Tuesday 4 August 2015

WOT #105 August 2015: Waterless fountain update

It was around 10 years ago that local residents and community groups around Wycheproof delved into the archives and the back of cupboards and drawers to find treasures and mementos that were to be preserved in the Wycheproof Waterless Fountain. The unveiling of the 'fountain' in 2006 was marked by an article in the Bendigo Advertiser (here).

Created by Bendigo artist Carlo Rolfe, the 'fountain' started out fulfilling the community's brief ...to preserve our proud history and to mark our resilience in time of drought. The 'fountain' was proudly placed in front of the rotunda at the corner of Broadway and O'Connor St. However, the vagaries of our climate, particularly over 40 degree summer days, quickly took their toll on the 'fountain' made of resin and it soon discoloured and cracked in the full force of the summer sun.

Over many years there have been attempts to repair the sculpture and find it a new home. Unfortunately repairs have failed and the discolouration can't be reversed. The fountain is currently at the Wycheproof Mens Shed where the volunteers are trialing ways to retrieve the objects and memorabilia intact to return to community groups and individuals. However, it is likely that not all items will be able to be retrieved.

Anyone who donated an item to the Waterless Fountain sculpture project and who wants that item returned is invited to inspect the 'fountain' at the Mens Shed to see if that is feasible, please contact the Wycheproof Community Resource Centre on 54937455 to arrange a time.      

WOT #105 August 2015: Youth report

Wycheproof Youth Report
For the past month, the Youth Group has been busy renovating our youth room. From cleaning, to painting and making plans for the space we have created. 

We met on two separate occasions to prepare our room with sweeping, dusting and scrubbing and preparing walls  it for the base coat of paint. Then the next working bee we finally got to paint after a quick wash to take the remainder of dust and dirt off. The base coat we achieved by the end of the afternoon and we are excited to start planning for pops of colour. 
Our vision for the room, once completed, is for it to become a fun environment fit for many different events from Disco’s, movie nights and bonfires.                                                      by  Mackenzie and Hannah

                             ... here we are hard at working preparing for painting of the Youth Room

WOT #105 August 2015: Chamber Chatter with Tracy

Chamber Chatter with Tracy
Well I think all would agree it was a very successful market day once again in July.
And to all who held or went to the garage sale weekend a big thank you for making that a great day, also to the many businesses that opened on the day ,and lets not forget the Resource Centre for their great work.
A REMINDER for ALL businesses; if in need of special flyers, or other printing for your business, please use the resource centre, as we are very lucky to have the service. 
Some businesses are still working on their shop front makeovers and looking good. 
Hope to see you out and about shopping in the local businesses. 


Mt Wyche Cafe
We’re adding a bit of fun to the workplace and end of the working week by introducing...
 Fancy Dress Fridays.
Come in and see the staff,  have a laugh and put your vote in for best dressed.


A special a makeover.
Wycheproof VISION would like to congratulate Tony, the owner of the building that is home to the Art/Craft Shop, for his efforts in renovating the inside of the shop. The creation of an ‘office’ area and the other work completed makes it a comfortable and inviting environment for both workers and customers alike. 
With the winter chill continuing, call into the Art & Craft shop for warm knitted children's clothing, beanies and scarves.  
Volunteers WANTED: Call in to the Art & Craft Shop or Wycheproof Community Resource Centre for more information.

Thinking of Christmas!!!

Christmas Decorating on Broadway
Well Wycheproof, Christmas is not far away and suggestions are welcome for this year's Christmas Tree Competition for Broadway. The competition was well supported by local businesses and groups who adopted a tree to decorate. 
Wycheproof VISION is keen to host another ‘Decorate a Peppercorn
Competition’, but need to decide whether it should have a theme or just open, like last year?
We would like to aim to have all trees decorated by the
1 December 2015 to maximise the publicity for our community.
So, put on your thinking hats. All suggestions are welcome.




