The successful applicants will be employed by Skill360, with the Cassowary Coast Regional Council being the host employer for the duration of the Traineeship or Apprenticeship. On the job training and instruction as well as external formal studies are involved.

The following positions are available:-

TULLY

Queensland’s Green Army Traineeships
12 months duration

PV: 056/09
Horticulture Certificate II (Parks & Natural Environment)
 Application Package PV:056/09

PV: 057/09
Business Administration Certificate III (Community Services/Tourism)
 Application Package PV:057/09

Youth Training Incentive Program – School Based Traineeship
12 months duration

PV: 058/09
Horticulture Certificate II (Parks & Natural Environment)
 Application Package PV:058/09

INNISFAIL

Queensland’s Green Army Traineeships
12 months duration

PV: 059/09
Horticulture Certificate II (Parks & Natural Environment/Facilities) – 3 positions
 Application Package PV:059/09

PV: 060/09
Business Administration Certificate III (Recordkeeping)
 Application Package PV:060/09

PV: 061/09
Business Administration Certificate III (Human Resources)
 Application Package PV:061/09

PV: 062/09
Business Administration Certificate III (Rates & Customer Services)
 Application Package PV:062/09

Queensland’s Green Army Traineeships
18 months duration

PV: 063/09
Civil Construction Certificate II (Civil Works)
 Application Package PV:063/09

First Start Traineeships
12 months duration

PV: 064/09
Library & Information Services Certificate II
 Application Package PV:064/09

First Start Apprenticeship
48 months duration

PV: 065/09
Mechanical Engineering Trade (Maintenance Fitting and/or Turning) – Certificate III (Water & Sewerage)
 Application Package PV:065/09

Application Packages are also available for collection from Customer Service in Innisfail and Tully.

Applications will be received no later than 4.30pm, Friday 27 November 2009 and should be marked “PV – Private and Confidential”.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Those portions of the reserve which will be closed to the public will be the oval and surrounds, and the car park and surrounds. The Community Hall, toilets and access road will remain available for public use. The closed portions of the reserve will be defined with barrier-mesh or signage.

Members of the public using the Community Hall during working hours within the construction period are advised to park their vehicles on South Mission Beach Road and to exercise care when entering the reserve, paying particular attention to the movement of trucks onto the site.

For any further information regarding this matter please contact Mr Paul Devine on 4068 3105.

A copy of the Meeting Notice outlining the items of business for the day will be available here after the 9th November 2009 or hard copies will also be available at the Northern Office, 57 – 59 Rankin Street, Innisfail or the Southern Office, 38 – 40 Bryant Street, Tully for perusal by the general public.

Interested members of the public are encouraged to attend.

Tourism is already a vital part of our region’s economy and will be increasingly so.

In this process of development we must be very careful to preserve what we have and ensure we don’t lose our uniqueness and the reasons why people want to come here in the first place.

We don’t want to create just another Australian coastal destination. We are different and need to value this difference – with, very importantly, abundant rainfall, great natural beauty, unique wildlife and special architecture.

The recent 2009 Tropical North Queensland Tourism Awards in Cairns highlighted our diversity and the many attractions of the region.

There were five tourism awards won by businesses in the Cassowary Coast Region.

Murdering Point Winery, famous for its tropical fruit wines, received a Hall of Fame award for consistent and long service to the tourism industry. Congratulations to the Berryman family.

Paronella Park, the No 1 ‘Queensland Must Do’ winner received the Heritage and Culture award. Paronella Park is an outstanding tourist attraction that continues to expand its appeal. Mark and Judy Evans are excellent ambassadors for our region.

Spirit of the Rainforest Tours won the indigenous tourism award. Running out of the Echo Adventure and Cultural Centre south of Tully, at the site of the former King Ranch, this tour is a part of the wide ranging activities organised there. Congratulations to all concerned, especially to well known and respected indigenous elder Ernie Grant and his family.

The Mission Beach Visitor Information Centre (MBVIC) won its category competing against the numerous visitor information centres across the Far North Queensland region. No one at the awards were more proud than Angi Matveyeff, the Visitor Information Centre Manager and Karen McNally, Marketing Manager for Mission Beach Business and Tourism. Well done to you both and to all the MBVIC volunteers.

