Dandenong Star Journal - 31st August 2021

DANDENONG

Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

NELLIE MELBA RETIREMENT VILLAGE

ll i H s r e l ee h in W

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NELLIE MELBA SISTERS STICK TOGETHER Mary and Margaret are sisters who have generally led life together.

second-floor apartment, enjoying proximity to nearby schools.

Embarking on their newest adventure, a move to a stunning two-bedroom apartment at Ryman Healthcare’s Nellie Melba Retirement Village in Wheelers Hill, has been no different.

“We can hear children, which is wonderful, but don’t have to teach them!”

Margaret says.

“What’s important to us is at Ryman the support is here to keep us together,” Mary says.

“Our doctor has said it’s the best 20-year plan she has seen.”

From both qualifying as teachers in Glasgow, teaching in Australia, owning businesses together and living together for the past 34 years, the sisters have a special bond.

Ryman Healthcare’s continuum of care, from low care and high care to specialist dementia care, will enable this to continue.

“We have many memories of growing up in Glasgow, and we have all of the memories from further down the road in Mulgrave, and now coming in at this age together allows us to make memories here,” Margaret says.

Having dedicated their careers to education, they chose their spacious

its

Margaret and Mary retired in 2018 having spent the past several years opening and operating three tutoring businesses.

“We both started teaching in Glasgow and the children were great,” Margaret says.

“Most of the students and their parents valued their education because they saw it as a way out, they saw education as a way to move up the ladder.”

The sisters never lost their passion for the sector, but retirement, and the prospect of moving into Nellie Melba, had been a welcome new chapter.

“We lived down the road, so we saw the village going up and something appeared in our letterbox with people we knew from our parish in the advertising,” Margaret says.

“We certainly cornered one of the people we knew here and said ‘ok, tell us about it, are you happy? Would you do it again?’

Ryman’s proactive response to COVID-19, including moving vulnerable staff into the village, was further confirmation the move was right.

“One morning during lockdown we walked past here, and people were doing an exercise class from their balconies and everybody was just having fun,” Mary says.

“In time to come when people are deciding about aged care, people will be looking at the history of how a place coped during COVID, and everything we know about what Ryman did was excellent.”

“I think the fact staff moved in is testament to the quality of people that work here,” Margaret says.

Having settled into their new home, Mary and Margaret are enjoying and gradually participating in all the village has to offer, including a swimming pool, café, bowling green, cinema and weekly Happy Hour get togethers.

Pictured: Mary and Margaret on the balcony of their two-bedroom apartment at the Nellie Melba Retirement Village.

“The feedback was that it was very good.”

For more information, phone Morag on 0414 458 149 or Lorelle on 0460 315 417

NELLIE MELBA RETIREMENT VILLAGE 2 Collegium Avenue, Wheelers Hill

rymanhealthcare.com.au 12509394-SN36-21

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RETIRE IN WHEELERS HILL Nellie Melba Village offers living choices to suit everyone, so residents can live the way they want and blaze their own trails. Our apartments are light and spacious with well-considered layouts, and have balcony or patio options. For year-round comfort, all apartments are air conditioned and heated.

If down the track you need more support, we offer assisted living in a serviced apartment and a full range of residential aged care options. That freedom and flexibility is empowering for residents and knowing care can be dialled up as needed means, quite simply, ‘no worries’. It’s all part of what we like to call the Ryman Difference.

Selling now! $790,000

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Relax in comfort

86.8m2

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Retire in style

We invite you to experience what life is like for our residents in our Nellie Melba Retirement Village via our virtual zoom event.

A DAY IN THE LIFE A VIRTUAL EVENT Thursday 2 September, 1pm & 6.30pm

Bob and Joan will take us on a tour of the village, which was filmed prior to lockdown, and answer a range of questions about their new home, along with fellow residents Mary and Margaret.

Our team will also take you through what makes Ryman different from other retirement villages.

To register please search Ryman events

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THE FUTURE.YOU’RE GOOD. When you choose a Ryman village, you’re set. Our Peace of Mind Guarantees are designed to protect you, so whatever the future holds, we’ve got your back.

From independent and assisted living to low care, high care and specialist dementia care.

Our deferred management fee is capped at 20% - one of the lowest in the retirement sector.

Our base weekly fee is fixed for the entire time you occupy your villa or apartment* *Some conditions apply

Having certainty inspires confidence. It’s just one of the ways we’re pioneering a new way of living for a new retirement generation.

We have a range of one, two and three bedroom apartments available at our Nellie Melba Retirement Village.

Contact Lorelle on 0460 315 417 or Morag on 0414 458 149 for more information.

NELLIE MELBA RETIREMENT VILLAGE 2 Collegium Avenue, Wheelers Hill

12509396-SN36-21

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Crowning glory For three decades, Danni Di Toro has built a glittering international sports career since a tragic accident at Dandenong Oasis. Last week, she represented Australia for the seventh time at the Paralympics and was chosen as cobearer of the national flag in the Tokyo Games’ opening ceremony.

For more, turn to page 3

Picture: PARALYMPICS AUSTRALIA

‘Double standard’

By Cam Lucadou-Wells I Cook Foods director Ian Cook has told an inquiry that his company was destroyed by health authorities despite “unequivocal proof” of its innocence.

ICF was shut down as part of a state health department and City of Greater Dandenong investigation into a hospital patient’s death who contracted listeriosis in early 2019.

A Parliamentary inquiry has been re-opened into what it described as the company’s “inappropriate” closure after evidence alleged that the patient didn’t eat ICF products. It contra-

dicts testimony by senior officials at the inquiry last year, the inquiry’s terms of reference notes.

“We didn’t kill anybody,” Mr Cook said.

“The Department of Health and Human Services knew this before they closed us. The City of Greater Dandenong were informed shortly after and yet still proceeded to charge me.”

Mr Cook compared the “double standard” of a recent case of a company which provided a Meals on Wheels meal positively linked to the death of an elderly man.

The business was recently contacted the council’s environmental health officer and said the case was closed with no further action.

“Good people who were directly involved… reached out to me and shared this evidence because they saw the lies being told about I Cook Foods and they couldn’t stand it.

“Now the business did actually provide a meal to the elderly man that contained listeria mono.

“My business has never contributed to the death of anyone.”

Mr Cook said ICF was treated differently because it was a commercial rival of Community Chef, a caterer co-funded by the health department and several councils including Greater Dandenong.

“How can a council be allowed to regulate a commercial rival? As I have said before it would be like giving Hungry Jacks the power to close down McDonald’s and take all their customers.”

Community Chef were “going broke” and were “advantaged” by getting ICF “out of the way”, he said.

Mr Cook said four police investigations in the past two years had failed to lay charges for the “most serious crimes on our statutes” on those behind the closure.

Continued page 5 More inquiry coverage, pages 4-5

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NEWS

Thanks a bunch, ‘angel’

By Cam Lucadou-Wells An “angel of flowers” has brought a little sunshine into people’s lives in Keysborough.

Pule Sola Rimoni has earned the title for her generous deeds such as setting up a stall of free bouquets outside her Riverside Florist store on Tuesday 24 August.

“I believe flowers can brighten up a person’s day, bring a smile to a person’s face.”

During Covid lockdown, Ms Sola Rimoni has donated flowers to aged care homes, hospitals, homelessness services and medical centres.

It’s a dedication to residents and “frontline” staff doing the “hard yards”, she says.

At nursing homes, locked-in residents wave at her through the windows as she arrives. It gives her a warm glow.

“I just wish I could give them a hug.”

Recently, she delivered a surprise gift to a stranger on Facebook who was “doing it hard”.

The good turn came to be a “blessing” for Ms Sola Rimoni as she befriended a lovely woman who just needed someone to talk to.

“If I wasn’t giving these flowers for free, I wouldn’t have met this person.”

She says in turn Keysborough has helped her fledgling eight-month business in Chandler Road during the pandemic.

Customers have been tipping in an extra $5, $10 or $20 during the contactless pick-ups and

Pule’s daughter Lupe at Riverside Florist, which has been bestowing free flowers. 248550 deliveries. Others buying up big orders of up to 200 bouquets. “I can’t really complain.

“Before I open the door each day, I need to stay positive and never allow negativity. I’m

grateful for the next thing I do.”

The former call-centre team leader and perhaps the only Samoan-Australian florist in Melbourne says she has never been so satis-

Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS fied with work.

“With flowers, I feel alive. It gives me the joy to carry on each day and I put a lot of love into it. “It’s like my calling.”

‘Stadium works’ mystery

By Cam Lucadou-Wells

Traffic building up mid-afternoon on Chapel Road, Keysborough South. 184467 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

Buses needed to beat traffic crush, says Garad

By Cam Lucadou-Wells A Greater Dandenong councillor has called for more bus services and bus shelters in the wake of the council’s updated draft Keysborough South traffic study.

Cr Rhonda Garad said at a council meeting on 23 August that the study showed that with increasing traffic congestion, four in five residents drove most days.

Residents had told her they would use public transport if there were more frequent bus services and shelters at every bus stop.

She asked the council to lobby Keysborough MP Martin Pakula in that vein.

The draft study, an update from 2019, focuses on bug-bears such as congestion, parking and truck volumes.

The study blamed Chapel Road’s traffic snarls on poorly performed traffic signals at Dandenong Bypass.

The Department of Transport had made minor adjustments to signals but not “any significant changes which could compromise through-movements on the Dandenong Bypass”.

Chapel Road was found to be “significantly” congested for only short periods of the day such as between 8am-8.15am, the report stated.

Either side of that period, there was “some queuing” at signals with good traffic flow.

Meanwhile, truck volumes have in2 STAR JOURNAL

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Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

creased on Chapel Road from 100 to 120 a day since traffic calming was installed to deter heavy vehicles on Perry Road in 2020.

The report stated that the council introduced the raised platforms on Perry Road to protect resident amenity.

“We anticipate Perry Road truck volumes will continue to decrease following the installation of traffic calming in 2020.

“On Chapel Road, measures which incorporate vertical displacement (such as raised platforms) may be installed in future.”

The study was monitoring whether trucks were using local streets as “rat runs” to and from Dandenong South.

Car parking on streets was also contributing to congestion in “some locations”, the report stated.

Last week Star Journal reported on the difficulties of fire trucks accessing narrow streets clogged with parked cars.

The soon-to-open Mordialloc Freeway was expected to divert trucks and other traffic from Dandenong Bypass as well as remove up to 20,000 vehicles off Springvale Road, the report stated.

The council stated that it would continue advocating for state and federal funding to upgrade the intersection at Cheltenham, Chapel and Corrigan roads.

The report proposes a left-turn lane from Chapel Road and increasing the length of the left-turn lane from Cheltenham Road into Chapel Road.

Speculation has been rife about the mounds of soil and heavy vehicles piling into the site of the proposed Dandenong Sport and Events Centre.

But contrary to rumours, work hasn’t yet started on the much-anticipated $110 million rectangular stadium project at Cheltenham Road and Carroll Lane.

In fact, the site is being used as a storage facility for the Level Crossing Removal Project, Greater Dandenong major projects director Paul Kearsley told a council meeting on 9 August.

“We are hoping that perhaps the level of activity that has occurred in about the last week and a half and certainly this week, will scale down somewhat because essentially it is just set up works.”

Greater Dandenong councillor Jim Memeti says he’s fielded a lot of inquiries from the public about why there was no announcement about stadium works.

“I responded it was definitely not the stadium.”

He told Star Journal that the site – currently next to a Covid testing station – was expected to be used for storing soil until early next year.

As for the stadium project, Deloitte Australia is working on the $200,000 business case and feasibility study.

“Our Christmases haven’t come early,” Cr Memeti said.

The 15,000-seat rectangular stadium is proposed on open space at Cheltenham Road, George Street and Carroll Lane – a short walk from Dandenong railway station.

