Author: MP News Group

POLICE are searching for the driver of a car which collided with a motorcycle in Humphries Road, Frankston South, about 7pm, Saturday 12 June. The rider suffered serious leg injuries in the incident which occurred between Blake Court and Cummins Lane. The car is likely to have damage to the rear driver’s side. Anyone who saw the crash, has dash-cam footage or information which could assist in identifying the driver should contact Leading Senior Constable Jon Shields, Somerville Highway Patrol 59781300, or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 22 June 2021

A TRANSPORT Accident Commission sign on Eramosa Road East, near the Somerville Primary School, spells out the real reasons to drive safely. The signs are part of a campaign by the commission to curb road trauma and reduce the number of serious accidents. In the past five years, 37 people have died on peninsula roads, with four deaths so far this year. The peninsula is the second local government area to pilot the TAC program, Drive Safely Because, which highlights local reasons to drive safely leading to a safer community. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 22 June…

McCRAE lighthouse will be lit up in yellow on Tuesday 29 June to raise public awareness of the condition known as scleroderma. The lighthouse will shine bright to generate support and to raise funds to support the 6000 people impacted by scleroderma and raise funds for research into fighting it. The Lions Club of McCrae is supporting the Shine Like a Sunflower campaign against the chronic condition that causes thickening and hardening of the body’s connective tissue. Louise Inglese, of Mornington, was diagnosed in February 2016 by her gastroenterologist. “The diagnosis came as a huge shock as I had never…

MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has begun trialling smoke-free areas at various places this year to reduce butt litter and to encourage people to not smoke in public areas. The areas include the Safety Beach, Mount Eliza and Rye foreshores, the shire offices at Mornington, Hastings and Rosebud, Civic Reserve at Mornington and the Point Leo Foreshore area. The anti-smoking campaign is supported by beach patrol, community groups and Peninsula Health with the aim: “To make the peninsula happier, healthier and smoke free.” Another concern is that as cigarette butts are made of plastics they can take up to 10 years to…

Police are investigating a fatal single-vehicle crash in Mornington this afternoon. Emergency services were called to the Nepean Highway to reports a grey SUV crashed into a tree about 1.25pm. The female driver, who is yet to be formally identified, sadly died at the scene. Her male passenger was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. The exact circumstances surrounding the crash are yet to be determined and investigations are ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report via www.crimestoppersvic.com.au Victoria Police News – Saturday,…

Detectives from Major Collision Investigation Unit have charged a woman over a fatal collision which occurred in Moorooduc earlier this month. It’s alleged two vehicles collided at the intersection of Stumpy Gully and Mornington-Tyabb roads about 5.55am on 11 June. A 56-year-old Tyabb man, died at the scene while an 18-year-old man from Tyabb was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A 20-year-old Mornington woman, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The 20-year-old has since been charged with dangerous driving causing death and has been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 23 June. Victoria Police News -…

A MAN who forced entry to Chisholm TAFE, Frankston, last month stole a number of hand held power tools from a store room. The man entered Building B through a construction area by removing a plywood board, 1.35-2.17am, Wednesday 19 May. He is described as Caucasian, mid/late 60s, medium build, grey hair with receding hairline, wearing a long navy blue rain coat, navy pants, black boots and carrying a green reusable shopping bag. Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Senior Constable Brendan Fontana at Frankston CIU, 97845535 or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. First published in the Southern…

RAMRAIDERS managed to steal a valuable off-road bike from a Mornington bicycle store last week despite their foray taking an unexpected turn. The pair backed a Holden Commodore station wagon at speed into the front glass doors of the Sealy Cycles store at Peninsula Home, Nepean Highway, 4.30am, Wednesday 9 June – where it promptly got stuck. Detective Alex Montgomery, of Somerville CIU, said the force of the entry caused $20,000 damage and wedged the car so firmly inside that SES crews were called to help, and a tow truck was needed to pull it out later that morning. Store…

SOMERVILLE Highway Patrol members last week targeted drink and drug drivers visiting fast food and bottle shop drive throughs across the Mornington Peninsula. During involved in Operation Drive Thru, Friday and Saturday 4-5 June, they pulled over 67 vehicles for breath-testing. Two drivers were found to be over the limit while one refused further testing. They will all be summonsed to appear at court at a later date. Of the 65 oral fluid tests conducted 14 drivers were found to have drugs in their systems, with three drivers refusing to be further tested. Seven unauthorised drivers were detected, eight vehicles…

UNITED Energy crews on Friday had restored power to more than 80,000 homes and businesses following severe windstorms which swept the Mornington Peninsula, overnight Wednesday 9 June. However, customers were being advised that some areas may not have power for a “number of days”. Extra crews were being dispatched peninsula as restoration efforts continued. “Our emergency team, control centre and field crews have worked through the night to restore power to customers,” United Energy’s Jordan Oliver said. “An incredible amount of damage has been caused by fallen trees and debris, with our priority continuing to be on the safety of…

