Race to get pool ready for first dip

By Tim Howard

Clarence Valley swimmers will get their first chance for dip in the controversial new $30 million aquatic centre in Grafton later this month.

Delayed for two months because of wet weather, the Clarence Regional Aquatic Centre will be open “unofficially” to the public on Saturday, February 15, pending power connection by electricity suppliers.

It has been more than two years since the council announced it would shut the city’s main aquatic centre, the Grafton Olympic Pool.

The old pool included an iconic water slide, wading pool and a diving pool, which won’t be replaced in the new complex.

The closure came in September 2022, because of an extensive and long term water leak which had created instability which may have caused “infrastructure collapse”.

The loss of the pool sparked two years of bizarre events in the Clarence community.

From failed attempts to switch Bushfire Local Economic Recovery grants to the project, a ferocious council meeting which stunned the community when council agreed to borrow most of the money to fund the pool and a row over the naming of the pool, controversy has accompanied many stages of the centre’s progress.

But the pool builders, Bathurst-based company Hines Constructions, have been on target and on time for the majority of the project and hoped to have the 50m pool ready for use by December, until the weather intervened.

A Clarence Valley Council press release said the council would secure an occupancy certificate for the site once the power was on, the 50m pool was filled and the filter operational.

Then it would conduct water sampling to ensure public safety prior to opening.

If everything goes to plan, the region’s schools could get in first as the council said it was working closely with local schools to minimise disruptions and ensure school swimming carnivals could go ahead as planned from Wednesday, February 12.

Council’s general manager Laura Black said the site was all but ready to open with the amenities ready for use and the entrance foyer completed.

“We have been testing the IT and point of sale systems offsite to ensure smooth installation, once the electricity supply is available,” Ms Black said.

“We appreciate the community’s patience and look forward to welcoming everyone to the new aquatic centre soon.”

There has also been good news for the extended aquatic centre project with the Federal Government recently committing to $1.6 million in funding for two water slides.

The slide would complete the works for the facility, but would be subject to council endorsing the contract variation.

Council must co-contribute $1.6 million to complete the slides under the Growing Regions Program grant.

Ms Black said the grant application had been made possible through savings realised on the project to date.

“We’re absolutely thrilled about the recent announcement of funding for the slides, Ms Black said.

“Having slides at the facility has always been a key priority for our community, and it’s fantastic that we can now make them a reality in the coming months.

“And that fact that savings on the project over all, cover Council’s contribution to the slides is news that has been welcomed by councillors. We know how important it is to ratepayers that this project is delivered within budget.”

She said the council would commence the design phase for the slides, while the indoor centre and splash pad remained on track to open before the end of February.

The council has been working with the community toward a suitable official opening ceremony for the finished centre.

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Carnival over for Jacaranda guru

By Tim Howard

On the afternoon of Friday January 24 Jacaranda Festival manager Mark Blackadder shut the door on his office for the last time, feeling it was mission accomplished.

Six years ago Mr Blackadder returned to Grafton with two goals in mind: to spend more time with his elderly mum and to rejuvenate his home town’s iconic Jacaranda Festival.

Spending more time with his beloved mum came easily, but taking the Jacaranda Festival from a quaint country celebration and turning it into the slick, professional carnival has involved jumping some stiff obstacles.

The first festival with Mark  at the helm was in 2019, right in the middle of the worst bushfires in the region’s history.

But the 2019 Jacaranda Festival won praise as the best in years and the boost in sponsorship funding it received set the pattern for later years.

Barely had the excitement of the 2019 festival faded away and we started to hear of a mystery virus killing people in China, that was soon labelled Covid-19.

By late 2020 the need to lock down and isolate to stop the spread of the disease forced the cancellation of Jacaranda 2020.

But for Mark, who had amassed 12 years experience in international luxury goods marketing, it was a matter of not wasting a crisis.

He instigated the Go Purple campaign which encouraged people to ignore the absence of a festival and think of ways to keep the Jacaranda spirit alive.

Next year was not much better, when seven days before the festival was due to begin, a Covid outbreak postponed it to December, well after the signature purple blooms had dropped.

Once again, not ideal, but it was a challenge Mark and his committee rose to and met.

For the next three years the festival has gone from strength to strength culminating in 2024 with the 90th Jacaranda Festival.