It is touted as the future playing home for the South-East based Melbourne City Football Club – and a key to re-energise the Revitalising Central Dandenong concept.

The centre could also be home to rugby, festivals, concerts as well as marquee community sport events.

Other potential events include conferences, weddings, exhibitions, training programs, offices, eSports and community outreach.

The Deloitte review will investigate the demand for the stadium, its scope and cost, and ownership and management options.

It is jointly funded by City of Greater Dandenong and the State Government.

The report is due in November.

The council argues the centre would create about 1000 construction jobs, 350 ongoing jobs and $114 million of annual economic activity from visitors.

Heavy vehicles and mounds of soil at Carroll Lane in Dandenong have been misconstrued. 247242 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

NEWS

IN BRIEF

Honour for athlete

By Cam Lucadou-Wells It’s been a Paralympics like no other.

And especially memorable for seven-time Paralympian Danni Di Toro.

The 46-year-old was given the rare honour of carrying the Australian flag with wheelchair rugby player Ryley Batt in the Tokyo Games opening ceremony on 24 August.

Eerily, they marched in front of a stadium emptied of spectators and many of the athletes due to the Covid pandemic.

Their teammates, who they’d normally lead into a cheering arena, were watching on from the Games Village.

The 46-year-old Di Toro felt a “proud, humbling and special” experience despite the vacuum.

“We had a moment before we marched … we thought of all of our team that worked so hard to get here to Tokyo and the 1044 Paralympians watching and supporting in spirit.”

Di Toro has forged a glittering career including a Paralympic silver and bronze medal in wheelchair tennis, as well as Grand Slam titles and 10 Australian Open trophies.

Her international career started just one year after she was crushed by a collapsed brick wall at a school swim carnival at Dandenong Oasis pool in 1988.

At just 13, she suffered paraplegia as a result.

Initially, all she got told were “the things I couldn’t do, what I couldn’t do again, what I would never experience and what I would have to relearn”.

“It’s pretty dehumanizing.

“It’s a strange place when things get taken from you but sport was a lovely way to experience what I can do, what I can get better at and what I feel I’ve got some control over.”

Sport helped her through rehab but most importantly introduced her to athletes that were her “kin” or “mob”.

“They’re a community of humans who have worked through their disability and living these incredibly meaningful lives.

“Sport provides me the greatest arena to meet myself. I love the challenges it brings. I love how it shows me some of the s****y stuff about me, some of the good stuff about me.

“It allows me to explore and grow. That’s what life is about.”

At incredibly her seventh Games at Tokyo, she has shifted into para-table tennis.

The squad was grateful to be there after the Games were postponed for a year. To keep safe, athletes are kept tight in a village bubble and strict pandemic protocols.

An Isuzu truck was impounded for 30 days after being intercepted by police on Stud Road, Dandenong.

Drug-driver’s truck impounded An alleged drug-driver’s unregistered, defective truck has been impounded after being pulled over by police on Stud Road, Dandenong.

Casey Highway Patrol officers say they observed the driver of the Isuzu truck not wearing a seatbelt on Tuesday 24 August.

The 44-year-old Dandenong driver tested positive to methamphetamine and did not have a heavy vehicle licence, police say.

The truck’s number plates weren’t registered to the truck, which had been unregistered since 2017.

The vehicle’s brakes were also allegedly not working properly.

The truck was immediately impounded for 30 days, with the driver copping $2601 in fines.

The man will be summonsed to appear at court at a later date.

Danni Di Toro and Ryley Batt were co-flag bearers for the Australian team at the opening ceremony.

Picture: PARALYMPICS AUSTRALIA The 330 athletes dine together breakfast, lunch and dinner in their own “allotment”.

Their only sights of Tokyo have been out of a bus window, with locals waving to them from the streets.

In the meantime, Ms Di Toro is pleased the Paralympians can give “a little bit of joy” to

Aussies locked down at home.

“I feel it’s a lovely time to introduce the Australian public to our athletes.

“They’ve worked through a lot, they’re pretty agile human beings, they know how to adapt, they understand challenges, they bring incredible learning and incredible growth.”

Push to review South East Covid fines

By Cam Lucadou-Wells A community legal service is appealing a mass of Covid-related fines in the South East.

Covid fines were the most prolific offence in Greater Dandenong, with more than 2000 issued over the 12 months up to 31 March 2021.

More than 5 per cent of Victoria’s Covid fines were in Greater Dandenong.

Kristen Wallwork of Springvale Monash Legal Service said many of the people fined up to $4957 were already under financial hardship.

They were also appealing the circumstances in which they were fined.

Some were young people who ran into people they knew while they were out exercising. They dispute that they were intentionally congregating in breach of Chief Health Officer directions.

Others include a pair of cleaners who travelled in a car together without masks.

Because they couldn’t speak English, they were unable to convey to police officers that they were in fact husband-and-wife.

Ms Wallwork said the SMLS was seeking Fines Victoria to review the infringements – a process hindered by the state’s fines agency’s large backlog.

Covid shutdowns have meanwhile dedandenong.starcommunity.com.au

Springvale Monash Legal Service executive director Kristen Wallwork says clients are seeking a review of their Covid fines. 200317 Picture: FELICIEN BIZOT layed a surge of family violence matters at court, she says.

The collaborative approach at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court between lawyers, court support workers and multi-disciplinary services have been disrupted by lockdowns.

It comes as SMLS has been funded to provide extra lawyers focused on family violence.

During Covid, family violence serious assaults have risen 12 per cent and domes-

tic common assaults 10 per cent in Greater Dandenong.

Intervention order breaches soared by 29 percent, stalking 17 per cent and harassment 33 per cent.

“The numbers are large and the issue is large in the Dandenong court. There’s incredibly collaborative work done to find the most effective way to deal with these matters,” Ms Wallwork says.

“During lockdowns, services have been unable to work together as they normally would.”

SMLS clients are also struggling to pay the household rent, especially with the end of the Covid eviction moratorium from 29 March 2021.

International students who lost casual work due to Covid have been particularly vulnerable.

Their problems were compounded by a scam in which they pay a bond to a supposed landlord and find that the place has been already rented, Ms Wallwork said.

They find that their ‘bond’ hasn’t been registered with the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority, and so have no recourse for compensation.

Ms Wallwork said some clients are being pressured by landlords to pay arrears from the rental moratorium period.

A 31-year-old woman is arrested during a police raid in Keysborough.

Woman arrested at ‘grow house’ A woman has been arrested and more than 130 cannabis plants allegedly seized by police at a house in Keysborough.

Dandenong Divisional Response Unit detectives raided the Waterfront Avenue property just after 7am on Wednesday 25 August.

They say they found a hydroponic cannabis inside.

A 31-year-old woman was arrested at the scene and questioned by police.

Pair charged over dope crop Two men have been arrested at an alleged cannabis crop house in Keysborough.

Police were called to the Wooltana Road property after a man was reportedly acting erratically in the middle of the road about 11.30am on Friday 27 August.

Cannabis plants were found in a rear shed and elsewhere at the house, as well as an imitation gun and other prohibited weapons.

A 39-year-old man was charged with cultivate narcotic plant, possess drug of dependence, possess imitation firearm and possess prohibited weapon.

He was bailed to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 11 November.

A 36-year-old man was charged with cultivate narcotic plant and possess drug of dependence.

He was remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 28 August.

Correction In a story on the state electoral boundaries review, it was incorrectly stated that Dingley Village is in the Mordialloc electorate (‘Parties “accept” seat loss’, Star Journal, 24 August).

The suburb moved from Mordialloc to the Keysborough electorate in 2014.

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NEWS

Slug picture ‘doctored’

By Cam Lucadou-Wells A whistle-blower witnessed Greater Dandenong officers “doctoring” a photo of a slug as they prepared charges against I Cook Foods, a Parliamentary inquiry has heard on 25 August.

Former Greater Dandenong food inspector Kim Rogerson was asked if Greater Dandenong officers planted the slug – which was photographed on the ICF kitchen floor during an inspection in February 2019.

“Yes,” she said.

Days later, ICF was closed by health authorities as part of an investigation into a hospital patient’s death.

The inquiry is examining ICF’s “inappropriate” closure, after evidence emerged that the patient did not eat ICF products.

Ms Rogerson told the inquiry she was “horrified” that environmental health officer Elizabeth Garlick and co-ordinator Leanne Johnson, allegedly, changed and doctored photos and body cam footage.

In an excerpt of her statement to Victoria Police, she described the pair speaking softly in apparently “sneaky” and “suspicious” fashion as they prepared a prosecution brief against ICF. On Ms Garlick’s computer screen was an image of a slug and tissue paper on a floor taken during the inspection.

A red circle encompassed the tissue, as if it was to be edited, Ms Rogerson said.

Ms Johnson allegedly told Ms Rogerson they were “just cleaning up and removing personal conversations”.

The final photograph submitted did not have tissue paper.

It was part of an “over the top” and “unfair” targeting of ICF, Ms Rogerson said.

“It was as if they were given directions to follow.”

She said she knew Ms Garlick would delib-

A picture of the slug as submitted by City of Greater Dandenong to the Parliamentary inquiry into I Cook Foods’ closure. erately take “close-up” photos and “blow them up” to misrepresent the condition of ICF’s kitchen.

Photos of broken equipment about to be thrown-out such as knives and whisks were also used to create a charge.

This was “standard criminal behaviour that I was exposed to”, she said.

Alleged “pooling of water” was photographed during a wash-down of the kitchen floor.

Ms Garlick and Ms Johnson’s actions were “central” to the “alleged crimes” by ICF.

All 96 charges were eventually dropped by the council, as ICF alleged the council’s evidence was fabricated.

The council has argued it dropped the charges to avoid a potential $1.2 million legal bill.

Ms Rogerson said the council “turned” on her when she refused to help it “illegally frame” ICF. She said the then planning and compliance manager Greg Spicer asked her to “lie” in her sworn statement “designed to destroy the Cooks”.

Her statement alludes to an alleged prior

meeting and conversation with ICF’s Ben Cook that never happened, she said.

She signed the statement contributed to by “others” out of fear of being sacked. She was asked to rewrite sections allegedly written by Mr Spicer into her own words.

Ms Rogerson said she was shocked by some of the “lies” told by her former colleagues and superiors in the first round of the inquiry in 2020.

Some of the “lies” were “designed to smear me” and “cover up their crimes”, she told the inquiry.

“After they destroyed my career and big parts of my life, they then come into Parliament and did everything to destroy my good name.”

Ms Rogerson said she only now, two years after the event, she felt safe to say that the council “operates under a culture of corruption and bullying”.

During her earlier evidence to the inquiry in 2020, she was “scared” to describe all she knew.

For several years, Ms Rogerson had been inspecting the factory. She’d collected the first listeria samples and swabbing of surfaces on 1 February as part of the patient-death investigation.

She was on leave during Ms Johnson and Ms Garlick’s inspection.

Ms Rogerson has been in a protracted Work Cover claim, which she says the council has been opposing for the past two years.

Greater Dandenong officers Ms Garlick, Leanne Johnson and chief executive John Bennie are expected to re-appear at the inquiry on 1 September.

A council spokesperson said: “Council vehemently denies what is alleged, and looks forward to being able to refute that allegation when it presents to the Parliamentary Committee next week.”

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Living treasures named

Oasis marks 30 years

The Dry actor in profile

City’s historic clash

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Selba Luka, centre, receives her award from Mayor Angela Long and Deputy Mayor Sophie Tan.

Pictures: HAS MEDIA

Selba (front) and volunteer Veronica in the Afri Aus-Care veggie garden.

The organisation provides cooking classes for vulnerable members of the community. 213664

By Danielle Kutchel A tireless champion for African and CALD communities has been named Greater Dandenong’s Citizen of the Year.

Selba Luka, founder of Afri-Aus Care, received the award at an invite-only event at Springvale City Hall on Tuesday 26 January.

