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Yallakool Tourist Park To Re-Open Next Month August 5, 2008 - Yallakool Tourist Park on Bjelke-Petersen Dam near Murgon will re-open in late September, three months earlier than expected. South Burnett Regional Mayor David Carter said yesterday reopening Yallakool Park had been the number one priority of the new Council since amalgamation in March. Yallakool was closed in May 2007 because of low dam levels and issues with the sewage treatment plant. "The benefits to the community of re-opening Yallakool are enormous," Mr Carter said. The grand final of the 2008 MotorGuide Bass Electric Convention fishing competition will be held at the dam on September 20-21 and a community celebration to mark the re-opening of Yallakool is scheduled for October 12. Download the South Burnett Regional Council press release (54kb PDF)

$1.2b Wind Farm Boost For Business August 4, 2008 - South Burnett businesses are expected to benefit from the construction of the $1.2b wind farm at Coopers Gap, south-west of Kingaroy. The farm will straddle the border between the South Burnett Regional Council and Dalby Regional Council and will consist of up to 252 turbines - each capable of producing 2MW - and produce enough electricity to power 320,000 homes (1.7 million megawatt hours of electricity per annum). Recently appointed South Burnett Regional Council CEO Tony Hayward said he expected local companies would have the capacity to contribute to the project. The constructors are aiming to source some tower components locally to save on transport costs which could open opportunities for South Burnett businesses, especially engineering companies. If approved by the two councils, construction by Investec Bank (Australia) Limited and Windlab Systems would start late next year with the wind farm being fully operational by 2011. A public information meeting about the wind farm will be held from 10am at the Cooranga North Hall next Saturday (August 9). Download information brochure (194kb PDF)

Peanut Festival Fun For Everyone! August 1, 2008 - The annual PCA Kingaroy Peanut Festival will be on Kingaroy this weekend! The fun starts at the Kingaroy Showgrounds at 10:45am (so there's plenty of time for the sun to warm up!). Entry is just $5 for 18 and overs. Highlights include the bid to break the Guinness World Record for tugging a peanut thresher, arm wrestling, the Supa IGA Queensland Strong Man Games plus amusement rides, a skydiving jump, helicopter and trike rides and Combat Laser Skirmish. Download the full Festival program (15kb PDF)

Opportunity For Local Food Producers July 31, 2008 - South Burnett growers and food producers have been invited to take part in the next South Bank Growers Market which will be held in Brisbane on Sunday August 24. Food columnist Kerry Heaney said organisers were looking for another region to add their gourmet growers market. Any producers interested in flying the flag for the South Burnett at the South Bank Growers Market, should visit the South Bank Lifestyle Markets website.

Free Information About Broadband July 30, 2008 - The Australian Telecommunications Users Group (ATUG) will be a bringing the 2008 Regional Communications Roadshow to Kingaroy on August 19-20. The information display has been designed to provide residents, community organisations and businesses with information about the latest developments about broadband and 3G mobile services in regional communities. ATUG will be at Kingaroy Library from 11:30am to 3:30pm on August 19 and at Kingaroy Shoppingworld from 8:30am to 12:30pm on August 20 to answer any questions about broadband and registering for the Federal Government's broadband subsidy scheme. There will also be information about digital TV, internet security and the Do Not Call Register. For more information visit the ATUG website

Restaurant Opens At Sports Centre July 29, 2008 - The Blackbutt Gallery Restaurant opened recently at the Blackbutt Sports Centre complex in Janice Court, Blackbutt. The fully licensed restaurant offers a range of cakes, cafe snacks and light a-la-carte meals and is open Mondays to Sundays from 10:30am to 2:00pm. The venue is also available for function bookings. Phone Sharon Day on (07) 4163-0872 for more information. The Blackbutt Chinese Takeaway is still operating from the same venue with Chinese dine-in or takeaway food, Wednesdays to Sundays from 5:00pm-8:00pm.

