Mayor For A Day Winners Announced

MACARTHUR Bettington from Blandford Public School and Lucy French from St Mary’s Primary School have won the 2020 ‘Mayor for a Day’ competition.

The Upper Hunter Shire Council thoroughly enjoyed judging the 675 submissions for this year’s competition, as local primary schools shared their ideas through short essays or postcard pictures.

The most popular themes were caring for the environment, town upgrades, providing more recycling bins, improving facilities and creating initiatives to raise funds for local charities to help farmers and homeless people.

Hand-drawn postcards portrayed a special community places including the Washpools, Barrington Tops, Library, School and horses.

School Winners

• Aberdeen Public School – Gabriella Phillips and Heidi Warden-Berlin
• Blandford Public School –  Macarthur Bettington and Montana Rando
• Ellerston Public School –   Riley Mitchell and Lara Robinson
• Murrurundi Public School – Srishti Goli and Zachariah Challack
• Scone Grammar School – Mollie McCosker and Lucy Ann Giblin
• Scone Public School – Charesse Liverton and Clancy Legg
• St Joseph’s Primary School Merriwa – Savannah Beeney and Tess Grocott
• St Mary’s Primary School Scone –  Lucy French and Skye McRae

The overall Mayor for a Day winner was Macarthur Bettington of Blandford Public School, for his outstanding idea to design a cycle/walkway for Murrurundi, complete with playground and picnic areas, that enabled visitors and locals to “stop and relax to enjoy the scenery and wildlife” on both sides of town.

Deputy Mayor was awarded to Lucy French from St Mary’s Primary School, for her Revitalisation suggestions for Scone’s Kelly, which  included Japanese-style gardens and a meeting space with a café in the centre, “to make the town money to pay for even better things”.

Mayor Maurice Collison thanked the children for their submissions and said there was “an abundance of creative entries”.

“The competition is important party of Local government week” Cr Collison said.

“It’s a great opportunity for young students,” he said.