She admitted the award was a total shock, but a welcome one, and dedicated it to the community, staff, volunteers, supporters and

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sponsors of Afri-Aus Care.

Born in Malawi, Ms Luka often says her heart is in South Sudan as she works closely with the south-eastern South Sudanese community.

Afri-Aus Care was born of her experiences when she arrived in Australia, where she experienced difficulties and hardship in her first years in the country.

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African women who are new to Australia and need assistance to find employment and learn English. Many of these women are survivors of domestic abuse, and Afri-Aus Care provides mental health support too as they build a new life.

Speaking at the Australia Day ceremony, Ms Luka said she was honoured to have received such a prestigious award.

“May we continue to be united. Dandenong is a great city to be,“ she said.

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support, outreach and skills development for members of the African and CALD communities.

It works closely with youth offenders, providing them with a pathway out of these behaviours and into a more positive contribution to society. During the pandemic for example, ex-offenders helped create food hampers and deliver these to the most vulnerable in society.

Afri-Aus Care also works with “the mamas“,

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City’s top citizen

Monash Medical Centre’s emergency department has been listed as a Tier 1 exposure site.

An infected case attended the ED’s ‘fasttrack’ clinic waiting room at Clayton on Saturday 21 August, 3.35pm-6.30pm.

Anyone at the waiting room at that time must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure, the Department of Health states.

Also the ED’s triage waiting room is listed as a Tier 2 site, with some individuals classed as Tier 1 contacts being contacted directly by the health department.

Anyone at the Tier 2 site at 3.20pm3.35pm on Saturday 21 August is urged to get tested immediately and quarantine until a negative result is confirmed.

Greater Dandenong’s only Tier 1 site is a GP clinic in Dandenong North.

A Covid-infected person attended Dr Tawfik Massarany’s surgery at 19 Brady Road on Friday 20 August between the times of 8.50am-1.20pm and 3pm-6.30pm, according to the Department of Health.

Anyone at the surgery at those times is being told to get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

There remains three active cases in Greater Dandenong – two residents in Dandenong and one in Keysborough.

In the locality, there are 15 Tier 2 exposure sites.

The venues include Coles supermarket at Princes Highway, Dandenong on Monday 16 August between 7.35pm-8.18pm and Tuesday 10 August 6.50am-7.10am.

Also on Monday 16 August, Samios Plumbing Supplies in Kitchen Road Dandenong at 10.15am-10.45am, Springvale South milk bar in Darren Street at 11.35am11.50am and North Dandy Bottle-O Shop at Dunearn Road, Dandenong North at 7.15pm-7.45pm were visited by an infected case.

Others on the list are a 7-Eleven outlet on Cheltenham Road, Keysborough on

Tuesday 17 August 11.30am-11.50am, and a milk bar at 48 Beau Vorno Avenue Keysborough on Thursday 19 August 2.40pm-3pm.

A construction site at Waverly Gardens shopping centre, Police Road Mulgrave was also listed for Tuesday 17 August 8.30am4pm. Tier 1 contacts at the site were to be contacted directly by the Department of Health.

Others are Woolworths at The Village, Princes Highway Dandenong South on Sunday 15 August 2.45pm-3.15pm and IKEA Springvale on the same day between 4.10pm-4.35pm.

A case also attended Miele Clearance Centre in Atlantic Drive Keysborough on Thursday 5 August 10.02am-10.47am.

The list also includes 7-Eleven Sandown at 585 Princes Highway Noble Park on Tuesday 10 August 6.50am-7.10am, Dandenong Supercinic and Terry White Chemmart, 56-58 Stud Road, Dandenong on Thursday 12 August 9pm-10.20pm, Princes Pizza & Kebab, 4/26 Princes Highway Dandenong on Thursday 12 August 10.15pm-10.45pm, Chemist Warehouse at 2/30 Princes Highway Dandenong on Friday 13 August 12.15pm-1.15pm and Colombo Impex at 3 Clow Street Dandenong on Friday 13 August 7.15pm-8pm.

Those who visited Tier 2 sites at these times are being advised to urgently get Covid-tested and to quarantine until they obtain a negative result.

The updated list of exposure sites in Victoria is at coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposuresites dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Patient’s diet not I Cook’s

By Cam Lucadou-Wells

I Cook Foods was closed for a month despite a food inspector’s report that a deceased hospital patient hadn’t eaten ICF sandwiches, an inquiry heard. 190890 “We’ll never ever really know where she got that infection.”

Key evidence included samples of the patient’s food. Knox Council was called in to investigate four weeks after the patient’s diagnosis – too late to collect such samples, Mr Christy said.

Other required evidence were copies of the

Council and CHO to front Health department and City of Greater Dandenong figures will front the re-opened inquiry into I Cook Foods’ closure on Wednesday 1 September.

The inquiry – also known as ‘slug gate’ – is re-examining the “inappropriate” closure of the Dandenong South commercial kitchen in early February.

Among the witness list is Chief Health

Officer Brett Sutton, who signed the closure order. Also appearing from the Department of Health are Deputy Chief Health Officer Angie Bone, Paul Goldsmith, Pauline Maloney and Sally Atkinson.

City of Greater Dandenong chief executive John Bennie, the council’s environmental health officer Elizabeth Garlick and its public health coordinator Leanne Johnson will also appear.

Closure ‘double standard’ From page 1 “Now thanks to the intervention of Chief Commissioner Shane Patton, the investigation … has reopened. I need to believe VicPol will now focus only on the police work and leave the politics to others.”

The Government was running a “protection racket” for Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, who issued the “unlawful” closure order.

Professor Sutton told a press conference he was acting out of an “abundance of caution” to protect elderly people at risk, Mr Cook noted.

“Through all of this, I have been forced to watch Dr Brett Sutton, a man who I maintain lied and destroyed my business and who Detective Ash Penry calls a person of interest in serious crimes, being given unfettered powers to lock up 6.4 million Victorians.

“I strongly believe this Government is running a protection racket for Dr Sutton. This needs to stop regardless of the pandemic.”

He refuted council and health department evidence at the inquiry in 2020 – or what he called “provable lies” that had become “more stark and easier to prove”.

“That day was one of the most difficult times of my life as I had to listen to the misrepresentations and what clearly seemed to me to be lies from people in positions of trust that we should be able to rely on and respect.

“I could not stop thinking of the 41 jobs that were deliberately destroyed along with my business. dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

“Those jobs belonged to incredibly good people who didn’t deserve to have their lives and their families’ lives destroyed by corruption.”

He rejected the council’s claims of defects at his factory, which became the basis of 96 “fabricated” food-safety charges that were ultimately dropped by the council.

They included the allegedly planted slug on the floor, and water pooling observed while staff were washing the floor.

At the inquiry in 2020, Greater Dandenong Council tabled a “misleading” list of ICF “noncompliances” in previous years, such as a stone being found in rice provided by a supplier, Mr Cook said.

ICF has launched a $50 million lawsuit against the council and health department for the closure.

“We’re strong. We’re not going away. This is not just about myself, my family, my employees any more. This is about democracy in Victoria.

“Someone needs to hold Daniel Andrews and his government to account.”

Mr Cook requested an opportunity to address the council and department’s evidence to the inquiry on 1 September in case “other falsehoods” were made.

A council spokesperson said: “Council vehemently denies what is alleged, and looks forward to being able to refute that allegation when it presents to the Parliamentary Committee next week.”

patient’s four-day food history, which had by that time been destroyed by the hospital.

“We must be absolutely certain and proven beyond a reasonable doubt before taking serious action against a food business, (that) there’s evidence to actually confirm that risk is present.

“You cannot just rely on genome sequenc-

DOMESTIC ANIMAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 2021-2025 In accordance with Section 68A of the Domestic Animals Act 1994, the City of Greater Dandenong is required to produce a Domestic Animal Management Plan for 2021-2025.

The Draft plan can now be viewed on Council’s website, and comments can be made at: www.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au Closing date for comments is 5pm, 20 September 2021.

Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

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Commercial caterer I Cook Foods was forced to shut down hours before a Knox Council health inspector reported evidence that it was likely in the clear, an inquiry has heard.

In early 2019, the Dandenong South factory was shut for a month by health authorities as part of an investigation into the death of an elderly Knox Private Hospital patient with suspected listeria poisoning.

Knox Council health inspector Ray Christy told the Parliamentary inquiry into ICF’s closure on 25 August he reported to the state’s health department that the patient hadn’t eaten ICF’s sandwiches.

On his inspection of the hospital on 21 February 2019, he was told the patient was likely on a “soft diet” of sandwiches without crusts prepared in the hospital’s own kitchen.

Six other food suppliers contributed to the hospital-prepared meals – none of which were investigated, Mr Christy said.

Before Mr Christy filed his report, thenActing Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton signed the closure order that day and it was served on ICF at 4am on 22 February.

About 10.30am, Mr Christy emailed his report to the health department.

Within minutes, he got a phone call from the department to double-check the patient was on a “soft diet”.

“In my opinion they were dissatisfied with that answer,” Mr Christy told the inquiry.

After a further inspection, Mr Christy was told the hospital was “certain” of the patient’s ‘soft food’ diet and he confirmed this in a second report at 12.42pm.

Less than two hours later, Professor Sutton issued a public press release and fronted a press conference announcing ICF’s shutdown.

An inspector for 30 years, Mr Christy said “key evidence” was missing to conclude what the source of the listeria infection was.

ing of listeria monocytogenes pathogen.”

There were strict policies to ensure food businesses weren’t closed “willy nilly”, Mr Christy said.

“You don’t proceed in the process of shutting them down until you’ve got the complete picture.”

Mr Christy said he was instructed by the health department to focus on ICF supplied sandwiches but not other possible foods eaten at the hospital.

Yet, listeria could also be found in soft cheeses, salad mix and vegetables, he said.

“If the patient ate other foods other than sandwiches, why wasn’t I asked to focus on those food suppliers?”

At the inquiry hearings in 2020, Professor Sutton claimed I Cook Foods was the hospital’s “sole caterer”. He didn’t refer the inquiry to Mr Christy’s contrary findings.

The department had interviewed the patient’s next-of-kin and treating doctor to obtain the patient’s food history, he said.

“These interviews revealed that whilst in hospital the patient only consumed food from the hospital, with all food provided by Knox Private Hospital’s sole caterer, I Cook Foods.

“I had good information that the patient had consumed food supplied by I Cook Foods during her incubation period—so the period from potential consumption of food until becoming unwell—and that I Cook Foods was the only premises where listeria was detected.”

Prof Sutton said “no one single piece of information was used in isolation” in his decision to close ICF. “Rather, it was the collective picture of public health risk that I believed I Cook Foods’ continuing food production represented.”

Prof Sutton is expected to re-appear at the inquiry on 1 September.

STAR JOURNAL 5

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6 STAR JOURNAL

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Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

NEWS

South East’s jab rate lags

Covid exposure scare, but councillor gets ‘all clear’

By Cam Lucadou-Wells

AUCTION Mortgagee in Possession Unit 3 @ 3 Apple court Doveton

the health department.

Anyone at the Tier 2 site at 3.20pm-3.35pm on Saturday 21 August is urged to get tested immediately and quarantine until a negative result is confirmed.

Greater Dandenong’s only Tier 1 site is a GP clinic in Dandenong North.

A Covid-infected person attended Dr Tawfik Massarany’s surgery at 19 Brady Road on Friday 20 August between the times of 8.50am1.20pm and 3pm-6.30pm, according to the Department of Health.

Anyone at the surgery at those times is being told to get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Tier 2 exposure sites include Coles supermarket at Princes Highway, Dandenong on Monday 16 August between 7.35pm-8.18pm, and Sunday 15 August 7.01pm-7.35pm.

Chemist Warehouse in Lonsdale Street, Dandenong was recently added due to an infected case visiting on Tuesday 17 August 3.30pm-4pm.