WOT #105 August 2015: On the Wyche police beat

On the beat report with Leading Senior Constable Leigh Johnstone

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is warning the public to be aware of a phone scam, that is again circulating, where fraudsters are intimidating people into paying a fake tax debt over the phone.

The aggressive scam attempts to force people to pay a fake tax debt over the phone by threatening arrest if they don’t comply. Assistant Commissioner Thomas Ryan said, the ATO makes thousands of calls to taxpayers a week, but would never contact taxpayers about a debt in this threatening manner and urges people to protect their personal details.

“We take your privacy seriously. We urge you to be alert to these types of scams and never send money or give your financial details to someone you don’t know and trust,” Mr Ryan said.

“Generally the ATO would send an SMS or letter to remind you that a payment was due. If we don't get a response from this we would then call you to discuss payment. If you do have a tax debt we encourage you to contact us early on 13 11 42 so we can discuss your circumstances,” Mr Ryan said.

If people receive a call from the ATO and are concerned about providing their personal information over the phone, they should ask for the caller’s name and phone them back through the ATO’s switchboard on 13 28 69.
If you think you may have fallen victim to a phone scam, contact the ATO on 13 28 61 (8.00 am–6.00 pm Mon to Fri).  Any scam using the internet or email can be reported at the following website: www.acorn.gov.au


WOT #105 August 2015: Wycheproof Community Garden

Wycheproof Community Garden Sproutings
With the coming of July and our shortest day behind us, it’s time to consider the on coming spring growing season. Thanks to a small band of members who have maintained the gardens and surrounds, the vast majority of our garden beds, vines and fruit trees have survived the past summer in good health. 

With the Spring growing season not too far away members are now planning what they would like to plant and nurture through to harvest. The recent welcome rainfall has done our property a lot of good and hopes are high for a successful growing season.

Membership for the full season commencing July 1 2015 until June 30 2016 is only $10. The cost per garden bed is $5 for the full year. 

Two or three working bees are normally held during the year in order to keep the garden in top shape. If you would like to be a part of the fun, contact any of the following: Ian Wheelhouse, Prof Milburn or Russ Bedggood to secure your spot. For anyone not familiar with our location in Park St, we are situated next to the hospital and directly behind Dr Ken’s residence.


Garden beds planted out with winter veges.

WOT #105 August 2015: Wycheproof Lawn Tennis Club news

In December last year, Wycheproof Lawn Tennis Club (WLTC) player Mary-Anne Pollard was nominated and accepted into the Sunraysia Academy of Sport 2015 Tennis program. The program, supported by Tennis Victoria,  provides junior athletes with a high performance sporting program within our region by enhancing pathways for young athletes to achieve their elite sporting and personal ambitions.

 As part of the 2015 SAS Tennis Program, Mary-Anne (pictured with WLTC president, Rob Elder) is required to travel to tournaments throughout Victoria. To support her in her endeavours the Wycheproof Lawn Tennis Club applied for a VicTalent grant, in the Victorian Government 2015 Phase 2 funding rounds, and was successful.
VicTalent provides a $500 travel assistance grant to community sport and recreation organisations in rural and regional Victoria to assist athletes, coaches, officials and teams with the travel costs of training and competition. The grant will help cover costs involved in travelling to training and competition events.

Wycheproof Lawn Tennis Club Meeting Wednesday 5 August at 7pm at the Royal Mail Hotel.

WOT #105 August 2015: Wyche P-12 news

Grounds looking good. Wycheproof P-12 College school grounds are looking great after the recent rains and some TLC from Peter Dillon and Noel Gretgrix. New grass has been planted in the primary school footy oval area and on the Saffin Oval. The result is two, very plush, green areas that are almost ready for students. During the holidays, Noel and Peter created a new concrete area ready for four seats for the students. The Parents and Friends Association donated seats for the children to sit on during the day. 











Waiting for the seats from the P & F  are: Olivia Driscoll, Amara Cowell, William Ison, Will Allan, Noah Greco and Hunter Connolly.

