Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 11 October
Published on 11 October 2022
Water levels continue to be monitored
Council is continuing to monitor water levels along the Loddon River, with more rain forecast from this Wednesday.
Residents and visitors are encouraged to make sure to access the latest advice and information via the Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) website and Facebook page.
The Bureau of Meteorology also provides up-to-date information regarding water levels and flood warnings.
For road information, including closures, visit VicTraffic.
Remember to never drive, ride or walk through floodwater and never allow children to play in or near floodwater.
To report water over a road for VicRoads roads call 13 11 70. For Council roads call (03) 5494 1200.
A list of VicRoads roads within Loddon Shire can be found on Council’s website.
Loddon Valley Arts Trail 22 to 23 October
An arts trail created by artists for artists is set to showcase talented individuals across the Loddon Valley region.
To be held from 22 to 23 October 2022, the Loddon Valley Arts Trail will feature 17 artists hosted by a variety of venues, with one featuring multiple artists as part of an art competition.
Art will vary from paintings (in a range of different mediums), knitting, wearable art, metal and wood craft, mosaics and garden art – to name but a few.
Venues will be in locations across the region – Bridgewater on Loddon, Boort, Calivil, Dingee, Dunolly, Eastville, Inglewood, Pyramid Hill, Tarnagulla and Wedderburn.
For more information go to the Visit Loddon Valley website.
More information, updates and profiles of the various artists taking part in the weekend, is also available via the Loddon Valley Arts Trail Facebook page.
Thunderstorm asthma season
Thunderstorm asthma season has now begun, the season runs from 1 October to 31 December.
The Better Health Channel states that thunderstorm asthma is thought to be triggered by a unique combination of high amounts of grass pollen in the air and a certain type of thunderstorm. For people who have asthma or hay fever this can trigger severe asthma symptoms.
When a large number of people develop asthma symptoms over a short period of time, related to high grass pollen and a certain type of thunderstorm, it is known as epidemic thunderstorm asthma.
To find out more about thunderstorm asthma visit the Better Health Channel.
A three-day thunderstorm asthma risk forecast can be found on the VicEmergency website.
Agriculture Victoria biosecurity online courses
Agriculture Victoria is holding a series of free online learning modules for farmers to help them protect their animals from diseases and biosecurity threats.
Available through Agriculture Victoria’s website, three learning modules have been released: foot and mouth disease awareness, lumpy skin disease awareness and Come clean, stay clean, go clean – when visiting farms.
Each module should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
For further information about the online learning modules visit the Agriculture Victoria website.
Farm biosecurity webinars
Agriculture Victoria is also holding a series of free webinars to help improve farm biosecurity.
The ‘Biosecurity How-to’ webinar series will step participants through some of the practical things they can do to minimise farm biosecurity threats, such as creating a record keeping system and an animal health plan, developing a farm map and building a farm-specific biosecurity plan.
Hosted by the BestWool/BestLamb and BetterBeef networks, each webinar will feature industry specialists who will lead the one-hour ‘How-to’ presentations.
For more details or to sign-up for one or more of the ‘Biosecurity How-to’ webinars visit Agriculture Victoria.
Events continue to be well attended
It’s great to see a number of events in Loddon Shire continue to be well attended by community members and visitors alike.
This includes the launch of parkrun in Boort earlier this month, which saw around 67 people take part, including visitors from other towns. These visitors were impressed with the track and its scenery – as well as Boort itself. The Nolens Park parkrun, which is run by volunteers, takes place every Saturday morning.
I’d also like to congratulate all involved in other major events on the weekend – the Boort Show, Laanecoorie Gold Bash and Mysia War Memorial School Centenary.
All these events were well attended, and I’d like to thank all the local community volunteers who tirelessly contributed their time.
Finally, as we move on from the local footy season and winter sports, it’s fantastic to see other local sport get underway – including the cricket season competition.
Again, local sport relies on the countless hours of volunteers, and I’d like to thank in advance all those involved in helping to ensure our region will have a successful summer of sport.