A LEARNING partnership between schools, parents, Rotary and a Hastings book store has benefitted pupils at three Western Port primary schools. The children, at St Mary’s, Hastings and Wallaroo primary schools, are learning to read more quickly – and having fun at the same time. The foundation of the program is a Get Ready for School pack which aims to support children and their families when starting school. Natalie Petersen, owner of Petersen’s Book Store in Hastings and a member of the Linking Schools and Early Years network (LSEY), came up with the idea of the pack and got together…
Author: Stephen Taylor
A SOMERVILLE woman, 34, was taken to Frankston Hospital for psychiatric assessment after the house she lived in with her 12-year-old son caught fire yesterday, Monday 13 August. The Deanswood Drive house was “partially alight” when police and Somerville CFA units arrived at 9am, Sergeant John Coburn, of Somerville CIU, said. The boy was also taken to hospital as a precaution but did not appear injured. No charges have been laid and an arson chemist has been called in to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire. First published in the Western Port News – 14 August 2018
MT ELIZA athletes Tilly Watts and Liam Hemingway are training for a cause close to their hearts. The pair – who live, went to school and work in Mt Eliza – plan to run in the Melbourne half and full marathons in October and are already on their way to raising their target amount of $10,000 for mental health support, awareness and acceptance. So far they have collected is $4400. They are “determined to provide mental health organisation beyondblue with funds to combat mental illness in Australia”. Watts says since re-meeting during their gap year and working for an educational…
A MT MARTHA pet owner whose dog managed to avoid being poisoned is warning her neighbours to watch out. Maria (who asked that her surname be withheld), of Cornwell Crescent, was minding her parents’ West Highland terrier pup Bella when it came inside with a piece of meat in its mouth just after 8am on Monday 6 August. The nine-month-old dropped the meat, which was about the size of a tennis ball, revealing six mysterious blue pellets embedded inside. “I had no idea what it was, it was bizarre,” Maria said. “It looked like a child’s meatball with vitamins and…
A RYE man and former sailor who served in waters off Vietnam feels honoured to have been allowed to perform his own memorial service at the site of a deadly “friendly-fire” attack on HMAS Hobart. The mysterious Sparrow-type, three-missile attack, made in error during the Vietnam war by US Phantom jets on 17 June 1968, left two Australian seamen dead and seven injured and the guided missile destroyer badly damaged. A US Navy board of inquiry investigating the Hobart “incident” for the Australian government later found shortcomings with the F4 Phantom jet’s radar system were partly to blame. Wayne Bastow,…
A DECISION on whether or not to perform a patriotic English song at the Mornington Peninsula Chorale’s Proms Concert in Frankston next week has ruffled a few feathers. The issue was sparked when choir convenor Judi McKee asked choristers if playing Pomp & Circumstance – by British composer Sir Edward Elgar – would offend non-British members of the audience at the Proms concert at Frankston Arts Centre, Sunday 19 August. The song, written at the height of the British Empire in 1901 and said to be a favourite of Queen Victoria, highlights issues of imperialism and nationalism that could offend…
WILDLIFE shelters, carers and vets are gearing up for an influx of displaced, injured and distressed animals in the second stage of centre median vegetation lopping along the Mornington Peninsula Freeway. Works were expected to begin yesterday (Monday 13 August) between Moorooduc Highway and Nepean Highway, Dromana following a VicRoads decision to install wire rope barriers along the freeway’s centre median strip for 18 kilometres from Mt Martha to Rosebud. The first stage of the centre median clearing in September – from Bruce Road, Mt Martha, to Nepean Highway, Safety Beach – resulted in the disturbance of animals “at a…
A COLES supermarket, Goodlife health club and a Supercheap Auto outlet are lead tenants in the revamped former Masters Home Improvement depot, Mornington. Home Consortium, the company developing the Mornington-Tyabb Road site, has circulated a leasing brochure showing a Woolworths supermarket fronting the site opposite Dunns Road. A 3700 square metre Coles supermarket, with nearby Liquorland outlet, is on page two of the brochure which describes the new site as a “daily needs and lifestyle centre”. The brochure shows the remaining vacancies are a 2109 square metre site, a 973 square metre site and two 500 square metre sites. Mornington…
