ROSEBUD Country Club’s Anthony Marchesani has made his final US collegiate tournament a memorable one. Playing in a tournament players’ championship event at Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois, he led his team Oklahoma City Stars into the national championship for the fourth time in the past six years. In the individual championships, Marchesani played solidly all week shooting rounds of 72, 72, 73 and 72 to be tied for fourth. He was also again selected in the All American first team. Marchesani has also been named one of five finalists in the prestigious Jack Nicklaus award, which is presented to the…
Author: MP News Group
HAVING received and distributed 281 blankets and many knitted items from its 2015 appeal, Food for All is conducting its 20th winter appeal with the aim to equal or better last year’s total. Blankets, rugs and quilts which are clean and in good condition are needed to help Mornington Peninsula families cope with a cold winter. Also needed are knitted garments, including jumpers, long scarves, beanies and gloves. “We will ensure these are given to deserving families who urgently need help in keeping warm this winter,” president Ken Northwood said. Food for All is a non-profit community organisation devoted to…
THIS year’s Arthurs Seat Challenge fun run launch at Arthurs Hotel on 19 May was an opportunity to highlight the fragility of young lives on the roads – among both drivers and passengers. Those aged 18-24 are the most at-risk group, with P-platers 30 times more likely to crash than more experienced drivers. The challenge raises the importance of road safety education for young people and supports the Fit2Drive road safety program. Funds raised go to local schools to supplement the cost of providing road safety education to Year 11 students. Guest Dr Nicola Martin spoke about the lasting impact…
SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie MORNINGTON’S march towards a second successive State 1 South-East title continued at the expense of Frankston Pines at Dallas Brooks Park on Saturday. Wayne Gordon opened the scoring in the 25th minute and three minutes later Shane Tagliaferro’s deflected shot fell for Northern Irish import Sam Stewart who tucked it away from eight metres. Another deflected Tagliaferro strike in the 68th minute lobbed up for Paul McEvoy to head home and a fine free-kick by Chris Reid in the 71st minute stood despite Pines’ protestations that it was indirect. Kane Bentley grabbed a late consolation for…
“Mick Thomas has some secret magic to his writing… he surely can write great songs that make you say “Why didn’t I think of that?” but of course we never do. He writes about mates, ratbags, races, places, weddings, parties, funny stuff – anything – but they are really good stories and great songs. Mick is truly a legend around the best of fair-dinkum roots venues and festivals around the country. He is a character! He is funny! He will talk the leg off an old chair and play the arse off a guitar, sweat the shirt of his back…
A YOUNG, injured dolphin in Port Phillip has highlighted concern that boat users are flouting the law and getting too close to wildlife in the bay. The dolphin, less than one year old, was spotted about two weeks after it had lost part of its tail, probably from a boat strike. Department of Environment, Land and Water and Planning compliance officer Katie Knight said the dolphin was lucky not to have been fatally wounded. “These type of strikes are often fatal or severely debilitating and while it is great to see a marine mammal in its natural environment, a big…
A MT MARTHA woman was lucky not to be scammed last week when she received an email from what looked to be her power provider. Sandra-Lyal Dennis, 72, said the email, purporting to be from AGL and with her correct name and account number, asked if she preferred to pay her quarterly power bills by the month. If she did, the email requested that she move her cursor to an area on the screen where she could download pictures – but it was a trap. The download would have exposed her PC to a ransomware attack. “Fortunately, I didn’t download…
MT ELIZA Secondary College’s subject Real Time Learning focuses on enhancing student engagement through authentic activities. It’s built on the principles of expansive education, where students feel a connection to others and a level of control over their learning. The program aims to encourage community involvement by offering students opportunities to participate in real-world ventures. In February a group of students, many who identify as being of Aboriginal descent, such as Wurundjeri, Gunditjmara, Yorta Yorta and Toogee, pitched an idea to school leaders for an outdoor classroom that includes a bush tucker garden and murals. Given the green light, the…
CAFE owners across the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston are rallying to help Victorian dairy farmers under financial strain from an unprecedented drop in the price of milk after Australia’s two biggest dairy companies slashed farmgate prices. A trio of community-minded activists under the banner of the Mornington Peninsula for Dairy group – Sam Keck, Josh Brown and Lisa Brassington – aim to raise at least $10,000 with the help of small cafe businesses across the state who will donate $1 from every milk coffee sold on a ‘Dairy Day’ tomorrow (Saturday 4 June). Customers can also buy limited edition Snake…
Missing Persons Squad detectives have charged a second man following the death of Chelsea Heights’ teenager Cayleb Hough. The 27-year-old McKinnon man handed himself into police last night and has been charged with murder. He was remanded into custody and will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this morning. A 28-year-old Kawarren man, charged with murder will also appear at court this morning. The 17-year-old boy’s remains were located in a shallow mineshaft in the Lerderderg State Park in Bacchus Marsh on Thursday 10 March.
