Hervey Bay Gossip

Will we soon be seeing a period of local council amalgamations in the Wide Bay area?

There certainly seems to be some interest in the subject and now the Bundaberg Chamber of Commerce is joined the ranks of those calling for some rationalisation of local governments.

It will certainly be something to watch over the coming months.

Once again a drive around Hervey Bay is turning into a rather time consuming affair as more and more roads become blocked due to roadworks.

Obviously Boat Harbour Drive needed to be upgraded and just as obviously the only way to do it was to close parts of it to traffic but yesterday it all became a little silly when the posted detour for the now closed Ann Street intersection was also blocked by roadwork.

There is also a considerable amount of work going on at the intersection of Denmans Camp Road and Colyton Street and that has reduced the traffic flow to one very narrow lane.

And of course there is also the continuing work along the Esplanade down at Urangan.

Wide Bay Water Corporation is sponsoring Hervey Bay Sailing Club’s 26th annual Bay to Bay race on the weekend of April 29 - 30.

The race starts from Tin Can Bay and finishes off Urangan. The course takes competitors through the protected waters between Fraser Island and the mainland.

For further information visit the Hervey Bay Sailing Club website

Back on March 18 the Hervey Bay Gossip reported on a story that appeared in the Brisbane Courier-Mail on shared cellular memories. This is something that seems to be affecting some recipients of organ transplants but is it real or just imagined.

The Gossip decided to turn our specia l projects writer loose on the topic and here is Cellular Memories, his brief overview of what is a very interesting phenomena.

A Perth woman who has worked as a truck driver narrowly avoided a jail sentence after she was found guilty of fraud for claiming she was an orthopaedic surgeon.

Perhaps she should move to Hervey Bay.

While must university students headed south for the annual Spring Break one student from Nebraska decided to to some reasearch for a magazine article on shopping.

So he went down to his local Wal Mart store - one that happens to be 24 hours a day - and spent the next 41 hours in the shop. He even ate in the shop - at the in-store Subway.

He had planned on staying a week but after 41 hours he began hallucinating so he went home.

41 hours in a department store? I get twitchy after 41 minutes.

You can read the full story here

Researchers predict a bleak future for the Wide Bay as the population ages rapidly, little investment comes into the area and low paying jobs attract only low and non-skilled workers to the region.

That’s our future unless the region can attract more highly skilled workers to new industries.

Click here for the full story from the ABC

Prepare yourself folks, Dick Elmer is opening a furniture store right here in Hervey Bay. The store will be located in Beach Road Pialba and it will be open before Easter.

Interestingly Furniture House has opened a furniture store here in Hervey Bay. Its new store is located at 68 Boat Harbour Drive Pialba.

Proton has been out of the Australian market for several years now but they’re back with a whole new range of smart looking cars.

The smallest in the range is the Proton Savv. It’s powered by a 1.2 litre Renault motor and comes with a list of standard equipment that many other cars include as extras.

Click the link for a detailed look at the Proton Savvy

A walk along Scarness Beach on Saturday morning revealed the continued deterioration of this dreadful eyesore.

You just have to wonder how long it is going to take the Hervey Bay Council to wake up to reality and remove this mess before someone gets hurt as they climb on it. It’s been closed for as long as most people can remember and the Council shows no signs of repairing it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand and appreciate the importance of providing disabled access to the beach but this contraption was never going to work for long. As the sand on the beach shifts there was always going to be long periods when the end of the ramp finished in mid-air.

So now is the time to demolish this and replace it with something more effective.

What say you?