A Judge’s commendation award was won by the Elandra Resort at South Mission Beach. Congratulations to the Manager David Brook and owners Adam Karras and Katrina Knowles.

A second place in the new tourism development category was won by the MaMu Rainforest Canopy Walkway. This tourist addition in our region gives new and spectacular views and, in my view, could easily have won this section. In fact Geoff Bowes from Ergon Energy, the sponsor of this award, said to me that he wished he could have presented both the winner, Herberton Historic Village and MaMu Canopy Walk an award.

These Queensland Tourism awards are real achievements for our region are an outstanding result.

The Cassowary Coast’s tourist numbers improved on last year, in contrast with flat or declining figures for northern regions more heavily dependent on overseas tourist numbers.

With our three main industries – bananas, tourism and cane all looking good for the immediate future we have every reason to be optimistic.

Council is now calling for eligible residents to be nominated for the following awards:

• Citizen of the Year
• Young Citizen of the Year
• Community Event of the Year
• Senior Cultural Award
• Junior Cultural Award
• Senior Environment Award
• Junior Environment Award
• Senior Sports Award
• Junior Sports Award
• Administrator Sports Award
• Achievement Award
• Excellence Award

 2010 Australia Day Awards Nomination Form

Nomination forms are also available from the Shire Libraries (Cardwell, Tully, Wongaling & Innisfail) and the Council Chambers Reception Desks, Tully and Innisfail. Alternatively, phone Council for a nomination form to be mailed, faxed or emailed to you.

Completed nomination forms are to be returned to the Chief Executive Officer by 4.30pm, Friday, 8th January 2010.

Innisfail & District

Categories:

• Best Residence
• Best Christmas Street
• Best Commercial Business

 Christmas Lights Competition Nomination Form - North

Nominations close: 4.00pm Monday 7th December.

Judging of competition: 8th-9th December.

Winners announced: Innisfail Carols by Candlelight 11th December Innisfail Advocate Saturday 19th December 2009.

Cardwell Mission Beach & Tully District

Categories:

• Best Residence
• Best Christmas Street
• Best Commercial Business

 Christmas Lights Competition Nomination Form – South

Nominations close: 4.00pm Wednesday 9th December

Judging of competition : 11th-12th December

Winners announced: Carols by Candlelight Tully 13th December and Tully Times Thursday 17th December 2009

In the spirit of sharing at Christmas, decorate your home, shop front/window or join with neighbours in illuminating your street and be eligible to win $100 for your favourite charity.

Nomination forms are available from the Customer Services Section at Council’s Tully and Innisfail Offices, & Libraries located Innisfail, Tully, Mission Beach and Cardwell and also from the CRACA office (4068 2589), 1 Butler Street, Tully.

The 2009 Mayor’s Christmas Appeal aims to provide the Cassowary Coast community with the opportunity to ensure that everyone within the community is touched by the magic of Christmas, according to Mayor, Bill Shannon.

“Many people are experiencing difficulties for many different reasons, due to the global economic downturn, loss of employment and the diverse ramifications of the share market crisis – all these are a major influence on the household income,” Cr. Shannon observed.

“Christmas is not always a time of joy and hope for everyone, but rather a time of trepidation and uncertainty.”

“The Mayor’s Christmas Appeal provides us with an opportunity to reach out and bring joy to the lives of less fortunate people – to children, families and the elderly – and make sure Christmas is a special time for them as well.”

Cr. Shannon said the agencies and church groups which distributed Christmas hampers, food vouchers and toys to those in need, relied on the continuing generosity of the Cassowary Coast community.

“Their work is only possible due to the continued kind support of groups, organisations, firms and individuals who financially contribute to the Appeal,” he said. “The success of the Appeal directly affects the level of assistance they provide at Christmas.”

Cr. Shannon urged Cassowary Coast organisations, businesses and individuals who have supported the annual Appeal in past years, to maintain their support, despite the myriad of other causes seeking donations.

“I appreciate that someone is always appealing for some kind of financial assistance and we all have had to face difficult times, however, there are no more difficult times than now for the needy. So please, support the Mayor’s Christmas Appeal.”

Monetary donations and toys will be collected for the Appeal at the following key events, which will take place around the region in the lead-up to Christmas. Donations can also be made at the council facilities listed below.

