Hilltops Councillor Column

What a busy last couple of weeks we all have had in the Hilltops! First the Boorowa Irish Woolfest on the October Long weekend – what a wonderful three days of fun and festivities celebrating our great little town. From the ever growing and fantastic Art Show at the Courthouse, to the expanding repertoire of the Wine Bar’s musical guests, to the addition of the Fringe Fun Day on the Saturday afternoon, Woolfest has become a whole weekend of activity and community. That plus the magnificent weather really made the whole experience wonderful for all involved. That said, the old adage to never work with children or animals proved itself once more! Even with 26 years of past Woolfest celebrations, you never can predict what the sheep will do on the day. Thank you to all involved in making the weekend special – from the Woolfest Committee, to the dedicated Hilltops Council staff, my fellow Councillors, Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke, and of course our sponsors (in particular Bendigo Bank) – it wouldn’t be possible without all of their collective hard work. The Harden Kite Festival too followed in quick succession. Another great day out in the community, seeing the show that Harden puts on. It’s wonderful to see such springtime energy in the community as we show off to visitors, and ourselves, the beautiful place we call home here in the Hilltops. I’m looking forward to the 75th National Cherry Festival wrapping up our major events for the year, but also hope everyone gets some rest in between. On November 8 will be our local NAIDOC event in Anderson Park, Young, held by the Young Local Aboriginal Land Council. There will be a stage, stalls, and lots of community fun celebrating 50 years of NAIDOC. I hope to see you all there; it’s sure to be a great day! On a final and more serious note, the issue of water in Boorowa and Harden will be coming around again soon, especially on the issue of the Harden to Boorowa Pipeline, and how we pay for this essential infrastructure. This may seem like a boring issue but trust me it is important you pay attention and stay involved in the community discussions. Councillor Mackay and I were last month at the Local Government NSW Water Management Conference in Albury, and if there is one takeaway from that, it’s that community involvement in water issues is essential to making sure Council gets its decisions right, but also that people get the water they need. Especially for Boorowa, contributing to the community conversation on water has never been more important. Until next time. Councillor James Blackwell

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