April 2, 2020
Feeling gloomy because of all the viral news? A couple of soon-to-be elected councillors want to do something about it!
Councillors-elect Danita Potter and Kathy Duff have good reasons to smile themselves – they are both way ahead in the official voting numbers – but they are also worried that many South Burnett residents aren’t smiling at the moment.
All the news about COVID-19 and the restraints that have kept residents at home are testing people and fraying nerves.
So the pair have come up with a colourful idea.
Remember Pinking Up The South Burnett last year which raised awareness about breast cancer?
That was Cr Potter and Cr Duff’s initiative. Now they want the South Burnett to turn yellow … to spread “a ray of sunshine” throughout the region.
Cr Duff said yellow represented “happiness, hope and sunshine”.
“We want people and businesses to come on board with it, like they did with Pinking Up The South Burnett,” Cr Duff said.
“They can wear yellow, decorate their houses – inside and out – and shop windows.”
The pair thought it might also be a good way to keep children bored at home busy.
They could do drawings, colour-ins, paintings, take photographs …
A Facebook page, “Ray Of Sunshine South Burnett“, has been set up where people can upload photos of their yellow things.
“We want to put some smiles back on to people’s faces,” Cr Duff said.
Cr Duff is better known for her love of pink, but she has added a touch of yellow for the campaign.
Yellow, however, comes naturally to Cr Potter … it’s her favourite colour and she already has a wardrobe of clothes in the right hue.
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On a more serious note, Cr Duff pointed out that next Friday (April 10) is Good Friday and with all the talk of COVID-19, it could pass almost unnoticed.
The Barambah Ministers Association will be hosting an online community prayer session this Sunday (Palm Sunday) from 4:00pm on The Martoo Review.
Music will be provided by Bridget O’Shannessy.
Then on Good Friday itself, the Barambah Ministers Association is urging Christians to make a cross to place outside their houses.
Good onyer girls. Good colour and now you both should get a good Yamaha motorcycle, make the annual pilgrimage to the Phillip Island MotoGp and become fans of Valentino Rossi, one of the greats in world motorcycle racing. Yellow is the colour of his hordes of fans and when the fans get excited and start waving the yellow it does really look super impressive.
This is some light banter and I don’t expect either of you to do this. We wouldn’t want to lose either of you as safe motorcycling does really need a lot of lived experience.
It would be nice, though, if our South Burnett roads were a whole lot more motorcycle friendly especially that extremely dangerous section 50 to 100 metres west of Ficks Crossing Bridge where there have been some serious motorcycle accidents caused ONLY by poor road surface condition at that spot. That area is only a bit of a nuisance in a car that rides comfortably, but on a bike it is deadly dangerous if the rider doesn’t see it in time for avoidance.
For an outstanding view in our rural region, one of the best is a field of well-grown flowering sunflowers but you must be with the sun behind you as the flowers follow the sun across.
Disgruntled, if you mean the Wondai side of Krebs Bridge, how high are those lumps of tar? Not good for the unsuspecting rider. It’s a wild ride when you hit them.
In the two responses above, they seem to be talking about the Bunya Highway. I just wish people would direct their disgust at the right authorities. If it is a Main Road, ie. Bunya Highway, complain to the State Government. Not all roads in the South Burnett Regional Council area come under the Council’s jurisdiction.
Everyone with an IQ more than single figures should know the difference between TMR and Council. How many TMR inspectors (other than the fellers with portable scales) does one see regularly out and about? Hey, and for that matter, do the Council checkers get out much??
Some time ago SBRC bought “RACCAS” and it had lots of praise heaped on it as the best thing since sliced bread. Why has not this section of road had this very long-standing problem brought to attention or does RACCAS only get used on council roads, or heaven forbid, is this area of the shire a forgotten and ignored end of SBRC?
Regardless of who owns the road, I would expect that Council has a definite responsibility to ADVOCATE. Is this being done or half done or not done at all?
Another area of questionable advocacy is the very small section of recent road rebuild on Byee Road. the rebuild was where Flats Road joined Byee Road and that section was by far the best section with very few problems.
By far and away the worst section IS between Kangaroo Yard Road and the bitumen near Wheatlands State School and that section is still not fixed!
Being a very good and popular school there are a lot of mothers delivering and picking up their kids. This patch is very dangerous and this section is far more used than the section which was done up as a lot of traffic enters Byee rd via Kangaroo Yard Rd which is way past Flats Road.
I know that, all the mothers (who by the way are very concerned with their kids safety) know that, but sadly it appears that the councillors and bureaucrats of this council do not understand! Or is very poor advocacy the issue.
Flicking the blame to TMR is but a weak cop out excuse. Some 30 odd years ago I had experiences with Main Roads. They were not at all always easy to get on with, but if a decent and well put together advocacy was presented to them somewhat enthusiastically they most times did see sense.
You see they are external and do not know the roads intimately as the locals do so it is understandable that things sometimes things are not done as we would like. It does in the end come down to good and proper Council presentation of the issue at hand! It really does!
Do our elected members observe when they move around and if they do then do they really care? Or are they in a hurry to get to another photo shoot and cannot see what they are driving over?