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Nanango's Festival Of Fun On Tomorrow! October 9, 2009 - Nanango's annual town festival Funfest will be held will be held in and around Nanango's CBD tomorrow with a Pioneer theme: 7:30am - Poet's Breakfast at the Nanango Darts Club 9:00am - Opening of the Uniting Church Floral display 10:00am - Ringsfield House photographic competition 11:00am - Billy tea, damper and historic machinery displays at the new South Burnett Energy Centre 1:30pm - Street Parade followed by amusement rides, live music and market stalls at Pioneer park 4:00pm - King and Queen of the Mountain Footrace 5:00pm - Talent Quest at Pioneer Park 8:00pm - Fireworks at Pioneer Park

Local Teams Competing For Cancer October 8, 2009 - The countdown for this weekend's Relay For Life at Murgon Showgrounds has well and truly started with local teams and individuals competing hard to be at the top of the fund-raising tree. All funds raised will assist the Cancer Council. Top individual South Burnett fundraiser so far is Trudi Bartlett who has raised an amazing $1516. Trudi's team, GJ Gardner Homes, is also topping the Teams List with $2685. Other teams competing include the South Burnett Regional Council Team ($1343), Kandy Kids ($1506) and Roland's Runners ($1420). For more information, or to sponsor a team, visit the Relay For Life website. Relay For Life is more than just a fundraiser. It is an opportunity to get together and celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer, and fight back against a disease that takes too much.

Learn How To Be More Wildlife Friendly October 7, 2009 - The Burnett Mary Regional Group will be hosting the Better Catchments and Healthy Habitats Showcase today and tomorrow at the Kingaroy RSL. This is an opportunity for participants to learn about soil health, animal identification and grazing land management. There'll also be "live" endangered animals (or so we have been promised!) on display including a quoll, glossy black cockatoo and a hairy-nosed wombat. The showcase is on from 10:00am to 4:30pm today and from 9:00am to 2:00pm tomorrow. Tonight at the Belltower Restaurant, the Burnett Mary Natural Resource Management Awards will be given to individuals and organisations to acknowledge their work in natural resource management in the region. For more information about either event, phone (07) 4181-2999.

PepperTree Joins Healthy Hotels Program October 6, 2009 - PepperTree Cabins in Kingaroy has joined the Healthy Hotels Program run by sanitising specialists Health Protect International. PepperTree's Matthew Diesel told SBBiz yesterday that his business was the first accommodation provider in Kingaroy to be accredited under the program. To qualify, all rooms, carpets, beds and mattresses were sanitised, sterilized and treated for allergens. This program is then repeated on a regular basis. Matt said this type of treatment was used by major international hotels and motels in Brisbane and was rated as very important by travellers.

Local GM Wins AIM Award October 5, 2009 - South Burnett Times General Manager Mike Dorey has won an Australian Institute of Management Excellence Award. Mike won the Rural/Remote Manager of the Year category in the Toowoomba regional finals announced last Thursday. He will now go on to compete in the Queensland finals. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Le Grand Ballroom at the Sofitel Brisbane on November 13. The Rural/Remote Manager of the Year is for managers who live and work 75km or more outside of their nearest AIM network or provincial city.

Farmers Snubbed By DPI&F Sell-Off Plan October 2, 2009 - The DPI&F's Bjelke-Petersen Research Station at Kingaroy will be downgraded and stripped of assets under a State Government proposal unveiled this week. As well, the Redvale and Kingsthorpe research farms will be sold to help fund the development of a new facility near Toowoomba which will focus on "irrigation and water use efficiency in broadacre farming". Kingaroy's DPI&F centre will be rebadged as an "Agribusiness Service Centre" leaving a question mark over breeding programs and dryland farming research carried out locally. The shake-up is part of the State Government's "Fresh Approach" for grains research and development. In a media release, Primary Industry Minister Tim Mulherin said the proposals had in-principle support from Agforce and would now undergo detailed planning and costing analysis. LNP Takes Stand Against Research Centre Sales Grains Research Foundation media release Queensland Country Life report: "Grain Research Centre Sale Shock" The State Government's media release

UAVs Still Looking For Joe October 1, 2009 - Today is the last day of the third annual UAV Outback Challenge competition at Kingaroy Airport. International, local and school teams have built Unmanned Airborne Vehicles (UAVs) and are competing for great prizes. The main event is the $50,000 Search and Rescue Challenge to find "Outback Joe" ... a task so difficult that in the two-year history of the event, no team has yet managed to pull it off.

