Author: Grace Jones

AN ALBANY mother and son duo are at the helm of the new Furniture Barn store in town and they are raring to go ahead of the store’s opening this weekend.

Furniture Barn Albany will open its doors to the public for the first time at 9am on Saturday in the old Pine Discount Quality Furniture building on Brooks Garden Boulevard, next to
Harvey Norman Albany.

Manager Simone Barker and her son Brody are excited to head into the venture together and believe the store will provide more furniture and homeware options for customers in the region.

The Weekender had a sneak peek of the store ahead of the opening and explored the stock with Ms Barker.

“I’m over the moon,” she said, regarding being head-hunted for the position and the store opening soon.

“I’m silly excited; I think Furniture Barn is perfect for Albany and it makes this part of town a one-stop place for furniture, bedding and homewares.”

Before Furniture Barn Albany, Ms Barker managed Albany retail outlets Rivers, Rockmans, Automasters and Pine Discount Quality Furniture.

She believes that by having Furniture Barn Albany operated by a family, customers will be given a more personalised retail experience.

“We offer the white glove delivery service,” she said.

“We deliver it, unpack it, assemble it and take all the rubbish away, so all you have to do is enjoy your new furniture.”

Various promotions and sales are running in-line with the store’s grand opening and can be located instore, online or in letterboxes.

AN investigation into the death of an Albany raised man during the 2019 Racewars event is still ongoing more than three months after the incident, according to the Coroner’s Court of Western Australia.

On March 3, Brody Ford, 26, was behind the wheel of his parents’ 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 when the vehicle failed to stop during the popular 1000 metre event.

In a statement made on the Racewars Facebook page, event director Jon Murray said Mr Ford was clocked doing speeds of 260.98km/h after passing the timing beacons.

“Witness statements state that the vehicle was heard to have lifted off the accelerator then reapply the throttle and continue to accelerate down the remainder of the runway,” he said.

“Witness statements state that the vehicle did not appear to apply its brakes and left the end of the runway accelerating, tracking straight and true and appearing to be under control of the driver.

“Witness statements state that the vehicle appears to have lost control at or around the end of the RESA (clear way/overrun area past the end of the runway) .”

Mr Murray continued in his statement to say the incident was as perplexing as it was tragic.

“It is our belief that we will never know why this incident occurred,” he said.

“We believe the only person who would be able to explain what happened on that day is sadly no longer with us.”

A spokesperson from the Coroner’s Court said, “the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Ford is ongoing”.

They also could not confirm a date in which the investigation would be complete.

MEMBERS of the public and Shire of Denmark councillors were treated to a well-researched slideshow curated by resident Mike Travers at Tuesday night’s meeting that documented the poor state of the male amenities in the local Civic Centre.

Sounds of shock, horror and a few chuckles emanated from both the gallery and council as Mr Travers pled his case to the presiding members.

“I would like to address the deplorable state of the Civic Centre men’s amenities,” he began.

“These facilities are used both by visiting tourists and patrons of the Centre.

“They are emitting odours foul enough to induce nausea.”

Mr Travers proceeded to flick through a number of photos taken on the day of the meeting to illustrate the poor state of the ablution block.

“The cistern for the urinal has corroded plumbing,” he said.

“To flush the cistern we are given a string to pull.”

Mr Travers then presented an image of the offending piece of string and commented on its hue.

“As you can see the string is black,” he said before flicking to the next slide.

“When you flush the cistern you notice that the now exposed string is an ivory colour, meaning the original colour of the string was white.

“Any man with any sense in hygiene would know to not touch it without a sturdy pair of rubber gloves. As a result the urinal is never flushed and festers and smells.”

After Mr Travers showed further travesties of plumbing, he noted that tourists often judge a town by the quality of their lavatories.

“Public conveniences should not be an afterthought,” he concluded.

“Bring them into the 21st century.”

President Ceinwen Gearon assured Mr Travers the condition of those conveniences as well as a number of other latrines would be addressed.

“I recognise that ablution blocks can be a tourist destination in of itself,” she said.

DENMARK residents who do not want their verges sprayed with chemical herbicides will continue to be required to register their properties with the Shire after councillors voted against
switching to an opt-in scheme.

A report detailing the Shire’s weed management practices was presented to Council for Tuesday’s ordinary meeting and recommended the current No Spray Policy be extended.

This comes two months after former dairy farmer Annie Nutter submitted a petition with 600 signatures to the Shire calling for the implementation of an opt-in program.

“[The opt-out policy] didn’t seem to be working very well. Several people who were on the opt-out register got their verges sprayed anyway,” she told the Weekender at the time (‘Council gets a spray’, 2 May).

The report was prepared by Shire Director of Assets and Sustainable Development David King and acknowledged instances of properties on the No Spray Register having their verges
sprayed.

Despite this the report stated “an opt-in concept poses a significant risk to the Shire” as it could result in “a significant quantity of road verges being unmaintained”.

It noted new systems would seek to “reduce human error” in 2019 and 2020.

Councillor Kingsley Gibson moved the motion to extend the opt-out scheme and it was passed unanimously.

Councillors also unanimously passed a motion supporting the continued trial of alternative methods to glyphosate in high use public areas including Berridge Park, Norm Thornton Park and Kwoorabup Park.

“Over the next few weeks we will be trialling steam weeding to see its cost and environmental effectiveness,” Mr King said.

Mr King acknowledged in his report that the population and environment should be better protected through the limitation of glyphosate use.

He noted a legal case launched in Melbourne last month mirrored high profile court cases against chemical companies in the United States that linked cancer to the use of the chemical herbicide.

Glyphosate will continue to be used in road verge treatments.

Councillor Jan Lewis moved an amended motion calling for a review of the Weeds Strategy in the Corporate Business Planning Review.

“The current plan is out of date with our current sustainable practices,” she said.