Issue Number 81 ~ 11 March 2010
CHURCHILL & DISTRICT NEWS
Est. 1966
Distributed Free
Boolarra Festival Success
Crowd numbers were solid at Boolarra Folk Festival, held on February 27. Heavy rain fell two hours before the festival start but did not dampen crowd enthusiasm. An estimated 6,500 people enjoyed the day's festivities. The music program was well received. The combined primary
school drumming spectacular drew a large crowd to begin the day. Children from the fire affected primary schools of Boolarra, Yinnar, Churchill, Churchill North, Traralgon South and Mirboo North beat their drums and instruments enthusiastically. Steve Schultz wove his usual magic with the children, showing his
engagement of their attention as they played several different rhythms on clap stick, tambourines and a wide range of drums. The loud, enthusiastic applause was indicative of the people's appreciation, as was the toe tapping and body movement to the rhythms, as the children played. Continued on Page 2
From (Churchill) Brave to (Victorian) Ace
Churchill Baseball Clubs' Mat Prior has capped off a wonderful year by being selected to play with the Victorian Aces in the 2009/2010 Claxton Shield. Prior, who has been playing for the Braves for six years now has set many records over his time at the club and has truly cemented his stature as being one of the best pitchers in the Latrobe Valley Baseball Association. Included in his six years are threee League Best & Fairest awards, two Allstar selections and he has twice taken out the Churchill Most Valuable Player award. Outside of the LVBA Mat has represented the Victorian Provincial team for four straight years, has represented Monash University and received Green 'n Gold selection at the UniGames. Besides playing for Churchill in the winter, Mat also plays for the Dingley Baseball Club in a winter competition and the Bonbeach Bluejays in the Victorian Summer League. Upon receiving the news about his selection Prior said, " I am a little surprised I guess, its daunting, but excited to be able to play alongside and against the best baseballers in the country." Prior will be pitching alongside players like Major League Player, Brad Harman, who received the World Series Ring 2008 with Philadelphia Phillies, and numerous Australian representatives. The Claxton Shield is the biggest arena for Australian Baseball and it is going into its 76th year with the Victorian Aces being the most successful State throughout its history. With a new Australian League starting next year Prior could become the 3rd Churchill player to be selected in the ABL as Ben Hammer and Darren Coburn were back in the nineties. "Not only for myself but for the Churchill Baseball Club this could be a huge opportunity to become the most successful Club in the Valley," Mat said in a recent interview. Continued on Page 23

下一页