WITH fingers crossed, motorists are lining up to be tested for coronavirus on the mezzanine level at Bayside Shopping Centre, Frankston. Melbourne Pathology doctors and nurses conducted scores of drive-through tests as the state government ramps up specific testing for COVID-19. Testing is available at the Beach Street building 9am-5pm daily. Up to 100,000 Victorians will be tested over the next two weeks to better understand how the virus spreads in the community and help pave the way for the potential easing of restrictions. Those tested will be contacted by phone call or SMS to notify them of their results…
Year: 2020
By Muriel Cooper* “Weird” is a common way of describing our circumstances during the coronavirus lockdown. With this “weirdness” can come a sense of being adrift, not tethered to anything, a sense of unreality; being disconnected. Our ancestors, European or Indigenous, often had to endure long periods of isolation on extended sea voyages or overland treks, and we could do worse than follow their example. How did they remain grounded? Here are a few ways in which I think they kept their sense of place and purpose: They were stoic; they did not expect life to be easy. They expected…
Correction (The News 13/5/2020) THE article “‘Green hydrogen’ nearly affordable” (The News 5/5/20) incorrectly stated that it was South Australia’s Labor government, rather than the Liberal government, that was backing the production of hydrogen from water. South Australia’s Liberal government is led by Premier Steven Marshall who was involved in a “ground breaking ceremony” at Hydrogen Park south of Adelaide on 1 December 2019. The Victorian (Labor) and the federal (Liberal National) governments have together given $100 million towards making hydrogen from brown coal in the Latrobe Valley. A SMALL processing plant nearing completion in Bayview Road, Hastings can be…
Mornington Community Information and Support Centre, Southern Peninsula Community Support, Information Centre and Western Port Community Support and Community Support Frankston will receive more than $500,000 from the federal government’s new Community Support Package. “This is such a different time with so many moving and changing challenges for emergency relief charities like ours, we have lost some important income streams just when they are most needed,” Southern Peninsula Community Support and Information Centre CEO Jeremy Maxwell said Stuart Davis-Meehan of the Mornington Community Information and Support Centre said the extra money would “enable us to expand the range of support…
ANZAC Day 2020 was like no other. Gone were the mass marches and dawn gatherings at cenotaphs throughout Australia. There were no Anzac breakfasts, two-up or the camaraderie that is always shown at a much-anticipated football game. Instead, family groups, or individuals, stood holding small lights at the end of driveways. Largely silent, the memories of past family members who fought for Australia were no less meaningful than when crowds have gathered in the past. Family members proudly wore medals, their memories stirred by the quiet dignity of the day. The small observances outside innumerable houses throughout the land were…
THE first sites of Telstra’s 5G network on the Mornington Peninsula are now up and running. The switch-on follows completion in March to upgrades of the telecommunication company’s mobile sites. Sorrento, Blairgowrie and Rye join parts of Melbourne, and several regional locations, where the 5G rollout has started. “Not all of the peninsula is covered at this stage,” a company spokesperson said, adding that work was under way in other parts of Rye, Tootgarook, Rosebud, Fingal, Boneo and Dromana. “The rollout has begun and we’ll continue to expand it as we keep building the new network across the country.” Telstra…
THEFTS of, and from, cars on the Mornington Peninsula have “dramatically dropped” after the arrest of four suspects last week. Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Tony Henry, of Somerville CIU, said the men, all in their late teens, were nabbed at Morwell but were originally from the Hastings area. The group is alleged to have stolen three cars and broken into 12 others on the peninsula as well as at Frankston, Dandenong and Croydon over a three-week period. The alleged ringleader, 18, formerly of Hastings, is facing 10 charges which include driving offences. The alleged offenders faced Frankston Magistrates’ Court last…
ONE WEEK after its sister site opened at Rosebud, headspace Hastings will provide early intervention mental health support and assistance for young people experiencing complex mental health issues in the Western Port area. Sited at the Atticus Regional Medicentre, headspace Hastings was established under a $1.5 million federal government grant to set up youth services hubs on the Mornington Peninsula. “We know headspace is a service trusted by young people, and it’s great that headspace Hastings will be able to provide help and support to young people across the region to help them get through tough times, and get back…
HASTINGS police are seeking public help in identifying a couple in relation to the alleged theft of alcohol from a shop in Baxter-Tooradin Road, Baxter, 4.40pm, Sunday 29 March. Police released a CCTV image (below) of two people they believe can assist with their enquiries. The woman, aged in her 30s, is described as Caucasian, 168cm tall, with a medium build and blonde hair. The man, also aged in his 30s, is Caucasian, 175cm tall, with a medium build. Anyone with information is urged to contact Hastings police, 5970 7800, or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillor and Victoria Police officer Julie Morris said the deaths of four police in a horror crash on the Eastern Freeway, Wednesday 22 April, had “been felt in police stations right across the state”. “I’d like to thank our local community for the flowers, cards and messages of support,” she said. “The kindness we’ve seen and your words of support are encouraging and we thank you for standing beside us at this difficult time, as we mourn and reflect on the loss of our colleagues and friends.” Cr Morris was speaking after Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor…
