Day: April 10, 2017

Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate Shane I’Anson wanted on warrant. The 40-year-old is wanted in relation to numerous offences including theft, burglary and trespass. He is described as Caucasian, 200cm tall, thin build with green eyes, ginger/blonde short wavy hair and is unshaven. I’Anson is known to frequent the Mornington area. Investigators have released an image of I’Anson in the hope someone may have information on his current whereabouts. Anyone who sights I’Anson or has information about his current whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report at…

Police have charged a woman following an alleged hit run collision in Main Ridge last week. It is believed a car travelling east on Shands Road collided with a cyclist on Friday 7 April about 6pm. The 27-year-old male cyclist was taken to hospital with critical injuries. The driver of the car, a 69-year-old woman, left the scene but was arrested by police a short time later. The woman was taken to a nearby police station where she returned a reading of 0.174% on an evidentiary breath test. She has been charged with negligently causing serious injury, dangerous driving causing…

JUNIOR football league executives are being trained to spot youngsters with mental health problems. The focus on mental health is part of the first aid training being given at every club in the Mornington Peninsula Junior Football League. Course participants will learn about adolescent development; the signs and symptoms of common and disabling mental health problems in young people; where and how to get help when a young person is developing a mental illness; what sort of help has been shown to be effective, and how to provide first aid in a crisis situation. “The hope is to equip each…

By Ben Triandafillou THE gap between the Port Phillip Heads is one of the most dangerous stretches of open water in Australia but keen swimmers have been crossing the opening since 1971. The swimmers must take into account the giant container ships, the vast variety of marine life and the detrimental tides when navigating their way from Point Lonsdale to Point Nepean. The ‘Rip Swim’ is now in its fourth season of organising group swims across the bay with a recent crossing on Sunday 26 February. Swimmers of all age groups have attempted and successfully completed the daring venture across…

PENINSULA LEAGUE A MORE even MPNFL Peninsula Division competition this season may not necessarily be in store after Frankston YCW flexed its muscles against Mornington on Saturday. The reigning premiers were sluggish out of the blocks though, completely outgunned from the opening bounce as the Doggies booted six goals to one in a dominant first stanza with the aid of the breeze. At the first change, the margin was 29 points and the Doggies were in control. Fast forward 30 minutes, Frankston YCW kicks nine of the next 11 goals and turns a 29-point deficit into a 16-point lead. The…

NEPEAN LEAGUE FRANKSTON Bombers sounded a very loud warning to the rest of the MPNFL Nepean Division competition when it handed out a 10-goal hiding to Dromana on Saturday. It may have only been the opening game of the 2017 season, but the Bombers were quick to put the horror of losing the Grand Final to Hastings last year and slip into top gear and put the Tigers to the sword. If the game wasn’t over at quarter-time when the Bombers booted five goals to one, it certainly was at the main interval when the lead blew out to 53…

SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie Peninsula Strikers have pulled off the transfer coup of the season by clinching the signature of Scottish star Ryan Stevenson. The 32-year-old attacking midfielder or striker has played over 400 games as a professional in Scotland and England and will fly to Melbourne as soon as his visa and international clearance are arranged. The Centenary Park outfit is hopeful that Stevenson will arrive this week and be the first of a number of clutch signings it hopes to make in the next fortnight. Among them is former Bentleigh Greens junior Emmanuel Brima, 18, who has been…

Lee Kernaghan is one of the undisputable all-time greats of Australian country.  2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of Lee’s amazing career and the release of his first chart-busting hit, Boys From The Bush. The iconic song was the first of many number one singles from the classic album The Outback Club, which went on to achieve double platinum certification, win a swag of awards and redefine contemporary Australian country music along the way. Since the release of his mega hit Boys From The Bush, Lee has notched up 34 number one hits on the Australian country music…

SOME excitement was caused in Queen Street, Maidenhead (UK), on Monday afternoon, when a bullock belonging to Mr Webster butcher, and driven by one of his men, made a sudden and unwelcome call at the shop of Mr P. Lovejoy, tobacconist. The space between the shop and the sitting room was only about sufficient for the animal to “dissemble,” and it confined itself to where the goods were exposed for sale. Mr De la Hay, a neighbour, kindly placed a valuable case out of harm’s way, and Mr Bullock made for the shelves behind the counter, brushing down walking sticks…

PLANS to subdivide part of Cruden Farm in Langwarrin for residential development would see more than 100 houses built ​on land near the former homestead of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. A planning application to subdivide a parcel of land within​ the 54-hectare estate has been received by Frankston Council in a first step to try to rezone land from its current Rural Conservation Zone status that prohibits residential development. The application is for a parcel of land at Cruden Farm to be subdivided into 116 lots of between 600-800 square metres. The bid to rezone the land will be controversial since…

