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Sinnamon Park Aged Care Staff to Receive $50 Gift Vouchers for a Jab

Workers at an aged care facility in Sinnamon Park will receive a $50 gift voucher if they have their COVID-19 vaccination following the provider’s move to accelerate its program to protect workers and residents.

Wesley Mission Queensland CEO Jude Emmer has revealed that hundreds of the staff at the Sinnamon Village Aged Care have already benefitted from the vaccination service and received their vouchers for their first jab before 15 June 2021. They will conduct another on-site jab with the Pfizer vaccine in the coming weeks.

In a statement, Mr Emmer said that they ramped up their efforts to vaccinate the staff members who have to deal face-to-face with their residents. Apart from the Sinnamon Park aged care facility, vaccinations will also be underway at their disability sites and care homes, as well as their hospice facility, Hummingbird House.

Mr Emmer said that they have regularly communicated with the staff on the importance of protecting each other. The provider has also been regularly in touch with Queensland Health.

It comes as Queensland has entered into a three-day lockdown and reinstated safety protocols like social distancing and wearing face masks after an unvaccinated receptionist from the Prince Charles Hospital, who visited North Queensland, became positive for the COVID-19 Delta variant. Health authorities are still investigating if she was infected whilst at work.

Seventeen Mile Rocks Company Intellidesign Receives $59-K Government Grant

Seventeen Mile Rocks electronics and manufacturing company Intellidesign has received a generous grant for the company’s cyber and physical security certification.

Melissa Price, the Minister for Defence Industry, announced on the 1st of June 2021 that Intellidesign, an electronics design and manufacturing company based in Seventeen Mile Rocks, was to receive a share of $837,000 in grants among five other small Australian businesses in a bid to boost their competitiveness on the world stage.

The grants, dubbed the Defence Global Competitiveness Grants, are a critical program designed by the Morrison Government to make the nation’s defence industry more powerful and more globally competitive, and according to Minister Price, each of the six companies that received the grant have benefitted.

“Supporting the export capability of Australian small-to-medium enterprises strengthens their international competitiveness and drives innovation,” Minister Price said. “It allows them to provide cutting-edge and cost-effective capabilities to the Australian Defence Force. By investing in Australian businesses, the Morrison Government is delivering on its promise to generate jobs for Australians as a vital part of our economic recovery from COVID-19.”

Intellidesign in particular has been given a total of $59,908 to upgrade the company’s cyber and physical security and help them acquire certification. These upgrades will allow businesses to pursue export opportunities with global primes and overseas defence forces.

About Intellidesign

Intellidesign is a company that specialises in electronics and manufacturing, with teams that possess numerous sets of skills to create a wide variety of products such as surgical instruments, mobile wireless communication devices, robotics, and many more. The markets they cater to are varied, electronics to establishments such as hospitals and even underground mines.

The Intellidesign headquarters can be found at 99 Bluestone Circuit, Seventeen Mile Rocks. For more information, visit their website here. For the latest updates concerning the company and their projects, follow their Facebook page.

Popular Bellbowrie Bakery Closes After 29 Years

After 29 years in the business and selling one million loaves of bread, Bellbowrie Bakery is now closed. Tell us what you loved about this local bakery here.

The Bellbowrie Bakery, founded by Fran Alt, is one of the few small and local businesses who’ve managed to endure the test of time, becoming a beloved hallmark in the community by providing people with bread and baked goods for 29 years. In 2021, Ms Alt decided to close up shop for good and retire after selling over a million pies and pastries throughout the shop’s stay in Bellbowrie.

In 2011, the bakery managed to survive a devastating flood that almost put them out of business, with water over the roof. Thanks to the efforts of the local community, the shop was stripped and reestablished — a testament to the strength of the suburb’s solidarity and closeness with the Alt family.