Beauty Parlours Go Head 2 Toe July 28, 2008 - Another new beauty business has opened in Kingaroy ... Head 2 Toe is located in the old Unique Cutz premises at 135 Kingaroy Street (opposite the RSL). Amanda Seabrook offers make-up and facials, manicures and pedicures, waxing for men and women, eyebrow and eyelash tinting and beauty packages as well as Swedish relaxation massage. Head 2 Toe is open Tuesday to Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm and Wednesday nights to 7:00pm. Amanda can be contacted on 0407-490-092.

Can You Help St Vinnies? July 25, 2008 - The local conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society has an unusual request for South Burnett residents ... do you have any pre-loved reading glasses or sunglasses that you could donate to the charity? The St Vinnies group in Kingaroy is helping gather together these items for a charitable group that sends much-needed medical supplies to the Asia-Pacific region. If you can help, contact the St Vincent de Paul Society on (07) 4162-5099.

WBBACC To Host Regional Development Meeting July 24, 2008 - The Wide Bay Burnett Area Consultative Committee (WBBACC) will be holding a public meeting in Kingaroy next week to consult with the local community about regional development issues. The Federal Government is examining a number of new regional initiatives to ensure that investments in regional Australia promote sustainable economic growth. The Kingaroy meeting will be held at 5:30pm on Wednesday July 30 at the South Burnett Enterprise Centre, 6 Cornish Street. Everyone is invited to attend but if you cannot make it, the WBBACC has a questionnaire which can be downloaded and emailed back to them by July 31. For more information, contact WBBACC Executive Officer Cameron Bisley on (07) 4121-7099.

Open Day At Old Distillery July 23, 2008 - The Old Distillery, tipped to become the South Burnett's latest tourist attraction, will be holding an opening celebration this Saturday from 11:00am to 3:00pm. The fudgery is located adjacent to the Belltower Restaurant on the Booie Range and features views across local farmland. Owner Bronwyn Bisley will have fudge available for tasting and there'll be a wide range of gifts and homewares for browsers. For more information, contact Bronwyn on 0417-136-930. UPDATE: Because of the rain, the open day has now been delayed until SUNDAY August 3

Valerie Can Help Pilot Your Business July 22, 2008 - Valerie Sapin, (right), is the local face of Flying Start, a support service for local small businesses launched recently by the Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation (BIEDO). BIEDO CEO Linda Silburn said the one-on-one support would assist people to get a clear picture of where their business was currently, where they wanted to be, and how to get there. The program is being delivered by “business pilots” based in the North and South Burnett. Valerie is the South Burnett Business Pilot and is based at the South Burnett Enterprise Centre in Kingaroy. Cost is $250 for a 10-hour personalised Business Health Check. For more information phone BIEDO on (07) 4169-7851

Forum Seeks Feedback From Local Volunteers July 21, 2008 - The Wide Bay Burnett Ministerial Regional Community Forum - an advisory body to the State Government - is inviting comments from South Burnett volunteers on their experiences and challenges. Volunteer participation rates across Australia are dropping possibly due to challenges including the rising cost of fuel and transport and the cost of regulatory police checks. The Community Forum would like to hear about personal experiences of volunteering and has provided a short survey (22kb PDF) which should be returned to Helen Hughes by email, mailed to PO Box 1939, Bundaberg, 4670 or faxed to (07) 4151-9750 by August 5, 2008.

NAB Forced To Delay Nanango Closure July 18, 2008 - ABC Radio is reporting that the National Australia Bank has been forced to postpone the planned closure of its Nanango branch. The Finance Sector Union says the bank has been forced to delay the closing date from August to January next year. State secretary Michael Clifford said Australian Bankers Association protocols require banks to give 24 weeks notice of closures and the NAB had failed to do that. "The bank acknowledged the process had been poor and they have committed to go back and review how these sorts of branch closures or proposed branch closures would happen in the future, both in terms of how they deal with staff involved and how they deal with the local community," he told ABC Radio.