VETERAN journalist and singer Barry Morris feels as though he grew up with singer Frank Sinatra. “His music has been a background musical score to my life,” Morris, a former jazz writer and sub-editor with Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph, said this week. Two years ago, he and his wife Jill moved to Mt Martha to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Born in 1941, Morris says he became aware of The Voice when Sinatra was recording hit after hit for radio, well before the advent of television. “It was his years with Capitol Records from 1952 to 1962 that…

HUNDREDS of sick and dying birds at the Civic Reserve in Dunns Rd, Mornington, may have been infected by avian botulism. The naturally occurring, but highly toxic, bacteria is believed to have contaminated waters in the lakes near the Dunns Rd entrance to the reserve. Scientists from the state government’s Animal Health and Welfare Unit, along with the Department of Health and the RSPCA, are investigating the cause. Volunteers from Wildlife Help on the Mornington Peninsula have been collecting affected birds to stop the disease from spreading and taking them to the East Mornington vet hospital for treatment. Dr Jodi…

THERE was no suggestion the high number of votes not counted in the recent Mornington Peninsula Shire elections had influenced the outcome, a Victorian Electoral Commission spokesman said last week. Mike Lagastes, of the VEC’s communications department, was speaking after residents on social media sites complained they had been sent infringement notices for not voting when they were adamant they had. The fine is $78. The spokesman said there had “been a lot of cases” where ballot material had been returned to the VEC after the deadline of 6pm 21 October. He said there were “no reports of mass delays…

RECOMMENDED ways to protect Portsea beach from erosion for the next 50 years vary in cost from $2.2 million to $32.5m. However, consultants hired by the state government say that only two of five options tackle the causes of erosion along 400 metres of the beach near Portsea pier. The consultants warn that doing nothing and removing rocks and sand bags laid to protect the beach will “result in the loss of some existing foreshore buildings within 10 years”. Of the two options that the consultants believe will fix the problem – configuration dredging or building a breakwater – dredging…

A JOCKEY was found dead during morning track work at a Tuerong horse stud last week. Brian Mason, 50, was on a three-year-old filly at Denistoun Park, Balnarring Rd, when he appears to have suffered a heart attack. Stable manager Trevor Andrews and another staff member became concerned when he did not return at 8.15am and walked out to find him slumped on the ground with the horse standing quietly beside him. He was unconscious and not breathing. Mr Andrews performed CPR until paramedics arrived and took over. Mr Mason, of Walpeup, was pronounced dead at 8.57am. He was wearing…

FORMER Peninsula Grammar headmaster Harry Alexander Macdonald, passed away on 3 April at the age of 86. Mr Macdonald was the second headmaster at Peninsula and led the school for almost 20 years (1971-1991). His time of leadership saw the school go from strength to strength; it became a centre of academic excellence with an outstanding co-curricular program. Glenmaggie, the school’s Outdoor Education Campus, became an important part of every student’s program. The H A Macdonald Pavilion and oval at the school are named in his honour, and in 1972 he received the Order of Australia for “services to education.”…

ONE of the main Mornington Peninsula tourist drawcards has lost an estimated $40,000 in an on-line ticketing scam. Peninsula Hot Springs, at Fingal, is one of at least nine high profile Victorian venues targeted by fraudsters using the Chinese social media forum WeChat, which is used by an estimated 800 million people. The springs’ general manager Brook Ramage said the company may have lost the $40,000 in the scam over the past 12 months “plus lost business and other factors”. “It’s hard to tell the exact amount, that’s the big question,” he said. The scam revolves around fraudsters using stolen…

McCRAE Lighthouse burst into a sea of light last Sunday 2 April to mark World Autism Day. Organised by Bianca Appleford from Light Up Autism Foundation, over 300 people gathered to witness the illuminating of the lighthouse. “This was a great team effort,” said Mrs Appleford. “I’d like to thank McCrae and District Lions Club, Bendigo Bank (Rye, Rosebud and Dromana), Dromana Fire Brigade and Sorrento SES, and all our supporters that come out on the night.” Light Up Autism Foundation was founded five years ago by Mrs Appleford after she saw first hand the need  for assistance programs in…

WORK has begun on a $1.56 million coastal path and seawall at the Eastern Sister headland connecting Sullivan Bay to Camerons Bight, Sorrento. Initially the focus will be on fencing the construction site and diverting pedestrians around it, with project signs detailing the works. The headland is at the northern end of Camerons Bight and the southern end of Sullivan Bay. At the top of the cliff is the Collins Settlement Historic site, Victoria’s first official settlement, dating back to 1803. It includes graves, asphalt pathways, monuments and look-outs. The project will provide pedestrian access around the headland along a…

TWENTY experts who buy and recommend what wines are served in some of the world’s top restaurants were last week taken on a tour of Mornington Peninsula wineries. The marketing exercise organised by Wine Australia saw two busloads of sommeliers being driven around the peninsula on Tuesday and Wednesday. The sommeliers were in Melbourne for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards which saw New York’s Eleven Madison Park take out the top spot. Tuesday’s tour of the peninsula started at Stonier Winery, Merricks, where the group was welcomed by Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association CEO Cheryl Lee. From there the sommeliers…