ST JOSEPH’S Primary School, Crib Point, is holding a year of celebration to commemorate 90 years of catholic education in Crib Point. St Joseph’s, in Martin St, was opened in 1927 by Archbishop Mannix to allow Father AJ Martin and the Josephite sisters to provide a catholic education for defence force families. At that time, many pupils also came from the migrant camp at Somers. Funds for the original building came from parents, committees and through collections from Our Lady Star of the Sea chapel at HMAS Cerberus (formerly Flinders Naval Base). For many years the Naval chaplain supported the…
Day: March 28, 2017
NO, it’s not the dry plains of the old Wild West, but tumbleweeds are blowin’ in the wind from the Hastings foreshore reserve. And nearby residents are fed up with them. Keith Jacobson, of Skinner St, says it is a “horrendous” problem with masses of grass seeds blowing into their properties from new plants put in by Mornington Peninsula Shire over the road. “They are making a mess of our gardens,” he said. “They are covering everything.” Nick and Julie DeMooy, of Salmon St, said they collected six shopping bags full of tumble weeds blown in from the foreshore on…
A FRENCH Island pensioner who says Mornington Peninsula Shire’s negligence cost him $368 for new tyres has had his refund claim belatedly paid by the council’s insurers. John Woolley said protruding spikes on star pickets “sliced the walls” of two tyres near roadworks on Graydens Rd, Hastings, last month. Furious, he called the RACV which towed his VW Transporter to Balnarring Motors where the tyres were replaced. “The $368 does not include all the inconvenience and time wasting caused by the incident,” he said. The spikes – 600mm in from the edge of the bitumen – were a hazard to…
A TRACTOR and a four-wheel-drive were severely damaged when they collided on the Frankston-Flinders Rd, Balnarring, Monday morning. Sergeant Bruce Buchan, of Somerville Highway Patrol, said the crash occurred about 7.20am when the grass-cutting tractor was turning at Mt Barron Rd; the four-wheel-drive overturned on impact. The tractor driver, 72, of Somerville, was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital in a serious but non-life-threatening condition. The driver of the four-wheel-drive, 30, of Crib Point, was taken to Frankston Hospital in a serious but non-life-threatening condition. First published in the Western Port News – 28 March 2017
SLAIN Hastings jeweller Dermot O’Toole has been awarded the Star of Courage in the Australian Bravery Awards. The awards announced over the weekend recognise those who put their own lives at risk to protect the lives or property of others. Mr O’Toole, 64, died while protecting his wife, Bridget, during an armed robbery at their shop in High St in July 2013. The couple were working at the back when they heard the front door open. When Mrs O’Toole went into the shop she was confronted by a man in disguise approaching the counter. The offender – later identified as…
THE controversy that surrounded the erection of a sculpture at crossroads in the centre of Flinders may be about to be revived. The work “I am” by Andrew Rodgers has been in place on the Cook and Wood streets roundabout for nearly two years and Mornington Peninsula Shire, its nominal owner, is about to run a survey to see if the public approves of the site. The unveiling of the sculpture was part of Flinders’ 150th celebrations, but its location was made subject to later public approval. Rodgers “I am” works were described by Bhakthi Puvanenthiran in the Sydney Morning…
FELIX Arena, pictured, has been named Somerville Community Member of the Year. The award – announced at Somerville Family Day on Monday 13 March – was made in response to his “selfless commitment to helping and improving the community of Somerville”. Mr Arena founded the annual family day in a bid to bring the community together to celebrate the local area and its variety of skills and talents. He is president of the family day committee, runs his own business and started up the town’s first soccer club – the Somerville Eagles. Chrissy Kouvaras, a member of the committee, said Mr Arena…
BELEURA Junior Football Club representatives Matty Mayne and Khyal Jacobson have excelled in the 2017 AFLNZ Premiership held in New Zealand. AFLNZ approached the boys at the start of the year to participate in New Zealand’s premier football league as part of a pilot program after their performance in the 2016 ANZAC Tour. Since leaving on 2 March, the boys played three matches in the AFLNZ Premiership against some of the best senior players in the country. They also worked as ambassadors for AFLNZ and have had continued support from the Mornington Peninsula Junior Football League. Jacobson, 16, was a…