Detecting smoke
The Tetoora Road Community Centre held a smoke detector awareness day recently with the drop in temperature having all reaching for their heating appliances.
Tetoora Road Community Centre chairman Margaret McDonald said it’s never too early to be concerned about fire.
“We thought it would be a good idea to remind people about house fire safety, now that everyone has turned on their heaters and fired up their Coonaras,” she said.
Trida CFA member Peter King and Dranum Ellinbank CFA member John Camm attended the session and showed children how to use fire blankets.
“It’s a simple tool, but a very effective one to stop a small fire becoming a bigger fire,”they said.
“It is also vital that smoke detectors are maintained and working, as only working smoke alarms save lives.”
The legal requirements and use of smoke detectors were explained by Serif Cetic of Crossfire Alarms, who donated a fire extinguisher to the Tetoora Road Community Centre.
Quell Worry Free smoke detectors were also on display with several being awarded to attendees on the day as door prizes.
Both products now contain long lasting lithium batteries that will last close to 10 years, and don’t require regular battery changes.
“We may on the smaller side as a community here in Tetoora Road, but we’re determined to have one of the most fire safe communties in the Baw Baw Shire,” Ms McDonald said.
Dairy farmer Ian Hornby has won the Lions Club of Trafalgar’s Russ Turner award.
The award honours the memory of Russ Turner, a well-known Trafalgar identity who was a dedicated member of the Lions Club.
Russ ran the Shell service station in McRory St. and was a staunch supporter of the apprenticeship system.
Russ died as a result of a bicycle accident while training for the Lions ‘Ride for Sight’.
The award was initiated by his widow, Margaret, and was first presented in 1997.
The award is an encouragement award and presented to the apprentice or trainee who the committee feel would benefit most from the $1000 prize.
Ian Hornby, a dairy farmer at Yulungah Dairying, won the award.
Other finalists included Traf Tractors and Machinery diesel mechanics Riley Cutler and Michael Rosato, John Kerr Real Estate trainee receptionist Ashley Kleeven, White Builders carpenter Mitchell Walker and Traf Trailers metal fabricator Haydn Watson.
The committee who interviewed the applicants found the task challenging and remind unsuccessful candidates to re-apply next year.
The club held its annual disbursement meeting last month where they distributed $9,050 to both the local community and the wider world via the Lions Foundation.
This bought the 2015/16 annual contributions to $26,355.
Locally, money has been given to the Scouts, local schools, Trafalgar public hall, Trafalgar recreation precinct, Traf Youth Resource centre as well as buying two defibrillators, one located in the community centre and the other at IGA supermarket.
These defibrillators are in position for public use should the