NEWS DESK
Caught on camera: Two men wanted for stealing cigarettes from the Rosebud store.
Wheelie bin used in cigarette raid
Peerless setting: The pier at Rosebud is disappearing and Liz Harris has been documenting its demise with her camera. Imagine her delight last week when a sunset created a seamless backdrop, making the pylons more of art installation than ruins.
Mother’s call for safety first in shoolyard clean-ups Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au THE mother of a child at Rye Primary School is “shocked” that over several years her children had been told to pick up rubbish in the grounds “with their bare hands”. “To discover that my children completed litter duty tasks without being provided any safety equipment, like gloves or tongs, has angered me greatly,” Lisa Stone, of Rye, said. “It would only take a sharp piece of hard plastic or glass, a discarded apple core from a child who has the flu - or worse still - a discarded needle to injure or seriously affect the health of my child.” Ms Stone said she also contacted Rosebud Primary School and was told that it, too, asks pupils to pick up litter in the school grounds with their bare hands. “Eastbourne Primary School stated that they don't ask students to do rubbish duty, but if they did would make sure students had gloves on.” Rye principal Jackie Annable, who took over in Term 3 last year, said pupils had been asked to pick up papers
for five minutes over two mornings in the lead-up to Anzac day. She said this tied in with the learning topic Sustainability and Environment. “That’s the only time it’s been done this year,” she said. “It was purely papers and nothing else. The children were supervised by a teacher and asked to wash their hands afterwards.” She said buying 400 pairs of rubber gloves “wouldn’t be too eco-friendly”. Ms Stone says the practice of using children to pick up rubbish at the school is not new. “We moved to the peninsula two years ago. I have had three children enrolled at Rye Primary. My eldest daughter, who is now in Year 7 at Rosebud Secondary, picked up litter three times during her time at Rye. My son picked up rubbish twice and my youngest daughter, who is still at Rye Primary, has picked up rubbish three times in her two years there. “The point is that, whether a child has been asked to pick up rubbish once, twice or 10 times, they are being told to do so without being provided with gloves or tongs. That is a safety issue.” Ms Stone said a Mornington Penin-
sula Shire health officer had told her there was no harm in picking up “some paper rubbish or an apple core”. “This is ironic when you consider that the council’s clean up team will always be seen picking up rubbish on our streets with gloves and tongs in hand,” she said. “Are we then to assume that, according to the council, their workers’ health is more important than that of our school children?” Ms Stone said she could find nothing in the Education Department’s schools’ policy directing schools to provide a duty of care by providing safety gear to pupils collecting rubbish in school grounds. “In turn, all they advised was that I should approach the principal of my child's school to discuss this matter. If I were to do this I would have no doubt that the answer would be that the children are told to wash their hands afterwards. This just isn't good enough.” Ms Stone said in cleaning the beaches excursions children always wore gloves. “Are we to just gamble with the health of our children in the naive belief that the rubbish left in school yard playgrounds is less hazardous?”
“It is ignorant to believe that the Rye Primary School grounds are secure enough to stop unsavoury people from leaving smashed glass, beer bottles or syringes in the yard. The fact that people have entered the school grounds during the night, climbed on the school buildings and sprayed graffiti on the walls is proof in itself. “Are our school children even aware of what hazardous litter looks like? I don't believe that any school is staffed sufficiently for individual supervision of each child during litter duty. “It would cost the school very little to purchase buckets and tongs for students to use when asked to pick up rubbish. Why not approach the local businesses who may wish to donate these items to schools to ensure the safety of our school children? “I think collecting litter and keeping your school free from rubbish is an important way to teach children independence and pride in their environment. But I am not willing to risk my daughter’s health in the process.” Ms Stone now sends her daughter to school equipped disposable gloves and a pair of tongs in case she is told to pick up rubbish.
POLICE have released images of two men who forced their way into the Tobacco Station store in Ninth Av, Rosebud, 2.37am, Tuesday 12 May. The men jemmied open the roller shutters and smashed glass panels on the door. One man stayed outside and passed a wheelie bin in to the other who filled it with cigarettes valued at $20,000. The men drove off in a light green 1998-2001 Toyota sedan (similar to the one pictured). The store owner suspects two men who appeared to be casing the store the previous day. One of the men is of Asian appearance with a distinctive hairstyle. Anyone with information is asked to contact Constable Dave Clancy, Rosebud CIU, on 5986 0416. Improved line marking, warning signs on Shands Rd and splitter islands at the intersection had improved the intersection.
Speed limited THE speed limit on Mornington-Flinders Rd, Red Hill, between Arthurs Seat and Shands roads - will be cut from 100kmh to 80kmh. The council had pushed VicRoads for a speed reduction “on behalf of residents and road users”, the mayor Cr Bev Colomb said. Red Hill Ward’s Cr Tim Wood said the road had a history of serious-injury crashes. “The most recent statistics [from VicRoads CrashStats database] report three serious injury crashes 2009-2013,” he said. A fatality last year at the intersection of Shands Rd and MorningtonFlinders Rd occurred when works were being done in Shands Rd. Improved line marking, warning signs on Shands Rd and splitter islands had improved the intersection.
WHAT’S ON AT THE ROSEBUD RSL BUDGET BUSTER
LUNCH
MONDAY NIGHT
EVERY TUESDAY
7.30pm
$9 for Members
THURSDAY NIGHT
$10 for Visitors
7.30
Free Live Entertainment
THURSDAY DEAL SCHNITZEL OR PASTA
Your choice of either meal for $16.50 & for an extra $1.50 add a Soup or Garlic bread
Choice between 2
FRIDAY
different meals with a
11.30am & 1pm
FREE drink (beer/ wine
SATURDAY
or soft drink) and entry
11.30am & 1.30pm
into the 2pm Raffle
SCHNITZEL 11 different toppings
COURTESY PH: 0409 193 285 BUS
WEDNESDAY TO SATURDAY 4PM - 11PM
PASTA 25 Variations of Pasta and Sauce available
29th May
CONDITIONS APPLY
TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY
117 EASTBOURNE ROAD, ROSEBUD PHONE: 5986 1066 Southern Peninsula News 26 May 2015
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