Day: October 14, 2019

PENINSULA RED Hill have secured a narrow win over Pines away from home. Playing out of Eric Bell Reserve, the travelling Red Hill chose to bat first. They lost their first opener for a duck but recovered well from there. All of Red Hill’s middle order performed well on the day, and they ended up putting 189 runs on the board by the time their innings expired. Pines bowler Patrick Jackson played a part, helping to clean up the tail and finishing with good figures of 4/24. Pines’ run chase started well with a 38 run opening stand, but they…

SOCCER LOYALTY is a word that Skye United gaffer Phil McGuinness uses often when discussing his newly promoted senior squad. “To be honest the main reason we’ve come so far is not down to the committee, not down to me and Stephen (Duffy, assistant coach), it’s down to the players and their loyalty,” McGuinness said. “This group is really, really close knit and anything you put in front of them they grab with both hands. “A lot of our success simply comes down to them. “These guys could all get a lot more to play at other clubs but their…

HORSE RACING THE Anthony Freedman-trained Super Seth has steamed home to score one of the narrowest victories in the $2 million Group One Caulfield Guineas on Saturday 12 October. The unbeaten Queenslander Alligator Blood looked home for all money after kicking a few lengths clear in the straight but the Dundeel three-year-old, Super Seth, unleashed a powerful final sprint to rush from near the rear of the field and get up right on the line. Super Seth’s outstanding performance was backed up on the clocked as he ran the sixth-fastest last 200m for the entire meeting with a split of…

LAST Saturday night there was a “bumper house” to give welcome to the Langwarrin soldier “boys” who recently returned from active service abroad. Seldom has holding capacity of the Recreation Hall been taxed to greater extent and certainly a more successful function has never been held within its walls. Added to the fine audience was a splendid spirit of joyous enthusiasm which seemed to influence all concerned. The Chairman (Mr W. Williams) was never in better form, while Cr Hill (Cranbourne Shire) and Cr Oates (Frankston and Hastings Shire) also delivered inspiring addresses which seemed to add to the buoyancy…

A DEVICE that reduces the risk of a spark from a powerline causing a fire is being installed at a Dromana electricity substation. The rapid earth fault current limiter is expected to be ready in time for summer. This is the third device to be installed in the United Energy network area. The first system was used to lessen the risk of bushfires at Frankston South as part of a 2009 trial and the second was installed at Mornington in November. The devices have so far automatically activated more than 530 times on the Mornington Peninsula, which is one of…

RATEPAYERS can get rid of green waste for free at Mornington Peninsula Shire’s no charge green waste event, 25, 26 and 27 October. The event is for Mornington Peninsula Shire residents or ratepayers only, with green waste to be dropped off only from residential vehicles and trailers. No commercial vehicles or commercial green waste will be accepted. Proof of residency is required, such as driver’s licence with current address or a current rates notice. Green waste includes all types of garden waste and untreated timber. Expect delays at the resource recovery centres, particularly at the beginning and end of each…

A MORNINGTON girl, 15, has been charged with intentionally causing injury, affray and unlawful assault at Mornington beach, Tuesday 8 October. The girl is alleged to have assaulted a 15-year-old Mt Martha girl on the foreshore near The Esplanade and Schnapper Point Drive about 6pm. Police said the victim received cuts and bruises. The girls are know each other. Vision of the assault was posted on to social media. The Mornington girl has been bailed to appear at a children’s court at a later date. First published in the Mornington News – 15 October 2019

By Patricia MacLeod IT’S easy to let the grass grow under your feet, but Mt Martha residents are being encouraged to nip weed infestations in the bud. Environmental groups BERG MM and Sunshine Reserve Conservation and Fireguard Group recently held the annual Weedbusters stall at the Mt Martha shops to provide information on the damage caused by and offer advice on combating infestations. BERG MM volunteer Sue Betheras said it was an opportunity to raise awareness of weeds “growing furiously at this time of year”. “People stop to look at the display of common weeds and ask questions. Volunteers give…

