50 years ago December 1974
Cr Ken Read, of Goornong, told Wednesday’s meeting of the Huntly Shire Council, that the chief secretary, Mr Rossiter, after a hearing a deputation from Goornong township, had agreed to continue the one-man police station in the town for another two years.
The deputation had the backing of 300 signatures, were protesting against the re-location of the policeman in Elmore, and having him visit Goornong one day a week.
Cr Read told his fellow councillors that wrong information given to a State Minister had nearly cost Goornong its police station.
“The minister was told that the station was in a remote area, well off the Northern Hwy, and on an unmade street and as such was not suitable for a station,’’ Cr Read said.
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A protest meeting at the Lockington Memorial Hall on Thursday decided to form an Irrigators’ Protest Group to oppose the increased water charges as set down by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission.
The meeting, attended by 120 district irrigators, agreed to the following resolutions: 1. General dissatisfaction with water price increases; 2. Dissatisfaction with method of implementing such measures; 3. Dissatisfaction at the lack of action by existing organisations to protest with any success against the increases; and 4. That farmers couldn't pay such increases.
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Head of the Echuca CIB, Detective Sergeant Jim Barritt, believes a film called Better Dead’ could significantly reduce the numbers of young people tempted into the drug scene if it was made available for public screening.
The colour film was shown at a conference in Melbourne for CIB representatives from country areas, and Sgt Barritt said the film was so striking it would have to affect any prospective drug users.
Vividly portraying the drug scene in England, the characters were not actresses and actors, but real drug users and Sgt Barritt said the film was so explicit that many film libraries in Victoria had refused to stock it.
Because of the strong message the film presented, Sgt Barritt said he believed service clubs could perhaps obtain the film for viewing to the public and senior students and it would more certainly make most people think again about drugs.
25 years ago December 1999
Elmore girl Julie Flynn is Rochester Secondary College’s top student after receiving her VCE score of 98.85 on Friday.
College principal John Meyer said it was a top effort by the 17-year-old student.
‘’It’s a great result for her after a year of hard work,’’ he said.
Julie hopes to follow a career in the medical field with her first-choice tertiary course of medicine at Monash.
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To say St Joseph’s Primary School principal Sister Gail Ryan will be missed by both staff, students and parents is an understatement, according to those around her.
Sr Gail, who has been principal for 25 years, the past eight at the Rochester Catholic school, is retiring from the school to pursue further education in Melbourne for 12 months.
‘’Gail’s gentle, caring and compassionate nature has brought a beautiful spirit among the staff,’’ school secretary Eunice Cartner said.
It also means the beginning of a new cycle for St Joseph’s school as the principal’s role will now move on to a lay person, ending the Brigidine era which began with the school’s foundation in 1893.
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Convincing wins over district, regional and state bowlers has landed Elmore bowler Evelyn Locke a place in the final round of the Victorian State Championship Singles.
The championships were due to be played in Ballarat recently; however, rain washed out play.
Locke now has to retain her winning form for when she's meeting 17-year-old Mooroopna bowler Stacey Collier in the final in February.
As five-time ladies club champion at Elmore and three-time runner-up in the Champion of Champions district competition, Locke has a few cards up her sleeve when it comes to placing the kitty and getting the ends on the board
10 years ago December 2014
Almost $500,000 in cash is sitting on the table.
But who in Rochester gets a cut may become one of the most controversial events in recent history.
A lottery that Rochester resident Graham Willis warned ‘‘everybody will want a piece of this pie’’ and said it could tear the town in half.
Rochester recreation committees can officially stake their claims for a cut of the $481,883 from the sale of irrigation water after the closure of the Campaspe Irrigation System at Rochester Racecourse Recreation Reserve.
Campaspe mayor Leigh Wilson said the funds would be distributed to worthy recreation projects through the one-off Rochester community recreation grants program.
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Rochester Secondary College students are thrilled with their end-of-year results.
Principal Bernie Altmann said the school had been pushing the theme of ‘‘raising the bar’’ among this year’s Year 12 students.
Rochester Secondary College student Dominique Atley was ‘‘really surprised’’ with a 10am phone call from her principal informing the recent graduate she was dux of the college.
The school captain took out top honours with a Victorian Certificate of Education score of 96.70 and said she had just been hoping to score in the 80s.
‘‘It was a complete surprise, I worked hard all year, but I definitely didn’t think I’d finish at the top of the class,’’ she said.
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Rochester’s unemployed will now have to work double the time of people living in cities to receive welfare payments.
Under the federal work-for-the-dole scheme, rural residents will have to complete 25 hours a week, about 260 days a year.
That’s twice the number of days for welfare recipients in urban areas under new government legislation.
‘‘Firstly, it’s putting more money into those communities to enable every single able-bodied person to have the opportunity to work 25 hours per week,’’ Prime Minister parliamentary secretary Alan Tudge said.
‘‘Secondly, it provides additional empowerment initiatives and particularly reforming training so that training leads into a job rather than training for training’s sake.’’
The new welfare regime is expected to affect about regional 30,000 Australians.