Cooking class: Achol Kuot, Aluet Madol, Nyachudier Lony Ruot Tori Kriska, Elizabeth Ruk and Kailah Bartlett were proud to give teachers and staff at Mirboo North Secondary College a taste of Sudan during a feast, organised as part of the Year 11 VCAL program.

MIRBOO North Secondary College students in the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning program joined with women from the Sudanese community to put on a dining experience on Tuesday.

The students have been focussing on the theme of immigration this term and a group from the class, headed by Tori Kriska and Kailah Bartlett, chose the dining experience for their team project.

Andrew McGrath, the teacher of the VCAL program, said Tuesday’ s feast was a culmination of the students work over the year.

“The program was re-introduced into Mirboo North Secondary College this year and the students coming through the program can really see the benefits of it,” he said.

“They have been working really hard with the staff and the community. The program helps to develop life skills, organisation, initiative and a good work ethic.”

Students were keen to discover more about Sudanese people and their culture.

The group of 14 students, all in Year 11, worked with members of the local Sudanese community to produce a three course meal for the teachers and staff of the college.

They also gave speeches on their experience, to help show the staff what they had learned from the program.

“Members of the Sudanese community have come in today to help us provide a dining experience for our teachers,” Tori said.

“We had a few options and we thought that the dining experience would be the best way to encourage student involvement and would also be a good way to show the teachers what we have been learning.”

Kailah said: “Being involved with the Sudanese community and the interaction between the ladies and the students has been great. They have been really open and welcoming.”

The Mirboo North students in the VCAL program are now hoping to organise a soccer match, between themselves and the Traralgon Language School.

Greg Lindsay has lost his job as a Murray Goulburn truck driver.

