Connecting people and communities
Friday, 30 November, 2012 Page 5
Going the extra smile wins monthly Shop Local award of commerce, the campaign promotes the benefits of shopping locally rather than online or out of town. The monthly award includes a $1000 advertising package covering the Independent and its EasyFinder business directory. Shoppers should send nominations of 50 words or less to: Shop Local, PO Box 407, Geelong, 3220; email editorial@geelongindependent. com.au, or fax 5249 6799. Nominations should include the customer’s full name, address and phone number for verification purposes. Participation in Shop Local Geelong is free to local traders. Free Shop Local posters and window stickers are available by phoning the Independent on 5249 6700.
COMPLAINTS to Victoria’s Energy and Water Ombudsman from the Barwon region have increased 26 per cent, according to the organisation’s annual report. The surge outstripped a state-wide increase of 18 per cent over the previous financial year. The ombudsman received 2704 cases from the region in 2011/2012. Geelong produced 2401, Borough of Queenscliffe 15 and Surf Coast 288. Delayed bills accounted for 190 energy complaints, high billing 163, imminent disconnection or restrictions 149, feed-in tariffs 148 and billing errors 113. Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said the increase was mainly due to a 31 per cent rise in electricity complaints. Affordability was a continuing issue for many energy and water customers in the region, she said. “We are concerned about the rising number of customers finding it more and more challenging to pay their bills and often waiting until they get energy disconnection or water restriction notices before contacting their company.” WHEN YOU’RE SMILING: Care Pharmacy’s Kate Mackrell receives the monthly Shop Local Geelong Customer Service Award from the Independent’s Tory Favro. Picture: TOMMY RITCHIE 90898
North top in burglary By NOEL MURPHY CORIO and Norlane homes are the most likely to be burgled in regional Victoria, according to new figures. The two northern suburbs head the RACV’s list of the top-10 most-burgled areas in regional Victoria. The dubious honour followed statistics showing one in 37 houses in Corio/ Norlane was burgled in 2011/2012. The state regional average was one in 86. The RACV warned that its bad news came amid the Christmas shopping season and approaching holidays, when burglaries increased.
The figures drew an angry response from northern suburbs state MP John Eren, who demanded that Premier Ted Baillieu honour a pre-election promise of 70 extra police in Geelong. Mr Eren said elderly people in Corio and Norlane were “very frightened’’ about the risk of burglary. Drug use was rife in the suburbs as part of a regional ice-abuse epidemic, he said. “The Government has a lot work to do,” Mr Eren said. “We know that in preventing crime certainly a strong presence of police helps in that area.
“The current Government, when in opposition, promised Geelong an extra 70 police. The Premier then made a strong comment about how you had to get your head out of sand and get those 70 extra police. “The Government needs to honour its commitment, particularly in Corio and Norlane.’’ The remaining locations on the RACV’s top-10 list were Mildura, Robinvale, Shepparton, Morwell, Wendouree, Sale, Longford, Sebastopol/Delacombe and Mooroopna. The figures were an improvement for Corio/Norlane, which recorded burglaries of one in 30 houses the previous year.
The figures, based on Victoria Police and Australian Bureau of Statistics data, reported a seven per cent increase in burglaries across regional Victoria. RACV’s Peter Brindley cautioned residents to reduce their risks of burgulary. He suggested professional security monitoring of home alarms along with basics such as ensuring doors and windows were locked when away, even for short trips. Households should also be cautious of unwittingly providing burglars with information on social media, he said.
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BIG smiles for a customer with a terminally ill wife have won a Bell Post Hill pharmacy a monthly Shop Local Geelong Customer Service Award. Nicholas Bottrell nominated Care Pharmacy and its “team of professionals”. “Infections smiles by the entire staff made it an absolute pleasure shopping there during my late wife’s ovarian cancer,” he wrote. The Independent presented the November award to pharmacy manager Kate Mackrell this week. “It’s lovely that our customers are happy with our service because we take our jobs very seriously,” she said. The award is part of the Independent’s Shop Local Geelong campaign. With the support of City of Greater Geelong and the backing of the city’s chamber
Complaints on billing up 26%