Also on Monday 16 August, Samios Plumbing Supplies in Kitchen Road Dandenong at 10.15am-10.45am, Springvale South milk bar in Darren Street at 11.35am-11.50am and North Dandy Bottle-O Shop at Dunearn Road, Dandenong North at 7.15pm-7.45pm were visited by an infected case.

Others on the list are a 7-Eleven outlet on Cheltenham Road, Keysborough on Tuesday 17 August 11.30am-11.50am, and a milk bar at 48 Beau Vorno Avenue Keysborough on Thursday 19 August 2.40pm-3pm.

A construction site at Waverly Gardens shopping centre, Police Road Mulgrave was also listed for Tuesday 17 August 8.30am-4pm.

Tier 1 contacts at the site were to be contacted directly by the Department of Health.

Others are Woolworths at The Village, Princes Highway Dandenong South on Sunday 15 August 2.45pm-3.15pm and IKEA Springvale on the same day between 4.10pm-4.35pm.

Those who visited Tier 2 sites at these times are being advised to urgently get Covid-tested and to quarantine until they obtain a negative result.

The updated list of exposure sites in Victoria is at coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites

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Cr Truong said.

As of 24 August, 15 sites in Greater Dandenong were listed as Tier 2 exposure sites.

For updates and more information on exposure sites, go to coronavirus.vic.gov. au/exposure-sites

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Cr Loi Truong has tested negative after his Springvale South milk bar was listed as a Tier-2 exposure site. 209156 Picture: GARY SISSONS

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12508721-JW34-21

Registered nurse Emma at the Sandown drivethrough vaccine clinic. 247860 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

12508720-BL34-21

Greater Dandenong’s Covid vaccination rate is lagging behind other parts of Victoria, according to official stats.

As of the ABS data on 27 August, 43 per cent of the council area’s residents 16 and over had received their first jab.

And just 24 per cent had a second dose.

It is well behind the rest of the state’s figures as of 29 August, which are 55 per cent with a first dose and 34 per cent fully vaccinated.

Neighbouring municipality Casey is also significantly behind the state average with 48 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.

It comes despite efforts to roll-out more vaccines at Sandown Racecourse, such as a recently-opened drive-through centre.

Monash Health south-east public health unit director Professor Rhonda Stuart said the drive-through was convenient for people with mobility issues.

It also allowed for up to four people in a car to be vaccinated at the same time.

“For some people, the convenience of being able to drive straight in off the Princes Highway and to get vaccinated without leaving the car might be enough of a motivation to finally make that booking.

“Whatever the reason, bookings are now open at our Sandown Racecourse drivethrough vaccination clinic for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca, and the sooner everyone can get vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to normal.”

Victoria and the rest of Australia are still months away from fully-vaccinated targets of 70 per cent and 80 per cent of eligible people.

The state recorded 92 locally-acquired cases on 29 August – its largest of the current outbreak. The State Government has announced that the current lockdown will be extended indefinitely.

Statewide, the largest unvaccinated cohorts are under-40s, which have only recently been eligible for Pfizer shots.

It is also the largest cohort for active Covid infections in Victoria, with 483 out of the state’s 778 active cases (62 per cent).

Four of the active cases are in Greater Dandenong, as of 29 August.

A Dandenong North GP clinic and Monash Medical Centre’s emergency department are among the state’s 890 exposure sites.

An infected case attended the ED’s ‘fasttrack’ clinic waiting room at Clayton on Saturday 21 August, 3.35pm-6.30pm.

Anyone at the waiting room at that time must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure, the Department of Health states.

Also the ED’s triage waiting room is listed as a Tier 2 site, with some individuals classed as Tier 1 contacts being contacted directly by

9792 5333 www.century21.com.au/dandenong Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

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12508722-HC34-21

By Cam Lucadou-Wells

A Greater Dandenong councillor went into brief isolation after his milk bar in Springvale South was named as a Tier 2 Covid site on Sunday night, 22 August.

Cr Loi Truong says the first time he heard of the listing of his shop in Darren Street was a phone call from a friend.

According to the Department of Health, an infected person visited the shop on Wednesday 16 August between 11:35am11:50am.

Following the department’s Tier 2 advice, Cr Truong got a Covid test at Springers Leisure Centre the next day.

He remained in isolation and closed his store until he received a negative test result on Tuesday 24 August, he said.

Cr Truong, who re-opened his store by 11am, guessed that his store was visited by an infected customer.

But he had not been contacted by the Department of Health to explain the listing.

Since last year, Cr Truong has given out 31,000 re-useable cotton masks at the shop.

Demand for the free masks has slowed in recent times, but Cr Truong still hands them out to the occasional customer who forgot their masks.

“If they don’t have a mask, I ask them to wear one.”

Customers have been scarce during Covid lockdowns, with trade down about a third, he said.

He and his family are biding their time before they get Covid-vaccinated. They’re waiting for the Moderna vaccine in September because of its 94 per cent effectiveness,

STAR JOURNAL 7

LOOKING BACK 100 years ago 1 September 1921 Dandenong Show Grounds (Clow St) On Monday at the monthly meeting of the Dandenong Shire Council, the appended letter, which was received from the Hon Secretary of the Dandenong Football Club, intimated that a largely attended meeting was held recently (representing the various sporting bodies of Dandenong) to discuss the lease of the Dandenong Showgrounds, which is now due for renewal or alteration. The meeting expressed its strong opinion that full use has not been made of the show grounds in the past, and that it would be advisable to have some interest in the ground vested in a citizens committee. It was pointed out that the Agricultural Society has the lease of the grounds; that it uses the grounds on only one

Compiled by Dandenong and District Historical Society

or two days annually; and that it has the right to sub-letting to sports clubs etc. This position is deemed unsatisfactory.

50 years ago 31 August 1971 It was a real cool show They were “Cool” - 1800 of them and very, very peaceful. They were the kids who turned up to the first Freedom Dance, held in the Dandenong Town Hall last Saturday night to rock to Australia’s top “pop” group Daddy Cool. “They were the coolest, most beautiful people I’ve ever seen and they proved to me that Freedom is a concept which will work “said Steve Rivette, the man behind Freedom. Steve said there was not a hint of trouble at the dance and the eight or so “peace co-coordinators” had nothing to do all night.

He added: “The main reason for the lack of

trouble was because the younger people in Dandenong believe that ‘Freedom is far out’ and they realise that violence would damage something that could become really great.

It was probably the biggest crowd ever in the Town Hall and was everything I hoped it would be.”

20 years ago 27 August 2001 Site for our Southbank The former Dandenong stockyards has been touted as a possible site for a south-eastern equivalent of Melbourne’s Southbank precinct. Planning Minster John Thwaites said the Government had provided Greater Dandenong Council with $50,000 to investigate opportunities for the redevelopment of the former stockyards site.

5 years ago 29 August 2016 Sampey has her way on pool plan The Oasis pool’s future incarnation is officially up for discussion. The Journal reported on 12 July that the Dandenong aquatic centre could make a $50 million move to Dandenong Market under a confidential council plan. Councillor Maria Sampey let the cat out of the bag at the Monday 11 July Greater Dandenong Council meeting. At the Monday 22 August meeting, she successfully moved that before proceeding on any further planning and without nominating a preferred position, the council completes open consultation on the best site and desired features for the pool’s replacement. No timeline was put in place. CEO John Bennie said Oasis was getting beyond its useful life and a new aquatic centre needed to be planned for.

NEWS

Bearing the pain

By Yousef Reyhani from Baha’i Community Greater Dandenong Sometimes the face we show to the world needs to be one of strength, despite the chaos we harbour beneath.

The reality of our society is rapidly changing, faster than what we can adapt to.

We are witnessing a catastrophic event, that not only challenges us in our physical and materialistic progress.

But also, testing our spiritual and emotional tether to the core of our beliefs and values.

We wish that none of this could have happened in our time.

But it is not for us to lay the terms of how we want the world to respond to our wants and needs.

But rather, we were gifted with the greatest tool to deal with the current unfortunate events.

Adaptability to rapid change and our response to them.

You see, we cannot tether with the flow of time and the dark turns it may take.

But we can change our approach to it.

MESSAGE OF

HOPE It is painful. To witness such calamities unfolding right in front of our eyes.

But we are seeing it, and we are lucky to witness it.

We are at the edge of a global shift.

Humanity is on the verge of awakening, and our actions through time and history determined how our future will take shape.

Confused, scared, insecure and hesitant for change.

Fear not, as we approach the gates of great revelations, mankind is slowly but surely coming to understand that we cannot progress alone.

But rather, united we stand at the canyon of evil.

We must shed light on the lost souls that are left wandering around aimlessly looking for meaning.

Those with great knowledge, power, and skills owe it to those who do not possess those qualities.

Instead, spread the knowledge, educate the illiterate, and shed light into the darkness of deep forest despair and loss.

Illuminate paths, that they may progress further in life and carry humanity through the mist of temptation from the material minds.

We will fall and slip.

But just because someone stumbles and loses their way, it doesn’t mean they’re lost forever. Sometimes, we all need a little help.

Always remember - pain will make you stronger.

If you allow yourself to feel it, embrace it, it will make you more powerful than you ever imagined.

It’s the greatest gift we have: to bear ... pain without breaking.

And it comes from the most human part of us: hope.

Pledged: AA keeps strong in lockdown

By Cam Lucadou-Wells A Dandenong-based Alcoholics Anonymous group is reaching out to those suffering drinking problems during Covid.

Alan from the Common Welfare Recovery Group knows full well the devastating impact of alcoholism on himself and his family.

Before he joined AA, he realised he was avoiding his wife and kids to drink in the home garage.

“I could see she’d leave me if I kept going.”

Alan was a bit anxious to front up to his first meeting more than a decade ago. But he hasn’t looked back since, he says.

He felt a common bond as he listened to fellow AA members.

“They were telling stories which I could

relate to. It was like they were talking about me.”

He’s now a switched-on husband and father to three children.

“The first thing is accepting you’re an alcoholic and then finding the help. That’s what we’re here for.

“We can help you get a better understanding of the problem. We’ve all been in the same boat as recovered alcoholics.”

Members can choose to share or they can sit back and listen. But there is a benefit to getting things “off your chest”, Alan says.

Often it’s the families that suffer more than the alcoholics.

“They’re the ones who go through the trauma, while the alcoholic doesn’t recall what they’ve done. They’ve had a black-out.

“The families think why can’t he just stop?

They don’t get that alcoholism is a disease and we can’t find a way out.”

There’s no cure, he says. But the ongoing support of AA has been a great help.

During Covid lockdown, the group meets for an hour on ZOOM online on Fridays, 6.30pm, with closed captioning for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.

Members are missing the ability to chat and catch up face-to-face. So they are making an effort to ring each other and chat during the week, Alan says.

Normally, the Common Welfare Recovery Group meets at St James Church, 55 Langhorne St, Dandenong on Fridays, 6.30pm.

Meetings are free.

Details: aamelbourne.org.au/ or 1300 22 22 22.

Group urges prep for safe swimming Royal Life Saving is asking all Australians with swimming pools to use the weeks before summer to check their pool fencing to protect young children from drowning.

In the past decade, more than half of all children aged 0-4 who drowned in Australia lost their lives in a backyard swimming pool.

Children who drowned often gained access to the pool area through a fence or gate which had fallen into disrepair or a gate which had been deliberately propped open.

We know families are under a lot of pressure with lockdowns in place in many parts of Australia.

8 STAR JOURNAL

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Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

The demands of constant supervision are exhausting.

But close supervision is the best way to protect a child from drowning.

Our research shows any distractions, such as using mobile phones or doing household chores, while children are near water increases their risk of drowning.

A pool fence in good repair can give you precious minutes when a determined toddler unexpectedly wanders off towards the pool.

Almost 40 per cent of child drowning happens over the summer months which is why

now is the time to get your backyard swimming pool prepared.