CRIB POINT FNC By Jared Newton NOT a happy day for the Pies as all teams went down against their feathered rivals from Somerville. The seniors were highly competitive without fully threatening with avenues at goal again being the biggest issue for the Pies. With Dean Warry back in the side the Pies looked much more potent up forward and he delivered with three majors. The Pies never gave up and poor kicking from the Eagles kept Crib in the game for much of the day before some late goals put a gap between the two sides. There’s no doubt…
HASTINGS FNC HASTINGS Football/Netball Club had a fantastic weekend on and off the field with all three football sides having great victories against Dromana Football/Netball club. Our C Grade netball team had a draw and unfortunately our B Grade girls only just went down. Off the field we had Neil “Knuckles” Kerley come and visit the club with his good mate John Schultz, former Brownlow Medallist, in what was a terrific lunch time event with “Knuckles” not disappointing. We are so lucky to have had these two men visit and thank them for taking the time out of there busy…
MERRICKS Pony Club was named inaugural winner of the Club of the Year at the Pony Club Australia Awards. And the club’s Lauren Clark won the award for Best Achievement by a rider 17-25 years. Club president Natasha Keetley, vice-president Roberta Clark and Lauren Clark travelled to Adelaide for the presentations on 28 May. Criteria for the club award included showing initiative to attract and retain members, delivering quality coaching, having the highest standards of safety and focusing on good governance at all times. The criteria for Ms Clark’s award included displaying pony club values, rally attendance, club citizenship and…
RESIDENTS had a chance to visit Melbourne Water’s Tyabb Reservoir renewal project, Friday 20 May, to gain a better understanding of the works in progress. Drinking water is piped to the reservoir from Melbourne Water’s Cardinia Reservoir and Tarago treatment plant. An embankment inside the reservoir will create two basins, with new covers and linings. Melbourne Water project manager Kerri Skelton said the opening gave residents a rare behind-the-scenes look into the project. “We wanted to invite our close neighbours to show them the scale of the construction of this important project,” she said. The works have already necessitated 1375…
By LIZ BELL HASTINGS schools, early education providers and parents working together have shown how a community approach to literacy and social inclusion gets results and gives students “hope”. Since becoming involved in a project to develop the relationships between education services and families – Linking Schools and Early Years – the town’s literacy and school engagement levels have soared. Figures from the Australian Early Development Census show that the project has reduced the number of preps in the town who had poor language and cognitive skills by almost 20 per cent. Only around 17 per cent of preps are…
Colac Highway Patrol are investigating after a pedestrian died following a collision at Colac last week. It’s believed a man was crossing from the south side of Murray Street, at the eastern side of the Queen Street intersection, about 7.15am on Thursday 26 May. A Mitsubishi sedan turning right from Queen Street into Murray Street struck the pedestrian as he was crossing road. The 48-year-old pedestrian from Mt Martha was taken to the Colac Hospital then transferred to The Alfred hospital. The man died at The Alfred the following day. Police continue to investigate the circumstances of the collision. Anyone…
GUITARIST Matthew Fagan and pianist Daniel Tucceri will perform Solstice, 3pm, Sunday 19 June at St John’s Church, Flinders. It’s being billed as a concert of classical music at its emotive and technical best – a musical journey into our mythology and a rediscovery of ancient music, using acoustic instruments from Celtic and Classical to Romantic traditions. Solstice will feature the works of classical masters Vivaldi, Beethoven, Rodrigo, Bach and Paganini, with new arrangements for 10 and six-string Spanish guitar and piano. Master works from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Rodrigo’s Spanish guitar masterpiece Concierto de Aranjuez will be played.…
AN Aspendale Gardens man weeding in his garden died after petrol fumes caught alight, Wednesday 18 May. Police said the 42-year-old was pouring petrol from a watering can onto weeds along his fence line unaware of the danger as he neared a gas heater. The pilot light ignited the fumes, setting the man, and the fence, alight. Witnesses said the man, of Waterdale Place, ran across the yard to grab the garden hose but had already suffered serious burns to his body. Neighbours ran to help and called an ambulance. The man was taken to The Alfred hospital with life…
MORNINGTON Peninsula small businesses Commonfolk Coffee, The Snake Hole, and agricultural advocate Indiblu have united in support of Victoria’s dairy community. “As you would be well aware the dairy industry is facing some of its most challenging times,” organiser Sam Keck, of Commonfolk, said. “The recent price drop has put unprecedented pressure on the finances and emotions of some of our most important primary produces.” The group’s unincorporated not-for-profit group MP4Dairy aims to raise much-needed financial support for struggling farming families. Their two main fundraising campaigns include a gofundme site to sell limited edition Snake Hole-designed t-shirts, with all profits going…
BEN Wild is the Animal Justice Party candidate for the federal seat of Flinders at the up-coming election. He is the third candidate to step forward against Liberal Greg Hunt, who has held the seat since 2001. Willisa Hogarth will contest Flinders for the Greens and Carolyn Gleixner for Labor. Ms Gleixner unsuccessfully stood for the state seat of Nepean against Liberal Martin Dixon in 2014 and Ms Hogarth is the state convener of the Australian Greens. Mr Wild said although the Animal Justice Party was seen as a micro party, “it looks as though we will end up being…
