Hervey Bay Gossip

Urangan was certainly a hive of activity yesterday and it was a perfect day for wandering around the stalls at the Pier Festival.

The Pier itself was a very popular place too and this was the way it looked at about 8am.

It’s days like yesterday that make you glad to live in a place like Hervey Bay

Recently the Fraser Coast Regional Council announced the release of it’s new-look logo. Unfortunately the Council decided that it had to go outside of it’s own area to find someone to design that logo despite the fact that there are plenty of very talented graphic designers right here in Hervey Bay and Maryborough.

You could be forgiven for thinking that it’s a Council’s duty to, as far as possible. source all its requirments from within its own boundaries but evidently the Council doesn’t see it that way.

You can find the Council’s reasoning for looking beyond its own area here on Councillor Sue Brooks’ blog.

Sorry Sue … despite your reasoning we still think it’s wrong to spend Council money outside of this area when what the Council was looking for could have been designed right here.

The leading designers here in town are right up there with the best in the country so why were they overlooked?

The pier at Urangan wasn’t the only place the fishermen were gathering in Hervey Bay this morning … even the pier at Torquay was a little crowded with people eager to wet a line.

Tomorrow the place to be is down at Urangan for the annual Pier Festival - it kicks off bright and early and the weather forecast is for another spectacular spring day.

Hot jazz and cool blues at Hervey Bay’s marina - sounds just perfect doesn’t it?

It’s going to happen on the 7th - 9th November and you can get more details by calling 4128 9643

Safety will be improved for students of two Hervey Bay schools when they return from holidays, with Main Roads installing special safety signs and lights this week to remind motorists they are entering a school zone.

Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt said representatives from Yarrilee State School and Xavier Catholic College in Hervey Bay met with the department earlier this year, in an effort to discuss ways of improving road safety near both schools.

“A commitment was made to install flashing school zone signs on Pialba-Burrum Heads Road as a way of advising motorists to continue to drive carefully near the two schools,” Mr Pitt said.

“These lights will be an effective way of helping to lower vehicle speeds, while making sure motorists pay extra attention during school drop-off and pick-up times.”

Member for Hervey Bay Andrew McNamara said the flashing signs were the first of their kind to be installed in the Wide Bay-Burnett region.

“T he lights will flash periodically at the regular school pick-up and drop-off times, between f 8am and 9am and 2.30 to 3.30pm each week day,” Mr McNamara said.

“They have been installed in the school zone and are programmed to match the school calendar, so they will flash only during the defined semester periods.”

Mr Pitt said the safety technology had successfully been in service in other parts of Queensland for the last five years.

“This technology is tried and tested and is an effective way to remind motorists to reduce speed when they are nearing school zones, ” he said.

Mr McNamara said the signs were solar-powered, requiring no electricity to operate, and were waterproof and highly visible in all weather conditions.

“I am pleased Main Roads is able to deliver this safety initiative, as part of the government’s commitment to improving driving conditions and safety for motorists and the community,” Mr McNamara said.

Lots of people these days are looking for cheap alternatives to the expensive office software produced by Microsoft and others. Even if you’re writing something as simple as a letter it’s nice to be able to do it with software that produces a professional looking result.

If you’re a secretary or treasurer of a community group it would be nice to have access to software that allowed you to write professional looking reports as well as provide you with spreadsheets etc. without having to pay an arm and three legs for Microsoft Office. Well now you can and this software has a link to Hervey Bay.

The software is all online so there are no lengthy downloads and you don’t have to worry about storing all the files on your computer either. You’ll find it at Peepel.com and Stephen Kelly … the CEO of the company in Brisbane that produced it … originally came from Dundowran.

Several mining companies are currenly looking for coal around Maryborough and across towards Howard and now Ausnico - a nickel exploration company has acquired leases in an area stretching from Gympie to Rockhampton.

Currently the company is exploring an area south-west of Gympie.

Lately I seem to have fallen into the habit of sending my daughters a photo that I’ve taken along the beach early every Saturday morning. This week’s photo says a lot about the lifestyle here in Hervey Bay.

I’m not sure if the fish were biting or not but this guy and the others fishing along the beach didn’t seem to care much.

It was a wonderful morning in Hervey Bay and the beach was the perfect place to be.

Hervey Bay sunsets are always spectacular and if you’ve lived here for a while you tend to get used to them. But here’s one that’s burning through the trees along the Esplanade at Shelly Beach that you just couldn’t ignore.

If you’re in Hervey Bay on holidays … or your thinking of coming here for a break … then finding things to do can sometimes be a challenge.

Here in our occasional series of things to do in Hervey Bay is yet another suggestion - jet skiing in Hervey Bay.