RYE Pier will be closed for five months from late August-early September while a 270-metre section is replaced and widened from the foreshore to the low landing. The works will include a safety railing and solar lighting. The new section will also be “built to cater for future sea level rise”. “Parks Victoria is undertaking vital works at Rye pier to make it safer for locals into the future,” regional director marine and maritime Jo Richards said. “Rye Pier is an important part of the Mornington Peninsula foreshore, and this work will go a long way to make it safer for…

THE Friends of Fusion gala dinner at Peninsula Community Theatre on Saturday 15 May raised $21,000. The theme this year was: “It takes a village” which is about coming together as a community, business and communication manager Caitlin Swanton said. “The idea is that we are better when we work together. The village is everyone having a unique place. No one person or organisation is better than another. We all have intrinsic value.” Fusion is a Christian youth and community organisation, headquartered on the peninsula at Mount Martha, which those involved say emerged as a response to socially-at-risk young people…

WHEN life gives you lemons, make lemonade – that’s the motto Mornington’s Julie Cowley has chosen to live her life by. It came about when her husband, Mark, was diagnosed with prostate cancer at 54. The cancer returned six years later and has spread throughout his body. Ms Cowley is showing her support for Mark, and to all men impacted by prostate cancer, by joining the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s Sit-Up 45 challenge. She is doing 45 sit-ups a day during Men’s Health Week (14-20 June) to raise money to support the 45 men diagnosed with the disease each…

FORMER Liberal Leader John Hewson and former Independent MP for Indi Cathy McGowan will join forces this Saturday (19 June) in a free online forum to support the launch of Voices of Mornington Peninsula. The organisation aims to find a candidate to stand as an independent against sitting Liberal Flinders MP, Greg Hunt. Voices of Mornington Peninsula (VMP) is a not-for-profit organisation whose members “believe in the strength of community to effect positive change and, like many, are tired if the inaction of party politics and seek true independent representation at all political levels”. “Voices of Mornington Peninsula is an…

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a fatal collision in Moorooduc this morning. It’s understood a Mazda sedan collided head-on with a Ford utility at the intersection of Stumpy Gully and Mornington-Tyabb roads about 5.55am. The front passenger of the utility, a 56-year-old Tyabb man, sadly died at the scene. The driver, an 18-year-old man also from Tyabb, was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The sole occupant of the sedan, a 20-year-old Mornington woman, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit are investigating the incident and ask anyone with dashcam footage to…

Householders are being urged to prepare for potential power outages with strong winds expected to hit Melbourne’s south-east and the Mornington Peninsula tonight and into tomorrow. Weather forecasts are predicting wind extreme gusts approaching 100km/h in the United Energy network area, with the worst of the weather expected to hit overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning. United Energy’s Emergency Duty Manager George Tziokas said UE and its partners work year-round to ensure the network is as safe and reliable as possible, but extreme weather can cause blackouts. “Strong winds and extreme weather can knock over trees and blow other debris…

AN open amphitheatre, artefacts and art display area, an area for elders, a “welcome and yarning area” and a base for cultural tourism are included in a conceptual plan for Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association’s headquarters at Hastings. The Gathering Place, in Pound Road, is where members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community meet to explore identity and cultural heritage. However, with the Mornington Peninsula regarded as one of the fastest growing Aboriginal areas in Victoria, with a 34 per cent increase, especially in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under 30, more space is needed. Mornington Peninsula…

TWO Southern Peninsula Sharks junior basketballers represented Victoria Country against the best athletes at the under-18 Australian Junior Championships at Werribee in late May. Southern Peninsula Basketball Association general manager Ben White said Darcy Jones, in his second stint in the white uniform, came “ready to prove a point from day one as a leader in the young team”. Corey Hastings debuted for Victorian Country in bottom age this year after also being selected in under-16s state team in 2020 when the nationals was cancelled due to COVID-19. “Jones kicked off the week with a stunning 31 points, knocking down…

THE $37 million Yawa Aquatic Centre at Rosebud will be open to the public on Friday 25 June. To celebrate the opening, Mornington Peninsula Shire and operator Belgravia Leisure will hold a community open day of activities, Sunday 4 July. Those attending will see what Yawa has to offer, such as its 50-metre indoor pool, group fitness activities, such as yoga, Pilates, body pump, spin classes, and Elements Eatery cafe. The new centre in Besgrove Street has a 50-metre indoor pool, learn-to-swim pool, warm water program pool, spa, sauna, and steam room. Other features are multi-purpose rooms for health and…

WINTER is here, and Mornington Peninsula firefighters are urging residents to check and service fireplaces, chimneys, fireboxes and flues. Last year, Country Fire Authority and Fire Rescue Victoria crews responded to 192 chimney fires – with 104 in the coldest months. “Chimney fires can quickly turn into house fires so the few minutes spent now could be one of the most important fire safety actions you take this season,” CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said. He urged households with open fire places to have chimneys professionally cleaned annually to avoid the build-up of creosote – a highly flammable black tar-like…

