Day: December 23, 2019

THEY are wrapped up for Christmas with not a battery in sight. Carefully crafted toys made by members of the Woodworkers of the Southern Peninsula (WoSP) were last week handed over to the charities which will in turn hand them on to the children of needy families. The woodworkers have been making toys for the cause for 21 years and this year, despite losing the use of a workshop for more than six weeks, have still made 750 toys. While still meeting their toy quota, the woodworkers moved from makeshift tin sheds in Besgrove Street, Rosebud to a purpose-built workshop…

BLAIRGOWRIE’S Sarsha Pancic came in the under-14 girls division at Australian Junior Surfing Titles at Margaret River, 30 November-7 December. The Victorian team won the event for the first time with members including Sara Hickson and Lucas Hickson, of Rye, and Willem Watson, of Shoreham. They were among 28 Victorian juniors in the seven-day event at local break Surfers Point. It was chosen as the primary event location because it has the most consistent and reliable waves in the region. It is also home to the WSL Margaret River Pro. Surfing Victoria’s Elley Harrison said the main break Margaret River…

FORMER Dromana MP Tony Hyams is saying thanks to doctors who gave him a double lung transplant by swimming in the Pt Leo Classic on Boxing Day. The 74-year-old is tackling the 1.2 kilometre swim to raise money for research into lung disease in the knowledge that he was saved from a rare and potentially fatal lung disease four years ago. Money raised will go to clinical and research work at the world-recognised respiratory unit at The Alfred Hospital to support those suffering from lung disease. The target is $20,000. “The staff’s work at The Alfred is amazing; it’s like…

TEN years ago, following the fires of Black Saturday, a retired rabbit trapper from Mt Eliza sent in a poem to a newspaper, written in 1851 about fire. Lawrence Prout, the trapper, was 85 then. The poem resonated because 10 years earlier, as a member of the Central Highlands Forest Management Committee, and a decade before that again in 1989, I was looking into the proliferation of eucalypts and their role in the spread of fire. The lines resonate now in 2019, with the country in similar drought, experiencing similar fires. What are we to do? The verses had been…

WHERE would we be without volunteers? It seems every aspect of our society depends on these unsung heroes who want nothing more than to get involved – usually in the background – help out wherever they can and take nothing away other than the knowledge that their services are appreciated. Point Leo Life Saving Club long-standing member John Horwood is a case in point, with his services acknowledged at the 2019 Premier’s Volunteer Champion Awards – Service, held on 2 December. Mr Horwood, who turned 80 on Friday 20 December, was honoured for his commitment to the lifesaving club “in…

LIFE memberships have been given to long time Pink Lady volunteers at The Bays aged care home at Hastings. Valerie Gregory (25 years), Margaret O’Donnell (23), Carole Wooldridge (17) and Janice Danaher (11) were presented with certificates at The Bays’ annual general meeting in November. “Their individual contributions are outstanding. Helping to define The Bays’ community-centric approach, they are an integral part of our culture,” The Bays Healthcare Group CEO Elena Allen said. “It is a well overdue accolade for these humble individuals who have dedicated their life to supporting the mission of The Bays within the community that we…

NO entertainment and no nonsense will again be Mornington Peninsula Shire’s approach to New Year’s Eve on the southern peninsula. Shire officers will work with police to minimise any negative impacts of celebrations. The shire says this tactic has helped in providing a safe destination for residents and holiday makers since its introduction more than 16 years ago. It provides better security, lighting, additional transport and services throughout the Nepean Ward towns of Rye, Blairgowrie, Sorrento and Portsea. The aim is to make the peninsula a safe place to enjoy the New Year period. In essence it means there will…

A CAR was burnt out after being stolen from outside its owner’s house at Safety Beach, overnight Friday 13 December. Burglars took the keys to the $20,000 Audi from a Rymer Street house and within half an hour had torched it in nearby Bruce Road. A VW Golf was stolen from outside a house in Davies Street, Safety Beach at about the same time was still missing late last week. “In both instances, the owners did not hear anything. Both cars were parked outside their respective homes,” Detective Senior Sergeant Eddie Logonder, of Mornington Peninsula CIU, said. He would not…

MEMBERS of the community are being asked to “look out for one another” as calls for help with family violence are expected to peak during the holiday period. Police typically see an increase of family violence incidents as the end of year approaches. “While [it’s] a great time to get together and celebrate with family, police certainly see an increase in trauma that happens during the festive season,” Assistant Commissioner of Family Violence Command, Dean McWhirter said. “Statistics show that police responded to 83,775 family violence incidents in a 12-month period – that’s one call for help every six minutes.…

By Barry Morris TUCKED away in a closed-up shed at the back of a Mornington Peninsula property rests a cardboard box of mouldy, moth-eaten papers and documents from long ago. Talk about a bygone era – an old copy of Scouting for Boys written by the movement’s founder Lord Robert Baden-Powell, or B-P for short. Baden-Powell became a hero in Britain for his role in the relief of the besieged town of Mafeking in South Africa during the Boer War at the end of the 19th century. Today, there’s a street named after him that traverses Frankston South and Mt…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire is reviewing all permit approvals involving three companies at the centre of an investigation into allegations of corruption involving land developments in the City of Casey. The Mornington-based companies under scrutiny by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and now the shire are Watsons Pty Ltd, Schutz Consulting Pty Ltd and Wolfdene Built Pty Ltd. IBAC is set to broaden the scope of its inquiry when it resumes next year. Watsons’ engineers, planners and developers have been involved in hundreds of planning permit applications on the peninsula. The largest is the $650 million (2002 estimate by City…

RYMAN Health Care has submitted plans for a proposed retirement village in Kunyung Road, Mt Eliza, with Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. Seventeen documents outlining plans for 10 four-level buildings, including 55 serviced apartments and 124 aged care beds accommodating 500 people, were lodged on 25 November. Ryman Health has been undertaking community consultation with Mt Eliza residents over the redevelopment of the site which is within a Special Use Zone (Schedule 2) and identified within a heritage overlay pursuant. A proposal from the shire to rezone the site to green wedge is said to still be sitting on the desk…