Little Archie Thiele, 3 weeks, will be one bub to benefit from a grant from Albury Hume Rotary. Pictured with him are Albury Hume Rotary president Justin Clancy, AWH operational director of women and children’s services Julie Wright, Albury Hume Rotary past-president Peter Lee, Helen Clancy, Dennis Martin, and district governor Philip Clancy

WORK on Albury Wodonga Health’s new parents and baby unit will soon begin with tenders now being called for the project. The successful contract will be announced within weeks, paving the way for work on the new building to start, with a scheduled completion date of January. AWH operational director of women’s and children’s services Julie Wright yesterday showed plans to The Border Mail, detailing the two sleeping rooms, three consulting rooms, communal lounges, breastfeeding support area and education hub. Ms Wright said AWH this week received notification from Wodonga Council its permit had been approved, meaning all that was left to do was to build. The new site will be three times the size of the existing centre and will be located in Benson Court, behind the obstetrics unit at Wodonga hospital. A Victorian government boost of $762,000 will assist its construction.Ms Wright said for her, after having worked with the unit for a long time, this week’s developments were a milestone worth noting — particularly given the service’s history and the angst over closing and transferring the former service at Mercy Hospital in Albury and transferring it over the Border. “This really has been one of the most rewarding things,” she said. “After so much anxiety last year, to actually see the service working and now rebuilding … every bit was worth it.” The service now sees about 250 parents a month, an increase of about 100 from its old site. “It’s been designed very much with the parents in mind and about what they want,” Ms Wright said. There was more good news yesterday, however, with the Albury Hume Rotary Club donating $1500 to the unit, which will go towards the furnishing of one of the new rooms.

BORDERMAIL ALBURY 28/06/2014

MIDNIGHT Basketball tournament organisers are seeking a community commitment to ensure the program for at-risk youth remains operating in Albury. A meeting has been called for Wednesday to flush out committee members and volunteers to ensure more tournaments are held. Midnight Basketball chairman Rod Bramich said he was confident the tournaments would continue, but support was needed.  “It commenced in Albury four years ago with support from Albury Council and many organisations,” he said.“At the time volunteers were not sure what to expect. “We certainly hoped to be able to engage with the kids who participated and be able to build rapport and add value to their lives. “After four years I have no doubt we have achieved this and more.” Midnight Basketball has conducted eight tournaments in Albury since 2012 and organisers need to make a commitment to holding two tournaments a year to the national governing body. Midnight Basketball Australia chief executive Tess White will attend the meeting next week at the Robert Brown Room at Albury Council. “Midnight Basketball Australia provides a lot of support, but its success is highly dependent on community involvement,” Mr Bramich said. “Communities need to demonstrate the ability to run the program locally, with two eight-week tournaments a year. “The core of running a sustainable program is finding competent committee members who want to make a difference to youth issues.” Participants aged between 12 and 18 years are provided with a nutritious dinner and compulsory life skills workshop before the basketball tournament begins. A bus takes all players home to their front door about midnight. Each session requires at least 15 volunteers to assist with serving dinner, setting up workshop rooms, coaching, scoring, refereeing, supervising and driving buses. BORDER MAIL Albury 19/06/2014