A referendum carried out at the last local government election will be put to into practice on December 4 when Cabonne voters go to the polls to elect nine councillors.
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The outgoing council for Cabonne was 12.
Election day is this Saturday, and Eugowra residents can cast their votes locally at the Eugowra Public School on Hill Street from 8am-6pm.
Pre-polling for Eugowra residents is open now through to December 3, at the Orange Region Returning Officer's Office located at 123 Endsleigh Avenue, Orange, and the Cabonne Council building at 101 Bank Street, Molong from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.
Three members of the last council will not contest this election, but four new candidates have put their hands up with Dr Andrew Rawson, Kathryn O'Ryan, Aaron Pearson and Andrew Pull nominating.
Dr Rawson, who lives at Nashdale, is a soil scientist and lecturer at CSU Orange. He is chair of the upper Molong Creek LandCare group and a member of the Australian National Field Days committee.
"The thing that drew me out of academia [to run for council] is I've got a broad range of skills across a lot of areas," he said.
Dr Rawson is also opposed to the mountain bike track on Mt Canobolas.
Canowindra's Andrew Pull is a hobby farmer who works for Central Tablelands water.
A member of several committees Mr Pull said he felt it was time to support the organisation from which he'd always been asking for support.
Mr Pull is chairman of the Canowindra Sportsground Trust and Balloons committees and rugby league competition Woodbridge Cup.
Mr Pearson works at Wangarang in Orange and lives in Molong. He said getting better roads between the villages and mobile phone coverage are his goals if elected.
Mrs O'Ryan is the practice manager for her husband Nicholas' Canowindra surgery and said she would like to give back to what she described as a fantastic community.
Incumbent councillors keen for another term are Paul Mullins, Peter Batten, Marlene Nash, Libby Oldham, Jenny Weaver, Greg Treavors, deputy mayor Jamie Jones and mayor Kevin Beatty.
Mr Kevin Beatty said the Shire could manage with nine councillors.
"It's a big area," Mr Beatty said. "Nine councillors will be able to manage it just puts a big more work on them."
A first-term councillor and first term mayor, Cr Beatty said the outgoing council had produced some "great outcomes" for the Cabonne shire.
"We've got the new community centre going in over at Molong, that's a $6 million project, that's under construction," he said.
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"The Eugowra flood levy bank, that's gone in which is fantastic - it has been in the pipeline for a long time so we finally got funding for that which was very pleasing."
He said drought stimulus packages from the federal and state governments had been put to good use through village improvements.
He said there was also plenty of work ahead.
"We're in the early stages of a Canowindra medical centre precinct - a one-stop ort of scenario for that. We've received funding so it's in the very early stages of its development, it would be great to progress that some more.
"We've also got a medical doctors surgery at Eugowra which we need to progress, that's in the pipeline. All the projects are in the pipelines and going to happen, we just need to get them across the line totally."
"The road network .. it needs more maintenance, we've put more money towards it."
Deputy Mayor Jamie Jones is also seeking another term.
Jamie Jones has been a Councillor for the past four years including the last two as Deputy Mayor. He is also a volunteer firefighter with the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Born and raised in Cabonne, he believes there is no better place to invest, work and raise a family.
"A few of the projects that I am proud to have been involved in include the completion of the Puzzle Flat Creek Levee Bank, securing almost $1 million to build a Eugowra multi-purpose community centre, new playground equipment at Memorial Park, upgrades to the RTC and new footpaths in strategic areas of Eugowra," he said.
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Kate Bowyer
Kate Bowyer is a senior reporter at the Central Western Daily.
Kate Bowyer is a senior reporter at the Central Western Daily.
