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Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle was full of praise for the effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is one of the nicest announcements that I\u2019ve done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason it\u2019s so nice is that it was driven completely by the community. Harley comes up with an idea, talks to Craig about it, talks to the principal at school, everyone gets together, talks to council, then council comes to State Government\u2026 here we are, we\u2019ve done it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just extra ordinary and you\u2019ve really got to be congratulated, Harley.\u201d<\/p>\n
The town\u2019s police officer, LCS Malthouse, recounted how Harley and Max\u2019s push for new BMX jumps and an improved skate park got underway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started here at Meredith about 15 months ago and two young kids walked through my door, it was my first day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarley and Max said hi, and, \u2018We need to speak. Do you think there could be a BMX track here? We could get a new skate park and build a BMX track around the skate park, and because it\u2019s opposite the police station everyone could look after each other\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days later Harley comes in. \u2018How\u2019d you go, Craig, speak to the mayor?\u2019. So I thought I needed to touch base with the council because these kids are serious about this.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of the process to improve the site, Harley and Max designed their ideal skate park and BMX jumps.<\/p>\n
They travelled to Teesdale to check out that town\u2019s facilities and incorporated elements of what they liked there into their final designs.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s now over to Golden Plains Shire to formally plan the upgrades and complete the work. It\u2019s a process Harley said he was keen to be involved in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d like to see some jumps for the bigger kids and a track for the smaller kids, so it benefits everyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, at Teesdale they have table tops, gravel jumps, some berms and all that stuff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also looking for some concrete ramps as they are safer, and they don\u2019t get as hot in summer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IN a true case of people and pedal power, young Meredith resident Harley Murfitt\u2019s campaign for improvements at the town\u2019s skate park got a massive boost recently. Contained in last week\u2019s State budget was a provision for $420,000 worth of upgrades at the site. Harley, who received a 2020 Golden Plains Mayoral Youth Award for […]<\/p>\n