Author: Stephen Taylor

A NEW 187-kilometre pipeline bringing crude oil and condensate from Esso’s plants at Longford in Gippsland to Long Island Point at Hastings is nearly finished. “The pipeline is a critical piece of infrastructure that will allow the continued delivery of crude oil and condensate, and will also ensure that natural gas from our offshore Gippsland operations continues to flow to households and businesses,” spokesman Travis Parnaby said. Construction began in January last year and, so far, 176 kilometres of the 187 kilometre pipeline has been laid. The pipes are visible from Frankston-Flinders Rd on the way to Hastings from Tyabb.…

TYABB Aero Club wants Mornington Peninsula Shire Council to pay $100,000 for a helipad at the Stuart Rd airfield. The club will contribute $25,000 towards the project. Vice-president Jack Vevers said the planned helipad would be used by emergency services crews, such as the air ambulance, firefighting services, and police helicopters. “We are fortunate that we can provide the land and facilities for these helicopters,” he said. “It’s a good thing for the community. “Our application is still going through, but we are hopeful we will get approval soon.” The February edition of the Tyabb & District Ratepayers & Environment…

A MOTHER and son arrested in Somerville last week allegedly supplied cannabis to school students over the past 12 months. Sniffer dogs taken to their house assisted police in allegedly finding two cannabis plants, 57 grams of cannabis in foils and $2865 cash. A 41-year-old woman was charged with drug trafficking and possession and profiting from the proceeds of crime. She was bailed to appear at Frankston Magistrates’ Court in April. Her son, 15, a former student of the school, was charged with cultivating, trafficking and possession. He was summonsed to appear at a children’s court at a later date.…

MT MARTHA triathlete Lily van Raay’s first race with the Victorian Triathlon Team at Glenelg, South Australia, in early February ended in disaster. Her $3000 bike, parked with others at their caravan park at Glenelg, South Australia, was stolen the night before the race, leaving her stranded. “She was devastated,” dad Doug van Raay said. But help was at hand. Knowing that Lily, 14, still had a few more races to go in the multi-race triathlon series, Mornington Cycles came to the rescue by loaning her a new bike. Mornington Cycles proprietor Brad Clark said the store was happy to…

THE huge crane working above a large commercial site in Nepean Highway, Mornington, has been turning drivers’ heads for a few months. Ralph Mackie, of the Frankston-based construction company that bears his name, agrees towering 64-metre boom has “stirred up a lot of interest”. The machinery is at the heart of a construction project to build a $35 million, 92-bed nursing home. Once finished, the home will have underground parking on the 5000 square metre site. The first stage is scheduled for completion in 12 months. The second stage, for 35 more beds, will lift the total cost of the…

TWO Peninsula Grange Aged Care residents are celebrating milestone birthdays at the Mornington centre. Jo Cooper, who turns 100 on Thursday 9 March, when born in Sorrento was the first great-great-granddaughter of the first white baby born in the settlement. She moved to Melbourne to spend her married life with husband Ern and then returned to the Mornington Peninsula to spend her later years with her husband. She was one of five sisters and two brothers and grew up riding horses and swimming in the summer. Ms Cooper has two children, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. The secret to a…

A 1300-SIGNATURE petition calling for the Mornington Community Animal Shelter to open daily to the public failed to get backing at the Monday 20 February meeting. The council referred the petition back to council officers “for action or to report back to council on the matter”. Cr Sam Hearn later said this meant the council “acknowledges and hears from the community. It receives the petition and understands that concerns are being raised.” Doris Campbell, of Rosebud, wanted to know why new homes were not found for more lost animals, especially cats. The petition, organised by Rosie Fisher, of Mornington, urges…

CONTINENTAL Hotel proprietor Julian Gerner is upbeat after the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal agreed to change conditions imposed by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council on apartments he wants added to the 1875 landmark. The VCAT decision last week prevented council from reducing the overall height of the seven-level apartment building behind the heritage registered limestone building, on Ocean Beach Rd, and charging Mr Gerner for adjacent street works. VCAT presiding member Michael Nelthorpe said the tribunal did not believe the building’s height needed to be reduced to ensure an acceptable planning outcome or that Mr Gerner should pay $125,000 towards…

STANDING by helplessly watching a child suffer from a sudden injury, or perhaps even die, is a nightmare scenario for parents. From babies being left in hot cars, to house-hold furniture toppling over, or toddlers scaling pool fences and falling into swimming pools … parents are beset by myriad health and safety concerns with most not having the skills or knowledge to help. To combat this, parents and caregivers are being urged to learn paediatric first aid training at a free course being held at Mt Martha on Saturday 25 February and continuing monthly. This is the first of many…

MORNINGTON police pounced on Saturday morning when they spotted a man wanted over service station robberies in Mornington, Frankston, Moorabbin, Berwick and Frankston on Friday night and Saturday morning. They also believe the same man may in previous weeks have robbed the United service station on Tyabb Rd, Mornington, and the 7-Eleven on McMahons Rd, Frankston. Senior Constable Cameron Fields and Constable Anthony Box, on patrol in the Mornington divisional van, 9.50am, Saturday, spotted the man driving a Mazda hatch on Tanti Av after a registration alert from Frankston detectives. “We put on the lights and siren as the man…

