Wind farm opposition
For those contemplating putting wind turbines on your land, can I suggest that you go for a drive down the Woorndoo-Hexham Road to get a close-up view of the Salt Creek wind farm.
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You will see them long before you get to our back road. They are enormous and, as someone said recently, the equivalent to a 24-storey building and they move.
From our houses and woolshed they loom above our 100-year-old pine trees like peeping toms. Further down the road you come across the transmission lines that travel 50 kilometres.
The people of Mortlake, Noorat and Terang are outraged at the vision of hundreds of these shiny, 30-metre high, multi-wire steel poles marching across the countryside. Many people are impacted by these structures.
No-one in our diminishing local community that I have spoken to is in favour of this project.
You see these turbines and poles whether you want to see them or not – they are in your face.
The project has destroyed our natural landscape. The decision to put these huge machines on your farm is a selfish-one indeed.
David Allen, Woorndoo
CBD ‘horror’
We love Warrnambool, love the beaches, love the town.
We visit as often as we can, or did. Imagine our horror when we are confronted by parking meters which want to know everything short of the size of your underpants and a narrow Liebig Street, where traffic cannot move and the most dangerous things I've ever seen at roundabouts, zebra crossings. Look right at the traffic, skittle the pedestrian coming from the left.
Sorry, Liebig Street shops, it was all too hard. We spent our shopping time at Gateway Plaza where the parking was free and not invasive and you could drive with more safety. Thank goodness the scenery we love hasn't changed.
Spencer and Louise Leighton, Torquay
Road rage poor form
Both my wife and I have enjoyed our permanent shift to Warrnambool. In the four months since we left Echuca we have seen nothing but politeness, kindness and friendliness from everyone we have met either through shopping, sporting, walking or just bike riding.
However on a beautiful Saturday morning we decided to ride into Warrnambool from our home just off Wollaston Road. People would know that the shoulders of the road up to the new estate are not the best and require riders to be wary of the dangerous verges.
Saturday morning was quite busy on the road, and cars were coming towards us and from behind us. All were quite polite and slowed accordingly to give us a wide berth. Except of course for one lady in a car with a child aboard. She had to slow down to let a couple of cars pass, but as she went by, she wound her window down (on the child's side of the car) and quite vehemently and angrily said to my wife: "Get off the road!” (with a few profanities as well).
Isn't it amazing how one incident can offset all the excellent experiences we have both had so far. I hope it is only a one-off road rage experience that we will be subject to in this wonderful town.
Glenn Brotchie, Warrnambool
Confession revelations
Father John Fitzgerald asks “Would a paedophile go to confession?” when he justifies clergy hiding child sex admissions. But haven’t some of the revolting revelations been that known paedophile priests were moved from parish to parish? Clearly their crimes were known. Maybe they were muttered in a darkened box?
Stephen Mackey, Koroit
‘New vision’ for Lookout
Whilst it has been a costly mistake in many ways for WRAD to continue with the Atkinson’s Lane, Dennington, site for the Lookout residential drug treatment centre, Dennington/Illowa residents are loath to abandon such a worthy project.
The local planning committee is arranging personal representations to each of the key figures in the present debacle. The purpose is to invigorate a new vision for Lookout.
We intend to promote an honest appraisal of the cost of the wrong choice of location. The loss of trust of an entire section of the Warrnambool community, particularly for those who have laboured so hard to raise funds for The Lookout is hard to quantify.
The implied threat that WRAD could imagine imposing this project on any other residential community in Warrnambool is hard to measure.
The increase of dangerous drug addictions in the wider community and the nature and effect on the community of the next development of drugs like ice looms as a potential nightmare to any residents trapped near such a site.
We are committed to examining carefully the parameters that were used in selecting Atkinson’s Lane, and hope to assist in re-defining the ones that have caused such trauma to both the Dennington/Illowa residents and The Lookout profile in the community.
The Dennington/Illowa community is desperately hoping to remain onboard and is gearing up to kickstart the search for a suitable safe location for The Lookout.
If we succeed then a “new” and invigorated WRAD steering committee will have confidence that their choices then rest safely on wise and responsible parameters that are clearly and openly defined.
This will immediately remove the present alienation of the wonderful support freely given, in trust, by residents of south-west Victoria.
Murray S. Kingsley, Dennington