Carols by Candlelight:

• Cardwell – 6th December
• Tully – 13th December
• Innisfail – 11th December

Street celebrations:

• Annual Charity Bike Ride – Cardwell to Innisfail, 5th December
• Cardwell Water Front Markets, 5th December
• Town-wide Christmas Shopping Spree, Innisfail, 5th December
• Mission Beach Village Green, 10th December
• Tully Street Party, 23rd December

(The Annual Charity Bike Ride will start in Cardwell and travel through Mission Beach and Tully before finishing in Innisfail, the site of the Town-wide Christmas Shopping Spree. All bikers are welcome to participate in the Ride. Contact Don Fuller on 4061 6163 for further details.)

Donations:

• Monetary donations and toys for the Appeal will be accepted at the Mission Beach Library, Cardwell Library and both the Tully and Innisfail council offices.
• Donations will also be accepted by cheques mailed to Mayor’s Christmas Appeal, PO Box 887 Innisfail 4860. Please make cheques payable to the Cassowary Coast Regional Council.

We are already renowned for the achievements of our sporting and cultural identities. The recent events have been more to do with groups, working well together.

1. The indigenous cultural exhibition, presenting the art and culture of the Ma Mu peoples was well attended and very successful. It was important to see school groups coming through every weekday that the exhibition was open. The Cassowary Coast region has now hosted two groundbreaking indigenous events, this one and the Girrigun Festival in Cardwell a couple of years ago.
2. After many years of effort the refurbished clubhouse of the Etty Bay Surf Lifesaving Club has been officially opened at a ceremony there, during the recent Far North regional surf carnival. The greatly expanded facilities will be available for use by other community groups and privately for functions, which will help support the club.
3. The Innisfail Harvest Festival, the longest continually running festival in Queensland, attracted people from throughout the region. The contribution of the Rotary Clubs of Innisfail in organising this event is acknowledged. This event was in danger of folding which given its long history would have been very sad. It was wonderful to see the Samoan dancers from Tully enthusiastically participating, particularly at such a difficult time for them with the tsunami affecting their homeland only the week before.
4. The Cassowary Coast Walkathon in Tully raised over $50,000 for cancer research, with seventeen teams walking through the night in relays. Tully hosts the only walkathon in our region and organisers were very pleased with this year’s event, with teams coming from across the region from Cardwell to Innisfail and significantly more than the hoped for amount being raised.
5. The Biennial Innisfail Art Exhibition, held again in the Shire Hall for the first time since Cyclone Larry, was enthusiastically welcomed back with a good attendance on opening night and for the artist’s critique and Art Deco lecture and luncheon the next day.
6. The Innisfail Race Day was everything that a country race meeting should be. Good racing, prize money and trophies of a high standard, a well prepared and presented track and a large crowd enjoying the event and the company, with four bus loads of people coming from Tully this year.

Volunteers have contributed greatly to all these occasions and their assistance is essential and much appreciated.

Congratulations to all concerned.

As a region we can be very proud of our achievements and that we can offer such a diversity of community events for all to enjoy. It really has been quite an extraordinary few weeks.

Measures introduced to protect guests from weather-related disasters such as tsunamis and cyclones have already become a marketing feature for a number of major resorts and hotels in south-east Asia, according to Cassowary Coast Regional Council Disaster Manager, Carola Washbourne.

Ms Washbourne was a guest speaker at last Wednesday’s (14th October) Accommodation Providers Disaster Preparedness Workshop, organised by the council, in collaboration with a number of government agencies and businesses, including Emergency Management Queensland, the Queensland Police Service and the Building Services Authority.

Held at Mission Beach, the workshop attracted tourism industry professionals from as far afield as Bedarra Island.

Guest speakers at the event looked at key issues confronting accommodation providers during and immediately after a disaster, then outlined a range of strategies and tactics designed to help them deal with those issues and enhance their ability to keep their businesses afloat.

Mission Beach-based regional and community development consultant, Tracey Wilson, discussed the importance of developing a business continuity plan to minimise disruptions to business operations.

She “walked” workshop participants through the necessary steps to implement such a plan, including the production of a risk management plan, business impact analysis, incident response and recovery plans.

Ms Wilson also offered practical advice on how to assemble a business-related emergency kit to enable a business to continue operating off-site, in the event of damage to normal business premises.

“You need to include documents such as contact lists for customers and suppliers, emergency services and utility providers,” she said. “Other essential documents include a copy of your building site plan, insurance details and the latest stock and equipment inventory.

