NEWS DESK
Still game for dance
Police patrol
Safe after science ‘chain reaction’ A SCIENCE experiment at Aspendale Gardens Primary School last week ended with three people being taken to hospital. Mordialloc police were told a parent at the school’s science expo mixed half a cup of Coca-Cola in a plastic jug with the same quantity of granular pool chlorine. A chemical reaction created a vapour which, when inhaled by the parent and her children, caused respiratory problems. CFA crews treated the patients with a breathing apparatus and removed the
IT’S never too late to dance the day away. A dozen seniors attended a debutante presentation dance this month at Aspendale Senior Citizens Club. Seniors aged in their 70s and 80s put rehearsal time to good use by gracefully dancing despite some never having danced in public before. Kingston mayor Cr Tamsin Bearsley said it was inspiring to watch. “It just goes to show we are never too old to learn new skills. I congratulate Aspendale Seniors for the event and for encouraging their members to stay young at heart.” One debutante confided to the mayor he had never learned to dance before so it had been a real challenge to remember the moves. Debutantes celebrated with a dinner and more dancing with friends and family after the main dance on Saturday 13 August. Aspendale Senior Citizens Club offers a range of activities for seniors aged 55 and over and arranges bimonthly bus train and theatre trips. Call Annette Nadj on 0417 302 595 or email muffya@dodo.com.au for details.
chemicals after the incident, Tuesday 16 August. Ambulance Victoria said three people were taken to Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, with minor injuries and were in a stable condition. Aspendale Gardens principal Cheryle Osborne told Channel 9 News she had spoken with those injured in the incident and reported they were “safe and well”. “The school is now back to normal and, apart from this small incident, the science fair was a success.”
Scammer takes retailer goods A WOMAN using a stolen credit card scammed electrical goods valued at almost $20,000 from a retailer in Mentone, Wednesday 17 August. The woman originally asked to buy two TV sets from Seconds World, 4pm. Police said CCTV footage showed her “pretending” to insert a card into the register and manually keying in a card number. The woman then left saying her car was not big enough to fit in the TVs. She returned later with two men saying she would also like to buy three more TVs, washer/dryer and hairdryer. CCTV footage shows the woman attempting to “pay” six times with the stolen card before the transaction could be authorised and processed. Police said she again pretended to insert the card while manually keying in a card
number. Her accomplices – who arrived riding motorbikes towing Coles’ promotional signs – loaded the goods into a hired Bunnings utility and a red Holden Commodore and drove away. The store manager was contacted by his bank manager next day and told the credit card had been stolen. The woman is described as Maori or Indian in appearance, long black hair, chubby build, wearing a green camo cap, long sleeve white top with a no-sleeve black puffer jacket and white runners. The men were 35-45 years old, one Caucasian, bald, large build, wearing a Dry Rider motorbike jacket with darkcoloured pants and brown runners. The other had short black hair, large build, wearing dark clothing.
Court on Waves theft charges
I bet you look good on the dancefloor: Seniors including some who had never danced formally in public before hit the floorboards at Aspendale Seniors Citizen Club this month to show off dance moves at a debutante presentation after weeks of rehearsals. Pictures: Andrew Bearsley
A MENTONE woman has been charged with seven counts of theft after allegedly stealing wallets, phones and credit cards from swimmers at Waves Leisure Centre, Cheltenham over sev-
eral weeks. Detective Senior Constable Susanna Hughes, of Kingston CIU, said the woman had been bailed to appear at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court, Thursday.
No school nudes in sight on site Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au THERE were no photos of girls attending Frankston and Kingston area schools on a website targeting Australian schoolgirls as part of a vile trade of nude snaps of women without their knowledge. The overseas-hosted site where people publicly swapped images of nude women was reportedly set up in December and taken offline Friday (19 August) amid fears underage girls’ private photos sent to friends or boyfriends were subsequently exposed to the online world. While a person posting on the site last
week specifically sought nude photos of students from two Frankston area schools The News understands none were ever uploaded to the site. Another person asked for any nude pictures of students from a third Frankston area school, but again there was no response to the request on the comments thread online. The site, which The News has chosen not to name, was reported to Victorian and interstate authorities by women disgusted that private photos were published without their consent. Male visitors to the site hunted for nude photos by naming women and in
some cases listing their home suburb on the website in an attempt to solicit pictures. Queensland Police confirmed on Wednesday (17 August) they had investigated the site. “While we have not received any formal complaints, we are working with our interstate colleagues, the Australian Federal Police and the eSafety Commissioner and have conducted an initial investigation into the origin of the site,” Detective Superintendent Cheryl Scanlon, of the Child Safety and Sexual Crimes Group, said in a statement. “We believe the site is hosted over-
seas and does not appear to contain any child exploitation material.” Victoria Police said it will not comment on specific cases but did confirm a Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team is investigating. The Victorian Department of Education is helping police with enquiries. “It is disgraceful to see Victorian students being targeted by this highly inappropriate website,” spokesman Alex Munro said. “The online exploitation of young people is a very serious issue that can have serious ramifications for those involved.” Mr Munro said support would be
available for any students at schools named on the site if needed and people should report inappropriate photos published online to police. Some photos were deleted from the site by users after its existence was reported elsewhere but there is no evidence at this stage that any of those images featured students attending Frankston area schools. n Call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111 with any information about the site. Anyone suffering sexual assault or exploitation can call 1800 RESPECT and Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 for support.
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BLAIRGOWRIE • DROMANA • MORNINGTON • ROSEBUD • SEAFORD • TOORAK Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News 24 August 2016
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