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Jindalee and Westlake are Big Winners at 2019 4KQ Christmas Lights Contest

If you’re planning on going around West Brisbane to see some of the best Christmas light displays, then you shouldn’t skip a visit around the neighbourhoods in Jindalee and Westlake. Every year, residents from these suburbs set up the most colourful, impressive and magical Christmas display that it’s no surprise Jindalee and Westlake were big winners of this year’s 4KQ contest.

2019 Best Lights Display in West Brisbane

The annual 4KQ contest cited the house of Shane & Debbie Horswill at 20 Curragundi Road in Jindalee as the Best Display in West Brisbane for 2019. The Horswills are not first-timers in this competition as they also won the People’s Choice Award in 2018. Incidentally, the family is also vying for the same recognition this year, which is awarded by 7News. You may vote for the Horswills online.

2019 Best Neighbourhood Display

Meanwhile, a number of houses on Everard Street in Westlake were also big winners for the overall Best Neighbourhood Display. According to realestate.com.au, Everard Street is a popular strip for weekend cyclists. For years, however, Everard Street turns into a Christmas Wonderland filled with astounding light displays.

Here are the complete names and addresses of the 2019 4KQ Contest Winners from Jindalee and Westlake:

WHO	WHERE	AWARD
Shane & Debbie Horswill	20 Curragundi Road, Jindalee	Best Lights Display – West
Ian Wright	18 Mankinna Street, Jindalee	Judges Commendations
Shaun McFadder	28 Raeside Street, Westlake	Judges Commendations
Timothy Evans	2 Gillen Close, Westlake	Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Riley Mackenzie	18 Everard Street, Westlake	Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Laurence Cole	17 Everard Street, Westlake	Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
John Milner	16 Everard Street, Westlake	Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Jeannette Watson	21 Everard Street, Westlake	Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Dannielle Robson	20 Everard Street, Westlake	Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Reid Moran	14 Everard Street, Westlake	Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland

Christmas Lights Tour Bus

You can still view these Christmas lights display by joining the tour bus organised by Brisbane City Council. Secure the tickets online and then head to Indooroopilly Shopping Centre (Stop C) before 7:00 p.m. The Christmas Lights tour bus will be servicing the public until the 20th of Dec. 2019.

If the tour bus isn’t the best option and you’d rather arrange your own trip, download these resources below to map out your drive carefully. These includes all the other participants and winners of the 2019 4KQ Christmas Lights Competition:

The displays may be viewed from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. until Christmas eve.

Centenary State High School’s New Senior Learning Building Nears Completion

The construction of a new Senior Learning Building at the Centenary State High School in Jindalee is almost finished. Soon, this school community will be ready to accept more students as part of the State Government’s 2020 Ready Program.

Situated near the Visual Arts Centre and the tennis courts, the expansion consists of a multi-storey, state of the art technology learning facility with a covered link connecting to the other buildings. This site is going to be an innovative learning space for different subjects of interest to the students.

March 2019
Photo Credit: Centenary State High School/Facebook

May 2019
Photo Credit: Centenary State High School/Facebook

November 2019
Photo Credit: Centenary State High School/Facebook

Queensland’s 2020 Ready Program

Centenary State High School is one of 61 schools across Queensland to receive part of the $250 million funding to deliver more classrooms and better educational infrastructure for 2020.

“Our kids are our future and, as a Government, one of the most important things we can do is give Queensland students a world-class education,” Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad stated when the funding was initially announced in 2018.

“Queensland is a fast-growing State and this investment is about planning for the future.”

New Air Conditioning Units for 2020

In line with the expansion and improvements, Centenary State High School is also one of 300 schools in Queensland to receive funds for air conditioning that will provide for cooler and comfortable classrooms, libraries or staff rooms. The units will be set and ready for the start of the school term in January 2020.

“The majority of Centenary State High School is already air-conditioned thanks to the great work of the P&C and school community. However, there’s still around 14 classrooms that are not. These will be covered as part of our announcement,” Minister for Education MP Grace Grace relayed to concerned parents, teachers and students.

