A MORNINGTON aged care worker’s role in improving dying residents’ quality of life has been recognised with an excellence in age services award. Clinical care coordinator Ryan Rodrigues’ End of Life Trajectory Planning tool has been so successful at Craig Care, Mornington that it helped him win the 2019 individual award at leading age services Australia. It now features in all seven of the aged care providers’ centres. While Mr Rodrigues’ core work duties are similar to others in his role – such as managing the aged care accreditation process and legislative requirements for clinical compliance, best practice in clinical…
Author: Stephen Taylor
A YOUNG Mornington woman who “always wanted to help people” is the first to enter a traineeship program at Mornington Peninsula CIU. Victoria Police launched the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school-based traineeships in 2017 and the program is said to have “made great strides” since then. The program is designed for students completing years 10, 11 or 12 who are interested in a career with Victoria Police and is available at several police stations around the state. Ashcka Woods, 18, a Year 12 student at Mornington Secondary College, is completing the program as part of her Certificate III in…
THE real estate agent’s waiver said it all: “Please note this is a working fire station at the moment. Inspections may be cancelled at short notice.” And so, forewarned, potential buyers of the old Crib Point fire station in Disney Street, pictured, are making their inspections before it goes to auction for the first time in 50 years on Saturday 13 April. Harcourts Jason Dowler said the 770 square metre residential zone block offered a “multitude of options”. It has shedding for up to five vehicles, a main building and smaller shed, kitchen and meeting room and bathroom facilities, and…
CONCERNS about erosion and the impact of silt on Tanti Creek have been allayed by a fish survey which found that none of the previously recorded species has been lost. The survey, organised by Tanti Creek Friends and conducted by Streamline Research, followed fears that fish numbers and diversity had decreased “significantly” over the past two years. The survey was conducted 5-6 March with samples taken during a dry period after several weeks without rain. It covered the entire length of Tanti Creek and involved setting bait traps and electrofishing, water quality data reviews, assessing the impacts of erosion…
THE upsurge in on-line movie streaming has claimed possibly the last of the neighbourhood video-hire stores on the Mornington Peninsula. Rosebud’s Video Ezy was getting ready to close its doors over the weekend after 10 years in operation. Manager John Conti, who has been at the helm since 2010, said he had stopped hiring out movies on Thursday 21 March and was planning to shut the doors for the last time on Sunday. “I think we are the last video store standing on the peninsula, although there is a Civic Video at Frankston South,” said Mr Conti, who revealed he’d…
COMMUNITY meetings will be held at Mornington, Rosebud and Hastings next month to discuss Mornington Peninsula Shire’s role in supporting older residents following announcement of the federal government’s proposed aged care reforms. The mayor Cr David Gill said Flinders MP Greg Hunt called him on Friday concerned that a news release issued by the shire was misleading. “He [Mr Hunt] said that there would ne no reduction to government funding [for aged care] and that it was already in the budget,” Cr Gill told The News. Cr Gill said three public meetings would help the shire respond to the reforms…
Nepean MP Chris Brayne has suggested Senator Fraser Anning be sent to Indonesia “where, hopefully he might learn some compassion, empathy and, just maybe, come back less ignorant”. Mr Brayne was speaking in state parliament last week after the New Zealand terrorist attacks in which 50 Muslims praying at two Christchurch mosques were shot dead and dozens wounded, Friday 15 March. Senator Anning, a former One Nation and Katter Australia Party MP, later linked the shootings to immigration and called for a ban on Muslim immigration. He was controversially “egged” by a 17-year-old student when making his comments and a…
LIKE the fabled Mouse That Roared, Main Ridge Bowls Club is standing tall and winning pennants. Last Tuesday 12 March the club won the Division 5 pennant premiership. Playing at Karingal, the Ridge came from behind to beat old foes Mt Martha by four shots – a feat they also achieved last year. Not content with that, Main Ridge last Saturday (16 March) beat West Rosebud by 16 points at Belvedere to win the Division 3 pennant premiership. The same eight players represented the club in both premierships. One, Cesare Bonacini, is a regular bowler at Main Ridge. “He is…
DIRTY dogs don’t come cheap if the mess caused by one large canine in Mornington is any example. Empire Walk retailer Lindy Clark was so appalled by the large, smelly dump outside her shop that she covered it with cardboard before calling in the big guns, Saturday 9 March. “The owner had simply let the dog do its business without making the slightest effort to clean up the almighty mess,” she said. “We called VicRoads and the shire but they wouldn’t help,” she said. “Then we called the Mornington CFA who sent down a crew of four big blokes with…
THREE men off Carrum were lucky a boat was passing when their five-metre Devil Cat sank one kilometre from shore, Sunday 10 March. Water was flooding both hulls and the boat was almost under when the trio of work colleagues jumped overboard and were picked up about 11am. The rescuing skipper, David Garrett of Pearcedale, reported the incident and stood by as Volunteer Marine Rescue vessel AK1 arrived from Mornington. VMR Mornington’s Tim Warner said “all occupants were found to be wet and shaken … but in good health”. With the upturned vessel getting closer to sinking, AK1 skipper Sean…
