Ranges Trader
Stolen poodle furore
VCAT battle looms
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Tuesday, 1 June, 2021
A Star News Group Publication
Tardis books in
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PROPERTY GUIDE Phone: 5957 3700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808
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Hills hoon patrol
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Can’t decide whether to sell your home or not.
Business blow The ripple effect of the state government’s “circuit breaker” lockdown announced on Thursday 27 May is being felt heavily by local hospitality venues. Mark from Mt Dandenong Hotel stands
in his normally bustling bistro left deserted over the weekend after the announcement of Victoria’s fourth strict lockdown. For more turn to page 5
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Frustrated and fatigued mountain residents feel they have been left no choice but to delve into their own pockets to fund private security to tackle the ongoing issue of hoons in the Hills. Fed up with trying to sleep to the sound of burnouts and boom boxes, neighbours from village towns on Mt Dandenong are chipping in to cover the costs of a private security firm to patrol the area at night. Two Eyre Road residents, who wished to remain anonymous, said 11 houses currently pay into a fund each week for the security service. “We pay into a fund and that means we can have security up here at night over three or four nights each week,” a resident said. But the security isn’t your standard drive-by patrol. “He gets out and speaks to these people and asks if they realise they are parked in an emergency access point or in front of a no standing sign,” they said. The move comes after Yarra Ranges Council installed ‘no parking’ restriction signs on some roads in an attempt to combat late night antisocial gatherings which were seeing cars line the roads. While Hills residents welcomed the signage, it wasn’t being policed. “There are cars all the way along both sides of Ridge Road, protruding out onto the road and cars parked up here all hours of the night still,” a resident said. “Council haven’t employed anyone after hours to police it, despite the fact that on any given night they are forgoing thousands in revenue they could be getting, the job would certainly pay for itself,” they said. YPG Risk owner Grant Burton is one of the
security officers who patrol the mountain, with 360 degree cameras fitted to the car and a body worn camera to record each encounter he has with people flouting the rules. “What we have been doing is confronting and dealing with groups of hoons that just get up there and want to show other people their cars. They meet at Osprey and do their runs, they’ll get into their cars and do a quick lap around the mountain, down to five ways, back up Ridge Road back to Osprey,” Mr Burton said. “We’ve also seen four-wheel-drive groups muscling cars up the road. They drive along in their big cars at 1am in the morning and anyone coming back from looking at the moon or the stars gets bullied off the road. We are seeing lots of angry young p-platers and their attitude is pretty poor to say the least,” he said. Mr Burton said the “hoons” know the residents have had enough, sometimes acting out purposely in an attempt to get a response. “They toot their horns on purpose, rev their engines going up and down residential streets just to disturb people, they’ll do really anything they can do to get a response and they know that the signs and what we’re doing is aimed at them. “Our presence is definitely felt. They don’t like us, but they comply with our move on requests. Mr Burton said the patrol officers give feedback to police “without overcalling the little things”. “We’ve seen them do things to make the road more slippery. They pour oil on the roads, pour lubricant on the bends and take the bends hard which makes the back wheels slide out and people are filming from a car behind,” Mr Burton said. Continued on page 2
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By Taylah Eastwell
Contact me, Joseph Licciardi on 0418 509 722 for local professional advice and a no obligation Market assessment of your home. Look forward to being of service soon.
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