By LIZ BELL SECURITY will be upgraded at The Briars homestead, Mt Martha, so that a priceless Napoleon collection of artefacts and artworks can be displayed. Burglars broke into the homestead in April, 2014, stealing 10 items, including locks of the French emperor’s hair, a silver inkwell, some gold Napoleons and a ribbon inscribed by Napoleon in 1815. The large collection had been housed at The Briars for about 20 years and is the largest Napoleonic collection outside of Europe. The theft highlighted a lack of security at the historic venue, with the thief entering the property through a bathroom…
STAFF at Peninsula Health have seen a 69.9 per cent increase in the number of breast cancer cases treated since 2008. Breast care nurse Rhonda Barnes predicts the trend is “set to rise even further over the next several years”. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian women and has the second highest mortality rate after lung cancer. Cancer Australia estimates that there will be more than 16,000 new cases diagnosed this year. The breast surgery team at Peninsula Health treats more than 130 women a year. As a breast care nurse, Ms Barnes is the linchpin…
SOCCER By Craig MacKenzie TWO Frankston Pines players were given lengthy suspensions by Football Federation Victoria’s tribunal last week. Laban Stringer and Jordan Avraham were found guilty of involvement in a brawl that disrupted the National Premier League clash at Lakeside Stadium between South Melbourne and Melbourne Victory on Sunday 24 April. It is believed that Stringer and Avraham were with an extreme group of Victory fans, known as Northern Terrace, who charged South Melbourne fans in the second half forcing the referee to halt the match until order had been restored. FFV hired an investigator whose report resulted in…
HASTINGS Mowers was burgled during the early hours of Monday 16 May. Two men in disguise forced their way into the business on Frankston-Flinders Rd and stole several Husqvarna chainsaws and Honda generators valued at several thousand dollars. CCTV footage shows them driving a champagne or silver coloured VX Holden Commodore (pictured) with distinctive black mag wheels, black tow ball and custom interior. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers, 1800 333 000, or Leading Detective Senior Constable Rohan Brock, Mornington Peninsula Crime Investigation Unit, 59781400. First published in the Western Port News – 24 May 2016
NEW signs are now pointing the way into Hastings. Two years in the planning, the signs have created an “iconic” entrance to the town and “pinpoint Hastings as the main gateway to Western Port”, says Cr David Garnock. He said the signs were the result of a partnership between Mornington Peninsula Shire, Western Port Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Western Port Tourism Association. The project aimed to create a sign that captured the “essence” of what makes Hastings “such a great place to visit”. Cr Garnock said this included the need to highlight the “historically successful co-existence of heavy…
A MORNINGTON school struggling to raise money for a gym is on track with building plans thanks to some entrepreneurial thinking and a generous benefactor. Mornington Park Primary School, the only school on the peninsula without its own gym, opened an opportunity shop 12 months ago to kick-start a gym fund, which was boosted recently by an anonymous donation of $250,000. Principal Bev Dadds said enrolment numbers were increasing and the school desperately needed somewhere to cater for sports and functions such as all-school assemblies. She said the school decided to take matters into its own hands by opening an…
A PHOTOGRAPHIC exhibition of puppetry that interprets how disabled artists see their bodies will be on at Mornington Library until 23 June. Organised by Arts Access Victoria, the Avenue of Puppets: Volatile Bodies exhibition features puppets created by artists from Art About, an inclusive art studio. An Arts Access Victoria spokesperson said the work ‘’interrogated how artists with a disability see their bodies interacting with the physical and metaphysical environment’’ after artists got together and shared their stories. The artists formed individual marionette puppets with mixed mediums including papier-mache, paint and fabric. Art About member Elyssa Gunn said each marionette…
BY all accounts the cobblestones behind the seawall and leading on to Mornington pier have been there for more than a century. Passengers arriving by paddle steamer from Melbourne would traverse them on their way up the hill to promenade along Main St. The stones represented a centuries old construction method that is preserved and promoted as part of the attraction of villages throughout Europe. Some of the stones are now being removed for a new path to meet “current disability discrimination legislation requirements”, according to Parks Victoria’s district manager Port Phillip and Western Port, Graeme Davis. “In order to…
MT ELIZA Junior Football Club has developed a smoke-free policy and signed the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula Smoke Free Charter. It is the first of 14 clubs in the Frankston and District Junior Football league to draw the line against smoking by signing up. It follows the Mornington Peninsula Junior Football League, which signed up in February, and the Mt Martha Junior Football Club, which signed up last year. Mt Eliza has 28 teams and is reportedly the largest junior sporting club across the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula. Its decision to extend the policy past the 10-metre legislation demonstrates a strong message…
Woodlock is comprised of three members; Kiwi brothers Zech and Eze Walters on guitar and vocals and their mate Bowen Purcell, who provides the percussion. Zech, Eze and Bowen formed a strong friendship after meeting whilst travelling overseas. From there, Woodlock was born. They’ve worked hard to perfect the sounds they craft in the studio for a live setting. Their efforts focus on strong, energetic and creative live shows to take their performance to the next level. Now based in Melbourne, the boys have gained some great recognition and created a strong following after tirelessly busking on every corner of…