Reflections from the past

The crossings are in High, Hare and Anstruther Sts. The town clerk, Mr K. McCartney, told this week’s council meeting the necessary uniforms and equipment had been ordered.

The supervisors have been trained by the Echuca police.

The supervisors walk on to the crossing, and stop the traffic. The children are directed across. Motorists cannot drive off until the supervisor is back on the kerb and directs them through.

***

The possibility of a contraceptive pill for male European carp is the latest suggestion to try and solve the rapid spread of the fish.

The suggestion has been put by a Member of Parliament, Mr Michael Clarke, MLC (Northern Province).

He told the Legislative Council he believed a portion of the $250,000 collected for anglers in licence fees each year should be spent on research into development of such pill.

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Andrea Kiefel, a student at the Echuca High School, has been awarded an American Field Service International Scholarship.

Andre will be spending the year (from July to July) with Mr and Mrs Duane Dueland and family at McCook, Nebraska.

AFS offers a limited number of scholarships to young Australians between 16 and 18 each year.

Andrea will learn first hand what life in the United States is really like.

At the same time she will teach them about Australia and Australians.

25 years ago May 2000

More than 230 riders took part in the Goose Swap Muster at Barmah.

The group rode out at 8am to muster the cattle from the 2000-hectare Goose Swamp holding paddock into the Barmah muster yards.

Rain on Sunday kept rider numbers down on previous years, but young and old joined in the last day of the week-long Barmah muster.

By 11.30am, the kangaroos bounding out of the bush signalled the approach of riders and cattle.

The 664 cattle and the 231 riders were counted through the gates to signal the end of the muster.

It was then back to the muster yards for a day’s entertainment.

***

With the shortage of doctors in rural communities continuing to be a major concern, northern Victorian health services are now working together to find a solution.

Echuca Regional Health is one of a number of health services working with the Murray Plains Division of General Practice to development collective strategies to address the shortage.

The MPDGP has expressed concern about doctor numbers in Echuca, Rochester, Kyabram, Kerang and Cohuna.

Supporting the recruitment and retention of general practitioners is one of the activities of the association.

***

For more than a year Faye McAliece and her pet pig, Judy, have been going for leisurely strolls through nearby Murray River Reserve.

Faye lives in O’Dwyer Rd, right on the edge of the reserve. She and 18-month-old Judy love getting out among nature.

But on Monday morning, that peaceful daily ritual was upset when Faye was told by ‘’the authorities’’ that pigs were out of bounds in state forests.

‘’It’s not the end of the world. I just want to know why,’’ Faye said.

The Riv made an inquiry with Parks Victoria and it seems that as long as Judy is kept under control, she and her owner are quite at liberty to continue their walk.

The Parks Victoria officer said there were no real environmental concerns either.

10 years ago May 2015

The Gunbower community is concerned criminals are running amok without fear of arrest because of the lack of police presence in the town.

Many feel unsafe and blame the town’s recent spike in burglaries on absences of the police officer at the one-man station — and because there is no temporary replacement.

And it was only going to get worse because of the ever-increasing drug problem, one business owner said.

‘‘We feel unsafe,’’ the woman said.

‘‘Community members are really concerned. People are thinking about starting a petition.’’

***

The Rochester community is also concerned by the lack of police presence since a new roster trial, which sees Echuca police cover the town for up to 16 hours a day, was implemented 12 months ago.

The new roster means officers in Rochester, Rushworth and Kyabram are no longer on call, either starting earlier or finishing later, with Echuca attending when needed.

Campaspe police service area Inspector Paul Margetts has recommended the roster become permanent practice, saying burglaries and thefts had decreased since it started.

However, many Rochester community groups and business leaders disagree, claiming it had led to the recent crime spike.

Last week, Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh met a group of 12 businesswomen in Rochester to discuss a range of community issues, the main one being policing.

‘‘Everybody in attendance agreed policing is an issue in Rochester which needs to be addressed quickly,’’ Rochester Motel owner Meagan Keating said.

***

Echuca-Moama hosted the second-highest number of overnight visitors of any destination in the Murray region for the year ending December 2014.

According to Tourism Research Australia, 669,000 domestic overnight visitors came to the region — the same as 2013.

Echuca-Moama attracted more visitors than the Mildura Wentworth, Swan Hill and Sun Country regions.

It was, however, outdone by Albury-Wodonga, which received 694,000 visitors.

Of the overnight visitors, more than 1.8 million nights were spent in the region — an increase of 5.9 per cent from the previous year — while an estimated $268 million was spent, an average of $146 per night.