Day: June 9, 2015

Direct from Las Vegas and following a sold out tour of the US and the UK, ‘The Rat Pack’ will be making their way to Australia in June.  ‘Frank’ (David deCosta), ‘Dean’ (Johnny Edwards) and ‘Sammy’ (Nicholas Brooks) are back in town and will be lighting up stages across the country as they bring back the grand old days of those classic crooner hits that we all know and love. Johnny Edwards brings the magic and charm of Dean Martin back to the stage. With that chiselled smile, charming ways and funny lines, Dean Martin is remembered as the King…

PENINSULA LEAGUE CHELSEA came back from nowhere to record a thrilling two-point victory against Langwarrin on Saturday in Peninsula League Football. Looking down the barrel midway through the last quarter and trailing by three goals, Chelsea kicked five unanswered goals to wrestle back the lead and open-up a 10-point lead at the 27-minute mark of the quarter. Hudson Thomas, who finished the game with four goals for the Gulls and was arguably one of the best players on the ground, put his side in front before Jayden Attard extended the lead with five minutes left in the game. Langwarrin then…

MPNFL clubs should be moving as quickly as possible to take control of their own destiny, according to the man who led the charge for Casey Cardinia Football League to defect from the MPNFL two years ago. Narre Warren Football Club president and South East Football Netball League board member, Kahl Heinze, said if clubs wanted a future and to remain relevant in local football in their community, they needed to take action and break ties with the MPNFL immediately. Heinze said the management of the league from a board and administration perspective was “blatantly incompetent”. “These guys that run…

THE MPNFL-appointed Independent Tribunal handed down its Somerville Players Points System verdict last Thursday night as promised, but the league failed to pass that information onto clubs. The panel members – Geoff Dempster (Northern Football League Board Member, former member of the AFL Community Football Board), Bob Beazley (MPNFL PPS Implementation Working Party member) and Andrew Swales (Independent Tribunal Chairman) – met as communicated with Nepean League clubs on Thursday night. At this meeting, the tribunal determined that Somerville coach David Hirst was a two point player, not a one point player. It is understood that the league had advised…

NEPEAN LEAGUE Speccy-tacular: Red Hill went down to Dromana in Sunday’s Nepean League game despite this marvellous mark. Final score Dromana 9.15 (69) to Red Hill 7.6 (48). Pictures: Andrew Hurst RYE came from 17 points down at three quarter time to beat Sorrento by the smallest of margins in Nepean League football on Saturday. In front of a massive crowd that pushed beyond 3000 people, Toby Woodford copped a head high tackle with less than a minute on the clock and went back and kicked the goal from 20 metres out to seal the win for Rye 12.12 (84)…

Mr S S. Price, dentist of Melbourne, will visit Frankston for the convenience of patients on Sunday, June 13th, and may be seen at Garrood’s Prince of Wales Hotel. *** A mistake was made in last issue in reference to the raffle conducted by Mrs Rimmer. The amount received should be 8s 1d not 18s 1d as stated. *** Subscribers for the raffle for the Eiderdown Quilt given by business people of Frankston are notified that the raffle will be drawn in the Frankston Mechanics’ Institute on Saturday evening, 12th June, at 8 o’clock. *** The first of a series…

A CEREMONY recognising the 69th anniversary of the Italian Republic drew about 60 residents to the shire’s Rosebud office on Tuesday. “Italians have made an important and long-lasting contribution to Australia as a nation for many, many decades,” Cr David Gibb said. “Today, Italian Australians are prominent in politics, sport, journalism, law and the arts, and have considerable influence on the growth of Australia’s construction, food, wine, fishing and tourism industries.” The Rosebud Italian Club’s Lorenzo D’Alia said Italians were grateful “knowing that we have contributed to the development of this country, and consider ourselves fortunate to live our tranquil…

JOAN Kirner’s influence on the Mornington Peninsula will be felt long into the future. Victoria’s first and only woman Premier co-founded the Landcare movement in 1985 when she was Minister for Conservation, Forests and Lands. With Victorian Farmers Federation president Heather Mitchell, Ms Kirner oversaw the development of a program that has reversed the degradation of farmland, public land and waterways throughout the state. Last week the Landcare organisation paid tribute to Ms Kirner, who died on Monday 1 June at age 76 of cancer of the oesophagus. (Ms Kirner never smoked.) The organisation said the former Labor MP “recognised…

THE worked-out Pioneer quarry in Dromana could be used as a waste “bulk haul station” for consolidation of rubbish before it is transported in larger trucks to tips in Hampton Park or Werribee. This is despite Mornington Peninsula Shire’s new Waste and Resource Recovery draft report nominating a site in Dromana’s industrial estate for such a facility. In manoeuvring highly reminiscent of that in a 2009 shire waste management report, the focus of the latest document is on expanding the shire tip, or landfill, at Rye, but with alternative waste technology (AWT) as the preferred  acoption. The shire uses the…

THE recent $40 million sale of 94-hectares of land earmarked for a commercial and retail precinct at Martha Cove, Safety Beach, has breathed new life into the waterfront development 15 years after it was proposed. The Martha Cove sales office staffers say the dream of a thriving waterfront estate with direct bay access is now a reality. The $650 million development was envisaged to encompass multiple housing developments, marina berths and a commercial project to draw residents and tourists to the peninsula. However, the global financial crisis (GFC) took its toll in 2008 with sales stagnating for a time, and…