ROAD safety camera commissioner John Voyage is puzzled at the lack of “objective evidence” presented to him by motorists blaming their speeding fines on faulty Peninsula Link cameras. Mr Voyage on Monday wrapped up the evidence-collecting part of an investigation which he wants to finalise in six-to-eight weeks. His report will then go to Police Minister Lisa Neville. Controversy has raged over the costly speed readings for months, with social media besieged by complaints that the fixed cameras were just inaccurate revenue-raisers. Those at Eramosa, Cranbourne and Loders roads came in for special criticism. Angry drivers formed the Peninsula Link…

THE Law and Order forum at the Rosebud Country Club last week was described as being an “extraordinary response from the community to discuss their feelings and concerns about the dramatic increase in crime we are seeing across the state and on the Mornington Peninsula”. Nepean MP Martin Dixon said about 250 people were at the club on Tuesday 14 February to “vent their anger at a legal system which has largely left victims of crime behind, while it acts to defend criminals”. One outcome of the meeting was to create a community consultative group to distil the information outlined…

THE adage of getting knocked down and then getting straight back up again describes Karen Stevens, 46, of Rosebud, to a tee. Unfortunately, the knock part literally happened, not once but three times, until Ms Stevens said to herself “enough is enough” and moved out. The penny had dropped; she realised the cycle of domestic violence would be repeated if she stayed around. “I didn’t want to pass that pattern onto my children,” she said. Across the Mornington Peninsula hundreds of domestic violence victims are struggling to get their lives back on track. “I know because I was one of…

RENATE Luhn has been inundated with stray cats since a vacant block of land in Skinner St, Hastings, was cleared of old car bodies and dilapidated sheds. The 81-year-old, who has two cats of her own, said the motley lot – of all ages and sizes – were mostly in poor health, even though she described some as gorgeous. The strays make their presence felt at her Salmon St home in the mornings and evenings, but lie low under the deck on hot afternoons. Although sympathetic to the cats’ plight, Ms Luhn said they were not welcome. “The place stinks,”…

CASES of Ross River virus have been confirmed in Frankston and Casey, prompting health officers to warn residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites. Victoria’s chief health officer Professor Charles Guest said the virus had affected six residents and been detected in mosquitoes trapped nearby. In a worrying sign, the virus appears to have made its own way to Frankston. “None of the people diagnosed with Ross River virus have travelled to areas where mosquitoes carrying the virus are usually found,” Professor Guest said. Symptoms for Ross River virus include fever, headache, aching muscles and joints as well as fatigue.…

BYSTANDERS scattered during what police call a “hot arrest” in front of a busy Frankston serviced apartment complex at about 3pm last Sunday (5 February). Detectives tackled a man, 28, to the ground as he supposedly kept watch beside pillars in the forecourt of the multi-level Nepean Highway building and handcuffed him. Racing upstairs they raided an apartment and arrested the man’s two alleged accomplices – and man and a woman, both aged 34. The couple were allegedly in possession of 118 stolen drivers’ licences, credit cards, health care and other identity cards, as well as an imitation Beretta handgun.…

WHAT started as a university project has turned into a film that, judging from its social media “likes”, is inspiring the community. Mt Martha CFA volunteer Will Smith created Passing the Torch – a documentary about his family’s three-generation long involvement with the brigade. The film was a major assessment in Will’s Film and TV bachelor degree at Deakin University’s Burwood campus. Will teamed up with four other students to create the film, with each taking on a crew role. Will, director/producer, said it took three months from concept to final product with the team handing in its assignment in…

A MORNINGTON student has won the elite Rising Star Award from CAMS – the governing body of motor sport in Australia. Circuit racer Simon Fallon, 17, who attends Haileybury College, joins the list of previous scholarship winners who became household names in motor sport: Daniel Riccardo, Matthew Brabham and James Courtney. To earn the award, Fallon’s race record was compared to hundreds of young drivers from all over Australia by champion racing car driver and CAMS director Mark Scaiffe. He was one of four chosen for the program and is now regarded as one of its elite drivers. Fallon won…

A PENINSULA Link motorist booked for speeding has used his car’s dash cam and satellite pictures to measure the distance between two points to calculate his actual speed – more than 10kph below that stated on his fine. The calculation will add fuel to the fire of discontent over the dozens of contentious fines meted out to freeway drivers, many of who have joined the Peninsula Link 108 group which is planning a class action. Allan Tadich‎, of Kilsyth, said he received an infringement notice for doing 112kph as he passed the Loders Rd static camera on 22 December. “This…

BLACK smoke belching from oil-company Esso’s Long Island smoke stacks was part of “scheduled maintenance works on the main process units”, a company spokesman said last week. Communications advisor Travis Parnaby said the works – to run 28 January to 22 February – “had [been] carefully planned to minimise impacts on our local community and the environment”. “However, there will be a necessary increase in flaring throughout the course of these important works.” The smoke was noticeable on a day of total fire ban. Readers contacted The News to complain that the unwelcome airborne haze – part of the flaring…

