Orange Councillors & Candidates

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Exemptions granted under prior restrictions and when bucket and watering can restrictions were last operating are no longer valid.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.

A 2010 calendar marking 150 years of local government in Orange will be delivered to residents in the city next week.

On February 18, 1860, a group of residents gathered for the first meeting of the Orange Municipal Council. The meeting 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.

Orange City Councillor Chris Gryllis said the calendar featured historic photos charting the development of the city, historic dates over the last 150 years, key dates for 2010 and council contact numbers.

“The calendar is a keepsake of past events and a great dairy for 2010 events. I encourage everyone to take part in the celebrations,” he said.

For those people living outside the city, copies are available at the Library, Customer Service Desk in the Civic Centre, the Visitor Information Centre and the Neighbourhood Centre in Kite Street. If businesses would like to display and distribute copies they can contact Chris Stanger on 6393 8120 or cstanger@orange.nsw.gov.au for copies.

Council is also developing a Wiki to commemorate the 150 years of local government. The Wiki will mirror the calendar design. If anyone can identify people or has information about the photos in the calendar, they can contact Chris Stanger with the detail and it will be included in the Wiki.

Santa, carols, fireworks, a live nativity scene, dinosaurs and family focused entertainment are all part of the remodeled Orange Christmas Festival in 2009.

The festival will be launched at the Robertson Park rotunda at 11am Monday 30 November.

The festival and carols will be part of a joint event for the first time on Friday 11 December.

The festival will be held in Robertson Park from 5.30pm, with Carols commencing at 7.30pm and concluding with the J R Richards Fireworks at 9pm.

The Carols will be performed from a temporary stage south of the rotunda. Between 5.30 and the commencement of the carols there will be plenty of entertainment including live music, a jumping castle, gopher races and Santa’s arrival at 7pm. Food and refreshments stalls will be on site.

A special feature of the entertainment is the Erth Petting Zoo, an

amazing selection of lifelike dinosaur and creature puppets. Visit www.erth.com.au

Christmas Festival Committee member Cr Fiona Rossiter said the merging of the street festival and the carols should benefit both events at a busy time of the year.

"The entertainment has a strong family focus this year and bringing everything together on the one evening is sure to attract a big crowd," she said.
Byng Street between Lords Place and Peisley Street will be closed from 5.15pm  to 10pm. McNamara Street between Summer and Byng streets will also be closed between these times.

In the event of wet weather the festival will not be moved or rescheduled. Robertson Park is an alcohol free zone.