THE drastic loss of suppliers has been blamed for the savage job cuts at Leongatha’s Murray Goulburn factory.
South Gippsland Shire mayor Cr Warren Raabe said the job losses are devastating for the district.
He’s very worried about the ripple effect through the community.
“Farmers are all suffering from the high Australian dollar. It’s horrible,” he said.
The cuts, announced last Thursday, will strip 40 jobs from across the Leongatha factory operations.
The canteen is being shut down, and the UHT plant, product cartage and laboratory staff are all affected.
An additional 19 transport roles will be lost around Gippsland.
In Victoria, 301 MG jobs have been slashed and more cuts have not been ruled out.
Wooreen dairy farmer Leo Argento said he’s disappointed past management and board members hadn’t been “on the ball” and acted earlier so the result wasn’t so drastic.
He said the co-operative was “under heaps of pressure” to perform and hold its milk supply. Other dairy manufacturers have expanded and in Mr Argento’s view, have done so on the back of Murray Goulburn which has not been operating as efficiently as possible.
He said in the last 10 years, Murray Goulburn has lost 25 per cent of its milk supply.
“It has to rationalise – it has to come from somewhere,” Mr Argento said.
Farmer Gordon Vagg of Leongatha South was blunt.
“I don’t want people to lose their jobs, but Murray Goulburn is the only dairy co-operative left in Australia and, if we don’t have one, we might as well stop milking cows,” he said.
“We have to make sure Murray Goulburn survives because of the jobs it provides for country towns. Once it gets going again Murray Goulburn will create jobs. We have to think of that.”
One of those to be given his marching orders is Greg Lindsay of Leongatha. His job has gone thanks to the new outsourcing of MG’s product cartage business. He’s driven for the company for 26 years, the first 10 as a tanker driver and is used to a 12 hour shift on a 1am start.
He said there had been rumours around the factory for the past month, but being handed his redundancy letter still came as a shock. He’s 62 and hopes to find some part time work when he leaves MG at the end of June.
Mr Lindsay said MG has been a good company to work for, but it’s the young employees he’s worried about; the ones who have just set up house or just married and those with specialised skills.
Canteen manager Elaine Carlson and her four co-workers will lose their jobs. She said the profits of suppliers to the canteen would be impacted. The canteen opened more than 20 years ago as a service to workers.
“We are saddened by it all. I was here the day it opened and I will be here the day it closes,” she said.
“We have met a lot of wonderful people over the years and it’s going to be a hard day. I love my job and I certainly was not ready for no, work but life goes on.
“I have no animosity against the company because they have to do what they do and I have always been extremely happy with the way the company has been run.”
Lillian Watsford works in the butter room and is unsure whether her position is safe.
“We may be okay but we don’t know that anything is definite,” the MG employee of 18 years said.
Another worker who wished to remain anonymous believed the company could have handled the redundancies better, calling for volunteers.
“That’s why workers got so upset about it. It just kills morale.”
The worker said nine of the 19 laboratory jobs would go and some workers had been with MG for at least 30 years.
Announcing the cuts, MG managing director Gary Helou said they resulted from a detailed review of the company’s processing sites and head office requirements.
The company plans to cut $100 million from its operating costs this year and deliver higher farm gate prices.
“The change program embarked on by Murray Goulburn is even more critical given the recent significant decline in world market prices due to higher global milk supply,” Mr Helou said.
“This initiative will help reduce the impact of falling world prices and a high Australian dollar on our supplier/shareholders.”
Mr Helou said the decision to cut jobs was a tough one.
“These are difficult but necessary decisions to ensure that Murray Goulburn can remain competitive. It is in the interests of our suppliers, shareholders, employees, communities and customers that MG remains a strong business into the future,” he said.
“We will continue to invest in programs and initiatives to significantly lower our operating costs, improve manufacturing efficiencies and strengthen our dairy foods portfolio.”
A company spokesman said the job losses had nothing to do with the Federal Government’s carbon tax.
The National Union of Workers has called on MG to ensure that redeployment and voluntary redundancies are a first priority.  NUW Victorian Branch secretary Tim Kennedy said these latest job cuts would come as a shock to the workers and their families.
“Unfortunately these latest job losses come on top of a long list in Victorian industries and mean these workers have gone from secure full-time jobs to joining the queue of people now facing insecure causal work,” Mr Kennedy said.
Mr Kennedy said the NUW questioned Murray Goulburn’s claim that the job losses would deliver a more streamlined product flow and higher efficiencies across the region.
“It defies logic that shedding 170 workers will bring higher efficiencies. Workers today deserve to feel ripped off that a company which owes its highly profitable status to its dedicated workforce should take this action,” he said.
Leongatha Chamber of Commerce president Darryl McGannon believes that the job losses could “dint confidence” in the local economy.
“With those sorts of numbers it may have an impact. You certainly never like to hear of people losing jobs, particularly locally,” he said.
But he hastened to add that if the company was taking necessary steps to ensure its survival, then it was better that changes be made than it be at risk.
“Imagine if they shut the factory down. The ramifications of that would be a whole lot worse. You’d hope the management is making the right decisions for the long term viability of the business,” he said.
United Dairyfarmers of Victoria (UDV) president Kerry Callow described the job cuts as “a bitter pill”.
“This is yet another blow to Victoria’s food manufacturing sector, which is struggling in the face of cheap imports and competition from supermarkets’ house-branding strategy.”

Worthy recipient: Don Earl and his Gordon Murphy Award plaques – one perpetual and one to keep.

