Day: December 3, 2018

THERE was not much of Beth Young’s cycling teddy bear being thrown on the tip, but the mechanical toy is now up and rolling thanks to the volunteer “fixers” at the Mornington repair Cafe. Ms Young, 94, (pictured) was one of the dozen “clients” who took a broken item to the cafe’s opening earlier this month. Volunteers experienced in repairing household goods are opening up a repair cafe in Mornington. The fixers, all experienced in repairing household goods and all members of the Peninsula branch of Solve Disability Solutions, set up shop at the Mornington Men’s Shed on Sunday 18…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is poised to start fencing off access to The Pillars cliff jumping site of the Esplanade, Mt Martha. The 450 metre wire mesh fence will run parallel to the road between Deakin Drive and Marguerita Avenue. Classified as a temporary fence, the $200,000 structure has been given the go ahead by VicRoads. Last year the shire failed to get backing for the fence from either the state government of Aboriginal Victoria. This year the shire sought indemnity from the state government after receiving advice that it could be liable for anyone injured or killed while visiting the…

Mornington Peninsula Shire’s rangers have been using “conflicting” laws for the past eight years when issuing infringement notices to dog owners. The “discrepancy” was revealed only after “a diligent search of council records”. To clean up its legal blunder council was last month forced to revoke an order gazetted on 11 February 2010. Prosecution officer Gustav Cook, in a report to council’s 9 October meeting, said that despite the “absolutely irreconcilable” orders made under the Domestic Animals Act and adopted in 2007 and 2010, all infringement notices issued under them “remain valid and enforceable”. “Important to note, is that both…

PROVINCIAL SORRENTO have worked hard to restrict Mornington to a total of just 160 in their clash at Alexandra Park. Defending a total of 205 runs away from home, helped by a brilliant 77 from Liam O’Connor, the Sharks started well to claim the first two wickets of the innings for just 19. Mornington’s middle order steadied the innings to put their side back on track, but once their wickets fell the rest collapsed quickly. Jake Wood was the best of Sorrento’s bowlers, taking 4 wickets for 26 runs from his 16 overs. At Emil Madsen Reserve, Langwarrin’s total of…

SOCCER LANGWARRIN has signed Wayne Wallace from Oakleigh Cannons as it gears up for an assault on the NPL2 East title. The 33-year-old midfield general has been released from the final year of his deal at Jack Edwards Reserve and is now part of Langwarrin gaffer Scott Miller’s major overhaul of the senior squad. It is a massive signing for Miller and a clear statement of intent – Langwarrin is targeting promotion to the premier club competition in the state. If it achieves that goal it will become only the third local club to have done so after Frankston Pines…

THE next generation of footballers made their way through the AFL draft on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 November, with a few familiar surnames among them. Former Frankston VFA stars Steve Hamill, Paul Williams and Paul Foot all shared the exciting, yet slightly relieving, feeling of seeing their sons get drafted alongside some of Australia’s best up-and-coming talent. Will Hamill (pick no. 30), Bailey Williams (pick no. 35) and Zac Foot (pick no. 51) will all be heading interstate to live out their dream of playing with the elite in the AFL. Hamill will be heading to the Adelaide Crows,…

MORNINGTON Yacht Club is hoping to attract more women into sailing with their new program, ‘Girl’s Out Sailing’. The program looks at the basics of sailing as well as behind-the-scenes aspects of a sailing club such as volunteering. Mornington Yacht Club board member, Michelle Pickford, said the five-session program is all about have a good time out on the water. “Girls Out Sailing was put together to get women and teenage girls to step out into an unreal program,” Pickford said. “It’s all about socialisation, meeting new people and learning the basic sailing skills to enjoy some time out on…

ROSEBUD Country Club junior golfer, Gracie Larsen, represented Victoria for the first time at the School Sports National Golf Championships on the Bellarine Peninsula on Monday 12 November. Despite it being her first time competing, Gracie was awarded the honour of captaining the under-12s Victorian side, along with the boy’s team captain, Bailey Goodall. Victoria ended up coming away with an overall bronze medal from the five-day championships and Gracie’s father, Tom Larsen, said the competition made them “better people, not just golfers”. “They played awesome as a team and really enjoyed themselves out there,” he said. “They had no…

AUSTRALIAN music icons, Brian Cadd and Russell Morris, have been friends for over forty years and have been touring together from time to time over the past decades and are back after a 7 year break to perform a limited amount of shows. From 1966 until his departure for America in 1975, singer, songwriter, keyboard player and producer Brian Cadd was one of the most prominent musicians on the local scene. Brian moved back to Australia in 1997 where he remained for the next 20 years, still rocking and playing to huge audiences nationwide. In 2007 he was inducted into…

