MAY 29, 2019 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
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Green gong for teacher
(Damjan Janevski)
Werribee Primary School teacher Jo Wembridge has been recognised as an outstanding environmental educator and sustainability leader. Mrs Wembridge has been selected as one of three finalists for the Primary School Teacher of the Year award, in the annual ResourceSmart School Awards. The other finalists are Vanessa Smith from Truganina South Primary School and Glenn Jepson from Kunyung Primary School in Mount Eliza. For the past eight years, Mrs Wembridge has been heavily involved in ResourceSmart Schools, a program offered by Sustainability Victoria. Since 2012, Werribee Primary School has saved more than $66,700 thanks to several environmental initiatives which Mrs Wembridge has helped to introduce, including a zero waste policy. Under Mrs Wembridge’s leadership, the school was also named the first five-star ResourceSmart school in the western metropolitan region. Mrs Wembridge said she was thrilled when a colleague nominated her for the ResourceSmart School Award. “It was just nice to be recognised because you just do your job and do it for the kids, it’s just nice to think somebody else appreciates what you are doing,” she said. Winners will be announced on June 13. Alesha Capone
Parking fines upheld By Alesha Capone Wyndham council has withdrawn just over 2 per cent of parking fines it issued across a 12-month period. Between May 10 last year and May 10 this year, council officers wrote out a total of 29,173 parking infringements. Wyndham’s city operations director Stephen Thorpe said the council had reviewed 4637 of these fines at the request of motorists, and as a result withdrew 596 of the infringements (2.04 per cent of the total fines issued during the 12-month timeframe).
“The main reason council withdraws infringements is because of exceptional circumstances,” Mr Thorpe said. “Other grounds for the waiving of parking fines are special circumstances, as defined under the Infringements Act 2006, mistaken identity and contrary to law.” ‘Exceptional circumstances’ means the person issued with an infringement has a valid reason to excuse the infringement. Under the Infringements Act, ‘special circumstances’ can apply to a person with a mental or intellectual disability, disorder, disease or illness; who is homeless; or who has a
serious addiction to drugs, alcohol or a volatile substance, resulting in them being unable to understand what conduct constitutes an offence, or to control conduct which constitutes an offence. It also includes people subjected to family violence, who are unable to control conduct which constitutes an offence. Mr Thorpe said the main reasons parking infringements were issued were for overstaying the time permitted (7083 fines), parking on a nature strip (6449 fines) and stopping in a no stopping zone (4076 fines). Vehicles stopped in a loading zone attracted
2156 fines and vehicles parked outside a parking bay attracted 1038 fines. Earlier this month, the council endorsed a new enforcement policy, to guide its officers in their enforcement decisions. Wyndham’s safer communities portfolio holder Cr Kim McAliney said the policy covered parking, litter, animal control, town planning, building and food businesses regulation. “Council has legal responsibilities and obligations to ensure there is compliance with our local laws, and our community has a responsibility to comply,” Cr McAliney said.