From Hilltops Council – Brian Ingram

Last week Council hosted three COVID safe youth movie nights as the first events of our new youth program funded by the State Government

The first event was held in Young on Tuesday night with 150 attendees, the event in Harden was held on Wednesday night with 50 attendees, and in Boorowa on Thursday night also with 50 attendees. These numbers are fantastic and give a solid indication that our youth program will be very popular. We received great feedback from the community and local police.

Well done to our Youth Engagement and Inclusion Officer, Georgia, who worked tirelessly to ensure the events were a success. I extend my sincere thanks to Police Inspector Jacob Reeves and his team who provided support at each event. Jacob and his team are to be commended on their efforts to engage with Hilltops youth. Thanks also to the Council staff who volunteered their time to help out at each event, a great team effort.

Hilltops will mark Australia Day 2021 next Tuesday, 26 January, with celebrations across the region. Australia Day is a special time to reflect on our history, its highs and its lows, listen to and respect the stories of others and to celebrate our great nation, its achievements and its people.

The towns of Boorowa, Harden, Young, and Wombat village all have events sched- uled for the day. In line with current COVID restrictions limiting the size of outdoor gatherings in NSW, Hilltops is among many Councils that have implemented restrictions and venue changes for Australia Day 2021.

This year there have also been changes to the Australia Day Ambassador program. We will be welcoming radio broadcaster, television gardening presenter and author, Graham Ross, to both the Harden and Wombat events. International cricketer Geoff Lawson OAM will attend the event in Young. The 2021 Australia Day ambassador for Boorowa; film producer and author Sue Millikin AO will unfortunately not be attending. This was a decision made by the Boorowa Australia Day Committee based on the safety of the community.

Programs of events for each location are available in our local papers and on the Hill- tops Council website.

This Australia Day we will be hosting a citizenship ceremony in Young where thirteen members of the Hilltops community will become Australian Citizens. It is both an honour and privilege to officiate citizenship ceremonies and there is something extra special about ceremonies that are held on Australia Day. I very much look forward to welcoming our new citizens on the day and invite the community to tune into the livestream via the Hilltops Council Facebook page from 9.30am.

– Mayor Brian Ingram

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• Local Council