V1 - STHE01Z01MA A WILLUNGA High program introduced at the start of the year is ensuring students are ready to milk the dairy indus- try for all it is worth once they leave school. Principal Anthony van Ruit- en says the addition of the calves to the school’s agricul- Willunga High School students Beth and Hayden with calves as part of their agriculture studies. PICTURE: AAP/KERYN STEVENS BUSINESS is booming at the Harbour Kiosk since the West Beach boat ramp was closed late last month. Rob Mackay, who owns the kiosk at the O’Sullivan Beach Boat Ramp, said the increase was “immediately obvious” following the closure of the ramp at Adelaide Shores. “There’s been at least a 20 per cent increase in our sales at the kiosk,” Mr Mackay said. “I’ve definitely seen some strange boats in the area that were probably going to the Adelaide Shores boat ramp before it closed.” Mr MacKay, who bought the business in 2009, collects boat ramp fees on behalf of Onkaparinga Council. The Environment Depart- ment closed the Adelaide Shores boat ramp because of a build-up of seaweed. Boaties have been forced to travel more than 19km to use ramps at O’Sullivan Beach and North Haven. SA Sea Rescue Operations Sebastian Moore O’SULLIVAN BEACH Hands-on experience on the farm ture program had given stu- dents in Years 11 and 12 the opportunity to study the sub- ject as part of their SACE. “I think it’s a really import- ant thing for our students to get involved in,” Mr van Ruiten says. “When I look at our re- gion it’s all about wine, tourism and agriculture so offering a clear pathway into the dairy industry is important.” While the school’s other agriculture programs that focus on sheep and steers are wound up after the Royal Adelaide Show, the dairy calf program will be year- round. Year 11 student Hayden Bruggemann, 16, has been in- volved in nurturing one of two calves donated to the school by a local farmer at the start of the year, when they were 10 days old. “We would feed them with artificial milk when they were really young and then we tried to get them eating grains and pellets about three or four months in,” Hayden says. “I like practical things so being able to be hands-on with the animals has been great.” EDUCATION Ramping up at kiosk Captain Frank Miller said last week the response times to rescue people from West Beach would be blown out by 45 minutes because of the ramp’s closure. “When West Beach is closed we would have to re- spond either from O’Sullivan Beach or North Haven and that is a long way,” Mr Miller said. “This is the longest it has been closed ... this is the fourth closure this year.” The department’s coastal manager, Murray Townsend, said crews had already re- moved a large amount of sea- weed from the West Beach boat ramp. However, he said stormy weather had halted dredging. Adelaide Shores CEO Kate Williams said public safety was paramount and she was unable to reopen the ramp until the department had cleared the seaweed. If you find yourself or know of someone else in trouble in this area, you can contact the SA Sea Rescue operations team by calling 8295 5072. Wednesday, September 20, 2017 Southern Times Messenger News advertiser.com.au/local P 11