Happy Friday. Welcome to this week's Council Connect. Councillor Alexandria Carruthers here with you to give you a quick update on Council and what's happening.
So first off, the Clarence Town Flood Study. Submissions are closing this Sunday. So if you haven't had a chance to review the study and put your submissions in, now's the time to do that. The submissions close at 5pm on Sunday.
Second, we have some committee positions available with the 355. There are current openings on the James Theatre committee. If you're passionate about the arts and want to help bring to life one of Dungog's most iconic community venues and the oldest purpose-built cinema in Australia, submit your application to join that committee. We'll post some information in the comments below so you can learn more about what's involved, but it's a great way to be part of the community. As I mentioned, The James Theatre holds a special place in all of our hearts. We've all been there at some point - whether it's date night, movies during school holidays, or just some time alone to enjoy a film. So if you're interested in joining the committee, here's your chance. The details will be in the comments below.
We've also got the Gresford School of Arts AGM coming up on Tuesday, the 17th of March, at 7pm, and everyone is welcome to come. There may be a few positions available on that community committee as well. So again, if you're keen to give back to the community and make sure that those facilities exist within our community, for our community, through a committee, the 355 committees are a great way to do that. So I would encourage you to come along on Tuesday, the 17th of March for that one.
Next up, we have Soft Plastics Recycling coming to Dungog Shire. The council has partnered with ReSmart to make it easier for us to recycle soft plastics, as many of you know, they can't go in the yellow bins. Starting this Sunday, March 1st, there will be a drop-off point for soft plastics at the Dungog Waste Management Facility. We'll share more details in the comments about how it all works, but that's just something to keep in mind. If you have soft plastics and are looking for a place to put them besides the red bin, since they can't go in the yellow bin, you can now drop them off at the Dungog Waste Facility.
We also have Seniors' Week coming up. Dungog Library, as part of Seniors Week, will be hosting some wellbeing sessions with a local practitioner, Wendell Peacock. Big shout-out to Wendell. She's very good at what she does. The session will be on Thursday, March 5th at 2:30pm at Dungog Library. Afternoon tea will be provided, and Wendell will share some simple, practical techniques to help manage stress, mobility challenges, and pain, including gentle yoga and breathing exercises. I've participated in a few of Wendell's yoga classes over the years, and I always felt much better afterward. If you're interested in attending, feel free to contact the library and let them know you'll be coming on the day so they can prepare enough afternoon tea for everyone.
A few other events that I just wanted to highlight. We've got the Gresford Show on the 13th and 14th of March, so it's time to start thinking about your show entries and what you want to include. The poultry pavilion is always a hit on our list, so we'll see you there.
We've also got the next Vacy Crop Swap meeting scheduled for the 22nd of March at the Vacy General Store. They have lots of delicious goodies there, and they also have a seed library. I strongly encourage you to mark that on your calendar.
This week, the Paterson Community Garden was launched, which is very exciting. It's part of the Community Builders initiatives that Paterson Community Builders have been organising, which is a fantastic group. They meet every Wednesday at St. Paul's Church Hall starting at 3:30 pm. They will be holding another Community Garden session soon, so stay connected with them. Keep an eye on the Paterson Community Group page, as they often post updates about upcoming events. I'm really excited to see that the Community Garden has now officially launched.
And finally, the event we've all been waiting for, the Billy Cart Derby at Gresford. The date has been set for Saturday, 4th April. It's time to start thinking about how those billy carts will look. If you're anything like me, you'll be checking the suspension after last year to make sure it rolls down the hill nice and smooth and that you don't end up pushing it. We've started formulating our ideas in our household. So I strongly suggest you do the same and mark that one in the calendar, because it is an event not to miss!
That's a wrap for this week's Council Connect. Tune in next week. Have a great weekend everyone. Bye
