Published on Wednesday, 3 November 2021 at 11:36:40 AM

It is with great pleasure that I write this to you as the Shire of Chapman Valley President, the first female and the youngest in our Shire’s history. It is such a privilege to serve this community and work with a brilliant Council and Shire staff. A momentous time in the Shire’s history that is not lost on me, and I look forward to working with new and old faces over the coming days, weeks, and months.

It’s certainly been another busy month for Council and the Shire, as we leap into the fourth quarter of the year, and race towards Christmas. The Shire staff have been busy working on road upgrade projects, maintenance grading in readiness for peak harvest traffic, continued cyclone repairs, and annual audits, as well as day to day operations, and Council requirements.

Local Government elections were held on 16th October and we welcome Liz Eliott-Lockhart to Council, and Darrell Forth and Nicole Batten as returning Councillors for another four-year term each. Congratulations Liz, Nicole, and Darrell! And to Darrell who was also elected Deputy President. I look forward to working with new, returning, and current Councillors. The Shire Council and staff wish to thank previous Shire President Anthony Farrell for his dedication and commitment to the Shire and community over two stints on council. His can-do honest attitude, and local knowledge across a wide area has enabled many projects to be completed and bettered outcomes for the Chapman Valley community. We wish Anthony well with his future endeavors.

The Shire will also be farewelling a long-standing dedicated employee in Maurice Battilana in January 2022. Maurice has also completed two stints at the Shire as CEO. His unwavering commitment to the Shire and community is to be commended. He has been influential in making it happen, from road funding, telecommunications, local recovery coordination, major infrastructure investment, and advocacy for our small Shire. Thank you, Maurice. With Maurice’s retirement, the Council has been busy completing the CEO selection process. Council is happy to announce Jamie Criddle will be joining the Shire of Chapman Valley in January 2022. Jamie has extensive local government experience and is familiar with the local area through several family ties. Please extend a warm welcome to him when he commences in the role.

Talking history, I had the honour of attending the recent Yuna Hall 60th Celebration with fellow Councillor Nicole Batten, and Shire Freemans John Collingwood, and Peter Batten. The afternoon was wonderfully hosted by Yuna CWA, and the Chapman Valley Historical Society, and was well attended by many past and present residents. The Yuna Primary School beautifully performed three songs, followed by a historical tribute of the building and past events spoken by Pam Batten. The stories shared and reminisced amongst the crowd were magnificent.

The review of the Shire’s Strategic Community Plan is about to commence and Council strongly encourages everyone to participate in contributing to the plan through upcoming surveys, workshops, and other feedback options that will be provided.

I do hope everyone is going ok six months on from Cyclone Seroja. It has been a demanding time for many in our small community. Please remember to reach out to your neighbours, friends, and family to check in on how they are going. The community spirit has simply been tremendous during response and recovery. And if you need anything cyclone related the Local Community Recovery Coordinator Samantha Edwards is available to chat on her alternative visits once a fortnight to Nabawa and Yuna. Other days Sam is based at the Northampton RSL or her contact number is 0459 956 174.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

• Lords Mayor Distress Relief Fund closing 8th November 2021
• Chapman Valley Australia Day Awards Nominations closing 19th November 2021, please consider nominating any outstanding Chapman Valley people.
• Shire of Chapman Valley November Ordinary Council Meeting 17th November 2021 9am

Lastly, please take care on the roads! Allow that extra ten minutes to commute with all the heavy vehicles out and about.

In Kindness from

Shire of Chapman Valley President Kirrilee Warr

Back to All News