Bellbowrie Bakery was first established by Fran Alt in the Bellbowrie shopping centre in 1992, and at the time, her children were still only teenagers. She mentioned that she’s known many of her customers for a long time, growing alongside the shop and that the kids who entered the bakery were the children of people she’d sold baked goods to when they were children.

Photo credit: Facebook/Bellbowrie Bakery

Ms Alt remarked that she knew just about everyone in the suburb before recalling that there was enough trust between members of the community that if a customer didn’t have enough change, they could always just pay the next time they came in. There were even instances where Ms Alt drove local school children back to their homes when she came to close the shop for the day.

Though she’s sad to say goodbye to the community she’d become a part of for three generations, Ms Alt is looking forward to her retirement after working seven days a week with only one or two weeks worth of vacations in a year.

The former site of the Bellbowrie Bakery was located at the Bellbowrie shopping centre at 37 Birkin Rd, Bellbowrie.

QPS Disaster Victim Identification Squad Adds 15 Members, Celebrates 40 Years in Wacol

Did you know that the Queensland Police Service has a Disaster Victim Identification Squad? The exclusive group has turned 40 years old and has welcomed 15 new members during a practitioners’ at the Bob Atkinson Operational Capabilities Centre in Wacol.

QPS’s Disaster Victim Identification Squad are mostly part-timers who have such challenging jobs. They are one of the first groups on the scene during a major incident, such as natural or air disasters, assisting other units in the identification of the deceased.

The group, now 71-member strong, also works with the police during investigations into suicide, homicide, and traffic accidents, where identifying bodies may be difficult.

Established on 1 June 1981, the Disaster Victim Identification Squad started off with 45 members. Before the newbies finished their practitioners’ course, the team had 56 dedicated members who have experience working as Constables to Senior Sergeants.

Their expertise is not limited to Australia as the squad also helped during the following tragic occurrences in the last two decades:

2002 Bali bombings
2004 Thailand for the Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunami
2009 Victorian bushfires
2011 Christchurch earthquake
2014 Netherlands for the shooting down of MH17
2019 Christchurch mosque shootings
2019 Whakaari/White Island volcano eruption

“[The squad] make ongoing and valuable contributions to not only the Queensland community, interstate and internationally but most importantly to the family and friends of disaster victims,” Acting Deputy Commissioner Chelepy said.

On the other hand, Minister for Police and Corrective Services and Minister for Fire and Emergency Services The Honourable Mark Ryan congratulated the new members during the five-day course in Wacol as their decision to join this specialised group was “not an easy decision to make.”

“I commend all of you for making this choice to assist the Queensland community and all victims of disaster,” Mr Ryan said. “You have shown courage and bravery, and I sincerely thank you for putting yourself forward for such a role within the Service.”

It’s Brisbane’s Turn to Hold a Memory Walk & Jog at Seventeen Mile Rocks

Brisbane, get ready for the return of Memory Walk & Jog, the annual health and fitness activity mounted by Dementia Australia! In 2021, 17 events will take place across the country with Brisbane’s walk and jog taking place at Seventeen Mile Rocks.

Happening on Sunday, 20 May 2021, the Memory Walk & Jog will begin at 7:00 a.m. at the Rocks Riverside Park in Seventeen Mile Rocks. So far, 53 teams have signed up for the event, with an impressive 778 fundraisers.

This year’s goal for Brisbane participants is to raise $183,000 that will help fund studies on managing or potentially curing the disease. The funds collected will also provide for the resources needed by Australians living with dementia, their families, and their careers.

At least 90,000 people in Queensland have been diagnosed with dementia and experts said that this number will rise to 207,000 in 2058. Thus, this annual walk and jog will also help raise awareness on the risks, social stigma ad other challenges faced by patients and the people around them.

Since February 2021, Memory Walk & Jog have taken place at various locations, such as Sydney, Western Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra and Adelaide.

There will be three categories for the Memory Walk & Jog at the Rocks Riverside Park and the event is open for all ages and all fitness levels, including family pets! The organisers have established a COVID-safe plan so participants, volunteers and staff could enjoy the run as safely as possible.

