Bega Valley Shire Council Farewells Long Serving Staff

July 3, 2008

A large group of staff gathered at the Bega Valley Shire Council depot in Maher Street, Bega, on Thursday afternoon to farewell some long serving workers.

The large of group workmates celebrating the retirement of some long time employees. Seated are Laurie McArthur, Alan (Milo) Warren, John (Sparrow) Lloyd and John Bennett.

Five outdoor staff members accepted voluntary redundancy in the Council’s recent restructure which reduced staff numbers by more than 20.

They were John (Sparrow) Lloyd who worked for Council for 38 years; Alan (Milo) Warren, 36 years on the construction team; John Bennett, 27 years with the Eden town team; Peter Lucas, 42 years with the Bega town team; and Dennis Clarke, 12 years on general road maintenance.

Mr Lucas and Mr Clarke were unable to attend Thursday’s farewell barbecue at the depot, however, Laurie McArthur, who spent 28 years with the Bega town team and retired earlier this year, was present.

The mayor, Cr Tony Allen, paid tribute to the contribution the men had made over the years.
”This is a huge pool of experience that will be missing from Council after today,” he said.

“It is sometimes thankless work and on behalf of the wider community I thank you for it.”

He said money was tight but Council was doing what it could to encourage the Federal Government to provide some of the GST revenue directly to local government.

“It’s not fair on you or the community that Council does not have enough money to do all the things it should be doing,” Cr Allen said.

As well as presentations to the retiring workers, there was also an award for 30 years service made to Max Goward.