NOVEMBER 14, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
(Damjan Janevski)
There’s a bear in there It’s going to be a beary good Christmas this year. Salvation Army Employment Plus Work for the Dole participants in St Albans have made nearly 250 teddy bears for the Wyndham City Salvation Army Corps’ Christmas Toy appeal, which will go to the children of families in need over the festive season. Envision Employment Work for the Dole supervisor Chris said the group of 15 was initially tasked with building 200 signature bears in 26 weeks using donated materials for the toy appeal. He said despite a slow start due to sewing skill levels and language barriers, the group met its target long before deadline – and then made an extra 48 bears to donate. Work for the dole advisor Kelly Meehan said even though the group project had now finished, a number of the participants have chosen to stay on as volunteers to keep making the bears. “Our participants have displayed a tremendous work ethic as the quality and quantity of their output shows,” she said. Wyndham Salvos captain Kim Haworth added: “The whole aspect of it is to teach people who are long-term unemployed new skills to be able to find work.” KELLY MEEHAN
Charlene Macaulay
Pledge for day shift PSOs By Charlene Macaulay Protective Services Officers (PSOs) will man Werribee train station during the day from next year under a Liberal Party plan to curb crime at transport hubs. The Liberal Party has promised it will assign a second shift of PSOs to Melbourne’s most dangerous train stations, including at Werribee, which will run from 10am-6pm if it wins this month’s election. Western Metropolitan MP Bernie Finn said in the past four years, harassment and public
nuisance offences had gone up by 127 per cent at Werribee train station, while assaults were up 20.4 per cent. “Werribee is one of 20 stations that has one of the worst crime rates,” Mr Finn said. “I’ve been told by a number of people that Werribee is not a pleasant place to be. “This is a win-win for the local community … it will bring peace of mind to people, especially women and kids.” Liberal candidate for Werribee, Gayle Murphy, said she had seen first-hand the
impact PSOs had had on making commuters feel safe at night. All of Wyndham’s train stations – both metropolitan and V/Line – are staffed with PSOs every night from 6pm until the last train. Werribee and Hoppers Crossing were among the first stations to get PSOs in 2012 when they were rolled out under the then-Liberal government. Last year, PSOs were given new powers to target anti-social behaviour and crime at stations, in particular the power to arrest a person who has breached their parole, conduct searches for illicit drugs and request details Liberal candidate Gayle Murpy and Liberal MP from people who have witnessed a crime. Bernie Finn at Werribee station. (Damjan Janevski)