Sherwood Police Station to Serve as Drop Off Point For Commissioner’s Foodbank Drive

Some families in Queensland unfortunately won’t have a happy holiday as they deal with food insecurity. To curb this problem and help families facing a challenging time this Christmas, the Queensland Police Service (QPS), through Commissioner Katarina Carroll, has launched a Foodbank drive, with Sherwood Police Station registered as one of its drop off points.

Until Friday, the 6th of Dec 2019, the Sherwood Police Station will be accepting public donations for the Foodbank drive. Interested donors can bring non-perishable items, as well as other essentials, to the station at 424 Oxley Road in Sherwood between Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

“This year, our state has been heavily affected by weather disasters such as droughts, fires and floods,” the commissioner said. Our farming families are still recovering from these events.”

“Police stations across the state have registered as a drop off point for the 2019 QPS Food Drive and with the assistance of members of the public, we hope to raise eight tonnes of food and spread Christmas cheer to our neighbours who are doing it tough.”

It’s been three years since Commissioner Carroll entered into a partnership with Foodbank, a non-denominational, non-profit organisation that serves as a pantry for local charities and soup kitchens. By doing this drive, the QPS hopes to ease the burden for some families so that they would be able to enjoy Christmas.

Any number of donations of the items listed above will do. Even a couple of cans of soup will surely make a difference to these families.

Challenge Extended to Cinnabon as it Plans to Open Mount Ommaney Store

When word got around that Cinnabon is planning to open a store in Mount Ommaney, MP Jess Pugh extended a challenge to the American bakery chain to aim for its annual business award under the franchise category in 2020.

Ms Pugh welcomed the news of Cinnabon coming to Mount Ommaney. She believes that the brand will be a great addition to competitive awards.

“I’m pretty sure it’s because they want to win the Franchise award next year,” she said in jest on Facebook. “May the best franchise win!!”

Bansal Group plans to open an initial four Cinnabon stores in Brisbane in the next few months as it advertised job opening for store managers. The company confirmed that it will be opening its very first location around Christmas time whilst the second shop will be operational by January 2020.

“Our first two locations will be in Nundah and Mt Gravatt. Get ready for the goodness,” a post on Cinnabon Australia Facebook‘s page stated.

Bansal Group has yet to reveal the exact locations of its first Cinnabon stores.

However, the Nundah outlet is reportedly going to be at the Toombul Shopping Centre, whilst the Mt Gravatt spot is speculated at either Westfield Garden City or Mt Gravatt Plaza Shopping Centre.

The other two locations are said to be planned at Westfield Chermside and Mount Ommaney Centre.

The Cinnabon outlets will be taking over vacant kiosks at the shopping centres. A rendering of the first store was posted on its Facebook page.

*Photo Credit: Cinnabon Australia/Facebook*

Bansal Group has projected to open 50 Cinnabon stores around Australia in the next five years. The U.S. bakery, dubbed the “world’s greatest cinnamon roll,” has over 1,500 outlets globally in its nearly 35 years of operation.

Grace Gullo of Sinnamon Park Lands Top at the 2019 National Clubs Carnival

Sinnamon Park’s highly acclaimed gymnast, Grace Gullo, was crowned overall champion in the recently concluded National Clubs Carnival held last September 2019.

With more than 4,500 competitors who signed up at Gymnastics Australia’s 2019 National Clubs Carnival, it is without a doubt a huge achievement and success for young gymnast Grace Gullo to claim different championship titles for Level 9 Under 13 division.

NCC2019 — *Photo credit: Gymnastics Australia/ Facebook*

The National Clubs Carnival is an annual 18-day festival that brings together the best gymnasts from across Australia to participate in various workshops and 7 gymsports competitions. This year’s festival took place at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre from September 11th until the 29th 2019.

Hard Work and Determination

Grace Gullo won her first national titles at the Australian Gymnastics Nationals Championships last year. And now, this twelve year old gymnastics star is determined to succeed again at this year’s national competition by working extra hard in all her trainings with her coaches at Splitz Gym.

According to Gullo, she had to learn and use new skills ⁠— all of which she executed powerfully — for the competition. She garnered a score of 53.665 in All Around and 14.733 for her Vault performances.

