The Coober Pedy News is published fortnightly
..........................................................
COOBER PEDY’S BIG AFTERNOON TEA Congratulations Coober Pedy you raised $6458.20 Coober Pedy’s Big Afternoon Tea, to raise funds for cancer research, was held in the TAFE SA & PIRSA building on Saturday 27th May. A great time was had by all attending. Chris Durdin gave a very interesting and informative presentation on Social Support. It is so good to know the services that are available to us if ever needed. Thanks Chris. Our thanks must also go to our Auctioneers, Trevor Berry and his helpers, John Holdrich and Damien Clark. Bidding was brisk and some great bargains were purchased (and some laughs had) during the Monster Auction. And the food was something else. Savouries, Cheese Cakes of every flavor, Cakes, Sandwiches etc etc etc. Last year Coober Pedy raised almost $3000, the10th highest amount in the State. So you will have to agree that the $6458.20 raised this year is a fantastic result for our town to raise. As always, we would not have been able to raise this amount if it was not for the businesses and people in the town who donated goods for the auction, cakes, sandwiches etc. And so we would like to thank the following: RSL Club of Coober Pedy, Wearhouse Arcade, Aretas Opal, Maggie & Bill Cunningham, Adelaide Football Club, Miners Direct, Dawn Jones, Opal Country, Pam Chapman, Jacqui Boland, Anne Johnson, Opal Cutter, Port Adelaide Football Club, Potch Gully Crafts, Opal Cave, Vranci Opal, Lightning Ridge Opal Mine, Fire in the Stone, Down Under Treasures, Jewelers of Opal, Yannis Black Opal, John's Pizza, Michael Coro, Miners Store, Old Timers Mine, Min Cabrera, Lyn Baldi, Radeka's Downunder, Star Opal, District Council of Coober Pedy, Mark Weaver, Mary Marjanovic, Lucas Supermarket, St Vincent De Paul, Albert & Mary Wilkinson, Discount Opal House, Coober Pedy Opal Fields Golf Club, Nino Guilisano, William Creek Hotel, Tom's Working Mine, Breakaways Café, Stuart Range Caravan Park, Primary Health, Underground Café & Didgeridoos, The Pink Roadhouse Oodnadatta, The Mud Hut Motel, Umoona Opal Mine, Desert Traders, PIRSA, John Boland, Mandy’s Hairdressing Salon, Desert Cave, Natalie & Dr Vic Sotnik, Maylin Construction, The Pink Pig Wine Bar - Adelaide, Spencer Institute of TAFE, Abby Bruce, Ron Barassi, Peter Goers. Our thanks must also go to Carol Biggs and Katrina Hikl for their help on the day. Raffle results were as follows: 1st Prize Kath Mitchell, Opal Watch donated by Umoona Opal Mine 2nd Prize Steve Baines, Dinner for Two donated by Desert Cave 3rd Prize Shirley Wreford Fuel Voucher donated by Desert Traders. Lyn Freeman, Kate McLeod and Miriam Kammermann .............................................................
| 
Archived copy Virtual Meeting space available for remote community organisations Coordinating meetings and getting people together to discuss issues is now easy, even when group members are widely spread throughout the remote Outback. Very few people in remote SA aren’t involved in a community organisation of some kind. Organisations that rely on volunteers deliver all kinds of community services in outback areas. Outback Connect - a state and federal Government project which provides free IT training and technical support in very remote SA - is able to help overcome this difficulty. It encourages groups with members in remote areas to link up using its “virtual meeting room” system, with no cost to the organisation. Anyone with a connection to the internet - even a dial up connection of at least 28k - can access the virtual meeting room. Up to ten different locations can be connected via this system, regardless of where those locations may be. These sites may be at for one person sitting at their home computer, or can include a sub group meeting together who are able to access a computer. Instant communication with all the other people in the meeting is possible using voice and video and there is also an electronic whiteboard that is very easy for participants to share their ideas on. The Marree branch of the Isolated Children’s Parents Association used the virtual meeting room for the first time on May 31, and found it worked extremely well. Members located hundreds of kilometres apart, were able to attend the meeting without leaving their homes. “We haven’t been able to meet face-to-face for two years”, said Cindy Mitchell member of the ICPA group. “We were able to see and hear each other, swap ideas, and make future plans - all using this great technology. We couldn’t have achieved what we did without it.” “Now we’ve seen how easy and useful it is, we plan to use it regularly in the future to keep our group moving along.” Anyone who has seen how School of the Air operates over the internet will recognise the virtual meeting room - it is the same software they’ve been using very successfully to reach outback kids since 2003. If you are interested in having your group use the virtual meeting room, contact Outback Connect coordinator Ann Johnston on 1300 887 422. She can also tell you about other IT training and technical support the project offers.
