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Out and About pics from Stockland’s
10 year Anniversary
New Junior Sport Club Launched in the Region A new junior Australian Football League (AFL) club for local youngsters has recently been launched with much anticipation and excitement. Based at St.Benedict’s Catholic Primary School at Mango Hill, the new club has been established to serve the interest of youngsters in the region. The new mixed club, to wear red and blue jumpers and be known as the Eels, was officially launched on Wednesday, 23 February with a visit to the school by Brisbane Lions AFL ruckman Matthew Leuenberger. Leuenberger also spoke to students at the school about the importance of junior sport and opportunities for students, the benefits of being physically active, healthy and having fun. The North Lakes club is the first new junior AFL club in the region since the Narangbah club was formed in 2004 and will field teams at Under-8 and Under-10 level in the upcoming season.
These teams will be supported by an introductory 12-week NAB AFL Auskick program for five and six-year-old boys and girls which will be run at St.Benedict’s on Saturdays from 8-9am, also starting on 17 April. The launch of the new club is a flow-on from a school-based Auskick program which is in now in its second year of operation at St.Benedict’s and has attracted an excellent following. Ben Ayres, the local AFL Queensland Club Development Officer and a driving force behind the foundation of the club, has put his hand up to be the inaugural president and is excited by the Eels’ prospects. “AFL Queensland had identified the need for a stronger presence in the region given that it is one of the fastest-growing areas in Australia,” he explained. “The closest club is at Redcliffe and that is pretty much at full ground capacity so to set up a new club at North Lakes is a really exciting initiative. “The school has been just fantastic in helping to get the new club off the ground so now we’re looking for players and parents who are prepared to help the kids have a game of footy each weekend.” Kitchener said: “Like St. Benedict’s, we’re sure the North Lakes Eels will have a long and prosperous future. St Benedict’s are proud to be associated with the new club.” Ayres will run a “come and try” day for prospective players at St.Benedict’s, located on the corner of Anzac Avenue and Kinsellas Road, Mango Hill, from 9.30-11am on Saturday 13 March. “We’re inviting all the local kids to come and see what it’s all about. There will be giveways, skills drills and some games so the kids can get a taste for the adventure, and enthusiasm for junior sport.” Said Ayres. The cost of registration for the 2010 season is $170 for all ages and includes match fees, insurance, shorts, socks, hat, team photo and a participation trophy. Both Boys and girls are welcome to play. For further information, please contact Ben Ayres on 0414 901 702 or email bayres@aflq.com.au
More Cameras = Safer Suburbs says Council Mayor Allan Sutherland has congratulated the Australian Government for its $1 million investment in closed circuit camera technology and public lighting infrastructure to deter crime in the Moreton Bay region. Settlement Cove South and Redcliffe Parade, Redcliffe. “The extension of council’s CCTV network will deliver permanent monitoring of the Strathpine CBD for the first time, expand coverage of the Redcliffe Seaside Village precinct, as well as Caboolture’s town centre to James Street, Morayfield Road, King Street and Mathew Terrace,” Mayor Sutherland said. “In Redcliffe alone over the past year there have been 52 formal requests from police for video footage to support criminal investigations and prosecutions. “There is no doubt in my mind, that in conjunction with a visible police presence, CCTV is valid and worthwhile crime fighting tool. “Although there is scope for further expansion of the CCTV network into the future, we’re not about to put an entire community under surveillance on every street corner. “Let’s be realistic, this isn’t a British TV police drama where every street crime is conveniently captured by a covert camera. “But I am keen to strike an appropriate balance between the privacy of individuals and the delivery of an effective crime deterrent.” Moreton Bay Regional Council has awarded a tender for the supply, installation and maintenance of new security cameras, which are expected to be operational by the end of October 2010. We want to know your opinion on the cameras. Safer suburbs or invasion of privacy? Email Editor Dan Fidler at editor@northlakesmessenger.com.au with “CCTV cams” in the subject line
Sport Minister Phil Reeves and Beijing Olympian Kamikaze today announced a new $1.5 million Olympic-standard BMX track, the first in the southern hemisphere, will be constructed at the Sleeman Sports Complex. “The new track will provide top level facilities for Queensland’s champion riders like Kamikaze, as well as up-and-coming athletes,” Mr Reeves said. “The popularity of BMX is growing in Australia, the following for the sport is second only to the United States. “We have clubs across Queensland from Cooktown to Coolangatta and out to Mt Isa. “This facility will provide a fantastic training ground and will hopefully inspire more Queenslanders to get physically active.” Kamikaze welcomed plans for the new track saying that the facilities at Chandler would give Queensland and Australian riders a competitive edge. “Having access to an Olympic-standard BMX track for training, together with other facilities at Sleeman will definitely challenge riders,” he said. “The onsite accommodation will be great for training camps and all riders will be looking forward to tackling a new track.” BMX Australia President Barry Knight said the organisation looked forward to developing new facilities with design experts at the Swiss based Union Cycliste Internationale. “Features such as an eight meter high starting ramp and a length of around 350 - 400 metres will be part of this world-class BMX Supercross facility,” he said. “This is a great win for Queensland riders.” State Member for Chatsworth Steve Kilburn MP also welcomed funding for the new track. “This will cement Sleeman Sports Complex as a premier sporting hub. “Clubs in Queensland will be holding sign-on days this weekend and I’d encourage anyone interested to have a go at the sport.” Mr Reeves said work on the track would commence in the second half of 2010. “Many of our sporting heroes had carved out their careers as professionals by using BMX as a stepping stone to Mountain Biking or Road Cycling. “Australian cycling champions Robbie McEwan and Cadel Evans both started their careers as BMX riders. “I hope to see many Queenslanders follow in the footsteps of these brilliant athletes and use this track to test out their skills. “The planned BMX track is another step towards the Bligh Government’s goal of making Queenslanders Australia’s healthiest people.”
