Quarry to get the go-ahead

Update: Councillors reject quarry application 4 votes to 2 ~ see new report @ foot of post

The proposed quarry site is alongside the pristine Buckland River and is located just 400 metres north (downstream) of a residential area.

Council report dismisses 22 objectors & ‘Significant Landscape’ overlay

Alpine council planning staff have recommended approval of a controversial proposal to develop an extractive industry over a 5 hectare site bordering the Buckland River. The site is near the popular Sinclair’s swimming hole and just a few hundred metres from a residential area. It is also part of a Significant Landscape Overlay and is subject to flooding from the nearby river.

Too busy to blog

There’s been a lot to do before Christmas so that’s why I haven’t written much lately, but I’ll get back to it soon. I haven’t tossed it in (unlike a lot of others). You can’t get rid of me. I’ll be around ….. Merry Christmas.

Council to announce bushfire safer sites

The Alpine council is to (finally) announce four places of last resort at its meeting on Tuesday 22 December. It will also consider four draft Township Protection Plans, although they are still not finalised and are to be ’opened for community comment’. The four Neighbourhood Safer Places are:

Wally takes another break

Having now returned from the wilds of outback Victoria, anonymous local blogger ‘Torres’ aka Wal Willow (who I believe is Lee Rosser) might have finally decided to give up on his highly derogatory & defamatory website. At least that’s what his latest post seems to suggest:

I’ve decided to extend my break from both blogs, Alpine Opinion and xxxx xx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx ’til after Christmas and maybe, who knows, ’til after the school holidays.

I hope that’s the case and, if so, I again suggest that he delete his disgraceful blog altogether. What’s the point of leaving it there for everyone to see what a nasty type the author really is? And, as I have clearly indicated before, my offer to remove all past references to Lee’s (and Nick Malkin‘s) involvement still stands, provided the blog is deleted … permanently.

Hot Rodders here to stay

The council has reneged on its undertaking to purchase a large (Government funded) marquee to help the Hot Rod Club stage its annual event. I wonder why?

This won’t please the backwards-thinking stick-in-the-muds in the town of Bright (like Lee Rosser & Nick Malkin) but, despite the Alpine council reneging on its promise to purchase a marquee, the Northern Suburbs Hot Rod Club is definitely returning next year to hold the 20th anniversary of the enormously popular Bright Rod Run. And it looks like they’ll keep coming back in the forseeable future.

What the hell is a ‘Great Alpine Time Machine’?

And why do we need one?

I’ll let this press release from the Alpine council speak for itself and offer no comment … because I’ve no idea of what the hell this “time machine” will look like or how useful it will be. Some graphics and more detail might have helped – I mean, you are spending $433,000 on it! On the surface though, this just looks like the Alpine council playing games with the tourist industry (which is what it does):

No drought in North East Victoria

All water restrictions to be lifted

The news that North East Water is to lift all water restrictions  in Wodonga and other North East towns serviced by the Murray River from 1 January confirms what has been apparent to me for most of the year – the drought in these parts is all but over, we’ve had plenty of rain and the rivers are well & truly flowing.

“Pull it down” says Malkin

Wally #2 seems to think he’s The law

With Wal Willow #1 (Lee Rosser) away on holiday, this week was the turn of Wally #2 (Nick Malkin) to speak on behalf of the Save Bright group of miscreants and malcontents. It must have been a rather unique experience for Nick who usually prefers to slander speak under an alias.

Nick seems to think he is THE LAW and that what he says is not only right, it must also be obeyed and followed. His comments in the Border Mail are full of typical sanctimony and self-righteousness.

But, as usual, he is wrong. My comments follow:

Wall height farce to continue

To call this building too high is ridiculous. Okay the rear walls are about 8 metres but that's no higher than many two storey houses. Get over it. (Click on image to enlarge)

A somewhat red-faced Alpine council has finally released a statement regarding the so-called dispute over the wall heights of  the Woolworths supermarket in Bright (under construction) and the VCAT directions hearing held on Friday. This is it, a total of two sentences! But it’s what they haven’t said that is really important. My further comment follows the council press release:

Woolworths and the Alpine Shire Council will again meet in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in February.

