Apollo Bay, what's happening in paradise!

Community Bank® Steering Committee
says its business as usual
Despite a merger proposal from Bank of Queensland to Bendigo Bank, it will be business as usual for Apollo Bay & District Community Bank® campaign. In a release to the Australian Stock Exchange on Monday 19 March, Bendigo Bank pointed out:
(1) The Bendigo Bank is bound by legislation to consider any takeover or merger offer
(2) The Bendigo Bank Board is fully considering the proposal and will make a recommendation to shareholders, whether they should accept or reject the offer, in due course.
In the meantime it is business as usual with the Bendigo Bank.
Apollo Bay & District Community Bank® Steering Committee Chairman Lance Matthews said the local committee would continue to prepare for a feasibility study, which would begin within weeks.

THANK YOU
On behalf of the members of the Apollo Bay Police
and the Search and Rescue Squad, I would like to
express my thanks to the Apollo Bay CFA members
who attended at Cape Otway and then at Cape
Patton on Monday 19/03/07 to search for a missing
person.
And thank you to the Apollo Bay Red Cross for their
catering supplies during the day.
The Apollo Bay Community should be very proud
of the CFA and the Red Cross for the great service
that they provide to the town.
Andrew ORCHARD

Council's Greenhouse Strategy
Short on Climate Change
Due to the effects of climate change, the CSIRO has projected declining rainfall in southern Australia over the next several decades. In view of this well publicised fact and the ramifications for agriculture and the environment, I question whether Colac Otway Shire Council's Draft Greenhouse Strategy sufficiently addresses the climate change issue.
Colac Otway Council's Draft Greenhouse Action Plan (DGAP) - released as part of the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign - sets insufficient emission reduction targets. While it is commendable that Council is considering this issue, the targets do not reflect the urgency of the situation.
Although the DGAP states local government regions can influence up to 50% of Australian greenhouse emissions, Council has set targets of only 10% below 1996 Community emission levels and 20% below 2000 corporate emissions levels by 2010. Given that 50% of emissions result from inefficient building use and design, it has been suggested by international climate action groups that we could halve our carbon footprint immediately through implementation of efficient energy use schemes.
Immediate action to reduce emissions to less than 10% of 1990 levels by 2050 is required to avoid dangerous climate change. We can immediately increase end-use energy efficiency by switching off standby devices, turning out the lights at night and using low energy light bulbs. To reduce carbon emissions, 100% renewable energy can be purchased as Greenpower.
The Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states "warming of the climate system is unequivocal". The most recent climate figures indicated global surface temperatures have risen by 0.74°C. This figure increases estimates from 2000 by 0.15°C.
Although these figures look small on paper, the physical reality is they correspond with increasingly frequent extreme weather events, prolonged fire seasons and significant reductions in polar ice cover and average rainfall in southern Australia. One of the most threatening aspects of : climate change for the Australian environment and economy is the expected decline in rainfall -particularly in the southern regions.
Rainfall projections released in 2003 indicated 20% reductions in annual precipitation could be expected by 2030. These figures may now be higher given recent findings by the global scientific community that climate change could be happening more rapidly than expected.
And the solution? There is no single way to tackle this issue. The problem requires a combination of increasing energy efficiency and reduced emissions through use of renewable power sources.
Kate Holmes, Environment Science & Law Student

Not our Bank!
This is letter sent to a bank by an 86 year old woman. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in the New York Times.
Dear Sir:
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it.
I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years.
You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank. My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. Noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and letters when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.
From now on, 1, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person.
My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope.
Please find attached an Application Contact which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as | your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be j countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details : of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and i liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof. In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN Number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows: IMMEDIATELY AFTER DIALING, PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH #1. To make an appointment to see me #2. To query a missing payment.
# 3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
# 4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
# 5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature .
# 6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
#7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access ¦ my computer is required. (Password will be communicated to you at a later date to your Authorized Contact).
# 8. To return to the main menu listen to options 1 through 7.
# 9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service.
May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous
New Year?
Your Humble Client

Parents & Friends Easter Raffle
Our first fundraiser for the year, we are raising funds for
30 whiteboards for primary school
Laminator for Primary area
Speakers for 4 datashow projectors - Rooms-1.37.T2, S1 Details
• Each child brings in an Easter egg to put in a basket
• Three baskets, each including an 'Adult Music Festival ticket
• Eggs due by Tuesday 27th March
• $1 per raffle ticket
• All raffle tickets & money in by Thursday 29th March
• Drawn on Thursday 29th March, after Lunch
• Each child will receive a small raffle book -keep an eye out in their school bags
• If you have a basket that would be suitable for holding the chocolate goodies, hand it into the school office, I need three...
" An Inconvienant Truth" Al Gore Viewing Monday 16th April- grade 5&6 consent form/ secondary school + guest
speakers site.www.apollobay.com/parentsfriends, Topics-
our achievements & healthy tips.....
Our next meeting will be the 7th May 2007, an
AGM - this will be our first, so a celebration is called for.
• Champagne and nibbles,
• Discuss ideas for fund raising
• Reflect on our first successful year.
• Position 1yr - President, Secretary and Treasure
President; Sheryl van Someren.....got any ideas
you would like to pass on.....or want to know
more....
Ph: 52376 029 or 043737 6022