There will be no love lost between these two brothers after one allegedly tried to impersonate the other after being caught drink driving in Frankston South Friday 2 March. Frankston police intercepted the 23-year-old driver on Frankston Flinders Road after the vehicle he was driving was found to be unregistered about 5pm. Upon inspection, the vehicle was found to be unroadworthy and the driver was unlicensed. During the intercept, the driver initially tried to convince police that he was actually his brother. The Hastings man provided a positive roadside breath test but refused to accompany police to gauge just how…
Year: 2018
MORNINGTON Pirates women’s baseball team is hoping to add some wind to their sails this season under the guidance of new head coach Jo Schutt (pictured right). Schutt, who returned last year after taking several years off to take care of her children, is urging other mothers to come and join the newly-formed side which enters its second season. Schutt said that a lot of women, like herself, tend to stop playing the sport to focus solely on their children but after returning last year, is hoping to attract some of those players back. “Women will put themselves last and…
Don’t miss Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges USA on his Australian blues “Hold On A little Bit Longer’ Tour. This masterful Memphis Blues performer pays homage to his blues roots and the likes of Sam Cooke & BB King in his one off Mornington show! Eugene ‘Hideaway Bridges’ returns to Australia this year to perform Bluesfest for the eighth time. With a brand new album, Hold On A Little Bit Longer and already nominated for two W.C. Handy awards, Eugene’s tour also marks his fiftieth anniversary as a performer – he started playing at the age of three with his father, bluesman…
SOMETHING should be done at once by “our city fathers” with reference to the state of some of the drains in Frankston. The present state of affairs is disgraceful, and constitutes a serious menace to the health of the people of Frankston. In the right-of-way leading from Bay street into Thompson street, drainage from a number of houses flows, and although a drain of sorts has been made, there does not appear to be enough fall to enable the drainage to reach the drain in Thompson street. At present the drain is just a series of stagnant evil-smelling pools, and…
HE coaches of Frankston YCW and Sorrento football clubs, Wayne Capp and Tony Blackford, presented the inaugural Toe Punt Shield to Andrew ‘Toe Punt’ Kelly this week. The shield will be awarded to the winner of the clash between the two sides in the opening round of the season. Andrew, who is currently in hospital undergoing treatment for cancer, will also have a medal named in his honour for the best player on the ground. Frankston YCW president Michael Lamb, with the support of his committee, came up with the idea of playing the annual blockbuster, starting this season with…
SOCCER PENINSULA Strikers and Frankston City Council are at loggerheads over the dire state of the club’s home ground at Centenary Park. Strikers claim that their plea to council in January to water the ground fell on deaf ears. The main pitch is now unplayable and council has ordered the club not to use it. Strikers president Trevor Johnston fears that it won’t be repaired in time for the start of the league season on 24 March. “I’m having an onsite meeting with council on Monday (today) to see what can be done but I can’t see how it will…
SUB-DISTRICT By Mr & Mrs IT Gully FRANKSTON YCW, Carrum Downs and Boneo will be fighting it out for a spot in the Sub District finals this weekend in the final home and away game of the year. The Stonecats tackle Balnarring at Balnarring this Saturday, a one-dayer. The Saints will be looking to make a statement this weekend. Boneo and Carrum Downs have destiny in their own hands, playing each other at Thompson Oval. There will be no excuses for either side. Fourth-placed Boneo could have sealed their fate on Saturday against Balnarring, however, fell agonisingly short, losing by…
DISTRICT By Mr & Mrs IT Gully THE top four looks set heading into the final round of MPCA District cricket. Fourth-placed Mt Martha is currently 16 points clear of Seaford Tigers and Rosebud are a further four points clear of Hastings. Bottom of the table Rye is four points behind the Buds and the Blues. The Demons take on top of the table Baden Powell in the final game. Mt Martha host Rosebud and a simple win here for them will ensure a place in the finals. Seaford despite losing in the first innings were able to pull off…
PENINSULA By Mr & Mrs IT Gully SOMERVILLE has swooped into the top four in MPCA Peninsula cricket after beating reigning premier Red Hill outright on Saturday. At the beginning of day two Somerville was just 34 runs short of a first innings victory. The Eagles, clearly looking for an outright win, declared their innings at 9/109 giving them a first innings lead of 11 runs. Eagles skipper Jayde Herrick then went to town on the Hills snaring 6/38 of 17 overs to roll the Hills for just 83. Brent Martin top scored for the Hills with 41. Needing just…
By Mr & Mrs IT Gully AS predicted a number of rounds ago, Baxter looks set to miss the finals after being touched up by top of the table Langwarrin on Saturday in MPCA Provincial cricket. Defending just 135 Langwarrin started the second day on top as Baxter resumed at 4/31, with Chris Brittain, Justin Bridgeman and Dale Irving still to bat. Between the three of them they scored 16 runs. This was as a result of the onslaught from Langwarrin skipper Travis Campbell with the ball snaring 6/38 off 18.4 overs. Playing against his old side Leigh Paterson took…
CHAMPION boxer Johnny Famechon is finding a newfound appreciation of his sporting achievements among younger generations in the wake of the unveiling of a sculpture in his likeness and honour at Frankston’s Ballam Park. The 72-year-old former boxer visited the Mt Eliza Boxing Centre late last month after the statue’s official unveiling and was greeted with lots of questions from children about his boxing heyday in the late 1960s when Famechon was a champion of the world. The longtime Frankston resident has inspired and mentored young people since retiring from boxing in 1970, the year after taking out the World…
