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Friday, March 6, 2009 KEEPING THE SOUTH EAST INFORMED SINCE 1861 $1.00 inc. GST

32 PAGES OF INSIDE TODAY

g Real Estate Guide
The South East’s Leadin

RealEstate Guide
REAL EDENHOPE
2009
Friday, March 6,

INSIDE
RACING FORM
Architecturally de
signed and built -
page 24
ESTATE GUIDE LIFTOUT BW491047

INSIDE SPORT: INTER vs ENFIELD IN FEDERATION CUP MATCH > PAGE 39

Railway fire risk “I understand they engaged con-

tractors to slash the railway line in
December last year, however the
BY ELLIE TURNER grass has grown back.”
Email: ellie@tbw.com.au Resident Carly Spooner, who lives
MOUNT Gambier’s overgrown two houses back from the railway
railway track is a fire hazard and line, said it would only take one
an eyesore, according to concerned spark on a hot dry day to ignite
residents. the grass.
People living on the city’s eastern “The city is expanding and more
edge have expressed unease about people are starting to build houses
the risk wild vegetation poses to around here,” she said.
their homes and safety. “Any sort of fire would be a big
They have called on the Transport threat to the new homes and the long
Department to clear up the mess. grass is an unnecessary risk.”
Resident Keith Pearson said a ban Ms Spooner, who has two young
on livestock grazing the railway cor- children, said the long grass was
ridor had made things worse. also a haven for snakes.
“Apparently the railway sleepers “There are a lot of kids around
were treated with arsenic at some here and it’s not that you let them
point, which authorities thought play on the railway line, but some
would come through the grass and like mine are good escape artists,”
contaminate the meat of market- she said.
bound stock,” he said. “Besides that it is an eyesore.”
“However keeping the grass down Former Lady Nelson Visitor
to minimise fire fuel and the habi- Information Centre manager June
tats of unwanted vermin, foxes and Kain has lived near the city’s eastern
pA small strip of grass bordering Keith Pearson’s land on Mount Gambier’s eastern outskirts is mowed by
snakes is the priority for us.” railway line for 12 years and said
goats Hairy and Maclary. Picture: ELLIE TURNER.
Fed up with the government’s she would like to see it converted to
lack of interest, Mr Pearson and told me they’d already slashed it,” lease 285 metres of the railway Energy and Infrastructure. a bicycle “rail trail”.
his wife Vanessa have let a pair he said. corridor almost a year ago and the Fire prevention officer Harry “A lot of the old Victorian railroads
of “community” goats, Hairy and “I said ‘what do you want me to the process was still dragging on. Lindner said he corresponded regu- have been turned into great long
Maclary, graze the railway line that do, go around the whole thing with “These bureaucrats are always larly on the issue with a department bike tracks,” she said.
borders their property for the past my whipper snipper?’ and they said ‘getting back to us’ but nothing representative. “Something similar from Mount
year. that would be nice. happens,” he said. “When these concerns were Gambier to Portland would be a
Mr Pearson said the department “Technically we’re not supposed to “We want to lease it so we can raised a joint effort was made by great asset for tourism and would
only slashed the grass once a year have the goats on the railway line, legally enter their property to main- the District Council of Grant and reduce the amount of cyclists on the
and they had been left with no other but we’ve fenced off the bit border- tain it, seeing as they won’t.” the department to set a priorities highway.
choice. ing our property for them to chew The District Council of Grant has list,” he said. “Turning the railway into an
“I rang up and asked them to do down the grass.” also expressed its fire safety concerns “This occurred just prior to the attraction would also ensure it was
something about the grass and they Mr Pearson said he applied to to the Department of Transport current fire danger season. maintained.”

WEATHER Mount Gambier today - Shower or two. 20o – full report page 37 TV GUIDE Pages 17-18 COMICS Page 24 CLASSIFIEDS Pages 25-32

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