FEBRUARY 27, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
(Dennis Manktelow)
Grand day for Deer Park Deer Park Bowls Club will be a hive of activity on the last weekend of March, with the club hosting the Premier Bowls grand final day for the first time. After spending two years upgrading the facilities, including the state-of-the-art undercover rinks nicknamed ‘The Dome’, the club is now in the final stages of preparations for the big day on March 25. Deer Park Club general manager David Thompson said the anticipation was building ahead of the big day, which is expected to attract up to 600 fans to the club. “This is our first time hosting it, and it’s the biggest event on the bowls calendar, so we’re very proud,” Mr Thompson said. “It’s always been an ambition of the club to have this event, and getting these new facilities went a long way towards securing that. “It’s a great chance for us to show off The Dome, and expose the rest of the club to a much wider audience.” Deer Park is playing in the Premier Division this year after earning promotion last season and remains a chance of featuring in the finals and possibly playing off in the grand final on its home greens. Mr Thompson said that would be the icing on the cake. “We’re all crossing our fingers they can hold on to fourth spot,” he said. “But either way I’d say come one, come all, and enjoy a great day of bowls.” PREMIER PLAYER WAYNE PRETTY FACES OFF AGAINST JAMES LAVERTY
Ewen McRae
Heat on power suppliers By Tate Papworth Brimbank council is turning the heat on its power distribution providers and is urging them to face the people after recurring power outages. A heatwave last month caused widespread outages across Brimbank, leaving many without essential services. Responding to widespread community anger, Cr John Hedditch last week tabled a motion which would have Powercor and Jemena front their customers.
“A number of areas were put out of action during the recent heatwave, but prior to that, parts of West Sunshine had been out of action for up to four days as part of an outage that wasn’t related to the heatwave,” Cr Hedditch said. “Last time our officers wrote to Powercor and asked advice with what was happening we were told things were going to happen, but what we see is an ongoing set of power outages that go on around Brimbank.” The council will write to the Essential Services Commissioner, Powercor and Jemena
urgently requesting they hold a community forum to explain why the outages are occurring. “We understand from all the publicity … recently, that it’s not a supply issue, it’s a distribution issue with the infrastructure,” Cr Hedditch said. “We want to know why these outages are occurring in Brimbank, why they’ve been occurring for so many years and why they impact so many communities so badly.” Powercor will also be asked to explain its plans to mitigate future outages and to outline its level of investment in local power
infrastructure in Brimbank compared to other local government areas. “When we look at what happened over that last heat event, it was Brimbank, Dandenong and the northern suburbs that copped the brunt of it. Why is that so?” Cr Hedditch. “It suggests that there’s a level of inequity in this power distribution scheme.” A spokesperson for Powercor said the company was “happy to meet with them [council] directly to discuss their concerns about reliability of electricity supply in the area”.
BOO K NOW
RORY & ISABEL Presents
Island Harmony Show 10AM TUES 6TH MARCH DELICIOUS MORNING TEA & SHOW STILL ONLY $9 at door
TAYLORS LAKES HOTEL
POURING NOW
7 MELTON HIGHWAY
PH: 9217 9500
SAT 5th MAY 7pm Hilarious Comedy 2 course Dinner & Dance $45 Members & $50 Non
www.taylorslakeshotel.com.au
12380654-RC10-18 10062226-07