FRANKSTON’S Bayside Shopping Centre has been earmarked for one of 12 new police “shopfronts” if the Liberal Nationals coalition wins the November state election. The $7.2 million plan to put police inside some of the state’s main shopping centres is described as a “new approach to policing and community engagement providing a more visible police presence to deter crime”. Bayside’s executive general manager Justin Mills said the opposition’s proposal was “another way we can build on our longstanding partnership with Victoria Police, to engage our communities, and make our centres destinations people love to visit and connect with.” The shopfronts…
A NEW writers’ festival is set to make its debut in Mornington. The Mornington Peninsula Writers Festival will be hosted by the Frankston Writers and Poets Society at the Peninsula Community Theatre on Saturday (10 March). Several established writers including Andrew Rule (co-author of the Underbelly and Chopper books), Paul Kennedy (ABC journalist and author of books including Fifteen Young Men about the tragic 1892 drowning of Mornington Football Club players), Garry Disher (author of several crime novels set on the peninsula), The Age scribe and author Anson Cameron and Nicky Johnson (author and illustrator of several children’s books including…
PETER Lillie has a problem with customers not being able to park their vehicles alongside his retail outlet. While that may not sound too strange to some shopping strip retailers, Mr Lillie doesn’t have a run of the mill shop. His wares are harvested from under the sea and his selling space is the back of a boat anchored at Mornington pier. Mr Lillie has a 90-hectare mussel farm off Mt Martha and while most of his annual harvest goes to wholesalers, he’s being encouraged to sell the shellfish from the back of his boat. “We’re encouraged by Parks Victoria…
PARENTS of children who attend child care and playgroups at Mornington Community Contact House were in limbo on Friday after liquidators moved in and closed the centre. Parents were only told the night before or Friday morning that the Albert Street centre was insolvent. Some had already paid for the year and were unsure whether they would get the money back. They also had no idea where they will take their children this week. Georgie Beck, of Mt Eliza, and Keli Wallace, who runs Daytripper Tours in Mornington, said they had both paid nearly $2000 for four terms of three-year-old…
RAIN didn’t deter more than 3500 movie buffs from attending the Cobs Peninsula Film Festival at Rosebud, Saturday 10 February. The festival has been held at the Rosebud Village Green since 2011 and receives $40,000 from the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Arts and Culture team. Festival director Steve Bastoni said he was thrilled with its success. “Once again the support of the shire, and the local community engagement, [has been] a critical factor in delivering a successful event,” he said. “We are pleased to see the event gaining national exposure and attracting punters from interstate.” This year’s winners were Shot Clock…
THE 16-year Sailability program at Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron has long benefitted from backing by private individuals, the community organisations and state and federal governments. The most recent grants totalling $12,000 came from the Department of Social Services, Sorrento Rotary Club, Southern Peninsula Community Support Fund and Camerons Bight Boat Club. The money from Rotary has been used for maintenance and extra fenders for the waiting area on the landing in the marina. The club has added safety railings near where Sailability participants will assemble and board the 303 yachts. The federal money has been used to replace an aluminium hull.…
THE desire to do things a “little differently” has prompted Our Lady of Fatima Primary School, Rosebud to provide a centrally located resource centre named The Hub. The design – which includes a floor-to-ceiling glass wall – is complemented by furnishings and dividers to create designated working zones for individuals, small groups and classes. The Hub provides alternative learning spaces and approaches to meet a wide range of educational and social-emotional needs among its students. It has six zones and features pedal desks, foot-and-hand cycles, bouncy bands, sensory wall, varied furnishings, fiddle toys, punching bags, timers and a range…
AN 18-year-old Mornington woman has been remanded to appear at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on 14 March charged with robbery, carjacking, criminal damage by fire and theft of a motor vehicle. A 15-year-old Rosebud boy appeared at Frankston Children’s Court on Friday charged with similar offences from the same incident. A third man is still at large. The charges follow an alleged road-rage attack at Rosebud early Thursday (1 March) in which two teenagers say they were rammed by a four-wheel-drive and robbed. The pair, aged 18 and 17, told police a maroon 1999 Toyota four-wheel-drive was “deliberately” driven into their…
A PSYCHOLOGICAL thriller set in the small fictional beachside town of The Dunes on the Mornington Peninsula is being made by Martin Copping, who grew up here but now lives and works in the film industry in the US. The film, now in its final production stages, follows Los Angeles journalist Nicholas Rice who returns home to settle some family issues and sell property. While he’s here, a “mysterious figure from his past re-emerges and threatens his entire existence”. Copping promotes the story as a “cautionary tale: people need to face up to their problems and not run away from…
North bound lanes of Peninsula Link were closed completely this afternoon after a serious accident. All of the city bound lanes were closed at Golf Links Road after the accident, which occurred near Cranbourne Road. Accounts received by The News have told that a surfboard came loose from a vehicle and fell into following traffic. In the melee that followed, the motorcyclist came off his bike, was pinned underneath, and was very seriously injured. Emergency services stabilised the man before he was airlifted.