DON Earl is a proud man.
He recently received the highest honour available to a National Serviceman in Victoria, but sees the award as being more about his mates and the service they gave to Australia than his own contribution.
The Korumburra man was presented with the Gordon Murphy Award by the Victorian branch of the National Servicemen’s Association of Australia.
The award was bestowed at the annual meeting of the South Gippsland sub-branch at the Inverloch RSL.
Only one person a year is presented with the award from a membership of thousands.
The award also recognises the work of Don’s wife Betty, who has tirelessly stood by him.
He described the members as extremely loyal and worthy of recognition too.
“They are the heart and soul behind this honour,” Don said.
In his own words, Don said the award made him feel “humble”.
“I was speechless,” he said.
“Apart from marrying Betty, it’s the greatest honour that I’ve ever had. I’ve always wanted to be part of the team. It’s just huge.”
Don has been involved with the association since 1997.
Last year, he played a major role in the installation of a plaque at the Wonthaggi cenotaph recognising the contribution of National Servicemen or ‘Nashos’ as they are colloquially known.
Don has held committee positions as assistant secretary and vice-president with the South Gippsland sub-branch, and for the last 10 years has been president and served as state delegate. His services have resulted in a life membership.
The sub-branch now has up to 60 members at meetings, who follow the motto: “Sharing and caring”.
While juggling those roles, he has also been welfare officer, caring for ill Nashos and conducting special funeral services.
“It’s been hard because I’ve lost a lot of good mates,” Don said.
Betty makes wreaths for Nashos to lay at Anzac Day services across South Gippsland, and the couple also attends memorial services at the Puckapunyal Army base near Seymour and the Shrine of Remembrance.
“The association honours all those men who wore a uniform and the mates you met in the Army, you know some of them would lay down their life for you,” Don said.
“They are different to the types of mates you make in civilian life because you are all in the same boat.”
Don joined the National Service in 1951, among the first intake.
“At the time, there were only 36,000 Australians in uniform and 1700 of them were officers. With all the trouble in the Pacific (Korean conflict) at the time, it was decided we did not have much defence,” he said.
“That’s when the government said if you are 18, you have got to do National Service.”
Young men were offered a choice between joining the Army for two years or National Service for five.
Don attended weekly training and also camps of up to three weeks’ duration at Puckapunyal.
“I could have been sent anywhere around Australia and the world,” he said.
As well as volunteering as vice-president of the Korumburra RSL, Don plans to continue to serve.
“I’ve always said that if you can’t help someone, you may as well be dead,” he said.

Ticket masters: Debbi Whiteside and Peter Watchorn from Leongatha NewsXpress had a busy week.

NO ONE from South Gippsland walked away with the $70 million first prize in last week’s Oz Lotto draw but it didn’t stop us from trying.
Deb Watchorn from Leongatha NewsXpress said last Tuesday was the biggest day the agency has had since taking over the lotto outlet two years ago.
“Most of the day we were flat out. We’ve never had a day like it before,” she said.
“Our staff did a great job even when one of our terminals went down and the lines grew longer, but all the customers were really understanding.
“It quietened down by around five minutes to 6pm, but we had a rush pretty much from 3.30 until then.”
It wasn’t just the $70m that drew people to buy tickets, but other major prizes as well.
“This week’s been massive. Not only did we have the $70m on Tuesday but it was $20m for Powerball on Thursday night and another $20m for Saturday,” Ms Watchorn said.
The jackpot for next week’s Powerball has lifted the major prize to $25m, so ticket sales are expected to remain high.
“So far we’ve had no big prizes as yet but we’ve paid lots of smaller prizes as well,” Ms Watchorn said.
Marcus Fitzgerald from the Korumburra Newsagency reported a similar experience.
“It was steady all day on the Tuesday. We had a couple of lulls but overall it was a pretty flat out day,” he said.
“We haven’t had any major winners come through the doors but heaps of little prizes.
“It’s just been a great week for ticket sales.”
Demand pushed the closing time back almost two hours at Wonthaggi Lotto and owner Keith Ritchie said it was the biggest draw he’d ever seen.
“People were queued out the door and onto the footpath all day,” he said.
“We’re normally open until 5.30pm, but it was closer to 7pm by the time we closed.”
Three winners from around Australia shared in the Oz Lotto Jackpot, each winning $24.9m.

It’s real: Rob Gell, Chris Heislers from Groundswell, Damien Irving, Aileen Vening from Groundswell and Dr Neville Smith were pleased by the public interest in the forum.