A FAST-THINKING protective service officer saved property and possibly lives by fighting a bin fire on her way home last week. The fire outside a house in North Road, Langwarrin, 2am, Tuesday 1 June, quickly spread to a fence and was said to be “rapidly growing in size” when off-duty PSO Christine Burns saw it. The fire is similar to fires in five wheelie bins at Rosebud in the early hours of Wednesday, 26 May. (“Bins on fire” The News 1/6/21). Police there were concerned the fires, in Besgrove and Hinton streets, and Eastbourne Road, could damage cars parked nearby.…

AN elderly woman was lucky to escape serious injury when her car drove over the cliff after a two-car collision on the Esplanade, Mount Martha, last week. The woman, 89, of Mount Martha, was able to push open the door of her Lexus sedan and crawl 15 metres back up to the road, 11.30am, Friday 4 June. The woman’s car went over the cliff after colliding with a Mercedes sedan being driven by a 77-year-old woman, also of Mount Martha, near Park Road. They were the only occupants. Neither woman was injured but both were taken by ambulance to hospital…

THIRTY years ago, 24 Mornington Peninsula artists decided to open an art gallery, with enthusiasm easily exceeding experience. Now, The Guild Art Gallery, Tyabb, run by its member artists as a collective, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The gallery sells framed and unframed paintings by many award-winning artists. They are of various subject matters and different styles. As the artists oversee the gallery, the paintings are said to be “reasonably priced”. The gallery is at the rear of Tyabb Packing House Antique Centre in The Village. It is open 10am-5pm, Thursday to Sunday and public holidays. Entry is free. First…

LAST week’s state budget had the “glaring omission” of not including any money to extend the metropolitan train line beyond Frankston. “The federal budget on 11 May retained $225 million for the rail extension – and an additional $19 million for Frankston station car parking – but the Victorian budget was silent on how to address public transport connectivity to and through Frankston, an Infrastructure Australia-listed problem of national significance,” Ginevra Hosking, CEO of the Committee for Greater Frankston, said. Ms Hosking’s committee will brief Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors in August about the electrification and extension of the railway, possibly…

SEVERAL government agencies are running a combined operation to stop firewood being collected illegally from parks, forests and reserves. Operation Hollows is designed to protect wildlife habitat from the impacts of illegal wood removal. Firewood should only be collected from designated areas during the two collection seasons, as trees and fallen wood outside these areas are crucial habitats for native wildlife, including birds, animals and reptiles. The ongoing operation also targets people selling illegal firewood. The maximum penalty for people caught illegally destroying habitat trees is $8261 plus potential seizure of equipment, including vehicles and chainsaws and/or one year in…

THE lives of residents are being put at risk because of an “ambulance crisis” on the Mornington Peninsula, says Hastings MP Neale Burgess. “While our paramedics are doing everything they can to provide their life saving services in the fastest time possible, the state government is letting them and Victorians down badly,” he said. “The latest quarterly performance data from Ambulance Victoria shows ambulance wait times are the highest they’ve been since the Andrews government came to power.” The figures from Ambulance Victoria show 71 per cent of the 2669 callouts on the peninsula were responded to in 13 minutes…

ZOE the Giant Spider Crab had a big day out on Monday 24 May, meeting up with the mayor Cr Despi O’Connor and Crs Susan Bissinger and Sarah Race. Along with the rest of their Mornington Peninsula Shire Council colleagues, the councillors want an exclusion zone around piers to prevent fishing for spider crabs, from May to July. The decision rests with the Victorian Fisheries Authority. Members of Save Our Spidercrabs (SOS) thanked the council for its support in working to protect the coming aggregations of spider crabs, with Zoe (SOS committee member Zoe McKenzie) offering hugs all round. Four…

POLICE say a man referred to as “The Penguin” climbed over the gate into the candy bar at Hoyts Cinemas Frankston and stole four bottles of alcohol, 5.45am, Saturday 22 May. He is described as Caucasian, mid-late 30s, medium build, wearing a camouflage hoodie, long pants and dark coloured shoes. Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Senior Constable Brendan Fontana, of Frankston CIU, 9784 5535 or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 1 June 2021

A MORNINGTON man has been charged with theft after police recovered allegedly stolen garden ornaments in his possession. The Mornington police night shift van found the man, 51, in the early hours of Tuesday 25 May with ornaments they believe came from across the Mornington area. The man was arrested and bailed to appear at the Frankston Magistrates’ Court at a later date. Police are yet to identify the owners of some of the ornaments. Anyone who believes they have had items stolen is urged to contact property officer Paula O’Brien, 5970 4900, Monday-Friday. First published in the Southern Peninsula…

A MAN who entered the art room at Bayside Christian College last month allegedly stole two Apple Mac computers and photography equipment. Police say the man slid open an unlocked window at the school in Langwarrin South, 8-8.30pm, Monday 5 April. He then covered the alarm sensor in two rooms to avoid detection. The offender is Caucasian, mid-late 30s, medium build, light brown short hair with receding hairline, wearing a navy blue t-shirt, dark coloured pants and riding a bike. He removed his t-shirt during the incident. Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Senior Constable Brendan Fontana, of…