Articles by Craig Wilson
Ararat welcomes four new citizens
FOUR Ararat Rural City residents have cemented their ties to Australia in a citizenship ceremony held at Alexandra Oval Community Centre on Wednesday.
The morning’s proceedings led with a ‘Welcome to Country’ followed by a shared moment of reflection in memory of the late Queen Elizabeth II ahead of conferees taking their pledge.
Presiding over the citizenship ceremony, Mayor Jo Armstrong said it is a great honour as mayor to officiate over this important ceremony and welcome our newest citizens.
Conferees include Tanzeel Ahmed Shah, Irene Carpio Hermosilla, Malian El Eter and Sonia Joyce Smith.
Buangor community dinner a success
IT was seven o’clock on a Friday and the regular crowd shuffled in.
Behind the bar stood Jodie, serving people beer, wine, tonic and gin.
“It’s great to be working here again,” she said, pouring a beer out of the Carlton Draught tap, as locals made the most of time before food was served to catch up.
It was the kind of event, with the kind of crowd, committees dream of hosting.
And Buangor smashed it over the Western Highway last Friday night with its inaugural community dinner.
Nominations open for Festival Queen
ARARAT’s Golden Gateway Festival will make a welcome return in just over a month and nominations are open for a Festival Queen.
The organising committee is seeking nominations of young ladies between 17 and 26 years to preside over the ten day festival.
Organiser Melissa Perry said nominations have been slow this year due to the festival being cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
Ararat’s Isabelle Fiegert is the first nomination to be Festival Queen 2022.
She is a member of Ararat Pony Club, plays netball for Tatyoon and is currently doing her VCE.
One Red Tree heads to Spring Street
THE innovative One Red Tree project continues to go from strength to strength, with project leaders holding high level meetings ay Parliament House seeking funding for the project.
Ararat based One Red Tree is the brainchild of Clinical Psychologist Carly Mckinnis and Education Leader Tammie Meehan.
In partnership with Federation University, the project’s aim is to become a centre of excellence in providing high-quality, evidence-based mental health care across the Ararat and Grampians region.
Committee vows to fight on after lake decision
MEMBERS of the Green Hill Lake Development Board have vowed to push on with their plans to improve the precinct, despite a move to hand the site back to the Victorian Government.
The lake precinct is owned by the Victorian Government but is controlled by Ararat Rural City Council.
At a recent council meeting, six of seven councillors agreed to investigate handing back control of the site to the state.
CFA seeks new generation of volunteers
ARARAT Fire Brigade has been keeping Ararat safe for almost 150 years.
The brigade is 100% volunteer operated and they are on the lookout for an influx of new members to join and help protect the community,
People living in Ararat who are interested in joining a motivated, friendly team of volunteers are encouraged to get involved.
The CFA provides full training for new members and run courses to teach people basic fireground practices, pump operation, fire safety awareness, first aid and leadership skills.
A new member information session is planned for early October to give prospective new members an overview of what the CFA is about and some of the many roles people play within the organisation.
Jan reflects on the Queen’s life of service
ARARAT’s Jan Ayer admits she has loved Queen Elizabeth II all of her life. As a young girl living in the United Kingdom, Mrs Ayer recalls going to London with her mother to catch a glimpse of the Queen during the coronation. “We camped out on the pavement, we took our travelling rugs and pillows […]
Greens select Earl for Ripon
A fourth candidate has emerged in the seat of Ripon for November’s election with the Greens selecting Clunes resident Earl James. Mr James is a teacher and union organiser who says he’ll be campaigning on a number of key issues. He said Ripon has two main train lines but many people live in transport poverty […]