The Great Southern Star

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012 - $1.20

Farming insights from across South Gippslandin the South Coast Farmer, FREE inside today.

Pulling theplug

Pool closures inevitable: mayor

By Brad Lester

POOLS will close in the future, South Gippsland Shire Coun-cil mayor Cr Warren Raabe warned last week.

The cost of operating pools was ex-cessive given dwindling attendances and sooner or later, council will have to close pools, the mayor said.

Councils fi nal aquatic strategy gives pool committees greater oppor-tunity to apply for grants and survive than the fi rst draft.

However councillors were far from positive about pools futures when they adopted the Strategic Direction for Aquatic Facilities in South Gippsland last Wednesday.

In my opinion, we cannot afford six swimming pools and some of them

will have to close, Cr Raabe said.He warned the Korumburra and

Mirboo North communities that while the strategy orders master plans for those pools to be undertaken in the 2012-13 fi nancial year, those master plans may not contain positive news.

The master plans may say the (at-tendance) fi gures do not warrant an upgrade of the pool, Cr Raabe said.

Continued on page 3.

Hands up for outdoor pools: Korumburra and Mirboo North outdoor pools have hosted numerous school swimming carnivals lately. SG SPLASH in Leongatha has a suitable pool but no seating, so where will schools go if outdoor pools are closed under South Gippsland Shire Councils aquatic strategy? These students from St Laurences, Leongatha, St Josephs Korumburra and South Coast Christian College competed in their sports recently at Korumburra. More swimming sports on page 55.

THE STAR, Tuesday, February 28, 2012

only a handful of rural shows left in Victoria.

Saturdays show saw horses, cattle, sheep, work-ing dogs, chooks, alpacas, pigeons and bands all strutting their stuff. There was also a fi ne selection of local produce for pur-chase and craft exhibits on display.

The rides were a big hit this year, with many kids scrambling to ride inside an infl atable bubble that rolled across the still wa-ters of a swimming pool. The mechanical bull ride also continues to attract many most of them sur-prised by the fact that its much harder than it looks.

ResultsFoster Show Idol: Solo artist 14 years and

under - 1st Maddy Barker,

2nd Kate Facey, 3rd Bon-nie Orgill.

Solo instrumental 14 years and under: 1st Louis Wheeler - Piano, 2nd Sara Midwinter - Flute.

Solo artist 15 to 20 years old: 1st Lachie Ran-ford - guitar, 2nd Imogen Whittaker - piano.

Solo Artist 21 years and over: 1st Leon Green, 2nd Phil Vaudrey.

Junior band/group: 1st Rockenspiele - Maddy Barker, Kate Facey, Tal-iya Barker, 2nd Safe and Sound - Sara Midwinter, Sam Hall, Jess Menheere and Joseph Poliswrong.

Open band/group: 1st Alicia and Tyler, 2nd Brig-id and Tyler.

Foster Show Girl:Miss Petite: Jayda

Simpson of Leongatha.

Foster fi res up for showTHE Foster and Dis-trict Agricultural Show is one of those must-do events on the summer calendar.

Going strong after more than 100 years, the show has played a vital part in the history of the town not to mention the region. Sadly, it is one of

Miss Junior: Kira May of Leongatha.

Miss Teenager: Brit Roffey of Foster.

Master Tot: Lachie OConnor of Flinders.

Sheaf tossing:OConnell Motors

Novice toss: 1st Callum Murphy, 2nd Greg Mur-phy, 3rd Adam Murphy.

Exchange Hotel Open Handicap: 1st Adam Mur-phy, 2nd Roy Beaumont, 3rd Greg Murphy, 4th

John Sagasser.Landmark South

Gippsland championship toss: 1st Adam Murphy, 2nd John Sagasser, 3rd Ian Matheson, 4th Roy Beaumont.

Clydesdale Section B harness:

Open driver - 1st Shan-non Cantweel, 2nd K. Buckleigh.

Local driver - 1st Fiona Mottram

Driven Shetland/

miniature - 1st Shan-non Cantwell, 2nd K. Buckleigh.

Driven pony 13h and under - 1st K. Buckleigh, 2nd J. Taylor.

Champion driven horse/pony - J. Taylor

Reserve champion driven horse/pony: K. Buckleigh.

More results and photos in next weeks Star.

Foster fi res up for show

Zac Burrows: the great grandson of local identity Ada Gilby was doing his best to stay upright in the infl atable bubble.

Riding high: Kaity-Lee Zuidema was only too happy to show off Finn Wizz. The pair won smart-est on parade in the over 16 section.

Above: High fl ier: Corner Inlet Pony Club member Marni Ham-ilton launches herself (with a little help from her horse) in Saturdays jumping event.

Right: Big day out: Stony Creeks Sharon and Peter Helms had a great day with sons Jesse and Kyra.

THE STAR, Tuesday, February 28, 2012 - PAGE 3

Continued from page 1.Pools cost council

and rate-payers - $54,982 on average every week they are open. Over the next 10 years, council will pay $9.816 million to maintain and renovate outdoor pools at Toora, Foster, Korumburra, Mir-boo North and Poowong.

Operating, maintaining and undertaking capital works at South Gippsland SPLASH will cost $2.47 million between 2011-12 and 2015-16.

Swimming pools cost our community a fortune that I dont believe we can afford, Cr Raabe said.

The master planning process will expose all warts and all costs to coun-cil and the community.

That sentiment was echoed by Cr Jim Fawcett.

The long term out-look for pools as they exist now is not good. I would say to the pool communities, to get your fundraising plans done, he said.

Cr David Lewis said the strategy was tough, but fair.

Its been a commend-able outcome and Im sure that by harnessing the en-ergy of our communities, we will do some great things, he said.

The Toora pool com-mittee lobbied council to fund a master plan for that pool in 2012-13 instead of 2013-14, but council voted against doing so.

Cr Kieran Kennedy said the pool had received substantial council and government funding to-wards upgrades, and Mir-boo North and Korumbur-ra were in greater need.

Cr Fawcett said Poo-wong and Foster pool committees would most likely ask for their plans to be brought forward.

I am anxious that we get the master plans right for Mirboo North and Ko-rumburra. They are the guinea pigs and the others will benefi t from that, he said.

Cr Mohya Davies, who moved the motion calling for the Toora master plan to be brought forward, said the pools future

needed to be secured giv-en it serviced the lower socio-economic commu-nity of Corner Inlet.

I really believe that Toora has been sold out. I believe there hasnt been fair consultation. Mirboo North has been the true winner in this. Is it all equal and fair? Im not sure that it is, she said.

Cr Jeanette Harding agreed: The Toora pool provides longer hours than other pools and ser-vices the community in the eastern part of the shire. It is a vital part of the town and I would go as far as saying it is the heart of the little town of Toora.

Cr Jennie Deane said all pools had been treated equally but said pools needed to lure more younger people.

Toora Swimming Pool president Rachel Brown was disappointed the master plan would be delayed.

She added the com-mittee was appalled the strategy classed the pool as outdoor, with no recog-nition it is covered, heat-ed and guaranteed to be open for long hours seven months of the year.

Ms Brown called on council to extend the ser-vices offered at Toora and require communities to fi nd 66 per cent of fund-ing for upgrades, not 70 per cent.

We are constantly being told by council to increase patronage and so far this season our gate numbers have increased by fi ve per cent. This is in spite of our inclement weather, she said.

The strategy includes trigger points for closing pools, including ongoing poor attendances and ma-jor unexpected infrastruc-ture failure. Council will pay up to 30 per cent of the cost of upgrade of pools, if community fundraising and grants amounted to 70 per cent.

Many communities have pledged to lift at-tendances in a bid to save their pools.

Derrick Ehmke, execu-tive offi cer of the Mirboo North and District Commu-

nity Foundation, told coun-cil: We believe the commu-nity can increase the usage of the pool and improve its economic situation.

Mirboo North pool committee president Liz Radcliff said the group would work with the Mir-boo North and District Community Bank, Mir-boo North and District Community Foundation and service organisations on fundraising models.

Poowongs Wendy Tilling thanked council for taking a community minded approach to the process, and described the revised strategy as a fairer and more positive draft.

Most importantly, we all now have access to grants. Yes, it means fundraising and coming up with 70 per cent of the funds, but for a passionate community such as ours, this is not out of the ques-tion, she said.

Ms Tilling said the Poowong pool must have a master plan written in partnership with the com-munity, as that would be paramount to driving fundraising.

Yes, this draft does not give a certain future and it is not silver lined. But at least we now have hope that our pool will continue to operate for our ever expanding popu-lation, she said.

Pulling the plug

Fine wine: Lucinda Gromotka, Folkert Janssen, Neil Travers, Dom Brusamarello, Dean Roberts and Michael Malone are looking forward to the Inverloch Food and Wine Festival, on this weekend. Turn to pages 38 and 39 to fi nd out more.


By Sarah Vella

KARSTEN Krohn of Leon-gatha is going to be celebrat-ing his 48th birthday tomorrow (Wednesday), but with a twist.