Welcome to the world of Kingswood. Don’t be confused by the veneer. Like the iconic Aussie car of the same name, it’s all about what’s under the hood. “We wanted to make something that would rival Abbey Road,” guitarist Alex Laska told Rolling Stone magazine in the throes of their second album, After Hours, Close to Dawn. “I know it sounds insane but if you don’t strive for that kind of thing, what are you doing? Seriously, what are you doing?” The goal posts refuse to yield on the Melbourne rock quartet’s third album, currently under construction across four studios…

POLICE arrested nine people at Rye on Saturday following a series of drunken brawls that have been connected to schoolies’ celebrations. Police reinforcements and several specialist units were called to the township following a near riot two weekends ago and a brawl on the pier on Friday night. While there are few, if any organised schoolie events at Rye, there is no shortage of “schoolies accommodation” being offered for the annual pre-Christmas visit by schoolies. After the first schoolies incident on Saturday 24 November the mayor, Cr David Gill said “it shouldn’t be lost in the post mortem of this…

THE following letter was received by Mrs Meldrum, of Somerville, from her son Edward, on active service in Damascus: I have not had much time for letter writing lately. I don’t think anyone had an idea of what this stunt was going to be like. All thought we would strike some stiff fighting. We started off one night and got within a few miles of the front line, unsaddled for the night and were let into the know of what was going to be done in the morning. We were all awake waiting for the guns to open up, which…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have refused to lift the cost cap on the Rosebud Aquatic Centre. In March, the council capped the centre’s budget at $41.57m, but the latest estimates now put the cost at $46.63m. The net cost to council was put at $36.57m after taking into account $5m from the federal government, $3m less than was sought. In a bid to avoid delaying construction of the centre, councillors last week accepted a design for an eight-lane pool and agreed to seek expressions of interest and then tenders from builders. But they refused to accept the $5m increase and…

ENTHUSIASM, if not waves, won the day when teams of surfers descended on Pines Beach, Shoreham for the second annual DSAMP Champs contest. Dressed “in wild costumes to match the occasion”, the surfers had to be content with beach games in their efforts to compete against one another. Rod Jones, of the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula (DSAMP) said the “offbeat” competition attracted 15 teams. Organised by the Peninsula’s Maladiction Longboarders Club the event raised $2700 for DSAMP’s surfing days at Point Leo, the second Champs event Champs on Sunday 10 November saw surfers dressed as animals, pirates, 1960s rockers,…

THE new Rye boat ramp was officially opened on Friday with the Safety Beach Coast Guard boat being first off the ramp and into the water. The controversial extra ramp was built as part of a major upgrade, with $648,000 from Mornington Peninsula Shire and $588,000 from Transport Victoria. The mayor Cr David Gill predicted the new ramp would cut boat launching and retrieval times “from 51 minutes to 16 minutes” during the busy season. While seeing the Rye works as an “investment”, Cr Gill said an election policy announcement by the incoming Labor government should reduce the $250,000 spent…

THE Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has started its summer water quality tests at Mornington Peninsula and Frankston beaches. The forecasts over the next four months will cover eight peninsula beaches and four at Frankston. EPA chief environmental scientist Dr Andrea Hinwood said last year’s forecasts for peninsula illustrated how conditions could vary from beach to beach. “Last season, good water quality was forecast for Sorrento beach 81 per cent of time – the second highest score [out of 36 beaches in Port Phillip],” she said. “But a few kilometres away, Rye beach had forecasted good water quality 72 per…

POLICE presence at schools in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula will soon increase to issue fines to speeding drivers. A Frankston Council statement said that “due to ongoing complaints and incidents” there would be an increase in police “patrolling local school zones and issuing fines to drivers doing the wrong thing.” Frankston mayor Cr Michael O’Reilly said “keeping kids safe as they get to and from school is everyone’s responsibility.” “Reducing your speed from 60kph to 40kph to travel through a 400 metre school speed zone only adds around twelve seconds to your overall travel time. This reduction in…

By Barry Morris VOLUNTEER drivers are angry and disappointed that a woman who didn’t have cancer used a free transport service to get a lift to a Melbourne hospital for an x-ray. The woman called the Southern Peninsula Cancer Support Group, where some of the drivers are former cancer patients, and asked for a lift to and from hospital. The woman also requested that the service call her on the day of her appointment to wake her up. She then asked for the driver to take her dog to a friend’s home so that it would be looked after. Taking…

THE failed bid in August by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Flinders MP Greg Hunt to be prime minister and deputy Liberal Party leader is being blamed for much of the party’s loss of support on the Mornington Peninsula. The Liberals Nepean candidate Russell Joseph was last Friday reconciled to accept defeat in an election that saw Daniel Andrews’ state Labor swept back to power with nearly twice the number of MPs as the Liberals. “It’s all a bit confusing, but I’m not particularly optimistic,” Mr Joseph said as the Victorian Electoral Commission announced the latest voting figures showing…