Bega Valley Shire Council has a new Mayor after Cr Michael Britten was elected from a field of four candidates before a full gallery on Wednesday afternoon. The other candidates were Crs Ann Mawhinney, Russell Fitzpatrick and Keith Hughes. Former Mayor Bill Taylor did not nominate. After eliminating the other nominees, Cr Britten was elected from five votes. The new deputy Mayor is Cr Liz Seckold who also won from a field of four candidates – Crs Mawhinney, Fitzpatrick, Seckold and Tapscott. Cr Tony Allen had nominated but withdrew his nomination at the meeting. In his short acceptance speech, Mayor Britten revealed that he and Cr Seckold had been former class mates and said he looked forward to working co-operatively with all the councillors. In Cr Taylor’s speech, he said he was proud of the Bega Valley Shire Council – a good council by any measure that could stand up to comparison with any in the State as well as a Council that cared about its community. Bega Valley Shire

A record crowd estimated between 8000 and 10,000 attended the Pambula Motorfest on Sunday, September 28. A record crowd estimated between 8000 and 10,000 attended the Pambula Motorfest on Sunday, September 28. Pambula Motorfest 2014 was a stunning success on Sunday afternoon, attracting record crowd numbers and entries, with chrome glistening under a perfect spring sunny day.Traffic was banked up as far back as Pambula , a measure of the event's popularity. Motorfest committee member, Brett Hansford, was thrilled with the turnout. “We expected more than last year but this is unbelievable,” he said mid-afternoon Sunday. “Last year we had about 6000 people through the gate. This year it’s definitely more than that. “We had over 300 entrants, once again more than last year, with a fantastic range of cars, the diversity on the ovals is sensational." An exhausted but happy, Scott Whatman, one of the event's key organisers, told the News Weekly yesterday that he estimated the crowd at between 8000 and 10,000. It was "humungous," he said,"it went beyond my wildest dreams." “It’s fantastic; I’m over the moon with how it’s turned out,” Scott said. He said it was a boon for Pambula, tourism and the local economy. The Swap Meet brought enthusiasts from Sydney and Canberra and they vowed to return next year, Scott said, and entrants came from all over. There were all types of wheels - vehicles of all shapes and sizes, trucks, motor bikes, hot rods, tractors, and even campervans. From custom paint to retro touring, Tom and Jackie Kelly from Canberra with their retro camper entertained no end of visitors to their immaculately restored, 1986 campervan. Kevin Nolan, of Merimbula, flashed up his 1000hp tractor puller. The self-confessed “big kid at heart” has read all the Harry Potter books, hence the paint job featuring Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter on the tractor puller. "I read all the Harry Potter books and just loved them. I’m a big kid at heart and the kids love it too," Kevin said. It was a festival of show and shine and show and tell. The event, though a real crowd pleaser, also has a serious side to it. It is a major fundraiser for the community and this year beneficiaries include the Pambula Hospital Auxiliary, the Pambula Sports Complex and the Gordon-Jenkins family, of Wyndham, who recently lost their son Byron in a tragic beach accident. Scott reckons the Motorfest made in excess of $20,000, but the day also gave other community organisations the opportunity to fund raise such as the Rotary Club of Pambula, the Merimbula-Pambula Bulldogs, the Wyndham Public School, and a fundraiser Silent Auction was conducted by friends of the Gordon-Jenkins family. Scott said the Motorfest was developing into more than a car show with a new spread of attractions, not the least among those was the Crocodile Man which proved to be a huge hit with youngsters. Next year they hope to include live music ... we want to make it even bigger and add to its diversity," Scott said. Again the profits will be ploughed back into the Pambula Sports Complex. "We want to lift its appearance," Scott said. Merimbula News Weekly By Liz McCormick, Amanda Stroud Oct. 1, 2014, 9:21 a.m.

SAPPHIRE Aquatic Centre coach John Pelling has another medal to add to his name. At the Australian Winter Swimming Championships Pelling and his relay team won silver and beat the Australian record in the 4x50metre over 70 category with a time of 2.24minutes. “We broke the Australian record, but unfortunately another team beat us as well,” Pelling said. Around 800 people attended the event held at the Botany Bay Aquatic Centre on September 14. Twenty-five swimming clubs from all over Australia were represented at the championship event, clubs that Pelling said exclusively swim in winter and usually in cold water. “We’re all mad,” he laughed. Pelling’s team was called the Clovelly Eskimos and aside from him was made up by members from Sydney, who were Neil Griffin, Cyril Valdock, Bill Harris, and Gary Stubbs who swam in their heats before being replaced in the finals. Pelling has attended the Winter Championships many times before, and has previously won gold there in the over 60s, over 50s and over 40s relays. “I’ve got a few [medals],” he said. “But like I say, every year it gets harder. “These days I don’t train much, I’ve got shoulder problems, old sporting injuries, but I do a bit of easy-paced swimming from time to time. “I coach swimmers at Pambula and Eden now, so I’m there with them five mornings every week. “Sometimes I stay back and have a swim, and other times I swim in Merimbula Lake.” Pelling is a life member of Eden Swimming Club and South Eastern Swimming Association, as well as being a member of Pambula Swimming Club. “All swimmers are coming back and getting into full training for the summer season,” he said. “We’ve got a few young kids who are doing pretty well.” After competing, Pelling enjoyed his time in Sydney, taking part in “lots of lunches and partying”. “It was a lot of socialising after that,” he laughed. He said he will probably return to compete in the championships next year. Merimbula News Weekly

The Bega Valley Shire Council said work underway to improve drainage at Merimbula on the New South Wales far south coast may not have prevented flash flooding earlier this week. Heavy rain caused floods that covered the town's main street by up to 10cm on Tuesday. Pambula Hospital patients were moved to Bega after the roof began leaking and the town's St Vincent de Paul store remains closed due to storm damage. The council's manager for transport and utilities, Wayne Sartori, said the Merimbula bypass project included significant drainage works, but it was difficult to say whether the upgrade was enough to prevent flooding. ''While we have yet to analyse that data, the intensity of that storm may well have been beyond what is a normal design capacity for stormwater drainage,'' he said. ''You'd appreciate you design to a particular level that is required to suit a 5 per cent or 10 per cent or 20 per cent storm. ''The intensity of that event that occurred the other night may well have exceeded that design capacity.'' Mr Sartori said the rain was torrential and beyond a normal fall. ''Large thunder bursts that like that where you have very high intensity over a short period of time you know it's very, very difficult to design for and in fact very expensive to design for,'' he said. ''And even then you've got the potential for very large storms that exceed even that capacity.” ABC News