Clean Up Australia Day 2010 Once again, it’s time to mobilize your family and friends, don some gloves and help clean up our beautiful nation for Clean Up Australia Day 2010 in March. This year there’s an even greater reason to participate, with Clean Up Australia Day celebrating its 20th national anniversary. 2010 marks an incredible 20 years since Ian Kiernan AO, founder of Clean Up Australia Day, launched the event around Australia urging people to make a difference by cleaning up their local areas for a couple of hours. Since then, his simple idea has evolved to be Australia’s largest community-based environmental event. In 2009 alone, almost 630,000 volunteers participated and 7,000 sites were registered for Clean Up Australia Day. Remember just one piece of rubbish can make a difference. So do your bit for your favourite local area so you can enjoy it for the next 20 years (and then some!) and save the date for the first Sunday in March. Booze and junk are nation’s worst rubbish offenders Clean Up Australia’s Rubbish Report released today reveals that glass alcohol bottles and aluminium alcohol cans were the 2nd and 3rd biggest rubbish offenders for 2009, with the latter jumping up from 7th in 2008. Plastic water bottles, plastic bottle caps and soft drink cans were also in the top 10 list of rubbish items. “Aussies need to clean up their act, given that a staggering 40% of all rubbish collected during Clean Up Australia Day 2009 was beverage related, including alcohol, soft drink and water containers,” says Ian Kiernan AO, Chairman and founder of Clean Up Australia. Aussies with a penchant for chips and chocolate also need to watch their littering habits, with plastic chips and confectionary bag/wrappers coming in at number 5. Almost 17,000 of these items were removed by volunteers across the country last year. “Year after year, plastic continues to be the biggest rubbish problem. The Rubbish Report is an important reminder for Australians to think carefully about how they dispose of common rubbish items and improve their habits, especially given that most of the top 10 items, such as bottles and cans are recyclable,” Kiernan added. Top Ten Rubbish Items Revealed Clean Up Australia has released the Rubbish Report to coincide with a call for registrations for Clean Up Australia Day 2010, which celebrates its 20th national anniversary this year on Sunday, March 7. For more information and to register, visit www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au. The most polluted Aussie are reported as outdoor transport areas, i.e. bus stops and train platforms, beach/coastal areas and school Grounds Clock ticking on Clean Up Moreton Bay Regional Council Mayor Allan Sutherland said groups registering before Friday, February 19, would receive support from both council and the Clean Up Australia Day organisation. “So now is the time to visit council’s website at www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au or the Clean Up Australia Day site at www.cleanup.org.au and sign up your clean up,” the Mayor said. “Getting a group together for Clean Up Australia Day not only pays dividends for our environment, but it’s also a great team building exercise for your business or community organisation.” Commercial Enterprises spokesperson, Councillor Brian Battersby, said more than 60 sites had already been registered for the annual clean up. “We’re well on the way to another terrific community response this year, but we’re hoping that even more individuals, schools and businesses will get involved to make this year’s campaign the biggest yet,” Cr Battersby said. “Moreton Bay Regional Council will assist with the collection of clean-up bags and provides extra clean-up bags, bins, safety vests, signage and certificates of appreciation for participants. “If every person in Australia picked up just one piece of rubbish, that would be 20 million pieces collected, which just goes to show how everyone can play a part in making our environment cleaner.” Cr Battersby said that for safety reasons, main and busy road sites could not be registered with Clean Up Australia Day this year, so groups who have previously carried out these clean ups were asked to consider taking on a local park or foreshore instead.
