Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 8 March
Published on 08 March 2022
Loddon Shire Community Grants Program now open
Council’s Community Grants Program is now open for applications until 1 May 2022.
The program provides grants of up to $10,000 to support local community-based organisations for projects that provide community benefit to the Loddon Shire.
For more information, including application guidelines and details on how to apply, visit Council's website.
Loddon Healthy Minds Network Art Competition
In an effort to continue to raise awareness of mental health within the Loddon community, the Loddon Healthy Minds Network will be conducting their art competition again in 2022.
Categories include an Open Age section, Senior Students (years 9 to 12) and middle school students (grades 5 to Year 8). There are also two junior students’ categories – grades 3 and 4 and grades Prep to 2.
The two themes for the Open Age section and Senior Students categories are Find the joy in the ordinary and Tune into your mental wellbeing.
Entrants in these categories may instead choose to submit a literary entry in essay form using one of the two themes. The essay must be between 500 to 1000 words.
Themes for the middle school students’ category are: Find the joy in the ordinary and Thinking healthy thoughts.
The junior students’ categories will be a colouring competition (poster provided to the region’s schools), with the theme Find the joy in the ordinary (grades 3 and 4) and Thinking healthy thoughts (grades Prep to 2).
All entries are to be completed and delivered to the Loddon Shire office at Wedderburn by 1 August 2022.
To find out more visit the Loddon Healthy Minds Network website.
Register AEDs with Ambulance Victoria
Organisations that own or house an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), including schools, medical practices, businesses, community organisations and sporting clubs, are urged to take a moment to register their device online with Ambulance Victoria.
An estimated 2,500 AEDs are bought in Victoria each year but not registered, and the whereabouts of up to 15,000 AEDs is unknown across the state. Registration in rural communities is lower than in Melbourne.
To register an AED or find out where your nearest one is located, go to the Ambulance Victoria AED Registry.
Beat the Bite
The Victorian Department of Health is encouraging people to limit their exposure to mosquitoes and help beat the bite.
Japanese encephalitis is a rare but potentially serious infection of the brain caused by a virus that can be spread to humans by mosquitoes. The virus has been recently detected in pigs in Victoria and New South Wales.
While no human cases have been confirmed in Victoria to date, people in affected areas who are exposed to mosquito bites may be at risk of infection.
Simple steps to limit exposure to mosquitoes include: wearing long, loose fitting clothes outdoors, using effective mosquito repellents containing picaridin or DEET on all exposed skin, and trying to limit outdoor activity if lots of mosquitoes are about.
Other steps include using ‘knockdown’ fly sprays and plug-in repellent devices indoors, sleeping under mosquito nets treated with insecticides if you don’t have flywire screens in windows in your home, or are sleeping in an untreated tent or out in the open. Mosquito coils can also be effective in small outdoor areas where you gather to sit or eat.
To find learn more, please visit the Better Health Channel website here and here.
Inglewood Solar and Battery information meeting
The MASH (More Australian Solar Homes) in partnership with Council, will be holding a solar and battery information session next Wednesday 16 March at the Inglewood Town Hall from 6pm to 7.30pm.
The information meeting is for anyone thinking about getting a solar power system installed and/or battery storage.
To register your place call 1300 466 274 or visit the MASH website and select “Inglewood Solar and Battery Storage Information Meeting”.
A great day out
It was fantastic to attend the Boort Pacing Cup on Sunday, which was not only a terrific day out, but saw a great crowd in attendance.
It has been heartening to see events back up and running in our Shire, as well as summer sport, and how these events and sport are bringing people back out and about in their community.
With summer sport winding down, we now look forward to the start of winter sports across the Shire, including what is sure to be a great football, netball and hockey season, as well as golf.
There are also a number of superb events taking place across the region this autumn. This includes the Minelab Wedderburn Detector Jamboree, Serpentine Air Race, Inglewood Women on Farms Gathering, Logan Car Show, Eddington Vintage Sports Car Club Sprints and more.
To find out more about events and what’s on go to the Visit Loddon Valley website.