Angelique

WE are so fortunate at Maryknoll to have such a wonderful woman who has the ability to read documents, pick out the relevant sections and be able to argue the pros and cons of a case as good as a lawyer.
Yes, I’m talking about Angelique Eccleston.
Twice now she has saved Maryknoll from a bureaucracy which seems intent on destroying a beautiful corner of the shire.
Why does she do it?
Although not a religious person, she blames Father Pooley, the much esteemed founder of Maryknoll, who gives her the inspiration to use up so much of her time and energy to keep Maryknoll as he had planned it.
Take the recent case. A resident left a phone message for Angelique asking her to check on the Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) as this person, glancing through the statement while waiting for an officer at the shire, saw something about Maryknoll she thought warranted further investigation.
Angelique got home Saturday morning after a 12-hour night shift, checked on the message bank and immediately got on to the internet.
She got all the relevant information regarding Maryknoll from the MSS and was shocked to see we were going to lose our town policy, that our land was being upgraded from low density to medium density, overlays, now protecting us, were to be removed and so much more.
She managed three hours sleep before another 12-hour shift.
Arriving home, she set about putting together a power point presentation to deliver that night at a special meeting.
Fifty residents turned up and Angelique was able to show the danger we were in, through the MSS, unless some drastic action was undertaken. She had only three hours sleep in the previous 50.
Next day, the official closing date for any comments on the statement, we took into the shire office 47 objections to the changes forecast for Maryknoll in the MSS.
The next fortnight was all go, as Angelique organised visits to the press, radio, a solicitor, government officials and an MP.
Wednesday the eighth was our usual monthly meeting, but that had to be abandoned as residents wanted to hear more about the threat to Maryknoll and, once again, Angelique showed the power point presentation.
There was rousing applause at the end of her talk and many questions answered.
Again, more letters of protest were sent to council as the official time of closure was extended. Once again, by her skills and great organisation ability, she has saved the day for Maryknoll.
Thank you Angelique, and I don’t think Father Pooley has anything to worry about while you are with us.
Vin Tyler,
Maryknoll.