At the end of Day 7 of the 2019 National Clubs Carnival, Grace Gullo took home the championship titles for All Around, Vault, and Beam.

Click here to view the complete list of results.

So, what’s next for Grace? New challenges will come along her way as she now moves up to the Junior International level.

The Convenience Opens at the Sinnamon Park Village Shop

The popular Sinnamon Park Village Shop lost its convenience store tenants three years ago after nearly 20 years of operation. This October, new tenants have taken over the site by opening its aptly named establishment, The Convenience@Sinnamon Park.

The shopping centre’s owners, Col and Kay Bennett, waited for the right tenant to lease the vacant site. It didn’t matter that it took three years amidst a slew of interests, including a cheesecake shop owner and an animal clinic. The Bennetts knew that what the community needed was a convenience store.

The Convenience@Sinnamon Park owners, Gee and Sarita Nayyar, are new to this business but they have big plans of delivering “old fashioned” convenience store service to the locals.

For starters, their store regularly offers free and fresh homemade goodies, as well as a Happy Hour for discounted deals. They also plan to have free-tasting specials.

The Nayyars said that they will to listen and respond to the shoppers’ suggestions so that they can deliver high-quality retail experience.

*Photo Credit: The Convenience/Facebook*

The Convenience@Sinnamon Park hopes to be a traditional Aussie convenience store, where the choices are varied and multicultural. From time to time, however, the Nayyars will be changing up its food list with a mix of fresh, homecooked Indian dishes and favourite Australian meals.

Open seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., The Convenience@Sinnamon Park is at 1B/58 Oldfield Road.

17Rocks Chocolate Factory in Seventeen Mile Rocks to Open Every Saturday Beginning November

Did you know that there is a chocolate factory in Seventeen Mile Rocks that offers healthy delights filled with superfood ingredients? If you haven’t visited 17Rocks at 149 Bluestone Circuit on its regular trading hours during the weekday, you can finally drop in on a Saturday.

17Rocks recently announced that it will be adding another trading day just for your Christmas shopping convenience. Beginning the 2nd of Nov 2019, the factory will open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every Saturday until Christmas.

So, if you’re planning to fill up your Christmas list with 17Rocks goodies, you could set a weekend trip to their store when you’re busy during the weekday.

The chocolate factory is barely a year old in Seventeen Mile Rocks, after having officially opened in March. 17Rocks is a family business that creates stone-ground chocolates using beans imported from Papua New Guinea.

“We roast our beans at a low temperature to minimise any chemical and physical changes, reducing the concentration of volatile acids (bitterness). We stone-grind the beans to release the cacao butter and create a delightful, smooth, rich and flavoursome chocolate.”

Their products, churned in small batches, are free of additives and preservatives. They use the natural flavours of whole fruits, nuts and spices like matcha, gingko and turmeric in their ingredients.

17Rocks also offer sugar-free and vegan chocolates.

“Our purest, healthiest chocolate is our 500BC bean to bar chocolates. Our 500BCs are inspired by the Maya people who are credited with developing the process of making pure chocolate, and in doing so, creating a world of chocolate lovers.”

After Christmas, the chocolate factory will revert to its regular trading hours from Monday to Friday at 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Cast Your Votes for 2019 Mount Ommaney Small Business Awards

Who will win at the 2019 Mount Ommaney Small Business Award? You have the power to decide the outcome if you cast your vote for your favourite small business and employee.

Over 3,000 have already picked their choices and the online selection will continue until Sunday, the 13th of Oct 2019 at 5:00 p.m.

The CCIQ Centenary & Districts Chamber of Commerce and MP Jess Pugh are behind the 2019 Mount Ommaney Small Business Award, which is in its second year. Some 2,000 establishments were nominated in nine categories recognizing businesses for their excellent management and customer service.

This year, a few awards have been added to the categories to include the Milton Dick Most Popular New Business and Professional Service awards for accountants, consultants and solicitors.

*Photo Credit: Jess Pugh MP for Mount Ommaney/Facebook*

Ms Pugh relaunched the awards to acknowledge the businesses that drive the local economy. She said that the recognition should also be a boost for the “quiet achievers” around Mount Ommaney.

