50 years ago February 1975
Mr Michael Clarke, MLC for the Northern Province, said that employers are complaining bitterly about the atrociously low standard of spelling of the school leavers who have just started office work.
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Mr Clarke said he had also received a large number of complaints from parents who are extremely worried about the teaching of spelling in the schools because their children just don’t seem to take any interest in the subject.
Mr Clarke said that school teachers are suggesting reforms in spelling such as writing said as sed, dead as ded and read as red in an alleged attempt to make spelling easier, but he said that this would only confuse the children and give the teachers a good excuse for the pupils’ poor spelling.
‘’If school leavers are to secure a job in the present employment situation, they will simply have to have some basic skills after 12 years of school.’’
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Eight top ranking officials of the Neat ’n Trim organisation made an inspection of the company’s factory on Thursday.
The group were in Melbourne for a conference and made a day trip to Rochester.
Some of the comments passed by the visiting ladies were ‘’beaut’’, ‘’terrific’’ and ‘’fantastic’.’ They found the working conditions at the factory beyond all expectations.
The visitors made a thorough inspection of the new premises in Rochester East, saw the uniforms being manufactured and were guests at the factory canteen for the midday meal.
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The Rochester Football Club and the trustees of the Rochester Recreation Reserve are at loggerheads over the price for the use of the reserve and the pavilion for the coming season.
The secretary of the Rochester Football Club, Mr Jim Knight, said the trustees had put the price for the use of the ground up from $400 to $600, plus the cost of the power for pre-season training and also during the season.
Mr Knight considered this could cost his club upwards of $800 for the use of the ground and the pavilion for the 1975 football season.
Mr Knight said the football club had refused to pay this increase.
His club had offered the trustees 12.5 per cent of the gate takings or a lump sum of $500, whichever was the greatest.
The club also wanted sole use of the pavilion, which the trustees had rejected.
The trustees and the football club are deadlocked at the moment.
25 years ago February 2000
SunSmart Elmore pre-schoolers, all wearing their legionnaire-style caps, were busy making SunSmart kites and splashing about with water in their shady sandpit during the heat.
Fourteen four-year-olds are enrolled at the pre-school, ‘’though we still have vacancies and can take up to 20’’, directress Aileen O’Sullivan said.
The Elmore pre-school committee of management had worked hard towards attaining its SunSmart accreditation, she added.
While raising children’s awareness of protecting themselves from the sun, thus reducing their risk of skin cancer, it also meant access to many teaching resources.
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Campaspe Shire will be hoping to attract some of the $6 million in extra funding to upgrade swimming pools across the state, announced by Sports Minister Justin Madden during a visit to Bendigo.
The funding package will create new or refurbish existing aquatic centres in partnership with local government, Mr Madden said.
He added that Victoria was dotted with older outdoor pools, many of which sit unused during the colder winter months and which were no longer viable because of rising maintenance costs or needed to be refurbished to meet safety regulations and standards.
The announcement comes on the heels of an inspection of Rochester swimming pool by Campaspe Shire contacts manager and central ward councillor Murray McDonald.
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Some fast and frantic work by Rochester’s Ben Trevena repaired a starter motor to get Southern 80 entry Oscar back on track to finish Sunday’s race in a time of 54 minutes and 43 seconds.
Ben, who works at Rochester Marine, was observer in the boat driven by former Rochester resident Paul Jarman, and towing skiers Travis Lee and Shane Hutchinson.
Oscar was a long way behind winning boat Top Shot, which finished in 31.23, cutting 39 seconds off the 80km race record held by God’s Gift since 1998.
Despite that, the Rochester team was pleased to finish the race after suffering the motor problems and a fall.
Nanneella brothers Peter and Ashley Fraser both skied in their first Southern 80 on Sunday with Peter behind Footloose (1:02.36) and Ashley behind Ferral (48.11) while Rochester’s Anthony O’Reilly clocked up his 23rd consecutive race, this year skiing behind Hammer in the 175 HP Outboard Social Class. The team finished fifth in a time of 46.08.
10 years ago February 2015
When Campaspe Shire announced it had $480,000 for community groups to grab a chunk of, you could hear the cheering for miles.
While it seemed like the whole town was ecstatic, dreaming of what could be done with the money, one community group was struggling to feel the love.
The Rochester Racecourse Recreation Reserve is opposed to the division of the $480,000 among community groups, saying it alone has the right to decide how the money is spent.
‘‘The shire told us the money was ours to use,’’ Rochester Racecourse Recreation Reserve president Naida Belot said.
‘‘All of a sudden, we’d lost that money and it was now being allocated to the Rochester district.
‘‘We now have to apply to be considered to get some of our own money back.’’
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The proposed construction of a new chicken hatchery 1km south-west of Rochester central business district has angered some residents.
The four hectare Hy-Line facility on Railway Rd will hatch as many as 260,000 chicks each week and is projected to employ between 15 and 20 people.
Five objections have been raised to the application for planning, two of which are from addresses on Railway Rd.
Concerns range from the noise and dust created by increased commercial traffic, to smell, to the load the hatchery will put on the street’s infrastructure and to environmental concerns.
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A quarter of a century ago Ballendella’s Julie Webb rescued an abandoned cactus, left on the roadside when it was only a few centimetres high.
She went home and planted the spiky foundling in her front yard and watched as it grew steadily over the years — until it reached a whopping 3m wide at its base.
Then, just four months ago, a stalk began shooting skyward.
And it kept growing until it peaked at an incredible 10m. But the excitement did not stop there. Shortly before Christmas the stem started flowering in what Julie understands to be a once-in-lifetime phenomena for the plant.
Julie and her partner, Steve, are encouraging passersby to stop in at the property on the corner of Diggora and Lowe Rds to witness the rare act of Mother Nature before it dies.
Campaspe News