VCAT set 16, 17 and 18 February as the hearing date to determine the dispute between Council and Woolworths regarding wall height discrepancies at the supermarket being built in Bright.

Black day for climate change

I wonder if 'Wally' from Save Bright is in this photo ~ click to enlarge.

Copenhagen protest turns ugly

Look, if you are going to join a protest march against global warming here’s a tip:

Don’t go dressing up like this and disguising yourself.

And don’t turn it into a violent ‘let’s bring down capitalism’ protest a la the G20 riots.

All you are proving is that you are a violent coward ~ and an idiot.

New email address

Please note that the new email address for Alpine Opinion is alpineopinion@gmail.com. Please use this for all queries, tips, complaints (!) or, um, to congratulate me for running a fair & balanced website that promotes the town of Bright as it should be promoted – i.e. as it really is.

The ray @ grevilleagardens . com address should be used for all other contact (and for bookings of course).

Wally takes a holiday

He’s gone camping !

This comment was made yesterday in a post at that other blog by the owner ‘Torres’ (who I believe is Lee Rosser):

… (name supressed to protect the innocent) and I have taken the girls out of school early and are heading off mañana por la mañana to the Grampians for a bit of camping & bushwalking holiday before the Christmas madness. I’ll leave this blog open while we’re away but dear contributors please behave (specially you 2 Granger and Frankie). I don’t want to have a slander writ waiting for me on my return. See ya all in a week. Ray I’ll miss ya. Love T.

I doubt ‘Torres’ (aka Lee) would give himself away, so it’s probably not on the level. But if you happen to know who’s gone to the Grampians today please let me know. It might be a red herring though - what do you think?

VCAT ruling on Woolworths

The VCAT directions hearing over the controversy concerning the height of the Bright Woolworths supermarket walls (under construction) is being held today. Hopefully we’ll have some news on it later this afternoon. Somehow I doubt Woolies will be ordered to stop work, despite the efforts of our anti-development councillors and a handful of troublemakers, who have been snooping around the property early in the mornings with cameras. What the hell their objective is I have no idea. Do these idiots like Rosser, Malkin et al think they can actually stop it from opening after all this time?

Joseph’s gotta go

Update Friday 11 December: Thomsen’s not on air today either and we’ve been switched through to ABC Western Victoria again. I just heard the weather forecasts for Swan Hill, Mildura, The Mallee and The Wimmera. And get this, today is ‘Dull Dave’s’ last day – he’s retiring! Maybe Joseph should do likewise.

JT ~ missing in action (again).

He just doesn’t seem to want to work

I hate to say this because I enjoy his show – when he turns up – but I think our only ABC local radio presenter Joseph Thomsen should be replaced. He just takes too much time off. Once again, this week we’ve been saddled with ‘Dull Dave’ Lennon from ABC Bendigo in lieu of an absent Thomsen.

Why Thomsen is not in this week I’m not sure, but he went missing last week too, apparently to attend a ‘Volunteers Award Ceremony’ in Canberra. Maybe Joseph should just volunteer to do his job?

Skiing stuffed

Australian ski fields could be on their last legs

Our nearby ski resorts of Mt Hotham, Dinner Plain & Falls Creek have no future, according to this ABC report  that warns climate change could mean the end of the Australian ski-fields:

No future for 'ugly' Mt Hotham

 Snow cover has already reduced by a third in some areas and the end-of-season melt is happening two weeks earlier than it did in the 1950s.

Keeping the ski season going will only get harder in the face of climate change. While the snow-line creeps up, so will costs for ski resort operators.

 The ski industry says it can make do with increased use of snow machines, but a new study is warning that is only a temporary fix as the Australian skiing experience goes into decline.