When was the last time you had a great night out? You are invited to the annual Cystic Fibrosis Charity Concert to be held on Saturday 6th March at the North Leagues Club at Kallangur. This year the theme is ‘Women of Rock’ and you’ll be entertained by Taylor Gibson and the popular Hiway 1 Showband. The charity concert auction is now in it’s 3rd year, and this year the auction items are certainly going to go fast, just to name a few: A luxury family holiday for two nights at Tangalooma, including island transfers, breakfast, dolphin feeding, and Tangatours have looked after your holiday adventures with jet ski, kayak and fish feeding tours for the whole family, valued at over $1500. Mango Hill Tavern has sponsored dinner vouchers. Or if you’re a sports fan: Signed and framed Michael Clarke cricket bat Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common life threatening genetic condition in Australia - and there is no cure. CF is a degenerative condition that affects many of the body’s systems, including the lungs and digestion. Children diagnosed with CF live through daily physiotherapy and medications, among other treatments, just to survive. This Charity Concert and Auction, will help children and adults with CF and their families also face considerable financial, practical and emotional challenges living with a chronic illness. When you are living with CF, every day matters. For the Love of Life, means working together with our supporters to make each of those days the very best it can be. For a night of great entertainment, tickets are $30 each or sponsor a table of 10 for $250, for tickets phone Mike Greer on 0418 744 402. Slow down for Students local motorists are reminded to slow down in school zones and be mindful of children in and around school areas with start of the school year. “The start of the school term means school zones will be back in action with 40km/hr speed limits in place around most school areas,” Acting Transport Minister Craig Wallace said. “It’s essential that drivers look out for signage, make sure they are travelling at the right speed and watch out for children crossing the road. “Children can easily run out on the roads or find themselves in dangerous road situations due to their inexperience. “There are no excuses for putting young lives at risk, so motorists cannot simply say they didn’t know the speed limit or didn’t see the signs. “Being cautious and slowing down in school zones won’t make much difference to the trip time, but it could save a child’s life. “Drivers should pay particular attention and watch out for children not only riding bikes, but crossing roads, getting off buses, or out of cars. “Young children do not have the skills to judge speed and distance, are easily distracted, and are not always paying attention to what is going on around them. “It is vital parents take action to protect their children by teaching road safety techniques at a young age.” Some tips for parents and carers to prepare their children for safe travel to and from school: • teach your child to look for vehicles coming in and out of driveways and discourage them from playing with toys or balls when walking to school Local Safety Blitz Mayor Allan Sutherland said the Safer School Travel road safety program would target traffic breaches around six key school precincts in the region to improve student safety and address traffic congestion during drop-off and pick-up times. “Council will be reminding students, parents and other motorists of the road safety basics around schools, including the rules for school crossings, speed limits, stopping distances and parking,” Mayor Sutherland said. “Police will be backing up our road safety campaign with a higher profile in nominated school zones and enforcement where necessary. “We’re working together to get the school year off to a safest start possible. “I’m pleading with motorists, including parents, to be vigilant and think carefully about the potential consequences of carelessness around school zones. Your actions behind the wheel could be a life saver this term.” The Safer School Travel road safety program has been developed by Moreton Bay Regional Council in conjunction with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) and the Queensland Police Service (QPS) to provide schools with a coordinated traffic management approach and driver behavioural education. For further information phone 3205 0555 or visit website www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au
Rants and Raves Throughout the entire year of 2009 there were only a few Rants and Raves I didn’t publish. Most understand we are a general interest, community minded magazine with broad spectrum of readers. When un-publishable rants (it’s usually the rants) are submitted, my policy is to contact the submitter personally and ask them if they would like to re-submit in an acceptable format. Given that so far this year, there have been as many rants unfit for print as there were during the entire course of last year; I figure it may be timely to publish this note about what we can and can’t print. Rants and Raves is a great forum for the community to vent frustrations as much as sing the praises for local events, people and places. As many submitters already know, due to the nature of submissions being personal opinion, most remain un-edited in entirety. We don’t edit for flow, grammar, punctuation or spelling so that the original intent of the author is kept. I remind you that as Australians we all have a considerably high standard of living compared to many parts of the world and that as residents of the South-East Queensland we live in a place of extraordinary beauty and opportunity offering much to “rave” about. I know it’s easy to become complacent as we go about our everyday lives but I’d like to remind readers of our publishable policy as much as encourage readers to rave as well as rant. I can’t run personal attacks, defaming remarks, threats or expletive-laden letters. I will continue to baulk at inappropriate attacks on public services such as the Police Force. While it’s important to let these issues air and to be discussed, outright defamatory submissions that serve only to inspire ill-feeling rather than helpful, community minded insight cannot for obvious reasons, be published. You don’t have to look too far in this fantastic place to live to find something “rave-worthy”. If you know of something great that your fellow readers may benefit from reading, why not send that in as well? Best regards, Editor, Dan Fidler
