HELLO everyone. Belated merry Christmas and a very happy new year to everyone. I hope that you all had a great Christmas and that you all saw the new year in safely. January sees the start of 2017, with much happening in regard to the council.
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Firstly we said goodbye to Rod Shaw and his partner Jan after nearly three years of service at the helm of our council. Rod did a fine job in steering council through the “Fit for the Future” process and along with councillors and staff managed to deliver our independence as a stand-alone council. He will be fondly remembered for his happy nature and community interest. Good luck in retirement Rod and Jan.
On Rod’s leaving his replacement, Peter Veneris, started as Lockhart Shire Council’s new general manager on January 3. Peter is extremely well qualified to lead our shire into the future and under his guidance and with his staff and councillors, and of course not forgetting residents, on board, I'm sure our future will be assured for the long term.
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As mayor I would like to publicly acknowledge the enormous effort of staff at the Lockhart Shire Council in the delivery of services to you, the residents. It is quite astounding how much is delivered to people throughout the shire with the resources available to staff, but deliver they do and for that THANKYOU!
Road crews and outdoor staff have been very busy over the summer months with road repairs and parks and garden maintenance, much of it in catch up mode after the very wet winter, being close to completion if that could ever happen. We all saw the damage to our roads, but crews have done a remarkable job in keeping roads to a standard that they could still be used.
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Australia Day will be celebrated by residents of the shire and their friends at Yerong Creek. There are many activities planned for the day as well as the naming of the "Citizen of the Year" for our shire. Please come along and enjoy the day.
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Council has a large amount of work going forward in 2017 with the adoption of our Community Strategic Plan (CSP) and our application for a "Special Rate Variation" endorsed by ratepayers to help ensure our long term financial sustainability so that we remain "Fit for the Future". By reading the CSP document you will see the full extent of our program going forward.
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While Christmas and the New Year is a happy time for most people, some in our community lost loved ones or faced some form of crises that many close by may not be aware of. I ask that you take notice of those around you and ensure that they are OK.
Many lonely people or those in crises just need someone to talk to and this simple act of kindness may just make all the difference.