Front page news: August 29-September 4, 2007-2015
A snapshot of news from across the years
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August 31, 2007: A proposal to expand the existing accommodation facility operated by the Salvation Army in Ligar Street has been met with concern from residents.
The application lodged with the Northern Grampians Shire Council is for a shed to be constructed on the site. Residents in close proximity to the development have been concerned for some time not only with the shed, but the future use that the facility could attract.
Of major concern is an open space between the proposed shed and the existing accommodation facility.
Ligar Street resident Greg Robson, representing other property owners in the vicinity of the development, addressed council at its meeting in Stawell last week.
Mr Robson said he was asking for the support of councillors in rejecting the shed proposal.
‘‘We have consistently opposed the proposal for this shed. We are concerned that the shed will be used in a way that will be detrimental to the amenity of the area and against what council intends,’’ he said.
August 31, 2010: Northern Grampians Shire Council has enlisted the support of police in the region to enforce its Local Laws.
The move will give police powers to enforce Local Laws, meaning fines and other penalties can be imposed even when Local Laws officers are not on duty.
The main law focused on under the move is the possession and consumption of alcohol in a public place.
Mary Scully, Team Leader Administration and Governance for the shire, advised council that Victoria Police members can be appointed under the Local Government Act to enforce the provisions of council’s General Law 2005 which regulates the consumption and possession of alcohol in a public place.
“Council currently appoints, by delegation to the chief executive officer, members of the Victoria Police at Stawell and St Arnaud as authorised offi cers under section 224 of the Act. This section allows the officers to deal with any law, regulation or by-law which relate to the functions and powers of the council,” she said.
September 4, 2012: Northern Grampians Shire Council will no longer be forced to reassess its options for designating a Neighbourhood Safer Place in Halls Gap.
Council is required to designate Neighbourhood Safer Places where residents can seek refuge in the event of an emergency such as bushfire and is required to seek an assessment on designated sites each year.
An initial assessment of the Visitor Information Centre grounds in Halls Gap, undertaken by the Country Fire Authority at council’s request, indicated that the site would no longer be suitable as a designated Neighbourhood Safer Place.
However, this has since been overturned.
Emergency Management (Fire) Co-ordinator for the shire, David Todd, advised council that the CFA determined initially that the site did not meet the assessment guidelines.
This would have left Halls Gap without a designated Neighbourhood Safer Place while investigations continued into locating another suitable site.
September 3, 2013: A proposal has been put forward by the Lake Lonsdale Action Group to develop waterways in the region as an inland freshwater recreational fishing mecca.
The group, mindful of the pending closure of Stawell Gold Mines and the impact that will have on Stawell, has implored Northern Grampians Shire Council to support the recreational fishing proposal as a means for boosting tourism, which it believes will become one of the region’s major industries once the mine does close.
The proposal was presented to council last night by the president of the Lake Lonsdale Action Group, Ray Howard.
Mr Howard said with Stawell Gold Mines now in transition for closure, it was vital for Stawell’s future that new industries are now developed and promoted.
He said an inland freshwater recreational fishing mecca would attract tourists from far and wide.
“In our region we have four lakes all within a 20 kilometre drive from Halls Gap, the tourist hub of the Grampians,” Mr Howard said.
Mr Howard said all the lakes, Wartook, Bellfield, Fyans and Lonsdale, were rich in fish stocks ranging from rainbow and brown trout to redfin.
September 2, 2014: A campaign aimed at securing the funding required for the continuation of the Western Highway duplication project through to Stawell will be launched in Ararat tomorrow.
The Don’t stall - fund to Stawell campaign, an initiative of the Western Highway Action Committee, is calling on state and federal governments to come up with the $500 million required to complete the duplication to Stawell.
Federal funding for the next stage is dependent on a commitment being received from the current State Government.
There will be a line up of big trucks outside the Ararat Town Hall from noon tomorrow to mark the occasion. There will also be a barbecue and large truck bumper stickers being handed out at the campaign launch.
Western Highway Action Committee chairman and Northern Grampians Shire Mayor, Cr Kevin Erwin, said in the short term, the campaign aimed to secure around $150 million for a 12-kilometre stretch of duplication work between Pope Road, Buangor and Warrayatkin Road east of Ararat, in the lead-up to the November state election.
Planning for this section is complete and the Federal Government has said it would commit funding on the proviso that the State Government also contribute to construction costs. However, the state is yet to commit any funds.
Cr Erwin said it was crucial to secure funding before the next state budget for the next section of the project before work on the current section wound down.