The Messenger Turns Six in 2010 Happy new year! I hope you all enjoyed your break, I sure did, though I bet I’m not alone in thinking it wasn’t nearly long enough. Some of you may still be on break. Oh well as the cover this week indicates, it’s still summer and with the weather so perfect, there’s still the weekends to enjoy. Anyway, a new year brings changes and that includes your free weekly, The Messenger. Sadly, we’ll no longer have installments of Jason Columbus’ popular Crime Times regular feature. Unfortunately for all who enjoyed the Crime Times, Jason has new responsibilities at his day job which leave little time to produce the feature. We wish Jason all the best, and should he the find time to return... Perhaps you’ll enjoy our new feature that debuted late last year instead; Different Voices with local accredited Author Neville A. Kirkwood. An interesting read, the latest installment of Neville’s voices from life compilation can be found on page 27 this week. A new health column roles out this week. Local Doctor Anita of GPpartners will be keeping us up to date on one issue that affects us all regardless of age background or gender; health. One of my New years resolutions is to take better care of my own health, so I’ll look forward to this weekly feature on page 15. You may recall last year we made some logistic changes to improve the quality of The Messenger, so you can also look forward to many new regulars, features, special topical editions and of course some fantastic new competitions. I hope you enjoy the changes and the contents of this edition. Have a great week! Dan. New Regular Feature Neville A. Kirkwood is an established author of academic texts and a resident of the North Lakes Retirement Resort. Recently, he’s turned his hand to a decidedly different genre and we now present his collection, in instalments, entitled “That’s Life, Different Voices.” I’m sure Neville’s academic texts were great, but these are fantastic! An unusual yet familiar narrative, born of different voices from life, as the title suggests. Don’t expect the obvious here because you won’t find it. You will find clever narrative. Sometimes innocent yet worldly, and as simple or layered and complex as the reader wants it to be. I won’t spoil it here, I’ll simply implore you to read and enjoy these clever stories, Here's installment number three, check the mag each week for the latest and if you missed the first two, you can alway use the links above to download previous issues. Editor Dan Fidler.
Splendour In The Grass has been working toward establishing a permanent sustainable event venue to stage the festival. The chosen 660 acre North Byron Parklands site at Yelgun in the Byron Shire is undergoing the comprehensive approval process with the NSW Department of Planning for a permanent cultural event venue and will not be ready for next year’s event. While this approval process goes ahead, Splendour In The Grass organisers were delighted to announce the festival will temporarily relocate to Woodford in Queensland, home of the Woodford Folk Festival, for the event’s 10th anniversary in 2010. Confirming Australia’s number one mid-winter music celebration will be held across three glorious days next year! Bringing the public more incredible music, arts and culture from around the globe from Friday July 30th to Sunday August 1st 2010! “Woodford Folk Festival and their beautiful site Woodfordia have been a great source of inspiration to us and we feel honoured to borrow their home,” said Jessica Ducrou, organiser of Splendour in the Grass. “We have a great opportunity to grow our event and give people better access to the festival but at the same time keep Splendour In The Grass a unique and personal experience,” said Jessica Ducrou. “Given the size of the venue we will be able to accommodate almost all festival patrons in camping grounds onsite, giving more people the full festival experience.” “The purpose built venue also means that we can incorporate a broader range of arts and cultural experiences, which we have been wanting to do for many years.” “Having one of Australia’s premier contemporary music events at Woodfordia will be a privilege,” said Bill Hauritz, Director of Woodford Folk Festival. “Splendour is one of the best managed events I have observed, they are responsible, caring and disciplined organisers. We can expect the best.” About Splendour In 2009, the ninth Splendour In the Grass, the two-day event accommodated 17,500 people per day and has sold out in advance in each year of its existence, all tickets to last year’s festival were snapped up in just 5 hours, the year before in 4 hours and the 2006 festival sold out in just under 30 hours. Many who attend choose to immerse themselves in the full ‘Splendour experience’ by taking advantage of the on-site camping adjacent to the festival site. Some 2,500 campers set up their tents right outside the festival gates and quickly establish their own Splendour village for the weekend. The 2009 line up included Bloc Party, Janes Addiction, MGMT, Hilltop Hoods, Grinspoon, Midnight Juggernauts, The Specials, Augie March, Sarah Blasko, Friendly Fires, White Lies, Little Birdy, Josh Pyke, The Gutter Twins, Birds of Tokyo, Manchester Orchestra, Decoder Ring, Lost Valentinos, Bob Evans, Yuksek, Kram, Yves Klein Blue, Leader Cheetah, Jack Ladder, The Middle East, Polaroid Fame and Glass Towers. |
They will play against the likes of Aspley, Pine Rivers, Redcliffe, Caboolture and Narangbah on Saturday mornings in a localized match program run by the AFL Brisbane Juniors, starting on 17 April.
New BMX track for Brisbane
Rock ‘N’ Roll goes red for Charity
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