Development to help rejuvenate Airlie Beach

Mayor Mike Brunker is confident that the proposed Airlie Beach entertainment precinct will rejuvenate the community, whilst helping to address the town’s parking problems.

“Once you’ve done the islands and visited the lagoon, you’ve got limited options, especially if it’s raining,” he said.

The planning of the precinct and development of the 2.1ha site, beside the Magnums car park and adjacent to

Waterson Way

, will commence after an extensive community consultation process.

“Community consultation will be important,” Cr Brunker said. “Suggestions include a cinema, library and conference facilities.”

Cr Brunker was supportive of relocating the library, currently situated at Centro, to the precinct.

“There will be greater access to the library’s services if it’s at the heart of the community,” he said.

Cr Brunker explained that there were plans for a Woolworths to be built next to the site, and for extensive parking spaces to be a feature of the development.

“(The precinct) will eventually be a continuation of the town centre,” Cr Brunker said.

When asked if he was confident ahead of the local government election, Cr Brunker replied that he was “quietly confident,” and dismissed rumours of a potential tilt for the Burdekin electorate at the next state election, should he be unsuccessful in his bid to remain Whitsunday Regional Mayor.

“Rumours have been around for years,” he said. “Those days are over.”

Whitsunday autism fundraiser gains momentum

A Whitsunday mother whose son was diagnosed with autism some 14 months ago says her life changed forever when she began talking to people about her only child Riley.

Debbie Henshell’s three year old son was diagnosed with autism just over a year ago.

“Riley is awesome. He is non-verbal … but he is starting to learn to talk now. For the first six months since I found out he was autistic I didn’t talk to anyone … and that does not help at all. Maybe I was slightly embarrassed about the label, I was in disbelief … it was just a combination of so many things and I stuck my head in the sand,” Ms Henshell said.

Some six months later and this passionate mother has certainly come a long way. She is now holding the reigns to one of the Whitsundays biggest autism fundraisers which is gathering momentum among businesses in the Whitsundays and continues this Friday night at the Reef Gateway Hotel.

“In our support group there are 23 people and that is just the people we know about … I believe there are a lot more people out there who are affected by autism and we want to let people know that this group is open to everyone."

Ms Henshell says a few months ago she started taking Riley to the AEIOU foundation in Townsville which has been a huge inspiration behind her fundraising.

“Many people are still taking their kids to Brisbane, but I want people to know that there are intensive specialised programs right here in north Queensland.”

This month is Autism Awareness Month, and Autism Queensland has launched a new campaign “Go Blue for Autism” to raise funds and awareness of the condition, which Ms Henshell has grabbed hold of with both hands.

“I have received such an overwhelming amount of support from local businesses which is why we are having the spinoff raffle this Friday night at the Reef Gateway Hotel,” she said.

Tickets in the major prize, which will be drawn in conjunction with Rotary Club of Airlie Beach on May 23, can be purchased from many Proserpine businesses including Trish-Annes’ Beauty, Sirene Sea Pearls, Cherry Baby, Blackies Produce, The News Express and Fitness Venue.

“Even if people don’t want to buy tickets, at least they can pick up a brochure and see what our group is about and what support we offer,” she said.

Whitsundays prepares for Anzac Day services

A flyover by a 38 SQN King Air will make for an even more memorable Anzac Day in Proserpine next Wednesday when the new president of the Proserpine RSL Sub Branch Jason Raiteri hosts his first service.

Mr Raiteri says the commemorative event begins with the dawn service at 4.28am at the cenotaph on the lawns outside the Proserpine Entertainment Centre. This will be followed by a breakfast at the RSL from 6am which everyone is invited to attend. The flyover by the King Air will take place at 10.30am in conjunction with the march which leaves the RSL at the same time. Lunch will then be served at the RSL from 12.30pm.

“The Proserpine RSL Sub-Branch invites and welcomes all members of our community to attend the Anzac Day ceremonies,” Mr Raiteri said.

“I urge everyone to enjoy the camaraderie of the day and reflect on the freedom we have living in this great nation of ours. It has come at a very high price,” he said.

Guest speaker on the day will be Warrant Officer Richard Judd, who has 40 years’ service in the RAAF, many of those with Mr Raiteri at 75 SQN. Other guests include Jason Costigan, Member for Whitsunday and Cr Rogin Taylor Deputy Mayor.

“On this cenotaph behind me, there are 19 names from WW1, 36 names from WW2 and 1 from Korea. Considering the population of Proserpine at the time of those conflicts, that is a horrendous toll for a small community. Many of the names of the fallen are familiar as the descendants of these men still live in the district today. In Proserpine, the names of the fallen are read at the dawn service and it is quite a touching moment. The numbers attending the dawn service is increasing each year and I hope the trend continues next Wednesday.”