The festival was a both a triumph for Mark and his team and also a landmark that convinced him it was time to move on.

The Jacaranda Festival has become a huge success over the past six years because Mark Blackadder’s experience and professional approach has been able to attract big grants and sponsorship dollars to local events.

“Yeah, I just, I honestly believe that the festival needs a succession plan with a younger generation coming through, and there’s plenty there available, if the committee choose the right people,” he said.

“And I just feel that it just needs rejuvenation. I feel every five to six years that’s definitely necessary.”

Mark said he’d passed on some names of people who he thought would be good in the role, but did not want to pre-empt the committee’s decision.

He said the next manager must maintain and build on the tremendous growth in assets the festival had developed in the past six years.

When he arrived the festival was largely paid for by the fund raising efforts of the Jacaranda Queen contestants, sales of Jacaranda merchandise and some input from local businesses.

The input from the contestants was not small, contributing $49,000 to the jacaranda coffers last year, but the growth in grant money and sponsorship from inside and outside the region has been massive.

Mark said the Jacaranda store’s merchandise sales had grown from $15,000 six years ago to $78,000 turnover in 2024.

And sponsorships growth has dwarfed that, jumping from around $40,000 in 2018 to more than $200,000 last year.

But while the cash has flooded in, Mark said the input from the thousands of community volunteers and in kind sponsorships from local are just as vital to the festival’s success.

He said the involvement of the operator of the new Clarence Valley Correctional Centre, Serco, has been one of the most valuable.

“Being able to use their inmates and their own staff for four weeks across the entire festival – they  ran the entire retail shop for us this year with their staff and two inmates – has taken the pressure off everyone,” he said.

The volunteers from the Army Cadet unit were also vital.

“You had 40 to 60 of them available any time that you needed volunteers,” Mark said.

He expected this would continue into the future, but would it would need to be nurtured.

Outgoing Jacaranda Festival manager Mark Blackadder surrounded by some of the festival merchandise which has soared in popularity in recent years.

“This was all built by relationships from when I started,” he said.

“Now you have to maintain those relationships. The most important part of the festival is the stakeholders.”

Mark said the success had allowed the Jacaranda Committee to expand its work outside of the traditional festival period in October-November.

He said the introduction of Marketta in Grafton and the community festivals in Ulmarra and Wooli were symptoms of the festival growing influence.

“We also did the Harwood Sugar Mill’s anniversary last year,” he said. “The biggest thing was through the festival, we bought Groove on the Grass to Grafton, which was Jess Mauboy concert.

“I twas the biggest concert Grafton had ever seen.”

Mark said would have preferred the concert to be in the festival, but the funding body wouldn’t approve.

“They wanted it another time to bring more people to Grafton,” he said.

“But that was by far the biggest event that I was involved with.”

Luckily for the Clarence Valley, Mark is not leaving the area and will start early next month with the Clarence Valley Council as its co-ordinator communications.

It wasn’t an easy decision.

“My blood will always run purple, and I hate to walk away, but sometimes you gotta think of yourself in your career,” he said.

“Money is not everything, but it is important as well. Certainly the hours I put in to justify the income, that’s for sure.”

He said Grafton now expected the Jacaranda Festival to keep improving and maintain its professional edge.

“I really do think across all the events, like with the likes of Jempire Events coming on board last year, the production level just went up that level,” he said.

“And I just think that the expectation is there now that it can’t be lowered.

“But I’ve always said we’ve only scraped the surface of what can be achieved.”

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In-town green waste depot to close

By Tim Howard

Grafton gardeners face a drive out of town to get rid of excess gardening waste when the in-town depot stops accepting green waste on March 1.

An upgrade of the North Grafton sewerage treatment plant, part of the Grafton Waste Transfer Station in Kirchner St, Grafton, has led to the decision to close the green waste facility.

The plans for the upgrade of the North Grafton STP incorporate the land now used for green was treatment.

Clarence Valley Council said residents can still take green waste direct to the Grafton Regional Landfill’s organics facility at 704 Armidale Road Elland, or place it in the green organics bin for collection.

The council’s director environment and planning, Adam Cameron, said while it will be a change, there were other options out there for the community to utilise.

“Residents who receives a residential bin collection service can place their green waste in their green FoGo bin, which gets collected weekly,” he said.