IT’S been an “extraordinarily busy” start to 2019 for members of the Rye CFA – and especially the 16 firefighters who have spent more than 650 hours fighting fires and saving homes outside the Rye area in the first two and a half months of the year. Their work was made even more difficult by hot and windy weather in a summer labelled by the weather bureau as the “hottest on record”. But Brigade Captain Glenn Diamond said the crews were still able to respond to more than 100 local calls, with most of the fires marked down as avoidable…
SAFETY Beach will be the scene of frenetic athletic activity when the Sufferfest Triathlon takes over the foreshore on the weekend of 23-24 March. Organisers hope the new location will be more of a safe haven after they were criticised last year for basing their races in Mt Martha and closing the Esplanade between Mornington and Safety Beach on Clean-up Australia Day. Competitors dodged shoppers, beachgoers and clean-up volunteers and leading to Mornington Peninsula Shire amending its events policy to prevent any future clashes of dates (“Policy to avoid event clash” The News 3/4/2018). The shire’s communications and events…
THE state government has been called on to declare the Mornington Peninsula “drought affected” to quickly help businesses hit hard by water shortages. The drastic move aims to gain easier access to cheaper water for drought-hit farms, businesses and recreational and sports grounds. Cr Antonella Celi moved the urgent item at last week’s Mornington Peninsula Shire Council meeting. The move also included a plea for the government to support the shire’s recycled water projects, including gaining access to the Class A recycled water flowing into the sea through to the South East Outfall near Gunnamatta. This Eastern Treatment Plant water…
BITTERN’S Patrice Hunder is writing her own chapter in the book of animal husbandry. There are no grand stud farms, DNA manipulation or special breeding techniques for this amateur cattle breeder who feels love on both sides is behind her success in the show ring. It must be working. Ms Hunder, who leases a small property at Balnarring, won the supreme champion at the All Breeds Beef Classic at Red Hill Show over the Labour Day weekend with her miniature Scottish Galloway Torcroft Sylvia. Nicknamed the “Animal Whisperer” by friend Bob Bates, Ms Hunder, 74, is a vegetarian and a…
FARMER Eddie Matt is leading the push by Mornington Peninsula farmers for easier access to Class A treated water going into the sea from the South East Outfall near Gunnamatta. His irrigated grazing and lucerne property at Rye has produced only half last year’s yield of hay and silage because of a lack of water, but he still faced the same high water and diesel overheads. “If you have got water you have got security,” he said. “In the peninsula hinterland there is no water and if the pasture is dry there is no feed and the hay is of…
Clean-Up Australia Day volunteers at Mt Martha are happy to report “significantly less rubbish” being found than in previous years. Registrar Jan Jones, a member of Mt Martha Yacht Club and Balcombe Estuary Reserves Group, said: “Let’s hope that future years of Clean-Up Australia continue to see a reduced need for this event. “We also hope this [less rubbish] is due to greater awareness of the environmental impact of careless rubbish disposal alongside the impact of the clean team funded by Mornington Peninsula Shire over the past few summers.” Volunteers from the yacht and lifesaving clubs, Rotary, BERG and residents…
THE proposal by German-based Kaufland for a super store at Mornington remains up in the air despite the company being given the go ahead for stores at Dandenong, Chirnside Park and Epping. The state government was last week boasting about attracting “one of the world’s largest retailers to Victoria in a move that will create more than 1500 jobs and inject almost half a billion dollars into the state’s economy”. Mornington Peninsula Shire and a growing number of residents are objecting to Kaufland being allowed to build on the Bata shoe factory in Nepean Highway. Economic development minister Tim Pallas…
MANY people living with dementia, as well as their carers, are reluctant to use in-home support services even when they find out how easy it is to get them. And that’s placing a strain on those looking after family members and friends affected by the disease responsible for the second highest number of deaths in Australia after heart disease. “There are a number of reasons for their reluctance,” said Kylie Knoble, a care manager and dementia consultant based at Mornington. “They might fear that a request for help will be seen as an admission that they are not coping, or…
WHAT’S been good for women should also be good for men, right? That rationale has led to the creation of a purpose-designed “much-more-than-just-clothing” outlet at Rosebud Central opened last week. Not-for-profit group Clothes4U, which has been providing quality clothing, accessories and toiletries to disadvantaged women on the Mornington Peninsula for five years, will now do the same for men in similar circumstances. The service is free and clients get to keep all the items they are given. “Over that time we have been providing women and girls with clothing for everything from everyday wear, to outfits for job interviews, court…
WILDLIFE rescuers have been stunned by the hundreds of native animals killed during last weekend’s searing heat. Australian Wildlife Protection Council secretary Eve Kelly said wildlife shelter volunteers, vets and residents did the best they could to ease the animals’ suffering. However, they were powerless to prevent the “terrible suffering of ringtail possums as they struggled to cope with the relentless temperatures” over four days of high temperatures. “Many possums simply dropped out of their nests, unable to survive the scorching heat; others made their way into the sea trying desperately to cool down,” Ms Kelly said. “Mass deaths were…