It's Decorate A Donut Day! October 1, 2009 - Take your children up to Donut King in Kingaroy Shoppingworld today, and they'll be able to "Decorate A Donut" and help the Kingaroy Local Ambulance Committee raise funds to support local paramedics. The event will take place beside the travelator (the moving steps) near Donut King between 10:00am and 2:00pm. Children will be able to decorate a donut with their favourite sweets for just $2. The Local Ambulance Committee will also have "Angel" (a mini-ambulance) on site for children to have a free ride and a paramedic will be taking taking free pulse and blood pressure readings. Contrary to popular belief, the ambulance levy included in electricity accounts does not provide all the most current and up-to-date equipment for first response ambulance paramedics. The LAC fundraising helps provide this vital equipment.

Cougar Energy Project 'On Schedule' September 30, 2009 - Construction work on Cougar Energy's underground coal gasification site near Kingaroy is "on schedule", the company has told the Australian Stock Exchange. Cougar also announced that it had signed a 30-year contract (subject to the lodgment of a bank guarantee) with Ergon Energy for network connection services to the project. It is also working with the power company to offload electricity generated during pre-production trials and to determine the optimal configuration of new transmission lines which will be required as the project develops. Download the full Cougar Energy ASX statement (584kb PDF) Water quality fears

RSPCA Plans New Kingaroy Kennel Complex September 29, 2009 - The RSPCA has applied to the South Burnett Regional Council for assistance to develop a new $250,000-$300,000 kennel facility in Kingaroy. This project would act as a prototype for a multi-million dollar centre the RSPCA is planning to build in Brisbane and would help it test structures, processes and systems beforehand. The RSPCA has requested Council support by way of direct financial support or in-kind donations, including the waiver of application fees, assistance in helping to streamline application processes and help through the provision of a temporary access at the rear of the RSPCA compound so that trucks and large machinery can enter the property. Representatives from the RSPCA have been invited to address Councillors at their meeting in Kingaroy tomorrow before a decision is made on the application.

'Unforeseen Circumstances' Force Sale of Tinny Pub September 28, 2009 - Tingoora's iconic hotel, owned by Dan and Wayne Kratzmann since 2003, could soon have new owners. The pub was passed in at auction on the Gold Coast on Friday when bidding reached $1 million but agent Brad Lipp confirmed today there are three "very interested parties" negotiating for the property and a sale is expected within 10 days. "Unforeseen circumstances" have forced the quick sale of the pub, according to the auction notice with "immediate disposal required". Turnover is estimated at approximately $30,000 a week. The Tinny Pub first opened in July 1907 and is believed to have had just four owners since then. A drive-through bottleshop was added in 2006.

Council Fundraising Helps Make-A-Wish Foundation Kingaroy Fire Fighters Social Club members Lt Michael Armstrong, firefighter Alex Johnson and Lt Danny Hurt present a cheque to Mayor Cr David Carter for the Wish Flight appeal September 25, 2009 - The Make-A-Wish Foundation will be $5000 better off after local fund-raising co-ordinated by the South Burnett Regional Council. Earlier this year, Council decided to participate in a fundraising project organised by the Local Government Managers' Association. The LGMA's Nick Clarke and Damon Fealy flew a Jabiru J170 around Queensland to raise funds and awareness of the work the Make-A-Wish Foundation does for seriously ill children. In the South Burnett, $5000 was raised through a raffle, an auction on CROW-FM, donations of goods and money and other activities. The fundraising culminated in an event at Kingaroy Airport on Monday where a cheque was presented to the two pilots.

Bonanza For Book Lovers September 24, 2009 - The Kingaroy-Taabinga Rotary Club will be holding its annual Bookarama book fair at Kingaroy Town Hall from 10am this Saturday. The club is promising there'll be thousands of pre-loved books to choose from at bargain prices plus a lucky door prize, raffle and sausage sizzle. Fund raised will assist Rotary's international, national and local projects. Fore more information, or to donate books for sale, contact Darryl on 0408-718-843 or Paul on 0447-485-246.

