WHILE most young people on the Mornington Peninsula have the benefits of living within strong family structures supported by positive role models and a sound education improving their job prospects – many do not. That’s why the innovative Passport to my Future program is so important. The YMCA Peninsula Youth Service initiative is designed to give young people “a helping hand” to seek work placement and employment opportunities. It provides employers with a better insight into the capabilities and achievements of young people keen to enter the workforce. Rosebud Hotel is an enthusiastic founding supporter of the “Passport to My…
Year: 2018
Police are appealing for information following a suspicious house fire in Blairgowrie this month. The blaze broke out about 5.30pm on Father’s Day, 2 September, completely destroying the Fawkner Avenue home. No one was inside the house at the time. The fire has since been deemed suspicious. Investigators are hoping to speak to anyone who may have noticed any suspicious behaviour leading up to the fire, particularly around Fawkner Avenue, Langdon Avenue, Hughes Road and Point Nepean Road. They are also keen to speak to anyone who may have dash cam footage between the hours of 5pm and 6.30pm. Anyone…
A PERFORMANCE space, market space, and nature-based play area, is being built at Balnarring to encourage outdoor recreation activities while residents make friends with other visitors. The first sod for the works at the Civic Court Reserve was turned Friday 31 August. The mayor Cr Bryan Payne joined Cr David Gill, MP Daniel Mulino, Balnarring Bendigo Bank chair Heather Goddard and members of Balnarring Village Common Community Group on a rather wet day. Also on hand were teachers and pupils from Balnarring Preschool who often use the vacant reserve for outdoor play and activities. The $640,000 project includes $290,000 from…
AUSTRALIA’S new Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made first visit to Frankston as leader, visiting Leawarra station to reaffirm the federal government’s $228 million commitment to electrifying the Frankston train line to Baxter. Member for Dunkley Chris Crewther MP, Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population Alan Tudge MP, and Victorian leader of the opposition Matthew Guy MP were among the many faces on hand to support the statement. “This is a project which we announced in the budget, this is a commitment that is fair-dinkum. I’m really pleased to hear about the commitment from Matthew Guy and his team…
A RE-ELECTED Andrews Labor government will spend $562 million to build an 11-storey tower at Frankston Hospital. The announcement was made at the hospital by Premier Daniel Andrews and state health minister Jill Hennessy on Monday morning. Building will start in 2020 with completion by 2024. The project will include 120 beds, two operating theatres, maternity ward, obstetrics ward, women’s clinic, children’s ward and special care nursery. Two floors will accommodate mental health services. An integrated cancer ward and day clinic will treat people who currently have to travel to Melbourne for treatment. Mr Andrews said the project would create…
THE former Russian fighter plane that crashed in Gippsland last week killing the pilot was previously owned by a member of Peninsula Aero Club, Tyabb. The single engine Yakovlev Yak-9UM fighter crashed near Moe, Friday 7 September. The pilot’s name had not been released yesterday (Monday). Long-time Tyabb resident Jim Wickham sold the plane to its new owners, based at the LaTrobe Valley Airport, near Traralgon, late last year and it flew east in February. Classic Aviation News reported that the Yak-9 was the only example of the type in Australia. It was built in Russia in 2004. First published…
SEAWEED and litter build-up on Tassels Cove beach at Martha Cove is irritating one user who thinks the council should make a bigger splash in its clean-up efforts. Ken May said the Marine Drive beach, between Mt Martha cliff and the entrance to the marina, was “neglected” by the council: “I and others who use the beach for many years have been disappointed with the lack of any significant plan and upkeep,” he said. “Perhaps a more appropriate name would be Mornington Peninsula Dirty Beach.” Mr May said in April he decided that, as the condition had got so bad,…
