“THE STAR” Tuesday, July 12, 2016 - PAGE 27
Local hero retires The Inspector credited the support of his wife, Margaret for ensuring success and stability in his career. “She has supported me nonstop for 40 years and without support nobody would be able to get through a job like this,” he said. “It is a difficult job but it is extremely rewarding. It is a fantastic career and I would highly recommend it to anybody who is considering joining.”
AFTER 40 years of dedicated service to the police force, Inspector Graeme Sprague retired from his role at the Wonthaggi Police Station last week. The Bass Coast retiree said he always aspired to join the force and serve the community before he was sworn in on February 9, 1976. “I was always interested in police work. My brother was already in the force and he gave me great feedback and understanding of what the job required,” he said. “I trained for five months at the Police Academy just after it had moved to Glen Waverly. It was just a building with a dirt track around it back then.” Inspector Sprague first served as a Constable at the northern metropolitan stations before moving into criminal investigation as a detective. After hard work and further training he was promoted to a Sergeant role at City West in 1987. “I went through quite extensive training over the years and undertook a number of courses to move up through the ranks,” he said. Inspector Sprague noted his work in the counter terrorism coordination unit as a career highlight. After having attained an Inspector role in 2001, Sprague worked for the next six years in counter terrorism and travelled to London following the 2005 bombings. “I was granted an opportunity to work with the London Metropolitan Police and I was sent there as part of the Prime Minister’s delegation under Operation Kinship,” he said. “It was all about seeing the implications of the bombings firsthand. There was a lot of uncertainty but it was a pretty amazing experience because I got to meet and brief then-Prime Minister John Howard.” “It was certainly a career highlight.”
Stellar service: Inspector Graeme Sprague retired from the Wonthaggi Police Station last week after 40 years’ service in the force. Inspector Sprague returned to Monash to work five years as a local community commander before moving to the Bass Coast in 2012 for a sea change and to take on the local commander position. Technology in the force has changed over the years with upgrades from initial typewriter training to filming police interviews; however the Inspector said the approach to members’ health has been the biggest positive change.
“It has been difficult to guide members through their health and wellbeing while responding to critical incidents. Mental health resources were very limited when I first started out but now there is a different approach to caring for members,” he said. “There are now a lot of services available to ensure all members are taking care of themselves and are linked in with professional support.”
Wave of support for better pool PLANS for the replacement of the two smaller pools with a purpose built children’s pool and play area, new wet deck area and diving blocks around the main pool are just some of the key items put to the South Gippsland Shire for consideration . Other ideas put forward after community consultation and a summer survey conducted by the Friends of the Mirboo North Swimming Pool planning group included pool access for people with disabilities; installation a wheelchair hoist; and disability access to amenities with improved parking and buildings. The proposal also recommends the demolition of the existing kiosk and change rooms to be replaced with new purpose built amenities to incorporate a cafe quality facility and outdoor seating area designed for year round access while the pool is closed. A large number of submissions requested longer operating hours during the summer season and a new heating system in the pools. The future of the Mirboo North Swimming Pool is in the hands of South Gippsland Shire Council as the planning group takes into consideration community consultations for a master plan, due prior to Council elections in October. President of the redevelopment subcommittee Jodie Pincini said the survey received a large majority of positive feedback from the community with 250 formal submissions made. “We have put the proposal to Council which asks it to consider a range of things suggested by the community when drawing up the master plan,” Ms Pincini said. “We put a formal submission to Council which summarised all of the contributions made through the survey. We have asked for all changes to the
The project will be accompanied by $50,000 under the 20 Million Trees program for acquisition and planting of native tress with the Bass Coast Landcare Network. The Green Army provides opportunities for
Centre to stop addiction ONE local resident has come up with a bright idea in his mission to help young drug addicts in South Gippsland.
Pool plans: after extensive community consultation Friends of Mirboo North Swimming Pool sent a redevelopment proposal to South Gippsland Shire which will draw up a master plan by the summer season. facility to be incorporated into the one plan.” Council allocated $1.9 million to the redevelopment of the Mirboo North Swimming Pool after five years of community campaigning to redevelop the “vital” town asset. “If the plan incorporates the ideas raised in the survey it will cost more than what Council has budgeted for. We are positive that the community
will support the project and raise any extra money not covered by the budget,” Ms Pincini said. “The Mirboo North community is very passionate about the pool and has been strong in saying they will support it.” Friends of the Mirboo North Swimming Pool hope to obtain and adopt a master plan by next summer.
Green Army project backed Following a successful election, the Coalition Government will deliver a new Green Army project for the Bass Coast and Powlett River catchment.
Great graduate: Inspector Graeme Sprague of Wonthaggi Police Station retired last week after 40 years’ service to the community. Here he is pictured at his graduation from the Police Academy in 1976.
young Australians aged 17-24 years to gain training and experience, which will assist them in the future to find jobs while generating real benefits for the local environment. The project will create vegetation corridors in the Bass Coast and Powlett River catchment, assist in the creation and protection of a habitat for the threatened southern brown bandicoot, and remove priority weeds and replace them with indigenous plants.
“This project will help to ensure that Powlett River catchment is protect and threatened species’ habitats are strengthened,” Mr Broadbent said. “The Green Army will work in partnership with the Bass Coast Landcare Network to deliver the projects.” The Green Army has been a huge success with 1145 projects announced nationally and more than 700 projects already rolled out in urban, rural and remote areas.
Mardan’s Tonny White said he has seen a number of young people in the region turn to drugs over the years and plans to put a plan into action to help those at risk. “I have helped a number of friends overcome drug addiction over the years and I think we need to be putting together resources to help with the problem in the area,” he said. Mr White has proposed the installation of a new Community Drop In Centre in one of the vacant shop spaces in Bair Street, Leongatha. “It would be a space for young people to go and talk about their experiences. There would be board games, table tennis and general lounge areas for them to socialise in a safe space,” he said. “The program would require a youth worker to be on hand for a couple of hours a week, so we would require support from an appropriate candidate to get the project off the ground.” Mr White said he plans to put a petition in local businesses to gain support for the project before presenting the plan to South Gippsland Shire Council. Council representatives agreed Mr White would need to first obtain substantial support from the community before the proposal is to be considered. Community strengthening officer Sophie Dixon said a petition may be a way to “get the ball rolling.” “Projects like this must have a need from the community, otherwise we cannot do anything to support it,” she said. “We would need to receive interest from the community and go from there. Council would then look into what it can do to support the project and then we could make a start.”