{"id":131813,"date":"2016-01-18T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2016-01-17T21:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=131813"},"modified":"2020-10-29T16:27:07","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T06:27:07","slug":"drought-program-ends-with-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2016\/01\/18\/drought-program-ends-with-dinner\/","title":{"rendered":"Drought Program Ends With Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Noel Weller, who helped organise Wooroolin’s ‘Down With The Drought’ dinner and acted as compere on the night, shares a laugh with Cr Ros Heit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

January 18, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Almost 100 people gathered at Wooroolin Hall on Saturday night to forget the two floods and the withering drought that hit the area between 2011 and 2014.<\/p>\n

The get-together was the last of seven “Down With The Drought” community dinners organised by the South Burnett Regional Council for residents living in farming areas.<\/p>\n

Funding for the dinners was supplied by the State Government’s Department Of Communities.<\/p>\n

Each was organised by local community groups, while the entire program was supervised by Communities chair Cr Ros Heit.<\/p>\n

Cr Heit said the State Government recognised that farmers had been doing it tough throughout Queensland for the last few years, and had released funds for drought relief.<\/p>\n

The South Burnett Regional Council had applied for funding under the program, and its concept of community get-togethers to allow neighbours to meet and chat over dinner had won government support.<\/p>\n

“Working on a farm can often isolate you from regular contact with other people in your community,” Cr Heit said.<\/p>\n

“And when times are tough, the pressures you face can quickly build up because when you’re on your own, it’s easy to believe you’re the only one suffering.<\/p>\n

“But when you connect with your neighbours and community, you usually find they’re having similar struggles.<\/p>\n

“And while that won’t necessarily improve your day-to-day circumstances, it usually helps lift the burden of thinking you’re all alone in tough times.”<\/p>\n

Saturday night’s dinner at Wooroolin was jointly organised by the Wooroolin Hall Committee and the Wooroolin Lions, and it had an upbeat tone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grain and peanut farmers said recent good rainfalls led them to hope they might see a good harvest this season, while cattle producers acknowledged they’re currently enjoying higher prices than they’ve seen in many years.<\/p>\n

The situation was brighter than most had seen for some time, although high input costs and significantly reduced profit margins were a common topic of conversation.<\/p>\n

The two course barbecue dinner was enlivened by entertainment from popular local duo The Stepping Stones and followed by dancing, lucky door prizes and raffles.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, each family left with a “goodie bag” containing information on where to source support as well as a first aid kit.<\/p>\n

Cr Heit said she intended to reapply to the program to see if more dinners could be organised in future.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The feedback we’ve had from this program has been very positive and I’d certainly like to run it again,” Cr Heit said.<\/p>\n

“I’m also very grateful to the wonderful community groups that have gathered together to run these events. They all did an incredible job.”<\/p>\n

The groups involved in organising the “Down With The Drought” dinners included the Kumbia Progress Association; Kumbia Kindy; Kumbia Hall Committee; Ironpot Hall Committee; Maidenwell Community Group; Durong South School P and C; Durong Girl Guides; Cloyna Hall Committee; Tablelands Hall Committee; Mondure Hall Committee; Wooroolin Lions Club; and the Wooroolin Hall Committee.<\/p>\n

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