As a leap year baby, or leapling, Mr Krohn is lucky enough, or per-haps, unlucky enough to have been born on February 29.

This means that even though in real terms he will be turning 48, it will actually only be the 12th birthday he has been offi cially able to celebrate.

A leap year occurs every four years, as the actual time taken for the earth to revolve around the sun is ap-proximately 365 days and 6 hours. This means that every four years, an extra 24 hours have accumulated, re-sulting in the addition of the 29th day to February.

When Karsten tells people his birth date, they often dont believe him. He says that the worst thing about being born on February 29 is that he didnt get to celebrate his birthday properly each year when he was growing up.

He instead chooses to celebrate on March 1, which Mr Krohn says doesnt feel quite the same as be-ing able to acknowledge his proper

birthday. When he was younger, Mr Krohn

said it was harder to cope with being

a leap year baby, but now that he is a little older and wiser, he doesnt mind so much.

The fewer birthdays you have af-ter turning 40 the better, he said.

Friends and family also like to

make light of the fact that Mr Krohnsbirthdays are formally only every fouryears, by giving him childrens birth-day cards depicting his birthday ageinstead of his offi cial age.

For Mr Krohn, the best thing aboutbeing a leapling was the year he cel-ebrated his tenth (fortieth) birthday,was the same year his children Justinand Brayden turned 10.

Mr Krohn shares his unusual birthdate with a few famous faces, includ-ing Australian comedian Frank Wood-ley and American rapper, Ja Rule. Aleapling is also the central character inThe Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, The Pirates of Penzance. The plot ofthe opera revolves around Frederic,who has offi cially turned 21, but hasnot yet had his 21st birthday.

This is one milestone Mr Krohnstill has to look forward to, which willtake place in 2048. He is anticipatingcelebrating his 21st birthday with hisfriends and family, who will all be intheir eighties.

While Mr Krohn has no offi cialplans for the party yet, he expects it tobe a day full of merriment.

To celebrate this year, Mr Krohnwill be either going out for dinnerwith his family or playing nighttennis.

Birthday boy: Karsten Krohn is offi cially 48 tomorrow, but technically just 12.

Ready to rescue: Mat Driffi ll and Rachael Boler with two baby wombats. Theanimals are making positive progress and will one day be released back into the wild.

Animal emergency? Phone 13 000 Wildlife Animal emergency? Phone 13 000 Wildlife rescuer Mat, a Korumburra truck driver, will soon become a carer too.

Its the next level up, and a more serious commitment to the cause. While rescuers are out there collecting injured animals and the babies of dead ones, carers offer animals a round-the-clock commitment helping them to recover and prosper before they are again released back into the wild.

The trouble were fi nding is that people fi nd injured animals or the babies of dead ones, and take them home. They might fi nd a baby wombat in a pouch and when it becomes sick or is dying they think, Oh, I better fi nd out what to do. Thats when they take steps to fi nd out what to do, Rachel said.

We get animals that are so far behind the eight ball.

The duo, who is part of the Wildlife Victoria network, has put out a public plea: if you fi nd an injured native animal on the roads, or anywhere else, call 13 000 Wildlife (13 000 94535). Dont take them home and assume you can nurse them back to health.

A hapless baby wallaby, which Rachael is looking after, is a case in point.

Its had this gunshot wound to its tail. It probably happened while it was in its mums pouch, because its just a baby.

Someones found it and taken it home, looked after it for three weeks in their backyard, fed it milk from the supermarket it was so crook, she said.

It escaped and I got the call to rescue it. I started unwrapping the bandage and it was so septic. It was in a terrible state.

It wouldnt have lasted. Thank God it did escape. Its still touch and go whether it will survive, but its been on antibiotics for about two-and-a-half weeks.

Rachel said the scenario would not have been so dire if shed received the animal straight away.

The infection wouldnt have taken hold. We would have fi xed it all up and it would have been as happy as Larry, she said.

Rachael said the decision whether to put animals down was always a tough one.

Mat became an animal rescuer because of his step daughters interest in becoming a veterinarian. He took her to a wildlife rescuers course, and completed it too.

I found it very interesting and I was pretty lucky, because the fi rst animal I came across, a wombat, had a baby in its pouch. Rachael cared for it the whole way up until it was released into the wild. I pretty much caught the bug from there, he said.

Rachael, who came from

the city seven years ago, was horrifi ed at the animal carnage on local roads.

The only animals I saw were dead ones on the side of the road. I simply just took steps to become involved somehow. Now Ive got so involved that Im actually training new rescuers because I get rescue calls at all times of the night, she said.

Rachael is planning a rescuers course in the coming months. She said the area around Inverloch was in particular need of volunteers. The Star will publish details in the coming weeks, with dates and contact information.

Hello possum: a pair of brush-tailed possums are doing well under Rachaels care and will soon be released.

Man celebrates 12th birthdayMan celebrates 12th birthday

SMALL BUSINESS VICTORIA

Marketing Basics seminar

Good marketing can win you more businessThis hands-on and results-oriented seminar is for those with little marketing knowledge. Youll learn how to develop a marketing plan, how to identify your target market and gain tips on cost-effective marketing strategies to promote your business.

Date: 14 March 2012

Time: 10.00am 12.00pm

Fee: $20

Host: South Gippsland Shire Council

Where: Leongatha RSL, Gold Room Michael Place, Leongatha

Register today online atbusiness.vic.gov.au/businesseventsusing Event ID 8008

For further information please call Alison on 5622 6000

By Matt Dunn

MAT DRIFFILL and Rachael Boler know just how dangerous our roads can be es-pecially if youre a na-tive animal.

The animal lovers have

seen the traumatic aftermath of vehicles colliding with our furry friends, and its the very reason they are so committed to their care and rehabilitation.

While Rachel, from Kardella, has been a rescuer for about seven years, she has also been a carer for about four. Long time

BASS Coast Shire Council was inter-nationally recognised when its Geo-graphical Information Systems and Data Systems team received the Asia Pacifi c Spatial Excellence Award.

Having won the accolade late last year, rep-resentatives from the Surveying and Spatial Science Institute attended the monthly coun-cil meeting to present council employees with

the award. Infrastructure director Felicity Sist said the GIS team won the award for their inno-vative use of airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) and high quality drainage data, to create an in-novative strategic planning tool.

The system provides a way to predict what happens to waterways, land forms and foreshores as a consequence of large storm events and pre-dicted sea level rise, she said.

Understanding more about the fl ow charac-

teristics of our waterways and coastlines helps to inform future planning and land development for these areas.

The data looks at contours of up to half a metre; previously data was only able to monitor 10 metre contours. If Brisbane had access to the data before the fl oods early last year, authorities would have known exactly where fl ooding would occur, however they only had access to 25 metre contour data.

Council wins international award


By Simone Short

THERE has been no develop-ment on the Bass Coast Cultural Precinct, with funding to come from the State Government in place of rate payments for the Victorian Desalination Plant Project.

Minister for Agriculture and Food Security and the Minister for Water, Peter Walsh, made a social visit to the region last Thursday and met with Bass Coast mayor Cr Veronica Dow-man and CEO Alan Bawden.

Mr Walsh said the council raised the issue of the development of the ed-ucation precinct and turning the school site into a cultural and arts precinct.

Mr Walsh is involved in the cultural precinct because of his role in the desal project as Minister for Water, and said it was going to be a slow process.

Its got to be a step by step pro-cess, until the education precinct is done, and until the school is relocated, not much can happen, he said.

So it is a longer term project.Bass MLA Ken Smith invited the

minister to the electorate to bring him up to date with recent events and issues.

Mr Smith said the minister also dis-cussed the effects of desal in the Bass Coast.

We went to Bass Coast Shire Council where the mayor, CEO, com-munity and economic development director (Steven Piasente) and I talked with the minister on a range of issues, including the desal and possible effects of the future of the desal and the num-ber of workers who will move out of the area and possibly a small downturn in economy, but plans are in place for it to be minimal, he said.

Cultural precinct delay

The minister said the issue of coal seam gas was not raised by the council representatives.

Mr Walsh also met with a number of groups and organisations throughout the day, including discussions regard-ing recent fl ooding and the desal plant pipeline at an asparagus farm in Koo Wee Rup, a meeting with Westernport Water to discuss the extension of the dam wall at Candowie Reservoir, and meetings with local fi shermen and the Bass Coast Landcare Network.

Mr Walsh said his visit combined his different roles.

Its a mixture of a Minister for

Water and Minister for Agriculture; its something I do regularly as part of a commitment to get around to all the water authorities and meet with them to understand their businesses, he said.

It was a good chance to catch up with Westernport Water and just get a feel for the issues with the different groups were meeting with.

Mr Walsh said he was looking for-ward to meeting with the Landcare network to discuss weed and pest control.

Ive had quite a lot of correspon-dence with the Landcare groups down

here over the past 12 months, he said.

The Department of Primary In-dustries has got a major program on better enforcement of weed and pest animal management which is an issue right across the state.