Adults can access a free home pool safety checklist to make sure their pool area is safe and secure at www.royallifesaving.com.au/ stay-safe-active/locations/water-safety-athome We want all Australians to have fun in the water and stay safe this summer. Please take the time to do a backyard pool safety check – your actions today could save a child’s life.

- Justin Scarr, Royal Life Saving chief executive

Gallery’s old ‘DNA’ revealed Art may be etched in the ‘DNA’ of Dandenong’s new contemporary art gallery .

Dandenong New Art – which could be shortened to DNA – has been endorsed in principle by Greater Dandenong Council as the new name of the landmark in Mason Street.

The under-construction regional venue is a redevelopment of the former Masonic Lodge.

It will feature museum-standard exhibition spaces, a large contemporary extension spanning two floors, office space, terrace and space for possible retail or a cafe.

“The architectural landmark has been redesigned to welcome and draw the community in and make contemporary art as accessible as possible, lifting the prominence of art in Greater Dandenong,” the council recently stated.

The name idea is open to community feedback until 14 September.

Submissions should be marked to the attention of the Coordinator Arts and Cultural Development.

To comment, email arts@cgd.vic.gov. au or go to https://forms.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au/new-gallery-namingproposal/ Alternatively, mail feedback to Greater Dandenong Council, PO Box 200, Dandenong VIC 3175.

The former Masonic Lodge being converted into a contemporary art gallery. 247858 Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

The gallery is expected to open in early 2022. 247858 dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Aged home bans ‘above the law’

By Cam Lucadou-Wells A former Greater Dandenong councillor has accused a nursing home of acting “above the rules” with an indefinite Covid ban on her visiting 99-year-old mother in a nursing home.

Maria Sampey has been helping care for her mother Vittoria Primerano who has advanced dementia at the TLC Noble Gardens aged care home.

The ban was not imposed by the Chief Health Officer, but by TLC – which runs Noble Gardens aged care home as well as others across Victoria.

As a ‘nominated person’ for her mother, Ms Sampey has an exemption to visit under the Chief Health Officer’s lockdown restrictions.

However under a ‘TLC Coronavirus Taskforce’ email address on 21 August, TLC chief executive Lou Pascuzzi emailed residents’ families that its homes would be locked down “until further notice”.

There would be no visitors except in “extenuating circumstances” such as palliative care.

On 21 August, Ms Sampey, who had not previously seen the email, was shocked and reduced to tears when barred by staff from making her regular two-hour nightly visit.

“I went outside and sat in my car and I started crying.”

Ms Sampey says she’s worried about her mother’s condition in the meantime.

She fears she’s been punished for filing a recent complaint to the federal Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission about the home.

In a letter to Mr Pascuzzi, she states: “I know that my mum spends most of her time isolated in her room as she is non verbal and cannot complain and relies on your staff to hydrate her, which they do not always.”

She said often jugs of water are still full when she visits her mother at night.

“My mum being so thirsty that she would drink three glasses of water from me and it would take me close to an hour as she has problems swallowing.

“Would your staff have the time? Of course not.”

She told Star Journal: “These homes have to realise it’s affecting people with dementia and their families.

“My stomach’s in knots, and they don’t care.”

A TLC spokesperson said people wishing to visit could call in advance to “discuss the necessity of their visit with our General Managers”. It will be assessed on its merits and weighed against safety considerations.

By Cam Lucadou-Wells

Vittoria Primerano marks her 99th birthday with daughter Maria Sampey earlier this year.

“Given the growing number of cases in the community, and the highly-infections nature of the COVID-19 Delta variant, TLC is taking every precaution necessary to strictly limit the number of visitors entering our homes.

“This is a short-term measure, and TLC’s appropriate actions over the last 20 months have been instrumental in protecting our 11 large aged care homes against COVID-19; with none of our 1,600 residents, and 2,000 staff and contractors contracting the virus.”

In a statement, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission said it was seeking information from TLC about the matter.

It stated the CHO directions excluded visi-

tors from care facilities but identify “specified exceptions” including the resident’s “nominated person”.

“Residential aged care services are expected to comply with any specific restrictions on visitors’ access that apply in their jurisdiction as set out in public health or emergency management orders issued by the relevant state or territory government.

“Where an approved provider is found to be non-compliant with their responsibilities, the Commission will take appropriate action to ensure that the provider addresses the noncompliance.”

Van ‘removed’ in faked carjacking

By Cam Lucadou-Wells A removalist stole his boss’s van and then made up a story that he’d been carjacked, a court was told.

Russell Whitmore, 37, was also charged with stealing his landlord’s leaf-blower in Beaconsfield and hawking it to a Cash Converters store.

The landlord had earlier dropped off the leaf-blower and garden equipment for the share-house tenants to “tidy up the garden”, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court was told on 19 August.

When the $269 leaf-blower went missing, the landlord found it at Cash Converters in Narre Warren.

It had been traded in under Whitmore’s name for $60.

Whitmore had just started working for a South East removalist business when his boss turned down his request to take the Hiace for a trip to Queensland.

After doing a job in Brighton that morning, Whitmore called in to say he was driving the van back to the depot.

That afternoon, he didn’t answer calls before claiming the van broke down on Thompson Road in Carrum Downs. dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

Jailed for carjacking crime spree

The boss sent his son to help but Whitmore and the van couldn’t be found.

At a home in Cranbourne, Whitmore rang police to tell them he’d been carjacked 25 minutes earlier.

He claimed he had broken down 10 kilometres away on Glasscocks Road. As he sat inside the van, he was threatened with a shotgun by three unknown “dark skinned” men.

They forced him to lay on the road as they stole the Hiace, he said.

With his phone out of power, he walked several hours to Cranbourne to call triple-0 – contradicting his earlier story he’d been carjacked 25 minutes earlier.

Phone records showed Whitmore was in Cranbourne the whole afternoon, police told the court.

Whitmore was also charged with assaulting a victim with a plastic pole and stealing most of their clothes in a Mont Albert motel car park in August 2020.

He demanded money, and then the victim’s wallet and bank card. When the victim said he didn’t have them, he was told to “take off everything”.

Whitmore grabbed the stripped man’s jumper, pants, shoes, a cable and charger, and

told him to “get the f*** out of here”.

In just his underpants, the victim fled to a nearby 7-Eleven and asked a stranger for their phone to call police.

Whitmore was also charged with a petrol drive-off in Narre Warren North, giving a false name to PSOs, resisting arrest and ice possession.

A defence lawyer said Whitmore grew up in a dysfunctional home in Queensland. At a young age, the promising BMX rider became “inured” to drugs and crime.

In Victoria, he found stability as a truck driver and family man until he succumbed to ice addiction.

Whitmore’s performance on a recent CCO “leaves a lot to be desired”, his lawyer conceded.

He had been remanded in custody since August 2020.

Magistrate Greg Connellan disagreed with the lawyer’s submission that Whitmore’s 377 days in remand was “excessive”.

The term was “not excessive but more than enough” for a “nasty” assault with a weapon, a car theft from an employer and a “serious” false report to police, Mr Connellan said.

Whitmore was sentenced to 377 days in jail, which had been already served.

A Pakenham man has been jailed over a week’s “criminal rampage” including an aggravated carjacking, car thefts and burglaries.

Mitchell Salmon-Urbani, 24, who was raised in Dandenong, was found guilty of the carjacking of a Ford XR8 ute in which a co-accused man Cori Harrison held up the driver with an imitation gun on 1 April 2019.

He pleaded guilty to 18 other offences between 24 March and 1 April.

On the final day, the pair led police on a wide-ranging pursuit after stealing a Colorado ute in Clyde.

The pair deliberately torched the ute in Rowville and hijacked the XR8 in Carrum Downs..

At that point, Harrison pointed an imitation rifle at the driver and threatened to shoot him.

The offenders fled from police in the Ford until they crashed into two cars outside the Settlement Hotel in Cranbourne.

Salmon-Urbani was arrested carrying meth and a stolen driver’s licence, Bunnings trade card and bank card.

Earlier that day, he committed two burglaries in Devon Meadows and Officer South and stole more than $14,000 of jewellery, phones, tablets, laptops, headphones, car keys, passports and cash.

In sentencing on 20 August, Victorian County Court judge Anne Hassan said the carjackers showed a “complete disregard for the safety of the public” and must have caused “considerable fear”.

The victims suffered a “long-lasting” toll, she noted.

A burglary victim stated to the court that their home was trashed, dog traumatized and sentimental items lost.

The car-jacking victim stated he suffered financially as he took time off work to recover from the life-changing trauma.

Judge Hassan found Salmon-Urbani guilty of the car-jacking, noting he played a minor but “completely complicit” role in the hold-up.

He was at least an equal player to Harrison during the rest of the crime spree including stealing a Ford Falcon, two Triton utes, and three TVs worth $9989 from two Good Guys stores in Narre Warren and Pakenham.

He was suspended from driving and on a community corrections order at the time – as well as heavily addicted to meth and reeling from a break-up from his girlfriend.

The judge noted Salmon-Urbani’s abusive, dysfuntional upbringing in which he started drinking and using drugs from age 10.

He was also diagnosed with low IQ and ADHD-like symptoms.

Judge Hassan said Salmon-Urbani’s intoxication during the car-jacking was a “significant factor” that precluded him from a mental impairment exemption.

His co-offender was jailed for up to eight years and five months in July 2020 for more than 35 charges.

Salmon-Urbani – who was being jailed for the first time – had a less extensive criminal history, Judge Hassan noted.

He was imprisoned for up to six years and two months – with a four-year nonparole period.

His 408 days in pre-sentence detention was included.

Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

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STAR JOURNAL 9

NEWS

Disability shortage

By Cam Lucadou-Wells A “massive” job shortage is emerging in disability support work during the Covid pandemic.

Dakorim Wokoma, of Noble Park, is one who is filling the need. It’s a role she does for the love of it.

“I wanted to do a job with a purpose.

“One thing that’s clear is if you’re doing it for the money, you’re not in the right industry.”

However, finding applicants has become a challenge for service providers.

In a bid to attract staff, service provider OnCall Australia has launched a free training course with a “guaranteed” job.

The sector’s reliance on overseas workers has left a “massive shortage” during Covid, OnCall chief executive Laura Green.

As migrant workers were unable to arrive in Australia, OnCall needed a “rapid injection” of new staff.

Previously, applicants would have to pay for their own training. Now On Call provides it free of charge.

“We recognised that most people have had a hard year so paying to get a job doesn’t make sense.”

“If the people enrolled pass the training, they’ll have a job.”

Training includes first aid, manual handling and disability support skills to a Certificate III or IV level. It’s followed by shadow-shifts with an experienced worker and mentoring on-the-job.

“The disability sector has lots of work to be done. Many industries are getting smaller but

Disability support worker Dakorim Wokoma says the role requires empathy, passion and a listening ear. we’re getting bigger.”

Ms Wokoma, a qualified electrical engineer, became a support worker so she could better understand how to care for her late disabled sister Ibifulo.

The pair moved out from Nigeria in search of better disabled care and facilities.

Ms Wokoma is studying a Masters in Cybersecurity but says she wants to keep working in disability support.

“It’s challenging because each individual is different.

“You have to have that level of empathy. You have to have a listening ear. And you have to bring out that love in you to support that client.

“That person is putting their life in your hands.”

Details: www.oncall.com.au/

OnCall chief executive Laura Green says there’s a “massive” shortage of workers due to Covid.

Rosewood’s new kinder A new 66-place kindergarten is set to be built at Rosewood Downs Primary School.

The State Government will fund two kindergarten rooms, admin facilities and outdoor play spaces in Nature at the school in Dandenong North.

The kindergarten, in partnership with City of Greater Dandenong Council, is expected to open in 2023.

“I’m delighted that Rosewood Downs families are a step closer to getting the fantastic early years and school facilities they deserve – in one convenient location,” Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams said.

