If you would like to keep track of their progress, check out the Better Benalla Rail website; the Better Rail for Benalla Facebook group page or pop in to their newly opened Pop Up Shop at 81 Nunn Street, Benalla.
Bill Parris
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At our first Meet and Mingle for 2020 Suzie Pearce, spokesperson for Better Benalla Rail, presented reasons for their opposition to Australian Rail Track Corporation's (ARTC) plans to increase the size on our railway overpass to enable 1.8km double-stacked freight trains transit Benalla. They seek support from us for their alternative plan to move the XPT track so that trains can travel straight through Benalla.
If you would like to keep track of their progress, check out the Better Benalla Rail website; the Better Rail for Benalla Facebook group page or pop in to their newly opened Pop Up Shop at 81 Nunn Street, Benalla. Bill Parris The October Meet and Mingle was held during Seniors Week with a morning tea and entertainment from the Recorder Group and a display by Collectors. An invitation was also extended to the Senior Citizens to attend this combined event. A BBQ luncheon followed, with the help of Benalla Lions group. A short Be Connected session was presented by Margaret Jenkins, giving an outline of what if covered in the Be Connected activities.
The final Meet and Mingle for 2019 will be on Wednesday 20th November when Singing for Fun group will entertain us and the Patchwork group will exhibit patchwork projects and quilts they have completed this year. Bill Parris Seniors Week Morning Tea
On our Meet and Mingle day, Wednesday 16th October we are having a special Morning Tea to celebrate Seniors Week. Our Recorder Group will perform for us and a display of `Collectables’ from our Collectors group will be on display. Many thanks to Benalla Council for providing $500 towards the cost of this morning tea. This Grant is part of community funding for Seniors Week in Benalla. Get Online Week BBQ lunch Following our Morning Tea U3A will launch `Get Online Week’. A requirement for our Grant from the Good Things Foundation which organises Be Connected is to hold a function to launch our Get Online Program during the week of the 14th – 18th October. We have organised a BBQ lunch following our Morning Tea at our rooms, so stay on after Morning Tea and learn a bit more about our `Online’ Be Connected Course and enjoy a very sociable BBQ lunch. As Technology increasingly takes over our lives the Courses we have run have been well attended and give our members more confidence to cope with all things technical. Geraldine McCorkell Our Meet and Mingle speaker for August was Carmel Williams, Financial Information Services from the Department of Human Services. Carmel provided a lot of information and literature on "Aged Care Fees and Assessments" She was very knowledgeable on the topic and answered many questions. Further information is available from web site www.myagedcare.gov.au or 1800 200 422
Our speaker for September is U3A member Brian Vial. Brian will outline his family connection with Papua New Guinea which inspired him to become connected with Primary Education over there. PNG Schools are greatly under-funded, so Brian has setup a project to get second hand books donated to go over to Goroka schools. He has also instigated a Scholarship Program for needy student Bill Parris Our August speaker on August 21st will be Carmel Williams, Finance Information Service of the Department of Human Services. The topic will be Aged Care Fees and Assessments.
The Aged Care System is quite complex, Carmel will assist us to navigate the system and offer alternatives or options that may help. Bill Parris At our June meeting our guest speaker was Bruce Walker, Rotary Club of Benalla President.
His topic was Fruit Fly Management. Fruit fly have become a pest in Benalla in recent years, although they can't be eradicated they can be managed. Bruce spoke about: Why manage fruit in our back yard . Know your enemy Life cycle of Fruit Fly (about 4 weeks) . Options for our home garden:
The key message was - Don't give up - we CAN enjoy fruit fly free fruit and vegies. Our July speaker will be Diana from RACV with the topic Lifestyle - Personal & Home Safety and will be covering:
Bill Parris ![]() Our guest speaker in May was Elise Wood, Manager of our YMCA run Aquatic Centre. Elise offered the following information: "The Benalla Aquatic Centre opened as an Indoor Aquatic Facility in November 1997. As part of the YMCA we are more than just an Aquatic Centre. We offer: Swim Lessons, Infant Lessons, Private Lessons, Gym, Personal Training, Gym Programs Yoga, Boxing, Tai Chi, Mega Circuit, Aqua Aerobics, Gentle Aqua, Stroke Development - these are but a few. There are a number of different membership options depending on the need, wants and usage of the individual." Elise also provided a handout about the centre and a free pass to come and try it out. Several of the handouts were left for our members to pick up. Bruce Walker, President of the Rotary Club of Benalla will be next month's (Wed 19th June) speaker. Bruce will present information about the Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF) and how to control it on your property. Bill Parris
Our April M&M meeting was very interesting with Collector, Rhonda Diffey talking about and displaying many of her historic fan collection and an old music box and a late addition of a second speaker, Jenni Cogger of Goulburn Murray Credit Union (GMCU). Rhonda Diffey Rhonda is a passionate collector and one of her favourite collections is historic fans, many from the 1700's. Rhonda's fan display presented caused much interest as we found out that fans were used for much more than cooling. They were used for conversations, sometimes very provocatively - eg. held to the right side of the head in a certain manner could mean that the person was free and interested in cavorting. Many different sorts of fans were explained and demonstrated - paddle, feather, etc. A variety of materials were used to make them including ivory, wood, bone, mother of pearl, leather and feathers. Many were hand painted with landscapes, biblical and historical scenes. Some were decorated with a different picture on each side. Extensive fine and detailed carving was done to the ivory, bone, mother of pearl and wood. Rhonda is interested in joining our Collectors Group in the future when she can find the time. Jenni Cogger U3A do our banking with GMCU and with the closing of Westpac Bank, Jenni Cogger, the GMCU branch Manager was keen to let members know about it and what they provide. Below are some of the items that Jenni talked about: Goulburn Murray Credit Union (GMCU) is different to a bank as it has no external shareholders; profits made by GMCU go back into providing convenient and accessible products, services and support to our community. “We offer high quality, professional, old fashioned service supported by new technology.” When you hold an account with GMCU: · You speak with very experienced staff – Benalla Branch staff have over 60 years of banking experience between them · Your funds are Government Guaranteed as part of the Australian Government’s Financial Claims Scheme · You have the choice of Term Deposits, Savings and Transaction Accounts, Loans, Insurance and International products · Your regular payments can be deposited directly into your account · Call the branch direct or drop in – no call centres · Your bills can be paid from your account at the counter · Access your funds all over Australia as well as overseas · If you want to learn some of the new technology – we can teach you. If you don’t we have a full range of products that support you as well. · You help us to support your local community by sponsorship of clubs; events, free club accounts, as well as our staff working and volunteering in many positions in the community. Open 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday. "GMCU is committed to staying and supporting your community. Come and see us to discuss your banking". May Meeting
Our speaker for May will be Elise Wood, Centre Manager of Benalla Aquatic Centre. Elise will talk about the many activities that are available at the Centre, the benefits you can gain from participating and the costs applicable for the various types of memberships available. Bill Parris At Meet and Mingle in April, Rhonda Diffey will speak about her collection of fans and music boxes. Rhonda recently spoke on this topic at Probus. Convenor Bill Parris considered her presentation may also be of interest to U3A members so he has invited her to speak at our April session.
