Mornington
Morni ngton
7 October 2014
Queen of hearts
Your guide to what’s on this weekend for peninsula families
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Tuesday day 7 October 2014 14 4
MPNEWS (1300 676 397) or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au Reopening: Reg and Elaine prepare their Mt Eliza garden for the open days.
Gardens back by popular demand AFTER a short break, Earimil Gardens in Mt Eliza will open for two Sundays this spring to, once again, raise money for children’s charities. But, this year, there will be none of the usual jazz band or food-and-wine fanfare. “Just come along and see the beautiful gardens and enjoy a picnic if desired,” owner Elaine Smith said. “And bring your own coffee.” Elaine and husband, Reg, ran the garden open days for 20 years before retiring in 2012. “Now, after some of our old supporters complained about us stopping, we have decided to open this spring for just two Sundays,” she said. So far they have raised more than $1 million for children with life threatening injuries and their families. The gardens, at 33A Koornalla Cres, will be open 10.30am-4pm, October 12 and November 9. Entry is $10 and children are free.
Picture : Gary Sissons
Mother pleads for end to carnage Chris Brennan chris@mpnews.com.au THE family of a young man killed in a “violent, frightening and completely unprovoked attack” in Rye has issued a heartfelt plea for an end to the carnage that has claimed dozens of lives in socalled “coward punch” attacks, while criticising the sentence handed down to the killer. Dylan Closter, 20, was sentenced to nine years and three months’ jail with a six-year minimum term in the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday after belatedly pleading guilty to
manslaughter and affray over the death of David Cassai, 22, in Rye on New Year’s Eve 2012. Mr Cassai’s mother, Caterina Politi, said she was bitterly disappointed at the sentence handed down to her son’s killer, but welcomed new Victorian laws that take effect from this week that mandate a minimum term of 10 years' jail for one-punch deaths. “Six years minimum – it’ll never be enough, but it doesn't send a message of deterrence and punishment for a man who took my son's life,” Ms Politi said outside court. “People waste their lives on the dole
for five years and six years. Ten years is more significant.” A large group of friends and supporters of Mr Cassai’s family attended the court on Thursday wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the message: ‘Stop. One punch can kill’. Mr Cassai’s sister, Luisa, said she was hopeful the tragic and avoidable death of brother would lead to greater awareness of the consequences of violence. “This isn't just for David. It's in his memory, but it's for everyone that's lost their lives from this,” she said. David Cassai, who lived in Tem-
plestowe, was on the way home to his family’s holiday house in Rosebud with two friends in the early hours of December 31 after a night out at the Portsea Hotel when the deadly attack occurred. The three men had planned to catch the bus home to Rosebud but discovered it only went as far as Rye and decided to walk the rest of the way. However, they were “ambushed” by Closter, an apprentice plumber who was then aged 18, and two friends Thomas McCluskey-Sharp, 26, and Tyrone Russell, 22, outside a Rye pizza shop.
The attack was captured on CCTV footage. After aggressively demanding a friend of Mr Cassai's put down a street sign he was carrying, Closter began shoving Mr Cassai, before shaping up “like a boxer”. Closter began swinging punches as Mr Cassai tried to back away and talk down the situation. But Closter kept coming, first knocking Mr Cassai to the ground and then chasing after him. He finally landed a “vicious” roundhouse punch to Mr Cassai’s, which sent him crashing to the pavement. Continued Page 16
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*CROWN CASINO – MONTHLY* Casino’s bus program with a HEALESVILLE SANCTUARY great BUFFET lunch (all) $35. Tue 11 Nov Only persons over the age of Adults $70 (p/s) $60 (ch) $50 18 permitted. STRICTLY BALLROOM LAST THURSDAY EACH Wed 25 March MONTH Adults $125 (p/s) $110 QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET THE LION KING Tue 14 Oct - all $30. Shop for all the bargains we Wed 11 March (matinee) do not have down here. (a) $120 (p/s) $110 We even supply a couple DIRTY DANCING of Eskys for some of your Wed 25 Mar perishables. Adults $115 (p/s) $105 STITCHES & CRAFT SHOW Caulfield Racecourse Thu 23 Oct All $55
ANYTHING GOES Wed 10 Jun (a) $130 (p/s) $120
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