SOUTH Gippsland is one of the areas in Australia that will be least impacted by climate change.
That was the view of Neil Rankine of Groundswell Bass Coast, at a climate change forum in Wonthaggi last Wednesday.
The Wonthaggi man said while the climate was warming, South Gippsland was still receiving rain due to its proximity to the coast.
He said climate change was real and concerning, and that South Gippsland would still be affected.
One of those became starkly obvious when he received his house insurance renewal bill recently.
“There was an additional $300 on the fire levy for the increased likelihood of fire. The insurance company has been creeping the rates up. They sent a letter explaining it. Those are the sorts of impacts we will all feel,” he said.
Sea level rises will increase saline levels in our aquifers, so flat areas along the coast like Tarwin Lower will suffer.
“Further back into the hills, we will have extremely good seasons like we are having now, then years like we had with drought. Weather extremes will get worse,” Mr Rankine explained, adding farmers here will have to plan for the variables.
Fisheries will be impacted by the acidification of the oceans, caused by their inability to keep absorbing increased amounts of carbon dioxide.
The Southern Ocean already absorbs 40 per cent of the carbon dioxide humans emit.
“It’s saving us now but there’s a limit to how much the oceans can take up,” Mr Rankine said.
“The ocean to the south of us is very involved in the climate system; its warm currents are driving the weather.”
The forum at the Wonthaggi Town Hall was organised by Groundswell Bass Coast, and featured world renowned scientists who explained the facts behind climate change and offered an answer to the question: is it real?
Chris Heislers from Groundswell Bass Coast said the meeting was a great opportunity for the local community.
“The public forum provides a great opportunity for us to hear the scientific facts about the threats facing us,” Mr Heislers said.
“The speakers are leaders in their fields who will explain the evidence, without any political spin.”
The speakers who addressed the forum were scientist, coastline expert and TV weather presenter Rob Gell, CSIRO climate scientist Damien Irving, and deputy director of the Bureau of Meteorology Dr Neville Smith.
Mr Gell said that the meeting was aimed at setting the scene for climate change.
“We are going to provide a reality check on global warming. There are things happening around us we need to pay attention to,” Mr Gell said.
“Ninety-seven out of 100 climate experts believe that humans are causing global warming. The increase in carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere is enough to increase temperature.
“We have pushed a system that can normally regulate itself beyond its limits.”
Mr Irving and Dr Smith agreed.
“If the carbon dioxide levels (in our atmosphere) keep rising, the climate will get warmer, full stop,” Dr Smith said.
Mr Irving backed him up: “An increase in greenhouse gas emissions increases the amount of long wave radiation that is trapped in the atmosphere, and hence increases the temperature.”
The resounding message that came out of the meeting was that scientists still have to justify that climate change exists when time would be better spent combating the issue.
“It is frightening to think that once the process is set in motion, it is impossible to stop it,” Mr Irving said.
Mr Gell concluded the meeting with some bleak facts.
“Scientists are saying that we cannot afford to go beyond an increase of two degrees Celsius above global average temperature. Currently, we are 0.6 degrees warmer,” Mr Gell said.
“At an increase of 1.5 degrees, we will lose the ice caps and the polar bears.
“At plus two degrees, one third of all species on earth will perish. At plus three degrees, the Amazon will get dry. At plus four degrees, the Mediterranean becomes uninhabitable.
“That is what we are on track for.”

San Remo find: an ankle bone embedded in rock at the beach has given new dimensions to Australia’s dinosaur history. It’s the first time a ceratosaurian dinosaur has been identified here.

MIKE Cleeland goes prospecting a couple of days a month, looking for fossils and bones on behalf of Museum Victoria.
One day in 2006, he was on the San Remo back beach with Dr Tom Rich, the museum’s senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology.
With a background in geology, Mike knew what layers of rock to look at. He said rocks erode a couple of millimetres a year.
He spotted something unusual, extracted it from the rock and showed it to Tom, who recognised it as an ankle bone from a ceratosaurian dinosaur.
Now, after years of scientific work, that initial assessment has been confirmed and verified as a very significant find.
Until Mike unearthed the ankle bone, ceratosaurian dinosaurs had not been identified in Australia.
“It’s particularly exciting,” Mike said. “This is the first indication of this type of creature in Australia.”
It’s a fearsome looking carnivore with sharp teeth and a long tail.
And the prospect of more such bones on San Remo’s beaches has been elevated.
Not only that, Mike said similar rock can be found in Outtrim, Leongatha and Korumburra and on to Traralgon, so there could be more evidence of ceratosaurian dinosaurs in those areas.
Mike, who works part time for the Bunurong Environment Centre in Inverloch, said tours of dinosaur sites can be organised through the centre and anyone can take part.
He said the special find is encouraging and gives added motivation to his prospecting forays.
While he knows what layers of rock – called indicator rocks – to look for, finding a fossil or dinosaur bone is “entirely a matter of chance”.
Previous fossil vertebrates found at San Remo include ornithopod dinosaurs.

