AUTHOR Fran Henke realised the need for a book outlining the latest expert advice for polio survivors after attending a conference in Sydney last year. “Experts from around the world were speaking on the main areas of concern for us and I wanted to get that new information to the often isolated people who need it most,” Mrs Henke said. “The exchange of ideas on management for polio survivors in the second round of the fight with the polio virus has proved vital in the absence of wide understanding of post-polio syndrome in the medical profession.” Mrs Henke, of Hastings,…
Day: October 17, 2017
AN application for a planning permit to rebuild the fire-ravaged Somerville Recreation and Community Centre is being advertised in the lead up to works starting next year. The Mornington Peninsula Shire planning application is for a four-court indoor multi-sport facility to replace the two-court building destroyed by fire in May last year. The rebuild will include refurbishing the damaged community area, amenities for players and officials and better public areas in the recreation centre. The shire in August committed up to $3 million next year for the rebuild – subject to it receiving a $1.5 million grant from Sport and…
YOUNG motorbike riders have a safe, supervised area in which to ride – right in the shadows of BlueScope’s Western Port steelworks. And the sense of fun is catching on, with membership of the Mornington Peninsula Motorcycle Club doubling over the past 12 months. “One of the most important aims of the club is to teach young people how to ride safely and responsibly,” club secretary Carl Agar said. “We won’t let anyone ride who isn’t a club member, and to be a member you must know and follow the rules.” The club’s 1200 financial members are mostly families, with…
AGL Energy’s plans to use a floating gas terminal at Crib Point will be outlined later this month at Port Phillip Conservation Council’s annual general meeting. The power retailer’s community relations manager Jay Gleeson will provide a presentation on AGL’s assessment of options for shipping liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Crib Point from interstate and overseas. The company plans to inject the LNG into a pipeline supplying south-eastern Australia. Crib Point, in Western Port, was chosen for the floating terminal after an assessment sites around Australia (“Crib Point choice for gas terminal” The News 15/8/17). Mr Gleeson will outline of…
AN outdoor seat with plaque dedicated to the memory of Joan Backhouse was stolen from lawns outside St Mark’s Church, Balnarring, overnight Wednesday 4 October. The jarrah three-seater, with the plaque mounted in middle, had been bolted onto concrete between the vicarage and the church on the Stumpy Gully Rd side of the property. Senior Constable Travis O’Donnell, of Hastings police, said the seat was valued at about $1200 but had a greater sentimental value. First published in the Western Port News – 17 October 2017
THE history of a koala rescued from a mooring near Warneet and its safe delivery back home to nearby Quail Island can be traced back to the 1920s. Research by Hastings historian and author Ruth Gooch tracing the rise and fall of the island’s koala population shows that the one picked up on Sunday 8 October by the Coast Guard is one of just a few still calling the island home (“Soggy koala finds solace in blanket” The News 10/10/17). Gooch’s book, Quail Island, Western Port, Victoria, tells of campers in the 1970s hearing koalas “bellowing” during the night and…
DESPITE strong opposition, Mornington Peninsula Shire is determined to force a massive increase in the rent it receives from the Hastings Cricket and Football Social Club. Councillors last week decided to advertise their intention of offering the club a new 21-lease lease, but with a rent increase from $4000 a year to $42,000 in the first year. The rent will rise $5000 a year for the following two years and then three per cent a year until expiry of the lease. The latest offer, which will be advertised and open for public comment, is virtually the same as that proposed…