Deagon Ward E-News

January 2016

Welcome to my first E-news of 2016. With such a well connected and busy community here on the Northside it's no surprise that it's been a busy start to the year!

Wayne Swan and I are hosting our annual Australia Day By The Bay celebration on Tuesday 26 January at Upper Moora Park which includes the Dick 'Tosser" Turner Billy Cart Race in Cotton Street once again. The Billy Cart Race will begin at 3.30PM.

The 2016 Music By The Sea festival was a success once again and I want to congratulate Zoli and his team of organisers for the hard work they do in putting Sandgate on the world arts stage. I am a proud sponsor of Music By The Sea and look forward to the 2016 concert series.

Keep an eye out on my Facebook page to keep up to date with local news and events.

If you are part of a local community group and want me to feature an upcoming event in my e-news please contact my office to arrange this.

Cheers & Merry Christmas

Jared Cassidy

Out and About in the Community

Swallow House

Last weekend I joined Keep Sandgate Beautiful Association Inc to official open the Swallow's House in Curlew Park. This is a first for Brisbane (and possibly the world!). It will provide shelter for a number of species of swallows and also for other winged animals. Swallows had previously nested at the Sandgate Train Station and in awnings and eves of local shops. This will provide a safe and secure home for them.

Check it out when you are down at Curlew Park next.

Pop Up Art Show

The Sandgate Art Society (SAS) recently held a pop-up art exhibition on the Sandgate foreshore. It was a great display of local artists and sculptors in a beautiful location. There will be another small show as part of the Australia Day by the Bay celebration at Upper Moora Park and they are also planning anopther pop-up art show in July.

The Sandgate foreshore is now used for leisure, fitness and art! A great use of this community space.

Kurbingui Back to School Day

I attended the Kurbingui Back to School Day at Zillmere where mums, dads and kids heading back to school could pick up some essential items and get a hair cut. It was great to see the Zillmere Library on hand all day to tell parents about their homework help sessions.

Brisbane Australia Day Awards

I had the privalege of congratulating Marjorie McNamara and Ken Dixon on being awarded Brisbane's Citizen of the year and Senior Citizen of the year awards respectively at City Hall recently.

Marjorie has put in over 30 years of community service and is still heavily involved in Home Assist Services and All About Living in Sandgate - which provide much needed services to hundreds of elderly and disabled people in our community each week.

Ken has been an active member of the The Gators since the 1970s (amongst a host of other things!). Ken still spends his Saturday's and Sunday's down at the Deagon Oval getting pitches ready for play and mows the ovals weekly.

Two very deserving people!

What's Coming Up...

Australia Day By The Bay

Wayne Swan and I will be hosting Australia Day by the Bay in 2016 which is shaping up to be a great community day. Festivities will begin at 2.00PM at Upper Moora Park concluding at 6.00PM. In the event of wet weather the event will be held at the Sandgate Town Hall.

Some of the fantastic entertainment and activities include:

Peebo & Dagwood
Sandgate Hawks Auskick clinics
Sandgate Gators cricket games
Sandgate Men's Shed BBQ and Pier Clocks on sale
Citizenship Ceremony
Blake Hadley, Demon Drink & Multitude Choir
Kim Mancini Art & Craft activities
Jumping Castle
Face Painting

The Annual Dick 'Tosser' Turner Billy Cart races will be held at Cotton Street again starting at 3.30PM.

Brighton Roosters 9 a Side Competition

The Brighton Roosters will be hosting a 9 a side tournament on Saturday January 30 starting at 8.00am. 10th avenue will come alive with 16 teams involved in a one day shootout for prizemoney in what promises to be a day of entertaining rugby league. Teams entered will come from local and regional talent pools, to showcase this 9's tournament.

Head down to support a great local club and watch some great footy!

Skilling Queenslanders for Work

SANDBAG has commenced recruitment for the next intake of our community work skills traineeship ‘Building our Community’ to commence Monday 14th March 2016. This is a full time traineeship running for 15 weeks based out of SANDBAG in Sandgate.

Participants employed under this traineeship will:

earn a certificate I level qualification in Construction delivered through the Housing Industry Association including a White Card and First Aid qualification
gain practical experience in real work situations that align with their training within the local community
complete paid work that can be included in their resumes
be provided all necessary PPE
receive a mix of career advice, job preparation and foundation skills and job placement assistance.

To be eligible for this program, you must be a Queensland resident who has been unemployed for a minimum of 6months. For more information visit Skilling Queenslanders for Work website at www.training.qld.gov.au.

Interested applicants can forward their resume to sqw@sandbag.org.au with a cover letter outlining why they would like to apply for the program. All interested applicants will be responded to.

This Skilling Queenslanders for Work project is proudly funded and supported by the Queensland Government.