President’s Message
Welcome
As 2015 gets under way, I would like to welcome newcomers to the area. It is common to see furniture removalist’s trucks around at this time of year as residents leave to head to Perth for their children’s education and new people move into this area.
Concerts in the Park
These popular concerts are back for another year with the first one scheduled for Friday the 20th February in Bernard Park so please come along to these free events and enjoy yourself in the company of others.
Regional Centres Development Plan (SuperTowns)
A forum is being held in Northam in early February with the other 8 Supertowns of Jurien Bay, Katanning, Margaret River, Morawa, Esperance, Collie, Boddington and Manjimup to see where we are all at and what the future for the program looks like. I will continue to provide regular updates as the information becomes available.
What’s on?
I have recently been challenged by an email from a new resident saying there is “nothing happening” in Northam from a social or event point of view and if there was, the Shire should be doing far more than it currently does to promote and advertise these events. My first thought was that the resident needed to take responsibility for finding out about what they are interested in but on reflection maybe he did have a point about not knowing how to find out what is available to do.
The Shire is full of interesting and varied things to do but the challenge can be to find out about those things. I thought I would start by suggesting how to find out about how to get informed so here goes;
Buy and read the Avon Advocate newspaper. The inside cover lists over 30 organisations that are doing great things in the Shire;
- Listen to Radiowest 864 or ABC Regional Radio;
- Subscribe to the Shire’s free “What’s On” monthly newsletter electronically or in person from our Visitors Centre in Minson Avenue. Call the centre on 9622 2100 to register;
- Look in shopfront windows for posters;
- Talk to people in the Shire – word of mouth still works;
- Follow the Shire on our Facebook page
- Look on our Website;
- Visit one of the Shire’s 2 libraries – Northam and Wundowie; or
- Pick up a copy of the Avon Valley phone Directory from the Avon Valley Advocate office. Most organisations are represented in this directory and if yours isn’t, maybe it should be.
Development Services
Proposed NBN Wireless Telecommunications Infrastructure
Notice is hereby given for public information that the Shire of Northam has received an application for a telecommunications tower to support the NBN wireless upgrade at 15 Wood Drive, Northam. Further information on the proposed tower including plans, location and supporting reports can be obtained on the Shire of Northam’s website under documents for public comment, or alternatively copies of the proposal are available for inspection at the Shire of Northam Administration Centre. Public submissions are invited and must be submitted to the Shire of Northam by 4pm on Friday, 13th February 2015. Any further information can be obtained by contacting the Shire’s Planning Department on 9622 6100.
Review of Wards & Representation
The Shire of Northam is conducting a review of its wards and representation and invites public participation in the review. Ward boundaries and the number of elected members for each ward will be reviewed against the following factors:
- Community of interest
- Physical and topographic features
- Demographic trends
- Economic factors
- Ratio of councillors to electors in the various wards.
(**An information sheet/discussion paper is available outlining the current situation and several alternative ward structures.)
Public submissions are invited and must be submitted to the Shire of Northam by February 25, 2015.
For further information and a copy of the information sheet / discussion paper please contact Alysha Maxwell at the Shire of Northam on (08) 9622 6100.
Community Forum
The Shire will be holding a Community Forum at the Grass Valley Hall on Tuesday, 3 February 2015 at 6:00pm in relation to the Review of Wards and Representation within the Shire of Northam, as outlined above.
For further information and a copy of the information sheet / discussion paper please contact Alysha Maxwell at the Shire of Northam on (08) 9622 6100.
Library News
Northam Library
February will see the resumption of our usual programs such as:
- After School Art starting Monday, 9 February from 3.30pm - 4.30pm
- Better Beginnings starting Wednesday, 4 February from 10.00am – 10.45am
And the introduction of some new programs such as :
- Inklings a Writers Club for Children starting Tuesday, 3 February from 3.30pm – 4.30pm;
- Circle of Security Parenting Course starting Tuesday, 3 February from 5.00pm—7.00pm;
- Perspectives Discussion Group starting Wednesday, 4 February from 1.30pm - 2.30pm.
End of Summer Adventure Book Club Party
For all our book club enthusiasts don’t forget to join us on 30 January from 11.00am at the Northam Town Hall for our end of summer party and Scholastic Book Fair.
Harry Potter in the Library, Friday, 27 February at 7.00pm
Join us for a magical evening of fun for kids of all ages as we are sorted by Dumbledore, compete against the other houses to earn points for our team and parade our costumes before the house masters. Look for more info on the library website in early February.
Wundowie Library
- Better Beginnings starting Friday, 6 February from 9.00am – 9.30am;
- Beginners computing class starting Friday, 13 February from 10.00am – 11.30am;
- Intermediate computing class starting Friday, 13 February from 12.30pm – 1.30pm;
- Inklings a Writers Club for Children starting Friday, 13 February from 3.30pm – 4.30pm.
Engineering Services
How Much is One tree Worth?
Visualise a mature Tree almost 10 meters tall with a tree top diameter of 6 meters, it’s got 300,000 leaves which converts its base of 60 square meters into some 600 meters leaf surface. Due to the physical structure of the leaves themselves this amounts to a total surface area of 7,500 square meters for gaseous exchange, approximately the size of a football oval.
On a sunny day this tree converts 3700 liters or 9 kilograms of carbon. With a carbon dioxide concentration of 0.03% in the air almost 18,000 cubic meters of air has to flow through these leaves. The leaves also filter out many airborne particles like bacteria, fungal spores, dust and other harmful substances. At the same time the tree evaporates 200 liters of water per day and in doing so humidifies the air. Through photosynthesis the tree produces 7.5 kg of oxygen, enough for the needs of 5 people. The tree produces 6 kg of sugar per day which it uses to develop all of its organic substances some of which are accumulated as starch and others to build up the trees new wood.
To compensate the loss of one tree this size one would have to plant 1,000 new trees with a tree top volume of 1 cubic meters in order to compensate fully for the loss of the tree. The cost would amount to roughly $70,000.
The Shire of Northam promotes the growth of native vegetation within its parks & gardens program, revegetation of roads and reserves, development of the draft Local Biodiversity Strategy, tree subsidy program and annual ‘best presented verge’ awards. It is pleasing to see the large number of landowners planting and managing native vegetation on their properties in the Shire.
|