APRIL 2019 | ISSUE 2

AC NEWS
Delivering the news that matters to the Ararat College and
local community since 2017

ARARAT TRAFFIC
CHAOS
PHOTOS I AMY CLARKE

FOUR SEPARATE VEHICLE STORIES I

ACCIDENTS WITHIN NINE HOURS Bibby steps down
By Jack Ward as Storm Coach - 6

It was a horror start to the Easter long weekend on Ararat’s roads with four
separate vehicle accidents unfolding on Good Friday.
One man was killed around 6:30am at Armstong which closed the Western
Highway between Ararat and Great Western, in both directions.
A second accident involving four vehicles led to the Western Highway being
closed on the other side of Ararat – between Ararat and Ballarat – around Ararat Gallery's
midday.
The closures proved to be a headache for locals and tourists who were
collection digitised
directed onto alternative routes, some having to use back roads that are -4
not designed for heavy traffic.
Ararat's main street was also sent into disarray with traffic banked up,
bumper to bumper.
Emergency services responded to another two accidents throughout the
afternoon, one within the town and another off the Pyrenees Highway.
Vic Roads reopened the Western Highway on both sides of Ararat around
10pm Friday night, ending a day of frustration and dangerous driving.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 3
 APRIL 2019 | ISSUE 2

NO SIGN OF ANIMAL ACTIVISTS IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH AND GET

ACTIVE THIS APRIL
AT THE ARARAT ABATTOIR – By Jack Ward

Victorians are being encouraged to

HUNDREDS PROTEST ACROSS

get active this April and participate
in the Premier’s Active April
campaign.

THE COUNTRY The Ararat Rural City Council is

encouraging locals to fit 30 minutes
of physical activity into their day
By AC News throughout this month.
To motivate participation in the
campaign, a range of low-cost and
The Ararat Abattoir was not affected by a national day of action by
no-cost activities are being held in
animal activist group Aussie Farms at the beginning of the school
Ararat which will focus on both
holidays.
physical and mental health.
Protests took place across the country with hundreds of people
Tai Chi, mat pilates, meditation, laps
protesting what they label as the barbaric slaughter of sheep and pigs. of the lake, and circuit classes are all
Victoria Police have responded to protesters this morning who blocked on offer during the month of April.
the intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets in Melbourne using Activities are either free or $5 per
vehicles. session, subsidised in April only.
“Officers are currently monitoring the protest to ensure there are no “It’s fun and it’s part of the Victorian
breaches of the peace,” Victoria Police said in a statement earlier in the Government’s commitment to
day. getting more people active and
Police have arrested the group who sat in the centre of the busy healthy,” Ararat Rural City Council
intersection – many had to be carried away. CEO Dr Harrison said.
Another nine protesters were arrested at the Goulburn Abattoir in New “Start small and remember that
South Wales. every little bit counts. It’s an easy
Police said that they chained themselves to a conveyor and allegedly way to kick start a healthier you.”
refused to leave the premises. An app and website are available to
“Goulburn Police Rescue cut the people free and arrested them at the registered participants that will
allow them to chart their progress
scene,” read a New South Wales Police statement.
through the month.
Three of the arrested refused to walk from the abattoir and had to be
Locals wanting to officially register
carried to the police vehicle.
for the Premier’s campaign can do
There were many other protests in other parts of the country
so at activeapril.vic.gov.au
throughout the day, including Warwick, where up to 200 people flock
to the local abattoir.

PHOTO I ARARAT PARKRUN

DRONE FLYOVER OF THE ARARAT ABATTOIR

PHOTO I AUSSIE FARMS
 APRIL 2019 | ISSUE 2

ARARAT TRAFFIC CHAOS

EMERGENCY SERVICES ATTENDED
THREE SCENES AFTER THE DEADLY
ARMSTRONG CRASH
By AC News

Following the Armstrong crash on Good Friday, emergency services

responded to another three accidents around Ararat, interrupting tin
rattlers and leaving the public confused.