Generally people do the right thing, but theres usually someone in an area who doesnt control their weeds, or doesnt control their rab-bits and we want DPI to take stronger action against those sorts of people, which we have been doing and its given very positive feedback.

Meeting with the Minister: Bass Coast Shire Council CEO Alan Bawden, community and economic devel-opment director Steven Piasente, Minister for Agriculture and Food Security and the Minister for Water, Peter Walsh, mayor Cr Veronica Dowman and Bass MP Ken Smith.

MINISTER for Water Peter Walsh said the State Govern-ment would vigorously defend claims for almost 300 days of lost time by AquaSure, in rela-tion to construction of the Wont-haggi desalination plant.

AquaSure has not approached the state with a formal variation of the contract for the Wonthaggi desalination plant, he said.

The only proposal they have pre-sented was in principle and without prejudice, which we have rejected as it would not reduce the overall cost im-pact on water customers bills.

Claims rejected

Police chase boysA POLICE offi cer caught a teen-

age boy after he and a friend fl ed from police last Saturday.

Senior Constable Rohan Michael of Leongatha Police gave chase after the boys failed to pull over during a routine intercept.

Police said at 9.50pm, the 16-year-old driver took off into Nerrena Road, accelerated over the speed limit and turned into Leon-gatha Secondary College, before dumping the vehicle and attempting to escape.

S/C Michael caught one boy, be-fore the other gave himself up to po-lice. A 16-year-old male from Venus Bay and 16-year-old male from Le-ongatha were arrested and charged with traffi c offences.

The vehicle belonged to the mother of one of the offenders.

Boat rescued A BOAT was rescued off Cape

Liptrap on Friday. The vessel with four passengers

on board broke down fi ve kilometres offshore after the motor overheated between Cape Liptrap and Arch Rock. Inverloch State Emergency Service towed the boat to Inverloch.


THE Mossvale Park Music for the People concert was a smash hit on Sun-day, drawing a big crowd of avid mu-sic lovers.

And with a smorgasbord of sounds on offer, theres little wonder that the events popularity continues to grow.

Kicked off by the South Gippsland Shire Brass Band, which is celebrating its 120th birthday, the non-profi t event is put together by the Mossvale Park Concert Committee. It is funded and supported by the South Gippsland Shire Council, with many employees working in a variety of roles.

The concert also featured the South Gippsland Wind Orchestra and Browns Cows Orchestra, comprising local volunteer musicians.

The Victorian Concert Orchestra was the headline act, with musicians donating their talents for free.

Mossvale Park is located at Berrys Creek. More photos in next weeks Star.

THE Mossvale Park Music for the People concert was

Music played for the people

Blowing up a storm: members of the South Gippsland Wind Orchestra, back from left: fl autists Daniel Holland and Julie Matthews; and front, from left: Kahlani Akarana (fl ute), Robin Simpson (timpani) and Greg Frank (clarinet). The group rehearses at Coal Creek, Korumburra, on Monday nights from 7.30pm. All are welcome.

In costume: Don Santin of the South Gippsland Shire Brass Band added a touch of comedy to the stage.

Simply brilliant: regular Mossvale Park Music for the People concert-goers Fay Longson and Joan Wilson.

Hey baby: Jumbunnas Leanne Richards with chil-dren Liam and Luhanna.


By Tony Giles

THERE was poten-tial disaster waiting to happen in McCa-rtin Street, Leongatha last Thursday, when a low-loader truck carrying an excava-tor had a close shave with powerlines.

The truck stopped just in time, but powerlines were sitting on the cabin of the excavator.

One of the workers from the truck asked if anyone had a broom, a wooden one of course.

The staff at Panthers Mensland helped out with the broom and the cables were safely removed from the cabin.

Heather Poletti of Fish Creek was walking with her grandchildren and saw the large truck go by and then suddenly stop.

There was a nasty consequence waiting to happen. It would have ended in tears, she said.

The lines could have

Disaster averted

come down on people or cars; power could have been cut to businesses for the rest of the day.

There are actually three lines that are too low. They need to be lifted or put underground.

Mrs Poletti said the sooner major roads through Leongatha were by-passed for heavy ve-hicles the better.

We see a lot of big trucks going through the town now. Its a matter of

time before these lines are brought down, she said.

The Star rang SP Aus-net and reported the fault when making enquiries yesterday (Monday). Ac-cording to the person at SP Ausnet, no one else had

reported the fault.He assured this news-

paper the concerns would be acted on.

One trader commented to The Star that the cables were too low and should be raised.

Handy tool: a trusty broom, with a wooden handle, helped remove powerlines from the cabin of an exca-vator last Thursday in Leongathas CBD.

A DANGEROUS intersection south-west of Leongatha will be temporarily closed as soon as resi-dential development is approved nearby.

South Gippsland Shire Council last Wednesday voted to close Simons Lane 30m east of the Bass Highway intersection when a planning permit is issued for any development in the Southern Leongatha Outline Development Plan area.

The closure will be temporary and remain in effect until Simons Lane is realigned and a new intersection is constructed north of the existing junction.

While the action would add to travel

times for residents and emergency services forced to detour, Cr Mimmie Jackson said the action was unavoidable for the safety of people in South Gippsland.

Cr Bob Newton said the matter needed fast-tracking.

We need this to happen and get up and running and we cant hold it up any longer, he said.

Cr David Lewis, however, was concerned council did not have enough information to make a decision now and said other roads in South Gippsland were as dangerous.

There is a lot of uncertainty as to how this will develop, even considering how the economy is going to go, he said.

Cr Lewis said reducing the speed limit and installing warning signs was more appropriate.

Cr Jim Fawcett said development to the south of Leongatha had been mooted since 2004 and action was needed.

There is no doubt the intersection of Simons Lane and the Bass Highway is dangerous, and any increase in development will increase the risk and because of that, the road needs to be realigned, he said.

Council also decided to rezone land to the north of Simons Lane, closer to the South Gippsland Highway, from Farming Zone to Low Density Zone. That would allow vacant land at 185 Simons Lane to be subdivided into 16 lots.

Housing to shut Leongatha road


POLICE BRIEFSPOLICE BRIEFS

Witnesses wanted: police call for anyone with in-formation regarding an assault incident at Safeway Caltex Service Station in Wonthaggi to come for-ward. They are looking for the four men circled in this photo.

Pipi thieves nabbed

Men wantedPOLICE are searching for four men involved in an assault in Wonthaggi last Saturday.

At around 4.30pm, a male vic-tim was fi lling his car with petrol at Safeway Caltex Service Station in Murray Street when he was ap-proached by four males.

One man punched the victim in the face, causing signifi cant fa-cial injuries.

The men then left the area on foot, heading towards McKenzie Street.

Police and ambulance offi cers attended at the scene but the four men had already left.

Bass Coast CIU detectives would like to hear from anyone who can identify the four depicted men from CCTV footage of the assault.

Police have obtained a descrip-tion of two of the men depicted. The taller male has blonde or san-dy coloured hair, and the shorter male has short brown hair, possi-bly with longer hair at the back.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Wonthaggi Police on 5672 1222.

Superbikes death

A SUPERBIKES competitor was killed in a fatal collision on Saturday.

The 17-year-old from Hope Island in Queensland was riding a 600cc bike at the circuit when he failed to take the right hand bend at the end of the main straight.

The teenager rode through the kitty litter, tarmac and grassed area and re-entered the track at turn three, where he was struck by two fellow competitors.

He died at the scene.

Sheepish crimeOFFENDERS let a sheep

loose in Wonthaggi after causing criminal damage to the Wonthaggi animal pound.

Between 5pm on Monday, February 20 and Tuesday, Feb-ruary 21, offenders cut a hole in the cyclone fence surrounding the pound.

A sheep escaped, but was cap-tured by Bass Coast Shire Council staff on the Tuesday.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact Wonthaggi Police on 5672 1222.

Door breakersTWO teenagers were appre-

hended after kicking in the door of the Foster Police Station around 1am last Sunday.

A 17-year-old from Foster and a 19-year-old from Wonthaggi have been charged with criminal damage and being drunk in a pub-lic place.

The police station door was boarded up and has since been repaired.

Pines alightPOLICE were called to a fi re

in pine trees in South Dudley last Sunday.

At around 3.30pm, Wonthaggi CFA attended and contained the fi re to an area of about 15 by 10 metres in Station Street.

Police spoke to three local children aged eight, nine and 10. The 10-year-old was cautioned for lighting the fi re.Over the limitA P-PLATER lost his licence

after being caught driving un-der the infl uence of alcohol last Sunday.

At around 12.30am, the 20-year-old Leongatha man was

intercepted by police in Peart Street, Leongatha and blew over .05.

He was issued with a penalty notice and received a $366 fi ne.Alcohol warning

A FEMALE driver was issued a penalty notice and fi ne for blow-ing .05 last Wednesday.

Police caught the women driv-ing with a positive blood alcohol reading when she passed through a preliminary breath testing site at around 5.30pm.

Leongatha Police Sergeant Dale McCahon said motorists needed to be more careful when counting their drinks.

