Tess Callesen, 17, recently bought 10-week-old Chilli from a breeder in Lavington.

The feisty young female attracted plenty of attention during an outing at Oddies Creek Park this week, taking time out to share a quick kiss with her owner.

Click below for gallery.

Kyle Wandel and Gary Poidevin offer a wide range of products and quality customer service for all your battery needs. Picture: TREVOR JACKSON

HAVE you hollered for a Marshall lately?

Marshall Batteries in Lavington can help, and not just for your car.

Kyle Wandel and Gary Poidevin branched out and opened the doors of their Lavington business around 12 months ago after four years of servicing the region through their Corowa store.

The two stores have the knowledge and the products to keep you powered up whether it be for an automotive, leisure or even medical application.

Marshall Batteries are a major dealer in the region for Sonnenschein batteries, the number one product in the world for dry-fit gel applications.

Sonnenschein provide batteries for such applications as wheel chairs, mobility scooters and golf buggies, are manufactured in Germany and according to Mr Wandel are “the best of the best”.

Marshall Batteries cover solar needs for mobile situations such as camping, they provide batteries for heavy machinery, farms, tractors, boats, motor-homes, fish-finders, alarm battery back-ups, roller doors, spot-light kits, model aeroplanes, ultra-lights and have a range of charging systems available.

Mr Poidevin said mobile applications were becoming quite popular with more people taking all the comforts of home on holiday.

“If you go away for a week you can take a set of solar cells with you and stay there,” he said.

“The off-roaders are able to take their panels with them and follow the sun. People are requiring better electricity because the energy required to run a computer or microwave is a pure electricity and you’ve got to be able to produce it.”

Mr Wandel said the business concentrated on not being the cheapest supplier in town but being the best. He said the personal service offered by the business ensured customers were given the right advice and the best product for their requirement.

“There’s plenty of places you can buy a battery but what we do is fit the battery to the customer’s needs,” he said.

“We sometimes have customers who we may spend up to an hour with. They might buy one unit after that but they go not only with the right application for the job but hopefully with some information on how to care for the product so we don’t see them back with issues.”

Marshall Batteries not only provide the most modern battery technology but also provide the correct application for older vehicles, ensuring longevity for the customer’s specific needs.

“Marshall Batteries are one of the only companies still to offer older technology in batteries,” Mr Wandel said.

“If you have a pre-97 vehicle the new maintenance-free calcium batteries are not designed for your car. If you buy a battery that’s not designed for your car it will cause you grief and will have a shorter life than it should.”

Marshall Batteries also offer service and repairs for such electrical applications as golf buggies and forklifts either on-site or in their workshop.

“If we fit batteries to a golf buggy we’ll service it for free twice a year,” Mr Wandel said.

“We give a report to let the customer know of the condition of the battery and give them advice on maintaining it.

“If the batteries aren’t maintained they can leak acid which causes corrosion.

“We have the ability to pull the batteries out, clean and rust-proof everything. It’s not just a matter of wham-bam, thank you and good luck down the track.”

Mr Poidevin said this attention to detail and a willingness to go the extra mile has paid dividends through positive customer feedback.

“We’re very proud that we are getting customers coming back saying ‘thank you very much, what you told us was correct’,” he said.

So if you need a new battery for any application or advice on what product might best suit your needs be sure to give the team at Marshall Batteries a call on 02 6025 9414.

This is slightly more controversial in NSW, where a local government election is scheduled for September.

Hammering councils for excessive rate increases is a popular way of winning votes and no doubt would-be Albury councillors will be doing just that.

On the face of it, it does seem a good issue to campaign on.

Most of us are on relatively fixed incomes and continuing rate increases above the CPI place added strain on the family budget.

However, look behind the rate increases and do some investigation and you will soon start to understand why councils are opting for such increases.

Aging infrastructure needs replacing and power bills and landfill costs will jump because of the carbon tax.

It’s all too easy for would-be councillors to electioneer and criticise increases as excessive.

What we need to ask ourselves in considering who to vote for at the next election is if the candidate in question can explain how they plan to keep rate rises down without compromising services.