-CALTEX ROADHOUSE ACCIDEN -

Emergency services responded to an accident on the Western Highway
near the Caltex Roadhouse just after midday.
Two vehicles were travelling west in congested traffic when a third car
came over a slight rise and crashed into those two vehicles, causing a nose-
to-tail collision.
“Following that, the third vehicle then veered onto the incorrect side of the
highway and crashed into an oncoming eastbound car,” Victoria Police told
AC News.
Occupants of the eastbound vehicle, a man and a woman, have both been
conveyed to hospital with serious injuries. 
The male driver of the third car also conveyed to hospital with non-life
threatening injuries.
All traffic Ararat bound was detoured onto the Sunraysia Highway from
Ballarat.

-WARRAYATKIN ROAD ACCIDENT-

Emergency services responded to a third incident on Warrayatkin Road in
Ararat, 5km West of the Western Highway around 1:25pm.
A 33-year-old female was trapped in her car after she swerved to miss a
kangaroo and struck a tree.
The Adelaide woman and two children, a boy and girl, were taken to
hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

-VINCENT STREET ACCIDENT-

Police responded to a fourth accident about 3:10pm.
A car performed a U-turn at the intersection of Moore and Vincent streets
when it was struck by an oncoming vehicle
A young girl in one of the vehicles sustained non-life threatening injuries,
while the male driver received minor injuries.
The male driver of the other vehicle was not injured.
PHOTOS I AMY CLARKE, LEAH HEINRICH

WESTERN HIGHWAY ACCIDENT
CLAIMS ONE LIFE IN A HORROR
START TO THE EASTER LONG
WEEKEND
By Jack Ward
Three people were involved in a crash just
outside of Ararat on Friday morning, in
what was a horror start to the Easter long
weekend.
A male died and two other occupants
from the vehicle, a woman and a teenage
girl, were airlifted to The Alfred hospital
with serious injuries.
A passerby contacted police after
coming across the accident  in an unknown condition.
at Armstrong, between Ararat and Great The Western Highway remained closed for
Western, near Petticoat Gully Road just over 15 hours as an investigation was carried
after 6.30am. out and the car was removed.
Investigators believed the eastbound
vehicle crossed onto the wrong side of the
road and crashed into a tree.
The deceased man was thought to be the
front seat passenger and passed away at
the scene.
The teenage girl was flown in what
appeared to be a stable condition with
suspected injuries to her chest, abdomen,
and pelvis.
The second woman, believed to be in her
30s, was flown with suspected leg injuries PHOTO I GOOGLE
 APRIL 2019 | ISSUE 2

ARARAT GALLERY’S COLLECTION

“The gallery team, including
photographer Michelle Dunn, has
worked diligently over the past two

TO BE DIGITISED AND weeks carefully bringing out the

collection items, setting up the correct

PRESERVED FOR FUTURE

lighting and then capturing each of
them,” Dr Harrison said.
“It has been a procession line of

GENERATIONS beautiful objects and artworks coming

out of storage and the team has really
enjoyed seeing each and every one of
By Sruthi Kalluri them.
“We hope visitors to the gallery will also
Ararat Gallery’s art collection is going to be more accessible to the enjoy watching the project as well when
community through a new Victorian Government initiative. we announce the viewing sessions
shortly.”
Ararat Gallery, Textile Art Museum Australia, has been chosen to
The project – a partnership between
participate in an innovative pilot project which will see up to 1,200
Creative Victoria, the National Gallery of
items digitalised.
Victoria and the Public Galleries
TAMA (Textile Art Museum Australia) is the first Victorian regional
Association – will head to Benalla and
gallery to accept the project that will continue through April into early
Morwell following the stint at TAMA.
May.
Minister for Creative Industries, Martin Foley said: “Collections like
TAMA’s don’t just have a significant economic value; historically and
GALLERY | ARARAT COLLEGE’S
culturally they are priceless.” HOUSE ATHLETICS
“This regional roadshow and our broader digitisation strategy will
ensure that Victoria’s cultural collections and their rich history are
preserved for future generations and made accessible for anyone to
explore and enjoy.”
Ararat Rural city council CEO Dr Tim Harrison said the gallery was really
excited to be participating in the project, allowing a large range of art
to be recorded digitally for the future.
Dr Harrison also said that it meant the community could see selected
parts of the collection that haven’t been viewed in quite some time.
“During the project we will have specific times when the public can
come in and view the collection being photographed.” he said
“This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to see some rarely-
viewed objects in our collection, including the Lady Grimwade costume
collection and a collection of rare Japanese fabric and paper
packaging.”
TAMA has recently welcomed National Gallery of Victoria Head of
Conservation Michael Varcoe-Cocks and Coordinating Conservator
MaryJo Lelyveld who visited the gallery to see the digitisation effort in
action.