Nominated businesses may also pick up voting cards from Ms Pugh’s office so that their customers may be able to cast their votes when they are at the shop.

Meanwhile, voters also have an additional incentive as their name will be entered into the raffle draw where they could win a Taste of Mount Ommaney Prize Pack.

For more information on the 2019 Mount Ommaney Small Business Award, phone 3737 2120.

Mount Ommaney Woman is One of the Seven Gold Lotto Division One Winners

A Mount Ommaney woman couldn’t contain her happiness after discovering that she is one of the seven division one winners in the Saturday Gold Lotto 3979 drawn on Saturday 7 September 2019.

The winner, whose name was withheld, purchased her winning entry at Middle Park News & Gifts, Shop 13 of Park Village Shopping Centre at 92 Horizon Drive in Middle Park.

She pocketed a division one prize worth $573,928.68 plus an additional prize for winning division three six times, making her $580,273.98 richer. She said that she did not believe her husband when he told her about it and had to look at the numbers for a while to be convinced.

“We’ve been playing these numbers for years and years. They’re special numbers – family birthdates and things like that,” she said.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this! I feel very lucky because some people never get to see their numbers to come up.

Gold Lotto — *Photo credit: 2018 The Lott / mediacentre.thelott.com*

“I’m so excited. It’s just wonderful. I’ve been jumping around a lot!”

“There’s a few places in Australia I’ve always wanted to see, and overseas as well. But I won’t decide or make any plans until I see it in my bank account and make sure I’m not dreaming.”

The Saturday Gold Lotto draw 3979 on Saturday 7 September 2019 winning numbers were 10, 36, 14, 8, 1 and 23, whilst the supplementary numbers were 7 and 15.

Nationally, there were seven division one winning entries: three each from New South Wales and South Australia, and one from Queensland.

Over $286.6 million has been collectively won by 244 division one Saturday Gold Lotto entries across the Lott’s jurisdictions, in the 12 months to 30 June 2019.

Mt Ommaney Centre Lines Up September Events

Shopping and binging on food might be your favourite things to do at the Mt Ommaney Centre on Dandenong Road, but did you know that there are heaps of other activities in store for visitors this month? Here’s what’s happening there in the next few weeks of September.

Fashion & Style Workshops

When: Thursday to Saturday 12 to 14 Sept 2019
Where: Target outside stage
Fee: FREE

Would you like to improve your style and learn how to pick the right clothes for your body shape, age and budget? Lucy Hendriks of The Fashion Workshop will be conducting free sessions on how to dress well.

*Photo Credit: The Fashion Workshop/Facebook*

School Gate Chic	11:00 a.m.	Designed for teens, young adults and moms, you’ll learn how to maximise style using just 10 key pieces in your wardrobe.
Catwalk to Closet	1:00 p.m.	Love trendy and fashionable pieces but scared of wearing them in public? You’ll pick up wonderful tips at this session on how to turn haute couture into attractive everyday pieces.

Ms Hendriks will also teach you how to create a capsule wardrobe. If you’re not sure what this is, then you’ve got more reason to be at the workshop!

Book your slot here

Macrame Planter Workshop

When: Thursday 19 Sept 2019
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Open space beside Specsavers, opposite Crema Espresso
Fee: $25 per person

Unleash your creativity and learn a new skill at this Macrame Planter Workshop. Macrame is the art of knotting strings or cords to come up with a decorative piece.

You’ll go home with the macrame planter you’ve created, as well as some plant cutting techniques! All materials will be provided.

Book your slot here.

Circus Spectacular

Where: Outside Target

See live stunts and breath-taking performances from aerial acrobatics and flying trapeze artists. This event will include workshops for those interested in learning some basics of circus performing.

	DATE	TIME
SHOWS	Tuesday to Saturday 24 to 28 Sept 2019	10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
WORKSHOPS	Tuesday to Saturday 1 to 5 Oct 2019	10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

For information about this circus event, such as ticket prices for the show or fees for the workshop, phone 07 3725 8888 or email info@mtommaneycentre.com.au.