Orange Councillors & Candidates

ECCO and Orange City Council call for Orange residents to take part in‭
Clean Up Australia Day‭.

Australians generate almost‭ ‬32‭ ‬million tonnes of rubbish each year,‭ ‬making us the second highest producers of waste per person in the world.

Clean Up Australia Chairman Ian Kiernan AO urged local residents to look carefully at the types of rubbish they are sending to their local landfill,‭ ‬and consider if they could recycle or reuse it instead.

‭"‬Australians are pretty good at recycling but half the rubbish we produce is still heading to landfill,‭ ‬which we are fast running out of space for,‭ ‬or it is being dumped into our natural environment,"‭ ‬Mr Kiernan said.

‭"‬Billions of waste items are discarded thoughtlessly each year ending up in our waterways,‭ ‬streets and parklands.‭ ‬To date,‭ ‬Clean up Australia Day volunteers have collected over‭ ‬200,000‭ ‬tonnes of rubbish‭ – ‬equivalent to‭ ‬4.7‭ ‬million household wheelie bins.‭"

The Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange‭ (‬ECCO‭) ‬and Orange City Council’s Tidy Towns Committee are supporting Clean Up Australia Day.

ECCO and Orange City Council have registered five local Clean Up Australia sites at‭ ‬Moulder Park‭ (‬Anson Street‭)‬,‭ ‬Elephant Park‭ (‬Woodward Street‭) ‬and Somerset Park‭ (‬Burrendong Way‭) ‬from‭ ‬10am‭ – ‬12noon,‭ ‬and Hill Park‭ (‬Jilba Street‭) ‬and Gosling Creek Reserve‭ (‬Bargwanna Road‭) ‬from‭ ‬1pm – 2.30pm on Sunday March‭ ‬7.

‭"‬Clean Up Australia Day is the perfect opportunity for everyone to come together and help clean up our local parks and waterways and think about how we can reduce our impact on the environment,‭" ‬ECCO representative Peter West said.

‭"‬Importantly,‭ ‬collecting rubbish in these sites will also prevent rubbish entering our water catchment areas,‭ ‬including the Blackman’s Swamp Creek Stormwater Harvesting Scheme and Gosling Creek catchments.‭ ‬Every participant will contribute to improving water quality and creating a cleaner,‭ ‬healthier and safer environment for everyone.‭ ‬ECCO and Orange’s Tidy Towns Committee will be providing a free barbeque lunch from‭ ‬12‭ ‬noon at Elephant Park for registered participants.‭"

Orange Tidy Towns Committee Chairman Cr Jason Hamling urged residents to lend a helping hand on Clean Up Australia Day.

‭"‬It’s not too late to get involved,‭ ‬simply turn up at any of the registered sites on the day and sign up as a volunteer.‭ ‬Orange residents have demonstrated great environmental credentials on important issues like water conservation and recycling.‭ ‬Clean Up Australia Day is a great opportunity to get together as a community for the environment,"‭ ‬Cr Hamling said

Don’t forget to bring gloves,‭ ‬a hat,‭ ‬sturdy shoes,‭ ‬sunglasses and sunscreen.‭

To find out more simply visit‭ ‬www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au or

call‭ ‬02‭ ‬8197‭ ‬3400.‭

Within the next month, bores will be providing 15 per cent of the city’s daily water consumption.

The city is currently using approximately 10 megalitres a day.

“The showground bore has been connected to Suma Park Dam and is generating half a megalitre a day. Pipes are being laid to connect the Clifton Grove bore to Suma Park Dam. These two sources together will add approximately 1.5 megs a day to the system,” Orange Mayor John Davis said.

The showground bore water is being transferred to Suma Park Dam through part of the stormwater harvesting infrastructure. Since it was commissioned in December it has added 26 megalitres to the dam.

The Clifton Grove bore and pipeline will be operational in about four weeks.

The additional supplies coming on line have coincided with a slowing in the falling of dam levels.

Prior to Christmas dam levels were dropping by close to 0.6 of a percentage point a day. Over the last four weeks that has been reduced to an average of 0.32 per cent a week. At that consumption rate and assuming zero inflows the trigger for level 6 restrictions is 30 weeks off.

“The Blackmans Swamp Stormwater Harvesting Scheme is also playing its part and has generated 460 megalitres of additional water. This is a supply we didn’t have 12 months ago. Planning for the Ploughmans Creek scheme is also well advanced,” Cr Davis said.

To mark 150 years of Local Government in Orange a commemorative Orange City Council meeting will be held in the old Town Hall on the corner of Byng and Anson streets on Thursday 18 February.

The first meeting of Orange Municipal Council was held on 18 February 1860.

The 150-year anniversary meeting will be held upstairs in the former Council chamber. The only access to the old Town Hall Chamber is via stairs.

There is limited seating space available for members of the public. If members of the public wish to attend they need to contact Council to book a space. People wishing to attend should contact Roxanne Betts on 6393 8207 or rbetts@orange.nsw.gov.au

The anniversary meeting commences at 7pm and will include a presentation by the Orange Historical Society detailing the 1860 meeting.

The first meeting of Orange Municipal Council was held in the then Court House and was presided over by the Chairman, John Peisley with Councillors John Woodward, George McKay, William Dale, Dennis Hanrahan and William Tucker Evans in attendance. Crown Solicitor, George Colquhoun was appointed Council Clerk and James Dalton and Patrick Kenna were appointed auditors.

A Council meeting will be held in the current Court House as part of Local Government Week in August.

Level 5A water restrictions will be introduced in the Orange Local Government Area from 31 January 2010.

It is expected the 25 per cent water level trigger for Level 5A restrictions will be reached in the next couple of days. The dam levels are currently 25.3 per cent.

The key difference between Level 5 and Level 5A is the use of hand held hoses is prohibited under the latter.

Under Level 5A, which will be in force from Sunday 31 January, garden beds, trees and shrubs may only be watered by watering can or bucket between 6pm and 7pm on Sundays only.

Exemptions granted under prior restrictions and when bucket and watering can restrictions were last operating are no longer valid. People who wish to water their garden but are unable to carry a bucket or watering can may visit the customer service counter at the Civic Centre and apply for an exemption to use a hose between 6.00pm and 6.30pm on Sundays.

As with Level 5, the watering of lawns including established lawns, newly sown lawns and newly laid turf is not permitted under Level 5A.

Under Level 5A the topping up of new and existing pools and spas is not permitted.

The washing of hard surfaces and motor vehicles is not permitted under Level 5A.

Homeowners with bores are encouraged to use water wise practices when operating bores. Water losses due to evaporation can be minimised by watering prior to 8am and after 6pm. It is also recommended that owners erect a sign notifying that bore water is in use. The same applies to the use of rainwater tanks.