This woman was only just over the limit and felt she would be under, but wasnt, he said.Smashing drunk

A 52-YEAR-OLD man was ar-rested after he was caught smash-ing bottles in Parr Street, Leon-gatha last Wednesday.

He was lodged in the cells in Wonthaggi, and received pen-alty notices for littering and being drunk in a public place.

Other enquiries are being made in relation to other charges.

TWO people have been fi ned for taking illegal catches of pipis at Venus Bay.

A phone call from a member of the public resulted in two people facing fi nes totalling $732 for taking nine litres each more than the legal limit of pipis.

The call to the 24 hour reporting line 13FISH (13 34 74) told of alleged illegal activities at Number 4 Beach.

Senior fi sheries offi cer Ian Carroll said the caller was able to provide detailed information in relation to descrip-tions of persons involved, location, observations of alleged illegal activity, vehicle description and registration.

A Yarram fi sheries offi cer attended a short time later and intercepted the man and woman said to be involved, Mr Carroll said.

An inspection and subsequent search of the alleged of-fenders vehicle was carried out.

Inside they found a total of 22 litres of pipis, 18 litres more than the prescribed catch limit of two litres per per-son at Venus Bay. A total of 18 litres were seized and re-turned to the water alive and the alleged offenders were issued infringement notices of $366 each.

The apprehension of the offenders at Venus Bay re-sulted directly from accurate information provided by the 13FISH caller, Mr Carroll said.

Anyone who sees or suspects illegal fi shing activity is urged to call the 24 hour reporting line 13FISH (13 34 74).

A community reference group established to monitor the collection of pipis at Venus Bay was not successful in applying for funding to employ a liaison offi cer to work with Asian collectors.

South Gippsland Shire Councillor Kieran Kennedy said Venus Bay would face more pressure from collectors, as people travelled closer to Melbourne due to rising fuel costs.

THREE Malaysian nationals have been jailed after they plead-ed guilty in the Latrobe Magis-trates Court on February 13 to charges relating to abalone traf-fi cking at Cape Liptrap.

Two male divers pleaded guilty to three charges, including traffi cking of a priority fi sh species, being abalone.

A third man, who drove the car used in the offences, pleaded guilty to two charges.

Two of the men lived in south east Melbourne, the other in northern Victoria.

Magistrate Steven Raleigh convicted all three men and sentenced them to 90-day jail terms with 14 days to be served and the remainder wholly suspended for one year.

The court heard an offi cer from Fisheries Victoria observed the diving activities of two of the men over several hours during the evening of February 9 at Cape Liptrap.

A Victoria Police state highway pa-trol later intercepted the three men driv-ing in a Honda Civic at Inverloch.

They were subsequently taken to Wonthaggi Police Station and remanded

in custody until their court hearing.Two backpacks, recovered from the

boot of the car, contained 26.75 kilo-grams of abalone meat.

No diving gear was found in the ve-hicle, but diving equipment was later recovered from coastal scrub at Cape Liptrap.

Two of the men were on expired vi-sas, while the third man had a current tourist visa, which was cancelled due to his fi sheries conviction.

Magistrate Raleigh ordered the for-feiture of the mens dive gear, the Honda Civic used in the offences and the 314 abalone meats.

The possession limit for abalone meat in Victoria is fi ve per person.

Magistrate Raleigh also imposed a Section 130 order, which prevents all three men from being in possession of abalone or abalone equipment within one kilometre of the Victorian coast for 10 years.

The men were ordered to pay a total of $501 in towing costs to the DPI for transporting the seized vehicle to secure premises.

Anyone observing suspect or illegal fi shing is encouraged to call the 24-hour reporting line 13 FISH (13 34 74).

Abalone traffi ckers jailed


Ask the expert: South Gippsland Shire sustainability advisor Lyndal Peterson, Racil Ilargi Meijer and Nicole Foss from the Automatic Earth, and seminar or-ganisers Lloyd Morcom and Malcolm McKelvie from the Baw Baw Sustain-ability Network.

Depression risk loomsongatha Memorial Halls Meeting Room One.

The bursting of the economic bubble was a focus point in the talk, with Ms Foss comparing the possible outcome simi-lar to that of the US 1930s depression.

Seminar organiser Lloyd Morcom from the Baw Baw Sustainabil-ity Network was excited to have Ms Foss visit Leongatha.

Nicole is one of the great minds of our genera-tion, he said.

When I heard she was coming to Australia, I said We have to get her to South Gippsland, and here she is.

Ms Foss took questions from the audience after an in-depth presentation.

Leongatha was one of the last stops on a global tour by Ms Foss and her writing partner Racil Ilargi Meijer.

By Jacob de Kunder

EXTRA land to provide for a potential 600 new houses and support the long term growth of Korumburra is the mo-tive behind South Gippsland Shire Councils Planning Scheme Amendment C66, now on public exhibition.

Amendment C66 seeks resi-dential rezoning for the area gener-ally bounded by Jumbunna Road, Whitelaws Road and to the north and south of Bena Road.

The planning process will en-sure that important community in-frastructure is considered and fairly contributed to by new residents to these estates, councils strategic planning and development manager Paul Stampton said.

There naturally will be in-creased demand for additional parks and facilities when development occurs and the population grows.

Real estate agent Don Olden said that it will absolutely benefi t Korumburra.

All towns need to develop for-ward rather than backwards, he said.

(The area chosen) is a suitable area for residential development because of the topography of the land and availability to main roads, and access in and out of the main business centre of the town.

Mr Olden said that a town needs constant residential growth to con-tinue with forward planning.

Obviously as the population continues to expand thats going to be a benefi t to your retail and commercial aspects of the town as well, he said.

Mr Stampton is excited the way the plan is all coming together.

Amendment C66 is the culmi-nation of a number of years of plan-ning work undertaken by council and the Korumburra community, he said.

The town is well placed to at-tract city dwellers to a rural lifestyle it has a beautiful environment and is just an hour from the eastern sub-urbs of Melbourne.

Council offi cers will man a dis-play at the Rural Living Expo at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibi-tion Centre in late April to encour-age attendees to come for the beau-ty and stay for the lifestyle.

The amendment documents can be viewed at the Korumburra Li-brary, council offi ces, and at www.southgippsland.vic.gov.au and www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/planning/publicinspection.

Public submissions to the amendment must be received at council by Monday, March 26 and should be addressed to Craig Lyon, South Gippsland Shire Council, Private Bag 4, Leongatha 3953.

For further information, call Craig on 5662 9806 or email [email protected]

Korumburra to grow

By Jacob de Kunder

AN INTERNATION-AL thinker warned of the risk of an eco-

nomic depression when she addressed more than 50 people at a meeting in Leon-gatha last Tuesday.

Canadian Nicole Foss spoke about economic pressures around the world and the potential outcomes, when she ad-dressed the crowd at Le-

SOUTH Gippsland Shire Council will sell land to South Gippsland Water, allowing the water board to expand.

Deputy mayor Cr Mohya Davies said the sale of part of 20-22 Pioneer Street was vital to the towns future.

South Gippsland Water is a very important part of the Foster community and it is imperative they be given the opportunity to increase their footprint, she said.

Council will be lobbied to plan for the future of the library, gallery, Parks Victoria offi ces and information centre.

Foster sale confi rmed


WOMEN from the Bass Coast region will gather to celebrate In-ternational Womens day with a luncheon at Archies on the Creek on March 8. The luncheon includes a two course meal and a glass of wine, as well as tea and coffee. Coun-sellor, psychotherapist, artist and founder of Into Blue, Jo Ablett will be the guest speaker for the event. Tickets for the day are available now. For more infor-mation, contact Sam or Corinna on 1300 BCOAST or 5671 2756.

THE Leongatha Mens Shed has had so many generous donations of tables, chairs and cabi-

nets that they have no room to store them all. If you know of an available space that may be suit-able for furniture stor-age, please contact Rolf Taylor on 5662 2784.

3MFMs first open day recently was a success-ful event, with visitors arriving throughout the day to see how the ra-dio station works and to meet their favourite presenters. Station president Wendy Williams said the turnout of visitors showed the public truly does appreciate its local station. You can support 3mFM by becoming a member of the station and with March being membership month,

there has never been a better time. Phone 5674 1900 for more informa-tion.

NEWHAVEN College has two scholarships available for 2013. Aca-demic scholarships will be available for entry at Year 7 and Year 10. Applications for these scholarships close on March 18.

General excellence scholarships are avail-able for all secondary levels, applications close on April 28. For more information, please visit the college website: www.newhavencol.vic.edu.au.

THE 2012 Port Albert Bash fishing challenge

will be held on the La-bour Day weekend, from March 10-12. There are 12 categories to be contested during the event, including childrens categories.

There is $6000 worth of prizes to be won throughout the compe-tition. Pre-registration is required and must be received by March 10. For more information please phone 5183 2212, or email [email protected].

BEWARE of fax and email scams. The Star received a request for personal details from the Central Bank of Nigeria recently. The fax is on a professional looking letterhead and kindly

requests all personal de-tails to be provided in or-der to receive a large sum of money. Remember if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

A FRIGHTENED wal-laby was a surprise visi-tor in McCartin Street, Leongatha on Friday afternoon, providing shoppers and store owners alike with some excitement.