PHOTO I ARARAT GALLERY TAMA (FACEBOOK) MORE @ ACNEWS.CF

 APRIL 2019 | ISSUE 2

AFTER AN EASY CRY? WATCH

Cystic Fibrosis is a sickness that affects mainly the
lungs and digestive system. People with CF develop
an abnormal amount of excessively thick and sticky

FIVE FEET APART
By Zafirah Davies-Harrison
Did you miss seeing Five Feet Apart during the holidays? Be sure to take
check it out and take some tissues with you – it’s a tear-jerking,
emotional movie.
My thoughts on this movie are completely positive. I have already gone
and seen it at the cinema twice.
Stella (portrayed by Hayley Lu Richardson) is a patient diagnosed with
Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Her best friend Poe (played by Moises Arias) also has
CF. Their friendship is heartwarming but becomes quite sad – no
spoilers here.
Poe and Stella become close with new patient Will (portrayed by Cole
Sprouse). Yes, one of our resident Riverdale stars! Stella, especially,
grows a strong bond with her fellow patient.
Will is also dealing with CF but has contracted a very deadly and lethal
bacteria that can be passed on to other Cystic Fibrosis sufferers.
Stella and Will fall in love with each other, but the nurse, Barb, doesn’t
allow them to be near each other. All of them fight and are sad at many
points.
Then they are happy and breaking a rule by taking one foot forward,
then it’s sad again, then happy and then happy-sad.
The ending left a big plot opening for creative thinkers out there.
Fingers crossed they make a sequel!
I was unsure what CF was until I watched this movie. Stella explains it
through her YouTube channel which is a really interesting way to share
it.
mucus within the lungs, airways and digestive
system.
This causes impairment of the digestive functions of
the pancreas and traps bacteria in the lungs,
resulting in recurrent infections, leading to
irreversible damage.
Lung failure is the major cause of death for someone
with CF. It’s mainly because of a malfunction in the
exocrine system that’s responsible for producing
saliva, sweat, tears and mucus. There is currently no
cure.
I hope that there is a cure found sooner rather than
later because the way CF was portrayed in this
movie really captures the way it affects one’s life.
Five Feet Apart was directed by Justin Baldoni,
American actor, director and filmmaker. Maybe you
would recognise him as Rafael from Jane the Virgin,
streaming on Netflix.
Baldoni is a talented actor and director. I think with
his experience of acting it made the movie that 10%
better.
It was an amazing movie and a must-see. Make sure
to put it down on your list and rush to your local
theatre asap. I 100% recommend this movie for
teens, adults and even elders.
The production of the movie was super cool and
effective. The movie fills you with plenty of emotions
and spreads awareness of diseases that not everyone
is aware of. 
5/5 Stars