Stranded: John Hulls and his partner Steph Spokes are frustrated they still do not have any straight answers after being told they are no longer allowed to travel with Ms Spoke’s scooter on the V/Line bus service, and a supposed taxi replacement is not company policy.

THE PUBLIC transport pain continues for a Leongatha woman, who is still unable to travel by V/Line bus to Melbourne with her scooter.
Despite having regularly travelled on the bus in the past, Steph Spokes, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, and her partner John Hulls were told en-route they were no longer welcome on the service in February as the scooter did not meet luggage requirements.
After reading the couple’s story in The Star, Victorian Deputy Premier and Member for Gippsland South, Peter Ryan MP, wrote to the Minister for Transport, Terry Mulder MP.
Mr Mulder said he regretted the “inconvenience and uncertainty that Ms Spokes has experienced”.
He explained the route was previously managed by Dysons, who were breaching an occupational health and safety 20kg lifting limit by placing the scooter into the luggage compartment of the bus.
Mr Hulls queried this explanation, stating he usually lifted the compacted scooter into the bus himself, and said while he did not know the exact weight of the scooter, it was light enough for him to easily pick up and place in the back of his own ute.
After contacting the transport company, Mr Mulder said Ms Spokes can still travel on a V/Line ticket, and pre-book her tickets 48 hours in advance.
“V/Line will then arrange alternative transport in the form of taxis to ensure Ms Spokes and her mobility aid can be carried safely,” Mr Mulder wrote.
“In addition, V/Line will reiterate its taxi policy with Westernport Coaches, the current operator on this route, to ensure that it is clear about how to transport passengers with mobility aids.”
Mr Hulls questioned the solution, with a taxi fare from Leongatha to Melbourne totalling over $200.
“How are the taxis supposed to cover their cost to get home?” he said.
When The Star asked V/Line about their taxi policy however, this newspaper was informed it does not in fact exist.
“It is not V/Line policy to call taxis for people should their wheelchair or mobility aid not meet the required dimensions for travelling,” a V/Line spokesperson said, stating the total weight of the aid and its user must be less than 300kg.
Furthermore, a spokesperson for South Gippsland Taxis reported they are unable to transport scooters in their vehicles, making Mr Mulder’s solution to the problem void.
“They’re kind of contradicting themselves there, because they say they’ll do that in the first place, and now they’re saying it’s not policy,” Ms Spokes said.
Ms Spokes must attend regular appointments at the Monash Hospital in Clayton, and is unable to drive, in the city.
“For now we’ve just put it in the ‘too hard basket’ –we make phone after phone call, and we still don’t have a clear answer. “It’s frustrating,” Mr Hulls said.

Back home: Abby Butler hopes to return to the United States of America after living there for a year.

