Important community meeting

If you think Raymond Island really matters (as well as your family and property)...
Be at the Community Hall,7.30pm, Monday 23 November.
Hear about a proposed new approach to fuel reduction and bushfire mitigation on the Island's public land.
This is your chance to add constructive input into Raymond Island's bushfire operational planning.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning would appreciate your input!

Phillip's Plot working bee

Landcare working bee at Phillip's Plot: 
9.30am, Thursday 19 November. Meet at 40-42 Twelfth Avenue.

Don't forget to bring your work gloves, good footware etc.

See you there.

Music Jam

East Gippsland Acoustic Music Jam & Sing-a-long.
Sat Dec 19 from noon - Ferry Park Raymond Island.

BYO: music stand/ chair/ acoustic instrument.
BYO food / Drinks.

Get your dusty old fiddles & bass fiddles, ukes, mandolins, banjos, guitars, tin whistles, flutes, recorders, harmonicas, percussion instruments, accordians & squeeze boxes.

Join us for spontaneous singing & music making together. Booklets available with words and chords included. All welcome, beginners to advanced players. 

For more information, contact m: 0427 686 347

Jammers at Paynesville Pub, September 2015.

National Recycling Week

What happens to recycling when it goes in the recycling bin? What are the common mistakes householders make in their kerbside recycling? 

East Gippsland Shire residents can discover answers to those burning recycling questions during Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week (November 9 – 15). 

A new report from Planet Ark, titled ‘All Sorted: Answering the Big Recycling Questions’ includes the top mistakes and main contaminants that confuse people. Planet Ark surveyed 115 councils across Australia and asked them what the three most common recycling mistakes made by their residents were. Nine out of ten councils said that plastic bags and soft plastics in the recycling bin is one of the most common mistakes made by their residents. 

The Shire’s Manager Waste, Kartik Venkatraman said there is a persistent myth that items picked up for recycling end up in landfill. “But in reality, it’s not economical for the Shire or waste companies to send recycling to landfill due to the landfill levies. So we all play an important role as our recycling habits influencing the success of the whole recycling system,” Mr Venkatraman said. 

Recycling reduces and can even eliminate the need to extract raw materials, saving limited natural resources. For example, 75% of all of the aluminium ever produced is still in use today because it can be recycled infinitely. It’s not just the planet that benefits from our efforts, as business and people profit too. The process of recycling and composting creates more jobs than incineration and landfill, with 9.2 jobs in recycling for every 2.8 jobs in landfill. 

Visit www.recyclingweek.planetark.org for further information about any of Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week initiatives. National Recycling Week is kindly supported by Australian Packaging Covenant, Bingo Bins and ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’.

How smart is your building?

East Gippsland Shire Council is bringing a leading energy expert to Bairnsdale this week to answer residents’ questions on energy efficient building design and launch a new booklet on building design.

Session will be held at the Bairnsdale Library on Friday, 20 November 20 from 10am to 6pm residents and business owners can take their building plans, renovation ideas or electricity bills along to discuss how to make their home or business energy efficient.

Find out about the link between clever building design and low-cost living with free, independent advice from a member of Positive Charge, a community service organisation with more than 14 years’ experience bringing smart energy solutions to communities. There will also be displays and information about the energy efficiency projects East Gippsland Shire has been undertaking, and the significant cost savings now being realised.

As part of the drop-in session, the Shire will also launch its booklet on smart buildings and renovations. Free copies of the booklet are available from all Shire libraries.

Summer fashion parade

Kay Mooney lets us know that the Lioness Club is holding a fashion Parade 

on Saturday 21 November at 2pm, at the Paynesville Yacht Club.

Fashions by "RACHEL'S" of Bairnsdale.

Admission $5.00

Proceeds to a local good cause

Vintage cars rally on RI

Mike Gaffney and Andrew Bould (photographer) share images from the recent car rally with lunch that was held at the Community Hall. 

(Did you know... you can click on our news pictures to see a larger copy!)

 

 

New RI quiz master

If you fancy yourself a bit of a trivia guru or love a puzzle to exercise 'the little grey cells', to loosely quote Hercule Poirot, you may have been enjoying our RI 'Think About It' spot on the Insider page.

We're delighted to announce our new quiz master - Stewart Whiffen. He's from Paynesville but has the Island at heart. Check his first quiz, published this week, and see if you can meet the Lakes Victoria test.

To say 'hello', Stewart also forwarded these photos...

Thirsty

Colours of the rainbow

Annual koala health check

Helping keep Koalas and their habitat healthy... 

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and Parks Victoria led another successful Koala health assessment and sterilisation program on Raymond Island last week. 