ALL eyes will be skyward when radio controlled model aircraft take to the air Friday 24 and Saturday 25 February along the Hastings Foreshore Reserve. The Super Heroes – 17 Air Show being put on by Western Port Model Aircraft Club will include a night-fly display with aircraft illuminated by LEDs on the Friday, and a display with helicopters, some scale military and some 3D, demonstrations, jets, 3D aerobatics, model Hurricanes, Spitfires, P47s and P51s, Tiger Moths, Sopwith Camels, and SE5a’s, on the Saturday. Club secretary Stephen Gray described the precision and dexterity of the flyers as “amazing”. He said…

EARLY childhood teacher Lyn Knight has retired after 22 years at St Marks Uniting Church in Mornington – a playgroup that she started. During that time she was said to have influenced hundreds of children and their families. “Lyn is such a special person and warrants recognition,” said Katherine La Nauze, a mum who attended the playgroup for four years. “The magic of Lyn Knight will dance with us for the rest of our lives. “She provided a unique warmth and educational experience for children and their families at her playgroup.” Ms Knight said she started the playgroup because “there…

A SHOREHAM dog has survived a bite from a deadly tick species that was thought not to exist on the Mornington Peninsula. The bite from the Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) – which frequents the east coast of Australia, including Lakes Entrance and Bairnsdale – had paralysed the Hungarian Vizsla, named Piper, causing body weakness and a changed bark. Realising her 14-month-old pet was gravely ill – and suspecting a tick bite – owner Heather Geschke rushed it to Hastings veterinary clinic and found the engorged parasite under her dog’s collar while they sat in the waiting room. “It was…

THERE’LL be a lot of familiar faces at Dromana Secondary College this term. Among the 325 students in its 13 Year 7 classes are 11 sets of twins. Fresh from primary school the twins had their first day of secondary studies on Tuesday. Head of junior school Brooke Mollenkopf said 11 sets of twins was the most ever at that year level. Three sets of twins are identical. But whether the twins sit side by side in class is up to their parents. “The parents know them the best so we go by what they say,” Ms Mollenkopf said. “Often…

A RYE boxer who had success as an amateur in the middleweight ranks and then let his weight balloon to 130kg before returning to the ring as a professional and rising to be among the top 20 fighters in the world has completed a remarkable turnaround. Jayde Mitchell, 31, will defend his professional WBC-OPBF super middleweight title in Melbourne in March and looks forward to a possible world-title shot next year. As confirmation of his success he has been nominated for 2016 Australian Boxer of the Year after a stellar year in which he won six fights in Australia and…

TOURIST hotspot the Pillars at Mt Martha will be fenced off for two years in a bid to stop further deterioration of the registered Aboriginal heritage site and appease residents appalled by young thrill-seekers trashing their neighbourhood. As well as erecting a $200,000 180-metre fence, the shire will meet with Aboriginal Affairs Victoria and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to “reinforce and protect” the cultural heritage values of the site in accordance with the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act. It will also write to DELWP to seek its “direction and advice” on putting in place legal processes to…

A SHORTAGE of police on the Mornington Peninsula and “surging crime rates” are issues to be discussed at a public meeting in Rosebud next month. The Law and Order forum being hosted by Nepean MP Martin Dixon will focus on “some of the massive increases in local crime, police numbers and other law and order issues” raised by those attending. Mr Dixon will speak on what he cites as a 67 per cent increase in sexual offences – up from 184 to 308 cases from September 2015 to September 2016; and a 58 per cent increase in robberies – from…

A PARAMEDIC fears changes to the roster will leave Rosebud residents without a vital ambulance service during busy nightshifts. The man, who asked not to be named but whose identity is known to The News, said the Rosebud and Rye joint ambulance branch had applied for and received approval to reduce its services in what he termed a “blended” roster. He said it would only take one inter-hospital transport (“of which there are many”) for the Rosebud night shift to be taken out of the area for several hours – depleting Rosebud of its only local resource. “While it could…

A RYE church will celebrate its 150th birthday with a special service, 10.30am, Sunday 5 February. St Andrew’s Anglican Church, in Lyons St, is classified by the National Trust. The church, originally for lime burners, woodcutters and fishermen, has an interesting early history. The first building had wattle and daub walls smoothly plastered with lime. As the first school in the district in 1855 – and known as Tootgarook Common School No. 623 – it was also used as a hall as well as a church from 1866. Services were held fortnightly in summer and less frequently in winter, with…

SPLENDID scenery, soft sand, lapping water and – mostly – friendly locals have made Dromana an ideal regular holiday destination for Arcto. The Australian fur seal, aged about seven, is back for perhaps his fourth annual visit to the foreshore. He uses it as a base to search for fish and crustaceans, often at night, and returns in the early morning to rest. Curious onlookers are being urged to stay away as the 250kg adult bull, like all seals, is protected under the Wildlife Act. Authorised officer Abbey Smith, of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, said sightseers…