Councillor Column Cr Kate Milton

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well, it’s the start of another year, and what a start it’s been. Rain, rain and more rain. Thankfully, we haven’t had any major flooding yet, and hopefully we won’t, but all we can do is be prepared and let Mother Nature do her thing.

Hopefully everyone is stocked up on extra food, fuel and medications – just in case. One thing that is sometimes forgotten is to have extra food for your animals, including dry matter (hay) for horses and cattle.

Too much green grass can cause stock to chase dry fodder, making them more likely to eat poisonous woody weeds like lantana. Three day sickness in cattle is also prevalent in this rainy weather, so let’s hope we get some sunshine soon!

The wet weather makes it difficult for our staff to keep our public spaces clean and mowed. We are trying to get as much done as possible when the sun does shine, so please be patient and know that our staff are doing their very best to keep our town looking beautiful. I’d also like to mention a special thank you to all the people around town who go that extra bit when they mow their yards; every little bit helps, and our town looks much better because of it. Staff are still chasing the flying foxes out of town, rain, hail or shine.

Our Feral Pig program has recently received funding to reduce feral pig numbers across 10,000 ha of the coastal edge from Forrest Beach to Crystal Creek. This is one of several projects that will be funded through Terrain’s Herbert Integrated Project (HIP). This project is funded by the Queensland Government and aims to improve water quality outcomes.

Landholders having issues with feral pigs can contact Council for assistance on (07) 4776 4600.