From the Mayor's Desk

It has certainly been a busy few weeks with community events across the region and Council’s Ordinary Meeting held in Texas.

Texas Ordinary Meeting

Along with my fellow councillors, I was pleased to be able to catch up with locals following Council’s Ordinary Meeting at the Texas Memorial Hall last Wednesday.

During the meeting, Council waived 50% of the hall hire fees for the Sing Australia Texas group and granted $500 to the Texas Show Society Miss Showgirl fundraiser. Also, this last week saw the completion of the Texas raw water pipeline. I thank the Queensland Government's Building Our Regions initiative for the contribution of just over $500 000 to the almost million dollar upgrade.

This was the third Council meeting held in Texas this term and is a result of a commitment that I made upon becoming Mayor to hold at least one of our monthly meetings in both Texas and Inglewood each year.

This initiative is enthusiastically supported by all councillors and adds to the regular visits by councillors to communities across our region. I also get regular feedback from community members that they appreciate the initiative as well.

Council will hold another meeting in Inglewood later this year. The date will be announced closer to the time and is open to locals to attend.

Inglewood Show

In the last fortnight, the Inglewood Show was held, and it was great to see many locals participating in the arena events and the pavilion competitions and displays. We are fortunate to have so many community-minded residents in our region who volunteer their time to assist in these major events. Congratulations to the Inglewood Show Society and all the volunteers for putting on another great show this year.

Glenarbon Birthday Girls

Birthday wishes are extended to the Glenarbon Birthday Girls, who celebrated their tenth anniversary with their usual flair and fun that generates lots of laughs and good times. These ladies make an impact and recently acquired a new member from Stanthorpe. It was great to be there for a fun-filled evening.

Anniversary of Goondiwindi Midwifery Group

Last week, I had the honour of attending the 15th anniversary celebration of the Midwifery Group Practice, and I must commend these specialised nurses for their exceptional work in supporting the women in our region with 1500 babies delivered into our community. Their invaluable service has been remarkable. Despite the challenges faced by other towns in maintaining similar services, our midwifery team perseveres, meeting challenges with success at every stage.

Hell of the West

Finally, what a fantastic way to end this edition of the Mayor’s Desk and the week. I’d like to congratulate the Gundy Tri Club and the Hell of the West committee on a wonderful weekend of sports and social connection. I was honoured to welcome the triathletes on Saturday afternoon during their briefing. This year we were thrilled to have the World number one female and World number 7 ranked male triathletes, alongside many other world-ranked competitors. Both these extraordinary athletes set respective new records for the event. With visitors and athletes joining us from near and far, this weekend was a wonderful opportunity to show off our area as Regional Australia at its Best. A special shout out to locals who came along to show their support, along with vendors and sponsors.