Just saying “Council should be more efficient” won’t cut it in itself.

Cold, hard facts are needed.

It should be an interesting few months in the lead up to the election as candidates trot out on their soap boxes.

CAROLINE STRAINIG, EDITOR

Inspector Matthew Tishler. Picture: TREVOR JACKSON

CAR owners have been warned to hide valuables and lock up their cars because an organised group of thieves may be at work in Albury Wodonga.

Inspector Matthew Tishler of Albury police said a spate of thefts in recent weeks, with at least one or two incidents on most days, looked like the work of an organised group.

“I think we have a hardcore group of offenders at work here,” he said.

“Stealing from motor vehicles is usually opportunistic.

“Someone walking past, seeing something lying around like a handbag, trying the door, finding it unlocked and taking it.

“However, what I am seeing on our system indicates that thieves are actively trying to get into locked vehicles.

“It is mainly at night but during the day too.”

Inspector Tishler said times had changed and local motorists needed to take the same precautions as those in big cities.

“You need to secure your valuables,” he said.

“If you have to leave them in the car, place them out of sight in the boot.

“Don’t tempt them.”

He also warned thieves were targeting older Toyota Camrys, with around six stolen in the past month.

“The suspects may be using these vehicles to become mobile to commit other offences – possibly they are even being used while stealing valuables from vehicles,” he said.

“Until we apprehend them we don’t know.”

The cars were being recovered with ignitions undamaged so it appeared the thieves had discovered an easy way to start older Camrys.

Inspector Tishler suggested wheel locks, immobilisers or leaving your car in a locked garage at night as sensible precautions.

He also appealed for public help in apprehending the thieves.

“Obviously the police cannot be everywhere at once, so if you see something suspicious let the police know,” Inspector Tishler said.

“We rely on the community being our eyes and ears.”

By CAROLINE STRAINING

Meet Dr Glen Davies, the Border's newest obstetrician gynaecologist. Picture: BLAIR THOMSON

BORDER medical numbers have been boosted by the appointment of Dr Glen Davies, who will be on-call to deliver babies at Wodonga Hospital for the first time today.

The obstetrician gynaecologist recently moved to the area and started work with Reproductive Medicine in Albury this week.

Dr Scott Giltrap said Dr Davies was a welcome addition to the local medical fraternity, and would ease the strain placed on other obstetrician gynaecologists.

“We were quite desperate for another obstetrician to keep the numbers up and he’s going to fill the bill just nicely,” he said.

“All the obstetricians had worked in Wodonga until this stage, which meant patients had to travel to Wodonga, so it’s quite good that there’s now an obstetrician in Albury.”

Dr Davies will spend one day a week working at Wodonga Hospital, and four days a week at Reproductive Medicine, working in IVF and general obstetrics and gynaecology.

“Recruitment is always difficult and things were tight in obstetrics,” Dr Giltrap said.

“So having a well-trained Australian coming and working in obstetrics is going to be a real boost for Albury Wodonga.

“Doctor numbers are reasonable at the moment, but funding, particularly in the public system, I don’t think has improved at all.

“But everything is going well in terms of recruitment and there are reasonably good numbers of doctors across the field.”

The Border Medical Recruitment Taskforce, which Dr Giltrap chairs, assisted Dr Davies in his move from Geelong.

He moved with his wife, Eve, a GP who may work part time at the Gardens Medical Group, and their seven-year-old twins.

By BLAIR THOMSON

Mayor Mark Byatt, pictured with Patience Harrington, discusses a rate rise planned for Wodonga. Picture: BLAIR THOMSON

WODONGA ratepayers will soon have to dig a little deeper after the council announced a seven per cent rate rise in its draft budget.

The $66m budget – about half of which will come from rates and charges – includes a $7m spend on the CBD and central business areas, $2.2m on roads, and $400,000 to upgrade the Stanley Street preschool.

More than $500,000 will be spent upgrading the council’s IT services, $180,000 on playgrounds and $100,000 has been allocated to demolish the Stanley Street pool.

