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26 Nov, 2003 05:44 PM
The Lightning Ridge Community and Technology Centre celebrated its official opening on Monday with dignitaries and members of the community.

Barwon MP Ian Slack-Smith officially declared the centre open three months after it was opened for public use.

Mr Slack-Smith said the day signified the increasing commitment made by members of the Lightning Ridge community to improve services in the town.

"This is a fantastic day, it really is good for Lightning Ridge. This is the 16th CTC centre in the State and the vibes I'm receiving already is that this is probably going to be the most successful one in NSW," he said.

"The reason I say that is that Lightning Ridge is a 'doing' town... the people here are doers. People can come in here and work in their own time, all the information is right here, which is also a very important part of this centre."

Kerry Fraser from the Department of Commerce's Office of Information and Technology congratulated the Lightning Ridge CTC committee for its dedication to the project.

"Communities such as (Lightning Ridge) across NSW have embraced the program and I do continue to congratulate the Lightning Ridge Centre Committee for the commitment, patience and the hard slog that they put in getting this centre off the ground. Centres across NSW provide many important facilities to rural communities," she said.

Chairperson of the Lightning Ridge CTC committee Steve Eldridge said it was great to see the centre finally finished and up and running.

"It's been a long road. It started 18 months ago when John Goldsmith and Kerry Fraser came to town and planted the seeds of a great idea, a great idea that a number of us local people decided that this is what this town needed, a resource that was available for everyone. And 18 months later, here it is," he said.

"This centre is basically a partnership, a partnership between government and the community."

Mr Eldridge said when he was first approached to get involved in the centre, being the president of the local chamber of commerce he did so to bring more opportunities to local businesses.

"I was looking for something that would give them the ability to go into a global market, and sure enough the door opened...these are the sorts of things that small businesses have not been able to afford in their own right, but now as a result of this centre, they have the access to those facilities," he said.

"But it's not just for the businesses, it's for every member of this community, there's a not a member, from young children to the older members of our community who cannot benefit when they walk through those doors. They are world-class facilities in there. It's just a mine of information ready to be tapped into, and I know that it will raise the whole standard of this local community here."

Along with internet access, printing services and digital camera hire, the CTC will also provide several training courses to improve local knowledge about new technologies.

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