RESIDENTS pushing for the withdrawal of the contentious rural living rate have sent a 295-signature petition to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The increase, which adds about $900 to rate bills, was adopted unanimously by councillors when it was introduced last October. The residents claim the 20 per cent rate hike levied on the owners of 724 green wedge properties of two hectares or less is a “cash grab”. (“No cash grab in green wedge rates” The News 14/10/19). The shire’s chief financial officer Bulent Oz said smaller property owners gained greater value than the general ratepayer from programs and policies…
A NEW suitor has announced intentions to bring the grand old dame of Ocean Beach Road back to her former glory with prominent Melbourne developer Trenerry Property Group buying the 145-year-old Continental Hotel for a reported $14.5 million. The company has signed what is described as an unconditional contract after first mortgagee Manda Capital Holdings appointed receivers PKF Melbourne to again put the property on the market through Colliers International. Despite what appears to be a good cause for celebration, neither Colliers’ Guy Wells nor Trenerry director Rob Dicintio would comment on the deal last week. The derelict construction site…
ELECTRONIC warning signs are being credited with cutting the number of kangaroos that have been killed on some of the Mornington Peninsula’s rural roads. Four solar-powered signs were placed on roads with high recorded incidences of kangaroo deaths: Point Leo Road, Red Hill South, Purves Road, Arthurs Seat, and Browns Road, Main Ridge, including the end of Jetty Road, Boneo. Mornington Peninsula Shire statistics show that 10 kangaroos were killed from July 2018 to June 2019 in Browns Road, Main Ridge, with just two being killed there after the signs were erected from August 2019 to March this year. The…
CRYSTAL Ocean Wildlife Shelter’s Brenda Marmion was preparing to release four tawny frogmouths back into the wild last month. The birds, not believed to be related, were found in separate locations by helpers after falling out of their nests. Frogmouths usually build nests in the fork of a horizontal tree branch. Ms Marmion said the areas in which the birds fell were unsafe due to predators – especially roaming cats – so they were sent to Crystal Ocean to give them a new start on life. “The tawnies are all flying and fit and ready to go – especially one…
DETECTIVES are searching for a white Ford work ute and trailer stolen from the driveway of a Balnarring house, 1am, Thursday 23 April. Detective Senior Constable Rohan Brock, of Somerville CIU, said another vehicle was broken into at the property earlier in which a spare key for the missing ute was found. A credit card in the ute was later used at a McDonald’s restaurant at Officer. Anyone with information can call Detective Brock, 5978 1300, or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. First published in the Western Port News – 29 April 2020
NEW Somerville Secondary College principal Sarah Burns is no stranger to secondary school leadership on the Mornington Peninsula. For 24 years she held senior positions at Frankston High School and Mornington Secondary College, where she spent nine years as principal in a period she describes as a “most enjoyable and rewarding time leading the school through a significant improvement journey”. For the past five years she has been a senior education improvement leader for the South Eastern Victoria Region working with 31 schools. However, she said her “passion in education” was at the school level with the school community as…
AN assessment is being made of the financial hardship and wider effects COVID-19 is having on businesses on the Mornington Peninsula. Mornington Peninsula Shire acknowledges many businesses are “doing it tough” and says it will use the data to help with the “recovery process”. The move comes after the shire helped set up a system to deliver “care packages” to households throughout the peninsula. Cr Simon Brooks says statistics for casual workers on the peninsula “linked to hospitality and tourism who may have lost their jobs” could be given to state and federal politicians. “These are typically, but not always,…
SOCCER FOOTBALL Victoria may soon announce a July start to the 2020 season. Last week Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the federal government wanted to get Australians back into recreational sport “as soon as we can” and the national cabinet of state and territory leaders agreed to develop principles for sport and recreation to get consistency across the country. FV and Football Federation Australia would have to sign off on a series of bio-security measures and how they would be monitored but it increasingly looks like training could resume in June with a 22-game season starting in the first weekend…
HORSE RACING JOHN McArdle’s consistent stayer, Themoonlitegambler, has taken another promising step towards the Group One South Australian Derby (2500m) on Saturday 9 May. The three-year-old gelding backed up his solid third placing in the Listed Port Adelaide Guineas (1800m) with another gutsy performance in the Group Three Chairman’s Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday 25 April. Having sat outside the lead, jockey Emily Finnegan got going 800m out from home and gave a great sight in the straight before the race-favourite and leading SA Derby contender, Dalasan, gained the lead inside the final 100m. Themoonlitegambler stuck on nicely for second…
THE Pantry House, at Benton’s Square shopping centre, has been overwhelmed with support for its pay-it-forward board for emergency services and frontline emergency staff which is “getting huge every day”. “We would love more of those people to come and collect the free coffees the community have paid forward,” proprietor Emily Cook, said. “We always have over 50 coffees paid forward and if you check out our Instagram and Facebook I have posted photos of some of the front-liners that got the coffees.” First published in the Mornington News – 28 April 2020
