Please be advised that a Total Fire Ban will be in place throughout the whole City of Swan from 07:30 hours Tuesday 29th Dec 2009. Unless otherwise cancelled or revoked this will remain in force for the rest of the day.

Activities prohibited during the Total Fire Ban Period include:

• Movement of machinery or vehicles in paddocks except for essential stock watering and for emergency purposes
• Any "Hot Work" (welding, grinding, gas cutting) anywhere in the open air unless a prior exemption has been obtained for this activity from Local Government
• Cooking fires anywhere in the open air
• Cooking using gas appliances other than in a designated area eg your home
• Any other activity likely to cause a fire

Residents and landholders should plan activities to comply. Please ensure that any employees, relatives, friends or associates who might be affected by this ban are advised ASAP. Note that significant penalties apply for breaches

For further information please see the FESA website or listen to ABC 720.
 


Many thanks to those that attended our community meetingWednesday of last week, we had a few short of 60 in attendance with almost half being new attendees. We now have 138 families we communicate with via email and many more who we have been in contact with over the last few years through similar events.

Read more..

Horses and Bushfires..


There will be no January 2010 issue of the Gidgegram. The deadline for February 2010 issue will be will be on Jan 21st and folding on the 26th.

Gidgegram page..


StateAlert is now running. Please review the information on the link below and decide if you need to register to get alerts to your email, mobile phone and/or VoIP. You can nominate up to three addresses so you might want to pass on to family and friends to register. For more information and to ask questions please come along to our community meeting next Wednesday, 16th December at the Gidgegannup Fire Station commencing at 7.00pm.

StateAlert website..


With the absence of a comprehensive plan from Port Bouvard, this map is an attempt to depict the proposed housing density when the new suburb is developed. Is this what we want for Gidgegannup?
(Source: Gidgegannup Progress Association)

• Density Map A4 (584KB)
• Density Map A3 (962KB)

Gidgegannup Development page..


Are you bushfire ready?
Community meeting, Wednesday 16 December 2009, 7.00pm at the Gidgegannup Fire Station.

Read more..


During the past couple of weeks at least 3 fires in the City of Swan have been caused by ride-on mowers or slashers. One of these was the fire near Aspen Rd, Gidge which burnt out nearly 40 Ha, threatened houses and took up to 50 firefighters at its height from as far away as Gosnells and Quinns Rock to contain, with 2 further days blackout and mopup. This fire broke out at approx 4 pm on a Very High Fire Danger day – you have to wonder!

Read more..


The Newsagency will be closed on the following days:
- Christmas Day - Friday, 25th December
- Boxing Day - Saturday, 26th December
- Sunday 27th December
- Monday, 28th December
- New Year's Day - Friday, 1st January, 2010

There will be no newspapers on Christmas day and no deliveries on the other days. Daily papers will be available on all days, other than Christmas Day, at Gidgegannup General Store (Shell) and BP Service Station. They will also be available at Gidge Convenience and Stock Feed Store on all days other than Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and 2nd January 2010.

Alan, Ann and all the staff at Gidge News would like to wish you and your family a Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year.
 


Attached as a PDF file is the next segment in the Kookaburra program for this season.

Trust you have a great Xmas and that you find something of interest in these offerings.

CU @ the Movies @ Kookaburra, Lindsay

Kookaburra Program..


The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is a free and independent alternative dispute resolution scheme for small business and residential consumers in Australia with unresolved complaints about their telephone or internet services.

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman website..


Telstra is inviting its Avon and Wheatbelt customers to join a new panel providing advice on how it can improve the customer experience. The new online panel will see up to 18,000 customers regularly telling the company what they think of their Telstra experiences and where the telco needs to lift its game on service.

More info..


Items of Particular interest:

• 3.4 Adoption of Structure Plan - Lot 232 Reen Road, Gidgegannup
• 3.6 Initiation of Scheme Amendments and advertisement of Draft Local Planning Policies - Commercial Vehicle Parking, Transport Depots and Rural Transport Depots
• 3.2 SAT - Proposed Structure Plan - Lot 9503 and 9504 Connemara Drive, Brigadoon

See also..
 


Businesses of Perth’s Eastern Region are invited to participate in a survey which will assist in the identification of areas experiencing insufficient data download speeds. The absence of high speed broadband is holding back growth of existing businesses and is a problem in attracting new business to Perth’s Eastern Region.

Read more..


There are oodles of fun activities to do in the City during the school holidays, which is why the City of Swan issues a School Holidays Activities Poster at the end of each term. There's no excuse to be bored!

Download School Holiday Activities Program - January 2010

More info..


The Annual Meeting of Electors of the City of Swan for the 2008/09 financial year will now be held at 5.30pm Monday, December 21 at the Midland Town Hall Auditorium (cnr Great Eastern Highway/Old Great Northern Highway).

More info..


The City of Swan is offering motorists the chance to have their vehicles checked before heading off on holidays.

More info..


The City supports the community in developing fire prevention strategies. For areas outside the Perth metropolitan fire district the City of Swan operates a fire service in association with volunteer fire brigades. The City of Swan and FESA will be conducting three information nights within the City of Swan to equip you to Prepare - Act - Survive.

More info..


Emergency Services Minister Rob Johnson today warned of a long, hot summer with firefighters already responding to a massive 35 per cent increase in the number of bushfires this season compared to the same time last year.

Read more..


Arsonists who wilfully destroy or damage property by fire face up to life imprisonment. Attorney General Christian Porter and Emergency Services Minister Rob Johnson have warned that lighting fires would now be considered one of the most serious criminal offences in Western Australia and offenders would be penalised appropriately, the maximum penalty being life imprisonment.

Read more..


From 7 December 2009, Western Australians can register to receive emergency warnings direct to their mobile or email during emergencies such as bushfires.
 

Read more..


A second Type 1 helicopter, similar to the giant Fire King that had already helped protect the State during the last two bushfire seasons, would now be based in the highly-vulnerable South-West region, Emergency Services Minister Rob Johnson announced today. Mr Johnson said the additional helicopter would be managed by the Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) from a base at Busselton, to allow faster response times to fires in the region. Mr Johnson said in addition to increasing the aerial firefighting fleet, the Government had introduced new laws this bushfire season.

Read more..


Category winners in the 2009 WA Environment Awards included: Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) - Karakamia Woylie Project in the category Biodiversity Conservation for providing a long-term haven for critically endangered species in WA. During the past 15 years, AWC has established a population of endangered woylies and safeguarded them against threats that have decimated the species elsewhere. The population of 36 woylies at the Karakamia Wildlife Sanctuary has grown to more than 450, with another 600 translocated elsewhere.

Overview of all award winners..