Mayor Mark Byatt said while nobody enjoyed a rate rise, it was necessary to grow the city.

“I don’t think anybody likes to see rate increases of any magnitude to be honest,” he said.

“But the indications are that it costs around four per cent of an increase to maintain the status quo.

“For a growing city like Wodonga – as I’ve said on many occasions, the fastest growing city in regional Victoria – we need to cater for that growth, that high level of services that we provide, that high level of lifestyle and amenity that we provide but also start to invest in that growth and development of our city.”

CEO Patience Harrington said the council hoped to increase childhood immunisations, improve housing affordability and grow the local economy.

Cr Byatt said the budget didn’t rely on land sales and the council would only take that money into account “when it’s in the bank”.

“Then we’ll allocate that resource into the appropriate space,” he said.

“There are three main spaces for that: debt reduction, one is to reduce borrowings, and the other is investments in the city.”

He added that “opportunity knocks in Wodonga” with 40 hectares of vacant VicTrack and Places Victoria land.

“That is something that is quite an exciting project, it is something we should take on board, we need to support with finances, we need to support with resources, and we need to support with our planning,” he said.

Cr Byatt acknowledged the budget would put further strain on households, but added that ratepayers wanted a range of services and a healthy city, which came at a cost.

A forum to discuss the budget will be held at Wodonga Library from 5pm on 24 May.

Copies of the budget are online, at the council offices, library and community centres.

By BLAIR THOMSON

New valuations will be factored into your rates from 1 July. Picture: BLAIR THOMSON

NEXT time you pay your rates, you may be in for a bit of a surprise if you live in NSW.

Not only is Albury Council expected to adopt a draft budget when it meets on 28 May which will result in rates going up by 6.09 per cent, but new property valuations will kick in.

The NSW Valuer General reviewed residential and property valuations in March and because rates are calculated on a percentage of those valuations the new figures will impact on how much you pay.

Adopted rate increase aside, if your house or business valuation has gone up, you will pay more; if it has gone down, less.

Albury Council acting general manager Michael Keys said residential property in the Albury region actually decreased in value by 2.2 per cent across the board since the last valuations were conducted three years ago.

But the decrease was not universal and some areas where development was pushing ahead had gone up considerably. These included Thurgoona, Table Top and Splitters Creek.

“I think that basically the valuations are a recognition of what has been happening around the city in terms of development for the past five years,” Mr Keys said.

Speaking last week while addressing the Albury Northside Chamber of Commerce about council’s 2012-13 budget, Mr Keys said the valuations and whatever rate increase council adopted on 28 May would come into play when people received their next rates bill at the beginning of the financial year, which starts on 1 July.

He said home and business owners could obtain an estimate by going online to council’s website and inputting the new valuation figures released in March in a rates calculator.

To do so simply go to www.alburycity.nsw.gov.au, click on “Public exhibitions”, “Draft operational 2012-13 plan” and then “Rates calculator”.

Mr Keys said said .04 per cent of the 6.09 per cent proposed rate increase this year had been authorised by the state government because of the impact of the carbon tax, with a further .03 per cent to follow next year and .01 the year after.

He said this was only a tiny fraction of what the carbon tax would actually cost council.

“We expect next year’s power bill to go up 23 per cent, $1.27m, of which $450,000 to $500,000 will be because of the carbon tax,” he said.

“The extra rate increase allowed for the carbon tax will bring in only about $125,000 next year.”

Council had made provision for this in its budgeting.

Anyone who envisages having difficulty paying their rates is asked to contact council staff to discuss avenues such as payment plans.

By CAROLINE STRAINIG

The burnt remains of the car used in the ram-raid. Picture: BLAIR THOMSON

THIEVES targeted the St Ives Biere Café on the Lincoln Causeway in a bungled ram-raid last Saturday morning between 2am and 3am.

An older model Nissan utility, which had been stolen from Albury, was reversed through the doors of the pub, smashing two large glass windows.

A hooded passenger in the ute’s tray jumped from the vehicle and tied a rope on the tow ball around an ATM.