SERVING fresh food to needy people over five years is a noteworthy achievement. So Mornington Community Information and Support Centre staff and volunteers celebrated the event with a cake cutting at St Marks Uniting Church last week. Manager Stuart Davis-Meehan paid tribute to the “hard-working volunteers who make the program happen” and, in particular, volunteer coordinators Shelley Dewerson-Bogue and Kay Crellin. “Every Thursday our amazing volunteers unload the Second Bite truck, sort and display the food, and ensure a comfortable free shopping experience for all those accessing the service,” Mr Davis-Meehan said. Produce is supplied by SecondBite, which collects food…
SORRENTO Sea Scouts leader Christopher Clark believes Scouting teaches young people self-control, to look after their friends, and respect for others – all qualities valuable in society. The Rye resident was speaking after being awarded the prestigious Silver Koala award by the Governor-General and Chief Scout of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC, on World Scout Day 1 August. The Silver Koala award is for distinguished service over 14-16 years. Mr Clark has spent most of his life at the Sorrento troop, joining the Cubs as an eight year old and progressing through the ranks to become a Scout, Venturer…
UNDERSTANDABLY, nurse Jo Lovelock was “shocked, distressed and overwhelmed” by her breast cancer diagnosis in 2003. But she was certainly not defeated. The Mt Martha resident battled through with the help of family and friends who “ran around after the children, fed us through my chemotherapy, assisted us with driving to and from chemotherapy and radiotherapy – and even cleaned my house”. During the early days, Ms Lovelock said she received excellent medical treatment but found that there was no psycho-social support on the Mornington Peninsula. “Our surgeon got a small group of us under-45s together and we met in…
NEPEAN MP Martin Dixon has scoffed at claims by deputy premier James Merlino that he was among 18 state Liberal Party MPs to break parliamentary rules by using electorate staff for political campaigning during business hours. Mr Merlino’s allegations come after Victoria Police last week raided the offices of state Labor MPs in the so-called “Red Shirts Affair” in relation to the actions of their staff before the 2014 state election. Fallout from the affair rocked the state Labor government and sent ministers into hiding last week. Mr Merlino said he had provided evidence to police that he alleges proves…
A COMMUNITY “drop-in session” will be held to brief Rye residents on the $1.2 million boat ramp upgrade about to start this month. This follows Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s acceptance of a tender to refurbish and widen the three existing lanes, add an extra lane, add a 46 metre-long jetty on the east side of the ramps, realign and widened reversing lanes, install lighting, and dredge sand from the area around the new jetty. Work will start this month and is expected to be completed by March next year – which includes a break over summer. The Rye Recreational Boating…
A DOZEN Rosebud Sea Scouts will join another 2800 scouts from across Victoria on the adventure of a lifetime in January. They will be attending the Australian Jamboree at Tailem Bend in South Australia. This group – the largest contingent ever sent to a jamboree by the Rosebud troop – is made up of an equal number of girls and boys, which is also a first. The 11-day camp is designed to be full of adventure and fun – where scouts can ride in a glider or drive in a racing car. Overnight trips will be made to other camps…
WHAT’S a home? Is it a house, apartment, building, car, or perhaps a bench in a park? Sadly, some young people in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula don’t have the luxury of a warm bed, their own room, or protective walls, with a reported 220 sleeping rough on any given night. To help them, Fusion Australia – which has a branch in Mt Martha – is gearing up to host its fourth Sleep In Your Car event at Mornington Park, Saturday 4 August. To be held during Homelessness Week, the event is part of a nation-wide campaign prompting people…
