Day: September 18, 2017

A Safety Beach pensioner in her mid-80s is hoping someone will hand in a white CBA envelope containing $900 which she lost at the Dromana Hub shopping centre on Wednesday morning 13 September. Leading Senior Constable Shane Byrne, of Rosebud police, said the woman was “distressed by her loss”. He said the woman had gone to the shopping centre to pay bills when she lost the envelope with the $900, which included $100, $50 and $20 notes. Anyone with information can call Leading Senior Constable Byrne on 5986 0444. Some caring locals have set up a gofundme page if…

GO KARTING talent Cadel Ambrose has concluded a thrilling season with a victory in the final round of the Australian kart championships on Sunday 3 September. The victory pushed nine-year-old Cadel into third place of the cadet-nine Australian kart championships overall standings. Taking to the track on Todd Road, Port Melbourne Cadel had to make up an 11 point difference in the fifth and final round to make it into the top three but the challenge just gave him more drive to succeed. “He was pretty excited heading into the final round,” Cadel’s mother Suzie Morrell said. “He was sitting…

NEPEAN LEAGUE SORRENTO capped off an outstanding 2017 MPNFL Nepean Division season on Saturday when it led all afternoon to beat Frankston Bombers by 14 points. Sorrento controlled the match on its terms for all but 15 minutes in the third quarter to win 13.5 (83) to 10.9 (69). Had Frankston Bombers got its nose in front in the third quarter, the result could have been different. However, as they did throughout the match, the Sharks had the right answers when it mattered most. Kicking with the aid of the wind to Frankston Park’s Kars St end, together with a…

PENINSULA LEAGUE FRANKSTON YCW became the first team in more than 100 years of peninsula football to win four consecutive premierships on Sunday. The Stonecats totally outclassed Bonbeach, booting eight goals to one in the second quarter and 10 unanswered goals in the last quarter to win by more than 100 points, 21.11 (137) to 5.5 (35). Bonbeach led at quarter time, 2.0 (12) to 1.2 (8) and in fact outscored the opposition in two of the first three quarters. The problem was, Frankston YCW booted 18.8 to the Kars St end of Frankston Park in the second and last…

AFTER almost a decade, Mornington Football Club’s favourite son Simon Goosey (pictured right) has returned to the kennel. Goosey, who coached the Doggies to eight grand finals and four premierships in the 1990’s and 2000’s, said the move back to the Dogs “feels right”. “I’ve always loved the Mornington footy club and my son (Will) still plays there, so it seemed like the right time to go back” Goosey said. ‘The Goose’ left the Dogs to “better himself” as a coach and moved to Frankston Dolphins in the VFL, where he also had a very successful career as a coach.…

SOCCER CANDELA Ferreyra-Bas is the toast of local soccer after winning the 2017 NPLW Gold Medal at a gala awards night last week. Southern United’s captain and leading scorer was a runaway winner of the award which recognises the recipient as the premier performer in Victoria’s elite women’s competition. The 21-year-old polled 39 referees votes to street the field, 10 votes ahead of runner-up Cindy Lay of Calder United. It was a night of great celebration for the local club as senior coach Rob Giabardo was named NPLW Coach of the Year. Giabardo wasted little time in calling for co-coach…

A CASE of snakebite occurred at Frankston on Wednesday afternoon, the victim being a school boy named Alexander Nicholson. It appears that he, in company with other lads, was going through some scrub at the back of the school grounds when he felt what at first he thought was a thorn prick him on the knee. Later on he began to feel sick, and the head teacher was informed. On examination two distinct punctures were seen, and Mr Jennings at once tied a ligature above the marks, cut an incision each side and sucked the wound. The lad was then…

THE works of US composers George and Ira Gershwin will get a working over from jazz singer Anita Harris and her band when she takes to the stage at Frankston Bowling Club on September 24. Harris, a popular performer at jazz festivals around Victoria and beyond, has called her program Gershwing, which gives an indication of the direction she will take. Since her first gig in 1993, Harris has delighted audiences at restaurants, wineries, jazz clubs – and festivals. Critics have called her “one of those very rare vocal stylists” and enthused that “she has a strong fluid contralto which…

By Barry Morris LITTER from across Port Phillip as far away as Stonnington, Yarra and Boroondara local government areas and the suburb of Parkdale is ending up in Balcombe Estuary, a survey has found. Forty year 6 Balcombe Grammar students, with the help of their teachers and Balcombe Estuary Reserve Group Mt Martha, conducted the litter survey at the end of Henley Av, Mt Martha, in the estuary’s south-eastern corner. They found rubbish thickly covered the ground and in 30 minutes, from a 100 square metre area, collected litter, including small bits that can be swallowed by fish. They then…

FIVE Mornington Peninsula Shire-owned sports and leisure centres will be managed from 29 October by a private company that manages more than 120 other centres across Australia. Belgravia Leisure will manage and operate the Pelican Park Recreation Centre in Hastings, Mornington’s Civic Reserve Recreation Centre, the Somerville Health & Fitness Studio, Crib Point Pool and Western Port Gymnastics at the Hastings Hub. Ratepayers will pay $5,720,290 to Belgravia Leisure over five years in management fees. The Bayswater-based leisure centre and golf course management company will also run All Access outreach programs for older adults in Mornington, Rosebud, Hastings, Somers, Blairgowrie…