CONSTRUCTION on the Mornington Little Athletics Centre’s new $2 million IAAF standard athletics track at Civic Reserve, Mornington has started to get underway. Civil work construction commenced a few weeks ago to level out the dirt and create an even surface for their new track to be built on, and the little athletes are on track to be competing on the new surface by October 2019. Mornington Little Aths president Todd Martin said that with a bit of luck, the club should be on the track by the start of their 2019/20 season. “We always thought it would be around…
SOCCER Adam Jamieson’s return to Mornington and Baxter’s escape from relegation are the major stories to emerge from last weekend’s final round of the league season. Mornington will announce this week that Jamieson has been appointed as head coach for 2019. It will be his second stint at the club after stepping down last May citing work commitments as the main reason for his departure. Jamieson first took the reins at Dallas Brooks Park in 2009 and led Mornington from Provisional League to the doorstep of the NPL winning State 1 championships in 2015 and 2016. “A big part of…
HOCKEY MORNINGTON Peninsula Hockey Club goalkeeper, Julia Ashmore, represented Australia for the first time in the over-45s Masters World Cup in Terrassa, Spain from Saturday 28 July to Sunday 5 August. Ashmore entered the Australian side with little expectations for the World Cup but returned home just one spot shy of earning a bronze medal. Ashmore helped the national side match it with the world’s best in the scorching conditions, and after claiming four of their five matches in the group stage, Australia made their way through to the semi-finals. In the semi-final, Australia faced the in-form English side, which…
DIVISION ONE SORRENTO has earned their way through to the MPNFL Division One Grand Final with a win over Mt Eliza at Frankston Park. The game got off to a great start for Sorrento, as Shannon Gladman opened the scoring with an impressive banana kick. Mt Eliza quickly replied though, as last weeks seven goal superstar Jordan Moncrieff snagged an early goal. Mt Eliza went behind early but fought back in the second term, as an unlikely bounce saw the ball fall into the lap of Moncrieff, who put the Redlegs within two points. The Sharks soon fell behind, and…
DIVISION TWO DROMANA have held Red Hill at bay to claim the 2018 MPNFL Division Two premiership at Frankston Park. The Tigers lost just two games for the entire year, with both their defeats coming at the hands of Red Hill. The Hillmen have improved in leaps and bounds this season under coach Jamie Mollo, and having defeated Dromana just two weeks earlier in their first final they entered the Grand Final full of confidence. Red Hill’s quest to claim their first premiership since 1990 hit a snag early, when Rheede Hopgood was struck down before the match with a…
LANCE Corporal Lyle Holland late driver for the Peninsula Motor Garage Pty Ltd Frankston has been wounded (second occasion) in France. *** MESSRS T. R. B. Morton and Son report, having leased, through J. L. Parkes, one of their auctioneers, Mrs Boag’s property at Dromana, for a term of years. *** A FOOTBALL match between Frankston and Hastings will be played at Frankston today. Last Saturday Mordialloc visited Frankston, and after an interesting game, won by 2 points. *** AN order has been made by the Executive Council providing that all butchers’ shops within the shire of Frankston and Hastings…
THE cause of a house fire at Blairgowrie, Sunday 2 September, is being investigated by police. No one was at the two-storey brick house in Fawkner Avenue when the blaze broke out at 5.30pm. However, police want to identify two-three men in their 20s seen earlier trying to put out the flames before CFA crews arrived. One was wearing a red track suit. Firefighters from Sorrento, Rye and Rosebud worked hard to control the blaze. Anyone knowing the men or who assisted with the house fire is asked to call Detective Sergeant John Coburn, at Mornington Peninsula CIU, 5978 1431.…
A DESIRE to give something back to the community after she retired prompted occupational therapist Pamela Farrington to start the Mt Martha creative group Painting with Parkinson’s. Now, however, she realises the benefits run both ways: “All the members are my friends and I value them so much that I am the one who feels blessed.” Ms Farrington has been running PWP for eight years “to give people with Parkinson’s a fun, creative outlet with others who are dealing with various symptoms of the neurological disease”. “We start off with simple, seated exercise which has been found to stimulate neural…