Education Minister James Merlino said kindergartens on school sites made the transition to school easier for children in early education.

From 2021, new primary schools will have a kindergarten on-site or nextdoor. The aim is to make them easier to access and drop-off times more simple.

In its Three-Year-Old Kinder roll-out, the Government and the early childhood sector is co-investing $1.68 billion into building and expanding kindergartens.

It is also spending $5 billion over the next decade for two fully-funded years of kindergarten per child – an Australian first.

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Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

Have you ever wondered what your smile might look like if that missing tooth wasn’t missing? There are several ways to fill that gap with a “tooth” that looks and feel like your other teeth!

A popular way to restore missing teeth is through dental implants. These are used as an alternative to dentures and bridges. Implants have many advantages, including their natural appearance, their convenience and ability to maintain bone mass - a quality that makes additional tooth loss far less likely.

Dentures are another way to replace your missing teeth. Full and partial dentures are custom-made removable prosthetics that can replace all or several teeth at one time.

Today’s dentures are comfortable and aesthetically enhancing. A series of skillful steps are taken to ensure your dentures are fitting correctly, and for overall great oral health.

Smiles First can provide you with all of these treatments under the one roof where they have specialist Prosthodontist who are specialized in helping you choose the best teeth replacement option.

At Smiles First they are available to answer any questions you have and the choices that are available to address specific conditions.

If you’re concerned about missing teeth and your options, feel free to give Smiles First a call on 8772 2053. dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Hazara bomb fears

By Cam Lucadou-Wells South East families have had their fears for loved ones in Afghanistan further rocked by terror bomb blasts outside Kabul International Airport.

The Australian evacuation mission ended hours before the bombings killed nearly 200 people at the airport’s gate on 27 August including 13 US troops and locals desperately trying to flee the Taliban-run country.

Barat Batoor, from the 16,000-strong Hazara diaspora in the South East, was shattered by the violence. But he expected it since the US negotiated to withdraw from Afghanistan, paving the way for a Taliban takeover.

Islamic State had taken responsibility for the attacks. They and the Taliban were enemies but “two sides of the same coin”.

“It’s the same ruthless Taliban, the same ruthless ideology who believe in violence, torture and killing, which are not in line with 21stcentury values.

“I believe if they do change, their ideology will collapse.”

Mr Batoor, a photo-journalist who fled for his life from Afghanistan in 2012, works as an organiser for Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

The Taliban’s true colours were already emerging ahead of the 31 August deadline for the US withdrawal, he says.

He’d seen footage and reports of the Taliban beating and preventing Hazaras from reaching the airport due to their ethnicity.

Others in fear of retribution for working for foreign powers and the UN have been stopped

at Taliban check-points and “disappeared”.

Despite warnings of terror attacks, many were desperately braving the trip to the airport or fleeing to the Pakistan border.

“It is like welcoming death if they go to the airport.

“People are not knowing what to do. Things will get worse and people will suffer. It’s an uncertain situation.”

Mr Batoor reiterated the call for the Government to boost its humanitarian visa offer from 3,000 to 20,000 places.

He also called for permanent protection and family reunion visas to Hazara asylum seekers in Australia, who have had the threat of deportation hanging over their heads for up to a decade.

On 27 August, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced 4100 had been evacuated as part of the Australian mission from “one of the most dangerous places on Earth”.

They included more than 3200 Australians and Afghan visa holders for Australia, he said.

Foreign states had airlifted a total of 70,000 at that point.

“Australia’s operations now for the evacuation have been completed.

“We were able to ensure the departure of the remaining Australian personnel over the course of last night, not that long before the terrible events that unfolded last night took place.”

Mr Morrison condemned the “evil”, “calculated” and “inhuman” attacks on the “innocent” and “brave” at Kabul airport.

Advice for refugees

By Cam Lucadou-Wells

Barat Batoor has called for the Australian Government to extend its humanitarian efforts for Hazara refugees.

The US troops had fallen in a “very worthy cause”. “These brave young Americans stood at that gate to protect life, to save life but lost their own in providing a pathway to freedom for others.”

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said it was a “very distressing situation for Australians still in Kabul, for people with visas, and for family and friends who are here in Australia”.

“Our new travel advice says Australian evacuation flights from Kabul have ceased.”

Agencies call for refugee action Dandenong support agencies are joining the call for more “compassion” for refugees from crisis-hit Afghanistan.

Wellsprings for Women has written to federal MPs calling for the Australian Government to respond with “compassion and generosity”.

The women-only group organised an online gathering with Foundation House, which treats refugees who experienced trauma and torture.

“The session with Foundation House is for Afghan women to provide emotional support. This is a very difficult time for them,” Wellsprings chief executive Dalal Smiley said.

Wellsprings also gathered services to help families wanting to sponsor fleeing relatives to come to Australia.

“It’s a lot of work but we particularly feel for our community members who are un-

able to be reunited with their families.”

Wellsprings provides services and programs for women facing social, cultural, economic and political barrier. Many come from refugee backgrounds.

Catholic Social Services Victoria has called for a change of Government policy to allow Afghan refugees on temporary protection visas to apply for their families to come to Australia.

“While the Australian Government continues to withhold the ability to apply for humanitarian family reunification for this cohort, this places their lives and families in a tenuous situation,” CSSV executive director Josh Lourensz said.

“With the situation in Afghanistan fundamentally changed, Australia’s policies also need to fundamentally change.”

Mr Lourensz was “willing to do more” for the increased refugee intake as a result, cit-

Afghan women with their English tutor at Wellspings for Women in Dandenong. ing Wellsprings’ actions as an example.

“We admire the contribution and proactive efforts of member organisations like Wellsprings for Women that are offering support to the Afghan community in this difficult time.”

A Dandenong migration agent is offering free advice to evacuate immediate family members stricken in an increasingly desperate Afghanistan.

Thay-Horn Yim said he was able to provide Afghan-Australians citizens and permanent residents with official information to help their family as well as interpreters and staff who assisted Australian and Western-allied forces.

“There are specific instructions they have to follow and these instructions could change rapidly.”

This includes the documents they need to take to Kabul International Airport, whether to lodge new or previously lodged applications and what to do if they receive or miss a call from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Yim also had information on what phone number evacuees must ring, how close to the airport before they ring and which airport gate to enter.

He has offered a volunteer service through Refugee Legal in Collingwood for more than 15 years, but the dire situation in Afghanistan compelled him to do more.

“I want to do extra now for this urgent need in the City of Greater Dandenong.”

The Taliban had swept to power during the staged withdrawal of the US, Australia and allies.

In the past week, thousands, including Australian citizens, have flocked to Kabul’s international airport after the withdrawal of US, Australian and allied forces led to the Taliban sweeping back into power.

Many fear Taliban reprisals and are desperate to flee the country ahead of the US’s withdrawal deadline on 31 August.

As you know I have offered this volunteer service through Refugee Legal in Collingwood over 15 years but want to do extra for this urgent needs for the City of Greater Dandenong.

To contact Mr Yim, email thayhorn@ hotmail.com with your full name, your relationship to the relative in Afghanistan, your phone number and how far the relative is from Kabul airport.

Missing man found safe and well in Lysterfield Park

By Danielle Kutchel A Langwarrin man who went missing in Lysterfield Park has been found safe and well.

Search crews came across missing man Paul sitting on the shore of Lysterfield Lake around 11am on Tuesday 24 August.

Paul had last been seen on Sunday 22 August at around 2pm, when he was dropped off at the park.

SES and Victoria Police heralded the find as a great result for search crews and Paul’s family.

SES Commander Bryce Wickham said crews had received a request to assist Victoria Police with the search on Monday 23 August, and had initially spent five hours scouring the park for any trace of Paul.

Undaunted, on Tuesday the call went out again and 64 SES members from 19 units across the central region converged on the park to take up the search again.

Crews worked systematically through the park, both on dry land and in the water, with three rescue boats brought in, a hill operating vehicle and multiple 4WDs on standby.

Family members also walked Lysterfield’s tracks to aid in the search and the park was closed to visitors so as not to interfere with the hunt. dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

The SES crew that found Paul. 248501 George Katris, SES Deputy Controller for Port Phillip, was among the group that found Paul as they scoured the area by boat.

Coming to the western side of the water, Mr Katris said he noticed Paul by the water’s edge “just sitting, soaking in the sun”.

The SES crew quickly confirmed Paul’s

Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS identity by calling his name and checking him against the description they had been given.

“Basically he was in the bushes for the last two days,” Mr Katris said.

With no way to access the area save by boat or on foot, the decision was made to take Paul back to the opposite shore by boat, where he

was reunited with his family and taken to hospital for a check-up.

“It was an amazing result, we were so wrapped that we found him,” Mr Katris said.

“I’m so proud of my team – this is what we’re trained for and to put it into practice, and for it to be textbook, is absolutely amazing.”

Peter Muys, Victoria Police Local Area Commander for the Yarra Ranges, said teams had been confident that as long as Paul had not entered the water, “there was every chance he would be alive” despite low overnight temperatures.

Around 30-40 police members, including some from the search and rescue and canine squads, and the airwing, were deployed to assist with the search.

They spent time tracking down every potential sighting in the hours before Paul was found.

“We didn’t have anything further than that this is where he was last dropped off, that was all we had to go on,” LAC Muys said.

He thanked the SES for their commitment and the “great work” they put in to finding Paul.

“The credit goes to them for sure,” he said.

Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

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STAR JOURNAL 11

FOCUS ON … FATHERS DAY

Check out these hampers Introducing Bourbon Brothers Australia, a local Cranbourne business shipping Australia wide. They offer the perfect gift for the dad that has everything, give dad the gift of Bourbon and Chocolate!

There’s so much more to Bourbon than Jack and Jim! That’s the message that Bourbon Brother’s founder, Sean Chapman, wants to share. After living in the USA for 11 years, and working in the hospitality industry, Sean developed a deep passion for bourbon and it’s amazing history, and it’s one that he brought

with him when he returned to Australia.

Launching Bourbon Brothers last year, Sean, a Cranbourne West resident, is introducing Australia to a whole new world of American Whiskey.

For fathers day, check out the Bourbon Brothers gift hampers that not only include the best bourbons, but also premium chocolate from local chocolatier, The Ministry of Chocolate. Now that’s a perfect gift for Dad this year!

Visit their website www.bourbonbrothers. com.au to see all the amazing options that will

make dad smile! Gift hampers also come with tasting glasses, coasters, tasting notes, access to exclusive tasting video’s and a “Beginners Guide to tasting Bourbon”.

As a special deal for readers you can also receive free Auspost express shipping Australia wide until the 5th of September.

Bourbon Brothers also offers subscription options for lovers of bourbon or the bourbon curious, shipped to your door every month, taking you on a journey of the best bourbons in the world.

Sean tells us, “We’re just a small local business sharing something that we are truly passionate about and with nothing but 5 star reviews on Facebook and Google, you can be sure that you’ll give a gift that will bring a smile!”

Visit their website or checkout their socials to learn more Bourbonbrothers.com.au Facebook.com/bourbonbrothersaus Instagram.com/bourbonbrothersaus

· · ·

More in store: We’re here to keep your car running Having worked all my life in the Automotive Industry commencing as an apprenticed motor mechanic it was fairly straight forward for me with the assistance of my brother as silent partner to purchase my own Autobarn Store.

In 2013 Autobarn Frankston was purchased followed by Autobarn Dandenong on the corner of Frankston Dandenong Road and Zenith Road, Dandenong South in 2018.

To our customers Dandenong store provides a different facility to Frankston in that it has a huge car park to leave your precious wheels while you shop in a bright and roomy environment.

Recently we appointed a new store manager Wayne Gould who has many years com-

prehensive knowledge in both the wholesale and retail industries. Wayne’s initial role is to assist our locally employed staff with understanding what our customer’s needs are and drive the business forward.