Sean Ginnivan, the Waste Facilities Coordinator at the Benalla Rural City spoke to members at the March Meet and Mingle meeting. Sean’s role is to manage all waste management including kerbside collection & landfill operations. In addition to this Sean manages all the Recreation Reserves and Facilities within the municipality. The intent of the presentation was to provide an overview of the kerbside collection, defining what is collected and how it is processed. Currently Council have a three bin system:
Sean has provided a copy of his presentation to share - 'Kerbside Collection - presentation to U3A Benalla' (pdf) We have also been able to access the Contamination Letter and Posters send to offending residents.
Bill Parris See also: 'Be a good sort - rules for waste collection' on Benalla Rural City's website. Shaun Ginnivan, Waste and Facilities Coordinator at Benalla City Council, will be the guest speaker at U3A Meet and Mingle group at 10.00 am on Wednesday 20th of February 2019.
The topic – ‘Waste Management (green and yellow bins in particular'). We have asked Shaun to provide information to make sure we are ‘getting it right’; to tell us what we are getting correct and what people are incorrectly putting into the bins. Some questions Shaun might answer include . Should bottle and jars have the lids removed or left on? . Is folded or rolled up aluminum foil ok for recycling . Is there a preferred minimum size of paper put into the yellow bin, e.g. old raffle tickets . Is it ok to recycle a metal kettle and a plastic kettle? Bill Parris November Meet and Mingle's 'Singing for Fun' concert, Patchwork display and performance by members of our Recorder Group was held on Wednesday 21st November at 10 am. The Festive Season is upon us! Our speaker in October, Bronwyn Pitty, is part of the Benalla and District Anzac Commemorative Committee which has been providing weekly articles to the Ensign for the last five years on the events of World War I. Each article has reported on key events in the war and events in Benalla at that time 100 years ago.
Bronwyn also spoke on events planned for Armistice week, culminating on Sunday 11th November with a memorial celebration at the Cenotaph in the Benalla Gardens, a 'Concert of Songs' at the Town Hall at 2.30 pm at Benalla Town Hall and an Ecumenical Service at St Joseph's Catholic Church at 7.30 pm. An Exhibition of Memorabilia from the Great War is on display at the Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop Learning Centre in Fawckner Drive from 24th October to the 12th November. Next month's Meet and Mingle will include a concert by our Singing for Fun group and the annual display of work by the Patchwork Group. This year, for the first time, our new recorder group will also be performing several tunes. We look forward to seeing you there. Bill Parris Michael Plex was a very popular and well received speaker at our September Meet and Mingle. Michael spoke at some length about his experience with NBN and advised the group which speed would possibly suit them, as even with four teenagers in the house he did not find it necessary to buy the top speed. At the time of Michael speaking NBN was available for connection in the Benalla West area and should be available in the Benalla East area shortly. His experience of the NBN has been a positive one and something which we will all need to connect to if we wish to maintain a land-line. Many members then asked questions to which Michael replied. Many of our members already knew Michael as they had called on his expertise as an audio-visual technician and guru to help with computer problems. Michael took time from his very busy schedule to talk at Meet and Mingle and he received a well-earned round of applause at the finish. Details of our guest speaker/s for October are still being finalized. Keep an eye on the website for further information.
Bill Parris August’s session with Nick Gadd from the Law Reform Commission proved both interesting and informative. Nick explained the role of the Justice Department and mentioned that the prioritising of matters to be heard by Parliament may lead to reports on, for example fence disputes, being held over for some time. He also gave thought-provoking examples of the wide ranging powers of the Executors of wills.
Coming up – NBN Update with Michael Plex. |
Meet and MingleAt the beginning of each Meet and Mingle, news from the U3A Benalla Committee meeting held the previous week will be shared with those attending. A cup of tea or coffee and a chat with the guest speaker and other members will complete the morning. Convenor and Contact detailsMargaret Jenkins
5762 6944 Meeting times3rd Wednesday 10.00 - 12 noon.
U3A Meeting Room 1, Fawckner Drive Topics
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