They then drove off, snapping the rope, and the would-be thieves left without any money.

“They appeared to have done some planning and been prepared,” Detective Murray Sleep said.

“But the ATM is fairly well secured; they’re designed to be hard to remove.”

The vehicle was found burnt-out near the Wodonga Creek at about 3.30am.

“The damage to the building is fairly significant,” Det Sleep said.

“There’s the two glass doors and frames that needed to be replaced, which would be fairly expensive.”

Det Sleep said there were no witnesses to the incident and police were relying on security camera footage in their investigations.

He said the ram-raid was the first such incident since thieves used a ute to break into KTM Motorcycles in High Street in July 2011.

Thieves also left empty handed after breaking in to the Wodonga Middle Years College around 12.30am Monday morning.

“They managed to prise open an alloy sliding window with a tool of some description and broke into the staff room,” Det Sleep said.

“The alarm was triggered but nothing was stolen. There was minor damage to the window.”

By BLAIR THOMSON

National Volunteer Week this week celebrates the selfless input of volunteers. Locally Clare Rowland and Liam Shay (back row) have been nominated for Wodonga council’s Red Carpet awards. They are pictured with Sam, Tim and Jacob from the Interchange program. Picture: TREVOR JACKSON

TWO young volunteers from Upper Murray Family Care’s Interchange program have been nominated for Wodonga Council’s annual Red Carpet awards.

Sixteen-year-old Liam Shay and 15-year-old Clare Rowland, both volunteers for Interchange, have been nominated for their work helping children with disabilities.

Interchange recreation coordinator Cathy Prior said the pair were worthy to receive the award given their level of commitment.

“Clare has been with our program about six months and in that time she has volunteered almost every week for camps, youth groups, school holiday programs and the after-school program,” Cathy said.

“Liam has been with us almost two years. He started on camps and quickly became invaluable.”

Liam’s situation is unique. On a family holiday in New Zealand he suffered a heart attack at just 15 years of age and was clinically dead for around 55 minutes.

After recovering he returned to Melbourne and following an extended stay in hospital returned to the volunteer role he’d grown to love.

Liam said the reward he gained from helping was enough to keep him involved.

“You know, that feeling you get, like meeting Jacob each week and having his smile and people reminding me of what I’ve done,” he said.

“It’s self-pride.

“Personally I feel as if I gain knowledge; knowing that you do something that affects someone’s life.

“I love it.”

Clare was equally as passionate about her role.

“It’s definitely been good just getting to see they have fun and helping them have fun,” she said.

Liam and Clare said that their volunteer duties were far from being a burden and actually improved their social life.

Clare offered this advice to those contemplating a volunteering role with Interchange.

“If you want to do it just come in and say hi to Cathy,” she said.

“You get to do a lot of fun things and the kids are just brilliant fun.”

By TREVOR JACKSON

Safety screens will soon curtail jumping from the Union Bridge. Picture: BLAIR THOMSON

LEAPING from the Union Bridge into the Murray may soon become a thing of the past, with plans to install safety screens by the end of the year.

NewsWeekly ran photos of three high-school students jumping from the bridge three months ago; now the Roads and Maritime Service wants to ban the practice once and for all.

“That coverage does persuade someone that a barrier is required, because the signs aren’t having an effect,” Albury MP Greg Aplin said.

“It’s foolhardy behaviour and where it’s identified, authorities should try to take preventative action.

“The government is keen to undertake action on it and there is now money behind it.”

Warning signs were installed in 2008, but the practice remains common.

Mr Aplin said thrill-seekers risked hitting submerged snags, floating logs, or the bottom of the river, potentially causing severe injury or even death.

While there aren’t plans to fence off other bridges and jumping points, Mr Aplin said individuals needed to take more personal responsibility.

People are invited to provide feedback on the design of the safety screen.

“I think it should be something that still allows people to have a view over the Murray and its banks,” Mr Aplin said.

A workshop seeking input will be held on 30 May.

For more information call 131 782.

By BLAIR THOMSON