The Bird Watchers Paradise
Barraba School Kids’ Cry for a Skate Park
Stefan Rashid and Bruce Mason made the following presentation to Acting Mayor Russell Webb and Tamworth Regional Council staff members:-
We thank you for the opportunity to state our case for constructing a Skate Park in Barraba.
We also realise that funding provided to Councils is in short supply.
We also claim that we too are an important part of The Tamworth region.
Your website states -
"Tamworth Regional Council recognises the need to provide youth recreation facilities that are contemporary and will service the youth of the region for years to come.
Skate parks have been constructed in three strategic locations throughout the region and are modular in design and construction. The modules are made in varying shapes and sizes to accommodate different skill levels of skateboarders from novice to expert.
The region's skate parks provide a safe and supportive environment to empower young people to take responsibility.
These skate parks have good access for emergency vehicles, are well lit, sign posted and provide safe access routes.
Skate Parks are located at: Tamworth, Kootingal and Manilla"
On page 9 of the submission of September 2011 for the Coledale Urban renewal Masterplan it states -
“A key desire expressed by the youth of Tamworth is for enhanced skate and bike facilities. A second skate facility in Tamworth has been identified to be required to take the pressure off the existing heavily used facility.”
Wow........ we don’t even have water yet.
I would like you to reflect on Mark Medoff’s play about inequality, about a dual level in society.
Although the play describes the profoundly deaf desperately seeking to communicate in a world of sound, we in Barraba see a parallel.
The play was entitled Children of a Lesser God.
Children who were born not to be equal, not to play a part in the big picture of life.
I feel sometimes that I and my friends were born under the protection of a lesser God.
Why is it that other kids in other towns have opportunities that we do not have?
Why is it that our quality of life is dependent upon where our parents have chosen to live?
This is Australia,
this is my country too.
Decisions that you make here tonight and in the near future will impact directly on my life.
Decisions that you make will make a difference to me.
Was I born of a lesser God?
In Barraba there is no youth centre, nowhere to go on a Friday or Saturday.
The Pool is now closed for Winter.
We don’t have a Steve Blanch to help us through the tough times.
I can only imagine a Youth Centre with someone to listen to us, someone who cares, someone to point us in the right direction.
We are proud of our town, proud of our school, but something is missing.
A place to meet a place to hang out and meet.
A skate park might not seem much to you but it would mean so much to us.
I can only imagine somewhere I could go to just meet a few friends or just skate.
I am not into football and I am not old enough to go to the pub or the club yet ad why would I want to?
I can get on the Internet and see what other kids are up to, but all the fun seems to be somewhere else.
When I skate, it is more than just skating.
It is meeting friends, just hanging out together, it is fairly physical.
Sometimes it’s just me doing what I want, doing what I need.
To skate is do, to be, to feel.
If you type on Youtube “Barraba Skate” you will find an awesome tape of a home–made skate ramp with Ethan, Branden Josh and Fish doing what they love.
They made a skateboard ramp in their backyard, but that’s all gone now.
Ethan has left school and now there is nothing.
We can’t ride on the roads, we can’t ride on the footpaths.
There are lots of old people in Barraba and someday someone could get hurt.
Manilla is a town of similar size and it has a skate park, Tamworth also has multiple skate parks, Quirindi also has a skate park and Werris Creek just got funding for a new skate park.
We are happy for those kids. I am sure they deserve it (can you see where I am coming from?)
In 2006, in the United States 42 people riding skateboards died.
Of those, 40 of them were not in a skate park and 27 of those involved a motor vehicle.
Of these 42 deaths, 40 of them might have been prevented had the person been skating in a skate park instead of the streets.
I love to skate.
Please give this proposal a fair chance.
Money is tight but there must be a way.
The Barraba Community are willing to put in $17 000 worth of labour for the project.
I love where I live but there must be more.
Barraba is my town, Barraba is part of your responsibility.
We are not asking for much. We ask for equality and we deserve more than what we have.
Please do not ignore our requests, please help us to make a difference.
We are all equal, we all live in this region.
There are no councillors who live in Barraba.
There must be councillors who care and have the vision that includes everyone.
We are not asking for more than we deserve or need.
There are lots of kids in Barraba who need somewhere to hang out and enjoy each other’s company.
If we never ask we will never get.
This is about equality.
We are here and this is where we live.
As councillors you have the responsibility of treating all of the people who live in your region as equals.
Please give us equality.
We are not Children of a Lesser God, we are here and we need to be heard.
And with the greatest respect we thank you for listening and HOPE that you hear us...
Peel Valley Cutting Club
The Barraba Pastoral, Agricultural and Horticultural Association will be hosting the Peel Valley Cutting Club at the Barraba Showgrounds from Friday lunchtime 18th May to Sunday afternoon 20th May.The cutting will be in the Rodeo Arena in front of the Grandstand.
There will be a canteen operating in conjunction with a bar from luchtime Friday and a sit down meal Saturday evening, at around $18 for main, cake and coffee.
Entry is free to all spectators. Come on down and enjoy the show!
For further information contact Tim Crowley 6782 1795 or Campbell Tonkin 6783 0140.
Frost Over Barraba Arts Festival
Frost Over Barraba has grown to become a significant regional art exhibition over the last 37 years with the loyal support of the region’s extraordinarily gifted artists.
Schedules and Entry Forms are now available, so get your entries in!
Of major interest this year is the new Acquisitive Prize of $2000 for the best painting exhibited. The acquired painting will be hung in a community space in Barraba.
Judging this year will be Julia Griffin of Walcha for painting (an example of her work is shown here), Simon Scott of Armidale for photography and Irene Esteves for pottery.
Each of the Judges will also be exhibiting their own work, along with other guest artists, including painter Peter McKnight, who was very successful at last year's Frost and photographer Peter Dwyer, who won the Namoi CMA Photo Competition.
Irene Esteves and Peter McKnight will also be demonstrating their skills at the Artists and Artisans at Work part of the Frost Fair in the Youth Centre.
Schedules and entry forms can be downloaded from the sidebar at the right.
For further information contact Dave Drummond, Festival Convenor on 0419 234 272 or email Sarah Marrett, Festival Secretary by clicking here.
All mail, including Entry Forms to PO Box 117 Barraba 2347.
Barraba Festival
The Barraba Festival 2013 will be celebrating its 20th year. It is a high quality cultural event, and the major celebration of the Barraba Community.
Held bi-annually on the first weekend in Novenber, the Festival is unique in that it celebrates the arts and culture of a different country or region each year.
This festival we will be celebrating the culture of the Philippines.
The cultural theme of each Festival is featured in open-air concerts, exhibitions, food stalls and markets, a colourful parade, decoration of shopfront windows, workshops and a mini film festival.
The Barraba Festival will be held on the 1st 2nd and 3rd November 2013.
The festival committee invites any members of the community who would like to be involved in this event to attend the first meeting of the year on Monday 28th May 2012, 7pm at Andy's Guest House. If you would like to be involved and are unable to attend, please ring Andy Wright on 6782 1916 or Kate Webster on 0428 275 652.
