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Pakenham
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Covid mental health crisis Having spent over 200 days in lockdown now, psychologists and mental health professionals are growing more and more concerned about the “dire” state of Melburnians’ mental health, labelling it as an invisible “crisis” that needs to be addressed urgently. Michael Tomek, a clinical psychologist and the director of Lakeside Psychology in Pakenham, said that it was incredibly alarming to see the amount of local people struggling to cope mentally at the moment. “It’s really alarming, I’m actually in the middle of writing a letter to our local MP’s about the dire state of mental health in the area right now because it’s so concerning,” Mr Tomek said. STORY PAGE 5
Big bang theories
Leave no gnome unturned Being stuck within a five kilometre bubble can be tough at times, but locals in both Emerald and Upper Beaconsfield have gotten creative and come up with an ingenious town activity to keep everyone
For months now, Pakenham has been plagued by mysterious loud noises, scaring people awake in the middle of the night. Sometimes the bangs are so loud people’s windows shake in their sills. Theories on community Facebook pages range from the plausible to the strange. The Gazette went to the authorties to find out what was behind the mystery explosions. STORY PAGE 9
smiling - a gnome scavenger hunt! Hidden around each town, 12 little gnomes can be found at iconic landmarks, poking their heads out just waiting to be found. STORY PAGE 15
Can you spot the gnomes? Tiffany Smith and Matty from Emerald’s Penny & a Pickle are joined by a little, bearded friend. 250256 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS
Justice for Lefty The young man who mowed down beloved Pakenham icon Kelvin ‘Lefty’ Rees with his bicycle in 2019 has faced the County Court recently for sentencing. Johnmaki Tatira, a 25-year-old homeless man with a history of mental health issues, has pleaded guilty to both a charge of negligently
causing serious injury and a charge of failing to stop and render assistance, after he hit and left Mr Rees lying unconscious in a car park almost two years ago. Mr Rees, a one-armed man with the nickname ‘Lefty’, is a local treasure who was famously known for voluntarily cleaning the town’s streets each and every day with a smile on his face.
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On the morning of 12 November 2019, Mr Rees was busy sweeping the gutters of the Pakenham Place Shopping Centre car park when Mr Tatira came riding erratically towards him on a bicycle. Mr Rees was hit from behind and suffered serious injuries in the crash, including a fractured skull, a bleed on the brain, spinal cord damage and a cardiac arrest.
Mr Tatira, who has schizophrenia and was squatting in an abandoned shed in Pakenham at the time, fled the scene of the crime without stopping to check on Mr Rees. Being a citizen of New Zealand, he faces the risk of being deported at the end of his sentence. STORY PAGE 3 ADVERTISEMENT
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