It bounded across the street near Niko-linas Florist, then con-tinued up McCartin Street past the church and then out of sight. Hopefully the wallaby managed to make it out of town safely.

ON THE fi rst Sunday of the month, the Jumbunna Bush Market is held in the local hall on Cruickshank Road, Jumbunna.

The market is just 5km from Korumburra and hosts a variety of stalls of mostly home grown and made goods for sale.

Going from 9am through to 1pm, its a great place to drop in and grab some of the interesting items the com-munity has to offer.

Local shoppers: Linda and Roger Keagle enjoyeda cuppa at the Jumbunna Bush Market.

THE Leongatha Art and Craft Society Inc. is as diverse as the imaginations of its members.

So when the group hosted a Regional Arts Victoria-funded workshop at the rear of the Meeniyan Art Gallery last weekend (under the tutelage of renowned paper artist Gail Stiffe) things got a little wild.

Those who attended threw themselves into the construction of an artists book. But the get together was something of a celebration too as the groups 40 year anniversary was marked.

President Tric Hill said the artists book was an idea that had no limits.

This is helping us to develop skills leading up to our artists book competition and exhibition at the Meeniyan Art Gallery in September. But the book idea is something that is very much open to interpretation, she said.

Everybody will have a different idea of what it means to them. This is just one example of how to do it with paper. But you can create an artists book that tells a story in any medium you want.

It could be a concertina book, it could be a scroll, it could be a box, it could be a 3D arrangement. But it is telling a story and it is passing on information. It must also take a portable form.

For Tric creating an artists book means employing some extra creative thinking. Her favoured medium is glass. Entry forms and competition details are available at the Leongatha Gallery.

Loving it: Jenny Jensen had a ball at the weekend workshop.

Artists celebrate

Eating for charity: the staff of Inverloch Primary School sup-ported UnitingCares Pancake Day by eating pancakes for breakfast last Friday. Supporting the cause were, front: principal Wendy Caple, Gle-nys Allum and Anna Wilson. Back: Clare Peterson, Tegan Kel-ly, Elisha Riseley, Rob van Rooy, Greg Twite and Jenny Mulqueeny.

THE Lions Club of Inverloch and District continue to be busy working for the com-munity of Inverloch.

Since Christmas the club has sold Lions Christmas cakes to holiday-makers at caravan parks, conducted the weekly barbecue at the Foodworks supermarket and provided a free sausage sizzle at the Inverloch Australia Day celebrations.

Last weekend, the Inverloch Lions carried out the car-parking, traffi c management and

pedestrian control at the Superbike event on Phillip Island.

On a lighter but also a sad note the Inverloch Lions Club, held a social night last Tuesday to farewell long time Inverloch community workers, Frank and Dot McGarvey.

They have moved to Leongatha and have transferred their Lions membership to the Leongatha Lions Club.

Frank and Dot were presented with a glass inscribed mantle clock by the Inverloch Lions Club.

Good-bye McGarveys

Farewelling McGarveys: long time Inverloch resi-dents and community workers, Frank and Dot Mc-Garvey, were presented with a farewell gift by the members of the Inverloch and District Lions Club.


By Simone Short

COMMUNITY Col-lege Gippsland wel-comed students, staff and its new chief exec-utive offi cer to its new home at the former Leongatha Primary School site last week.

A meet and greet morn-ing tea was held with a visit from the new CEO Paul Wilson, who has relocated from New Zealand to take on the position.

CCG board chair Cheryl Glowrey said the appoint-ment fi lled the position vacated by Bernadette OConnor who had served as CEO for eight-and-a-half years.

Paul brings a wealth of expertise and a fresh per-spective as the organisation moves to consolidate fol-lowing a period of enormous growth, Ms Glowrey said.

Mr Wilson said the new campus and facilities were an asset to the college and the community.

I think the college is at a phase of its development where its starting to make better links with the com-munity with what we can offer, he said.

Theres been a push in the Victorian region and Australia as a whole for edu-

cation to make a difference to peoples lives and I think the college has an important part to play in that.

For the entry level foun-dation and some of the vo-cational areas, weve got a reputation for good develop-ment and good delivery. Its a role that is different, but is complementary to other parts of the tertiary educa-tion sector and I think we just have to establish more fi rmly our place and contin-ue to grow and develop our reputation for quality deliv-ery in those areas.

Staff members worked tirelessly over a number of weeks to clean and prepare the campus for classes at the beginning of February.

CCG business operations manager Alex Todorovski gave The Star a tour of their new campus, and said the additional space has enabled the college to introduce a number of new courses and create new partnerships, including affi liations with Monash University, Univer-sity OF the Third Age and the Mens Shed.

We want to make a community hub and include local partnership; were getting excited about com-munity members coming here to use our facilities, he said.

Were increasing busi-ness courses, well have

more retail, business andinformation technology, andcan also offer large num-bers for child services, agedcare and agriculture andhorticulture.

Specialty courses such asbee keeping, photography,karate and languages arealso run at the college.

The new location is avast improvement in spaceand includes 12 classrooms,whilst the previous CCG siteconsisted of only fi ve.

Mr Todorovski said en-rolments for term one thisyear had already exceededthe entire number of enrol-ments for the whole of 2011and no limit had been set foraccepting students.

Were not putting a ceil-ing on it; were continuingto add to what we alreadyoffer, he said.

If people walk in thedoor, were happy to cre-ate courses to meet theirneeds.

CCG has grown to be-come one of the largestcommunity colleges in re-gional Victoria, deliveringadult education and trainingat campuses in Leongatha,Wonthaggi, Warragul, Pak-enham, Morwell, Traralgonand Sale.

For more information onCCG visit: www.ccg.asn.au or phone 5622 6000.

College bigger and better

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Room to im-prove: the former Leongatha Pri-mary School site has provided CCG with seven addi-tional classrooms, enabling the col-lege to offer more courses, such as the popular child services course.Welcome to our new home: Com-munity College Gippsland business operations manager Alex Todorovski and CEO Paul Wilson at the new Le-ongatha campus.


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Help keep our train stations safe. Become a PSO.Visit policecareer.vic.gov.au or SMS Jobs to 132 001.

POL0096

Letters guidelinesALL letters should be kept to 400 words or less.The Star reserves the right to edit all letters for length and style. Writers details, including full name, address and phone number (not for publication), must be included.

VOXVOXPOP!

E D I T O R I A L

REGARDING Desal rates snub (Star, Febru-ary 21, 2012)

I, LIKE many others resent that this $6 billion project, which is contributing to our increases in energy and water bills, continues to refuse to pay rates and yet council, whilst putting this issue in the too hard basket, seems to think that a 12.9 per cent increase is appropriate for the rest of us.

I acknowledge that Cr Wright is democratically en-titled to his opinion, however many whose water supply is via South Gippsland and West-ernport Water boards do not want desalinated water coming through their taps.

Presumably, Cr Wright did not hear comments made by Kenneth Davidson, senior writ-er for The Age on ABC National

OPEN letter to mem-bers of South Gippsland community.

If you have read mayor Cr Raabes message to community members on February 21, I am pleased that mayor Cr Raabe

THE desal plant was a knee jerk reaction after years of neglecting the need for supply upgrades.

Unfortunately it has shut out

No choice late January.He expressed grave con-cerns about the amount of bo-ron in the water and its adverse health effects on humans and vegetation.

It is well documented that citrus plants are adversely af-fected by an excess of boron.

Let us not forget the initial reason why Wonthaggi was chosen to host this massive, un-necessary construction, which was mainly to provide water for Melbourne and Geelong.

Mary Bramall,Wonthaggi.

Knee jerkreaction

Council hospitality

reiterates that all communitymembers are welcome at thecouncil chambers.

I have found that the hospi-tality that has been (or hasntbeen) extended to myself con-fusing. I realise I have left coun-cil in a like confused manner.

I believe it is important thatwe all have to abide to the locallaws which council works by.

This has cost myself a fi ne($600) and council has also re-moved me from the chamber.

I am sure that the commu-nity should be aware that a newair-conditioner was installedover the Christmas break incouncil chambers.

I am sure the sum of $65,000council spent on the new air-conditioner will be enjoyed byany community member whotakes up mayor Cr Raabes kindoffer.

Paul Norton,Leongatha South.

the sustainable alternatives. One of the cheapest that

could still be economically done is stormwater upgrades and substitution for where drinking water is now unneces-sarily used. The irony is that the desal consortium is now claim-ing loans and payments they arent contractually entitled to, which, if granted, will put the fi nal nail in the coffi n of a sus-tainable water supply.

Neil Rankine,Dalyston.

Have you visited any of the local pools this summer?

Yes, we use SPLASH at Le-ongatha once a week for chil-drens lessons.

Tanja Westwood, Nyora

Yes, we have two children who have weekly lessons at SPLASH.

