NEWS DESK
Top citizens honoured
Jobs to go as Masters signals the end ABOUT 200 jobs will be lost in Keysborough and Oakleigh South with closure of the Masters “home improvement” stores. The demise of the Woolworthsowned Masters chain comes as no surprise, considering its much-publicised failure to gain market share. Each store employs about 100 staff full-time, part-time and casual. Woolworth’s media team last Tuesday said the Masters stores would “remain open as normal for some months to come”. “What we’ve announced is we intend to exit the business. How we exit, which will either be through the sale process or a wind-up process, has yet to be decided and an outcome on this
is some time away. “If Woolworths is unable to sell all of the business and has to close any of its operations, we will seek to provide alternate employment opportunities within the Woolworths Group to all current [Masters] employees.” Preferably, the stores would be sold as going concerns – or perhaps taken over by supermarket giants Costco or the German-owned Lidl – and remain employers of local staff. Lidl, rated the fourth-largest retailer in the world, with $128 billion in annual sales, has reportedly been in discussions with logistics providers and has applied for a wide range of home brand trademarks for a presence in Australia.
RESIDENTS whose efforts have made a difference to Kingston were honoured at the Citizen of the Year Awards held at Kingston Council’s annual Australia Day Breakfast at City Hall this month. The four awards include Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year, Community Group of the Year and Young Community Group of the Year. Presenting the awards, mayor Cr Tamsin Bearsley said each of the award winners had all helped make Kingston a stronger community. “The winners, and indeed all of the nominees, have made outstanding contributions across a wide range of areas in Kingston,” Cr Bearsley said. “We have some amazing volunteers in Kingston and these awards are a great way to thank them for their efforts and acknowledge the positive impact they make.” Citizen of the Year - Mairi Neil Mairi Neil founded and coordinates the Mordialloc Writers’ Group, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The group includes a wide range of people aged from teenagers to seniors and people with disabilities. She has ensured that local voices, including the vulnerable and the marginalised, are heard and respected. Ms Neil has been an active contributor in the community by: n teaching writing at three community houses: Mordialloc Neighbourhood House, Godfrey Street Bentleigh and Longbeach Place, Chelsea n editing and publishing eight anthologies of poetry and prose for the MWG, enabling some of the authors
Citizen of the Year: Mairi Neil, left, Mayor Tamsin Bearsley and nominator Lisa Hill at the Australia Day Breakfast at City Hall.
to go on to various other prize-winning publications n organising Music for Tiny’s creative writing workshops for children, adults and teens in need n leading the Southern branch of the Union Of Australian Woman, social activism to support human rights, social justice and equity n adapting a short story to become a ten-minute play performed in the City of Kingston’s Write Up festival in 2013. Young Citizen of the Year - Gemma Shea Gemma Shea has volunteered at the Mordialloc Community Centre since she was 14 years old. Now aged 22, she continues to volunteer at the centre as well holding the paid position of youth
development coordinator. She is an outstanding role model to young people and an ambassador for the development of youth in the community. A natural leader, Gemma has acted as a mentor to other young people across a range of community organisations including the Mordialloc Community Centre and local netball associations. Achievements include: n 2010 Mordialloc Community Centre Bill Nixon Award for leadership and for making a major contribution to the centre n volunteer youth leader in the centre’s school holiday program and now coordinates the holiday program at the Mordialloc Community Centre, ensuring it is both educational and fun for primary school age kids.
Car lead on missing teen MISSING Persons Squad detectives on Wednesday found a car they were searching for as part of their investigation into the disappearance of 17 year old Cayleb Hough. The Chelsea Heights teenager was last seen near The Crescent, Highett, in the early hours of Sunday 20 December. Cayleb was seen travelling in a blue 2003 Ford Falcon XR6 sedan with registration SOG 812. Police found the car in a car park at a Southbank entertainment complex, 1pm, Saturday (16 January). The vehicle is being forensically tested. Anyone who may have seen the car between 6am, 20 December, and 5.30pm, 21 December, is asked to call police. They believe the car, which has a black bumper bar, may have been
travelling in the Melbourne metropolitan area and south eastern suburbs over the two days. Serious concerns are held for Cayleb as it is unusual for him to go missing for this length of time. He is described as about 180cm tall with a medium build, dark brown hair and fair skin. It is not known what he was wearing when he disappeared. He is known to frequent the Bonbeach, Cheltenham and Heatherton areas. Cayleb has not used his phone or accessed his bank accounts since he was last seen. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report to crimestoppersvic.vic. gov.au
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Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News 27 January 2016
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