Council News 20 February 2019

As previously advised a Drought Information Night is currently being arranged to be held at the Grenfell Bowling Club next Monday 25 February 2019 at 7.00pm. The Member for Cootamundra the Hon Steph Cooke MP and a representative from the Rural Resilience Program are working with Council to help organise this event. There will be a number of speakers from different organisations who will take the audience through what is available in terms of funding, assistance, counselling services and to answer any questions the community may have. Please see the adjacent invitation for further details.

Council conducted a Sale of Land for Overdue Rates at the Community Hub last Friday 15 February, 2019 which was very successful. The Hub was packed with approximately 60 people in attendance which ensured there was some spirited bidding. All of the blocks sold on the day which was an excellent result. Thank you to Peter Moffitt, Vanessa Gibson and their staff from Gordon Garling Moffitt, Danny Joyce, Rob Anderson and Geoff McClelland who were the joint selling agents and Lachlan Gibson and Graham Eppelstun from Council who all worked together to make the sale a great success.

The Member for Cootamundra the Hon Steph Cooke MP has advised landholders across NSW will start to receive their Local Land Services (LLS) rates notices in the mail this year and there will be a nil balance which is very good news for our rural residents. The NSW Government’s Drought Relief Package, announced in 2018, included a special waiver for LLS rates for this year providing welcome relief for drought impacted rural and regional landholders. Ms Cooke advised that while rates are a vital source of income for LLS - supporting the organisation’s biosecurity, emergency response and animal health work across NSW – it is important at this time to provide full support to landholders who are focusing on getting back on their feet following one of the worst droughts on record. For more information visit www.lls.nsw.gov.au/annual-rates

The NSW Office for Veterans Affairs (OVA) have announced grants of up to $10,000 are available to support the repair and conservation of war memorials across New South Wales. The Community War Memorials Fund supports projects that seek to protect, conserve and repair war memorials. The program funds works that are in-line with best practice conservation and has previously supported projects such as conservation management plans for war memorials, the repair and restoration of honour rolls, arborist advice for war memorial avenues and conservation works to war memorial halls. Applications can be lodged online at veteransnsw.smartygrants.com.au. You can contact the OVA by calling 1300 838 233 or (02) 8061 9288. Questions regarding the Community War Memorials Fund can also be emailed to [email protected] Applications to the Community War Memorials Fund will be accepted until 5pm on Anzac Day, 25 April 2019.

Youth Week is fast approaching and will be held from 10-18 April 2019. This year, the NSW Youth Week theme is: Coming together to Connect, Share, Speak out, and Celebrate. The theme was decided by the NSW Youth Advisory Council 2018. To celebrate NSW Youth Week this year, the Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People (ACYP) is inviting young people between 12 and 24 years of age to enter the NSW Youth Week Design Competition. The winner will be presented with an award at the NSW Youth Week Forum at NSW Parliament House on Monday 8 April 2019. Designs can include drawings, paintings, photographs and digital illustrations. It’s not about being a good artist, it’s about young people showing us what inspires them. Young people in the Shire are encouraged to enter. Entries close Sunday 17 March 2019. To learn more about Youth Week or to find activities visit: www.youthweek.nsw.gov.au

LachLandcare has funding available to assist farmers to protect paddock trees and protect and enhance remnant box-gum woodland habitat for the threatened superb parrot and is seeking expressions of interest from landholders interested to participate in this program. Funding is available to:

• Fence-off paddock trees (living or dead) (single or small clump) with minimum area of 20m x 20m and planting of understorey species such as wattles, hopbushes and Bursaria (Blackthorn). Priority will be given to projects that fence off known or suitable Superb Parrot nest trees. Trees that are fenced must be within 50-100m of other trees (dead or alive) and/or woodland.

• Fence off existing box gum woodland habitat which allows strategic grazing management that improves overall habitat quality. Enhancement planting of understorey shrubs may be appropriate to improve condition.

• Establish box-gum woodland habitat by planting trees and shrubs strategically to improve habitat connectivity. Expressions of interest are due Thursday 28th February, 2019. For more information visit: https://www.lachlandcare.org.au/projects/saving-our-superb-parrot

The current exhibition at the Grenfell Art Gallery is ‘A Portrait of Landscape and Time in Hill End: Mythmaking, Heroes and Villains’ by Rebecca Wilson. The exhibition officially opened 8 January 2019 and is on display until 24 February 2019. The artist unearths lessor known stories of the iconic town and disrupts common narratives of the region, questioning who the real heroes and villains are in recorded history and how we create myths and icons. The Art Gallery is open Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm, Saturday 10am - 3pm & Sunday 10am -2pm.

The next film to be screened at the Grenfell Cinema will be “A Star is Born” at 8.00pm Saturday 9 March, 2019. Please see the adjacent advertisement for further details.