Today we look at October 9, 2006 which was a Monday.

Among the news were warnings of unpredictable weather and to be on the look out for snakes. Sounds familiar?

Also making news was opposition to plans for a new supermarket in Rutherford; a new mine proposal for Mt Sugarloaf; Maitland G&S's play review and a nail biting cricket match between Tenambit Morpeth and Thornton Park.

Maitland City council has recommended approval for a discount supermarket development at Rutherford amid strenuous opposition from retail competitors.

The proposed Aldi supermarket, which would be the fourth supermarket in the Rutherford shopping precinct following the approval of a Woolworths supermarket last month, drew four objections during its public exhibition.

Chief among the complaints were dire predictions about its economic effect on the Maitland CBD and similar retail businesses elsewhere in the city.

A grim objection letter from Centro Properties Group, which owns Maitland Hunter Mall shopping centre, accused the council of "eroding the position of CBD retail".

"It is unconscionable that Maitland City Council exacerbate the economic impact of an already controversial development in Coles Rutherford Shopping Centre by approving ALDI Stores' application," Centro Newcastle area manger Brendan Wilson says.

"Council should be wary of creating circumstances to enable three, and possibly four supermarkets to be established in a neighbourhood business zone within 5km of the CBD." Mr Wilson threatens that "State Planning involvement may be necessary to mediate what will surely deteriorate into legal challenges."

Maitland Gilbert and Sullivan and Musical Society's latest production opened on Friday evening to an appreciative crowd.

Iolanthe was first performed at the Savoy Theatre, London in November 1882 and has lost none of its charm.

This production had a limited season in Maitland with four performances at Maitland Town Hall at the weekend, but there are still two more opportunities to see this wonderful production at the East Cessnock Bowling Club on October 14 and 15 at 2pm.

Iolanthe (played by Sharon Allen) had been banished from the fairy world for life because she married a mortal.

The fairies plead with the Fairy Queen (Marian Hankins) to allow Iolanthe to be forgiven and return to their world. Strephon (Guilherme Noronha) is Iolanthe's son, half mortal and half fairy, and in love with Phyllis (Joelene Griffith), a ward of the Lord Chancellor (Michael Cooper), who also wants to marry her. Melanie Dietrich, Angie Hutchison, Adina Maree Watkins, David Woodward, Alex Sefton and Kelly Maybury also star in this production. This production has a cast of 30 and an orchestra of 22 members, conducted by Mark Wilson.

This flamboyant production is a wonderful treat for Hunter audiences and Gilbert and Sullivan fans.

The sets and scenery were simple.

The costumes were lavish and colourful, with the fairy costumes adding sparkle. Amber Lewis was the choreographer, using her dancers well. The simpler steps, for actors who are not dancers, were effective.

This was an enjoyable production and is a credit to all involved in the society, on stage and behind the scenes. Congratulations to the society on another excellent production.

There are two more shows, next Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2pm on October 14 and 15 at East Cessnock Bowling Club. Bookings can be made at the Club or telephone 4930 3139. Tickets are $17. I

A proposal for an underground coalmine near Maitland is on exhibition for public comment through the State planning department. Donaldson Coal lodged plans for the new mine in December.

The purpose of the mine is to continue the company's coal production when reserves at the Donald Open Cut Mine are exhausted in 2012.

The proposal is being considered by planning minister Frank Sartor under the State Government's "State significant" planning laws, which provide an assessment and approvals regime for major projects. The mine, dubbed "Abel Underground Mine", would neighbour the Tasman underground mine beneath Mount Sugarloaf.

It would have a production capacity of about 4.5 million tones per annum "run-of-mine" coal for about 20 years. The site covers three local government areas including Maitland, Cessnock and Newcastle. The proposed underground lease area extends southwards from John Renshaw Drive towards George Booth Drive and is bounded on the western side by a geological feature in the vicinity of Buttai Creek.

The proposed method of extraction for the mine would be high productivity, continuous miner-based bord and pillar systems, using pillar extraction techniques. Subsidence, impacts on regional groundwater supplies and quality and issues associated with infrastructure north of John Renshaw Drive, including air quality, noise and visual aspects, were all raised as issues in the application.

