NEWS DESK
Heartless thieves stun the Strikers PENINSULA Strikers soccer club members are still in shock after thieves broke into their clubrooms on New Year’s Eve. President Mark Brandon discovered the break-in at the club’s Centenary Park headquarters on McClelland Drive. “Initially I thought that the attempted break-in had failed but, once police arrived, it became clear what had happened,” Brandon said. “Thieves got in through the roof damaging four separate ceilings, two toilets, the bar and our storeroom. They also removed a safe bolted to a wall and stole its entire contents, leaving us well short of funds for the coming season.” But the theft of charity tins left him shaking his head in disbelief. “My god niece had placed tins in the club to raise funds for her daughter’s fight against brain cancer and, although these tins were well marked, they were stolen as well. “There was a photo album placed in front of the tins and two photos were removed from the album. “It’s one thing for the club to lose money and not have insurance, but to steal money being raised for 10-month-old Aurora Hall is another and I still can’t come to terms with that. “Aurora was diagnosed with cancer at eight
Shocked: Strikers president Mark Brandon is still coming to grips with the robbery.
months and, since then, doctors have remover 80 per cent of the tumour and the child is undergoing chemotherapy.
“Her parents are juggling their jobs with their daughter’s medical treatment and everyday life and now this heartless act.” Detective Senior Sergeant Miro Majstorovic, of Frankston CIU, said it appeared the offenders were in the building for some time. “They have gone through the building jemmying internal doors. They have stolen from the safe and also stolen alcohol.” He said police were awaiting forensic results to advance their investigations. The Strikers will again raise money for Aurora at their season launch at Centenary Park on Saturday 27 February. Games will be held 1pm-5pm and, at 5.30pm Frankston mayor Cr James Dooley will open the club’s new training ground extension and floodlights. This will be followed by a game between explayers and peninsula celebrities. All soccer enthusiasts are encouraged to attend. Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call Frankston police or Brandon via email at president@peninsulastrikers.com Craig Mackenzie
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Jogging the point for the memory UP to 300 people are expected to participate in Alzheimer’s Australia’s memory walk and jog at Point Nepean National Park, Sunday 24 January. The fundraising event is part of Alzheimer’s Australia’s efforts to raise awareness about dementia across Victoria. They estimate that 3240 of the state’s 81,000 people with dementia live on the Mornington Peninsula. Without a medical breakthrough that figure is
predicted to rise to 10,153 people by 2050. The memory walk and Jog starts at the Quarantine Station with a 7 kilometre run at 8am, and 3.5km walk and 3.5km run at 9.30am. The event finishes at 11am. The idea of holding a memory walk and jog started in Homebush NSW and has grown, with events held late last year at Geelong and Bendigo. Other events are planned early this year at Doncaster and Albury Wodonga.
Alzheimer’s Australia hopes to raise $50,000 through the event at Point Nepean. “Many participants walk in memory of loved ones who have died from dementia and for those living with a diagnosis,” spokesperson Christine Bolt said. For more information visit reg.memorywalk. com.au/vic/mornington-peninsula/ The national dementia helpline number is 1800 100 500, fightdementia.org.au/vic
Harbour a test for Mornington’s junior sailors MORNINGTON Yacht Club juniors enjoyed the scenery – but not the wild weather – at the recent Laser, 420 and Optimist class championships in Sydney. Races were held at Newcastle, Sandringham (NSW), Rose Bay, Botany Bay and on Sydney Harbour, with Rear Commodore Chris Jackson saying the wet, windy days had posed “a big challenge” for the young group. “They have certainly learnt heaps, and return much more experienced.”
The Optimists, especially, copped a beating on Botany Bay. “During the first few days there were gusts over 25 knots and over 100mm of rain,” Mr Jackson said. “Visibility was so poor that a support boat had to turn on its powerful lights to show the finish line. The kids got much better at avoiding spectacular nose dives and capsizing on the run. “Sailing at the end of Kingsford Smith runway was also interesting. On the last day three Optimists were laid flat as a 747 flew low overhead.”
Undaunted: Lachie Weber battles the elements.
The Western Port Whisperer WELL it’s now 2016 and The Whisperer and Mrs Whisperer would like to welcome everyone to a brand new year. While they have been told there will be many changes in this new year, thus far the only one of note is people having to get used to writing 2016 instead of 2015. *** THE definition of a single word can be debated among various people. There is one word even Mr & Mrs Whisperer can agree on the definition of: ‘temporary’. This word generally means for a short time, or as a short term measure before a long term solution is found. It is with great effort that Mr & Mrs Whisperer try not to scratch their heads every time they drive through the intersection of Graydens and Boes Road, where a ‘temporary’ roundabout was installed over 18 months ago. It seems strange, that while the road safety message is being constantly repeated in many facets of society, the process of finding a permanent solution to this problem intersection (with a long history of collisions) has dragged
on for such a period of time. *** SPEAKING of ‘temporary’, The Whisperer is wondering if the wait for the directional signage to Hastings and other missing signs from the Peninsula Link will drag on until Christmas 2016. After being informed that the signs were to be installed by Christmas 2015, The Whisperer is (once again) disappointed this has dragged into another calendar year. Just as the Whisperer and Mrs Whisperer are left scratching their heads (something which happens regularly on the roads), it is not uncommon for the average motorist driving along Peninsula Link to scratch their heads wondering where towns like Hastings, Bittern, Crib Point or Mount Martha are located. Hopefully these much campaigned for signs magically appear sometime soon. *** THE Whisperer spies, with his little eye, something beginning with ‘g’. The Whisperer is not referring to Graydens Road, or even government, but rather one of the old chestnut problems that seems to have risen again like some zombie in a cheap film. The thing
beginning in ‘g’ is graffiti, and in particular offensive graffiti. It seems in our municipality, there is no time limit to remove graffiti from properties, especially tags that are offensive. The Whisperer and Mrs Whisperer are art aficionados and don’t mind viewing the occasional mural or two. There is nothing glamourous or impressive about graffiti attacking public institutions or individuals, especially when the said graffiti sits in full view of the public for anywhere between two months and two years. Unfortunately, it is the attitude of our local government to sit on their hands and pretend it can’t do anything about it, when clearly there are options for it to do so. If our sister cities to the north (Casey and Frankston) can have comprehensive policies to remove graffiti from most properties in their municipalities, why can’t these policies be implemented on the Mornington Peninsula? *** HEARD a whisper? Let the Whisperer know: westernportwhisperer@gmail.com
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Western Port News 19 January 2016
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