Through the utilization of local and knowledgeable staff we aim to be on top of your list when it comes to you choosing us above our competitors, coupled with Autobarn’s claim of “top gear and low prices.”

Furthermore with the uncertainty that Covid -19 brings we utilize Click and Collect as well as Call and Collect your shopping list for your convenience.

We’re here to keep your car running. Open for Click and Collect. Purchase online or contact us on 9792 5835 and collect at store.

- Franchisee Roger Wallis

We’re here to keep your car running, Autobarn, Dandenong.

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12 STAR JOURNAL

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Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

12511019-AV36-21

dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

FOCUS ON … FATHERS DAY

Time to sample Exit These days when you walk into a bottle shop, there can be hundreds of different craft beers on the shelves. Many of our neighborhood bottleshops now have multiple fridges dedicated to craft beer. If you are a beer drinker, or perhaps like to peruse the shelves at your local, no doubt you’ve asked yourself, what are all these beers and where on earth have they come from?! Well, it really has happened quite quickly, and at a rate only outdone by billionaires going to space! In fact, when we released our first beer back in 2014, there were fewer than 300 breweries in all of Australia. Now, only seven years later there are almost 800! Then, if

you consider that each of those breweries is almost definitely making more than one type of beer (sorry VB!) … that’s a lot of beer!

So how do we, Exit Brewing, a tiny outfit based in Melbourne’s southeast with a team of just four, carve our niche and do it differently than all of those other breweries you ask? Well, we try and keep it simple. Great quality, consistent, honest and real; really delicious that is. Brewer boss Grum is ex-IT (ahhhh!) and has a very numeric mind, so he has created quite a reputation for his beer recipes. After living abroad for many years and sampling every-

thing Europe and America had to offer, Grum has focused on creating beers that echo the traditional classics, but that are suitable for the Australian palate. He also likes dad jokes.

We were recently awarded Victorian Brewery of the Year by The Melbourne International Beer Competition 2021 and Stout Brewery of the Year in 2020. If it sounds like it might be time for a quick Exit you can find our beers at your local craft beer supplier and all First Choice Liquor Markets.

Exit Brewing, is situated at 10 Superior Drive, Dandenong South, 9131 6291.

We’ve got you covered this

Tailored made gift hampers A Dandenong South online business has the perfect ingredients to send out love – and comfort food – during Covid lockdown.

With an array of indulgent chocolate bouquets and edible gift hampers, the times seem to suit Taste Buds and its online deliveries.

During the pandemic, it has branched into further similar companies Hampers Galore and Healthy Essentials Australia.

Hampers Galore offers luscious gift packages of snacks, chocolates with wine, champagne, beer or Moscato.

They target a range of tastes and occasions, with products as lockdown survival kits, tradies snack hampers, and Moet Lovers pack.

Healthy Essentials Australia delivers 1400 healthy foods and supermarket items

including vegan hampers, gluten-free hampers, household cleaning and laundry products, baby food, nappies and wipes.

Since buying Taste Buds in 2019, husband and wife Ash and Sasha Hewawasam quickly refined and struck on a thriving formula.

Its annual revenue soared from $800,000 to $3 million.

With 40 per cent market share, it’s the second-largest online food hamper business in Australia.

Peak times are the indulgent events on the calendar such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter and Christmas.

Half-metre chocolate Christmas trees are particularly sought.

To order, call 1300 733 968 or got to tastebuds.com.au, hampersgalore.com.au or healthyessentialsaustralia.com.au

Eve, Alison, Grum and Jacob Knight are all looking forward to Father’s Day.

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LEGENDARY DAD PACK FROM MELBOURNE’S EXIT BREWING

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We are a one stop shop for all your outdoor power needs with the very best brands on the market Stihl Gardening equipment in Petrol, Battery and electric options.

Limited stock of Toro Ride on and push mowers.

So get in fast for dad this Father’s Day”

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Call in and talk to the team

Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

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STAR JOURNAL 13

NEWS

Afghans’ heartbreak

Less stress A new series of social scripts designed to reduce anxiety and assist autistic people getting a Covid-19 vaccination has been released by autism peak body Amaze, in partnership with National Disability Services (NDS).

Autistic people may find the process of getting vaccinated against Covid-19 stressful. Attending a mass vaccination centre or GP for a Covid-19 vaccination is a new and potentially daunting experience, which may induce feelings of anxiety.

Social scripts are story-based strategies using images and descriptions to explain new experiences and social environments to autistic people.

The scripts have been designed to reduce uncertainty about getting the vaccine by clearly laying out the steps involved in the vaccine process.

The scripts, which are the first of their kind in Australia, have been developed for autistic people with input from autistic people.

However, Amaze chief executive officer Jim Mullan said anyone feeling uncertain about the process of getting a Covid-19 vaccination cpi;d use and benefit from the resources.

“Giving autistic people the opportunity to prepare themselves for the vaccination process is extremely important,“ Mr Mullan said.

“We developed these scripts to reduce anxiety for autistic people. The scripts are designed as a guide for autistic people to get vaccinated, allowing them to feel more comfortable with the process and preparing them for what they should expect.

“New environments and situations can be challenging for many autistic people. We want to make that process less daunting, more inclusive and more accessible.“ Willow Metcalf, who assisted in creating the resource, said social scripts could be incredibly important for autistic people entering new situations.

“As an autistic person, entering a new environment like a mass vaccination hub can be extremely overwhelming.

“Just having the opportunity to read the script and see pictures of what it will be like, can make the process so much easier,” she said.

The scripts will also help vaccine providers, both GPs and vaccination hubs, to provide a more accessible environment.

“It’s important we ensure autistic people are able to get vaccinated as soon as they can,“ Mr Mullan added.

“Many in our community are eligible for priority vaccinations and we hope the scripts will provide them with the confidence to go ahead and get vaccinated.“ The social scripts can be found at amaze.org.au/support/resources/covid19-vaccination-social-scripts-for-autistic-adults/ or by contacting the Autism Connect national helpline on 1300 308 699 to speak with an autism advisor.

By Danielle Kutchel The local Afghan community is hurting in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.

Many of those living in Casey have loved ones stuck in the country, unable to leave and get to safety.

Mothers, brothers, cousins, friends – regardless of the relationship, the story of heartbreak and worry is the same.

Members of Casey’s Afghan diaspora met with community leaders and politicians on Wednesday 18 August via Zoom to air their grievances and discuss ways to get their families and friends out of the country.

The meeting was organised by the Bakhtar Cultural Association.

MPs Julian Hill and Pauline Richards attended, along with a representative for Holt MP Anthony Byrne.

Steve Demopoulos, Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health, Vivienne Nguyen, chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Hafiz Mayar from Victoria Police and representatives of other community organisations joined the call.

They fielded questions on evacuations and visa processing, while members of Casey’s Afghan community spoke of their terror at what might happen to their loved ones if they are left behind in Afghanistan.

They also discussed the impact of the horrific news on their own mental health and how to help each other cope. For many who have fled the country, the Taliban’s takeover is bringing up memories of past trauma.

The State Government is seeking feedback on how drivers use Wellington Road.

A survey has been opened for drivers and residents to say how they use Wellington Road and surrounding roads.

The responses will inform the potential upgrade of Wellington Road between Napoleon Road in Rowville and Berwick Road in Narre Warren East.

The Victorian Government is currently considering the upgrade, which would see Wellington Road duplicated to increase its capacity.

Feedback from the survey will be considered as part of planning and development for the upgrade, as the government develops design options and confirms the project’s scope and cost.

The Federal Government has committed up to $110 million towards the project.

No delivery timeline on the project has yet been set.

To complete the survey, visit https://engage.vic.gov.au/bigbuild The survey closes on Tuesday 7 September.

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The State Government is seeking feedback on an upgrade to Wellington Road.

Raring to read: Children turn the page on lockdown

By Danielle Kutchelr

com.au

14 STAR JOURNAL

The community agreed to push for an increase to the number of additional refugees the Federal Government would accept.

So far the Australian government has rescued 1700 people from Kabul, with a priority on dual citizens.

For assistance with visa matters, contact your local MP and for more Afghan community information or support, contact the Bakhtar Cultural Association via bakhtar.org.au/

By Danielle Kutchel

12452271-SN26-20

REAL ESTATE Email seren@starnewsgroup.com.au

Published by Star News Group Pty Ltd ACN 005 848 108.

Publisher/Managing Director, Paul Thomas.

All material is copyright to Star News Group Pty Ltd. All significant errors will be corrected as soon as possible. Distribution PROUDLY numbers, areas and coverage are estimates AUSTRALIAN OWNED & only. For our terms and conditions please visit INDEPENDENT www.starcommunity.com.au

Federal MP for Bruce, Julian Hill, told the call that Afghan visa applications are being escalated and said he was pushing for as many visas to be processed as possible.

The Federal Government has pledged to take an extra 3000 refugees from Afghanistan, with families on the call urged to submit urgent visa applications including as much information about their loved one’s situation as possible.

Consultation open on Wellington Road

starcommunity.com.au CONTACT US Phone: 5945 0666 ADVERTISING Visit starcommunity.com.au/advertise Email advertising@starnewsgroup.com.au Phone 5945 0666 EDITORIAL Email dailyeditor@starnewsgroup.com.au

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A family of evacuees from Kabul, Afghanistan arrive at Australia’s main operating base in the Middle East on board a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster.

Picture: LACW JACQUELINE FORRESTER / AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

The library may be closed, but that doesn’t mean Children’s Book Week is cancelled.

Casey Cardinia Libraries is getting into the spirit with a number of fun online activities for readers.

Sarah Litchfield, team leader at Doveton Library, was among those getting into the spirit of the occasion by dressing up as Cruella de Vil. Passionate about children’s literature, Ms Litchfield said parents should begin reading to their children as early as possible to help with their language and literacy development.

“It’s a beautiful way of bonding with a child as well,” she said.

She said reading doesn’t necessarily need to be books – parents can pick out food labels

Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

on trips to the supermarket for example, to inspire kids to think about the words and what they mean.

“Just reading and talking is the most important thing you can do,” she said.

Chris Buckingham, chief executive officer of Casey Cardinia Libraries, said books could transport readers to different places.

“Books are our passport to other worlds. It is so important during these disrupted times that children are able to exercise their imaginations through reading,” he said.

“Children’s Book Week is an opportunity to celebrate reading with the young people our lives and help them navigate their way to happy spaces and places.”

As part of Children’s Book Week, Casey Cardinia Libraries is giving young readers the

Sarah Litchfield encourages parents to read to their children. 247428 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS chance to win a variety of prizes.

Children can dress up as their favourite character or design their own bookmark, and the winners will receive Robinsons Bookshop vouchers.

For more information on Book Week at the library or to enter the competitions, visit cclc. vic.gov.au/cbca-book-week-2021/ dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

FOCUS ON … RETIREMENT

Keeping traditions strong Since adopting multiculturalism in the 1970s, Australia has become the most ethnically-diverse country in the world. One organisation warmly embracing this cultural shift is Regis Aged Care in Dandenong North. The Home offers activities and programs tailored to residents’ cultures and traditions. For instance, a fortnightly Euro Club unites residents for conversation over börek pastries and specially-brewed Turkish coffee. “Bringing the same cultures together helps us to make residents

feel more at home”, advises Regis Lifestyle Coordinator, Naomi Tangimama.

The biggest impact is often felt by residents when carers go above and beyond to accommodate their individual needs. Shortly after moving into Regis Dandenong North in March, resident Olga Gagic asked for some knitting needles so she could continue her favourite hobby. The team offered a few different sets of needles but soon realised that Olga required a particular type made from repurposed umbrella spokes.

After searching around, Naomi was able to locate a pair through another Serbian resident’s family member, and Olga was thrilled.

