Day: July 22, 2019

FOR weeks the universal cry in this district has been “How long O Lord how long” are we to suffer from the disadvantages of the atrocious and well-nigh impassable roads which are a distinct strain on ones religion. For miles, channels have been prepared for laying water-mains and these are now full of water and beginning to cave in. The resultant earth from the excavations is lying on main roads and the wheels of vehicles which are compelled to traverse these tracks (roads is a misnomer) resemble the wheels of a gun carriage. Apparently the whole work will have to…

SOCCER A STUNNING performance from Seaford striker Dylan Waugh highlighted last weekend’s round of matches. The gun forward scored all of Seaford’s goals in a 5-1 trouncing of FC Noble Hurricanes at North Seaford Reserve on Saturday. Harry McCartney reports that the Waugh onslaught started after just five minutes when he won a 50/50 challenge with the last Hurricanes defender then easily sidefooted the ball home. Seaford dominated the first half but had to wait until the 39th minute to gain reward for its efforts when Waugh pounced on a bouncing ball and delicately tapped it over the head of…

DIVISION TWO HASTINGS have fallen short in an important matchup at home against Rye on Saturday. The game looked to be a good chance for Hastings to get a win and keep touch with a finals spot. Rye came into the game below Hastings on the ladder. Hastings looked the better side in a scrappy first half. They led at both quarter-time and half time, but not by enough to be comfortable. Rye looked a much improved side after half time, and held Hastings to just two goals in the second half. The Demons rose from the dead to take…

DIVISION ONE PINES have come from behind to secure a thrilling win against Frankston Bombers.The Bombers raced out of the blocks with a brilliant first quarter, putting four goals on the board and holding the Pythons scoreless. Pines scraped their way back in the second quarter, but couldn’t snatch the lead. They were wasteful in front of goal and kicked 2.7 in the second term. The Pythons continued to fight in the second half, and managed to just sneak into a one point lead by the time the three-quarter time break rolled around. They held onto that one point lead…

AN official ground breaking ceremony was conducted at Hastings on Friday (19 July) to mark the start of building a plant to liquefy hydrogen gas for export to Japan. The plant in Bayview Road is an integral part of the supply chain for hydrogen made from brown coal in the Latrobe Valley to be exported to Japan. The state and federal governments have each given $50 million towards the $400 million trial that Kawasaki predicts “will create a new innovative technical foundation for the development of an exciting hydrogen export industry for Australia”. Protesters from eight environment and community groups…

POLICE want public help to identify a man, pictured, who put $60 worth of petrol into a dark coloured flat tray ute at a Safety Beach/Dromana service station and drove off without paying, 6.50pm, Monday 8 July. The ute was displaying false number plates. Anyone recognising the man or the ute should call Constable Robinson at Rosebud police station 5986 0444 or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 23 July 2019

OFFENDERS broke into the Rosebud Soccer Club last week but only got away with cheap electrical appliances. Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Hocking, of Somerville CIU, said they dented roller doors in a bid to gain entry then used a jemmy to remove a security grill on the roof, overnight Sunday 14 July. Once inside they forced open cupboards and drawers and stole kitchen items, including cookware, frypan and sandwich maker, valued at $100. A battery charger was later found dumped near the gate into Besgrove Street. Nepean MP Chris Brayne said he was “saddened to hear the clubrooms had been…

A MOTORCYCLIST rammed a police divisional van at Rosebud last week and then rode off at high speed. Police were called to reports of the road bike being driven erratically on Pt Nepean Road, Rye, 4am, Thursday 18 July. After initially losing sight of the bike they spotted it at the Rye BP service station and tried to intercept it, but the rider rammed the side of the van and rode off along Weir Street at high speed. Police have CCTV footage of the incident. The rider is described as Caucasian and in his 20s. Anyone with information is urged…

ONE of the latest online scams involves a fraudulent Facebook messenger account using the name of Flinders MP Greg Hunt. Online fraudsters tell the victim they are in line for a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services. They say the grant is a financial aid program aiming to eradicate poverty and stabilise the economy. The grant promises them “quite sizeable” sums of money on the proviso the victim clicks a link and agrees to pay processing fees, including a fund file fee, tax and clearance fee and a delivery fee. All fees are in US dollars totalling…

THE iconic Mini Minor still radiates an intoxicating air of engineering elan and “swinging 60s” fashion flair in the eyes of British car enthusiast, Graeme Urch. The Mt Martha resident owns a rare and internationally significant BMC Works Mini that was brought to Australia to race in the late 1960s. Now, fully restored with genuine original parts and an eye for detail, the 1967 Austin Cooper has its own story to tell on the 60th anniversary of the first Mini being sketched on a tablecloth by designer Alec Issigonis. His brief was to design a fuel-efficient car in response to…

