Adelaide Hills News from The Courier Feed Informer http://feed.informer.com/images/fd.gif http://feed.informer.com/ http://app.feed.informer.com/digest3/MTCUAR2U8X.html Respective post owners and feed distributors http://feed.informer.com/ Ratepayers within the Alexandrina Council district now have the opportunity to have their say on the proposed changes to the region's rating system.The council wants to increase the charges paid by the owners of some vacant residential blocks in an attempt to stimulate growth within the towns.The owners of undeveloped land valued below $65,000 will pay slightly less than the usual $650 minimum http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/rate-changes.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/rate-changes.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:56 GMT The young teen who murdered Callington woman Pirjo Kemppainen in September 2010 transferred his feelings of disempowerment to an innocent person so he could express revenge, a forensic psychologist has told the Supreme Court.During sentencing submissions last week Dr Luke Broomhall said the youth, who has pleaded guilty to murdering the 63-year-old retired nurse, was influenced by four factors - http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/teen-had-desire-to-kill.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/teen-had-desire-to-kill.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:56 GMT Hundreds of riders signed up to pit their skills against a four-legged foe in Strathalbyn over the weekend.Competitors came from Victoria, NSW and across SA to vie for honors at the fourth annual Fleurieu Campdraft, making it the most successful event yet since it moved to the town.Competition was fierce on Saturday and Sunday as entrants battled for the titles in the five categories on http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/campdraft-best-yet.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/campdraft-best-yet.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:55 GMT Owners of vacant land in Alexandrina Council towns will be charged double the residential rate under a plan to encourage development.The change is planned for next financial year and has been released for public consultation.The council's chief executive, Peter Dinning, said the move was part of a wider review of the council's rating system and the targeting of vacant land was aimed at " http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/council-rates-hit-on-vacant-blocks.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/council-rates-hit-on-vacant-blocks.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:55 GMT There's an elderly driver in a stable condition in the Royal Adelaide Hospital who owes his life to a passerby who went with a gut feeling and stopped to check what looked like an abandoned car.The 80-year-old from Macclesfield, whose name has not been released, had lost control of his station wagon and hit a tree on Stamps Road at Bugle Ranges around 1pm last Wednesday, January 25.Peter http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/life-saved-by-gut-feeling.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/life-saved-by-gut-feeling.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:54 GMT The return of the Milang to Goolwa Freshwater Classic sailing event gave the Pier Hotel in Milang one of its best nights in years on Saturday, January 21 - but it also attracted the attention of local police.Locals told The Courier that the hotel was full of residents and "boaties" who were enjoying the summer evening and were well behaved when three officers turned up around 10.30pm and told http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/pub-with-no-cheer.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/pub-with-no-cheer.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:54 GMT A Littlehampton developer wants to buy part of one of the town's parks to build three homes on as part of a new subdivision.David Nitschke wrote to the Mt Barker Council last year asking it to sell him the 830sqm site, which he dubbed "an eyesore", for development.The land is part of a reserve on Benjamin Gray Drive that was established when the area was initially subdivided for the Spring Park http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/developer-wants-eyesore.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/developer-wants-eyesore.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:53 GMT The State's Planning Minister will meet with Mt Barker Councillors amid concerns about a lack of information and infrastructure planning for the region's future growth.More than a year after the SA Government rezoned 1300ha of farmland for housing around Mt Barker and Nairne, the town's council still has concerns over how the development will be handled.It voted this month to ask Planning http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/rau-yes-to-meeting.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/rau-yes-to-meeting.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:53 GMT A Verdun family is relieved that after months of correspondence and complaints the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has finally agreed to alleviate a bushfire threat to their home.The Treloars, who live adjacent to a blue gum plantation on property owned by the ARTC, say that if the plantation caught fire, their house and property would be difficult to save.The plantation is situated on a http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/bushfire-threat-reduced-after-long.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/bushfire-threat-reduced-after-long.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:53 GMT A new farmers' market will give one Mt Pleasant family the chance to grow their organic produce business.Marco and Evie Forg switched to eating organic food for health reasons about 12 years ago and the results of the change were so good that they haven't looked back.Now they want to share the benefits of chemical-free food with others, by running two stalls at the new Mt Pleasant Farmers' http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/market-to-build-opportunities.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/02/market-to-build-opportunities.html? Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:52 GMT Authorities are investigating if water pumped from a Mt Barker town centre building site into a drain that feeds into a local creek was an environmental hazard.Emergency services were called to the site on the corner of Walker and Morphett streets on Saturday at about 5pm following complaints about a "green pungent liquid" being pumped from the property.The water, which comes from a site that is http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/01/water-flow-fear-prompts-epa-council.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/01/water-flow-fear-prompts-epa-council.html? Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:00 GMT Laws allowing protected trees close to Hills homes to be axed without assessment or approval must be changed to prevent widespread clearing, local councils and residents' groups say.Pressure is mounting on the State Government to reconsider its regulations that could pave the way for some of the region's oldest and most iconic trees to be felled.Under the proposed Regulated Trees Ministerial http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/01/ancient-trees-on-borrowed-time.html Adelaide Hills News http://thecouriernews.blogspot.com/2012/01/ancient-trees-on-borrowed-time.html? Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:00 GMT