It’s easy to see why knitting is so important to Olga. Originally from a small village in Serbia, Olga’s family used to yarn and thread the wool from their own sheep. “My mother taught me how to knit with different techniques and I would take orders from our neighbours and make clothes,” she says. These days her favourite thing to knit is socks. Having made hun-

dreds of pairs over the years, Olga finds the process relaxing, productive, and creative. “I do it almost every day. I feel so happy and satisfied to see the work I have made with my own hands,” she says.

Hearing this, it becomes very clear why keeping people connected with their culture is so important: these pastimes form part of a person’s identity and bring them immense joy.

“Encouraging these activities makes such a huge difference in someone’s life” says Naomi.

VALLEY VILLAGE MEWS RETIREMENT VILLAGE 112 STUD ROAD DANDENONG

Need a rest and recharge?

Come and be part of our warm and welcoming community while you settle in and enjoy the comforts of home.

There’s something for everyone at Regis Dandenong North. We have relaxing spaces in our lounges and gardens to sit and read, chat with friends, or simply take it all in.

We also have regular activities and events, such as arts & crafts, gardening, pet visits, exercise classes, Happy Hour, entertainers, and more.

Delicious, home-style meals are prepared fresh each day by our chefs and cooks.

Find out how Regis Dandenong North can help you get the support you need.

Give us a call on 1300 998 100 or pop in for a chat today.

REGIS DANDENONG NORTH 5 Bakers Road, Dandenong North Victoria

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Units available for sale now Purchase your unit by Strata Title Join in with Social Activities Keep fit with exercise programs Superb Parklands to take your pet and meet residents Emergency Call pendant Community Bus for shopping A village built around beautiful parkland

Phone: 9793 3354 Call 1300 998 100 Visit regis.com.au

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Fax: 9793 7154

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Call in to meet our friendly staff to show you why you should make Valley Village Mews your home.

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Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

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SPORT

Local youngsters aim at stars

By Nick Creely

Cricket Victoria is hopeful of an early October start. 229796

Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

Premier solutions

By Nick Creely Cricket Victoria (CV) is hoping for the Victorian Premier Cricket season to begin on Saturday 2 October, but have released a breakdown of the season which is based around nine different scenarios.

In a document seen by Star News Group, CV has confirmed that the plans are in place for the season to begin on the first weekend of October, provided that lockdown ends on or before 10 September, which would give clubs ample time to complete at least three weeks of pre-season training.

“Due to the current Covid situation, we again find ourselves in a position of uncertainty about the commencement of the 2021/22 Premier Cricket season,” CV told clubs.

“To ensure the clubs, players, coaches and officials have some clarity about what the sea-

son will look like, CV Management in collaboration with the Premier Cricket Operations Advisory Group have developed a number of different scenarios which will be implemented based on when the lockdown ends and outdoor community sport can resume.”

In the best case scenario, CV is planning on 15 rounds, with eight one-dayers and seven two-dayers, with five Twenty20 mid-week rounds and finals to also be played in exciting news.

The one-dayers in the first scenario would conclude before the red-ball cricket starts, which is slated for Saturday 27 November.

This would mean that the men’s grand final would be played on Friday 8 April-Sunday 10 April.

However, with a number of scenarios in place to cater to Victorian restrictions, the season will convert to purely one-dayers once

again if the season can’t begin until at least 30 October.

There is also a Premier Cricket v Vic State Squad exhibition match locked in for Sunday 16 January, which generated plenty of interest last season.

If the lockdown ends by 10 September, the Women’s season is set to begin on Sunday 3 October, in what will be a 14-round white-ball campaign.

The Women’s grand final will be played on Sunday 13 March.

The latest the Women’s season can start is Sunday 28 November, with the grand final to be pushed back to the latest date of Sunday 20 March Also included in the fixture is seven Twenty20s, with the grand final for the Twenty20s to be played on Wednesday 26 January (Australia Day).

Four emerging Dandenong Stingray youngsters have been named in the NAB League Combine with plenty of Victorians set to show their wares in front of AFL recruiters.

With the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic, the annual draft combines will be purely state-based in 2021, but regardless, the emerging AFL stars will have plenty of opportunity to impress with the draft now only a matter of months away.

The exciting Mac Andrew (Berwick), Miller Bergman (Berwick), Judson Clarke (Berwick) and Connor Macdonald (Doveton) have all been selected from the Stingrays in what is likely to be a fruitful draft period for the Shepley Oval-based NAB League outfit.

Star News Group interviewed Bergman - a beaming runner with plenty of scope for improvement - in May this year, where he spoke about his desire to make it to the AFL level, and how he’s used Covid as a way to improve not only his fitness, but his game.

“During games I just try and run as much as possible and be loud, then try and use it when I’ve got it,” he said.

“During the Covid lockdown (in 2020) I was running maybe three to four times a week.

“5km, 10km, then sometimes a short 1km run to just tick the legs over every now and then.

“Now that training is back, I run once or twice a week. I am preparing for the harder stages if I am able and lucky enough to get there.

“I have gone and watched North Melbourne train, I am a mad North Melbourne supporter, I have seen how hard they work at training, I have tried to get that into my own scenario.

“Keep fit and work hard, it is never going to get easier the higher you go.”

The 2021 NAB AFL Draft Combines with the Victorian combine to be held on 9 and/or 10 October in Melbourne - will assess each player’s physical strengths through several tests including 20-metre sprint, agility tests and vertical jump.

Lucky Lance ticks Sandown bucket list

By Jason Adams Lucky Lance recorded his first Victorian city win last Thursday night at Sandown Park for trainer and part-owner Gavin Kearns.

‘Lance’ defeated hot prospect Rebellious comfortably in the night’s Grade 5 final and continues to justify the decision by connections to purchase him.

“A mate of mine in Queensland, Robert Ayres, noticed him and we were looking to buy a dog. So we purchased him off Andy Lord and he’s been wonderful for us. I half own him with Robert and his family,” said Kearns.

He was bought after just one start at Temora in New South Wales in March. Ayres took training duties in Queensland and they quickly saw success.

He won six of his next 15 starts which included the Listed Chief Havoc Cup at Gunnedah in June.

“There weren’t too many races to target so he came down here for the Maturity in July.

Unfortunately we had to scratch as he was ill.

Since then he’s had four starts and won his past two at Sandown Park.

“We got him back to the track and here we are today.”

Lucky Lance is one of just three racing greyhounds at Kearns’ Churchill property. He’s dandenong.starcommunity.com.au

Lucky Lance recorded his first Victorian city win. been connected to the sport his whole life though has been on and off when it comes to training due to work.

“I’ve been training on and off for 30 years.

It’s getting hard for me, it’s getting tough to trial at times outside of working hours.”

“I work at the Yallourn Power Station looking after all of the conveyor systems, and have done that for 20-odd years now.”

He was introduced to the sport at a young age which planted the seeds for lifelong involvement.

“My dad had a few dogs when I was growing up and we used to walk them. He got out of it for a little bit then one of my mates bred a litter. He asked me if I wanted some of them, I got back involved and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Mac Andrew during his Berwick junior Picture: ROB CAREW days. 183964

Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

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STAR JOURNAL 19

SPORT

All smiles. Melissa Julius brings The Garden back to scale after their impressive win at Sandown.

Ben Melham finds the perfect split and drives Veranskova to victory at Sandown. 248979

248979

The Garden shows growth

By David Nagel It’s common knowledge that you can have some great fun with a good racehorse and that’s exactly the case with the Symon Wildetrained The Garden who continued his early progression with a strong win at Sandown Lakeside on Wednesday.

The Garden – who is unplaced and has now won three of his five career starts – is a real character around the stable of Wilde and has attracted some great admirers.

And there are none bigger than apprentice jockey Melissa Julius, who piloted the talented Shooting to Win/Nicky Nocky four-yearold gelding to a solid all-the-way win in the $50,000 BenchMark 64 Handicap (1400m).

Julius, who gave nothing else a chance, said she is continually amused by the antics of the exciting prospect, who over raced after showing his cheeky side in the barriers before the race.

“He’s been like that all along and I think I spend half my life laughing at him because he’s just such a dag of a horse,” Julius told Racing. com after the race.

“He’s a pleasure to have around, he’s got the best personality, and even in the barriers today he was having a bit of a wobble around.

“He relaxed beautifully, and we were going steady enough and I was really happy, but he just wanted to get on with the job. It would have been nice if a horse had of come to us a little bit early, instead of leaving him alone out in front.

“As he steps up in grade the task will get a little bit harder and we probably won’t see the bottom of him for a little while which is really exciting.”

Julius rode The Garden in his first two outings, but relinquished the ride to star-jockey Craig Williams for his next two, including a soft four-length victory at Geelong on August 13.

Julius was thankful to regain the ride, thanking Wilde and Grand Syndicates National Syndicate Manager Sam Lyons for showing some faith in their stable apprentice.

“I was so excited to get back on him, especially with the promise he is showing, and I can’t thank Symon (Wilde) and Sam Lyons enough,” she said.

“It’s not always easy to get back on them after Willo (Williams) has won on them, especially as well as he did, and what he (The Gardens) is showing is really exciting.”

Stable Foreman Liam Hoy said The Garden was an exciting prospect who had not disgraced himself in a strong $135,000 race at Caulfield in late July.

“I think we’ll just work him through the grades, but I’ll leave that to Symon and Sam, who have placed him perfectly throughout, but that was his last chance in three-year-old grade at Caulfield, and he didn’t disgrace, so there’s so much upside with this bloke.

“His best is going to be in the autumn, we’re extremely excited, and thanks very much to Sam for another opportunity with one of their good ones.

“He’s always at the sales Sam, got his eye on 20 STAR JOURNAL

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The Garden fights off all-comers to take out race four at Sandown on Wednesday. 248979 the cheaper ones, and it just goes to show they can come in any shape, size, or price, and we’re only too happy to be associated with him and hopefully it can continue.”

Hoy said The Garden was not only impressive, but still had room for improvement.

“He’s very progressive, but it did look like he wanted to get keen the first 600 there, so he’s still got a lot to learn,” he said.

“Melissa sat very confident at the top of the straight, and it looked like he had that horse covered half way up the running, so it was a very good win.”

Cranbourne trainer Cindy Alderson might also have a good one on her hands after her four-year-old mare Veranskova enjoyed the benefits of a great ride from Ben Melham to win the $50,000 BenchMark 64 Fillies and Mares Handicap (1300m) The daughter of Written Tycoon/Kirvinsky made it two wins from six starts after gaining an economical run throughout. Melham poked her through, one off the fence at the 200, to kick clear for a nice win.

Alderson was delighted with the victory – that came off a short one-week back up.

“She’s probably found the quick backup a little too much, she’s a very slow learner, but she’s got good ability,” Alderson said.

“I think down the straight (Flemington)

Tuesday, 31 August, 2021

would be ideal for her now, we’ve just got to get her grading up high enough to get there.”

Alderson said her progressive mare was learning her profession on the job.

“She’s a big cumbersome girl and she’s had to learn her race craft on the track, she doesn’t always get it right but she’s been consistent and has good ability so it’s been good to see her breakthrough in town now,” she said.

“The other day with the blinkers on and going forward from a wide draw she probably did a little too much work, but today she got a better run-in transit and that probably made the difference.”

Melham, the only hoop to ride a double on the card, said Veranskova was in a bit of a grumpy mood before the race.

“She’s a nice mare, she was on the quick backup, had plenty of weight and was a bit cranky today,” Melham explained.

“I was a bit concerned about it, but we had a good trip in behind the speed and got a good run back to the inside at the right time and she was too good.

“She was quite cantankerous, but luckily that didn’t affect her, and it was a good solid win in the end.”

Racing returns to Sandown Lakeside this Wednesday, 1 September.

Pictures: PAT SCALA/RACING PHOTOS

Ben Melham scored the first leg of a winning double on the Cindy Alderson-trained Veranskova. 248979 dandenong.starcommunity.com.au