Public Notice

Howlong Community Progress Association

Featured in the Howlong Grapevine December 2021

50 people attended the public meeting on 8 November, which included committee members/partners, councillors & guests - sadly this left a less than expected turnout from the community. On a positive note, the feedback received was very supportive regarding the professional way the meeting was run, including a visual PowerPoint presentation, strong community engagement and the informative Inspector Paul Huggett as guest speaker.

Apologies were noted, Acknowledgement to Country was offered before guests and community were welcomed to the meeting, and Howlong Golf Resort was thanked for their ongoing support.

14 new memberships were received with HCPA now close to 100 members. In a town of at least 3000 residents there is still plenty of scope to significantly increase the membership base, and we urge residents & businesses to jump on board so we can truly make a difference.

Guest Speaker: Inspector Paul Huggett, OIC Western Sector, Murray River Police District, spoke about the role of policing in NSW and made specific mention of the allocation of duties/tasks in the Murray River Police District, in which Howlong sits. Paul spoke of the difference between emergency and administrative management. Policing tasks are triaged to determine the needs of the community and report what has been happening across the district. He stated that staffing throughout the Murray River Police District is based on intelligence/data, and that policing is a priority-based profession. He reiterated throughout his presentation the need for the Howlong community to report what has been happening no matter how small the issue, and that such reports can be anonymous. Police have a strong focus on engaging with the community and they need to know what is going on in Howlong so they can meet the needs of our community. Paul expressed how important it was that the person reporting an incident needs to ensure they ask for the name of the police officer they are speaking to. This allows for follow up action with the initial responding officer if no response has occurred.

Other aspects of Paul’s talk involved the need to engage with the younger generation and new families to give them a sense of belonging to the Howlong Community. Paul stated that police have a broadbased service to support the community, however they need the community to report ALL incidents no matter how minor they seem. “We are only as good as the community we serve” and “any community will get the crime that the community condones.” Questions and issues raised were vandalism at Memorial Park; use of CCTV cameras as security measures; burn outs in Memorial Park and malicious damage at private properties. Paul responded to the use of CCTV stating that as long it is good quality and accessible anything you can do as a deterrent is good.

Important phone numbers:

• Triple 000 in an emergency or crime in progress.

• Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 to report actual or suspected criminal information in confidence.

• Police Assistance Line: 131 444 if you are a victim of a crime, other than life threatening or time critical emergency, or to report a crime over the phone.

• Community can contact Inspector Paul Huggett by email: 29042@police.NSW.gov.au

Ambulance Issues: Longer term option for ambulance is 5-10 years, with first responders 1-2 years. Council and Justin Clancy MP are aware (and supportive) of our efforts to highlight Howlong for more services. It is very evident that to achieve anything there is a need for strong commitment from the community to move forward. Accordingly, a special 2-hour public meeting is proposed for Feb 2022 with Q & A from Ambulance NSW speakers. If we are going to gain traction, we need a huge turnout for this event! Page 2.

Website: We are thrilled our application for $2,900 from Federation Council’s Community Grant Program has been successful. This will enable us to obtain public liability insurance and proceed with design and marketing of the website. It will be a comprehensive and fluid website to promote HCPA Inc, Howlong’s history, tourism potential, HCPA projects under development, local & business directories, community events & meetings, links to council and other relevant websites, and offer easy access for online membership. There is still much work ahead, but rest assured the committee will be working hard to get this website live as soon as practicable.

“Howlong Has Talent”: Under the auspices of HCPA this inaugural event is planned for 20 March 2022, offering performers within a 30km radius to participate in this amateur talent quest. With school-age to adults in 4 sections, and prizes generously donated by the Howlong Local Thrifty Store, we’re confident this will be a showcase event to put performing arts in Howlong on everyone’s radar. Marketing has already commenced, and we hope for strong interest from entrants. For further information email howlonghastalent@gmail.com.au or contact Coleen Bell on 0439 649 492.

Other Projects: Memorial Park/Cross Street Reserve - Council is proposing a masterplan for this area but no timeframe has yet been determined. Suffice to say it remains high on our list of concerns. Cemetery Toilet – HCPA approached Council who has now given agreement in principle. There was overwhelming support for this project and we will now progress to the next stage of developing a concept with costings. Tip Hours – An organised approach by HCPA to council resulted in Cr Longley raising a motion at the September council meeting, resulting in a change back to Sundays being the successful outcome. Medical Centre – This is a difficult situation. HCPA discussions with council led to a further meeting with Justin Clancy MP and Cr Longley. As a result, Murrumbidgee Health is investigating the shortage of doctors at the clinic. In correspondence we also raised concerns for the wellbeing of Dr Wafa Ismail and staff working long hours in difficult conditions. Tree Health in Sturt Street and Hawkins Street – HCPA wrote to council but no formal response yet, however Cr Longley commented there is some money in the budget to remove dead/diseased trees. Howlong History – We’ve had some meetings with Howlong Historical Society and keen to work in partnership with them. They have a wealth of knowledge to share, and this will be helpful in setting up a history page on our new website.

Clean up Australia Day: It was proposed we run a Clean Up Australia day in March 2022 followed by a BBQ lunch, and there was overwhelming support to go ahead with this event. HCPA has approached Council's Community and Events team who have agreed to support this event. Council staff will over the coming week register on the Clean Up Australia website, organize promotions, and begin internal discussion of waste management from the day. A steering committee will be formed to organize the event and community involvement is critical for a successful outcome. Please notify HCPA of your interest to be involved.

As we near the end of a rather challenging 2021, the committee is very pleased with what we have been able to achieve in a few short months. The AGM will be held next March and will be advertised in the Grapevine, on Howlong Facebook pages and our new HCPA website.

The committee would like to wish everyone a safe & joyful Christmas season and we look forward to seeing exciting ‘progress’ for our Howlong community in 2022. Onward and upward!!

Stuart Sizer [President] – 0427 138 667

Cheryl Cook [Secretary] – 0418 979 291

Email: howlong.progress@yahoo.co