THE TRAGEDY OF TITANFALL Well, I lied when I said there was ‘no’ Both of these games were much more
marketing – there was a leak a few days established brands. The other two games
By Max Stewart
before launch, but that was it. The were Battlefield 1, the 13th game in the
The recent success of Apex Legends –
complete map was leaked a whole year series (ignoring free to play spin offs,
developed by Respawn entertainment –
ago and no one seemed to care. yeah…), and the other was the “new” COD
was equally unexpected as it was ungodly
The game’s success is owed completely to (Infinite Warfare) – at the time with the
massive, with a staggering 10 million
word-of-mouth and content curators, both gimmick that this time, it’s in space!!
players within 72 hours (a new world
Twitch and YouTube – more so Twitch. Titanfall, this relatively unknown IP, was
record, beating Fortnite, who took
Twitch streamers that were normally thrown in-between two monoliths of the
decades compared to Apex’s two whole
streaming Fortnite were streaming Apex, gaming industry. Now, you would think
weeks).
which helped it reach the 10 million that this was Respawn’s choice but it
This has got me thinking of Apex’s
players so quickly. actually was their publisher’s choice.
origins.
This now brings me to the last game to E.A was previously known for being the
Apex Legends’ monumental success is
come out of Respawn Entertainment: worst corporation in the video gaming
even stranger when you consider its
Titanfall 2! Ignoring that weird Titanfall industry, something that people are
marketing… which was nothing,
RTS spin-off, Titanfall 2 was the undeniable beginning to forget and forgive, but I’ll
absolutely nothing, before launch.
best “triple AAA” shooter of 2016 being always be there, waiting in the shadows
Just out of nowhere.
PHOTO I ARARAT RURAL CITY COUNCIL released in-between two of the other
And it’s simply the best marketing for a
with a sigh.
biggest shooters… and that’s the problem. CONTINUE READING @ ACNEWS.CF
game I’ve ever seen.
 APRIL 2019 | ISSUE 2

ARARAT EAGLES RECEIVE A BIBBY STEPS DOWN AS STORM

COACH, THE CLUB’S FUTURE
GRADE EXEMPTION AS THE HANGS IN THE BALANCE
By Jack Ward

MININERA SEASON BEGINS Melissa Bibby has made the difficult

decision to leave the Ararat Storm Youth
Girls Football Club after putting her hand
By Jack Ward
up as coach earlier in the year.
“I agonized over the decision, but we only
The Ararat Eagles Football Netball Club has successfully obtained an have 13 players and 3-5 at training; so it
exemption for A Grade netball, following a struggle to find players. just became untenable,” Bibby said.
Senior Netball Coach Melissa Murnane told AC News last week that the “It doesn’t look like there will be a team
Club would look to ask for an exemption so they could fill B and C at all, which is sad.”
Grade teams. Melissa is currently teaching at Ararat
The club was notified yesterday of their successful request after College and is an experienced footballer
applying for the exemption four weeks ago. and coach.
“We found ourselves in a position this season where all of our A Graders She has played with various teams
from last season were unavailable to play and we had no one to fill including the Darebin Falcons, coached
their positions at an A Grade standard,” Murnane said. the Falcons Youth girls as well as being
The request proved to be quite controversial as a number of people involved with the Sandringham Dragons
were of the opinion that the Eagles’ B Grade side – who won the in the TAC Cup competition.
Premiership last year – could step up to A Grade in the 2019 season, A general meeting is being held tonight
Murnane explained. at the Gordon Street Oval with all families
“We felt it was an unreasonable view. We too have lost four of our welcomed to attend.
Premiership players, with the remaining four from last year’s Grand “If there is a sudden influx of numbers I’ll
Final ranging from 37 to 49 years old.” definitely consider going back to coach,”
“Our best netball has definitely passed us by. The assumption that we Bibby said.
could just play A Grade at this stage of our lives was very stressful and “The club has been great and hopefully
also unrealistic from our point of view, given our ages and injury one last push will get them over the line.”
management.” Ararat Storm's president has not replied

The request for exemption was put to all clubs, with the Eagles needing to our request for comment.
an 80% approval rate. Murnane was told that it was “very close”.
“Thankfully the request was successful. We will now move forward with
consistent B and C Grade teams of which we can hopefully develop and
grow into three full senior sides for next season,” Murnane said.
“We are fielding all three junior sides – which is very positive. Hopefully
we can develop the juniors into strong senior players in the years to
come.”
“I am very thankful to the Mininera and District Netball Association for
granting our exemption as it gives us an opportunity to rebuild and
unite.”
PHOTO I ARARAT STORM (FACEBOOK)
“The end goal is to develop our players throughout this season to
become a strong netball club for years to come.”

PHOTO I AIMEE HARRISON

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