IAN Higgins has borrowed an idea in an effort to liven up social isolation. He’s built a small street library outside his house in Mornington from which neighbours can borrow a book and either read and return it or, perhaps, swap it for a book of their own for others to read. Street libraries or small book exchanges are not new, but they make sense right now as public libraries are closed and residents stay close to home. “I saw something written about them and thought, ‘that sounds like a good idea’,” Mr Higgins said from his house in Strachans…
THE number of animals being adopted from Mornington Peninsula Shire’s pound in Watt Road, Mornington has remained steady so far during COVID-19 pandemic. “They are about the same as they were prior to social distancing,” the shire’s environment protection manager John Rankine said. The number of animals being impounded was decreasing. The compatibility of pets and prospective owners is of primary concern to staff at the pound, who list animal profiles online with descriptions of their personalities and photographs. Interested applicants inquire online and staff send out an adoption form. Mr Rankine said the shelter team judged an applicant’s suitability…
VOLUNTEER members of Sorrento State Emergency Service unit are on standby to help during the COVID-19 crisis, but are unable to visit schools, kindergartens, clubs and attend events. “With the winter weather here and people spending time at home we would like the community to think about their home maintenance to reduce the event of injury to themselves and damage to their property,” deputy controller – community education/events Margaret Davis said. Preparing for winter included clearing gutters and downpipes; making sure roofs and fences were in good repair; and securing such outdoor items as trampolines. Ms Davis said it was…
IN a year typically made up of happy memories, lasting friendships and, yes, study, the struggle towards the VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) is far from normal in the time of COVID-19. Rosebud Secondary College year 12 student Zoe Dellaportas, 17 this week, is coping like as best she can. “The hardest part is staying motivated,” she said of her studies at home. “It’s a matter of maintaining structure.” Luckily, her older sister Alex has been able to help. “She’s set alarms on my phone for the start and end of periods which has been a big help.” Years 11…
FLOWERS and condolence messages delivered to police stations across the Mornington Peninsula illustrate the widespread sense of sadness over the deaths of four officers in Kew, Wednesday 22 April. Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris and Constable Josh Prestney died when they were struck by a truck in the emergency lane of the Eastern Freeway, 4.30pm. Truck driver Mohinder Singh Bajwa, 47, of Cranbourne, was due to face court yesterday (Monday 27 April) charged with four counts of culpable driving over the crash. The driver of the car the police were booking, Richard Pusey, 41,…
FINANCIAL savings on lost productivity for travel times alone justify the retention of the shire’s $80,000-a-year central Melbourne office, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council was told last week. Business support team leader Sally Milne, in a report to council’s 21 April meeting, said the office would “continue to benefit our ratepayers with improved customer service”. “It has already provided council with a significant competitive edge in attracting and retaining high quality staff that find it easier and more accessible to work out of a CBD office for part of the week,” Ms Milne said. Her report, authorised by planning and building…
GRATITUDE for the dedication of frontline medical staff has prompted a Mornington Peninsula group to spring into action. Hearing that nurses at Rosebud Hospital needed more scrubs, volunteers from Mt Martha’s Boomerang Bags group decided to do something about it. So far, they have made 30 set of scrubs in an array of colourful patterns. News spread and the group was recently asked to make scrubs for Frankston Hospital nurses as well. Coordinator Robyn Ruhl said the job was a challenge for the group’s 10 members. “We normally make fabric shopping bags to reduce people’s use of plastic bags and…
MOST of Victoria’s 79 councils want to cancel the elections scheduled to be held in October. Mornington Peninsula Shire, while not having a specific point of view, says “primary considerations” should be the community’s health and safety as well as “upholding the core principles of local democracy”. The Municipal Association of Victoria has told the state government that the council’s favour deferring the elections until next year. The government is expected to decide in the next few weeks to go ahead or abandon the council elections because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A delay should be considered if over the coming…
THE mental health support organisation headspace has opened a satellite service in Rosebud. While offering three of the four core headspace streams the Rosebud service will also provide outreach support to young people and their families on the Mornington Peninsula. “Right now, Australians are facing a once in a century challenge,” federal Health Minister and Flinders MP Greg Hunt said. “It is not only important during the coronavirus to focus on our physical wellbeing, but also our mental wellbeing”. Financed by the federal government through the South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network (SEMPHN), the new service will be delivered by…
ROSEBUD Aquatic Centre construction work costing $11.2 million is the single biggest item in Mornington Peninsula Shire’s proposed 2020-21 budget. Other big expenses are $4 million for road resealing and rehabilitation works, $1.5 million for construction works at Somerville Active Recreation Hub and $1.9 million for the Merricks Station grounds master plan. The proposed budget is on display and is open for public comment until 21 May. This comes as the council takes advantage of a time extension offered by the state government due to changed circumstances under COVID-19 (“Extra time to strike balance with budget” The News 14/4/20). The…