To learn more about the event, visit the official site: www.memorywalk.com.au. For dementia support, phone the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500 or visit Dementia Australia online.

Potential New Upgrades Planned For Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre

A development application has been lodged with the Brisbane City Council calling for an extension of Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre, as well as the amalgamation of existing retail tenancies.

The application, which was lodged on the 4th of May 2021, aims to accomplish two things: to have the Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre expand by extending its existing eastern loading area, and to reconfigure existing floor space to make way for Cotton On, a new and large clothing retail tenancy. Designs for the new floor plan have been drafted by Buchan Group.

Both the expansion and the reconfiguration would entail the demolition of internal and external walls, as well as the removal of external doors and the existing loading area. The internal walls of shopping centre tenancies will also be removed to accommodate Cotton On.

Photo credit: Brisbane City Council/Development.i

Three tenancies which total to an area of 332 square metres will be repurposed, and the building will also expand, increasing its gross floor area area by 326 square metres on top of having the loading area reconfigured.

The proposal is yet to be approved. Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre can be found at 171 Dandenong Rd, open every day of the week from 9:00 a.m. onwards with the exception of Sunday, in which case it opens at 10:00 a.m.

For more information, visit their website here. Follow their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and announcements concerning the shopping centre and its proposed upgrades.

Seventeen Mile Rocks to Receive NBN Upgrades

NBN Co has recently announced the list of towns and suburbs with homes that have FTTN (fibre to the node) which shall be eligible for fibre upgrades. Seventeen Mile Rocks is among the suburbs on the list.

In early May 2021, NBN Co, the company building Australia’s broadband network, revealed the first batch of suburbs across the country due for fibre upgrades which will transform FTTN homes to FTTP (fibre to the premises). Seventeen Mile Rocks is among the QLD suburbs that will receive improvements to their internet speeds.

These upgrades are a part of the company’s $3.5-billion network investments program which strives towards connecting up to two million houses to higher internet speeds, potentially even reaching 1Gbps once fully implemented.

The demand for higher internet speeds has increased among homeowners and businesses, and nbn aspires to connect 75 per cent of the Australian homes to high speed tiers by 2023. The company is currently collaborating with internet retail providers to determine which homes are in need of internet upgrades.

Homes being served by FTTC (fibre to the curb) might also receive these upgrades as the company has a similar expansion in the works, however the only ones eligible to receive these full fibre upgrades will be those who have ordered a 250Mbps or a 25MBps plan.

The nbn website will also receive an update later within the year, improving the functionality of their “Check Your Address” tool which can be used to help customers check their eligibility to transition from FTTN to FTTP. It is estimated that this update will be launched in November 2021.

For more information, visit the nbn website here. Follow their social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates and announcements concerning these new internet upgrades.

Ipswich Motorway: $400-Million Widening Upgrade Completed

Thousands of commuters in the southwest corridor should now have an easier travel experience along the Ipswich Motorway (M7) after the completion of the $400-million upgrades.

Driving the three-kilometre stretch between Granard Road and Oxley Road, from Rocklea to Darra, has become a breeze with the addition of two more lanes on what used to be a four-lane motorway. The upgrades also included a network of additional roads and bike paths on both sides of the major thoroughfare.

Work on the Ipswich Motorway was four years in the making, with over 500 tradies employed by a combined effort between the State and the Federal Government to deliver the following key features:

A four to six-lane upgrade between Granard Road and Oxley Road
Seven new and higher bridges over the Oxley Creek floodplain to improve flood immunity and local connectivity
A new 1.5km Boundary Road Connection missing link across the Oxley Creek floodplain through to Blunder Road intersection, including a new signalised intersection at Factory and Boundary Roads, Oxley
A new northern service road connection over Oxley Creek floodplain
New traffic signals at an upgraded intersection of Suscatand Street and the existing service road.
New one-way left-turn only connection from Granard Road to Ipswich Road service road, Rocklea
Over 6.5kms of active transport paths

Photo credit: Department of Transport and Main Roads

“Today’s opening of the upgraded Ipswich Motorway is great news for the more than 85,000 vehicles using this stretch of road every day,” Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP said.