Kate Foster, Leongatha

No, we are just visiting fam-ily in the area and they have a pool.

Peter Jensen, Canberra

No, I live in Inverloch so I swim at the beach.

Heather Withers, Inverloch

Consequences simply direA DEATH could have occurred in McCartin Street, Leongatha last week, and not just that of the wallaby that took lunch-time shop-pers by surprise as it bounded up the footpath.

Powerlines touched the top of an excavator being transported on a low-loader truck, narrowly avoiding bringing live cables to the ground last Thursday. The fact such cables are hanging low in one of the towns two main streets is a worry.

McCartin Street is an extension of the Bass and Strzelecki highways - the thoroughfare between the Latrobe Valley and South Gippsland. Given the increase in traffi c on these highways since construction of the desalination plant began, hazards such as low hanging powerlines must be addressed.

Traffi c levels are only likely to increase, given the valley is the regions industrial powerhouse and South Gippsland continues to grow. While the State Government has approved funding to design a heavy vehicle alternate route in Leongatha, that route is essen-tially for traffi c travelling on the South Gippsland Highway, and not on the Strzelecki and Bass highways.

Thursdays incident prompts one to think the design should consider an option for avoiding McCartin Street.

Long Street looks to be the most likely option for the alternate route as it stands. Young Street could well be an alternate heavy vehicle route to McCartin Street, at least through the CBD.

However the question remains how this would link with Long Street? Such a route is impeded by a tight 90 degree turn near the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority offi ce in Young Street, tight turning distance at the junction of Young and Bair streets, the Horticultural Society Park and the railway line.

Continuing the route from Young Street into Holt Street, over the railway line and linking with Koonwarra Road could be an op-tion, albeit an expensive one.

In the short term, the authority responsible for powerlines, SP Ausnet, should consider laying all power cables in McCartin Street underground. That would be costly too, but is perhaps the most cost effective option, at least for now.

SOUTH Gippsland Sec-ondary College student Christine Brickle was the winner of the region final of the Lions Youth of the Year.

Christine will represent the region at the district final in Trafalgar in March.

Students each responded to two questions and had

two minutes to talk on each, before giving a five minute recitation on a subject of their own choice.

The four contestants spent several hours with the judg-es who were faced with the task of selecting the overall winner.

The Lions Club of Korum-burra was thanked for hosting and local Lions wish Christine good speaking.

Moving forward: Chris-tine Brickle has advanced to the next round of the Lions Youth of the Year Quest.

Christine wins quest roundTHE Wonthaggi Club set the scene for seven talented young musicians to strut their stuff on Friday night.

The event was part of the Bass Coast Com-munity Foundations sponsorship of young performers.

Last year the foundation handed out $4000 to two students to aid in their commencement of studies in music. Josh Hooke and James Blair are now studying at Melbourne Univer-

sity. Alan Brown, chairman of the Bass Coast Community Foundation, gave a rousing recep-tion to all of the performers.

These young people have put on quite a show tonight, and I can tell theyre all set for bright futures, he said.

Were so proud to be able to help these guys get to university and further their education.

This years winner will be announced later in the year.

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By Brad Lester

THE Vietnam War wrecked Barry Heards life but decades on, his experience has created an opportunity he nev-er thought possible.

He has written a moving personal account of the war, Well Done Those Men, that has of cially been declared a classic, and is now studied by secondary and university students around Australia.

The Bairnsdale man was a guest speaker at the Bass Coast/South Gippsland Business Alliance breakfast at the Inlet Hotel, Inverloch, last Thursday.

Mr Heards tumultuous experience, during and after the war, was heard by representatives of businesses, GippsTAFE and Chisholm TAFE, and educators.

Raised at Swifts Creek

in East Gippsland, Mr Heard had a steady girlfriend and worked on a farm when he was conscripted into National Service and then served in Vietnam.

He experienced hell on earth. Viet Cong soldiers hid behind Vietnamese families and Australian soldiers were ordered to shoot the families to reach the enemy, Mr Heard said.

I learnt that war is the most dumbest, dumbest thing that we as humans do, he said.

A radio operator in Vietnam, Mr Heard recalled Australian soldiers unable to cry, their experiences having robbed them of emotion.

The Vietnam experience changed him and he was unable to t back into his previous life. He studied at university, battling his demons by drinking and felt the wrath of anti-Vietnam protestors; at one point, he

was called baby killer and urinated on as onlookers clapped.

Mr Heard wrote the book as therapy after being diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder that left him in such a fragile mental state, that he was a threat to his own life.

Now Mr Heard is considering a lm contract for his book, but has taken heart in the fact he has helped spread awareness of Vietnam veterans experience, as re ected by the 32,000 letters he has received in response.

Ive had a lot of support from Vietnam vets and letters from their wives saying thank you; that my book had explained their husbands silence, Mr Heard said.

More photos in Social Scene, page 40.

Classic book rises from hell on earthMemories fresh: Barry Heard has penned a confronting account of the Vietnam War.

THE day was almost over before it began.

But that was a blessed thing, given Saturdays intense heat.

The Meeniyan CWAs Breaky on the Bridge was all wrapped up before 11am. Given the CWAs reputation for putting on a great feed, it shouldnt have been much of a surprise.

Staged on the Tarwin River rail-trail bridge outside Meeniyan, the event helped mark the Year of the Farmer with the express purpose of raising funds to help continue the CWAs good work.

Its been so successful that weve sold everything two hours earlier than expected, secretary Heather Scott said.

Heather said the Year of the Farmer was established to remind people of

the importance of farming and farming communities.

We were invited by the chairperson of the Year of the Farmer board, Marie Lally, who was also the president of CWA Australia, to have breakfasts on bridges. So we thought, Weve got a bridge. Well do it! So we did, Heather said.

Weve had about 70 people, including some children and dogs some locals, some city people whove come to visit friends and have the breakfast as well.

The money were raising goes to the CWA, who will spend it to help support farming families.

Heather said there were still some farming families in other parts of the state who had yet to rebuild after last years devastating oods. Many were not insured.

More photos in next weeks Star.

A bridge to breakfast


A regional partnership with the TAC and the Victorian Government.

YOUNG drivers looking to buy new or second-hand cars before heading to university and TAFE are urged to think safety fi rst, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) said.

Research shows that if all young drivers upgraded to cars with a four or fi ve star safety rat-ing, road trauma could drop by up to 25 per cent.

Young drivers are over-rep-resented in road trauma, with 44 Victorians aged 16-20 killed on the roads last year, six more than in 2010 and the highest number since 2007.

TAC studies reveal that the most inexperienced drivers drove the oldest, least safe cars.

TAC chief executive offi cer Janet Dore said parents also had a key role to play in helping put young drivers into safer cars.

She urged them to check the

First Car List (available online) and speak to their children about safer options before making their trip to the car dealership.

The First Car List has been especially prepared for young people looking to buy their fi rst car, and features a range of older vehicles with four or fi ve star safety ratings that sell for be-tween $3000 and $12,000.

We know it can be an ex-pensive exercise buying that fi rst car, but we have a solution that does not involve spending huge amounts of money, and it could save your life, Ms Dore said.

Were not suggesting par-ents and their children spend thousands of dollars on the new-est cars on the market, but we encourage them to select the safest model in the class youre looking at.

Buying a safe car doesnt have to cost a fortune.

The list features cars rang-

ing from the four-star safety rated 1996-98 Holden Astra TR, available for around $3200 to the fi ve-star safety rated 2005-07 Ford Focus LS/LT, priced from $11,400.

Ms Dore said the summer holidays were a popular time for young people to buy cars before they headed back to university and TAFE, and now was the time to look at the safest options available.

The First Car list, available at www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au is based on the Used Car Safety Ratings which rank a car using a fi ve-star rating system according to its ability to protect a driver in a crash.

The ratings were developed by the Monash University Ac-cident Research Centre and are based on the analysis of the re-cords of more than fi ve million crashes.

Choose cars wisely, young drivers urged

Drivers lives: TAC chief executive offi cer Janet Dore chats with young driver Harriet Fisk about selecting a safe car.

A NEW campaign launched by the Co-alition Government urges bike riders and drivers to share the road safely.

Research has revealed Victorians feel we are ruder on the road than in other aspects of our lives.

The social media awareness campaign, Road User or Abuser, is the fi rst of its kind, using a Fa-cebook page as a forum for bike riders and driv-ers to come together to discuss their concerns about sharing Victorias roads.

Minister for Roads Terry Mulder said the Road User or Abuser campaign addressed key road safety issues - including a lack of knowledge of cycling related road rules by both bike riders

and drivers - and bike riders breaking key road rules when they think its safe to do so.

Eighty-eight per cent of drivers and bike rid-ers agree there needs to be greater mutual respect between road users, Mr Mulder said.

Eighty-three per cent agree that behaviour on the road is too aggressive and rude compared to our behaviour in other aspects of our lives.

Research fi ndings show that not only are driv-er and bike rider attitudes toward each other at times negative, so are some of their behaviours.

