Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 13 December 2022

Published on 13 December 2022

Inglewood outdoor fitness station to launch

Councillor Wendy Murphy will officially open a new outdoor fitness station at the Inglewood Recreation Reserve this Friday 16 December at 10am.

Led and funded by the Healthy Loddon Campaspe initiative, the equipment provides a free opportunity for locals and visitors to be physically active.

Equipment includes a balance beam, aerobic cycle, pull downs, leg press, chest press, body twist and step-ups.

The Inglewood outdoor fitness station is the fourth to be installed in Loddon Shire through the Healthy Loddon Campaspe initiative, with existing stations also in Boort, Pyramid Hill and Wedderburn.

Installing outdoor exercise equipment was identified as an action in goal 4 of the Inglewood Community Plan 2021 - 2031.

The results from the 2019 Active Living Census highlighted that 56 per cent of females and 53 per cent of males who reside within the Loddon Shire want to exercise more. The new exercise equipment will enable more people living in and visiting the region to be more active more often.

Shop local this Christmas

Our community does a great job in supporting our local businesses, and this local support is crucial. Shopping locally means your money stays in the community – helping keep (and where possible, create) local jobs and the local economy to thrive.

We have a fantastic range of locally-owned businesses across our region that offer an incredible array of retail services, world-class produce, hospitality services and other supplies.

You can view the range of local businesses in the Loddon Shire by visiting the Business Directory on Council’s website at:

www.loddon.vic.gov.au/For-residents/Business-Directory

If you have yet to add your business details to the directory (or need to update your business details), you can do so from the webpage.

It would be remiss of me not to mention The Loddon Shed – a one-stop shop that provides direct access to high-quality artisan goods from the Loddon Valley. Have a look https://www.theloddonshed.com.au/

Bridgewater Caravan Park is back open

Bridgewater Public Caravan Park reopened on Saturday 10 December, following works to the park after its closure in October due to flooding.

The Park received lots of messages of congratulations on the reopening and visitors looking forward to spending summer by the river.

There is still plenty of availability until December 24. There is limited availability throughout January and only a couple of sites left for Australia Day weekend.

The reopening is not only a positive for Bridgewater itself, but will also be a major boost for tourism and our local economy, delivering significant economic benefit to businesses right across the Loddon Shire

National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH)

NCFH are committed to supporting primary producers whose properties, livestock or crops were damaged or lost in the floods through the delivery of initiatives to boost farmer mental health and wellbeing.

Check out their website for access to resources, free psychologist sessions and agriculture industry groups.

https://farmerhealth.org.au/buildingfarmspirit?fbclid=IwAR3spXb9nECSWZBHtzubXjLuOau_npIGheJyD_hRXKW-wni7caELvF-ATww

Congratulations – Buloke, Loddon and Gannawarra Youth Awards

I had the honour of attending the BLG Youth Awards last Friday at the Boort Memorial Hall.

These awards are to recognise and celebrate exceptional young leaders in the community.

There were over 40 nominations from the Loddon Shire, across four different categories including creativity, leadership, resilience and teamwork.

All nominees were presented with a certificate as part of the awards dinner.

I would like to congratulate all the nominees and hope you enjoyed your night.

Murray River Group of Councils Meeting

I recently travelled to Mildura with Loddon Shire CEO Lincoln Fitzgerald, for the December Murray River Group of Councils Meeting.

We discussed a number of issues, including flood recovery advocacy, MRTB tourism update, counsel House, MAV regional groupings and more.

The Murray River Group of Councils includes Loddon Shire, as well as Mildura Rural City, Swan Hill Rural City, Gannawarra Shire, Campaspe Shire and Moira Shire councils.