IT was close, but there was no cigar for Harlem Nelson, of Hastings, who thought she had caught a one kilogram whiting at last weekend’s Western Port Angling Club competition. The 52cm fish was close to the magical one kilo mark but, at 0.934kg, was just under. “They came back in at 8.30am on the Saturday thinking they had caught the biggest whiting, but it was just shy so out they went again for another go,” organiser Don Newman said. As it turned out, no one managed to land a one kilogram whiting. Mr Newman said the most recent catch…
TROY Thornton, the former officer-in-charge at Mornington Fire Station who chose to end his life in a Swiss euthanasia clinic last week, left behind a loving family, many friends and a message to legislators. Mr Thornton, 54, who suffered from multiple system atrophy, said in an interview with website Starts at 60: “The Victorian euthanasia legislation needs to be modified to enable people like me with a chronic degenerative disease to have access to the law, not only those defined as ‘terminal’. “As a first-responder I have seen too many traumatic suicides and suicide attempts. An assisted suicide in Australia…
RESIDENTS in the Dalsten Grove area of Mt Eliza are concerned about the safety of mainly elderly pedestrians near Canadian Bay Road as they approach the shopping precinct. They are “desperate for council traffic management action” on the roads which they say are lined with cars of shop staff who “park on both sides of the road all day plus other vehicles entering and exiting Dalsten Grove”. Complaints from residents in Dalsten Grove, Woodland Close and Mews and Clarkestown Avenue, led to the deputy mayor Cr Rosie Clark and Cr Bev Colomb to hold a public meeting also attended by…
IT’S getting hot and crowded on the stairs at Birdrock Beach, Mt Martha. While some visitors are happy to enjoy the scenery and tranquillity, others seem more concerned about beating their personal best times as they rush up and down. Regular stair walker Rob Dawson, of Mt Martha, says barbs are often exchanged between the groups and admits his occasional comments have drawn return fire. To lighten the mood, Mr Dawson has penned light-hearted poems which he thinks encapsulate the method – and the madness – of the bustling scene. He places them along the fence near the stairs along…
AN animal welfare body offering subsidised cat desexing on the Mornington Peninsula has been kept busy. The Humane Society for Animal Welfare launched the pilot project Thursday 20 February as a “trial to be evaluated past the initial response”. Save Mornington Pound Animals organiser Rosy Fischer, who is assisting the group, said 70 vouchers were requested by residents in the first week. The service will target cats in the Rosebud and Hastings areas, which Ms Fischer says are “the worst areas for all pets with most of the impounded pets coming from these areas”. Ms Fischer…
THE discovery of a metre-long tiger snake behind a Dromana fish-and-chip shop was an unwelcome surprise for proprietor June Wu, Wednesday 27 February. “A delivery guy came in and said: ‘Do you realise you have a snake out the back,’” she said. “It was in the gas meter. I went out and it was the first time I’ve ever seen a snake outside of the zoo.” Ms Wu, the proprietor for 10 years, said she called snake catcher Barry Goldsmith who was able to quickly bag the reptile for release “within five kilometres”. Mr Goldsmith said the snake was the…
Fire-fighting appliances, as well as three Elvis air cranes and two helicopters, tackled a fast-moving bushfire at Shoreham, Thursday 28 February. An emergency warning was issued for people living south-east of the blaze about 1.45pm, however this was downgraded to a watch-and-act about 4pm. A CFA spokesperson described the fire in a plantation off Punty Lane, between Shoreham and Mornington-Flinders roads, as a “dynamic scene” confronting firefighters on the ground and the helicopters operating out of Tyabb Airport. She said the fire was threatening homes on Tucks Road and moving south fanned by fresh northerly winds towards Western Port and…
MORNINGTON Peninsula residents are being asked to help the police disrupt the manufacture and supply of drugs in the community by reporting anything they know about offenders. The nation-wide Dob in a Dealer campaign paid for by the federal government aims to stop the supply of drugs, such as methylamphetamine (ice), cocaine, MDMA, heroin and cannabis. It also gives residents an opportunity to support their friends, families and colleagues by voicing their suspicions about who is dealing in drugs in their area. Crime Stoppers Victoria’s Cassandra Joyce said public support played a crucial role in police intervention against criminals and…
AN estimated crows of 4000 people was in Hastings for the 50th Western Port Festival on the weekend to watch the parade, enjoy music, and participate in free activities. Organisers were “very happy with the turn-out” who took in the action on the foreshore, including Sunday’s Classic Car Show with 200 British, US and European cars, Battle of the Bands, rides and attractions, sand sculpture, competitions, amusements, community market and fireworks display. About 40 community groups marched down High Street in Saturday’s parade followed by a flash mob’s – kids from Simply Dance – unplanned dance action bringing up the…
ROSEBUD’S Annalise Magee came across the Miss Universe Australia 2019 competition on Instagram and decided she’d “give it a go and see what would happen”. Then promptly forgot about it. One month later, she received an email saying she was one of 30 Victorian finalists. The pressure was on, not the least of which was her fear of being up there on stage and the centre of attention. “I’m used to being on the stage, but only for aerobics,” she said. “For me, public speaking has never been my forte and is one thing I wish to become better at…