Day: February 23, 2016

Watch and Act Issued For: Somerville Fire Origin: SOMERVILLE Incident Name: FRANKSTON-FLINDERS RD Issued: 23/02/16 4:34 PM This is a Watch and Act message issued by Country Fire Authority for Somerville. The fire that was burning along Frankston Flinders Road near Raymond Street, northwest of Somerville is currently being contained. This bushfire is currently not yet under control. A southerly wind change is expected around 4:30pm which will cause smoke and ash to fall in the area around Grant Road and Speedwell Streets, Somerville Don’t wait, leaving now is the safest option – conditions may change and get worse very…

MOST of the 30 Mornington Peninsula property owners at a dry conditions workshop at Tyabb Hall, Thursday, run livestock on, with a few engaging in horticulture. The Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority’s Nicole Green said many landholders on the peninsula faced significant challenges in trying to manage their land during times of low rainfall or drought. “However, having the knowledge and resources available to help prepare for these conditions can greatly improve the resilience of their land and their ability to remain financially viable during these tough times,” she said. At the workshop, Agriculture Victoria’s Nick Dudley and…

WESTPAC Bank is closing its Centro Somerville branch on Friday 18 March. A spokeswoman said the seven-year-old branch was “amalgamating” with the branch at 70 High St, Hastings. She said three of the five Somerville staff would be redeployed to Hastings and the bank was “looking for redeployment opportunities for the other two”. “We have made changes to our branch network across Australia because over-the-counter transactions have steadily declined as a significant number of customers prefer digital banking options, such as mobile banking, internet banking and smart ATMs,” she said. She said customers could make deposits and withdrawals, query account balances,…

SOMERVILLE hall is again open almost one year since being severely damaged in a storm. The reopening of the Mechanic Institute hall earlier this month also marked 125 years since a hall was first built on the Station St site and a century since two rooms were added at the front. Among those gathered for the reopening ceremony was the mayor Cr Graham Pittock, Cr Lynn Bowden and shire CEO Carl Cowie. Land for the original hall was donated by Henry Gomm, with building money being raised through public subscriptions, bazaars and other fundraisers. The hall was managed by volunteer…

SUB-DISTRICT THE MPCA Sub District ladder was put to rest last night after Frankston YCW staged a wonderful outright victory against Skye to lock in a place in the top four. Even more impressive was Rosebud’s reverse outright win performance against Hastings, giving them a valuable 12 points and locking them into fourth place. Hastings is a little wobbly right now and faces Dromana in a one day game this weekend. The Blues have won only one of its past three games, being beaten by Rosebud on the weekend and Frankston YCW – both finals teams. If the Blues lose…

DISTRICT BADEN Powell is in a world of pain in MPCA District cricket after losing its third match in a row on Saturday. After dominating the early part of the season, where they failed to lose a game before Christmas, the Braves are now on their knees, searching for ways to try and turn around their once blistering form. Despite the Braves poor form, their superb percentage of 1.60 is sure to hold them in the top bracket, even if they were to lose against Main Ridge in the final match of the season, a one-dayer. The Braves’ last victory…

PROVINCIAL THE top four is set in MPCA Provincial cricket after Baxter pulled off a superb outright victory against Moorooduc on Saturday. With just one round remaining in the home and away season, a one day fixture, Baxter is 12 points clear of Langwarrin, who also charged up the ladder after winning outright against Rye. Sorrento is also just one game behind Baxter in sixth place on the ladder. Sorrento is assured a win against Rye in the final game but they are no chance of getting 20 wickets in 40 overs and make a score themselves. Sorrento’s percentage of…

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch’s Cruden Farm will once again host McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery’s annual fundraising event on Saturday 19 March. Picnicers will be entertained by Mrs Mippy dixieland jazz band, Dukes of Debonaire, the Beckitt Brothers & The Frankston High School Senior Stage Band – Directed by Leon de Bruin. This is the only event at Cruden Farm that takes in the gardens at twilight. Bring your picnic basket, rug, table & chairs and sit back and enjoy the ambience and surrounds of the beautiful gardens and lakes whilst being entertained by a variety of bands across two locations…

By ANDREA LOUISE THOMAS Each year Frankston is taken by storm as the city is immersed in the stories, music, sport, dance, food, film and arts of Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese cultures. The annual month-long Ventana Festival is a highlight of the city’s calendar providing authentic insights into the cultural diversity of Spanish-speaking countries. With events and activities for all ages, such as, a pop up film festival, concerts, bilingual storytelling, craft and costume displays, soccer, capoeira, luche libre (Mexican wrestling), and educational workshops, each year Ventana gets bigger and better. Ventana’s Street Fiesta on March 12 is a dazzling display of…

A very serious accident happened to a young man named Robert Potts, on Saturday morning at the level crossing at the Somerville railway station. It seems that he was driving a cart from the town ship towards home, and when about to cross over the line his attention was diverted by some horses playing up in the railway yard, and he did not perceive the midday train which was then approaching and before he could get clear the engine dashed into the cart, which was smashed to fragments. He sustained a compound fracture of the skull, the head being terribly…

RELAXED racing has arrived on the peninsula and the 2016 Mornington BMW Cup is simply drooling with great dining packages. The peninsula’s premier race day features exciting additions to the Mornington Racecourse menus that will satisfy every budget and the tastebuds of every racegoer – big or small. For a relaxing day in the gardens, the newly upgraded Garden Bar will now be located trackside with hawker style food stalls providing a unique food offering. The trademark Trackside Marquees and Marina Marquees will be returning as well as the luxurious Pommery Saddle Club – a must for anyone looking for…

ANY plan to build elevated rail along the Frankston line should be dumped in favour of ‘underground’ rail according to the state opposition. Liberal opposition leader Matthew Guy told The News he would be willing to back the government’s planned sale of the Port of Melbourne to finance ‘rail under road’ instead of sky rail to remove level crossings across Melbourne’s rail network. He said sky rail “would be devastating for the Frankston line”. “It’s not what was promised and would destroy what should be a bayside Riviera for Melbourne,” Mr Guy said. “If it [rail under road] is more…

PREMIER Daniel Andrews visited Frankston Hospital last Thursday morning (18 February) to officially open a new eight-bed Rapid Assessment Chest Pain Unit expected to treat up to 2000 patients per year. The new eight-bed unit means specialist cardiologists can assess people with chest pain earlier and faster, to ease pressure on the emergency department. The extra beds at Frankston Hospital mark 92 out of 101 beds and points of care opened as a result of the Labor state government’s $200 million Hospital Beds Rescue Fund. “In less than a year, we will deliver 101 new beds and points of care…

THE senseless shooting of a tawny frogmouth has upset and angered Rye Beach Veterinary Hospital staff. The wounded juvenile was found on Old Melbourne Rd near the Rye football oval with a badly fractured and infected shoulder could not be helped and had to be euthanised. X-rays revealed a lead pellet – probably fired from an air rifle. “I was very upset to receive it as it was a lovely little bird,” said veterinarian Stacey Lethlean, who has treated injured native animals for the past 30 years. The nocturnal raptor, which eats moths and small animals, is a well camouflaged…

IT seems a long way from Red Hill to Hollywood; even further when it comes to having a water bottle handed out to Tinseltown’s A-listers by a couple of men who gained inspiration from plastic polluting Mornington Peninsula beaches. But next week that unlikely scenario gets played out at the glittering Oscars awards when a flat, re-useable water bottle designed and produced by Jesse Leeworthy and Jonathan Byrt is included in the gift bag handed out to each nominee at the 28 February ceremony. “Getting the memobottle in the hands of actors like Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio is exciting…