State award plaque comes home to Toora

Mirror
Wednesday 17/10/2007 Page: 19

NOW that they are back from the 2007 Keep Australia Beautiful Awards State ceremony held at Benalla over the first weekend in October, Toora Progress Association representatives Kathy Whelan and Peter Lee are excited about the ideas they have learned and people they have connected with. As reported on page seven in last week's edition of The Mirror, Toora won the State level award for the Community Government Partnership category against the other regional category winners Lorne, Ballarat, Dartmoor, Dimboola and Horsham, Koondrook, Seymour and Beechworth. Kathy and Peter formally accepted the award from Don Johns OAM of Horsham.

The award is a tastefully engraved plaque that Kathy anticipates will be displayed progressively at a number of locations around the town so that as many people as possible can see it.

Considering the extensive assistance given to Toora by Councillor Heather Bligh and South Gippsland Shire generally in helping the residents to grow $65,000 seed funding received from Stanwell Corporation for the chosen hall, pool, nursing home and skate park projects, Kathy reckoned, "it is virtually an award for Council too." The ceremony weekend was designed to make the participants feel special, with Kathy describing the event as well organised and somewhat like the Oscars, even down to the little envelopes being opened for announcing the category winners.

"When Toora was named as the Community Government Partnerships winner, we were knocked over in shock, and Peter had tears in his eyes", Kathy recounted. She believes that the success Toora experienced through the projects has given the town confidence to go for more grants in future. The weekend also featured inspirational speakers and workshops about special projects for so-called disenchanted youth, the importance of symbolism and responsibility to community, which have sparked Peter and Kathy with new ideas for Toora.

As a result, they hope to organise some visitors and speakers for Toora through the contacts they have made and are wondering about the relevance of a "stationeers" movement for further projects at the former Toora Railway Station. As Kathy said, "love them or loathe them, the wind turbines at Toora [owned by Stanwell Corporation] have provided some incredible benefits for the local community."