IT brings me great joy to reflect on the capital projects that have been ticked off throughout the shire lately.

Some of these have been in progress for years and so to clear them off the calendar is a tremendous achievement.

First up is the Dunkeld Loop Walk, a casual but very picturesque walk with some beautiful examples of local flora and fauna for tourists and locals to enjoy.

The Dunkeld Visitor Hub provides a much-improved visitor experience that is being enjoyed by both locals and visitors.

Silvester Oval in Coleraine has seen a huge improvement in recent times with the restumping of the club rooms and the substantial upgrades made to the floodlights and the power system, bringing the club to a much higher standard for members.

New flooring has been laid in the corridor at the Hamilton Indoor Leisure and Aquatic Centre and the public toilets in Penshurst have had a much-needed upgrade.

As I’m sure everyone is aware, the parking meters in Hamilton have been installed and everyone is slowly getting used to these.

A fantastic rose garden has been planted at our spectacular Hamilton Botanical Gardens and the footbridge at the gardens has been updated.

I would whole heartedly encourage everyone to visit the gardens and take in one of the most amazing assets we have.

Council also continues upgrades to the Hamilton Regional Livestock Exchange, with the completion of the freshwater treatment project.

Speaking of good news around the Shire, I’d also like to share a terrific story about a local family.

Early last year, following a difficult and high-risk pregnancy requiring substantial medical care in the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne; a local shearer by the name of Ken Bungar and his partner Tara Stephens were offered free accommodation at Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Melbourne.

At that point in time, that act of kindness meant everything.

I was in awe at what they were given and the kindness that they were shown.

In acknowledgement of the wonderful treatment they received, on Saturday, March 9 at the Falkenberg Family-owned farm, Mepungah Pastoral 44 local shearers will be getting together to shear an astonishing 2000 sheep in just 12 hours.

Their goal is to raise about $30,000.

It costs roughly $5000 to keep a single room open at RMH for a year, so the plan is to have a room sponsored by ‘Western District Shearing 2024’ for the next number of years.

This is an extraordinary cause, and anyone interested in donating can look up their page on Facebook.

Anyone wanting to go out on the day will be well looked after by the Lions Club who will be providing refreshments for the whole community.

It would be fantastic to see a big showing to support this amazing occasion.

It’s such a great story and one that really showcases the kind of gratitude and generosity that we have in our tight knit community.

Finally, I’d like to discuss something relating to one of the employees of the Shire.

There was a comment in the paper recently about the state of some public toilets in the area.

Anyone who is echoing those comments should meet the lady who does that job, early every morning, every day.

They would see the pride that this woman has in the hard job that she does.

Unfortunately, others in the area have no such respect for the presentation of these facilities.

We are at this point replacing the toilet seats several times per month and often having them cleaned more than once a day.

If there’s anyone who has any information about those who are treating these facilities so badly after they have been cleaned, please come forward.

I was very intent this week on supporting her, and recognising the fantastic work she does for all of us and to acknowledge how lucky we are to have someone so diligent doing the work that she does.