FREE all-day parking in central Frankston is being pushed as a way to encourage shoppers to support local traders and businesses. Frankston Labor MP Paul Edbrooke launched a ‘Free parking for Frankston’ petition this month calling on Frankston Council to make car parking free in “our CBD [central business district].” The state government surprisingly decided in August 2015 that a multi-deck carpark at a redeveloped Frankston train station is not needed. It was decided to instead consider a partnership with Bayside Shopping Centre to lease unused short term parking spaces for train commuters. “The state government and Bayside [Shopping Centre]’s…

A MT MARTHA-based builder has won two Housing Industry Association awards for Best Townhouse/Villa Development and Townhouse of the Year. The awards were for two adjoining townhouses on the Esplanade, Mornington, opposite Mills Beach. The 2017 HIA Eastern Victorian Awards were presented at the RACV Resort, Inverloch, Friday 8 September. Builder Craig McPhan did his apprenticeship with a Dromana builder 36 years ago and worked for various builders on the Mornington Peninsula before starting Individual Builders about 20 years ago. The company has previously won five HIA awards. “We are local builders based in Mt Martha and have been building…

WORKS to protect the ageing seawall at Mt Martha’s Craigie beach will begin this month. The 240-metre rock revetment will be built by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), in partnership with Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The department said the rock revetment would ensure the whole of the seawall was protected against future storm events. “Last year a 97-metre rock revetment was constructed and this 240-metre section completes the protection works,” Eastern Region MP Daniel Mulino said. “The stone seawall is thought to be at least 50 years old and is nearing the end of its life.…

WHILE men aged over 85 have one of the highest suicide rates in Australia they are often overlooked in the fight against suicide. This lack of attention and help is due to “ageism” and a lack of community support, according to Mornington-based Mentis Assist. The organisation which provides opportunities for people living with mental illness based its conclusion on the results of a 2014 statistics study. “Life events commonly associated with elderly suicide include the death of a loved one, physical and mental illness, cognitive impairment, unmanageable pain, fear of dying, loneliness and major changes in roles, such as retirement,”…

A SURVEY aimed at gaining a greater understanding of the caravan park and residential villages’ population on the Mornington Peninsula found that 63 per cent are aged over 70, most are single women, and nearly 90 per cent rely on the age pension as their main source of income. The survey was compiled by the Peninsula Residential Parks and Villages Group and focus groups convened in April and August. Responses were received by 164 of the 600 residents at four core parks: Peninsula Parklands, Hastings, which has 220 permanent residents; Mornington Gardens, Mornington, (also 220); Dromana Holiday Village (80); and…

THE outlook was certainly different for a group of girl netballers who arrived in Sorrento last week. Although well into spring, the continuing wintery weather that greeted them was a far cry from that of their home in the remote Northern Territory community of Ngukurr. The 10 girls – aged nine to 13 – experienced their first plane trip, rode in a gondola to the top of Arthurs Seat and then crossed Port Phillip on the ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff. The group’s trip was arranged by Georgia Croad, of Sorrento, who has been teaching at Ngukurr for the past…

POLICE pursuits in Mornington and Mt Eliza last week were aborted over concerns for public safety. In one instance, police chased an unidentified car with stolen number plates driving west along Nepean Highway near Wilsons Rd, 6.25pm, Thursday 14 September. Acting Sergeant Daniel Patten, of Mornington police, said police tried to pull the car over but it sped away and they called off the pursuit after less than a minute. The driver managed to elude police. In Mt Eliza at 4.55pm the same day, a twin cab ute was recorded at 108kph in an 80kph zone on Nepean Highway. The…

A MAN and a woman on the run following a home invasion in Langwarrin and liquor store robberies in Carrum Downs, Rye, Cranbourne, Berwick and Clyde were arrested in rural New South Wales last week after a dramatic police chase in a stolen car. The 24-year-old man, of no fixed address, and the woman, 19, of Cranbourne, were spotted by police driving a Mitsubishi Pajero 4WD at high speed on the Mitchell Highway, Orange, Sunday 10 September. Police aborted their chase over “public safety concerns” but, about 15 minutes later, they saw the car on another road after it collided…

POLITICIANS who may ultimately vote in Canberra to decide if same-sex marriage is legalised in Australia are taking different approaches to the outcome of the marriage equality vote. Local federal Liberal MPs Chris Crewther (Dunkley) and Greg Hunt (Flinders) have both confirmed they will both personally vote “yes” in response to the question “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?” mailed out to all Australians listed on the electoral roll last week but have different views on voting in line with the postal survey outcome in their respective electorates. Mr Crewther said he will vote for…

STANDING in the sand dunes at Rye, Josie Jones is pleased to note the absence of rubbish. She is there to promote a community walk at Hastings to raise money and awareness of the Dolphin Research Institute, for which she has designed and added a poster to her  “I’m really a mermaid” series. No stranger to the foreshore at Rye, Ms Jones has for the past 12 years walked its length and breadth collecting rubbish either dropped by careless beachgoers or dropped in the bay. A graphic designer, Ms Jones estimates she’s collected four tonnes of rubbish in a personal…

A CORONER’S report into the deaths of an elderly Rosebud couple late last year has described the tragic circumstances as a “common theme”. Judge Sara Hinchey was commenting on the death of Nancy May Budge who died in an apparent murder-suicide pact with her husband, Roy, in the driveway of their Adams Av property, 4.30pm, Thursday 3 November. Both were in their mid-80s. “It is well understood that people who have lived a full, productive and loving life, but who experience an irreversible deterioration in their physical health, can develop a determination to end their own lives, often in circumstances…