OPTUS says a public consultation process will take place before any site is selected for a proposed 4G base station at Capel Sound. The company’s corporate affairs advisor Rob Sharpe said the consultation phase was “us consulting on any planned sites”. “No decision has been made [on a site] and Optus is now assessing alternative locations raised by the community,” he said. “A public consultation will be undertaken for any site selected and we look forward to working with council and the community to deliver improved coverage and capacity for residents, business and visitors to Capel Sound area and surrounds.”…

A NATIONAL centre for Healthy ageing will be established at Monash University’s Peninsula campus following a financial agreement between the federal government, Peninsula Health and the university. An existing building at the campus in Frankston will be extended to “accommodate staff and cutting-edge simulation environments/transformation facilities for research and education for community-based care”. Flinders MP and Health Minister, Greg Hunt, last week said the first “milestone payment” of the government’s $32 million contribution had been made. “The national centre, the first of its kind in Australia, will deliver new research and treatment programs for older people and those with addiction…

ARTISTS are being invited to apply to stay at Point Nepean where others have already been inspired by the area’s relative isolation and the coastal environment. The offer by Mornington Peninsula Shire is for emerging and established artists, writers, musicians and “creatives” to apply for a two to six-week residency in the Gatekeepers Cottage at the shire’s Police Point park from January 2020 to December 2022. Residences can be supported and fee-paying residencies. This year the shire awarded 34 residencies at the cottage, with more than half going to peninsula-based artists. “The Police Point residency provided numerous opportunities for exploration…

UP to 50 irrigators across Tyabb and Somerville will be assessed as part of a study into them using class A recycled water which is now piped into the sea near Boags Rocks, Gunnamatta. The study, being run by South East Water, Mornington Peninsula Shire and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, will make waste water from the Carrum Downs treatment plant available for agriculture and possibly also for fighting bushfires. Primary producers and growers have long suffered as their dams run dry resulting in reduced food production and workers being laid off. One farming couple, Baxter farmers…

MEMBERS of the Australian Ballet were at Rosebud last Thursday showing how dance can help students learn about science, technology, engineering and maths. The ballet’s Steamdance program is based around the STEM subjects to bring dance experiences to school students. The specialist educators and professional dancers were at Our Lady of Fatima School to work with teachers during a series of workshops and performances to foster critical and creative thinking, literacy, numeracy, individual and cooperative learning and problem solving. The Australian Ballet also offers professional development training for teachers through Eduhub web resources which include interviews with creatives, downloadable resources…

FEES, restrictions, permits and zoned areas are all under review as part of an investigation into parking across the Mornington Peninsula. Results of a study into “a range of [parking] issues” will be handed to Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors before year’s end. However, the problems caused by parking may not end there as infrastructure strategy and climate change executive manager Davey Smith sees “potential to further investigate parking management in more detail as a second stage”. News that the study is underway is too late and misdirected, according to Joe Lenzo. “They have done nothing for 10 years and now…

THE death of a mate in a car crash in April was the catalyst for a road safety instruction night at Rye Football and Netball Club. Seventeen-year-old Timothy Hocking died and four others were injured when a Mazda CX3 with five young people on board struck a tree near the intersection of Marshall and Field streets, Tootgarook, early on Friday 12 April. (“Driver charged after fatal crash in suburban street” The News 15/4/19). Club vice-president Mark Egan said some of the players had known Timothy Hocking and his death had hit them hard. “We let things settle down a bit,…

A CONTROVERSIAL study into the causes and prevention of the devastating Buruli ulcer could lead to parts of Rye, Sorrento, Blairgowrie and Tootgarook being sprayed with chemicals in coming months. Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor, Cr David Gill has called on the state government to stop the study until a “full environmental impact assessment” has been made. He says the program being run by the Department of Health and Human Services is being carried out with “little regard for the environment or [its] effect on people”. The “cluster randomised control trial” would involve dousing nature strips with a synthetic pyrethroid pesticide…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire mayor Cr David Gill wants the state government to order a “full environmental impact assessment” before launching the contentious Buruli study program. Cr Gill says the program being run by the Department of Health and Human Services – in which large areas of the Mornington Peninsula could be chemically sprayed to combat mosquitoes – has “little regard for the environment or [its] effect on people”. “They should consult, provide information to the community and then listen hard to what has been said before taking any further action.” The mayor described the program as a “third world approach…