Friday 26 November.

VAUGHAN was once a bustling town known as The Junction and the name itself conjures up images from the wild west, gunslinging bushrangers and miners duking it out on the muddy streets.
A decade or so later it was renamed Vaughan and in the 20th century has missed the title of the Spa Centre of Australia, but what happened and how did the title go to Hepburn?
The Junction started as most in this area with gold in the “roaring 50s” the driver. This small editorial appeared in The Ballarat Star on May 31, 1898: “The signatures of 106 miners in the Vaughan and Guildford district have been attached to a petition for presentation to the Mining Board in favour of the application by Mr Conrad Frank (on behalf of a syndicate) to dredge the River Loddon at Vaughan. The Spring Gully, near Castlemaine, has had a partial cleaning up, an average of 1oz per ton being obtained. A further lot of stone has also been cleaned up, and the total yield is 93 oz from 82 tons. The whole line of towards Fryerstown, a distance of nearly two miles has been taken up.”
The Alexandra Mail on March 13, 1912 talked about the director of Geological Surveys Mr Dunn’s report to induce tourists to the area – he was commissioned by the Castlemaine Progress Association. Mr Dunn found multiple gas and water beds along the course of the Loddon River with varying gas strengths.
In the early 1920s tourism development had started with the idea of using the springs and forming a health resort. A local committee raised £600 to make a road in, plant trees, erect a rotunda and acquire a sportsground.
And according to newspaper reports in the Collie Mail and W.A. Coalfields Miner on September 9, 1927: “What was formerly a valley of prickly scrub is now the nucleus of a thriving centre where fishing and shooting are to be indulged in by sportsmen.” The article went on to say: “Vaughan, from which the springs derive their name, is rich in historical associations. Though now practically in ruins, it was once a busy town of some 40,000 inhabitants. Strange to say, a large number were Chinese, and the cemetery of the Celestials is still to be seen there, like a road cut along the side of the hill by them. Stark and gaunt, the ruins stand out in bold relief on each side of the roadway, eloquent and silent tributes to the days of the ‘roaring fifties’. Here are to be seen the remains of the church, post office, Bank of Victoria and gaol.”

As late as January 29, 1952 the small hamlet hosted a beauty pageant with the search on for Miss Central Victoria.
The Argus reported: “A goldmine of beauty at Vaughan Springs” when “the crowd of more than 2000 shouted its approval when 17-year-old Ida Kruger, of Hargreaves (sic) Street, Castlemaine, was announced the winner”.
Sadly, the health resort and tourism development never eventuated and nowadays Vaughan is described by Wikipedia as a small village in the Shire of Mount Alexander, south of Castlemaine and east of Guildford, situated at the confluence of Fryers Creek and the Loddon River which has the Lawson Spring, a drinkable mineral water spring.
The population of Vaughan at the 2016 Census was 64.

Words: Kyle Barnes | Images: Trove (top) & Kyle Barnes

(Many thanks to Trove for its help with this article. www.trove.nla.gov.au

“IT is what it is.” What bottom feeding, low-life, full of bovine excrement idiot came up with that saying? What does it even mean?
Is it just another way of filling in the speech blanks like when you say “um”, allowing your brain to catch up on the next nugget of wisdom that your mouth is about to unload into the universe of deadwood announcements?
I have heard a lot of the aforementioned ubiquitous statements whirling around over the past 20 months and I am tired of them. In fact, I am tired period. The pandemic has been a tragic event and one I hope we don’t have repeated for a while, certainly in my lifetime anyway. Granted, “it is what it is” is an expression used to characterise a frustrating or challenging situation that a person believes cannot be changed and must just be accepted.
But a lot of us did rise to the challenge. Admittedly we took different paths but I have found “it” has brought out the best in a lot of people – those I think of as water – finding different paths to carve out how they run their lives and develop their businesses.
Last edition in The Local we threw it open to the community through social media to thank people who had made a difference to them and now I would like to thank my own pit crew, those who backed me up so I could do my bit to keep this juggernaut of a publication whirring along.
Of course, the TL crew goes without saying. Those bunch of creatives, wordsmiths, and rock and roll stars that each have a hand to play in the production of TL.
However, as I have gotten older and landed in the middle-age bracket I have needed a pit crew to keep my body and mind on track. (And kiddies listen up. Uncle Kyle is here to tell you growing older doesn’t happen overnight, time sort of slips away and it just happens.)
Anyway, the first of my three pit crew members comes from my weekly Pilates class. During the many lock-downs instructor Erin Richardson, a Daylesford-based rockstar, “pivoted” into Zoom classes to keep me and my classmates flexible. (God, I hope pivot ends up in the abyss of time…)