DELWP Wildlife Officer Leona Waldegrave-Knight said: “We  were assisted by vets from the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (DEDJTR) and the Main Street Veterinary Clinic in Bairnsdale, the Raymond Island Koala and Wildlife Shelter, and many local volunteers. This is part of an ongoing program to reach and maintain a healthy and sustainable population of Koalas on the island,” Ms Waldegrave-Knight  said. 

 “Over the three days of the program we captured a total of 90 adult Koalas and eight young. All Koalas caught are tagged with a numbered purple ear tag. The Koalas were given a health check that involved looking at teeth wear, weight and general condition and also looking for symptoms of disease or injury. About half of the Koalas had been caught in previous years, providing us with information on their ongoing health. We also sterilised a number of animals to help control population growth; what we are finding is that the females that don’t have to carry young are doing better in their general health.” 

“Some private landholders on the island helped by giving us permission to catch on their properties, which was critical in catching animals not previously caught more animals, so we were grateful for that assistance. The team work was a big aspect of this operation and it’s been terrific to have assistance from so many people. We’d like to thank them all for being part of the program to make sure the Koalas can continue to live healthily and happily on Raymond Island.” 

Vet Jo Cunningham and Shelter operator Susie Pulis checking teeth

Make your land bushfire ready

East Gippsland Shire reminds landowners to prepare and Islanders to be ready for bushfires now..,

East Gippsland Shire Council will soon start inspecting properties throughout the municipality in preparation for the upcoming bushfire season. The Shire’s Emergency Coordinator, Shane Turner, said landowners of properties that pose a fire risk or contravene the CFA Act will be issued with an infringement notice. “The fine for non-compliance has increased since last season, jumping from $1408.40 to $1517,” Mr Turner said. “These adjustments have been made by the Department of Justice, and the Shire has the responsibility to enforce these higher penalties immediately.”

Mr Turner said in past years the Shire had slashed non-compliant land and passed the cost onto the
landowner. However, he warned this would no longer be the case. “The Shire will not be undertaking any slashing this year on private land,” Mr Turner said. “It is the responsibility of the landowner to ensure their property meets the required standard before inspections start. This means that grass must be maintained to less than 10cm in height,” Mr Turner concluded.

Green waste disposal is free at all Shire landfills and transfer stations for trailer and utility loads. Charges only apply when logs or stumps measure more than 300 mm in diameter. The Shire encourages all members of the community to take advantage of this free green waste disposal, particularly to ensure that properties have a low fuel load as the fire season approaches.

Grass must be maintained to less than 10cm in height. Infringements are issued for properties that pose a fire risk or contravene the CFA Act. Act now and take advantage of free domestic green waste disposal at Council’s landfills and transfer stations.

Residents should understand their fire risk and get prepared. Shire Mayor Cr Peter Neal – who is an active CFA volunteer himself - encouraged East Gippsland residents to "understand your fire risk and get prepared. Talk to your family or household today about what you can do to prepare for the upcoming summer and how you plan to stay safe,” Cr Neal said.

Green waste can be disposed of free at Shire landfills throughout the year. With all forecasts pointing to an early fire season, it is critical residents prepare their property now. “Fire prevention isn’t just for people with acreage, people in residential zones also have responsibilities to reduce their property’s fire risk,” Cr Neal said.

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said Victoria has already seen significant fires this year and above average conditions are forecast for the upcoming summer. “Now is the time to talk to your family, friends or neighbours about when you’ll leave before a fire starts and where you’ll go,” Mr Lapsley said. “Use Fire Danger Ratings to decide when to leave. Fire Danger Ratings are not a weather forecast – they tell you how dangerous a fire would be if one started. As the ratings increase, so does your risk of fire. If the Fire Danger Rating is Code Red, Extreme or Severe, you’re risking your life if you wait and see. Leaving early is the safest option to protect yourself and your family."

“Make sure you understand where to find warnings, what the different levels of warnings mean, and how to use them. Last summer there were over 2,300 warnings issued in Victoria. It’s up to you to stay informed by using more than one source of information, and understand the levels of warnings, what they mean and what you should do,” he said. Never wait to receive an official warning before you leave. Fires can start quickly and threaten homes and lives within minutes,” he said. “Making informed decisions now – not when a fire starts, is vital to your safety this summer.”

This year, Victoria has already seen over 160 fires threatening land, lives and property in the Northern Central region. The Shire has prepared Local Incident Management Plans for many of its communities, which identify an assembly point in case of emergency.

To view the plans, visit the Emergencies page of RINET or the Emergency Management section of the Shire’s website. For more information on understanding the risk where you live, visit cfa.vic.gov.au/myrisk. To access fire danger ratings and warnings, visit emergency.vic.gov.au.

Bushfire risk survey

From the Raymond Island Risk Management Community Group...

All Islanders are encouraged to complete the more detailed survey that is open now until Sunday 15 November.