“Make sure you also pack computer back-up disks, spare keys, a mobile phone with credit available and charger, and a disposable camera to photograph damaged items for insurance purposes.”

Tully-based general insurance broker, Karen Hardy, tackled “the burning issue” of maintaining adequate levels of commercial insurance protection. She also identified potential ‘minefields’ in insurance policies, such as delay clauses and general exclusions.

“Know your policy,” she stressed. “Sit down, go through it, if you don’t understand something – ask. It’s too late after the event.”

Several guest speakers, including Council Tourism Coordinator, Sheila Lawler, emphasised the value of networking in times of disaster.

“Networking with other businesses, key suppliers and service providers, as well as visitor information centres and tourism organisations can help to minimise disruption and financial loss, maximise resources, hasten the recovery process and present a positive united profile of the region,” she said.

The workshop highlighted the importance of communication, including communication plans designed to enhance the safety and peace-of-mind of in-house guests, those planning to leave and guests scheduled to arrive in the wake of a natural disaster.

“Guests should be provided with appropriate information, including evacuation procedures,” Ms Lawler said. “They need to be kept informed and advised what to do.

“You need to make guests feel more confident. If they have been badly frightened, they will probably never come back.”

District Disaster Coordinator for the Innisfail region, Inspector David Tucker, provided common-sense advice on security measures and also stressed the importance of maintaining adequate guest records to assist emergency workers.

However, self-reliance was the recurring theme throughout the workshop. Inspector Tucker and the other guest speakers all contributed to a disaster preparation list of essential items and equipment designed to enhance the ability of workshop participants to fend for themselves in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

“Following a major disaster, you may very likely have to cope on your own for three to seven days, because resources will be so stretched,” observed CCRC Disaster Manager, Carola Washbourne.

“The more you can do for yourself, the better off you will be.”

For further information on the workshop contact Carola Washbourne on 07 4043 9180.

Earl Robert Ohnesorgen, who appeared before Magistrate Janelle Brassington, pleaded guilty to breaching a restraint order placed on him by the Planning and Environment Court in Cairns in November 2004.

The restraint order, issued under Section 505 of the Environmental Protection Act, prohibited Mr Ohnesorgen, (formerly of Mundoo Towing and Auto Wreckers), from running a metal recovery business – including a scrap metal yard and auto wrecking operation – from premises on Aerodrome Road at Mundoo.

However, Mr Ohnesorgen ignored the Court order and continued to dismantle motor vehicles and operate a scrap metal yard in such a manner as to pose a real risk of causing environmental harm and nuisance to neighbouring residents in Mundoo, according to CCRC Environmental Services Manager, Geoff Wilson.

“Practices at his business included dismantling vehicles and draining fluids such as oils on an unsealed surface, resulting in the release of those oils and fluids onto bare earth,” Mr Wilson said.

“Partially dismantled vehicles left on the roadway also disrupted the flow of traffic in Aerodrome Road, and frequently blocked neighbouring driveways.

“Other unacceptable practices included storing old batteries and waste fluids in an unroofed and unsealed area, which resulted in a real risk of contaminated run-off during heavy rain.”

Mr Wilson said council environmental officers had made repeated attempts over the years to work pro-actively with Mr Ohnesorgen to encourage him to comply with environmental requirements.

“But he continually refused to comply or cooperate, and as a result, the council was left with no choice but to prosecute him for breach of the Court order,” Mr Wilson said.

In the course of her sentencing remarks, Magistrate Janelle Brassington made reference to the fact that the offence had involved a complete disregard for an Order of a Superior Court and that any penalty imposed must involve both personal and general deterrents.

She fined Mr Ohnesorgen the sum of $20,000 and ordered him to pay $6,837 towards the council’s legal and investigation costs. Mr Ohnesorgen was given six months to pay the fine and costs. In default of payment of the fine, he faces four months’ imprisonment. Failure to pay the costs will incur two months’ imprisonment.

Mr Wilson said the magnitude of Mr Ohnesorgen’s fine indicated that the court had taken his offence seriously.

“This result vindicates the efforts of council officers to prevent Mr Ohnesorgen from continuing to jeopardise the environment,” he said. “It also acknowledges the impact his actions have had on neighbours.”