Airlie Beach's dawn service will begin at 5.30am at the new Cannonvale Cenotaph followed by a Gunfire Breakfast at the Reef Gateway from 6.30am.

Are you the fastest texter in the Whitsundays?

Can you move your fingers across phone buttons with precision and speed? Well if you are aged between 12 and 17 you can enter the Whitsunday libraries’ text off competition which will determine who really is the texting champion.

As part of National Youth Week the local libraries are hosting some exciting events for young people in the area.

The libraries have gone above and beyond with their imagination to make this week memorable, a text off for the fastest texters in the region to be held Thursday, April 19.

The competition won’t be easy however Robyn Batman from the Proserpine Library is putting together a jumble of symbols, words and acronyms, such as LOL and B4, to really test the participants. The winner will receive a gift voucher.

Young people will also be in for a treat with the library member movie night on Friday, April 27.

Library members will see The Hunger Games screening at the Proserpine Entertainment Centre for free with RSVPs to be in by April 25.  Bus transport is available at all regular bus stops from Jubilee Pocket to Centro.

For more information on these events and more contact the local libraries.

Proserpine voter receives blank ballot paper from ECQ

A completely blank ballot paper has one local resident concerned just how many more bungled papers have been delivered into letter boxes this week.

Proserpine resident Graham Wilson opened the envelope from the Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ) yesterday afternoon to find his Division 3 paper completely blank.

“The mayoral paper is okay, but there is absolutely nothing on the second piece, it’s like it’s the end of the printing role or something,” Mr Wilson said.

Far from a conspiracy theorist, Mr Wilson said he understood it could well have been an accident but worried how many more were out there like his.

“A lot of people wouldn’t give a stuff and probably wouldn’t bother to vote after receiving something like this.”  

 “And also … how many people would leave it to the last minute to fill it out only to realise there’s nothing to fill out!”

Mr Wilson will be either calling the electoral commission or visiting the returning officer in Cannonvale, which is precisely what mayor Mike Brunker suggested yesterday.

“Get hold of the electoral commission and get it sorted. He probably doesn’t want to be trundling off down to Cannonvale - and nor should he have to - so yes everyone check their papers and if there are any problems call the electoral commission right away,” Mr Brunker said.

A spokesperson from the ECQ said initial investigations revealed the blank paper was a human error.

“Ballot papers are printed out of books of 50, and what normally happens is the backing paper is torn off before the books are put into the printer, but this hasn’t happened and it appears Mr Wilson has received a backing paper,” the spokesperson said, believing the error was a one off.

Anyone with questions about their ballot papers are encouraged to call the ECQ voting hotline on 1300 881 665.

Proserpine teenager cleans up with Guardian's footy tipping competition

Proserpine teenager Steven Dair’s gut feeling that the Rabbitohs would beat the Bulldogs paid off for the high school student who came into the Guardian yesterday to pick up $150 cash.

The 13 year old won the Whitsunday Coast Guardian’s weekly prize in The NRL Footy Tipping Competition after successfully tipping the eight winning teams.

“You can’t go past the Raiders when they’re at home, so that was easy and I had a gut feeling about the Rabbitohs,” said the local footy player.

“I love the Sharks and wouldn’t have tipped the Cowboys to win even if they hadn’t been playing the Storm because I just don’t like them!”

Steven says it’s the first time ever he’s successfully tipped eight winners, however his sister a few weeks ago also tipped the winners in the very same competition but had to share her prize with  a few other winners.

“I was jumping off the walls on Monday night when I knew I’d tipped all eight.

“However I thought there might have been more winners because my mum tipped the eight as well and she’s not very good at it,” he said.

All said and done, this footy fan is $150 richer because he put pen to paper and entered the Guardian’s popular tipping competition.

Butterly Appeal brings miracle of sound to young Proserpine girl

  A young Proserpine school girl - named after her parents’ love for the ocean - can now hear the whisper of the waves when she sits at Cannonvale Beach. 

  Eleven-year-old Searna Casos (pictured) was born profoundly deaf in one ear, and has all her life been struggling to hear the sounds most of us take for granted.

  “I have always been turning my head to hear what people are saying. I couldn’t hear things like people whispering. Background stuff has always been hard to hear,” said the unassuming, pretty girl who dreams of becoming a fashion designer.

  Searna’s mum May says her daughter was born with left microtia, or small ear, something that affects about one in every 20,000 children.

  “Nobody knows why some kids are born with it,” May says. “It makes it really hard for children to listen in school, because they have to concentrate so hard just to hear what the teachers are saying,” she said.

  “I suppose Searna is lucky in a way, because some kids are born with bilateral microtia which means they cannot hear a thing,” she said.