The next and certainly not in any order is massage therapist Fiona Harris, who once every month or so, deals with the knots that eight hours a day behind a computer screen produce in your neck.
The next and most recent addition to the pit crew is Annie from Yogabout who has enlightened my chakra. Granted, a bit weird for a grumpy old bloke chanting “Hari Om” in his active wear, but an activity I will undoubtedly get used to and certainly good for the tangled bunch of nerve endings I call my brain.
The last and again certainly not in any priority are the deliverers of fun-flavoured booze to my doorstep from Cellarbations in Daylesford – you lads rock.
Pit crew thank you one and all, rant over…

Ed’s note: Hmm. I note I did not gain a mention. And that’s fine. For me. For Kyle, well that’s not going to end well…just sayin’… 🙂

SO, HEPBURN Shire Library has done away with fines. Good news all round. Well, if you borrow and don’t return, I guess. But they will still want the books back, you just kind of hit a “go slow” with borrowing if you fail to return.
And if you really fail to return you still have to pay for the missing items. As you should. Although, as bad as I feel saying it, my first thought was if you were leaving the shire, just grab a great handful of books and keep walking. But who would do that? Not me. Brought up too well and too honest. Can you be too honest?

Sadly, I always think thieves who get caught are just the dumb ones. There must be so many who are smart and never get caught. So many ways around the system. I have taken to loading my own bag, in a trolley, with water bottles. I just say “there are eight all up” and the check-out person takes me at my word. How easy would it be to pop something under them all? And if you get caught go for denial. “What?” “OMG!” “I am so sorry, didn’t realise under all that water was a leg of lamb.” I guess you would get a few chances before they were on to you.
In a past working life I always felt I had one chance a year to tell someone what I really thought of them. Like, just let rip, and then deny. I did it one time at The Advocate. This very heinous man, who seemed to have a fancy for me which clearly showed no sane thinking pattern, would regularly turn up at the office and try to spend time talking to me about his past sexual exploits. I kid you not. I would tell him to politely leave, I had no interest, that I had work to do and remember all before #MeToo. I didn’t tell anyone because at the time I would have been told to “man up”, “grow some” or just “get over it”.
Anyway, one day I saw him crossing the carpark and met him at the door. It had been a bad day. After the 2009 fires when I had a number of firies come to my office and spend time breaking down as they told me about looking for bodies in Kinglake. I ended up calling the local CFA headquarters telling them they would soon be dealing with suicides if they didn’t lift their mental health game. I think they had a bit of a “man up” attitude at the time too.
So, as the man neared, I stood at the door and roared “F… off!”. He looked flabbergasted but continued moving forward. He was nothing if not persistent. I roared again, not even caring now if I was upsetting any shoppers or nearby businesses. “F… off and don’t ever think about coming back!” Finally, his eyes showed he got the message and he muttered something in my direction about my supposed loose morals, and wandered off. I never saw him again. And his is the only death notice that has given me a smile.
He never complained about my language to my superiors but if he had I would have just denied it completely. “Who, me, talk like that? I don’t even know that word…”
But back to the library. I wonder if no fines from now means a meagre Christmas party? They never took electronic payment, only cash. And I always thought those fines would mean a great party come the end of the year.
When I worked in the old old days, when film was still around, we would process the film into photos and sell the photos, even those that were not exactly the ones that appeared in the paper. Just those ones almost like the ones that appeared in the paper. We called them “overs” and because they had no value, we could keep the money and we did, for our Christmas party. Worked out really well although I am sure people coming to buy photos wondered why they were not just dealing with front office staff but anyone out to make a quick buck.
I do read that the library, instead of fining people, will ask for a donation of non-perishable goods. Hmmm. That could work for a Christmas party. Maybe they could make a list, like a wedding registry, of what they need. Christmas cake, bon-bons, pudding, tinned turkey, tinned vegies, pavlova case and UHT cream, tins of chocolate, and of course, booze never goes off. Christmas punch, here we come.
Of course, I know the non-perishable goods are being donated to food charities around the shire. So just playing with the above lists and ideas. Who would do that? We are all honest, hardworking people, who never swear. Just sayin’…