Thursday, 31 December, 2020 Phone: 4863 5050 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808 $3.00 Inc. GST Looking New look The life of Four back on for Central Sir Graham pages PROPE RTY our top Lane McCamley of real stories Hotel estate PAGES 8-10 PAGE 2 PAGES 14-15 INSIDE HAPPY NEW YEAR How Gladstone will welcome 2021: P3 12476883-CG52-20 INSIDE NEWS CQToday.com.au COMMUNITY HUB ....................... page 22 TV GUIDE .............................pages 23-26 PROPERTY ...........................pages 36-39 GARDENING ............................... page 40 CBD soul livens up RURAL ...................................... page 41 By Jamie McKenzie WEATHER .................................. page 42 The Central Lane Hotel is being repurposed SPORT .................................pages 45-48 to incorporate ten-pin bowling, karaoke, fine dining, events gaming and hotel facilities. The exciting mix of entertainment options WEATHER under one roof is the vision of its owner, Rick Adams, who has been perfecting one of the TODAY most complete and idyllic venues in Glad- Cloudy, stone’s central business precinct. showers It’s currently in a state of disorder while it 23º - 27º undergoes essential demolition works to make room for new bar areas, four lanes of ten-pin bowling along with multi-purpose events FRIDAY MONDAY rooms and extended gaming facilities. Cloudy, Scattered The multi-million-dollar transformation is showers showers, being managed by Mr Adams, who has been Construction works well underway for Central Lane Hotel 24º - 28º storms paying close attention to every detail not just 25º - 30º in the building itself, but the way he expects the people of Gladstone to interact with the staying power in the premises. It’s a great dif- Council has been supportive. I’ve owned this SATURDAY TUESDAY entertainment selections and possibilities. ferentiator in our city and people have been pub for several years and am investing a lot of Partly Scattered “The devil is in the detail and it’s easy to saying they can’t wait for it to be opened.” time and resources into this venture, and the cloudy, thunder- miss something that could make a big differ- “Bowling has mass appeal so its not just for Council has been right behind me from the storms storms ence if you are not on site working with the people looking to go to the pub or have a meal, get-go,” said Mr Adams. but its also for families because of its very so- 24º - 28º 25º - 30 builder like they are one of the family,” said Mr Mr Adams also concluded that despite Adams. cial nature, people stay for a lot longer”. progress being on track, he wasn’t giving any- Looking to create something more than just Besides the bowling facilities, the fresh look SUNDAY WEDNESDAY thing away about when the doors would re- a refurbished bar, it inspired Mr Adams to take Central Lane Hotel will also be a destination Scattered Thunder- open. thunder- storms likely a risk and install four ten-pin bowling lanes on for fine dining, cuisine, the latest gaming ma- storms 24º - 30º the on the first floor. chines and space for the competitive karaoke “We’re keeping a close eye on the weather 24º - 29º “I didn’t want just another pub. I wanted to star. and if we have a good run and get the outside create a destination that gave something back “I couldn’t be happier with the way things works finished on time, that will help bring us to the people of Gladstone. Bowling creates are progressing and the Gladstone Regional closer to an opening date that’s not too far off.” CONTACT US The editor’s desk CQToday.com.au Telephone: 07 4863 5050 Address: Suite 4/214 Bolsover Street On 31 December 2019, Wuhan Munici- pal Health Commission, China, reported Rockhampton QLD 4700 a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wu- Editorial: han, Hubei Province. They eventually Email: [email protected] identified a novel coronavirus. Twelve months down the track, 1.77 Advertising: million people have died because of the Email: [email protected] virus. To put that figure in perspective, the Classifieds: number of dead is equivalent to the en- Phone: 1300 666 808 tire population of South Australia. Email: [email protected] Quite a sobering fact. SUBSCRIPTIONS So, as well as today being the last day of 2020 it’s also exactly a year since the Phone: 1300 170 885 coronavirus came to our attention as a Website: www.todayservices.com.au bit of a pesky flu. EDITORIAL Gladstone has been incredibly lucky Jamie McKenzie Journalist when you consider these numbers and E: [email protected] how widespread the pandemic has been. For many of us, the yearly date Liam Emerton Journalist change — adding one more year to life’s E: [email protected] tally — pushes us to focus on long-term goals. That’s when we potentially fall Matthew Pearce Journalist