Mornington Peninsula Crime Investigation Unit detectives are investigating following a carjacking in Rosebud overnight. It is believed two males were travelling along Waterfall Gully Road in a red Holden sedan about 12.15am. Police have been told a burgundy/red older model 4WD tried to run the victim’s vehicle off the road before colliding with their vehicle. A short time later the Holden veered off the road and the two male victims, aged 17 and 18, fled on foot. They were chased away from their vehicle by 3-4 offenders, who stole the car. The car contained the victim’s phones and numerous power…
DINERS were evacuated on Sunday when fire swept through a shed near the restaurant at the Ten Minutes by Tractor winery in Mornington-Flinders Road, Main Ridge. Sheds and a storage area at the winery were extensively damaged in the blaze which broke out at 3.30pm. Vintage wines, a 1928 Fordson Tractor, and a 1938 Allis Chalmers Tractor were lost in the fire. The restaurant and cellar door at Ten Minutes by Tractor will be closed until further notice. Sergeant Dennis Ramsay, of Mornington Police, said that the fire was “non-suspicious” and was suspected to have been caused by an electrical…
A SHOP in Hastings High Street was badly damaged after a car drove through its front door on Friday afternoon (23 February). A woman driver, understood to be aged in her late 70s, accidentally mounted her car onto the footpath and drove into the front of the Brilliant Nails shop during the day. Fortunately, no workers inside the shop or pedestrians were injured. Brilliant Nails owner Mattieu Tran said the damage was extensive. “All of the front of the shop will need fixing. When the lady came through the front door all of the glass was broken. Luckily everybody involved…
DETECTIVES were able to return a portable speaker after it was stolen from one of two youths walking home from Mt Erin College, 9pm, Wednesday 21 February. Detective Senior Constable Shaun Rampal, of Frankston CIU, said the 15-year-olds were walking home after basketball along Franciscan Avenue when a group of youths from a nearby party approached. Two of the youths allegedly “stood over” the boys and demanded to be able to go through their backpacks, stealing the speaker and other items valued at $200. Detectives later attended the party and spoke to the hosts who put out a message on…
SMALL hives and “bee hotels” could lead to backyards blooming with indigenous plants as well as helping save the threatened flying insects. Housing for native bees may be offered as a sweetener if Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors follow the lead of Moonee Valley City Council which has embarked on a program to raise awareness of the plight of native bees. A group from the peninsula was given an insight into Moonee Valley’s program, which is likely to see that city’s mayor Cr John Sipek being invited to explain the benefits of bee keeping to his peninsula counterparts. The Mornington Peninsula…
ROSIE Batty will speak as part of International Women’s Day at the Southern Women’s Action Network, 9.30am, Sunday 4 March. Her talk – expected to be one of her final public engagements as CEO of the Luke Batty Foundation – will cover domestic violence, including current initiatives and future proposals. The meeting will be at the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s offices, corner of Queen and Vancouver streets, Mornington. Donation: $8 includes refreshments. Ms Batty, Australian of the Year in 2015, has worked to raise national awareness of domestic violence since her 11-year-old son Luke was killed at Tyabb in February 2014…
HASTINGS Liberal MP Neale Burgess has not given up on his efforts to have Somerville police station open its doors to the public. With a state election in November, Mr Burgess last week returned to the police station accompanied by shadow police spokesman Edward O’Donohue and eight “concerned local residents” to emphasise how hard it is to speak with police. Mr Burgess says the $16.3 million station – “funded and built” by the previous Liberal Nationals coalition government – was originally to be open to the public. “Victoria Police and its then chief commissioner, Ken Lay, confirmed in writing, shortly…
BALNARRING residents appear to have won their “battle” to keep their village’s medical practice after fears they would lose doctors unwilling to move into new premises on the same site. Balnarring Medical Centre has operated in the village for more than 30 years, and from the building at the corner of Frankston-Flinders Road and Russell Street since 1998. This building will be demolished to make way for the new development – possibly including a larger medical clinic – when the doctors’ lease expires in early 2019. Doctors say they and the developer were at loggerheads over lease terms, proposed longer…
FRANKSTON and the Mornington Peninsula have quietly seen a rise in junior rock climbing talent. A Carrum Downs indoor climbing gym at Bayside Rock Climbing has become a base camp for state and national rock climbers with juniors as young as six-years-old taking to the main stage to represent their state. With over 100 competitors taking part at the recent Victorian State Lead Climbing Titles (roped climbing) in Brunswick, the gym managed to take out three of the top four spots in the youth D category for climbers born after 2006. The gold medal was won by 11-year-old Kai Robertson,…