Beauty Parlour Opens In King Street July 17, 2008 - Kelly Taffe has moved her Kelee's Makeup Artistry, Waxing & Beauty to new premises ... at Shop 2, 32 King Street, Kingaroy (near AP Computers). The business specialises in beauty services including waxing, make-up artistry, manicures, pedicures and eyelash grafting. Kelly also does make-up for formals and special occasions and has bridal packages, beauty products, mum and bub gift packs and gift vouchers available. Kelly can be contacted on (07) 4162-3433 or by email. The new shop will officially open on July 29.

One-Stop Spot For 4WDs July 16, 2008 - Greg and Annette Sprenger have opened a TJM 4WD accessories dealership at 10 Kingaroy Street, Kingaroy. Kingaroy TJM & Speedliner offers a range of off-road accessories including well-known brands such as Rhino Rack roof racks, Lightforce spotlights and Bushranger gear. All TJM accessories are available including bull bars, winches and recovery gear. The business is also an outlet for Speedliner spray on ute liners. Kingaroy TJM & Speedliner can be contacted on (07) 4162-3111 or by email

Depression Forum On Tomorrow Night July 15, 2008 - The Kingaroy Rotary Club, supported by Incitec Pivot and BGA AgriServices, are hosting a Depression Awareness Forum dubbed "The Road To Recovery" in Kingaroy tomorrow night to provide more information about this growing problem. The forum will be held in the Tobruk Room at the Kingaroy RSL Club from 7:00pm. The forum will provide information about depression, dispel common myths and help people recognise symptoms of depression in their friends, family and workmates. Guest speakers will include Josie Champney, Bev McDonald, Bill Jackson and Noel Trevaskis. Everyone is welcome and entry is free.

Cherry Blossom On The Move July 14, 2008 - Kingaroy businesswoman Lyndal Maree Saul is relocating her Cherry Blossom Make Up Artistry & Beauty business to 122 Haly Street at the Kingaroy Healthy Living Centre. Lyndal offers formal and wedding make up, manicures and pedicures, massage, facials and waxing and spray tanning. Bookings can be made on (07) 4162-2295. The Kingaroy Healthy Living Centre sells organic food including fresh fruit and vegetables, gluten-free products, organic meat and chemical-free personal care items.

Opportunity To Meet New CEO July 11, 2008 - New South Burnett Regional Council CEO Tony Hayward will be starting work on Monday ... and the Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry are providing an opportunity for local business people to meet him! Tony will be the guest speaker at the next KCCI Meet'n'Greet which will be held on July 21 at Dean Wilson Aviation's premises at Kingaroy Airport. The Meet'n'Greet will begin at 5:30pm at 28 Geoff Raph Drive. There will also be a presentation by Steve Wilson from Dean Wilson Aviation. Cost is $10 for KCCI members and $12 for non-members. Drinks and nibbles will be served. To RSVP, contact Polly Birchall at the KCCI on (07) 4162-8466 or by email

PCA Shells Out For Power July 10, 2008 - The Peanut Company of Australia is investigating using one of its most ubiquitous by-products, peanut shell, as a future source of power. Speaking recently at the company's annual dinner to recognise long-serving employees, Managing Director Bob Hansen foreshadowed one of its local projects over the next two to three years would be to extract energy from waste peanut shell. Mr Hansen said PCA hoped gradually to replace gas usage and some electricity usage at its Kingaroy plant by burning shell. Read more on the PCA website

Missouri Team To Mount Challenge In Kingaroy July 9, 2008 - The UAV Challenge which will be held in Kingaroy in September is attracting interest from all around the world ... including the United States. The Missouri University of Science & Technology's Aerospace and Electronics Systems Society is already hard at work building planes and testing systems. The goal for the challenge is to build a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) which will autonomously fly to a search grid, find a missing person ("Outback Joe"), deliver a bottle of water to him and then return to the ground station. The Missouri team has an interesting blog site which includes details about their test flights and includes a series of You Tube videos. They're going to put up some tough competition for the local teams!