While 87 per cent of bike riders and driv-ers believe bike riders are more vulnerable than drivers on the roads, only 52 per cent believe that drivers actually look out for bike riders, Mr Mulder said.

Dangerous driver behaviour among the most common causes of police reported crashes in-volving bicycles on Victorias roads include:

opening a car door without checking for approaching bike riders (about 20 per cent of bike/car crashes in the Melbourne CBD and sur-rounds);

driving across the path of an oncoming bike rider (about 30 per cent of crashes in Victoria); and

bike riders being hit from the side or from behind (about 20 per cent of crashes in Victoria).

Bike riders also need to do their bit by wearing a helmet, using bicycle lights to make sure they are visible, riding in bicycle lanes where they are provided and stopping at red lights.

Mr Mulder said an online community discus-sion will be held on VicRoads new Road User orAbuser Facebook page, encouraging bike ridersand drivers to discuss their concerns with eachother.

The Road User or Abuser campaign will ad-dress a key topic each week over six weeks of thecampaign, including relationships, rules and tips,visibility, points of view, confessions and concili-ation. Any other hot topics identifi ed during thecampaign will also be addressed.

The Facebook page can be found at facebook.com/RoadUserOrAbuser

For more information on safe cycling, visitvicroads.vic.gov.au/Bicycles

Dont be rude on the road


Observe school life in operation...

School at work days

Newhaven College is opening its doors from 9.30 11am

Thursday March 1 Junior School and Year 9 Environmental Centre(1770 Phillip Island Tourist Road, Sunset Strip)

Tuesday March 6 Senior School (Boys Home Road, Newhaven)t See students at workt Observe a range of academic and extra-curricular activitiest Experience the benets of life at Newhaven College

For more information contact Mary Brown on 5956 7505 or visit www.newhavencol.vic.edu.au

NEWHAVEN COLLEGEIn Quietness and Confidence Shall Be Your Strength

SAVING energy means saving money with todays risings electricity costs and LED lights are one solution.

LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights use the lat-est and best Chips on Board (COB) technology.

This is the fi rst technology Ive seen that ri-vals conventional down lights, Shane Clayton from the Energy Eco Sustainable Living Centre in Korumburra said.

They use one tenth of the power consump-tion of a normal globe and are set to last 15

plus years.The COB LED down light is also safer for

your home or business as they do not emit heat when running.

A conventional down light can reach tempera-tures of up to 360 degrees centigrade, according to Shane.

The LEDs dont run hot, which is safer and saves you money, he said.

By not having excess heat poured into your home from the lights, you can save money by not running the cooling systems as hard to offset

the heat.The COB LED technology is an obvious

choice when fi tting out a business or home.They are highly effi cient and are great re-

placements for conventional down lights, Shane said.

People dont realise just how many down lights go into a building. A regular house could have 100 down lights in it.

All the energy you save multiplied by 100 means a lot of savings.

The COB LED down lights may be a bit more

expensive than traditional down lights but thesavings are endless.

They are not cheap but are a lot cheaper torun, and end up more cost effective in the longterm, Shane said.

We have a great variety of bulbs and lightcolours in store and we are able to order in how-ever many you need.

Drop in and see Shane and the team at theEnergy Eco Sustainable Living Centre in Koru-mburra if you want to start saving on your elec-tricity bill.

Lights lead the way

Large range: Shane Clayton and the team at Energy Eco Korumburra have a great range of COB LED products available.

SOUTH Gippslanders are being urged to watch out for telephone scammers claiming to be from major banks and asking for per-sonal details.

Bass MLA Ken Smith said the re-minder comes after a disturbing report to Consumer Affairs Victoria that these scammers recently targeted a Wonthaggi resident with telephone calls.

A scam is a scheme designed to take your money deceitfully, and give you lit-tle or nothing in return, he said.

Scammers will prey on your vulner-ability to swindle you out of your hard earned dollars.

Scams are designed to appear like le-gitimate offers but if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The warning comes following a recent report about a telephone caller, claiming to work for a major bank, requesting the Wonthaggi residents bank details so she could fi nd out how much money she was

going to receive. Tips to avoid being scammed: remember: banks and other legiti-

mate companies will never ask for your personal details over the phone;

never send money, give credit card or online account details to anyone you do not know and trust;

contact your bank or credit card com-pany immediately if you think you may have provided your fi nancial information to a scammer; and to avoid telemarketers and potential scammers, you can join the Federal Governments Do Not Call Reg-ister online at donotcall.gov.au or by call-ing 1300 792 958.

Scammers are always fi nding new ways to con people and it may be diffi cult to tell a scam from a genuine offer, but remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, Mr Smith said.

For more information, to dob in a scam or to test how scam savvy you are by try-ing the governments online scams quiz, visit www.consumer.vic.gov.au/scams

Bank scammers warning


Acquired Brain Injury Services

Gamblers Help

Latrobe Community Health Service offers a range of services tailored to meet the needs of individuals and families affected by Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).

Latrobe Community Health Service has a large disability services team of professionals who offer a wide range RIH[LEOHVXSSRUWRSWLRQVWRDVVLVW

Latrobe Community Health Service is encouraging people who think their gambling has become an issue to seek help.Gamblers Help Gippsland provides DZLGHUDQJHRIFRQGHQWLDOVHUYLFHVto gamblers, their families and others affected by gambling. These services are available across Gippsland and UDQJHIURPQDQFLDOFRXQVHOOLQJproblem gambling counselling, community education and secondary consultation.Ann Briggs, Manager Counselling Services said Counsellors can advise people on strategies to overcome problem gambling, prepare people for change and advise their family

people with an Acquired Brain Injury and their support networks. Disability Services Manager Cameron Murdoch said This can be through assisting with person directed planning to ensure people reach their goals and aspirations through to the provision of direct support services - such as personal care or respite.The Disability Services team also provides support to service providers within the Gippsland region through the Information, Training and Secondary Consultation (ITASC) project. Regional ITASC project worker Anita Harnden said This role works across Gippsland to provide information to individuals, families and service providers around ABI as well as providing training to service providers

and loved ones on how to help someone with a problem.All Gamblers Help Gippsland VHUYLFHVDUHIUHHFRQGHQWLDODQGnon-judgmental.*DPEOLQJFDQEHDUHOD[LQJDQGfun pastime but it can also change a persons life. For some, gambling takes over their lives and they end up not only hurting themselves, but also the people closest to them.If gambling is an issue for you, or someone close to you, talk to someone you can trust.For more information or to speak with Gamblers Help Gippsland please call 1800 242 696

to build capacity and respond more effectively to people who are affected by ABI

The Latrobe Community Health Service Drug Treatment Services team includes the Acquired Brain Injury, Alcohol and other Drug Clinical Consultant. The consultants role is to work across Gippsland to offer direct treatment, secondary consultations, education and information to service providers for people who have both an Acquired Brain Injury and drug and alcohol issues.

For information on Acquried Brain Injury Services please phone 1800 242 696.

Latrobe Community Health Service is running a Cannabis awareness education program across the Latrobe Valley throughout the year. Cautious with Cannabis is a free, two hour education program about cannabis, its effects and the strategies to reduce potential harm.The program will be valueble to anyone who wishes to know more about cannabis and strategies which can help them reduce the harms, cut down or stop using. Cautious with Cannabis details:2012 DatesWednesday 14 March - Morwell6.00pm - 8.00pmTuesday 17 April - Sale1.00pm - 3.00pmTuesday 15 May - Warragul1.00pm - 3.00pmWednesday 13 June - Morwell6.00pm - 8.00pmTuesday 17 July - Sale1.00pm - 3.00pmTuesday 14 August - Warragul1.00pm - 3.00pmWednesday 12 September - Morwell6.00pm - 8.00pmTuesday 16 October - Sale1.00pm - 3.00pmTuesday 13 November - Warragul1.00pm - 3.00pmFor further information please contact an Alcohol and Drug Clinician at Latrobe Community Health Service on 1800 242 696.

Gamblers Help Gippsland


LIGHTNING fl ashed, thun-der roared and the rain teemed down, but none of it could be heard above the din of 40-plus networking women.

They imbibed in the viticultural and culinary delights of Lucinda Estate Cellar Door in Leongatha recently.

A quality sampling of four whites and four reds, accompanied by matching food morsels, encouraged chatter and warmed hearts as Lucy and Andrew Gromotka and their team tempted all with tasty treats and wine education.

By the time a delicious barbecue of chicken and salmon reached the plates of the now-mellowed assem-bly, new friendships and contacts had been forged, door prizes won, and big announcements made by the South-

ern Business Womens Network. President Kaz Hughes outlined

the forthcoming major event of the year, to be held on March 31, with the news that the three major spon-sors were secured: Telstra Country-wide, Allianz Insurance/Leongatha Agencies, and Bendigo Commu-nity Banks Inverloch, Mirboo North, Foster/Toora and San Remo sharing in the third major.

Gold and silver sponsorships are still needed and encouraged from the membership and also are open to the general community.