WIND gusts of up to 100kph on Monday night last week brought down trees in gardens and blocked roads in Mt Eliza and Mornington – keeping SES crews busy until 2am Tuesday. Spokesman Brian McMannis said 20 Frankston SES members worked in harsh conditions to move fallen trees from Tower, Humphries, Overport, Walkers and Canadian Bay roads from 10am Monday until clearing was called off at 2am next day. Then it was back on the job later Tuesday morning until 8pm. “We received about 35 calls relating to trees coming down, mainly on roads,” Mr McMannis said. Crews were rotated…
NEIGHBOURHOOD learning and support groups at Mornington Community House have been thrown a lifeline with Mornington Peninsula Shire stepping in to underwrite the 33-year-old centre. The news is a relief for parents and participants who had feared for the future of the Albert Street centre which was shut down by liquidators in March. Mornington Community Contact had run the drop-in centre, meeting place and short term child minding centre from 1977 before it moved to its present address in 1985. Services included education and adult literacy programs, volunteer support, playgroups and childcare. Shocked parents gathered outside the house after being…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire’s Planning Services department is patting itself on the back about being the busiest in the state. Data released by the shire shows the department processes about 2100 planning applications and receives more than 37,000 phone calls a year. Last financial year the department completed 77 per cent of the 2187 planning decisions within the statutory time frame. On top of this, the unit determined a total of 581 amendments to planning permits, 536 secondary consents and 408 extensions-of-time requests. “This is a total of 3712 statutory decisions made for a wide range of planning permit matters,” planning…
THE Sick of Freeway Noise action group aims to unite frazzled residents along the Mornington Peninsula Freeway from Safety Beach, Dromana, McCrae and Rosebud. The community group is targeting noise from the freeway which it says causes sleep deprivation, stress, high blood pressure, depression and eroded living standards. The group says noise level testing along several sections exceeds VicRoads’ 2005 policy of 68dB. It says the noise pollution issue has been known for at least 18 years with residents pursuing VicRoads and respective state governments, with parliamentary records noting concerns as far back as May 2003. “The traffic has significantly…
THE adage “it takes a village to raise a child” has been proven to work over the past 12 years as Hastings’ schools, kindergartens, service organisations and volunteers collaborate in the Linking Schools and Early Years partnership. The service organisations – Good Shepherd Youth and family Services, Hastings Western Port Rotary Club, Western Port Catholic Parish, businesses, agencies and volunteers – adhere to the linking schools’ philosophy that children living in Hastings are the community’s joint responsibility. Their aim is to develop and implement strategies to benefit all the area’s children. Recently retired St Mary’s Primary School, Hastings principal Richard…
PUPILS at 14 Mornington Peninsula schools can start their day with a full tummy thanks to the state government’s school breakfast clubs and the help of volunteers. They are among 500 schools across the state to have received 50,000 free meals each week since 2016 – with almost 210,000 meals going to pupils at primary schools on the peninsula. These also include Baxter, Bittern, Crib Point, Hastings, Langwarrin Park, Somerville, Somerville Rise, Wallaroo, Mornington Special Development School, Eastbourne, Tootgarook and Rosebud primary schools. Heather Christie, who coordinates the breakfasts at Mornington Park Primary school with colleague Russell Ardley, said the…
A GROUP of Mt Eliza residents wants Mornington Peninsula Shire to build a footpath along Baden Powell Drive between Humphries Road and Nepean Highway to make “this treacherous piece of road” safer for pedestrians. Spokesperson Mandy Barr said the footpath would link the Baden Powell side of Frankston South and Canadian Bay Road footpaths, leading to schools, community centres, Mt Eliza village and, eventually, to Mornington “when the footpath is completed along Nepean Highway”. “This pathway needs to be an immediate priority under Mornington Peninsula Shire’s pedestrian access strategy as it is clearly a strategic investment,” she said. “It takes…