“This has been a significant project that has required an exceptional amount of planning and logistics carried out over the last four years, all while keeping the traffic flowing.

“Importantly, these upgrades will provide a range of benefits for the local community for years to come, including improved safety, travel times and traffic flow, and flood immunity.”

New Sumners Road Interchange Renamed and Completed Months Ahead of Projection

Did you know that $80-million worth of upgrades to the Sumners Road Interchange, have now been completed, six months ahead of schedule? Considered one of Brisbane’s busiest interchanges, it’s now getting a new name as well.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk showed in a video post that the Sumners Road Interchange now delivers a smooth ride for the over 35,000 commuters who come from Jamboree Heights, Middle Park, Sinnamon Park, Darra, and the nearby suburbs.

The interchange has been renamed the Len Waters Overpass, after the first Indigenous elite Kittyhawk fighter pilot of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. The premier said that Mr Waters’s family members are residents of Middle Park. He raised six children in Inala before he passed away in 1993.

“It’s a fitting tribute and a mark of pride in the local community, especially in the lead up to Anzac Day,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

The Sumners Road Interchange consists of six lanes that remove the traffic congestions in the surrounding suburbs. The upgrades also include a cycling underpass and U-turn facilities that will allow faster and safer travels, especially for the industrial and business workforce.

“We replaced the two roundabouts with signalised intersections, demolished the old two-lane bridge and built two new bridges, providing six traffic lanes in total to accommodate the high volume of traffic,” according to Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey.

This project is part of the $26.9 billion infrastructure investment of the State Government in the next four years, and a much-needed response in the time of COVID and the looming population growth of Queensland.

During the course of the upgrades, 105 jobs were fulfilled and several businesses were tapped to supply the concrete and asphalt needed to complete the roads.

Banjo’s: Darra Baker Giving Away a Year’s Supply of Pies

Can’t get enough flaky, tasty pies? Banjo’s Bakery Cafe, which has an outlet in Darra, is running a contest that promises a delicious reward for the lucky pie-lover who can guess the cafe’s new limited-edition pie flavour and become its very first Pie Master!

The contest is online and doesn’t take a lot to win as long as you love pies and you’re ready to take the title of Banjo’s Bakery Cafe‘s first Pie Master. You simply have to guess the cafe’s upcoming pie flavour and submit your entry online.

Entries will be accepted until 3 May 2021, whilst the winner will be confirmed on 10 May 2021. Read the Terms and Conditions carefully to win a year’s supply of pies.

Not too confident to make a guess just yet? Maybe a quick trip to the Darra outlet of Banjo’s Bakery Cafe might give you some hints on the kinds of pie they make.

Banjo’s Bakery Cafe is a well-known, longtime bakery chain from Tasmania, which opened its newest Brisbane outlet at the corner of Ipswich Road and Acanthus Street in early 2020. It’s popular and highly-patronised for its wide choices of pastry-filled goodness with inventive flavours that are both savoury and sweet.

The Darra outlet has a full-service cafe and a drive-thru area, which has been much-needed in this contactless economy post-pandemic. The drive-thru facility is also very convenient for families or individuals with busy schedules. Need a quick breakfast or dinner option? Just drive and line up Acanthus Street to buy pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches or pita.

“Our full menu is available via the drive-thru, so you’ll never need to leave the comfort of your vehicle!”

What’s even better is Banjo’s Darra opens seven days a week for as early as 4:00 a.m. The shop also has a convenient app for advanced orders, which can be picked up at the Darra outlet.

For more about this bakery cafe, its menu and opening hours, follow the store’s Facebook page.