OCTOBER 30, 2019 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
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Last shave for legend
(Joe Mastroianni)
After 53 years working in his Station Place barbershop, Werribee icon Vito ‘Vic’ Sammartino is hanging up his shavers and scissors. Mr Sammartino, who started working at the business when he was 20, is planning to retire in a few weeks’ time. “I would like to spend more time with my wife Lina, our children and two grandchildren and also go to Italy every now and then,” Mr Sammartino said. Now, 73, Mr Sammartino began working at the village barbershop in his hometown of Vizzini, Sicily, when he was about seven years old. The day he arrived in Australia, in 1966, he visited the Station Place barbershop and was employed on the spot – and the rest, as they say, is history. Mr Sammartino said his long-running barbershop has become something of a “legend” in Werribee. “I would like to thank all my customers and all the people in the Werribee community who support the shop,” he said. Mr Sammartino has sold the barbershop to Werribee barber Abdul ‘Sam’ Zanganah, who has been working with him for about a month. Although he is retiring, Mr Sammartino said his loyal customers might still spot him in the shop every now and then. Alesha Capone
Wyndham’s train crush By Alesha Capone Train passengers are being “crammed in like sardines”, with a new report showing the number of passengers using Wyndham Vale station had increased by 20 per cent in the past 12 months. According to V/Line’s annual report, more than 120,000 new passengers came through the Wyndham Vale station alone last year. The report also stated the number of passengers using Tarneit station increased by 17 per cent (176,000 new passengers) in the 2018-19 financial year.
Information available on V/Line’s website showed that on average, between March 21 and May 5 this year, all of the seats on the 4.31am weekday service from Geelong to Southern Cross station were occupied by the time the train arrived at Tarneit station. This was also the case for the 5.12am, 5.45am, 6.13am, 6.44am, 6.48am and 7.36am trains. On average, the 6.44am and 7.35am trains reached 100 per cent seating capacity by the time they reached Wyndham Vale. The 7.11am, 7.33am and 7.55am trains from Wyndham Vale station also hit 100 per cent seating capacity by they time they reached
Tarneit-Ardeer. Earlier this month, Star Weekly reported that commuter Eldhose Varghese has started a Change.org petition calling for more frequent train services to run through Tarneit and Wyndham Vale stations during peak hours. More than 1540 people have signed the petition, which states that often, trains run short (three carriages only) through the two stations. Mr Varghese said this “… makes it almost impossible for the residents of Wyndham Vale/ Tarneit to board the train”. After the story was posted on Star Weekly’s
Facebook pages, many readers commented about the lack of room on the V/Line train services. “The situation is impossible and getting worse. ‘Peak’ hour doesn’t quite describe it. The 6.33am from Tarneit to Southern Cross is packed. People are queued ten-deep at every carriage door,” Christine commented. “We are paying in full to be cramped in like sardines in the trains,” Jules posted. A V/Line spokesperson said: “More people than ever before are travelling on V/Line services – with more than 22.36 million passenger trips last financial year.”