JANUARY 31, 2017 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
Golden girl once again
(Friedemann Vogel/Getty Images)
(Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Sunbury Olympic gold medallist Ashleigh McConnell has added another special medal to her collection. The swimmer, who won gold at last year’s Rio Paralympic Games, last week received an Order of Australia medal for her services to sport. Her dominance in the water began in 2010 when she was first selected to represent Australia at the Arafura Games in Darwin. She then won seven age champion titles at the Australian Age Multi-Class Championships in Adelaide two years later, and has put in the hard yards in the pool ever since. Her peak came at the Paralympic Games in the Women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. Sunbury MP Josh Bull congratulated McConnell on her success. “It takes incredible drive and determination to get to the Rio Paralympic Games, and Ashleigh McConnell has it in spades,” he said. “Champion athletes like Miss McConnell give us all a great sense of pride … she has plenty of supporters in Sunbury.” Esther Lauaki
Sunbury burglars strike By Esther Lauaki At least eight Sunbury homes have been targeted by burglars in recent weeks and police are calling for residents to be vigilant. Burglars have hit homes on Albert Road, Bundanoon Avenue, Darbyshire Street, La Perouse Close, Ponsford Place, Ramsay Court, Saxonwood Drive and Wildflower Drive. Detective Senior Constable Renee Prestia, of Hume CIU, said the break-ins happened throughout January. “There has been a significant increase in residential burglaries in the Sunbury area [this
month],” she said. “Some of the burglaries had bicycles stolen and this could possibly have something to do with it being school holidays at the moment. In others jewellery, iPads, mobile phones and other valuables were taken.” She said the burglaries were not concentrated in a particular area. “We are likely looking for more than one offender involved in these burglaries,” she said. “The streets that were targeted are spread out, so it appears that they could possibly be unrelated.” The crimes come as data released by the Crime Statistics Agency last month revealed
there was a 27.2 per cent increase in burglary/ break and enter incidents in Sunbury in the past year. The figures also showed an overall 20 per cent rise in crime across Hume. Senior Constable Prestia encouraged residents to tighten their security arrangements and keep their eyes open. “Residents should be looking out for suspicious people driving vehicles around,” she said. “And keep their homes, vehicles and valuable belongings locked away. “If they see anything, they should contact police immediately. ”
Two Sunbury residents commented on the Hume Eyewatch Facebook page about their experiences with recent thefts in their neighbourhoods. “I know of one these burgs and yes they attempted to steal a motorbike. But didn’t get far with it,” one woman posted. “It’s all over Sunbury. We were cleaned out while on holidays [in September] and they came back a few times without anybody noticing,” another said. Anyone in need of police assistance should call 000 or make a confidential report to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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