Still working, at 92
Katamatite’s Ray Mills is no ordinary excavator owner operator.
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He is 92 years of age, but still busy working with his earthmoving equipment to jobs around his home town area.
Ray was born in Katamatite on August 11, 1930, into a farming family.
One of his first jobs was shearing, but he also liked working with tractors and other heavy machinery, which led him to the earthmoving field.
His first major job was clearing land near Katunga for soldier-settlement blocks.
Ray is showing no signs of slowing down.
“Who would want to sitting around reading a book?” Ray said.
“If you keep your mind active your body will be active and if you get a job you get up and do it.”
Victoria’s worst roads
Parts of the Murray Valley Hwy have been rated among the worst roads in Victoria.
Various stretches of the highway came it at number eight in the top 10 and Heathcote-Nagambie Rd came it number seven.
The Great Alpine Rd was awarded the dubious title of the state’s worst road and Member for Murray Plains and Nationals leader Peter Walsh also singled out the Kyabram-Echuca Rd for a lack of maintenance under the present Victorian Government.
He said the government was hiding behind the 80km/h signs, which having been there longer than anyone can remember.
Patience is a virtue
A Kyabram woman can vouch that patience is a virtue and sometimes unavoidable after a trip to Melbourne last week.
The trip home just a happened to coincide with a four trucks pile-up on the Ring Road near the Sydney Rd. intersection last Thursday.
The bank-up of traffic was so dense it took the woman over THREE hours to get from Fawkner to Craigieburn, which is about 13 kilometres and normally an eight to 10 minute trip in the car.
Good that your patience was a lot better than your passenger, Eva.
Echuca housing boom
The booming residential expansion at Echuca West is set to continue with the sale of the 305 acre (123ha) Echuca Park.
A Melbourne developer has purchased the property for between $45-50 million from the Watson family who have owned the land for more than 100 years.
The project expects to result in 1200 residential blocks as part of the Echuca West Precinct re-development.
Rainfall consistent
Kyabram had recorded 41mm of rain for August up to Monday with 13mm recorded during the previous week.
Kyabram has now received 296.2mm of rain for the year, just 4.4mm more than at the same time last year.
More rain was predicted for Monday, which would take the August total to above the August average of 42.3mm.
School’s last hurrah
If you were ever a student or have had anything to do with the Savernake school you are welcome to attend a farewell in early October.
That’s when the ‘‘goodbye’’ to the country school south east of Berrigan will be celebrated.
Dwindling student numbers actually caused the school to close last year, but one last hoorah is planned for October 15 from 10am to 3pm to acknowledge 140 years of education it has provided for the district.
Anyone with duplicate photos, memorabilia and anecdotes are welcome to contribute them for the day to be showcased.
There is a Facebook page and if you are going to rock up please give Natalie call on 0484 731 538.
$1.4 million surprise
A Hay woman got a nice surprise when she checked her 36-game quick-pick Lotto ticket for the August 20 draw.
Staying with family she got them to check what she thought she had seen and, yes, her numbers had come up and she was $1.4 million richer for her purchase of the winning ticket from an Albury outlet.
Pushback on pool call
The commotion up at Deniliquin over Edward River Council’s decision to change the management of the local swim centre still has a bit to play out.
The council went for Sydney-based firm Lifeguarding Services Australia in preference to local management, which had been doing the job for the past nine years on a voluntary basis.
Now a rescission motion, signed by three councillors, has been submitted to council with the intention of overturning the decision.
Cobram beach closed
A rising Murray River has forced the Berrigan Shire Council to close Tocumwal’s Crown Beach, its boat ramp and walking trails.
The shire has also issued a reminder to everyone in the area not to drive or walk through floodwater.
Further recent heavy falls in catchment areas is causing spills from Hume Dam and combined with floodwaters from the Kiewa River has produced minor flooding at Corowa, which is filtering downstream.
Country music big guns
They are bringing out the big guns for next year’s Goulburn Valley Country Festival.
Kasey Chambers is the headline act and just for good measure throw in Troy Cassar-Daley, Adam Harvey, The Wolfe Brothers and Travis Collins just to name a few.
The inaugural festival earlier this year was voted a big success and organisers are keen to build in that at next year’s event on Sunday, April 1.
More information can be gained online.
Shire’s top tree gong
Mitchell Shire is celebrating a Victorian win — it is Victoria’s best-performing local government area when it comes to keeping trees clear of powerlines.
The shire works regularly with power companies to identify hazardous trees and schedules them for pruning or removal.
The Mitchell Shire includes Seymour, Puckapunyal, Pyalong, Tallarook, Beveridge, Broadford, Kilmore, Tooborac, Trawool, Wallan, Wandong and Heathcote Junction.
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