SUSTAINABLE House Day will be celebrated at the Eco Living Display Centre at The Briars, 10am-4pm, Sunday 16 September. The day provides an opportunity for those interested in sustainability to observe all the features of leading “green” homes and experience how they are environmentally friendly, cheaper to run and more comfortable to live in. The centre features a range of energy-saving practices, including solar power with battery back-up, lighting, heat pumps for water/heating, ventilation, insulation, window covering and glazing. It also has greywater recycling, water tanks, flow restrictors on taps and shower heads, and water-efficient appliances. The garden has been…
RECREATIONAL and educational activities for people of varying abilities, held Wednesdays at the Civic Reserve Recreation Centre, Mornington, are popular. The Fit N Fun program allows up to 40 participants to enjoy being with their friends and connecting with the community. Participants develop confidence to participate in sporting and physical activity programs, increase their skills, and are advised on healthy eating and personal relationships. They enjoy the challenge of shooting a goal – as well as having fun, interacting and physical activity. The program follows on from the success of the All Abilities day in December when Belgravia Leisure and…
SORRENTO’S landmark Stringers Store is being readied for its next century. The two-storey limestone building, which changed hands in March, has always been a merchant’s store of some description, with new owners the Saba family very much involved in the vision and changes recently adopted. “We stock all the essentials for holidaymakers, with a delicatessen and bottle shop alongside the supermarket,” manager Cosmo McIntyre said. “A cafe serves light meals and coffee for weary day-trippers to refuel after a long drive or the walk up from the beach.” Stringers Store was established in 1896 as a classic part of Sorrento’s…
WHEN Dave Smith crosses the finish line in the Dystonia Walk next month he will have his two daughters beside him and friends and supporters out in front to welcome him home. The Dystonia sufferer is training hard to compete in the 21.1km Melbourne Half Marathon, Sunday 14 October, to raise awareness for sufferers of the disease which has ravaged his body for the past three years. “Having run the full marathon in 1983 from Frankston to the Arts Centre in Melbourne I knew this would become my next goal,” he said. After being diagnosed in March 2015 and undergoing…
POLICE have apprehended three men after a violent incident in East Melbourne early Friday morning, 7 September, in which a Rosebud man was left with serious injuries. A 27-year-old and 24-year-old, from Fitzroy North, and a 27-year-old from East Melbourne, have been charged with intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury and other assault-related offences. They have been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 4 December. The charges relate to the alleged assault of the Rosebud man, 61, and his friend, 45, of Mt Evelyn, on Wellington Parade after the Hawthorn-Richmond game at the MCG. Police media officer Leonie…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council has appointed Kelvin Spiller (right) as its interim CEO while it searches for a permanent replacement for the departed Carl Cowie. Mr Cowie left Friday 30 August after almost four years at the helm to take up the vacant CEO’s position at Nillumbik, in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne. The council voted on Monday 3 September to appoint Mr Spiller who is regarded as an experienced local government CEO with 35 years’ experience in business, local government and community sectors as chief executive and board member. He reportedly is highly regarded for his abilities in…
THE state government has postponed building a rock wall at Portsea beach aimed at further preventing sand erosion, and will instead start repairing the existing sandbag seawall using its current design. This follows a bid by Mornington Peninsula Shire to overturn a decision by the Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning to build the rock wall which mayor Cr Bryan Payne slammed as “the final environmental nail in the coffin [which would] permanently destroy the beach”. (See “Restore our beach: council demands” The News 4/9/18). Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio last week ordered the repair of…
IN what seems like a win for animal rights devotees, Mornington Peninsula shire will open the animal shelter and pound for extended hours on Saturdays and Sundays – without requiring those wanting to visit to adopt a pet to make an appointment beforehand. Previously the pound, at 130 Watt Road, Mornington, was only open without an appointment 10am-1pm Saturdays as part of a six-month trial. The limited times rankled some prospective adopters who felt the shire’s “red tape” regulations were making the process too restrictive. Also, under previous arrangements, those intending to visit had to apply online, await an official…