COOBER PEDY COMMUNITY PETITION
COOBER PEDY COMMUNITY PETITION - UPDATE We are pleased with the response from the whole of the community regarding the petition. So where do we go to from here ? There will be another community forum, and this one is aimed at the people who have to deal with the end results of alcohol, substance abuse and anti-social behaviour in our community. The forum will be a closed door "debrief" for doctors, nurses, health workers, ambulance volunteers, MAPS workers, and reception staff who work in the health sector. The last forum in the series will be for the general community. This will be held prior to the Summit and will help to workshop the wider issues. This means we will then be focused on what the main issues are specifically for our community, and will go toward asking for help from the Government. We need to state our case clearly and objectively. We must know exactly what we want and what we need. COOBER PEDY SUMMIT 2006 Coober Pedy has had a dry area since August 1996. This means that consumption of alcohol in this zone is prohibited under Dry Area regulations. This then gives the police the power to issue fines if they catch people drinking in this area. However, the bigger problem involves people who come from the Lands where they are not allowed to drink. This steadily increasing influx of people causes major disruption to our way of life. This behaviour is called anti-social because it is behaviour that society today sees as unacceptable, be it in the main street, down at Umoona or in people's homes. Hiding behind poor behaviour because you are under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other substances is not acceptable. Individuals are now required to be responsible for their own behaviour, and children are the direct responsibility of their parents. Being responsible for your dog or dogs is another issue. People behaving irresponsibly places huge strains on the local services available in Coober Pedy. For example let's look at dogs. If your dog is not desexed and wanders at large this leads to a population explosion of dogs. How many dog catchers would we need to cope with this problem? Currently the Council does not have a dedicated dog catcher, this requires additional funding and a suitably trained individual working full time. People who gather in the dry area and drink all day cause other problems. They stagger in front of cars, they beg for money to buy alcohol and cigarettes. They abuse locals and tourists alike. They often fight and throw rocks. By gathering in front of businesses in the main street they scare away customers and people going about their daily lawful business. Some of these people are collected by the MAPS workers and driven "home". But what if they do not have a home because they do not live here? Sometimes they end up at the hospital or at health clinics. These facilities are already busy dealing with local sick people, how do they stretch their services to cater for more? How often do you see the ambulance called out to someone lying in the main street. Parents who have children are also often irresponsible. They often don't spend money on suitable food and clothing for their children. They don't send them to school, or if children go they are often hungry or tired because their home life is unstable due to domestic violence. Again, what if they don't live here. Where do they go. Who looks after the children? As we all know these are issues we have been hearing about for a very long time. Recently there has been a lot of attention in the media to the problems experienced in the Northern Territory and also the nearby APY Lands. We all know why people abuse alcohol, drugs and other substances such as petrol. Or at least we think we know why people do this... The Summit is designed to look at the reasons behind such behaviour, and to help correct these issues where possible for us here in Coober Pedy. Natalie Slovachevsky Paul Athanasiadis Katharine Micka 0418 831 094 0407 725 781 .............................................................................................................. "The Complete Art of Firework Making"When you read this book, you'll find it hard to believe that it was written over 100 years ago. It was first written in 1878, and was revised and published in 1899. This edition was published in 1999 by the American Fireworks News magazine. It has had some revisions and minor alterations, but is still mostly the original classic work. There is a warning in the book to the reader about the safety, and denying responsibility for any accidents caused by anyone following the instructions in the book, but even if you don't make the explosives, it is still very interesting reading. Some of the chemicals (such as mercurous chloride and arsenic disulfide) used in the 19th Century are no longer in use by modern day fireworks makers. These sections have still been kept in the book for historical accuracy. The contents include:Roman Candles, Rockets, Rocket Stars, Wheel and Fixed cases, Gerbes, Flower Pots, Port Fires and Shell Fuses, Gum Strips, Gum Labels, Tourbillions, Saxons, Five Pointed Stars, Squibs, Serpents, Pinwheels, Crackers, Gold & Silver Rains, Pearl Streamers, Blue Lights & Star Candles, Lances, Shells, Asteroid Rockets, Triplet Asteroids, Hand Lights, Aquatic Fireworks, Winged Rockets, Formulations and much more.Code No. 003266, 150 pages, $42.00 Plough Book Sales - www.ploughbooksales.com.au..........................................................................................................
The Coober Pedy
News is ranked number
................................................................................................................................................................
|
....................... Oxiana Shares In the last six months Oxiana Limited shares have risen from just over $1 to nearly $4, and at present are about $3. Oxiana expects to be producing copper and gold concentrates at the Promiment Hill mine, 130 kilometres south east of Coober Pedy, in the second half of 2008. Oxiana is an international mining and exploration company with a focus on Australia, Asia and the Pacific. .............................. Pondering old ageWell, my get up and go has got up and went. But in spite of it all I am able to grin when I recall where my get up has been. Old age is golden-so I've heard it said- but sometimes I wonder when I get into bed, with my ears in a drawer and my teeth in a cup, my eyes on the table until I wake up. Ere sleep dims my eyes I say to myself, "Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?" And I'm happy to say as I close my door, my friends are the same, perhaps even more. When I was young, my slippers were red, I could pick up my heels right over my head. When I grew older, my slippers were blue, but still I could dance the whole night through. But now I am old, my slippers are black, I walk to the store and puff my way back. The reason I know my youth is all spent, my get up and go has got up and went. But I really don't mind when I think, with a grin, of all the grand places my get up has been. Since I have retired from life's competition, I accommodate myself with complete repetition. I get up each morning, and dust off my wits, pick up my paper and read the "obits". If my name is missing, I know I'm not dead, so I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. Source: Aha! Jokes, http://www. AhaJokes.com
|