The High Street entrance to the school has been landscaped with the area mulched with woodchips and new plants which will offset the old machinery on display. The machinery has been made available courtesy of Noel Gretgrix and Mick Giddings. 

The gardens are an ongoing process with pruning and planting and the staff and students are enjoying having such nice surrounds to learn, teach and play in.
Visiting Shows. As a country school, Wycheproof P-12 is lucky to have many shows come to us rather than have to travel to some of the bigger cities. Wycheproof Secondary students were entertained by a trio of actors  perform the play, “The Importance of Being Ernest” by Oscar Wilde. 
The Primary students were introduced to life in British Colonial times that portrayed the life of convicts and transportation to different colonies and life during the goldfields era. The children were made aware of the punishments, crimes and difficulties involved in living in cramped conditions on the convict ships. The “Sargeant” kept the students well under control and explained the history of the British flags and the evolvement to form the Union Jack.

Meg and Georgia at cross countryCross Country - Bundoora. Georgia Sheahan and Meg Fawcett (pictured) earned their place to compete in the State Cross Country Finals held in Bundoora on Thursday 16 July. The girls competed in the Open Girls event and posted quite good times. They finished 44th and 62nd respectively. Well done on having the opportunity to compete at this elite level.

An Insight into Uni Life. On Tuesday 21 July,  Meg Bloomfield ( pictured below) returned to school to talk to Senior students about living at Mannix College (Monash Uni). She gave a presentation with pictures of the new modern facilities that include cultural and sporting facilities. Mannix is a Catholic facility but most of the residents come from all different denominations. The first week, "O Week", is a time for getting to know people and learning to find your way around. This is helped with the aid of an App for your phone making it easier to find where you have to go. Mannix has large rooms for your personal items. Showers and toilets are communal. Every Thursday night Mannix has a social activity or get together. 

Talks such as this give the students an insight into what they can expect when moving onto Tertiary Education.

Wycheproof on Track #105 August 2015: News with Amanda

There are so many things to celebrate in Wycheproof this month. Some are happy things and some sad. But they all need celebrating in their own right.

Our July Wycheproof VISION meeting was a celebration as it was our first meeting in the newly refurbished Railway Station. At the meeting we welcomed two new community members who are prepared to take a vested interest in this town we all call home. Being a member and being interested does not mean you need to be at everything, it means you are prepared to stand up for what is important for you and your family. All input and correspondence is important and feel free to contact me if you would like to receive our meeting minutes.

At the meeting we paused and a condolence motion was minuted as we remembered Gordon Hutcheon. Our town lost a great community man, an active participant in so many groups, they are too numerous to mention, but we extend our condolences to the Hutcheon family and give thanks for the man we all knew as 'Hutchy'.

On a happier note, how could this issue of Wycheproof On Track go to press without celebrating James Coatsworth’s mammoth achievement reaching Cape York, the northern-most tip of Australia. Riding alongside him was his partner in peddling Jamie Ison (Freddy). Together they conquered 3700km in just 23 days, an amazing effort indeed. Just a reminder that it’s not too late to donate to James' special cause, diabetes research, on the website www.toptotip.com.au 

Activities this month
Wycheproof VISION hosted a brief meeting with the Murtoa Progress Association on 11 July 2015. The Murtoa association is interested in restoring their railway station to allow it to be used for community use and used the visit to Wycheproof as a chance to view the refurbished railway station and to share information on how the project happened. We wish them well.


 The following is a copy of an email received in Wycheproof VISION's inbox this month:
Hello everyone up there, Are you skiing off the Mount yet? It is COLD here, at Metung, East Gippsland. My sister, Win Tunstall, sent me a copy of Wycheproof on track (great title), with the section about James Coatsworth, and since then I have been following his progress. What an amazing achievement for both him and Freddy. He must have a wonderful support team with him too. What grit, what determination. I hope he writes an article or something about it, although I don’t think he would see many of the sights. Perhaps on the way back, though. I do hope the town does something special for him.
Best wishes to you all. Judith Williams (nee Taylor).