Update - 16 February 2009

I am continually amazed at the strength of the community spirit that lives in the Mitchell and surrounding area. The positive feedback on our first email update was overwhelming! Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply, and for your encouraging comments.

The February BAG General Meeting was held last Wednesday and provided the opportunity for the Management Committee and Working Party Coordinators to provide an update on project progress to members. The outcomes from our meeting include:

• The Department of Main Roads will be attending our March General Meeting on Wednesday, 11 March 2009 at the BAG Cottage in Ann Street, starting at 7.00 pm. Members and non-members are welcome to attend to hear from Main Roads what the proposed plans are for Mitchell and to provide community feedback.
• The loss of our full time Youth Worker has been identified as a significant issue for our community. BAG is looking to explore options to help address this issue. If you have any ideas or feedback on this, we would love to hear from you.
• A representative from the Department of Natural Resources and Water recently inspected the weir and was as horrified as we are with the amount of sand. It is hoped that this may cause some pressure on Government to assist with a project to remove the sand.
  

I will be attending a Fostering Rural Innovation and Change Workshop in Toowoomba tomorrow. The outcomes from this workshop include strategies to assist with developing the capacity of rural communities, and understanding why some country towns are resilient and thriving, and why some with similar attributes are in decline. I look forward to bringing this information back to the community.

Many community groups would have received the Community Grants Program / Community Ongoing Assistance Program Application Forms from council recently. Booringa Action Group acknowledges that this is a complex form to formalise current council support, and is happy to assist local groups with their applications, including providing letters of support. Please feel free to contact me if I can help with this.

The council’s name change looks to be going ahead …. See http://www.ecq.qld.gov.au/asp/index.asp . The Electoral Commission has finally proposed to determine that the name of the Roma Regional Council be changed to Maranoa Regional Council.

Council has advised that the correct phone number to use for all council enquiries is: 1300 007 662

If anyone is interested in undertaking study towards a career in child care, the Federal Government has removed all TAFE fees for diploma and advanced diploma child care courses. The following web site may be of assistance www.oececc.gov.au .

BAG is still looking for someone to assist with the options for developing a website. If you have an interest or some experience with website development, please contact me.

Booringa Action Group is now offering a photocopying service to the community. Copying is free for up to 10 pages! For more than 10 pages, the following charges apply:


Price per copy for BAG Members

1 – 10 pages Free !
11 – 50 pages 25c
51 – 250 pages 20c
251 – 500 pages 15c
501 – 1000 pages 10c
1000+ pages - by negotiation

Price per copy for non-BAG members

1 - 10 pages Free!
11 - 50 pages 30c
51 - 250 pages 25c
251 - 500 pages 20c
501 - 1000 pages 15c
1000+ pages - by negotiaion

Free Business Seminars
Sam Thrupp from Telstra has advised that in association with The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Qld they are holding Free Business Seminars across Queensland. The global financial crisis has dominated world headlines over the last 12 months and the implications are now taking a toll on Queensland business. Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland and Telstra are inviting businesses to attend the free Surviving Tough Times Seminar. Topics will include:
· How has Queensland's economy been affected and how are other businesses coping?
· How does today's financial crisis compare to previous downturns?
· What should businesses do to safeguard their operations?
· How to capitalise on the opportunities of a downturn?
· Tips on how better use of telecommunications can deliver productivity improvement, efficiency and costs savings.
The Roma Seminar is being held on 10 March 2009, from 5.00pm to 7.00pm at the Maranoa Club.
Other details can be found at: http://www.cciq.com.au/Business-Connections/Surviving-Tough-Times.aspx

We are actively seeking to increase membership! If you are interested in supporting BAG, please consider joining. Membership fees are still only $10 . Please email me for a membership application form.

If you’ve missed out on any of the BAG Email Updates, these are now available at http://booringaactiongroup.blogspot.com .

Until next week! :-)

Cheers,
Sharyn.