 Richmond Valley Notes
with Therese Schier
Fabulously formal
Casino High students Daniel Oliver, Stephen Russell and Liam Macmillan.
Casino High students Sarah Keep, Rebecca Marshall, Karlyn Berry and Emma Barnes.
St Mary's High students (rear l-r ) Rohan Brown, Joshua Innes, Danielle Moon, Jennifer Whitelaw, Daniel Burley, Clint Robinson and Chris Munro, and (front) Sarah Collins and Teagan Gibson. Photo courtesy of North Coast Photography.
Designing a better Casino
Richmond Valley Council will spend $30,000 on an urban design plan for the Casino CBD next year. General manager Brian Wilkinson said the plan to revitalise the CBD area will have a focus on street beautification and parking arrangements.
The plan will also include an assessment of the use of council-owned buildings in the CBD; an issue highlighted by the closure of the Casino scout and guide halls due to structural problems.
Mr Wilkinson said if the cost of fixing the buildings was too high, it may be necessary to consider a multi-purpose building for the youth groups and other organisations.
He said the consultant would also look at options for an arts and cultural centre.
"It will be good to have someone external to Council who will consult with the community and who thinks differently about the issues," Mr Wilkinson said.
Casino Chamber of Commerce president Jannie Stevens welcomed the move.
"Casino hasn't had a facelift for many years," Jannie said. "The town is growing and we have to beautify the town while we are growing."
Coraki hits the water
Some of Australia's top water skiers will be in action at Coraki this weekend. Racing starts on Saturday at 9am with barefoot drags, described by organiser Peter Monger as "very simple".
"Get a boat that can accelerate to 160km per hour very quickly and have a person hang on to a rope out the back in bare feet for 400 meters, - simple," Peter said. "I can tell you some of these fellows are mad."
On Sunday, the Coraki Assault Ski race, starting at 9am, is a 40km race to Woodburn and back with boats reaching speeds in excess of 140km/h along the twisting Richmond River.
Race two, at 10am, will see the unlimited inboard and unlimited outboard take off for two laps of the Coraki to Woodburn course.
Peter said last year's winner 'Cut Loose' will be returning to try for back to back victories in this 80km race, after enjoying success at the Grafton Bridge-to-Bridge and also the Sydney Bridge-to-Bridge.
Local boy Jamie Collins from Coraki will also be one to watch, teaming up with Peter Monger behind Mark Holden's boat Cobalt.
Casino cracks 150
Casino is set for a year of celebrations in 2005 to mark the 150-year anniversary of the town. Casino Historical Society treasurer Joan Newman said the proclamation was issued on November 30, and it was around this time that a surveyor's mistake led to the loss of the double 's' from the town's original name Cassino, after a town in Italy.
Casino Show Society president Martin Maloney said his committee is keen to be at the forefront of the celebrations as the Casino Show is the oldest in the Northern Rivers.
"I think we can make it a pretty big thing," he said. "Next year will be the 117th show and I've got some ideas to put to our annual general meeting in February."
Casino Beef Week is only up to number 24, but secretary Sue Serone said it would certainly come to the party.
"We're planning a special category in our staff and window dress up competition and leaving it up to shop owners to come up with their own theme," she said.
The Casino Chamber of Commerce is also thinking up ideas for a sesquicentenary project. Council will call for nominations for a planning committee early next year and from there on it's hoped there'll be a year of celebrations.
Evans Head stage
The Evans Head Village Players are at it again, rehearsing for their second production, Treasure Island, which is said to be a mix of Shrek, Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Billy and Jules Aitken are producing and directing the show, which will be staged at the Evans Head RSL during February and March.
Kyogle N'hood Centre needs a home
Kyogle's newly formed Neighbourhood Centre is looking for a permanent home.
Currently known as the Gateway Community Resource Centre, the service operates out of Kyogle Council's Roxy Gallery but needs its own space to be able to expand its services.
Publicity officer Kahl Read is hoping someone may have a house in need of repair that the service could renovate in return for low rent. "Kyogle is the only area in the Northern Rivers that doesn't have a Neighbourhood Centre and we need space to allow us to run a full range of community assistance programs," he said.
If anyone can help, contact Kahl on 6632 1447.
Roxy Gallery
The latest exhibition at Kyogle's Roxy Gallery is the Artback Northern Territory Art Touring exhibition featuring the work of Kyogle photographer Andrew Kilvert. 'Papua Barat Merdeka' (Free West Papua) is an exhibition of photographic banners and insightful text documents exploring current issues of the province of West Papua. This show will be on display from Friday, November 19 to December 15.
The Roxy Gallery is also calling for expressions of interest for its annual Christmas spectacular 'Bread and Circus'. Entry forms are available from the Roxy Gallery at 143 Summerland Way, Kyogle. Gallery opening hours are Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 4pm and Saturday 10am to 12noon.
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