Shire of Corrigin & Corrigin CRC Newsletter - Edition No.11 - 20 February 2017

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Lyn Baker
What a month of crazy
weather we’ve had!
Many days of 35+
degrees and then came
the rain. And what a rain!
I guess it really was a
nice wintery downfall –
except it’s the middle of
summer. Lovely full
dams and tanks, lots of
soil moisture. Apparently,
that promises a good
season. Forgive me if I’m
not convinced – there are 8 months to go before harvest
starts. Let’s just get to October before we get too carried
away!
The rain has caused plenty of damage to roads both inside
our local government area and outside of it. It may take
many months for repairs to be made, although it will be a
priority. Of course, those repairs will cost the Shire a lot of
money. And while staff are concentrating on these repairs,
they are unable to attend to their “normal” projects. So,
although a plan has been made and a timetable in place,
there is no telling if and when that will be back on the
table. Please be patient!
In regards to the cost, we have available to us the Western
Australian Natural Disaster Recovery and Relief
Arrangements (WANDRRA) which is administered by the
Office of Emergency Management, and which will aid in
the restoration/replacement of essential public assets
owned by the Local Government. The fund aims to restore
these assets to their pre-disaster standard. There are a
series of hoops which need to be jumped through, one
being that the disaster has to be a “declared” event,
another that the damage must exceed a cost to the State
of $240,000. Not all damage is eligible, nor is all of the
repair work. Normal local government costs such as
salaries and wages are ineligible for reimbursement under
WANDRRA. To be eligible, the Shire can only use
contractors and claim 75% of the first $153,400 towards
the repairs/restoration. Claims for over $153,400 can be
made at 100% but only where contractors are used.
It’s such a shame that some people ignore Road Closed
signs or believe that those directives don’t apply to them.
There is also a case to be made for using your own
discretion and not using a flooded road or bridge even if
there is no sign up.
On another matter that is close to our heart is safety on
our roads. Unfortunately, I must report that yet another
accident has occurred at the intersection of the Corrigin-
Brookton Road/Quairading-Fence Road. The Shire has
previously lobbied State agencies to have the Main Roads
controlled intersection upgraded so it is safer. However we
understand that funds were not available. We will continue
to lobby to have the intersection upgraded so that it safe
for residents and visitors alike.
Our annual Australia Day breakfast and the presentation of
our Citizen of the Year Awards was fantastic. Because of
the expected very hot conditions it was decided to move
into the Town Hall – and it was a great move. We had an
inspirational address from our Australia Day Ambassador,
Professor Ralph Martins, who was WA’s Australian of the
Year in 2010, and the Western Australian Citizen of the
Year in 2011. A truly great Australian!
Following Prof Martins speech we presented the Awards,
and I know that this was reported in the last Windmill.
However, I would like to congratulate all of the nominees:
Lachlan Robinson, Gypsy Treacy, Connor Baker, Corrigin
Golf Club, Corrigin Ballet Group, Ivan Kirkwood, Greg
Humphries, Jackie Jones and Sue Courboules. There was
some really stiff competition this year and I’m sure it wasn’t
easy for the judges to make their decisions.
In the end, though, Connor Baker was the named
Corrigin’s Citizen of the Year (Youth); Greg Humphries,
the Citizen of the Year (Senior); the Corrigin Golf Club, the
Active Citizenship Award for a Group or Event; and Sue
Courboules, Corrigin’s Citizen of the Year. Well done to all
of those great people!
Nominations open for the Citizen of the Year Awards in
October but if you think that you know of someone who
should be nominated you can start gathering your
information any time. It’s always a bit of a rush in the end
to get the nominations in, so it would be great if you could
put some thought into it earlier.
Lyn
LYN BAKER
Email: Phone: 9065 7053
MESSAGE FROM SHIRE PRESIDENT
Strengthening our community now to grow and prosper into the future