FIRST DOSE VACCINATIONS AGE 16+
LLATROBE ATROBE CITY CITY
68.2 8.22%
VICTORIA VICTORIA
76.9 76 6.9%
21 GEORGE STREET, MORWELL 3840
TELEPHONE 0351354444
MONDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER, 2021
22
20
MOSTLY SUNNY
SHOWERS
www.latrobevalleyexpress.ccom.au
21
$1 $1.80 80 iinc. GST
18
SHOWERS
SHOWERS
Three fresh COVID cases in the Valley
By GREGOR MACTAGGART
Safety concerns: Grey Street Primary School council president Luke Hornstra, and students Makenzie Hornstra and Chaz Duncan, are hoping for a series of school crossing safety upgrades. photograph michelle slater
FIX THIS NOW By MICHELLE SLATER
GREY Street Primary School community members fear a lack of school crossing safety upgrades is a “catastrophe waiting to happen” after a series of near-misses along the busy traffic precinct. Grey Street PS school council member Jordan Lanigan has been pushing Latrobe City Council to install a raft of crossing upgrades, including sets of safety bollards at traffic hotspots. The school council was also pushing for
a crossing supervisor on Franklin Street, and for Latrobe City to support a walk to school campaign to ease congestion at pick up and drop off times. Mr Lanigan said that students and carers were forced to navigate across a bottleneck of traffic, with incidents of car collisions outside the school and drivers hitting the school fence. He said cars had smashed through wooden barriers on the school crossing and mounted the footpath. “Thankfully we’ve avoided any
catastrophic incidents. At some point, a child or family member will be hit by a car. What price do you put on a child’s life?” Mr Lanigan said. “We’ve had police and local laws officers patrolling the area at school pick up times, this helps but it’s not a long-term solution.” Grey Street Primary School is situated in the centre of Traralgon on one of the town’s busiest streets, with about 500 students and 50 staff members. However, Latrobe City deemed these
areas had a “lower hazard rating and therefore, bollards are not necessary”. A Latrobe City spokesperson said council could help install any safety bollards outside the school if the state government “was willing to fund the works”. Latrobe City has secured funding for a crossing supervisor and has agreed to support a walk to school campaign, and is finalising permanent 40 kilometre per hour zones around the school. Continued on page 2
CHESTER TAKES ‘BREAK’ FROM NATIONALS PARTYROOM - PAGE 10
Member for Gippsland
Need Curtains SHEDS! IIF FY YOU OU NEED NEED A
and Blinds? FREE BEST LARGEST NEW in showroom h Gippsland
di l in i display showroom now
Call us now 5134 3652
Shopping Locally Creates Local Jobs www.darrenchester.com.au
Morwell Curtain & Blinds 34-38 George Street, Morwell
EUREKA! Best price, Best Advice!
GP1628618
Measure, M P i d Prices and Quote and Quality Installation
SHED, YOU NEED
Deal with the locals with over 25 years’ experience.
188 Argyle Street Traralgon
Garages & Sheds PHONE: 5174 5311
G P1631985
Darren Chester
THREE new positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Latrobe City across the weekend. Two emerged on Saturday, with the latest confirmed by the Gippsland Region Public Health Unit (GRPHU) yesterday afternoon. It lifts the total active cases in Gippsland to 10. A GRPHU spokesperson said the new cases would be managed via the COVID Positive Pathway Process that includes regular contact and health monitoring. There are a number of new Tier 2 exposure sites across Latrobe City. They are as follows: Cotton On, Traralgon, Tuesday, September 21, 9.45am-11.30am. QBD Books, Traralgon, Tuesday, September 21, 11am-11.30am. Officeworks, Traralgon, Wednesday, September 15, 7am-8.30am. Kmart, Traralgon, Wednesday, September 15, 2.40pm-3.15pm. Kmart, Traralgon, Thursday, September 16, 2.05pm-2.20pm. Cooinda Hill Op-Shop, Thursday, September 16, 1.30pm-2pm. Coles, Traralgon, Thursday, September 16, 2.20pm-2.40pm. Bunnings Warehouse, Traralgon, Wednesday, September 15, 5.25pm-6.50pm. GRPHU said if you attended any of the exposure sites below during the specified times, then get tested and stay home until you receive a negative result. Close to 300 tests were conducted on Saturday. It comes as six local doctors feature in a new vaccination campaign launched today by the Gippsland Primary Health Network. ‘It Starts With You’ gives doctors the opportunity of speaking to those people who may be hesistant about having the COVID-19 vaccine. The campaign also features an online community health forum on Thursday, September 30 from 7.30pm-8.30pm where people can have their vaccination questions answered by a panel of trusted Gippsland doctors. For more, visit www.gphn.org.au and follow the links to the forum.