  Late last year, the Casos family learned of a profound medical improvement in hearing aids which led them to Brisbane and to a specialist at the Hear and Say Centre that would introduce them to a piece of technology that would change Searna’s life forever.

  The Proserpine State School student is one of four people in Australia to sport a tiny device smaller than a 20c piece called The Vibrant Soundbridge. Not that you would know it’s there.

  “In the past I have worn a big headband-type thing that helps me hear, but this just clips in and it comes in four colours to blend in with your hair colour,” she said.

  May says the breakthrough hearing aid technology works like a microphone. It picks up sounds and transmits them to its external component which is inserted behind the ear.

  “Everyone has three bones and they vibrate to give you sound. This device is hooked on to one of the bones and vibrates it,” May said.

  Searna says it’s made the world of difference.

  “I don’t have to turn my head all the time when people talk, which takes a while to get used to. I can hear people whisper now, which is funny, and the TV isn’t as loud. Sometimes I tell people shhhhhh, which mum finds funny,” she said.

  This month, until April 26, is the Hear and Say Centre’s Butterfly Appeal which calls for support from communities to give deaf children the lifelong gifts of sound and speech.

  The significance of the butterfly that they too are deaf … and when they learn to hear, listen and speak they emerge like butterflies from the cocoon of silence, the appeal says.

  Searna and May will be outside Woolworths in Proserpine this Saturday, April 14 and the following Saturday selling special merchandise including beautiful brooches, mini bling biros, charm bracelets and wristbands.

  “But more importantly we want to show people who might know someone who is deaf that there is a device that can help. We want to share our good fortune with everyone,” May said.

 

 

Proserpine Mill's furfural plant under review

The crop estimate for the Proserpine Sugar Mill is between 1.65 and 1.7 million tonnes which Proserpine Canegrowers Manager Mike Porter says may change slightly considering only half the farmers have completed their final estimates.

Sucrogen has released its early estimate as it moves towards finalising the maintenance program for the start of the 2012 crushing season.

Moving to dispel a rumour that the furfural plant is being dismantled and transported north to be used in some form at one of its four Burdekin mills, Sucrogen’s Executive General Manager for cane products Craig Doyle says a review of the furfural plant, including its processes and viability is currently being undertaken by an engineering firm.

"This investigation is not expected to be completed for several weeks and our key focus remains on completing the capital and maintenance program to ensure the mill is ready for the start of the 2012 crushing season.

Canegrowers’ Mr Porter says at this stage, Sucrogen seemed to be on the money with their estimate.

"It equates to around 80 t/ha which is getting closer to the district’s 10 year average. Not all growers have completed their estimates (less than half) so the final estimate may move around a bit but even with favourable weather, it would be unlikely to exceed the 1.7m tonne mark," he said. Up until the last big rain event, Mr Porter says the weather has been almost perfect for the crop.

"The dry start had an impact, but generally the monsoon season has been very favourable. Ideally, we would like to see a couple of weeks of sunshine with perhaps some follow-up rain after Easter.

"That would put the crop in a good position prior to the crush."

Whitsunday CWA reaches out to fire victim

They’ve attracted the nick name "chicks with attitude" for a good reason you know.

They stand up for what’s right, they’re empathetic and they fight for equality. While times have changed considerably since the Queensland Country Women’s Association’s inception some 90 years ago, a small branch of the QCWA has proven once again they never steer far from their association’s core values.

Remember the woman whose home was burned down south of Bloomsbury a few weeks ago? Did you wonder what became of her?

The QCWA pioneer division president Marie Baulch heard of the woman’s plight and offered her free rent in their Midge Point cottage "Lethebrook".

"A member from the Calen branch called me and told me about the fire. It so happened that our beach cottage was empty so we offered it to her. She was so grateful. It was such a worry off her shoulders to be left with nothing after a fire would be so awful. That’s what our organisation is all about – helping women, children and families in times of need, be it cyclone, flood, fire or drought," Ms Baulch said.

QCWA member Vi Bradford who looks after the cottage at Midge Point said their guest was the most lovely person you’d hope to meet.

"I had a few cuppas with her. There were tears and then there was laughter. For the QCWA to be able to help out at times like this means so much to everyone," Ms Bradford said.

The guest did not want her name printed, but left a beautiful message for those who helped in her time of great need.

"To find yourself homeless and without possessions overnight is a huge shock and I really did not know where to go or what to do. The last couple of weeks have felt like an eternity as I try to get myself organised and gather the courage for the future. You have assisted me greatly in this – and for that – I am eternally grateful. Thank you and God bless," was the lovely message in the guest book.

There’s nothing left of the house that the woman had newly rented a few kilometres south of Bloomsbury, just the tin roofing and a few beams and the sad memory of a little old timber home that once stood proudly in the beautiful Taranga valley.