Promotion for the March event is about to commence, and those inter-ested in taking part in the interactive sponsors event on the day, with the opportunity to mingle with 100 or more seminar delegates, are invited to contact sponsorship co-ordinator Robyn Eva, on 0409 198 636.

Sponsorship forms are also available from the website and from First National Prom Country Real Estates offi ces in Leongatha and Mirboo North.

Network vice president Gillian Mertens introduced Wendy Major and Kerena Kerr from the Local Learning and Employment Network, and an-nounced the networks intention to sponsor two young women through LLEN, in their further education.

She said the network welcomes all business people, whether they are employed or business owners, in an inclusive and friendly environment. More information can be found on their website, www.sbwn.com.au.

You can also fi nd the Southern Business Womens Network on Fa-cebook, and contact them via Kaz Hughes, at her offi ce in Leongatha on 5662 3100.

Women overpower lightning

Fun night out: Allison Drury, Kaz Hughes, Leanne Vanleishout, and Lucy and Andrew Gromotka of Lucinda Estate Cellar Door.

Mingling women: Gillian Mertens and Carol Blair, of the South Gippsland Business Womens Network, chat.

VANDALS are destroying Le-ongathas street gardens and shop-keepers are sick of it.

Ken Alcorn from Leongatha Lunchworks said the vandals strike every week.

It needs to be highlighted about the level of damage that goes on to our gardens every week, he said.

Flowers are being ripped out and thrown at shops, while just last week they ruined some edging.

This comes after the grass tree in the middle of the McCartin Street and Peart Street roundabout was vandalised.

We need to report this kind of behaviour and get something done about it, Mr Alcorn said.

It affects all of us: its costly, makes the town look bad and we end

up with a mess.If you see some idiot doing

something like this, dont just look the other way. Call the cops and re-port them.

Mr Alcorn said council garden-ers do a great job to keep the gardens looking beautiful.

South Gippsland Shire Councils parks and gardens co-ordinator Steve Missen said vandalism was regular.

Most of our Monday morning is a clean-up, he said.

McCartin Street down through to McDonalds is usually a trail of destruction.

Mr Missen said replacing some-thing like the grass tree was an ex-pensive exercise.

Its about $300 to $400 for the plant, and then we have to go to

Melbourne and get it and plant it and look after it so we probably wouldnt replace it, he said.

The damage seems to be intensi-fying, according to Mr Missen.

Its not a new concept but I have noticed an increase in the last couple of years. The volume of it has increased, he said.

Mr Missen said his team would not be deterred by the vandals.

I dont think the community should go without having nice gar-den beds because of some idiot, he said.

Im determined not to be put off by what a couple of individuals do, but I guess there has to be a point.

If you witness vandalism contact Crime Stoppers or your local police station.

Town tired of vandals


Mayors messageCr Veronica

Dowman

South Gippsland Shire Council briefs

THE Australian leadership, forestry and fi shing were among the issues discussed at a Liberal Party event in Le-ongatha last Wednesday.

McMillan MP Russell Broadbent and Narracan MLA Gary Blackwood addressed members of the South Gippsland branch of the Liberal Party at the Leongatha RSL.

The evening was the same night Kevin Rudd resigned as Foreign

Affairs Minister, providing an opportune time for Mr Broadbent to share his views about the governments internal leadership challenge.

As the parliamentary secretary for forestry and fi sheries, Mr Blackwood spoke of the importance of maintaining a healthy timber industry to reduce the need to import rainforest timber from third world countries.

He believes Australia should be able to maintain its forest industry

while at the same time protecting native animals.

Mr Blackwood spoke of the fi shing industry - the commercial, recreational and aboriginal rights - while at the same time ensuring it remained sustainable.

He spoke of the fi nancial surplus the previous government inherited and yet there was a $30 billion defi cit plus non-budgeted expenditure when they were elected to offi ce.

More photos in next weeks Star.

VICTORIAN local government elections will be held on October 27, 2012, and there are many reasons to consider nominating for the role of councillor.

In my six years as a councillor and in my time as mayor, I have found the experience both rewarding and challenging. Moreover, being a democratically elected community representative in local government is an important role and a great honour.

If you think being a councillor might be for you, now is the time to prepare. At Bass Coast Shire Council we have seven councillors and as a group we are representative of the community.

For this reason I would encourage people from all walks of life, women and younger people to consider nominating for council.

If you are not sure about what it means to be a councillor, the Victorian Electoral Commission website outlines the role and responsibilities.

Day to day there are several duties. Each newly elected council establishes meeting schedules and the type of meetings required to deal with business so there is the best outcome for their community.

Currently Wednesdays are allocated for a majority of regular council meetings and briefi ngs. The third Wednesday is always the public council meeting, where decisions are made openly and transparently and the fourth Wednesday may be used for catch up meetings, citizenship ceremonies or other similar events.

There is considerable time required for meeting preparation and this includes weekly reading, research and understanding council legislation. The law requires all councillors to keep an open mind on an issue until it has been formally presented and debated.

There are also committee meetings that require councillor representation and this is shared across all councillors, according to their interests. Councillors sit on 16 external committees and 10 council committees that serve an important role in policy development and advice to council.

Being a councillor also requires a commitment to being involved in the community through attending rate payer meetings and other functions. This brings me back to the reasons why I enjoy my role.

If you are the type of person who has a passion for building a better community then I highly recommend nominating yourself as a councillor for your municipality.

Finally, I did want to draw your attention to a community event I will be attending which supports a very good cause.

Councils International Womens Day lunch is on March 8 and if you havent already got your ticket, see Councils Update Advertisement for more details.

Cr Veronica Dowman,mayor.

Offi cial greeting: Geoff Dean, president of the South Gippsland branch of the Liberal Party, welcomes visiting MPs Russell Broadbent and Gary Blackwood to Leongatha.

MPs offerLiberal insight

ARE YOU confused about how to select picture books that will support lan-guage development in young children?

There are so many gorgeous, colourful, fun books available, so how do you pick the ones that will offer the best support to a young child or grandchild as their language skills develop?

Research has shown that reading with a child for 10 minutes a day can have a signifi cant effect on their language development.

At the age of two children who have been read to have a vocabulary

of around 500 words, while children who havent been read to have around 50 words.

One of the aims of the 2012 National Year of Reading is to encourage and extend reading at

Kids learn from reading

A LEONGATHA laneway will be named in honour of Dr Alec Bennett. The unnamed laneway located off Roughead Street will be called Bennett Lane.

CR DAVID Lewis tabled a petition signed by 142 people calling for farmers to pay a more equitable share of farm rates. The petition calls on council to charge farmers rates based on the value of their house and area surrounding the house only.

CR KIERAN Kennedy suggested council investigate the possibility of erecting a canoe ramp at the Venus Bay jetty, following the success of a similar ramp at Tarwin Lower that resulted in more kayakers using the Tarwin River.

CR Jeanette Harding will travel throughout regional Victoria calling for better transport infrastructure as part of her role as deputy chair of the South East Australian Transport Strategy. The groups fi rst quarterly meeting was held at Sale recently. Among the issues will be the heavy vehicle alternate route in Leongatha.

COUNCILLORS expenses amounted to $197,278 between July 1 and December 31, 2011, including councillor allowances of $15,083 and the mayoral allowance of $45,153. Fuel costs amounted to $4026 and mobile phone costs to $2358. Conference, accommodation and parking costs followed with $2401.

MANY community groups have benefi ted from councillors discretionary funds. The Port Franklin Tennis and Sports Club received $400 to help with the annual junior fi shing experience event. The Probus Club of Foster received $300 to help with catering for the 20th anniversary celebration and the Stony Creek Rodeo received $900. The Tarwin Lower Mechanics Institute received $500 to help buy a dishwasher.

The Dumbalk and District Progress Association received $600 to produce a quarterly newsletter. The Mirboo North Swimming Pool Committee received $1000 and the Mirboo North Golf Club $200 towards its Australia Day Open Golf Competition.

THE future of the Corner Inlet Motorcycle Club at Yanakie will not be revisited by council for some time. Council received a petition from the club in December, calling for council to support the club continuing to use its Yanakie track, despite concerns about noise and dust raised by neighbours. Council will notify the club that appropriate community consultation will occur when the lease is due for renewal in 2014.

THE Country Fire Authority has received council approval to lease part of the Walkerville Retarding Basin. The land will be used to establish a satellite fi re station. The CFA fi rst approached council in 2005 to lease council owned land within the Prom View Estate at Walkerville. The CFA will rent the site at 20 Panoramic Drive for $104 a year.

A NEW operator is being sought for the Korumburra Tourist Park. Council will seek expressions of interest to fi nd operators to enter into a long term lease.

all ages. As one of the activities in support of the National Year of Reading, West Gippsland Regional Library Corporation will be holding a special session of the popular Between the Covers book discussion series focusing on how to identify picture books and activities that will support language development in small children.

This session is particularly aimed at parents, carers and grandparents who may be wondering how to pick a good picture book to share with a preschooler

The Great Southern Star

Documents

swimming pools

close pools

pools futures

mirboo north outdoor

foster fi res

south gippslandin

solo artist

cost of operating pools