Donaldson was required to prepare an environmental assessment as part of its application.

This environmental assessment, as well as the rest of the application, can be viewed at the department's website at www.planning.nsw.gov.au, where details on making submissions are also available. The exhibition period ends on November 9

New patrol boat HMAS Maitland, fresh from her commissioning ceremony, was among the first Armidale patrol boats to return to sea after being laid up with engine problems last week.

"HMAS Maitland put to sea to test the engines over the weekend and these tests were successful,'' a Defence Force spokeswoman said yesterday.

"Four of the Armidale patrol boats had been laid up because of problems in their fuel systems, which led to failure of the fuel pumps,'' the spokeswoman said.

"But a thorough technical investigation has now identified the cause of the fuel 'atomisation' problem.

Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup recorded an emotional win in the Bathurst 1000 yesterday to claim the inaugural Peter Brock Trophy and end Ford's seven-year title drought at Mount Panorama.

The Falcon drivers battled from sixth on the grid, kept themselves out of the ongoing carnage around them and then sprinted home in the final seven-lap dash to take the chequered flag.

Holden's Rick and Todd Kelly finished a close second with Ford's James Courtney and Glenn Seton third.

Lowndes had built up a six-second lead over Kelly, but with 10 laps remaining Holden's Jason Richards speared off the track prompting a safety car for three laps and ensuring a grandstand sprint-finish over seven laps. Lowndes didn't give Kelly a chance, posting the fastest lap of the day on lap 158 to charge to an emotional win. It was just the second Bathurst win in Lowndes's illustrious career, the victory coming a decade after his 1996 win with Holden.

Thornton Park skipper Jason Bartlett said a lack of significant partnerships cost his team a bigger score, but after a sluggish start to the innings, he was happy with the 259-run total his team conjured on a slow Morpeth Oval wicket on Saturday.

It was one of only two 200-plus totals scored on the opening day of the 2006/07 first grade season with City United posting 326 against Easts, thanks largely to Josh Trappel's masterful innings of 195.

Trappel's score beat the totals produced by the teams batting first in the other matches, with Wests bowled out for 160 against Weston, while Norths dismissed Raymond Terrace for just 115 (see page 27 for more details).

But over at Morpeth, Thornton managed to reach 259 before being bowled out in the 74th over and the players were made to work for hard for it, with Bartlett saying should the same conditions present on Saturday for Tenambit Morpeth, the Bulls would be forced to work just as hard.

The Bulls finished at 0-20 in reply, with Ben Crebert 14 not out as former Thornton batsman Ricky Dent (1) faced the music against his former team-mates late in the day. The match remained delicately poised and Bartlett conceded a chance at a score closer to 300 had passed his team by against the defending premiers.

Thornton took more than 30 overs to reach triple figures, after they were 3-98 in the 31st with openers Steve Kidd (9) and Peter Willis (23) and key batsman Peter Gabriel (11) back in the pavilion. Bartlett went on to top score with 78 and when he was caught by Crebert the team's innings was still only 45 overs old.

"The wicket was a little slow and it was one of those ones you never felt you were in and you had to work hard at it," he said. "It played true and the ball stayed new for 30 or 40 overs and there was movement right up to tea. "But you were never really comfortable enough to say you were set." Thornton had seven players reach double figures and Bartlett said it was disappointing no one was able to consolidate and the innings lacked some more telling partnerships.

Number seven Jason Feenstra (49) proved the mainstay of the second half of the innings and was the last man dismissed in the 74th over. "We had a few blokes out for the first game which doesn't help, but in the end we did a lot better than what we looked like being (able to do) midway through the day," Bartlett said. "Our partnerships were 30 or 40 runs and that was probably the difference between getting 260 and getting 300." Shane Wind was the pick of the bowlers with 5-80 from 19 overs while Bulls skipper Aaron Wolinski picked up 3-48 from 16 overs.

"If we bowl well and bowl tight, we'll be in with a chance because it was the kind of wicket you never felt you were in on

"We're not in the box seat or anything, I think it's fairly even."

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