MOOROODUC Primary principal Peter Quigley is getting ready to choose architects for a new teacher resource centre and administration block funded by a $1 million grant allocated in the recent state budget. “The $1 million is certain,” he said. “It is to be fully funded within the next months. We have done quite well.” However, Mornington MP David Morris doubts that the full amount needed for the new buildings will come through. “Promises have been made to a great many schools, the projects promised far exceed the funds available. Let’s hope Moorooduc is not one of them  … but the…

THE shire’s distinctive mobile library has gone to the renovators for a $285,000 makeover that will include expanding its middle section. It will away for about eight weeks and has been replaced by a more modest vehicle that will trundle around the shire’s 16 mobile library stops to keep far-flung readers happy. The book bus was driven to a truck body specialist in Melbourne last week to receive a new expandable middle that will take it from about 2.5 metres wide to six metres, enough room for a small lounge area, according to the shire’s library boss Geoff Carson. “The…

NEGOTIATING steep Wooralla Drive in Mt Eliza by foot is to be avoided by all but the most experienced walkers but that’s about to change with the shire getting ready for the construction of a footpath between the Tower Rd roundabout and Emil Madsen Reserve. Tender documents are being prepared and the shire is likely to call for prices from construction companies in about four weeks. It is hoped work will start in August or September. The long-awaited path will wind down the steep hill and have a bridge over Balcombe Creek. It will also cross the railway line, which…

PENINSULA Home Hospice (PHH) has launched a $5m campaign to pay for its new Mornington headquarters. The building will provide the first permanent home for the 30-year-old organisation that supports people suffering from a terminal illness. The service offers free palliative care, counselling and therapies to patients and their families in the municipalities of Mornington Peninsula, Frankston and Kingston (south of Mordialloc Creek). Small charges may apply to care by the Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS) and the use of specialist equipment. Directors of PHH bought 327 Main St, Mornington, in April after research and “years of coping with leases…

BURGLARIES at two farms in Tuerong have highlighted the risks residents take in leaving their property unguarded in unlocked sheds and garages. Detective Sergeant Nick Vallas, of Mornington police, said “thousands of dollars” in handyman tools and equipment, including a generator, nail gun and sporting equipment, was stolen from the large rural properties on 21 May. These goods will make their way onto the second-hand market, where naive – or unscrupulous – buyers will snap them up for unrealistically cheap prices, he said. Last week police raided three Hastings properties looking for stolen goods, and, at one address, found a…

A MORNINGTON woman has been named a Barnardos Mother of the Year 2015 national finalist at a recent awards night in Sydney. Barnardos Australia is one of the leading child protection charities in Australia. Dreena Lawrence-Gray was presented with her award by the Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie. She was nominated by her daughter-in-kind Lana Guest. Ms Lawrence-Gray was a single mum who already had a “lively, rebellious teenager” when she made the decision to invite another one into her home. Lana Guest, then 17, was a troubled friend of her daughter’s. Born to heroin-addicted parents, Lana…

PREPARATIONS are well underway for this year’s Arthurs Seat Challenge fun run from Rosebud to the top of Arthurs Seat. At last week’s event launch students from Woodleigh School, Mt Eliza Secondary College, Toorak College and Rosebud Secondary College spoke about the benefits of the Fit 2 Drive program funded by the challenge. They said the program gave them skills that they would carry with them throughout their entire time as young road users. People aged 18- 24 years are the most at risk group on the roads, with P-platers in their first year of driving, being 30 times more…

AROUND 2000 students from 22 schools will attend three Teenagers Road Accident Group presentations at the Peninsula Community Theatre this month. Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill will be guest speaker on Tuesday 28 July. The first, on Monday 15 June, will host eight schools and 616 students; the next day (Tuesday) eight schools and 795 students and the third, on Tuesday 28 July, six schools and 589 students. The message could save their lives. Project manager Cindy Last said TRAG’s innovative program gives the students an insight into the dangers of modern driving. Speakers consist of CFA, ambulance and…

WORK to redevelop Andrew Kerr Frail and Aged Care Complex in Mornington is set to start as early as July. The much-anticipated start comes after almost four years of negotiations with Mornington Peninsula Shire as well as debate over the future of Glenbank, the 1875 Italianate mansion at the heart of the complex on the corner of Barkly St and Tanti Ave. The not-for-profit company initially wanted to demolish Glenbank but faced stiff opposition from the shire, neighbours, other Mornington residents, historical societies and the peninsula branch of National Trust. It withdrew its demolition application in early 2013 and, encouraged…

A MORNINGTON Marine Rescue Victoria volunteer has been awarded the Emergency Service Medal (ESM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. The list recognises a diverse range of contributions and service across all fields, including professional endeavours, community service, Defence and Emergency Services personnel, and acts of bravery. Michael John Turner, of Mornington, began his community work in 1990 with the then Mornington Community Bay Rescue Service. He has taken a key role in provisioning and maintaining boats and equipment, as well as turning out and managing the vessels. Along the way he has taken a lead role in mentoring young members…