GUARDS employed by Wilson Security walked off the job at HMAS Cerberus, Crib Point last week to protest changes to workplace rules. The action resulted in bans on visitor checks, on-site patrols, bag and vehicle checks and training. Industrial action elsewhere affected Defence sites across the state as well as at hospitals, offices, stations, and factories. The guards, members of United Voice, are angry at what they claim are “broken bargaining rules in the security industry and across the workforce”. They say they have been negotiating with Wilson on pay and job security for a year and a half. United…
A ROSEBUD man who allegedly stabbed a female paramedic in front of her children on Friday 13 July, was charged last Wednesday night with intentionally and recklessly causing serious injury and several other assault and criminal damage charges. The paramedic, 46, was loading her two children into her car after picking up take-away from a shop in Nepean Highway, Rosebud, when the man, 47, allegedly grabbed her from behind and slashed her across the chest with a box cutter in a random attack. He then rode away on a bicycle. The woman was taken to Frankston Hospital where she received…
THE Purple Sharks will play their home game this Saturday (21 July) in support of Maddie Riewoldt Vision (MRV). The match follows on from the AFL’s Maddie’s Match at Etihad the night before. “Purple was Maddie’s favourite colour so the Sorrento Sharks have had special jumpers made with Purple Sharks, instead of our normal red,” membership and sponsorship manager Andrew Lilley said. St Kilda’s Nick Riewoldt and Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt will be attending the match to “meet and greet” and sign autographs alongside Brendan Fevola and Daniel Rioli. They will also take part in a kick-to-kick at half time. Mr…
SOME competitive types will go to any lengths to improve their athletic performance. Dedicated to their sport, they aspire to lofty goals while noting every second saved, every centimetre gained, and every kilo lost. That desire is making a new high altitude training centre in Mornington the go-to place for endurance athletes as well as those just wanting to lose weight. The centre’s technique works by drawing in air from outside the building and pumping it into a holding tank. There, the oxygen and nitrogen are split into their components with the oxygen taken out of the mix and pumped…
BUILDERS, real estate agents and vendors are bracing themselves for the effects of Mornington Peninsula Shire’s proposed Housing Settlement Strategy even before it is implemented. The broad aim of the strategy now awaiting planning minister Richard Wynne’s decision, is to increase the minimum size of lots for subdivision up to 900 square metres. This has meant that builders and developers, who previously would have been potential buyers of average sized 720-750 square metre blocks in Mornington, and particularly in the Dava Drive area, are now not interested because the blocks can’t be subdivided. Real estate agents say this has removed…
A ROSEBUD resident says the shire’s supposedly tougher “party house” rules are not solving the problem because “no one answers my complaint calls after hours”. Ken Sapwell says he is being “driven to distraction” by a neighbour’s rowdy guests late into the night, with cars often parked across his driveway and guests even parking on his lawn. He says another elderly person living across the road is too frightened to step out of her house when party guests arrive. “Last weekend there were 11 cars and only eight could fit on the block, so we had three on my lawn…
THE owner of a new home being built on a Mornington clifftop has received council permission to clear vegetation down to Mills beach for an inclinator. Mornington Peninsula Shire’s executive manager planning services David Bergin said the council had approved the permit in conjunction with the dwelling approval on the land at 1-3 Kalimna Drive. “As a part of this approval the landowner sought to construct an inclinator, to provide access to the beach,” he said. “Council have been reviewing the careful construction of the inclinator. “The owner of the land has taken great steps to ensure that there was…
A SPATE of wild parties in Melbourne suburbs has highlighted the shortcomings of short-term “party” house rentals – an issue once rampant on the Mornington Peninsula. In Carnegie last month a $1 million house was overrun and trashed by youths and, on 1 July, in another party gone-wrong, the walls and windows of a $3.5 million Hawthorn East house were smashed. These incidents followed damage estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to so-called party houses in Footscray, North Melbourne, Malvern East, Werribee and Altona. Houses were overrun, windows and doors kicked in and neighbours left fuming. Their sense…