“If you find that you’re regularly overfilling your green bin, you may also benefit from ordering an extra green bin from our waste contractor, with the cost added to your rates to be paid off during the Financial Year rather than paying the dumping fee every time you take green waste to the landfill.

“A compost bin also is a great way to dispose of green waste while providing extra nutrients for your garden.

“While it may be a little tricky to dispose of larger pieces such as tree branches and palm fronds this way, lawn clippings and leaves make great compost additions.”

But the Grafton waste transfer station would continue to accept general waste.

The changes are not popular with Grafton gardeners who, from March 1, face a trip towing their trailers through South Grafton to the landfill site and back.

For more information on the Grafton Regional Landfill and current fees and charges visit councils website.

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TAFE NSW Graduates Excel in Alternative Pathway to University

By Robert Heyward

As school leavers across New South Wales celebrate their HSC results, 50 TAFE NSW graduates are marking their success in an alternative university preparation pathway that bypasses the traditional HSC route.

Among these high achievers are three students from the Northern Rivers, including Asia Windeyer from TAFE NSW Wollongbar, who earned a Tertiary Entrance Score equivalent to an ATAR of at least 97.

The Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation, a nationally accredited qualification, offers students a Tertiary Entrance Score recognised by universities and employers as a Year 12 equivalent. It equips graduates with the skills needed to access higher education and careers in a range of fields.

A Pathway to Success

Jobs and Skills Australia estimates that over 90% of employment growth in the next decade will be in roles requiring post-secondary qualifications, making programs like this increasingly vital.

For Asia Windeyer, the course provided an ideal alternative to traditional schooling.

“By the end of Year 11, I was really starting to feel the pressures of school, but I still wanted to gain my HSC and keep my options open for further study,” Asia said.

“The Tertiary Preparation Certificate offered subjects like Human Rights, which wasn’t something I would have had the chance to study in school. I even made some great friends while working towards my goals.

“Thanks to TAFE NSW, I’m now planning to study a Bachelor of Creative Industries in 2026 after taking a gap year. My dream is to work in the literary industry, and I feel like I now have the foundation and confidence to pursue that future.”

Ministerial Praise

Minister for Skills, TAFE, and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan, commended the graduates for their achievements and underscored the importance of diverse educational pathways.

“The Tertiary Preparation Certificate opens doors for students to pursue higher education and career aspirations without relying solely on traditional schooling pathways,” Mr. Whan said.

“This course equips students with essential skills, such as research and essay writing, in a supportive adult learning environment, preparing them for university and the workforce.

“It’s a program that can transform lives, offering new opportunities and helping students build a foundation for lifelong learning and career growth.”

A Bright Future

TAFE NSW continues to play a critical role in preparing students for the future, ensuring access to education and career opportunities for all. The success of these graduates demonstrates the power of alternative learning pathways in shaping the next generation of skilled professionals.

For more information about the Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation and other TAFE NSW programs, visit tafensw.edu.au.

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Police shooting Grafton: four shots heard say residents

By Tim Howard

South Grafton residents said they heard four gunshots when police shot a 32-year-old local man in a park last week.

Around 6.30am on December 11 residents were startled to hear the shots ring out from the park that is part of the J J Lawrence sporting fields near the corner of Bligh and Vere streets.

The part of the park is across the road from the South Grafton Public School

“People were saying they heard four shots,” said one resident, who did not want to be named.

“Some people are asking why they didn’t use a Taser on him.”

During an interview with media after the event, Acting Commissioner Dave Waddell said a number of shots had been fired, but said specifics would be determined from a critical incident investigation which began after the shooting.

A statement from police said they received a call about 6.30am and officers attached to the Coffs/ Clarence Police District were sent to a park on Ryan Street, South Grafton, responding to reports of a concern for welfare.

AC Waddell said the concerns were that the man was acting in a way that indicated he might harm himself.

He said the two officers, one aged 23, with two years experience and the other a 43-year-old with 15 years experience, engaged with the man for some time, but were forced to discharged their firearms when he came at them with a knife.

He said the knife had been recovered and was evidence in the investigation.

The officers immediately rendered first aid until the arrival of NSW Ambulance paramedics.

The man was airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable but serious condition.

The police officers were not physically injured.

Police tape surrounded the scene for more than a day after the shooting.

AC Waddell said A critical incident team from Richmond Police District will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The investigation would also be subject to an independent review.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence.

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