MORE than 850 artworks, including landscapes and seascapes by Hans Fickler and Gary Laird, will be on show and on sale at the 48th annual Mornington Art Show. Art show judge Regina Hona will also exhibit some of her work. Works coming from throughout Australia as well as the Mornington Peninsula will include photography, glassware by Bobby Easton and wind sculptures by Rudi Jass. Held by Mornington Rotary Club, the art show will run for 10 days from the opening night on Thursday 16 January to Australia Day, Sunday 26 January. “We aim to maintain the tradition of presenting a…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council says it has “developed robust policies” to prevent corruption when buying goods and services. CEO John baker says the shire Places the “highest importance” on managing services it provides with “public money”. Mr Baker’s assurances follow the investigation of corruption and kickbacks at Darebin and Ballarat councils by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). As a result of its investigations IBAC has recommended Local Government Victoria consider developing a code of conduct for local government suppliers. The code would outline standards expected of suppliers, including in relation to reporting suspected misconduct or corrupt conduct on the…

ORGANISERS of events on the Mornington Peninsula may eventually be told to stop using any items made from single use plastics. Single use plastics facing a ban include balloons, water or beverage containers, coffee cups and lids, straws, bags, plates and cutlery, takeaway food containers and promotional items. Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have given the go ahead for $165,000 to be spent on the first stage of a program designed to wipe out single use plastic items. Waste services team leader Daniel Hinson suggested phasing out single use plastics at shire events within one to two years and externally managed…

A WIN in this year’s Science Talent Search run by the Science Teachers’ Association of Victoria shows Hayley Dawn is on the right track to achieving her dream of becoming a doctor. Hayley, 8, a year 2 student at Peninsula Grammar, won a major bursary award with a model of a human heart in a life-sized mannequin. The plastic and rubber mannequin has organs made of stockings and heart chambers of foam rubber, which show oxygenated and de-oxygenated blood as blue and red water. By squeezing the heart, “blood” can be pumped around the model. The judges praised Hayley’s high…

THREE of the contestants from this year’s Australian Ninja Warriors contest have now swung their training towards scaling Arthurs Seat. Charlie Robbins, who won the grand final of the latest Channel 9 series, and fellow “warriors” Zak Stolz and Troy Cullen have been named as ambassadors for this year’s Arthurs Seat Challenge. All three coach gymnastics in Rosebud and are training at The Compound at Tuerong as part of their preparations for the next Ninja series. “With the roads being such a dangerous place, we need to help improve knowledge and attitudes, especially with phones,” Robbins said when asked about…

ALL was calm in Port Phillip and the view from HMAS Choules as it lay at anchor off Safety Beach last week. Signs of life on the land would have been unremarkable for those aboard the Choules at night – vehicles travelling along bayside roads, house lights ablaze on the sides of Mt Martha and Arthurs Seat. The only visible military equipment on Wednesday night was a helicopter and the aft deck, with no sign of a disaster or threat in sight. One of the Royal Australian Navy’s landing ships that are deployed for military support or to supply humanitarian…

YANNI Dellaportas is more often than not carrying a camera. Known throughout the Mornington Peninsula as a professional photographer Yanni (as he prefers to be known) works with flashes and available light. As a photographer with The News, he attends organised events, festivals and meetings, anything that can be classed as news. Unknown to many of his subjects, Yanni has for more than three decades had a private project: photographing lightning. He happily acknowledges being a stormchaser. While his days of keeping an eye out for incoming storms are not about to end soon (if ever), Yanni has published a…

Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has hit back at claims it is making a rates “cash grab” from smaller properties within the green wedge. “When one sector of ratepayers has a change of rate burden, in this case an increase, others receive a decrease; it causes no overall increase in rate income,” the mayor Cr David Gill said. The claims come as the shire faces protests over its levying of a 20 per cent rates hike on the owners of 724 green wedge properties of two hectares in size or less (“Irate at green wedge rate increase” The News 24/9/19). Paul…

TEN enthusiastic volunteers got together to clean up sections of the Esplanade, Mt Martha, after the Around the Bay in a Day ride, Sunday 6 October. Over two-and-a-half hours between Ellerina and Bradford roads the group ran out of bags in collecting 362 cans, 155 plastic bottles, 419 glass bottles and 936 CDs weighing 246kg. The volunteers included Cathy Mitchell, Sarah Joyce, Amy Westnedge, Andy Quin, Jessica Schubert-Hoban, Andrew Sparkinson, Gary Robertson, Cathy Norman, Simon Hodgson and environmentalist Josie Jones. “We encouraged the riders along The Esplanade and they thanked us as we scrambled through 280 metres of roadside,” Ms…