Nominations Sought For Australia Day 2010 September 23, 2009 - Nominations are now being called for the 2010 Australia Day Awards in the South Burnett. Award categories are: South Burnett Community Event of the Year South Burnett Cultural Award South Burnett Junior Sports Person of the Year South Burnett Senior Sports Person of the Year South Burnett Sports Administrator of the Year South Burnett Small Communities Award Kingaroy Citizen of the Year / Young Citizen of the Year Murgon Citizen of the Year / Young Citizen of the Year Nanango Citizen of the Year / Young Citizen of the Year Wondai Citizen of the Year / Young Citizen of the Year South Burnett Citizen of the Year / Young Citizen of the Year The official awards ceremony will be held on the eve of Australia Day, Monday 25, at Wondai Memorial Hall. Nominations must be received by the South Burnett Regional Council by November 30, 2009.

Severe Fire Threat in South Burnett September 22, 2009 - The State Government yesterday announced a Total Fire Ban in the South Burnett region until at least Thursday because of the very high to severe threat. Hot weather and winds are a diabolical mixture for local residents so now would be a good time to review some basic bushfire safety and survival tips provided by the Rural Fire Service. Click here for more information. For an overview of current bushfire hotspots, visit Geoscience Australia's Sentinel website and click on the map of Australia. NB. These maps may not be "real time" so must not be relied upon in an emergency situation.

Financial Support For Chambers of Commerce September 21, 2009 - The South Burnett Regional Council has voted to support local Chambers of Commerce and Development Associations financially for 2009-2010. At its September meeting, councillors voted unanimously to approve grants of $6500 to the Murgon Business and Development Association, $3500 to the Wondai Chamber of Commerce and $7500 to the Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry. An amount of $1000 was proposed for distribution in Nanango however Council resolved that further discussions should take place with the relevant organisations in this town.

Childcare Centre Planned For Oasis Estate September 18, 2009 - A childcare centre, offices, takeaway food store, restaurant and medical centre can now be built within the Oasis Estate development in Kingaroy following a ruling at the September meeting of the South Burnett Regional Council. Councillors voted unanimously to approve the development subject to several conditions, including that it be built in no more than two stages. Construction also cannot begin until development permits for building works, plumbing and drainage work have been issued.

Council Sets Registration Fee For Cats September 17, 2009 - From December 1 next year, it will be compulsory for all cats and dogs in the South Burnett to be registered with Council. Registration fees for cats will be the same as dogs, ie $85 for an entire animal or $18 for a desexed animal. Any resident found to be owning an unregistered cat will be fined $200. From the same date, all cats and dogs under the age of 12 weeks must also be microchipped. The South Burnett Regional Council will be encouraging cat owners to "test drive" the new registration system for free during a voluntary registration period from January 1, 2010 to November 30, 2010.

Second Award For Santina September 16, 2009 - Santina Schmocker's passion and commitment to the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE's Nurunderi campus at Cherbourg has won her another award. Santina, (pictured at right with Department of Education & Training Director-General Ms Julie Grantham), was presented with a special commendation at the recent Queensland Training Staff Recognition Awards. The awards aim to recognise excellence in achievement by individuals within the training industry. Santina is a Business Co-ordinator at Nurunderi and was nominated for the award by her peers. Earlier this year, she won the Service, Teamwork and Attitude Award at SQIT's annual staff conference for her efforts in designing training programs to meet community and industry needs.

Cockatoo and Cougar To Share Resources September 15, 2009 - Coal exploration company Cockatoo Coal, which is conducting exploratory work in coal seams south of Kingaroy, has struck a deal with Underground Coal Gasification project driver Cougar Energy which is developing a pilot UCG plant near Kingaroy. The two companies have agreed to retain rights to investigate prospects for open cut coal and UCG-suitable resources in their respective holdings throughout the Surat Basin and to separate any suitable resources. Priority will be given to development of open cut coal resources by Cockatoo and to UCG resources by Cougar where no conflict with open cut mining occurs. Cockatoo has a minority interest in Cougar after it relinquished its title rights to the UCG agreement area near Kingaroy in return for 15 million Cougar shares.