Gloucester's New Mayor

The council meeting this morning saw the election of the new Mayor.

There were two nominations for the position, and Mr John Rosenbaum was elected Mayor on the vote by 5 - 2

Mr Frank Hooke was elected Deputy Mayor, also on a vote of 5 - 2

Congratulations to all the newly elected councilors

We now have representing the community of Gloucester - Mr Tony Tersteeg, Mr Jim Henderson, Mr James Hooke, Ms Katherine Smith, Mr Aled Hogget, Mr John Rosenbaum (mayor) and Mr Frank Hooke (deputy mayor)

Gloucester Council's representatives for Mid Coast Water were also elected this morning and Mr Aled Hogget and Mr Frank Hooke were the successful contestants for those positions.

We look forward to a council that will work for and with the community to make Gloucester a great place to live,  work and play !

A big thank you to both Mr. James Dupree and Ms Gerry Germon for standing for election as well !

It was a tightly contested election and required a recount for the final positions, well done all !

by Bruce O'Connor

Barrington Tops air crash - 31 years on

Australia's Only Unsolved Civil Air Crash - Answers may be close.

31 years since Australia's only unsolved civil air crash in the Barrington Tops. Now two men who've been searching for the wreckage for years claim they may be close.

They've narrowed down the crash site to an area of two square kilometres on the south-western side of Scattered Top Mountain in the Barrington Tops, very close to the property where fugitive Malcolm Naden was captured, about 2.5km away.

Sunday evening, August 9, 1981 a Cessna 210, call sign VH-MDX, with five people on board, went missing over the Barrington Tops.  It disappeared in a rugged, remote area presenting an almost impossible task for search teams.  The search was called off after a fortnight, but people have continued trying to solve the mystery.

Gloucester’s Don Readford and barrister Gary Donovan, told 1233 ABC Newcastle they now believe they may have found it.  Don was present at Bankstown Aero Club, where the Cessna was based, on the night it disappeared en route from Coolangatta.

"The details were sketchy at that time," he told 1233 ABC Newcastle.   "The pilot had reported that the aircraft was badly iced up and he was going down, and he was reading his altitudes as he was going down."

On board was pilot Michael Hutchins, Philip Pembroke, Rhett Bosler, Noel Wildash and Ken Price, then deputy of Sydney Water Police.

Back in 1981 the search was thought of as "mission impossible".  "Because the fuel did not ignite, there was no visible scar and that made any chance of locating the aircraft very, very difficult," Don said.

The pair have written a book about the Cessna mystery, called Operation Phoenix ~ the theoretical search for the Cessna VH-MDX and hope their conclusions motivate others to search the area they've pinpointed and finally find the wreckage.                                                  

"It's important not only to find the aircraft and of course the remains of the five people, first of all to see whether anything extra can be learned from that accident, but also to bring closure to the families," Gary says. 

Local towns celebrate - a great success

Gloucester Chill Out & Stroud Brick Throwing have been held on consequtive weekends this month and both were a great success.

Stroud International Brick and Pin Throwing Competition was held Saturday 21st July.  The parade was very well supported and the highlight was the winning float of a mouse-drawn pumpkin carrage with Cinderella inside.  Dispite some damp weather the event was well attended including the Premier of the State, Mr Barry O'Farrell.

Gloucester Chill Out Festival, held on Saturday 28th July, saw a beautifull cool but sunny day.  Many visitors and locals alike enjoyed a wonderful array of stalls in the main street as well as fantastic bargains in the local businesses.  The parade down the main street honoured the town's volunteer organisations of which there are many, including our own Bucketts Radio.

Bucketts Radio concluded the day with an enjoyable old-time movie experience showing the movie Big Fish, with the Featurette featuring Gloucester's own Historical Society, "One Last Dance" preceding the main film.  If you'd like to watch the featurette yourself, follow this link to YouTube:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN1OAdCNI9Y

Other events that night included the Cockies Rugby Union Club Black Tie Ball.

Bucketts Radio moving forward

The start of the new financial year sees a few new developments for Bucketts Radio.  Firstly, the launch of a new website, www.buckettsradio.com.au.  Developed by the new volunteer IT Manager, David Keech, it's a fresh look and is very interactive.  The volunteers of the station have the ability to make updates on the website in real time.  

Also in development on the new website is the Music Library where listeners can make requests based on the music available at the station, with search options available.  Please stay tuned for the live launch of the Music Library.

The second great development for the station is a grant to soundproof the on-air studio, thanks to Holiday Coast Credit Union's Community Partnership Programme.  These funds will purchase soundproofing materials for the studio and will cut down background noise from the office and outside during live announcing.  This will improve the quality of broadcast and cut the frustration of volunteers and visitors to the station who have had to whisper while someone is on-air.

Students to do Air Quality Tests in Gloucester

The air we breathe has a lot to do with our health. As we breathe fresh air, our lungs absorb oxygen from the airand pass it into our bloodstream so it can be transported through our bodies. Oxygen is important for our whole body to have the energy it needs to survive. Everyone  knows that asthma and other lung and respitory conditions are caused by or exacerbated by polluted air.

So ......  Just how clean is the air in Gloucester?

Martin Babakhan , our own very own Bucketts Radio weather specialist , is encouraging students to take part in a study to measure Gloucesters air quality.

Visit the Bucketts Radio Weather Page , to download the details and data sheets to participate in this great opportunity to learn about the air we breathe right here in Gloucester

B's Movie Reviews

Bucketts Radio now has its very own Movie Reviewer, Belinda Gilbert

Belinda will help you keep up to date with whats good at the movies , foxtel and DVD's ! You can even ask for a review on a movie of your choice ..... chances are she has seen it at some point. Visit the Movie Reviews page and see the latest reviews !!