into the trap of traditional New Year’s E: [email protected] resolutions, a measure of our progress on becoming the “ideal me” many hope ADVERTISING to achieve by the end of their life. Cindy Unwin Advertising Manager Here’s a tip for what it’s worth. I think E: [email protected] resolutions for 2021 should be much more short term than usual. Sherrie Ashton Circulation Manager Citizen scientists have joined researchers to collect seagrass flowers in Gladstone Harbour, It is probably challenging enough E: [email protected] for the final harvest of the season. to figure out what’s needed to make it Peter Lynch Account Manager through the months until everyone can E: [email protected] access a vaccination and can start to Flowers from the seas make a way back into a more social do- GENERAL MANAGER main. David Richardson Living through a year of pandemic Passionate citizen scientists have joined re- seagrass flowers to collect seeds – with care- E: [email protected] ambiguity and contractions has likely searchers from CQUniversity’s Coastal Ma- ful precautions to avoid resident crocodiles, given many people a pretty good idea of GLADSTONE BUSINESS rine Ecosystems Research Centre to collect and manage heat and mud challenges. which personal susceptibilities this re- DEVELOPMENT MANAGER seagrass flowers in Gladstone Harbour, for Local volunteers on Saturday included strained life delivers. Some people may Dominique Gleixner the final harvest of the season. Josephine Sidhu, Penny Buckwell, Jason be struggling to keep their balance. For E: [email protected] Led by CMERC Director Associate Pro- Gavin and Morgan Parker, and research as- others, the dearth of friends and even fessor Emma Jackson, the group sailed from sistant Elizabeth Andrews said it was a pro- casual colleagues may be driving them DEADLINES Gladstone to Pelican Banks on Curtis Island ductive session. to madness. Advertising Bookings Monday 3pm for the research-vital work on Saturday 12 “The flower collection went well and was These individual points of discomfort Classified Bookings Tuesday 3pm December. successful, despite it being a bit windy and can give people some idea of what reso- The harvest supports research at CQUni- coming to the end of the flowering season,” lutions they should make. Tackling those Published by Central Queensland Media Pty Ltd versity’s $6.6 million CMERC facility, where she said. points may help allow people to care for ACN 642 029 070. A/Prof Jackson and her team have been is Seagrass meadows are an important themselves well enough to Publisher Paul Thomas. germinating seeds from the flowers, to re- coastal habitat which provide food for du- arrive at the pandemic’s All material is copyright to Central Queensland Media Pty Ltd. plant and regenerate seagrass meadows. gong and turtles, habitat for juvenile fish closure with some de- All significant errors will be corrected as soon as possible. gree of respectable phys- Distribution numbers, areas and coverage are estimates only. Through citizen scientist initiatives, the and shellfish, and act as the kidneys of our For our terms and conditions please visit CQToday.com.au/ researchers have been recruiting volun- Great Barrier Reef, filtering out nutrients ical and mental health. terms-and-conditions/ teers from the community to help harvest and sediments. - Jamie McKenzie 2 CQ TODAY Thursday, 31 December, 2020 CQToday.com.au NEWS New Year’s Eve party time By Jamie McKenzie den Experience,” Councillor Goodluck said. General Admission is free with no book- Gladstone’s New Year’s Eve Party will be ing required but space is limited, Priority back with a bang in 2020 as the Priority Ad- mission section of the event is a sold out. Admission is sold out, while the VIP Beer Garden Experience is at 70 percent capac- This year’s event has been so well expect- ity. VIP Beer Garden ticket sales end 23 De- ed that it has created a waitlist so as many people as possible can attend the event. cember for catering. Supported by Gladstone Regional Coun- “It was fantastic to see the community cil, the New Year’s Eve Party will feature live come together at last year’s New Year’s Eve music, licensed bars, mini golf, food ven- Party–the first Council-run New Year’s Eve dors, a VIP Beer Garden Experience and event held since 1999—and I look forward spectacular fireworks at 8pm and midnight. to seeing that same level of community There will be more on offer for people connectedness this year.” of all ages with Gladstone’s Memorial Park The General Admission area will operate turning into a vibrant party space for activi- on a first in first served basis with limited ties, entertainment and everything in be- tables and chairs, but there will be access to tween from 5pm on Thursday, 31 Decem- food vendors and a licensed bar.