THE world is a bigger place for 17-year-old Abby Butler since she returned from a year living abroad.
The Inverloch girl has contacts all over the globe and back home, she is a more self assured person.
Abby lived in the United States of America for a year as an exchange student through the Rotary Club of Leongatha.
“I benefited from it a lot. I’m more confident. I’ve always wanted to travel but living in another country was just a dream,” she said.
“Your confidence levels go up with people in general because you have to try to make new friends at the school you go to.”
Mother Barb has noticed the positive change in her daughter.
“She’s matured a lot. What a big thing to do at such a tender young age,” she said.
The Wonthaggi Secondary College student stayed in the state of West Virginia, at Shepherdstown on the east coast and not far from the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Shepherdstown was largely a college town, with dormitories and classrooms scattered around.
Abby rose at 5.30am most mornings for a 7.45am start at school, finishing at 2.45pm. She studied half Year 10 and half Year 11.
More than 1000 students attended the school and classes were the same whatever the day.
“I would rather go to an Australian school. Half of the work is mucked up over there. They were learning stuff I learnt in Year 7 and there was also stuff I won’t learn until Year 12,” she said.
“They would push it on you to go to college. In Australian schools, it’s much more relaxed and you get a wider insight into what you want to do.”
Abby encountered a winter unlike any she had experienced: icy and freezing cold.
She found Americans loved their food with large servings and the variety vast.
Attending church was a popular part of culture and Abby joined a church youth group, enjoying such activities as skiing.
Abby stayed with two host families: one with two children and the other a couple, and attended the famed homecoming dances.
Her exchange featured trips to New York City, Los Angeles, Orlando in Florida and Las Vegas. Over summer, she joined 66 exchangees for a bus trip along the west coast in a double decker bus, taking in such sights as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Hollywood and Alcatraz.
The exchange was not without its challenges.
While homesickness was not really an issue due to being so busy, Abby encountered other obstacles.
She had her appendix removed a month after arriving and returned home for three weeks’ compassionate leave after her brother Cameron was involved in a life-threatening accident.
“When I got back, I did not know how bad he was and it was a shock because everything had changed,” she said.
He is now making a recovery, studying computing and pursuing his photographic interest.
“Some friends have moved away and it’s hard to keep in touch with everyone,” Abby said.
Since returning home in January this year, Abby has maintained contact with her host families and friends via Facebook, and is hoping to return to the USA next year for school friends’ graduations.
Of all exchange programs available, Abby recommends Rotary and praised her counsellor, Rotarian Michael Malone, for his support.
“Rotary sets you up before you go. You go to camps and then you have camps before you come back to debrief,” she said.
Abby encourages any teenager thinking about applying for an exchange to do so.
“A lot of kids say they want to do it but when they find out how long the time is, they say they can’t do it,” she said.
“It’s probably the best thing you can do in your life. Travelling is great but travelling and living in a country is even better.”

Chickens and eggs: free range egg producer, Meg Parkinson and her dog Belle, among some of the 4000 chickens she and her husband Geoff farm in Fish Creek. Meg recently missed out on the VFF presidency but still remains passionate about farming and agriculture.

MEG Parkinson, a free range egg farmer from Fish Creek, has decided that her third attempt at vying for the Victorian Farmers Federation presidency will probably be her last.
Meg was overlooked for the top job, with grain grower Peter Tuohey being named president at the VFF’s annual conference held in Bendigo on April 20.
“For the first time ever, every farmer-member of the VFF had the opportunity to vote to elect their leadership team,” Mrs Parkinson said.
“It was a different system and it can take a few years for people to get used to it.”
While she is disappointed that she missed out on the presidency this time, Mrs Parkinson is still passionate about furthering agriculture.
“I suppose my vision for agriculture is to have more young people wanting to become involved, because it’s a viable thing to be a part of,” she said in an interview prior to the election.
“Obviously if you get more young people involved in agriculture, then it should follow that there’ll be more young people involved in the VFF.”
Meg is currently president of VFF industrial association and chair of the workplace relations committee. She is involved with Primary Skills Victoria and is the FarmSafe Victoria chair and a member of the National Farmers Federation workplace relations committee.
She is also a member of the VFF water council, a member of the Egg Group executive and is secretary of the South Gippsland Branch of the VFF.
Mrs Parkinson is also on the Federal Government’s gene technology ethics community consultative committee; the Victorian Government’s small business ministerial council, the Produce and Grocery Industry Code Administration committee and has been a member of Free Range Egg and Poultry Australia almost since its inception.
Ms Parkinson is confident that the VFF still has a place within the agricultural industry and thinks the federation still has important work to do.
“The VFF is good at lobbying; sometimes it is hard to get our message across, so it is important that we continue to work to see that politicians, bureaucrats and advisors, as well as other organisations, are made aware of VFF policies and the needs of our members,” Mrs Parkinson posted on her blog recently.
“Membership of VFF has decreased in the last few years. Farmers need to be aware that they are missing out on lobbying and information that can make them more viable.
“Being a VFF member is a sensible business decision, particularly for young farmers.”