Road safety group goes out with a bang

A brand new barbeque has been installed at the Millicent Road Safety Centre courtesy of a generous donation by the former Wattle Range Road Safety Group.

After 30 years spent raising road safety awareness, a small group of local volunteers have made one final contribution to the cause as they wrap up.

The Wattle Range Road Safety Group finds itself, like many other volunteer organisations at this time, unable to maintain active membership.

In making the decision to close the group, the remaining representatives decided to donate the organisation’s residual funds to the Wattle Range Council, to assist with the installation of a free public barbecue at the Millicent Road Safety Centre.

The centre was run by volunteer and founding Road Safety Group Member, Sue Vanderheul for many years.

After recent refurbishment, the facility has once again become a popular venue for school excursions and weekend birthday parties or social events.

Along with their support of the Road Safety Centre, the group, which was founded in the wake of a tragic fatal road accident on New Years Eve 1993, has many initiatives to boast over their three decades of operation.

The highly successful Driver Reviver program held over countless Easter and October long weekends, a wealth of road safety signage and messaging initiatives, the introduction of accident markers across South Australia, hosting the ‘Moving on from Road Trauma’ weekend event and the installation of the Road Crash Victims Memorial in Millicent’s Centennial Park, a joint project with Millicent High School students, are just some of the highlights.

A handful of the outgoing members, Dianne and Tony Egan, Sue Vanderheul and Dawn Williams, met with Wattle Range Mayor Des Noll at the Millicent Road Safety Centre recently to look over the new barbecue facilities.

“We would sincerely like to thank Wattle Range Council for their ongoing support over the years, as anytime we had a request for support or practical help, it was given without hesitation,” Mrs Egan said.

Mayor Noll expressed his gratitude to the group for their efforts in raising road safety awareness and the support they had provided to those impacted by road trauma across the region.

“The members of the Wattle Range Road Safety Group have spent many years supporting our community, some of them through sharing their personal experiences of tragic loss,” he said. “We thank them for volunteering their time and energy in their commitment to protecting the lives of our loved ones on the roads.”

The Millicent Road Safety Centre is always open to the public, with working road traffic signals, toilets, and now brand-new barbecue facilities.

The centre building is also available to hire for functions or parties, with bookings made at the Council Offices. Contact Council on (08)8733 0900 during business hours from more information.