The results from this survey will be used to inform future bushfire management activities on Raymond Island.

To date 46 surveys have been completed. The results so far indicate most people are very comfortable with mechanical fuel modification, maintenance of fuel breaks and slashing of fire access roads. The results regarding fuel reduction burning are more mixed. What is your view?

You can complete the survey online at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Bushfire_Risk_Survey_for_Raymond_Islanders


There now is available information and reports from the speakers who presented at the Information night.

To download these important documents, Google "Ride The Koalas". Once my website is open you’ll find a title at the top of the site saying Raymond Island. Under that title is Links. Scroll down the links and you’ll find: Raymond Island Bush Fire Risk Management Information. All documents supplied can be easily downloaded.

Please note that this is the last week of the survey. It closes Sunday November 15, 2015.

Victor Trofimov

October rain report

Mark Pritchard shares wisdom and a theory about our October weather...

Just 28mm rain to report this week - That’s much less than Bairnsdale airport that received  more like 40mm. There’s probably a couple of reasons for this (my theory only!!). Firstly, if you have a storm cell over you can get 30mm + in ½ hour. 5 miles down the road you might not be under that thunder storm & might get no rainfall from it at all! On Monday evening we had a massive dump of rain in that big storm in the evening. I was expecting to see more than the 16mm we got in the gauge from that. I was outside when it was raining & with the wind associated with it, it was literally raining in fine spray horizontally!! I think due to the excessive wind & it being fine misty spray around the house etc not much actually landed in the gauge!!

Last month we ended up with 6 days over 30*C. The average for October is 1 day! So it was a warm start to summer. Watch this space!!

Webmaster's note:
The Bureau of Meteorology reported that the October rainfall was 53% below average nationally. Monthly rainfall was the lowest on record for most of Tasmania and an area spanning the southwest of Victoria and southeastern Australia. Both maximum and minimum temperatures were above average to warmest on record for the southern half of Australia for October, and the highest on record for the nation as a whole (+3.44°C).

House concert in December

Breaking news...

Well known harpist Cath Connelly will be doing one performance on Raymond Island in a house concert. Thursday December 10 . Tickets $10, limited tickets available.

Cath Connelly has been playing the Celtic harp professionally since 1998, and is now considered one of Australia's leading Celtic harpers. You are in for a treat as this popular performer comes to Raymond Island to delight us with the lyrical sounds of the Celtic harp. Recently returned from performing in Ireland, England and Spain, Cath is a talented storyteller who weaves yarns throughout her concert. The performance includes a selection of tunes from Ireland, Scotland and Wales as well as some original compositions. What a delight!

For information and tickets phone Katherine Rutter on m:0409442464
(Limited tickets available)

Paynesville classic boat rally

Landcare update

Landcare now has five active projects on Raymond Island, and the group has planted in excess of 2000 plants. Most progressing well.

Our next meeting is Wednesday 11 November - a working bee at Phillip's Plot to clear timber from the site. Meet at 1.30 pm outside Glenn & Bernadette's house - 40-42 Twelfth Avenue.

New members or volunteers are most welcome, there is great satisfaction to be had in making the world a little bit better, and we have a lot of fun. Contact our Secretary m: 0437313434.

Fuel reduction information

 

Approximately sixty Islanders attended the community information evening held 27 October 2015. They were presented with the questions and registered their response via an interactive keypad (‘clicker’). The information has been collated and will be reported shortly.

Islanders who missed the session can still participate in the survey online at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Bushfire_Risk_Survey_for_Raymond_Islanders  

What's on at Paynesville Library

Coming up at the Paynesville Service Centre this month:

Wednesday 4^th  – Mystery Book Chat @ Bairnsdale Library 2pm -3.30pm

Monday 9^th   - Tech Savvy Seniors Introduction to Online Shopping  10am – 12.30pm

Monday 9^th  – Tech Savvy Seniors Managing your Digital Photos  1pm – 3.30pm

Wednesday 11^th  – Lego Club 3.40pm – 4.40pm

Saturday 14^th – T.W. Lawless Author Visit @ Bairnsdale Library 10am – 11am

Wednesday 21^st – Make a Poppy @ Your Library 8.30am – 5pm

Friday 27^th – Film Screening Woman in Gold 10.30am – 12.30pm

Friday 27^th – Film Screening Woman in Gold 2.30pm – 4.30pm

Paynesville's new look continues

A facelift for the Raymond Island Ferry shelter in Paynesville comes hot on the heels of the beautification works on The Esplanade and foreshore and the ferry’s fender upgrade. The shelter was due to be painted, and the new colour scheme complements the colours that will be used on the former Fisherman’s Wharf café, which is undergoing renovations.

