Reference is made to the decision of Hilltops Council in regard to the funding allocation for the Stronger Communities Funding Grant for 2016 for the Bendick Murrell Memorial Hall Committee.

Answers are sort and an explanation needed as to how the funding decisions were made and the funds distributed.

I was involved in the initial meeting with the Bendick Murrell Hall Committee and the Hilltops Administrator, Wendy Tuckerman, where she and other members of Hilltops Council outlined the criteria for the submission.

Never at any time, or at various meetings in the lead-up to the application being submitted, were we advised that because the hall is erected on Crown Land that the application would be rejected.

In fact, we were encouraged by Hilltops Council employees to submit our application.

We have nothing but praise for the business houses of Young who took the time and effort to submit quotes for the work at the Bendick Murrell Hall.

I would like to apologise to all these businesses as I know their time in arranging these quotes put extra burden onto their business demands.

The residents of Bendick Murrell are upset that their small village has again been overlooked by Hilltops Council as it is now the only venue in the village to hold community events.

It is the end of December 2016 and we still have not been officially notified that our submission was unsuccessful.

This is not very professional.

We await council’s response.

Geoffrey Slavin

BENDICK MURRELL

DEAR EDITOR

It’s that time of year again and this year I would like to pass on my Christmas best wishes to the members of the Cunningham Valley Action Group. I hope they enjoy the festive cheer, surrounded by family and friends and enjoy the bounty that the local district provides.

I hope they enjoy the rolled turkey breast with cranberry sauce produced by local farmers at Murringo; the seasoned pork roast produce using pork raised by local farmers; the stuffed free range chicken from Country Cacklers at Temora who’s chickens are the tastiest thing I’ve ever tasted.

Maybe even a tasty roast duck raised in the rolling hills of Harden stuffed with local plums sourced from any number of local orchards, fed using local grain, or maybe free range eggs produced at Bendick Murrell used to make mayonaise or a pavlova covered with local cherries and strawberries; a honey glazed ham using local bone in pork and canola honey produced from anyone of our local apriarist. 

Not to mention a succulent 60-day grain fed t-bone from Jindalee feedlot cooked medium rare on the barby or maybe a tender juicy lamb cutlet sourced from lambs grown in some of the finest farmland in Australia, the South West Slopes and Plains, no doubt washed down with either a Shiraz from gold medal winning Moppity Vineyards; or even a lovely semillion produced from the long standing Wondoga Hill winery.

 And I hope their thoughts are with the many hundreds of people who work 24/7 to produce the feed, deliver it to farms, attend to the stock, fix the fences, repair the tractors and feed the animals and the farmers who invest huge amount of time and cash into getting these operations up and going and that they acknowledge these efforts have allowed the local district to develop into this amazing community it has become and that we all want to share and live in.

So let’s hope when the members of the CVAG sit down to rejoice this Christmas with their family and friends enjoying this bounty, that they take time to reconsider their opposition to the piggery and decide finally to support the community that supports them.

Richard Mayoh

YOUNG

Dear Editor,

In October I discovered that steel and wire tipped at the Young Tip would in future incur a tip charge of $10 per cubic metre. Up until then steel and wire were accepted free of charge. Many Young district farmers use the service to dispose of their old fencing materials.

I wrote to Mrs Wendy Tuckerman, the newly appointed Administrator of Hilltops Council on 7^th October 2016 and again on 20^th November 2016 objecting to the new charge and requesting it be abolished.

Up until now, Mrs Tuckerman has not had the decency to reply to either of my letters.

In a September 2016 issue of your newspaper in Mrs Tuckerman’s column said;  

“The Council’s highest priority as a new council is to ensure we continue to deliver the many local services valued by our communities.”

I and other farmers feel that the new fee is a revenue raiser and should be abolished.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Buck Snr