Busting a move

By Lia Bichel
ON any given Monday or Wednesday, the Timbarra Community Centre is bursting at the seams with members of a club who meet to network, get active and have fun.
The Timbarra Over-50s Social Group has called for an extension to the centre to cater for not only their growing club, but several other community organisations that use it.
Group president John McCormack said the members unsuccessfully lobbied for an extension of the Berwick centre for many years. He recently submitted a petition to the Casey Council in hopes that, this time, the group’s pleas would not fall on deaf ears.
“The club keeps growing and growing. There were 35 members in the club 10 years ago. Now there were about 90 members and the majority of us are aged in our seventies,” Mr McCormack said.
“People say we need to put a clamp on it and stop people from joining but I can’t turn people away – I refuse to do it. But we are packed. There’s no room to move around. We are an active club and our members like to play table tennis and carpet bowls, but we are running out of room to do so.”
Mr McCormack said moving to another centre was not a favorable option.
“A lot of our members live close by and walk to the centre,” he said.
Cr Judy Owen, who tabled the petition last week, said she also believed the group should not have to relocate.
“I think it is important that the club stays at Timbarra Community Centre because they have been going there for a number of years,” she said.
Cr Owen said she hoped the council could help the group so that more people could join.
“I don’t think the over-50s club should have to feel like they need to turn people away,” she said.
“We want people to be active and get involved.”