East Gippsland Shire Council Manager Strategic Planning Fiona Weigall said the shelter’s previous blue and yellow colour scheme was part of the Paynesville Blitz. “The blitz project was run by Council and the community as a temporary beautification measure while more permanent streetscape improvements were planned and undertaken. The painting of the ferry shelter was part of that,” Ms Weigall said. “Many of the other blitz features, such as the picnic tables and planter boxes, were removed as part of the recent works along The Esplanade. While the shelter has been repainted, the feature mosaics have been retained.”

Visitors to the eastern end of The Esplanade will have noticed the works on the former café are continuing. As the public toilets associated with the café are unavailable, the Shire has organised for two accessible portable toilets. These will be located in Devon Lane.

RI Community garden proposal

Beth Sheffield writes...

A group of 17 people met on the 19th October to discuss the possibility of creating a community garden on Raymond Island.  A site has been identified - at the rear of the Fire Station in Tenth Ave. In principle support has been given with a formal agreement yet to be signed by the Paynesville Fire Brigade.

The group brainstormed a list of great ideas for the new garden.  This is very early stages for the new group with work needing to be done in relation to governance and sourcing of funding and in kind support. Meanwhile, the next meeting of the group will be held on 9th November at the Fire Station:

Paynesville road safety boosts

A popular vehicle route to access Paynesville’s central business district has received a safety boost. Due to a range of factors, a number of accidents and ‘near misses’ had occurred at the intersection of Wellington and King streets. This intersection has now had a number of traffic calming treatments installed including traffic islands and traffic speed cushions. 

East Gippsland Shire Council Mayor, Cr Peter Neal, said a petition was presented to Council in late 2014 for something to be done to make the area safer. “Shire officers spent some time researching and investigating what were the critical issues at this particular site, and what improvements could be made. This process was enhanced greatly by the assistance of the Victoria Police, Bairnsdale Highway Patrol,” Cr Neal said. 

The traffic islands and speed cushions not only ensure drivers cannot speed into the intersection at King Street, but also highlights the presence of the intersection and forces traffic to slow down and prepare to stop. A traffic study found the geography of the site contributed to some drivers travelling north up Wellington Street not seeing the intersection with King Street until it was upon them. There was also evidence of inappropriate speed of vehicles approaching the intersection and a high level of non-compliance with the regulatory Stop sign. 

In another road safety improvement for the town, the school community can now cross Main Street safely at the recently-built school crossing near Ashley Street. Council had been working collaboratively with the Paynesville Primary School for some time to achieve this great road safety initiative Following a detailed report regarding the safety issues Council was able to fund the construction of this major traffic control device. The works were completed by Shire staff after they had secured the relevant approvals from VicRoads, the responsible authority for Main Street. VicRoads also provides funding for school crossing supervisors. The Shire will be applying for funding for a supervisor at the Main Street crossing in the next round of funding applications.

Thomas Haylock remembered

From Friends and Members of Paynesville Maritime Museum...

As you are aware, the Museum is undertaking a research program to identify those World War 1 servicemen with Paynesville connections to the maritime industry. Rather than leave this material to be published “sometime in the future” as a book, we have decided to issue a short news bulletin as each of the 100 years anniversary dates of relevant activity comes around …. much the same as the news would have been circulated around the town at the time.

Here is the latest issue reporting the loss of Thomas Haylock. Current bulletins are pinned to the ANZAC board in the museum and a book of all issued bulletins will be available for interested visitors to look through.

As always, we welcome comment and input if you have some.

Rob Cook

Secretary PMM

2015 Burn and Mulch

 From Jack Pearce: 

Well done cleaning up your properties, Islanders - a lot less risk for you this summer!

What a team!

A big thank you to Max and Jamie Curtis for working so many hours to make the parts to fix our ferry. Also a big thank you to Ian and his wonderful staff for getting us to and from overseas; putting up with all the ribbing, joking and flack from the islanders.
The biggest thank you goes to all those who volunteered on the bus and made my job a lot easier. I had about 20 phone calls from some wanting to help more on the bus.
What a wonderful place we live in.
The big bus boss, Cathy.

Koala count 2015

 Seventy volunteers of all ages,  including 30 year 11 students from Nagle College, worked alongside staff from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and Parks Victoria on Friday 16 October to count Koalas on Raymond Island. 

The Koalas are counted every two years as part of a plan to actively manage their numbers on the island to protect their health and their habitat. This year the head count was 255 adults and 27 young. This is a decrease of about 50 since the 2013 count. 

DELWP Wildlife Officer, Leona Waldegrave-Knight said: “The day went very well and we want to say a huge thanks to everyone who gave up their time to help organise the event, feed the troops, count Koalas and tidy up afterwards. We couldn’t do it without you! Now we know the number of Koalas and where they are, we will be checking their health and fertility soon as part of the ongoing management plan.”