TWO peninsula community volunteers were honoured for their selfless efforts at last week’s Delys Sargeant Age-Friendly Awards. John Drysdale, a Somerville Community House and Peninsula North Men’s Shed committee member, was named Elder of the Year, while RPPFM’s Dennis Gist was named Senior Achiever of the Year. Mornington Peninsula mayor Cr Bryan Payne presented the awards at the Mt Eliza Community Centre, Tuesday 28 August. They honour the men’s “significant contributions to the community and the Mornington Peninsula by a person 50-plus years of age”. Other awards were made to individuals, clubs, services or businesses that contribute to building a…
DESPITE “struggling with this terrible carpark situation for years” there’s light at the end of the tunnel for the community of St Mark’s Balnarring – particularly if Liberal candidate for Nepean, Russell Joseph, has his way. He’s promised $60,000 to seal the gravel carpark if the Liberals Nationals win the state election in November. “After attending the opening of the community centre last year, it was brought to my attention that the carpark was a necessary piece of infrastructure to ensure the church can make the best connection possible to those in the community who have come to rely on…
LIKE Phoenix rising from the ashes, so, too, is one of Hastings’ favourite op shops: Holy Trinity Church Op Shop, which is undertaking a rebuilding project. The vision for the new building is for a larger, purpose-built facility that encourages the Mornington Peninsula community in their efforts to recycle and re-purpose unwanted household goods. It aims to be an open, welcoming space for the community to meet, volunteer, browse, read and connect with others. The rebuild follows the devastating fire of March last year that destroyed the building which had been an op shop since 1994. Since then, the shop…
FIVE years after her husband was murdered in front of her in a drug-fuelled attack, Bridget O’Toole has been awarded The Royal Humane Society of Australasia’s 2017 Clarke Gold Medal. The Clarke Medal is the society’s highest award for the most outstanding case of bravery considered during the year. The Clarke Gold Medal was presented by The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Councillor Sally Capp at Melbourne Town Hall on 23 August. Mrs O’Toole was attacked by Gavin Perry, 27, after the parolee entered their High Street Hastings jewellery store in July 2013. Brandishing a 20cm carving knife,…
HASTINGS Liberal MP Neale Burgess is ramping up the law-and-order debate while campaigning for the November state election. He said a Liberal Nationals Government would focus on having “more police on the beat, tougher sentencing and $24 million for more local community safety measures, like CCTV cameras in at-risk areas across the Hastings electorate”. This would include funding a police mobile CCTV camera rollout. Mr Burgess said grants of up to $250,000 would be made available to “local councils to develop public safety and security infrastructure like CCTV systems, improved lighting and creating local solutions to local crime”. “Councils will…
IN a few weeks an elderly Hastings man will forego the comforts of home for a long spell behind the wheel to raise money for drought-affected farmers. Len Brennan, a former professional driver, will set off in early October in his reliable and much-travelled Toyota Hilux ute on a 9000 kilometre journey taking in some of Australia’s toughest bush roads and rutted tracks. The self-described “poor man’s philanthropist” – 82 – will head to Adelaide, then Darwin, then across to Brisbane and back down to Melbourne in his fundraising adventure to, hopefully, raise $20,000 for a cause that’s close to…
SOMERVILLE Primary School pupils have been busily knitting for a very special project. They, along with family members and staff, are making squares to be sewn together to make blankets to be donated to The Salvation Army. “The children love being involved, and it has been wonderful to see them developing their skills, making new friends and developing a sense of pride in contributing to a project that is helping others,” Chaplain Kylie Nicholas said. Chaplain Nicholas, who started the Thursday Lunchtime Knitting Club this year, said she had been “blown away by the incredible level of support the project…