It’s a reminder of what’s possible when local businesses are given the opportunity to step up — and deliver.

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Wagners have been Grulke Concrete preferred supplier of cement powder since the company commenced operation on the 1st July in 2010.

CEO Of GCC Russell Grulke said “Wagners have and will continue to be a valuable part of our Ready- Mix Concrete Business”.

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GCC received recognition in February for being an agent/ franchise from the famous Fairdinkum sheds for supplying sheds to Roma and district for over 20 years.

The founding director of GCC, Russell Grulke said it’s humbling to be recognised by founding leaders in the industry.

“We’ve been with them for all this time because as I say, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” he said.

“People seem to think the grass might be greener on the other side but if you’re happy with what you’re doing and the people you’re working with, it makes sense to stick with them.

“They’ve got a great computer generated shed program so customers can everything they need done in the one place, which makes it a lot more convenient for them.”

Mr Grulke said the highlights of his business has been being fortunate enough to be able to work on two local hospitals in his career, most recently the Roma Hospital project last year.

“There’s not too many people who will get to work on a hospital in their hometown once in their lifetime and I’ve been lucky enough to do two,” he said.

Mr Grulke said being an established business who go above and beyond to provide a high quality, local service has helped them stay afloat in these uncertain times.

“We’ve been able to keep everyone on, and maintain our ten employees on the payroll,” he said.

“We’re one of the lucky ones. I feel for a lot of businesses that are unable to do what we’re doing and can’t trade normally or can’t trade at all.

“The building industry hasn’t shut done in any form, we’ve currently got a job going on at Pinaroo and will be starting work on the new Supa IGA soon too.”

Original article from The Western Star News

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On May 22, 1990, Stacey-Ann Tracy was walking to school when Barry Hadlow abducted her, committed vile crimes before murdering her and dumping her body in Bungil Creek.

For four days, townsfolk searched for the young girl before she was found near Miscamble St on Saturday, May 26.

For nearly 30 years, Janet Clarke has been mourning the loss of her forever-nine-year-old. Last year, she was approached by Maranoa Regional councillor Geoff McMullen about restoring Stacey-Ann’s gravesite.

Cr McMullen engaged Rotary, Grulke Concreting, Halls Furniture and Carpet and Home Hardware to refurbish the site, much to the shock of Ms Clarke.

“I’m sort of overwhelmed that it’s been done, I’ve just been blown away by the generosity,” she said.

“I could not have afforded to have it done like that, and I can’t thank the community enough.

“I moved away from Roma in 1991, and since then I have had friends and family go out constantly to Stacey-Ann’s grave, but I cannot thank the community enough.

“This year will be a really hard one, it will be really hard.

“The people of Roma have always been so supportive, and I just want to say thank you to them for everything.

Ms Clarke is moving back to Queensland from Melbourne next week, and said she would be making a stop in Roma to see her daughter’s newly restored grave.

Cr McMullen said after he read a Western Star article on the 29th anniversary last year, he decided he and the community needed to do something.

“I started talking to a few of the Rotary fellows to run a Go Fund me page, and that’s when they said … well maybe we can do something,” he said.

Scott McGouell, president of Rotary Roma, said he had heard suggestions from Russell Grulke about contributing to the restoration, and put it to members.

“It was a unanimous decision, a no-brainer,” he said.

“Thirty years, it’s been a long time coming and it’s been great to be involved. This is something that has stuck with the community.

“This has been a real community effort.”

Grulke Concreting concreted the new grave, Halls Furniture donated the pink tiles, and Home Hardware also gave a donation to assist the process.

Original article from The Western Star News

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The Garvies, headed by Bruce and his son Justin on-site, selected only local contractors where possible for the building of the new Royal.

Roma Crane Hire and Transport manager Steve Bond said the work they received from being hired for the Royal had helped them during what had been a modest workload.

“It’s a big thing for us – work has been quite steady so this was a boost,” he said.

“We’ve got 50 guys employed, most of which are locals so it keeps them employed.

Mr Bond said what impressed him about the Garvies was their lack of interest in price, but rather whether the business was a local.

“Justin called us and said he wanted to use local guys for this,” he said.

“At no point did he ask for a quote.”

Along with working on one of Roma’s brightest additions to the main street in years, Mr Bond said the project had allowed them to pick up other jobs with contractors also working on-site.

“We’ve done a couple of jobs with Grulke Concreting since then,” he said.

Russell Grulke also congratulated the Garvies on the impending opening, having contributed all the concrete for the walls and floors in the building.

“(Bruce has) been a builder for 40 years and he’s always done the right thing by the local guys, whether he was building houses or pubs,” he said.

“It’s a credit to them (that they used local contractors) and that’s a big boost in the arm for the town.

“There’s a lot of financial balancing acts going on behind the scenes with businesses right now but that job is in the main street and it’s a big boost for the town.”

More than 300 cubic metres of cement and concrete was used in the Royal building.

Original article from The Western Star News

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Mr Grulke, who has been working with concrete for 37 years, wants to see different retirement ages for people who work in more labour-intensive fields.

The Commonwealth Bank has told older Australians last week they must be prepared to work longer into their 60s.

But Mr Grulke said it was unrealistic for manual labour workers to keep doing the same job past retirement age, saying the physical limitations were too great.

“There are plenty of guys my age who are still laying concrete,” he said.

“Guys behind a desk will be able to do that until they are 70 usually.

“The question is what are guys who have spent their whole lives in manual labour going to do when they can’t do it anymore?”

Mr Grulke said age would factor into his decision to hire someone, adding it was hard, but not impossible, for older workers to re-skill.

“If I had a 60-year-old concreter asking me for a job, I’d be hesitant to offering him one over a bloke in his 30s,” he said.

“(But) I’ve got a 68-year-old who drives my trucks for me and all he’s ever done is driven trucks.”

A survey by the Financial Services Council and Commonwealth Bank found 72% of over-50s surveyed said they were willing to stay in the workforce longer.

But Mr Grulke said that wasn’t an option for some older Australians.

“All he’s getting is his wages and not much else,” he said.

“I don’t think either side of politics has dug deep enough into this.”

Original article from The Western Star News

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